Electrical studies and plasma characterization of an atmospheric pressure plasma jet operated at low frequency

Low-temperature, high-pressure plasma jets have an extensive use in medical and biological applications. Much work has been devoted to study these applications while comparatively fewer studies appear to be directed to the discharge itself. In this work, in order to better understand the kind of electrical discharge and the plasma states existing in those devices, a study of the electrical characteristics of a typical plasma jet, operated at atmospheric pressure, using either air or argon, is reported. It is found that the experimentally determined electrical characteristics are consistent with the model of a thermal arc discharge, with a highly collisional cathode sheet. The only exception is the case of argon at the smallest electrode separation studied, around 1 mm in which case the discharge is better modeled as either a non-thermal arc or a high-pressure glow. Also, variations of the electrical behavior at different gas flow rates are interpreted, consistently with the arc model, in terms of the development of fluid turbulence in the external jet.Fil: Giuliani, Leandro Estanislao. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Física del Plasma. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Física del Plasma; ArgentinaFil: Xaubet Brea, Magalí Noel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Física del Plasma. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Física del Plasma; ArgentinaFil: Grondona, Diana Elena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Física del Plasma. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Física del Plasma; ArgentinaFil: Minotti, Fernando Oscar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Física del Plasma. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Física del Plasma; ArgentinaFil: Kelly, Hector Juan. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Física del Plasma. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Física del Plasma; Argentin

Commentary: The History of Neurosurgery at Albany Medical College and Albany Medical Center Hospital, Albany, New York.

The origins of the Department of Neurosurgery at Albany Medical College closely parallel the development of early America and the establishment of modern health care.The tales of Washington Irving, the works of the Hudson River School of painters, and summers in the Catskill Mountains or Adirondacks are the stories that color the history of Upstate New York (Figure1). As a social, industrial, and political hub of the American colonies, New England’s need for centers providing structured medicine led to the creation of Albany Medical College in1839, one of the earliest such institutions in the young nation.1 Rapid progress in nearly every other realm of life required medical advancements as well, prompting subspecialization and the development of neurosurgery in the region

Antibiotic susceptibility of Neochlamydia hartmanellae and Parachlamydia acanthamoebae in amoebae.

Parachlamydia acanthamoebae and Neochlamydia hartmanellae are Chlamydia-related bacteria naturally infecting free-living amoebae. These strict intracellular bacteria might represent emerging pathogens. Recent studies report an association with lower respiratory tract infections, especially with pneumonia where they have been identified as a potential causative agent in 1-2% of cases. In this study, we defined the antibiotic susceptibility of N. hartmanellae, two strains of P. acanthamoebae and two yet unclassified Parachlamydiaceae strains using a quantitative approach. We confirmed the results obtained earlier for P. acanthamoebae strain Bn9 in an observational study. Macrolides (MICs < 0.06-0.5 μg/ml), rifampicin (MICs 0.25-2) and doxycycline (2-4 μg/ml) were active against P. acanthamoebae strains and Neochlamydia. All strains were resistant to amoxicillin, ceftriaxone and imipenem (MIC ≥32 μg/ml). Similarly to other Chlamydia-related bacteria, all investigated Parachlamydiaceae were resistant to quinolones (MICs ≥ 16 μg/ml). Therefore, we recommend a treatment with macrolides for Parachlamydia-associated pneumonia

A case of corticosteroid-dependent recurrent pericarditis with different response to two IL-1 blocking agents

Background: Recurrent pericarditis (RP) represents the most troublesome presentation of pericarditis and has a controversial pathogenesis that crosses infectious, auto-immune and auto-inflammatory pathways. It has been suggested that in some cases it might be an unrecognized auto-inflammatory disease. Recent studies have demonstrated that anakinra, an interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA), represents an effective treatment for the control of corticosteroid-dependent cases. Objectives: To describe a case of cortico-dependent recurrent pericarditis with a different response to two IL-1 blocking agents, anakinra and canakinumab. Methods: Case report Results: 11 years old boy who was admitted to our hospital because of acute precordial pain, orthopnea, fever and increased levels of acute phase reactants. Acute pericarditis was confirmed by echocardiography and a treatment with prednisone was started with prompt clinical improvement. Pericarditis recurred twice during steroid tapering (1mg/kg/day and 0.5mg/kg/day respectively). After exclusion of infectious origin, therapy with anakinra (2mg/kg/day) was established (to avoid long term steroid side effects) followed by dramatic clinical response and normalisation of laboratory findings despite tapering and discontinuation of prednisone. Treatment with anakinra was discontinued after 5 months with recurrence of pericarditis one week later. Anakinra was resumed with an excellent response. Five months later, while being in complete remission, anakinra was replaced with canakinumab (2mg/kg/dose) due to patient’s intolerance of daily injections. One week later, the patient experienced a new episode of pericarditis requiring corticotherapy. Two more relapses occured during steroid tapering, after 6 weeks and 2 months, in spite of the uptitration of canakinumab to 4mg/kg/dose. Anakinra was restarted with prompt clinical and biological remission and prednisone was discontinuated without recurrence of pericarditis. After further four weeks follow-up under anakinra alone, the pericarditis is still in remission. Conclusion: We describe a case of steroid-dependent RP with a dramatic therapeutic response to IL-1RA (anakinra) but without response to IL-1β monoclonal antibody (canakinumab). This unexpected observation could suggest that Il-1α might have a role in the pathogenesis of RP. The definitive potential usefulness of each IL-1 blocking agent requires confirmation in prospective controlled trials

Prevalence of overweight and obesity in adults from North Africa.

The share of North African immigrants in Europe is growing continuously. In this review, we aimed to systematically analyse and describe the literature on weight status and physical activity in North African adults, both in their home country and after immigration to Europe. Existing data on North African residents and on North African immigrants in Europe were analysed by a systematic search on PUBMED. There is a wide variation among countries in the prevalence of overweight/obesity, with immigrants showing higher values. The overall results revealed a higher prevalence of overweight and obesity in females than in males in North African residents. Females also show higher levels of obesity among immigrants. In particular, literature reports indicate that 1.3-47.8% of North African residents and 3.6-49.4% of North African immigrants in adult age are overweight or obese. Physical inactivity is higher than 20% in males and 40% in females in North African residents. The highest frequency of physically inactive or lightly active people among immigrants was observed in first-generation Sudanese and Moroccans in Amsterdam (males: 57.1%; females: 74.2%), with increasing rates in second-generation females. The results underline a higher health risk in North African immigrants than in residents. Specific public health strategies should be adopted in various populations of North African origin to control the obesity epidemic

Spatially Explicit Data: Stewardship and Ethical Challenges in Science

Scholarly communication is at an unprecedented turning point created in part by the increasing saliency of data stewardship and data sharing. Formal data management plans represent a new emphasis in research, enabling access to data at higher volumes and more quickly, and the potential for replication and augmentation of existing research. Data sharing has recently transformed the practice, scope, content, and applicability of research in several disciplines, in particular in relation to spatially specific data. This lends exciting potentiality, but the most effective ways in which to implement such changes, particularly for disciplines involving human subjects and other sensitive information, demand consideration. Data management plans, stewardship, and sharing, impart distinctive technical, sociological, and ethical challenges that remain to be adequately identified and remedied. Here, we consider these and propose potential solutions for their amelioration

Overexpression and knock-down studies highlight that a disintegrin and metalloproteinase 28 controls proliferation and migration in human prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers inmen. It is critical to identify and characterize oncogenes that drive the pathogenesis of human prostate cancer. The current study builds upon previous research showing that a disintegrin and metalloproteinase (ADAM)28 is involved in the pathogenesis of numerous cancers. Our novel study used overexpression, pharmacological, and molecular approaches to investigate the biological function of ADAM28 in human prostate cancer cells,with a focus on cell proliferation andmigration. The results of this study provide important insights into the role of metalloproteinases in human prostate cancer. The expression of ADAM28 protein levels was assessed within human prostate tumors and normal adjacent tissue by immunohistochemistry. Immunocytochemistry and western blotting were used to assess ADAM28 protein expression in human prostate cancer cell lines. Functional assays were conducted to assess proliferation and migration in human prostate cancer cells in which ADAM28 protein expression or activity had been altered by overexpression, pharmacological inhibition, or by siRNA gene knockdown. The membrane bound ADAM28 was increased in human tumor biopsies and prostate cancer cell lines. Pharmacological inhibition of ADAM28 activity and/or knockdown of ADAM28 significantly reduced proliferation and migration of human prostate cancer cells, while overexpression of ADAM28 significantly increased proliferation and migration. ADAM28 is overexpressed in primary human prostate tumor biopsies, and it promotes human prostate cancer cell proliferation and migration. This study supports the notion that inhibition of ADAM28 may be a potential novel therapeutic strategy for human prostate cancer. Abbreviations: ADAM = a disintegrin and metalloproteinase, CTGF = connective tissue growth factor, DHT = dihydrotestosterone, IGF = insulin-like growth factor, IGFBP-3 = IGF binding protein-3, IL-6 = interleukin 6, RPMI = Roswell Park Memorial Institute, VEGF = vascular endothelial growth factor, VWF = von Willebrand factor

Facial Recognition and Face Mask Detection Using Machine Learning Techniques

Facial recognition, as a biometric system, is a crucial tool for the identification procedures. When using facial recognition, an individual\u27s identity is identified using their unique facial features. Biometric authentication system helps in identifying individuals using their physiological and behavioral features. Physiological biometrics utilize human features such as faces, irises, and fingerprints. In contrast, behavioral biometric rely on features that humans do, such as voice and handwritings. Facial recognition has been widely used for security and other law enforcement purposes. However, since COVID-19 pandemic, many people around the world had to wear face masks. This thesis introduces a neural network system, which can be trained to identify people’s facial features while half of their faces are covered by face masks. The Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model using transfer learning technique has achieved remarkable accuracy even the original dataset is very limited. One large Face mask detection dataset was first used to train the model, while the original much smaller Face mask detector dataset was used to adapt and finetune this model that was previously generated. During the training and testing phases, network structures, and various parameters were adjusted to achieve the best accuracy results for the actual small dataset. Our adapted model was able to achieve a 97.1% accuracy

Peer Assisted Learning Strategies for Reading Skills Improvement by Children with Social, Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

Elementary grade students with reading difficulties do not always receive effective intervention; this can prevent them from becoming fluent readers. Students with social, emotional and behavioral disorders (SEBD) often lack appropriate social skills, which can augment challenges associated with learning to read. Response to Intervention (RTI), using a multi-tiered system of support, adapts to a student’s learning and/or behavioral difficulties by applying evidence-based interventions to address individual student needs. This study evaluated the effects of combining a Tier 1 core reading instruction program with a Tier 2 intervention, Peer Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS) for reading for students with SEBD. It was hypothesized that PALS would improve students’ overall reading skills. Using a multiple baseline across dyads design, six students with both reading difficulties and SEBD participated in daily PALS peer tutoring sessions. Students’ oral reading fluency was measured semiweekly using curriculum-based measures. The percentages of active listening and prompting, as broadly defined by the PALS intervention manual, also were calculated. Although the results indicate the intervention did not work as hypothesized, the findings highlight factors that should be considered when developing reading instruction programs for students with SEBD. Implications for school practice are discussed