Weapon injuries in the crusader mass graves from a 13th century attack on the port city of Sidon (Lebanon).

Archaeological excavations close to St Louis' castle in Sidon, Lebanon have revealed two mass grave deposits containing partially articulated and disarticulated human skeletal remains. A minimum of 25 male individuals have been recovered, with no females or young children. Radiocarbon dating of the human remains, a crusader coin, and the design of Frankish belt buckles strongly indicate they belong to a single event in the mid-13th century CE. The skeletal remains demonstrate a high prevalence of unhealed sharp force, penetrating force and blunt force trauma consistent with medieval weaponry. Higher numbers of wounds on the back of individuals than the front suggests some were attacked from behind, possibly as they fled. The concentration of blade wounds to the back of the neck of others would be compatible with execution by decapitation following their capture. Taphonomic changes indicate the skeletal remains were left exposed for some weeks prior to being collected together and re-deposited in the defensive ditch by a fortified gateway within the town wall. Charring on some bones provides evidence of burning of the bodies. The findings imply the systematic clearance of partially decomposed corpses following an attack on the city, where adult and teenage males died as a result of weapon related trauma. The skeletons date from the second half of the Crusader period, when Christian-held Sidon came under direct assault from both the Mamluk Sultanate (1253 CE) and the Ilkhanate Mongols (1260 CE). It is likely that those in the mass graves died during one of these assaults

Structuration of natural muds in a rheological point of view.

This paper discusses the filling of estuary problem which can be defined as the accumulation of fine materials that causes the invasion of muds all over the estuary and that has a direct effect on the fauna and flora in the river, fishing, swimming and the beauty of the landscapes. All this consequences have social, environmental and economic impact. In the context of the study of this phenomena, analysis of the structuration mechanisms of sedimentary materials in estuaries is carried out in order to better understand the fillings estuarine areas and specially to consider sustainable solutions of “cleansing” of these areas. The Rance estuary is particularly targeted by the study. The aim is to provide answers on the rheological behavior of natural vessels by distinguishing the most significant scales to detect structural factors influencing the rheological parameters

Design of Sectoral Antennas Using a Metallic EBG Structure and Multiple Sources Feeding for Base Station Applications

This work aims to study and design base station antennas with metallic electromagnetic band gap (EBG) materials able to create a sectoral radiation pattern presenting at least a 60∘ beamwidth. The use of metallic structures offers a new approach to industrial partners seeking to reduce costs and facilitate design procedures. A new method allowing the improvement of both the directivity and the bandwidth by using a printed antenna array is studied

The first ongoing pregnancy following comprehensive aneuploidy assessment using a combined blastocenetesis, cell free DNA and trophectoderm biopsy strategy

Background: The exact origin of cell-free DNA found in spent culture media or blastocoel fluid is currently unknown but with the potential to become an improved source of DNA for chromosomal analysis than trophectoderm biopsy samples, it provides a superior representation of the fetal genetic status. However, the genetic material contained within the blastocoel cavity may be more reliable to assessment of embryo euploidy in a clinical context than trophectoderm of cell-free DNA. Case Presentation: This is the first UK case report where all three sources of DNA were analyzed in a clinical setting on 29 th January 2018 at the Centre for Reproductive and Genetic Health, London, leading to an ongoing clinical pregnancy. Conclusion: The experience from this case report suggests that removal of blasto-coel fluid, sampling of spent culture media and trophectoderm biopsy can be carried out in parallel. Gathering genetic information from two to three independent samples of embryo DNA may provide enhanced diagnostic accuracy and may clarify cytogenetic status of mosaic embryos

Tongue carcinoma in an adult Down's syndrome patient: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cancer of the oral cavity is rare and unusual in Down's syndrome patient. The over all risk is similar to that in adult population.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>This case report describes a 27 years old male with Down's syndrome, non-smoker, who developed a poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue. The patient underwent a hemiglossectomy without neck dissection followed by a postoperative locoregional radiation therapy to a total tumor-bed dose of 56 Gy and 45 Gy to the neck. Three months later, the patient presented with local tongue recurrence and was treated by Docetaxel and Carboplatin chemotherapy with no significant response. The patient died one month later, 9 months after his initial diagnosis.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>To our knowledge, this is the first case of tongue carcinoma arising in a patient with Down's syndrome. This unique case might not be sufficient to make a significant conclusion on the prognosis and survival of these patients but will increase the awareness about this possibility and will help in the appropriate management of Down's syndrome patients.</p

Manipulation of the follicular phase: Uterodomes and pregnancy - is there a correlation?

BACKGROUND: Manipulation of the follicular phase uterine epithelium in women undergoing infertility treatment, has not generally shown differing morphological effects on uterine epithelial characteristics using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and resultant pregnancy rates have remained suboptimal utilising these manipulations. The present study observed manipulation of the proliferative epithelium, with either 7 or 14 days of sequential oestrogen (E) therapy followed by progesterone (P) and assessed the appearance of pinopods (now called uterodomes) for their usefulness as potential implantation markers in seven women who subsequently became pregnant. Three endometrial biopsies per patient were taken during consecutive cycles: day 19 of a natural cycle - (group 1), days 11/12 of a second cycle after 7 days E then P - (group 2), and days 19/22 of a third cycle after 14 days E then P - (group 3). Embryo transfer (ET) was performed in a subsequent long treatment cycle (as per Group 3). RESULTS: Seven pregnancies resulted in seven viable births including one twins and one miscarriage. Analysis of the individual regimes showed 5 days of P treatment to have a higher correlation for uterodomes in all 3 cycles observed individually. It was also observed that all 7 women demonstrated the appearance of uterodomes in at least one of their cycles. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that manipulation of the follicular phase by shortening the period of E exposure to 7 days, does not compromise uterine epithelial morphology and we add weight to the conclusion that uterodomes indicate a receptive endometrium for implantation

Early Psychosis Intervention-Spreading Evidence-based Treatment (EPI-SET) : Protocol for an effectiveness-implementation study of a structured model of care for psychosis in youth and emerging adults

Introduction While early psychosis intervention (EPI) has proliferated in recent years amid evidence of its effectiveness, programmes often struggle to deliver consistent, recovery-based care. NAVIGATE is a manualised model of EPI with demonstrated effectiveness consisting of four components: individualised medication management, individual resiliency training, supported employment and education and family education. We aim to implement NAVIGATE in geographically diverse EPI programmes in Ontario, Canada, evaluating implementation and its effect on fidelity to the EPI model, as well as individual-level outcomes (patient/family member-reported and interviewer-rated), system-level outcomes (captured in provincial administrative databases) and engagement of participants with lived experience. Methods and analysis This is a multisite, non-randomised pragmatic hybrid effectiveness-implementation type III mixed methods study coordinated at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto. Implementation is supported by the Provincial System Support Program, a CAMH-based programme with provincial offices across Ontario, and Extension of Community Healthcare Outcomes Ontario Mental Health at CAMH and the University of Toronto. The primary outcome is fidelity to the EPI model as measured using the First Episode Psychosis Services-Fidelity Scale. Four hundred participants in the EPI programmes will be recruited and followed using both individual-level assessments and health administrative data for 2 years following NAVIGATE initiation. People with lived experience will be engaged in all aspects of the project, including through youth and family advisory committees. Ethics and dissemination Research ethics board approval has been obtained from CAMH and institutions overseeing the local EPI programmes. Study findings will be reported in scientific journal articles and shared with key stakeholders including youth, family members, programme staff and policymakers. Trial registration number NCT03919760; Pre-results

Impact of GnRH analogues on oocyte/embryo quality and embryo development in in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles: a case control study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Despite the clinical outcomes of ovarian stimulation with either GnRH-agonist or GnRH-antagonist analogues for in vitro fertilization (IVF) being well analysed, the effect of analogues on oocyte/embryo quality and embryo development is still not known in detail. The aim of this case-control study was to compare the efficacy of a multiple-dose GnRH antagonist protocol with that of the GnRH agonist long protocol with a view to oocyte and embryo quality, embryo development and IVF treatment outcome.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Between October 2001 and December 2008, 100 patients were stimulated with human menopausal gonadotrophin (HMG) and GnRH antagonist in their first treatment cycle for IVF or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). One hundred combined GnRH agonist + HMG (long protocol) cycles were matched to the GnRH antagonist + HMG cycles by age, BMI, baseline FSH levels and by cause of infertility. We determined the number and quality of retrieved oocytes, the rate of early-cleavage embryos, the morphology and development of embryos, as well as clinical pregnancy rates. Statistical analysis was performed using Wilcoxon's matched pairs rank sum test and McNemar's chi-square test. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The rate of cytoplasmic abnormalities in retrieved oocytes was significantly higher with the use of GnRH antagonist than in GnRH agonist cycles (62.1% vs. 49.9%; P < 0.01). We observed lower rate of zygotes showing normal pronuclear morphology (49.3% vs. 58.0%; P < 0.01), and higher cell-number of preembryos on day 2 after fertilization (4.28 vs. 4.03; P < 0.01) with the use of GnRH antagonist analogues. The rate of mature oocytes, rate of presence of multinucleated blastomers, amount of fragmentation in embryos and rate of early-cleaved embryos was similar in the two groups. Clinical pregnancy rate per embryo transfer was lower in the antagonist group than in the agonist group (30.8% vs. 40.4%) although this difference did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.17).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Antagonist seemed to influence favourably some parameters of early embryo development dynamics, while other morphological parameters seemed not to be altered according to GnRH analogue used for ovarian stimulation in IVF cycles.</p