3D Visibility Representations of 1-planar Graphs

We prove that every 1-planar graph G has a z-parallel visibility representation, i.e., a 3D visibility representation in which the vertices are isothetic disjoint rectangles parallel to the xy-plane, and the edges are unobstructed z-parallel visibilities between pairs of rectangles. In addition, the constructed representation is such that there is a plane that intersects all the rectangles, and this intersection defines a bar 1-visibility representation of G.Comment: Appears in the Proceedings of the 25th International Symposium on Graph Drawing and Network Visualization (GD 2017

Particle tracking in a gap of aquatic vegetation meadow

Aquatic vegetation considerably affects the flow field in water bodies, with influence increasing as the depth decreases. As a consequence, vegetation also affects suspended particle transport. In inshore sandy beds less than 40 m deep of the Mediterranean Sea, meadows of Posidonia oceanica are widespread. This plant is constituted by a tuft of very thin and flexible ribbon-like leaves about 1 cm wide and up to 1.5 m long; the meadow areal density can reach 1000-1200 plant/m2. Frequently, such meadows are not continuous but vegetated areas alternate with sand strips (“gaps”). The presence of such discontinuities noticeably affects the flow field and gaps can actually act as particle traps. Some laboratory experiments were performed aiming at studying the flow field in a gap of artificial Posidonia oceanica canopy. In this paper, the measured flow field is used to track single particles within the gap. A simple particle tracking model which assumes no-slip condition and random velocity fluctuations is adopted. A large number of single-particle tracking were performed considering several release elevations of particles as well as several falling velocities of the latters. The examination of the whole tracks allows one to recognize the particle fate as the simulation parameters vary. In spite of the model assumptions, the study gives useful indications on the behavior of a gap towards the suspended particle transport

The development of the Meaning in Life Index (MILI) and its relationship with personality and religious behaviours and beliefs among UK undergraduate students

The scales available for assessing meaning in life appear to be confounded with several related constructs, including purpose in life, satisfaction with life, and goal-directed behaviour. The Meaning in Life Index (MILI), a new instrument devised as a specific measure of meaning in life, was developed from responses to a pool of 22 items rated by a sample of 501 undergraduate students in Wales. The nine-item scale demonstrated sufficient face validity, internal consistency, and scale reliability to commend the instrument for future use. With respect to personality, the MILI scores were most strongly predicted by neuroticism (negatively), and less strongly by extraversion (positively) and psychoticism (negatively). With respect to several religious behavioural variables, those who attended church at least weekly returned significantly higher MILI scores than those who attended church less frequently. Intrinsic religiosity was the only orientation to be significantly associated with the MILI scale scores, although the magnitude of the association was smaller than anticipated. These results suggest that meaning in life is associated more strongly with individual differences in personality than with specific religious behaviours and attitudes. The implications of these results are discussed in terms of individual's personal values and attitudes that might underlie their experience of a meaning in life

Current exposure of Italian women of reproductive age to PFOS and PFOA: a human biomonitoring study

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) concentrations were determined in serum samples collected in 2011-2012 from 549 nulliparous Italian women of reproductive age who resided in six different Italian Regions. Assessment of exposure to perfluorinated compounds was part of a large human biomonitoring study (Project Life Plus "Womenbiopop") that aimed at examining the exposure of women of reproductive age to priority organic pollutants. The median concentrations of PFOS and PFOA were 2.43, and 1.55ngg-1, respectively. Significant differences in the concentrations of both compounds were observed among the six Regions. Women from central Italy had the highest levels of both compounds, followed by women from northern Italy, and southern Italy. No differences in the PFOS concentrations were found between women from urban/industrial areas and women from rural areas, whereas the levels of PFOA were significantly higher in women residing in urban/industrial areas than in women residing in rural areas. Taken together, the observed concentrations confirm that the overall exposure of the Italian population is among the lowest observed in industrialized countries. A downward temporal trend in exposure was observed for both compounds when comparing the results from the present study with those assessed in a study conducted in 2008

A Mediterranean-like dietary pattern with vitamin D3 (10 µg/d) supplements reduced the rate of bone loss in older Europeans with osteoporosis at baseline: results of a 1-y randomized controlled trial

Background: The Mediterranean diet (MD) is widely recommended for the prevention of chronic disease, but evidence for a beneficial effect on bone health is lacking.  Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of a Mediterranean-like dietary pattern [NU-AGE (New Dietary Strategies Addressing the Specific Needs of the Elderly Population for Healthy Aging in Europe)] on indexes of inflammation with a number of secondary endpoints, including bone mineral density (BMD) and biomarkers of bone and collagen degradation in a 1-y multicenter randomized controlled trial (RCT; NU-AGE) in elderly Europeans.  Design: An RCT was undertaken across 5 European centers. Subjects in the intervention group consumed the NU-AGE diet for 1 y by receiving individually tailored dietary advice, coupled with supplies of foods including whole-grain pasta, olive oil, and a vitamin D3 supplement (10 µg/d). Participants in the control group were provided with leaflets on healthy eating available in their country.  Results: A total of 1294 participants (mean ± SD age: 70.9 ±4.0 y; 44% male) were recruited to the study and 1142 completed the 1-y trial. The Mediterranean-like dietary pattern had no effect on BMD (site-specific or whole-body); the inclusion of compliance to the intervention in the statistical model did not change the findings. There was also no effect of the intervention on the urinary biomarkers free pyridinoline or free deoxypyridinoline. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D significantly increased and parathyroid hormone decreased (P < 0.001) in the MD compared with the control group. Subgroup analysis of individuals with osteoporosis at baseline (site-specific BMD T-score ≤ −2.5 SDs) showed that the MD attenuated the expected decline in femoral neck BMD (n = 24 and 30 in MD and control groups, respectively; P = 0.04) but had no effect on lumbar spine or whole-body BMD.  Conclusions: A 1-y intervention of the Mediterranean-like diet together with vitamin D3 supplements (10 µg/d) had no effect on BMD in the normal age-related range, but it significantly reduced the rate of loss of bone at the femoral neck in individuals with osteoporosis. The NU-AGE trial is registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01754012

Rare Bilateral Nasopalatine Duct Cysts: A Case Report

The nasopalatine duct cyst (NPDC) is the most common of the non-odontogenic cyst of the jaws. This cysts are usually central or unilateral with no prevalence of side occurrence. The NPDC is the most frequent developmental, nonodontogenic cyst of the jaws. This cyst originates from epithelial remnants from the nasopalatine duct. The cells could be activated spontaneously during life, or are eventually stimulated by the irritating action of various agents (infection, etc.). Generally, patients present without clinical signs and symptoms. Therefore, the tentative diagnosis "nasopalatine duct cyst" is often based on a coincidental radiological finding on a routine panoramic view or occlusal radiograph. The definite diagnosis should be based on clinical, radiological and above all histopathologic findings. The therapy of nasopalatine duct cysts consists of an enucleation of the cystic tissue, only in rare cases a marsupialization needs to be performed. This report describes the appearance and treatment of a rare case of bilateral nasopalatine duct cyst

Impact of Enhanced Staphylococcus DNA Extraction on Microbial Community Measures in Cystic Fibrosis Sputum

Staphylococcus aureus is a common constituent of the bacterial community inhabiting the airways of persons with cystic fibrosis (CF). Culture-independent studies have shown that this species is often present in relatively high abundance and would therefore be expected to exert a pronounced effect on measures of CF airway bacterial community structure. We investigated the impact of DNA extraction method on pyrosequencing-based measures of Staphylococcus abundance and bacterial community structure in 17 sputum samples from five CF patients. Staphylococcus was detected in fewer samples when DNA was extracted using a standard bacterial lysis method compared to when DNA was extracted using a lysis buffer amended with lysostaphin and lysozyme. The standard lysis method resulted in significantly lower measures of Staphylococcus relative abundance and higher levels of community diversity, richness, and evenness compared to the lysostaphin-lysozyme modified method. Measures of community dynamics in serial sputum samples from the same individual were nevertheless highly concordant between the two DNA extraction methods. These results illustrate the impact of DNA preparation method on measures of Staphylococcus abundance and bacterial community structures in studies of the airways microbiota in CF

Obesity is associated with insulin resistance and components of the metabolic syndrome in Lebanese adolescents

adolescents has been reported to range between 18–42%, depending on country of origin, thus suggesting an ethnicbased association between obesity and MS. Aim: This study aims to investigate the magnitude of the association between obesity, insulin resistance and components of MS among adolescents in Lebanon. Subjects and methods: The sample included 263 adolescents at 4 th and 5 th Tanner stages of puberty (104 obese; 78 overweight; 81 normal weight). Anthropometric, biochemical and blood pressure measurements were performed. Body fat was assessed using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Results: According to International Diabetes Federation criteria, MS was identified in 21.2 % of obese, 3.8 % of overweight and 1.2 % of normal weight subjects. The most common metabolic abnormalities among subjects having MS were elevated waist circumference (96.2%), low HDL (96.2%) and hypertriglyceridemia (73.1%). Insulin resistance was identified in all subjects having MS. Regression analyses showed that percentage body fat, waist circumference and BMI were similar in their ability to predict the MS in this age group. Conclusions: MSwas identified in asubstantial proportion of Lebanese obese adolescents, thus highlighting the importance of early screening for obesity-associated metabolic abnormalities and of developing successful multi-component interventions addressing adolescent obesity

FRA-1 protein overexpression is a feature of hyperplastic and neoplastic breast disorders

BACKGROUND: Fos-related antigen 1 (FRA-1) is an immediate early gene encoding a member of AP-1 family of transcription factors involved in cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, and other biological processes. fra-1 gene overexpression has an important role in the process of cellular transformation, and our previous studies suggest FRA-1 protein detection as a useful tool for the diagnosis of thyroid neoplasias. Here we investigate the expression of the FRA-1 protein in benign and malignant breast tissues by immunohistochemistry, Western blot, RT-PCR and qPCR analysis, to evaluate its possible help in the diagnosis and prognosis of breast neoplastic diseases. METHODS: We investigate the expression of the FRA-1 protein in 70 breast carcinomas and 30 benign breast diseases by immunohistochemistry, Western blot, RT-PCR and qPCR analysis. RESULTS: FRA-1 protein was present in all of the carcinoma samples with an intense staining in the nucleus. Positive staining was also found in most of fibroadenomas, but in this case the staining was present both in the nucleus and cytoplasm, and the number of positive cells was lower than in carcinomas. Similar results were obtained from the analysis of breast hyperplasias, with no differences in FRA-1 expression level between typical and atypical breast lesions; however the FRA-1 protein localization is mainly nuclear in the atypical hyperplasias. In situ breast carcinomas showed a pattern of FRA-1 protein expression very similar to that observed in atypical hyperplasias. Conversely, no FRA-1 protein was detectable in 6 normal breast tissue samples used as controls. RT-PCR and qPCR analysis confirmed these results. Similar results were obtained analysing FRA-1 expression in fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) samples. CONCLUSION: The data shown here suggest that FRA-1 expression, including its intracellular localization, may be considered a useful marker for hyperplastic and neoplastic proliferative breast disorders