Is hypertension associated with a greater increase in creatine kinase activity following cycling exercise? A case study

We describe discrepant behavior of serum creatine kinase (CK) activity during and after cycling in a hypertensive athlete when compared to the healthy athletes from the same team of endurance cyclists. Heart Rate (HR), Blood Pressure (BP), Perceived Exertion (PE) and serum CK activity were evaluated before, during and after 150 km indoor cycling. The results showed that there were no differences between the hypertensive athlete and the healthy athletes in time trial (186.3 min vs. 179.1 ± 14.9 min), HR (159.3 ± 11.4 bpm vs. 169.5 ± 7.8 bpm respectively) and PE (6.3 ± 1.5 vs. 6.3 ± 1.3). Systolic BP was higher in hypertensive athlete before, during and after the exercise. Serum CK activity was higher (+47%) at baseline and exhibited a higher increase (> +200%) after exercise. Our finding shed light on a hypothesis regarding the interindividual variability of serum CK activity and its possible interaction with hypertension

Bone disease in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis.

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Thalidomide for the Treatment of Metastatic Hepatic Epithelioid Hemangioendothelioma: A Case Report with a Long Term Follow-up

Hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (HEH) is an unusual, low-grade malignant vascular tumor of the liver. Here we describe a case of a 40-year-old woman who presented with abdominal pain in the upper right quadrant and giant hepatomegaly, in which imaging studies and a fine-needle liver biopsy confirmed the presence of a large EHE with an isolated lung metastasis. After balancing all possible therapeutic modalities the patient was treated conservatively with thalidomide (300 mg/day). The drug was well tolerated with minimal toxicity and thepatient continues on therapy 109 months after treatment was started with no disease progression. Current therapeutic options for HEH are discussed in light of the clinical case with particular emphasis on anti-angiogenic therapies

Local well-posedness for membranes in the light cone gauge

In this paper we consider the classical initial value problem for the bosonic membrane in light cone gauge. A Hamiltonian reduction gives a system with one constraint, the area preserving constraint. The Hamiltonian evolution equations corresponding to this system, however, fail to be hyperbolic. Making use of the area preserving constraint, an equivalent system of evolution equations is found, which is hyperbolic and has a well-posed initial value problem. We are thus able to solve the initial value problem for the Hamiltonian evolution equations by means of this equivalent system. We furthermore obtain a blowup criterion for the membrane evolution equations, and show, making use of the constraint, that one may achieve improved regularity estimates.Comment: 29 page

Optically Enabled ADCs and Application to Optical Communications

Electrical-optical signal processing has been shown to be a promising path to overcome the limitations of state-of-the-art all-electrical data converters. In addition to ultra-broadband signal processing, it allows leveraging ultra-low jitter mode-locked lasers and thus increasing the aperture jitter limited effective number of bits at high analog signal frequencies. In this paper, we review our recent progress towards optically enabled time- and frequency-interleaved analog-to-digital converters, as well as their monolithic integration in electronic-photonic integrated circuits. For signal frequencies up to 65 GHz, an optoelectronic track-and-hold amplifier based on the source-emitter-follower architecture is shown as a power efficient approach in optically enabled BiCMOS technology. At higher signal frequencies, integrated photonic filters enable signal slicing in the frequency domain and further scaling of the conversion bandwidth, with the reconstruction of a 140 GHz optical signal being shown. We further show how such optically enabled data converter architectures can be applied to a nonlinear Fourier transform based integrated transceiver in particular and discuss their applicability to broadband optical links in general

The genomes of two key bumblebee species with primitive eusocial organization

Background: The shift from solitary to social behavior is one of the major evolutionary transitions. Primitively eusocial bumblebees are uniquely placed to illuminate the evolution of highly eusocial insect societies. Bumblebees are also invaluable natural and agricultural pollinators, and there is widespread concern over recent population declines in some species. High-quality genomic data will inform key aspects of bumblebee biology, including susceptibility to implicated population viability threats. Results: We report the high quality draft genome sequences of Bombus terrestris and Bombus impatiens, two ecologically dominant bumblebees and widely utilized study species. Comparing these new genomes to those of the highly eusocial honeybee Apis mellifera and other Hymenoptera, we identify deeply conserved similarities, as well as novelties key to the biology of these organisms. Some honeybee genome features thought to underpin advanced eusociality are also present in bumblebees, indicating an earlier evolution in the bee lineage. Xenobiotic detoxification and immune genes are similarly depauperate in bumblebees and honeybees, and multiple categories of genes linked to social organization, including development and behavior, show high conservation. Key differences identified include a bias in bumblebee chemoreception towards gustation from olfaction, and striking differences in microRNAs, potentially responsible for gene regulation underlying social and other traits. Conclusions: These two bumblebee genomes provide a foundation for post-genomic research on these key pollinators and insect societies. Overall, gene repertoires suggest that the route to advanced eusociality in bees was mediated by many small changes in many genes and processes, and not by notable expansion or depauperation

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) Band-1 Receiver

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array(ALMA) Band 1 receiver covers the 35-50 GHz frequency band. Development of prototype receivers, including the key components and subsystems has been completed and two sets of prototype receivers were fully tested. We will provide an overview of the ALMA Band 1 science goals, and its requirements and design for use on the ALMA. The receiver development status will also be discussed and the infrastructure, integration, evaluation of fully-assembled band 1 receiver system will be covered. Finally, a discussion of the technical and management challenges encountered will be presented

Determinants of emergency response willingness in the local public health workforce by jurisdictional and scenario patterns: a cross-sectional survey

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The all-hazards willingness to respond (WTR) of local public health personnel is critical to emergency preparedness. This study applied a threat-and efficacy-centered framework to characterize these workers' scenario and jurisdictional response willingness patterns toward a range of naturally-occurring and terrorism-related emergency scenarios.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Eight geographically diverse local health department (LHD) clusters (four urban and four rural) across the U.S. were recruited and administered an online survey about response willingness and related attitudes/beliefs toward four different public health emergency scenarios between April 2009 and June 2010 (66% response rate). Responses were dichotomized and analyzed using generalized linear multilevel mixed model analyses that also account for within-cluster and within-LHD correlations.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Comparisons of rural to urban LHD workers showed statistically significant odds ratios (ORs) for WTR context across scenarios ranging from 1.5 to 2.4. When employees over 40 years old were compared to their younger counterparts, the ORs of WTR ranged from 1.27 to 1.58, and when females were compared to males, the ORs of WTR ranged from 0.57 to 0.61. Across the eight clusters, the percentage of workers indicating they would be unwilling to respond regardless of severity ranged from 14-28% for a weather event; 9-27% for pandemic influenza; 30-56% for a radiological 'dirty' bomb event; and 22-48% for an inhalational anthrax bioterrorism event. Efficacy was consistently identified as an important independent predictor of WTR.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Response willingness deficits in the local public health workforce pose a threat to all-hazards response capacity and health security. Local public health agencies and their stakeholders may incorporate key findings, including identified scenario-based willingness gaps and the importance of efficacy, as targets of preparedness curriculum development efforts and policies for enhancing response willingness. Reasons for an increased willingness in rural cohorts compared to urban cohorts should be further investigated in order to understand and develop methods for improving their overall response.</p

DESENVOLVIMENTO INICIAL E COMPONENTES DO RENDIMENTO EM RESPOSTA À ASSOCIAÇÃO ENTRE NÍVEL DE VIGOR E PROFUNDIDADE DE SEMEADURA NA CULTURA DO TRIGO

O objetivo do trabalho foi avaliar a influência do nível de vigor em associação à profundidade de semeadura nos componentes do rendimento e na expressão do vigor de sementes e de trigo. Foram utilizadas sementes de trigo, cultivar TBIO Sintonia e os tratamentos foram constituídos de três níveis de vigor (alto, médio e baixo) em associação a quatro profundidades de semeadura (2; 4; 6 e 8 cm). Foram realizadas as seguintes avaliações: emergência e índice de velocidade de emergência em campo, altura de planta, número de perfilhos por planta, comprimento da espiga principal, número de espigas por planta e sementes por espiga; assim como do número de espiguetas por espiga. A emergência de plântulas foi reduzida com o incremento da profundidade de semeadura, sendo que sementes de alto vigor demonstraram desempenho superior. O comprimento da espiga principal foi reduzido na maior profundidade de semeadura. O número de espigas por planta e de espiguetas por espiga, aumenta com o incremento da profundidade de semeadura. Os componentes de rendimento em plantas de trigo são afetados pelo nível de vigor e pela profundidade de semeadura.Palavras-chave: Triticum aestivum, crescimento inicial, sementes de alta qualidade