Obscure Gastrointestinal Bleed from a Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor in a Jejunal Diverticulum: A Rare Case Report

We present a case of small bowel diverticulum with gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST). This GIST in the diverticulum was confirmed by immunohistochemistry and was of low-grade malignant potential

BER evaluation of post-meter PLC services in CENELEC-C band

Low voltage, in-home power-line communications (PLC) networks allow direct communication between smart meters (SM) and in-home devices (IHD). In order to minimize security issues, in many deployment scenarios transmission takes place only towards the IHD to display consumption data, with no backwards channel. As a result, channel estimation is difficult and it is necessary to use robust transmission techniques to mitigate the effect of the impulsive noise within the PLC channel. Performance of such system must be evaluated by taking into account realistic interference and channel models for a broad range of configurations. In this work we focus on performance in terms of bit error rate (BER) of a narrowband PLC (NB-PLC) operating in the CENELEC-C band (125–140 kHz) taking into account realistic noise models. Our system is based on binary phase shift keying (BPSK) and quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) modulation

Are prenatal exercise volume and level different between c-section and natural birth groups?

Title: Are prenatal exercise volume and level different between c-section and natural birth groups? Authors: Brianna Lee1, DJ Phillips1, Ami Eho2, Juliana Meireles, Ph.D.2, Sadaf Dabeer, Ph.D.3, Janeen Amason, Ph.D.1, Katherine Ingram, Ph.D.2 Institution: 1Wellstar School of Nursing, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA, USA 2Department of Exercise Science and Sports Management, Kennesaw State University, 3 Department of Endocrinology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA Background: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the ideal rate for c-section births is between 10% and 15% of births. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports there is a current rate of 31% for C-section births in the United States. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) mentioned that based on observational studies, women who exercise during pregnancy have shown benefits such as decreased C-section births. Objective: The purpose of the study is to compare exercise volume and level between c-section and natural birth groups. Methods: Women who had given birth in the past two years were invited to participate in an online survey that asked for descriptive information (age and race) and mode of delivery. They provided information about the frequency of overall exercise and the frequency of engaging in high, moderate, and light intensity exercise. Exercise volume score was calculated using [(high intensity exercise frequency*3) + (moderate intensity exercise frequency*2) + (light intensity exercise frequency*1)]. Exercise level was calculated as Exercise volume score * Frequency of overall exercise. Comparisons were made using Mann Whitney U test. Results: Data from 232 women (33±4.61 years, 75% white) was used for analysis. Responses show that 163 women (70.3%) gave birth naturally while 69 women (29.7%) had c-section delivery. Natural delivery group (8.19±6.18) had a significantly higher exercise volume score (p=0.048) when compared to the c-section group (6.39±5.50). No statistical difference was found in exercise level (p=0.102) between mode of delivery groups (17.63±17.92 vs 12.72±14.41). Conclusion: Exercise level was similar between mode of delivery groups. However, women who gave birth naturally reported a higher volume of exercise than those who had a c-section. Health care providers should emphasize exercise intensity and frequency guidelines when discussing exercise with pregnant women

Dopamine modulates the neural representation of subjective value of food in hungry subjects.

Although there is a rich literature on the role of dopamine in value learning, much less is known about its role in using established value estimations to shape decision-making. Here we investigated the effect of dopaminergic modulation on value-based decision-making for food items in fasted healthy human participants. The Becker-deGroot-Marschak auction, which assesses subjective value, was examined in conjunction with pharmacological fMRI using a dopaminergic agonist and an antagonist. We found that dopamine enhanced the neural response to value in the inferior parietal gyrus/intraparietal sulcus, and that this effect predominated toward the end of the valuation process when an action was needed to record the value. Our results suggest that dopamine is involved in acting upon the decision, providing additional insight to the mechanisms underlying impaired decision-making in healthy individuals and clinical populations with reduced dopamine levels.This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the Society for Neuroscience in the Journal of Neuroscience at http://www.jneurosci.org/content/34/50/16856.abstract

Differentiating Axonal from Demyelinating Neuropathies using Multiparametric Quantitative MRI of Peripheral Nerves

Objectives: To develop a multiparametric quantitative MRI (qMRI) method to track pathological changes in the peripheral neuropathies. Background: Irrespective of the causes or types of polyneuropathies, peripheral nerves are mainly afflicted by two kinds of pathologies – axonal loss and demyelination. It is critical to differentiate between the two as treatments are different for the two conditions. While nerve conduction studies (NCS) have been used to differentiate the two pathologies in the distal nerves, there are no tools to probe the pathologies in the proximal peripheral nerves. This is particularly needed when distal nerves become non-responsive in NCS. Methods: We have developed a qMRI method that quantifies the sciatic and tibial nerves with 10 parameters that are sensitive to different aspects of myelin and axonal pathologies: magnetization transfer ratio (MTR), magnetization transfer saturation index (MTsat), longitudinal relaxation time (T1), proton density (PD), effective transverse relaxation time (T2*), fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD), radial diffusivity (RD), and nerve fascicular volume (fVol). In this pilot study, we studied 4 patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth type-1A (CMT1A), 2 patients with CMT type-2S (CMT2S), and 17 healthy controls. Results: Compared with the healthy controls, patients with CMT2S (axonal type) had a comparable MTR, MTsat, T1, PD and fVol, but a reduced T2*. While patients with CMT1A (demyelinating type) had a reduced MTR and MTsat, increased fVol, T1 and PD, and comparable T2*. All 6 patients with CMT shared a change in reduced FA, which was driven by a reduced AD and an increased RD. Conclusions: The data show different qMRI patterns between axonal and demyelinating neuropathies. The differential changes will be further verified in a larger cohort of patients with peripheral neuropathies

Impact of Globalization on HDI (Human Development Index): Case Study of Pakistan

The purpose of the study is to find out whether the foreign direct investment (FDI) and international trade extension is an effective tool of economic stability and development in the current international scenario in case of Pakistan or not, this our research question in this study. The data which have been selected in this research is from 1975 to 2008, which was the age of economic and financial liberalization under an open economy (globalization). The Statistics have been analyzed through Ordinary least squired (OLS) with HDI as dependent variable and ratio of FDI to GDP, real GDP growth rate along with export and import as independent variables. The coefficient of FDI is significant as anticipated, however the coefficient of real GDP- ratio is insignificant and has negative sign because of income inequality in the case of Pakistan

The correlation between radiative surface defect states and high color rendering index from ZnO nanotubes

Combined surface, structural and opto-electrical investigations are drawn from the chemically fashioned ZnO nanotubes and its heterostructure with p-GaN film. A strong correlation has been found between the formation of radiative surface defect states in the nanotubes and the pure cool white light possessing averaged eight color rendering index value of 96 with appropriate color temperature. Highly important deep-red color index value has been realized > 95 which has the capability to render and reproduce natural and vivid colors accurately. Diverse types of deep defect states and their relative contribution to the corresponding wavelengths in the broad emission band is suggested

The correlation between radiative surface defect states and high color rendering index from ZnO nanotubes

Combined surface, structural and opto-electrical investigations are drawn from the chemically fashioned ZnO nanotubes and its heterostructure with p-GaN film. A strong correlation has been found between the formation of radiative surface defect states in the nanotubes and the pure cool white light possessing averaged eight color rendering index value of 96 with appropriate color temperature. Highly important deep-red color index value has been realized > 95 which has the capability to render and reproduce natural and vivid colors accurately. Diverse types of deep defect states and their relative contribution to the corresponding wavelengths in the broad emission band is suggested

Obesity-associated melanocortin-4 receptor mutations are associated with changes in the brain response to food cues.

CONTEXT: Mutations in the melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) represent the commonest genetic form of obesity and are associated with hyperphagia. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate whether melanocortin signaling modulates anticipatory food reward by studying the brain activation response to food cues in individuals with MC4R mutations. Design/Setting/Participants/Main Outcome Measure: We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure blood oxygen level-dependent responses to images of highly palatable, appetizing foods, bland foods, and non-food objects in eight obese individuals with MC4R mutations, 10 equally obese controls, and eight lean controls with normal MC4R genotypes. Based on previous evidence, we performed a region-of-interest analysis centered on the caudate/putamen (dorsal striatum) and ventral striatum. RESULTS: Compared to non-foods, appetizing foods were associated with activation in the dorsal and ventral striatum in lean controls and in MC4R-deficient individuals. Surprisingly, we observed reduced activation of the dorsal and ventral striatum in obese controls relative to MC4R-deficient patients and lean controls. There were no group differences for the contrast of disgusting foods with bland foods or non-foods, suggesting that the effects observed in response to appetizing foods were not related to arousal. CONCLUSION: We identified differences in the striatal response to food cues between two groups of obese individuals, those with and those without MC4R mutations. These findings are consistent with a role for central melanocortinergic circuits in the neural response to visual food cues.This is the final published version. It first appeared at http://press.endocrine.org/doi/abs/10.1210/jc.2014-1651

A neonate with left pulmonary artery thrombosis and left lung hypoplasia: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Spontaneous intrauterine arterial thrombosis and congenital pulmonary hypoplasia are rare conditions and have not been reported to occur together. The literature rather includes two reports of babies with neonatal pulmonary artery occlusion and post-infarction cysts of the lungs.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We report a case of a live Caucasian male newborn with left lung hypoplasia that occurred in association with left pulmonary artery thrombosis. Despite a critical neonatal course, including extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, this infant is alive and well at 18 months of age without any neurodevelopmental sequelae or reactive airway disease.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This association suggests the possibility of an intrauterine vascular event between the fifth and eighth weeks of gestation during early pulmonary artery and lung development.</p