Investigating RFC1 expansions in sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

A homozygous AAGGG repeat expansion within the RFC1 gene was recently described as a common cause of CANVAS syndrome. We examined 1069 sporadic ALS patients for the presence of this repeat expansion. We did not discover any carriers of the homozygous AAGGG expansion in our ALS cohort, indicating that this form of RFC1 repeat expansions is not a common cause of sporadic ALS. However, our study did identify a novel repeat conformation and further expanded on the highly polymorphic nature of the RFC1 locus

A multimedia data visualization based on Ad Hoc communication networks and its application to disaster management

After massive earthquakes and other large-scale disasters, existing communication infrastructure may become unavailable and, therefore, it can be quite difficult for relief organizations to fully grasp the impact of the disaster on the affected region. Consequently, this will be the cause of delays to offer the strategic assistance, and to provide water and food, etc. In order to solve the problem of re-establishing communication infrastructure to allow for information gathering, we developed an ad hoc mobile communications network for disaster-struck areas using ZigBee. As the communication speed of ZigBee is low, we propose a problem-specific image compression method for the multimedia data visualization. By using the proposed method combined with GPS information, it is possible to quickly grasp the damage situation in the region. Through our communication experiments in Tsukuba City, Japan we confirm the effectiveness of our system as a disaster information gathering and management system

iPhone or Kindle: Competition of Electronic Books Sales

With the technical development of the reading equipment, e-books have witnessed a gradual and steady increase in sales in recent years. Last year, smart phones announced to be able to perform additional functions as e-book reading devices, making it possible for retailers selling e-books for smart phones (SPR) such as iPhone to differentiate with those selling e-books for specific reading equipment (SER) such as Amazon Kindle. We develop a game theory model to examine the competition between SER and SPR retailers. We derive the equilibrium price and analyze the factors that affect equilibrium outcomes under both scenarios of complete and incomplete information. Our results suggest that reduced cost due to inconvenience of reading e-books over iPhone lowers equilibrium prices, and reduced cost of specific reading equipment leads to more intense price competition. Under information asymmetry, we show that SER retailers will increase the price at equilibrium

Carotid intimal medial thickness in children with celiac disease

Introduction: Increasing cardiovascular risk in celiac disease (CD) may be attributed to the chronic systemic inflammation and unfavorable biochemical profile leading to accelerated atherosclerosis. Carotid intimal medial thickness (CIMT) has emerged as a direct marker of the early atherosclerosis as compared to traditional biochemical markers. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the CIMT in children with CD aged 1–16 years. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted at the department of Pediatrics and Radio Diagnosis in a tertiary care hospital of New Delhi. Thirty-six children with CD with age- and sex-matched controls were enrolled. CIMT for the anterior and posterior walls on each side was measured, and the mean CIMT was obtained for all the enrolled children. Results: The mean right-sided CIMT was significantly higher in cases (0.053±0.009 cm vs. 0.039±0.007 cm, p=0.000). The mean left-sided CIMT did not significantly differ between the groups (0.051±0.009 cm vs. 0.048±0.055 cm, p=0.702). The mean CIMT (right and left together), although higher in Celiacs, was not significantly different from controls (0.052±0.008 cm and 0.044±0.029 cm, p=0.114). However, a significant positive correlation between the age of the patients, age at the onset of symptoms, and CIMT was noted. Conclusion: Although we could not demonstrate statistically significant results, the mean CIMT and the right-sided measurements were significantly higher in cases than in controls

Risk of acquired drug resistance during short-course directly observed treatment of tuberculosis in an area with high levels of drug resistance.

BACKGROUND: Data on the performance of standardized short-course directly observed treatment (DOTS) of tuberculosis (TB) in areas with high levels of drug resistance and on the potential impact of DOTS on amplification of resistance are limited. Therefore, we analyzed treatment results from a cross-sectional sample of patients with TB enrolled in a DOTS program in an area with high levels of drug resistance in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan in Central Asia. METHODS: Sputum samples for testing for susceptibility to 5 first-line drugs and for molecular typing were obtained from patients starting treatment in 8 districts. Patients with sputum smear results positive for TB at the end of the intensive phase of treatment and/or at 2 months into the continuation phase were tested again. RESULTS. Among 382 patients with diagnoses of TB, 62 did not respond well to treatment and were found to be infected with an identical Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain when tested again; 19 of these patients had strains that developed new or additional drug resistance. Amplification occurred in only 1.2% of patients with initially susceptible or monoresistant TB strains, but it occurred in 17% of those with polyresistant strains (but not multidrug-resistant strains, defined as strains with resistance to at least isoniazid and rifampicin) and in 7% of those with multidrug-resistant strains at diagnosis. Overall, 3.5% of the patients not initially infected with multidrug-resistant TB strains developed such strains during treatment. Amplification of resistance, however, was found only in polyresistant Beijing genotype strains. CONCLUSIONS: High levels of amplification of drug resistance demonstrated under well-established DOTS program conditions reinforce the need for implementation of DOTS-Plus for multidrug-resistant TB in areas with high levels of drug resistance. The strong association of Beijing genotype and amplification in situations of preexisting resistance is striking and may underlie the strong association between this genotype and drug resistance

Reconfigurable metamaterial structure for 5G beam tilting antenna applications

In this paper, we propose a metamaterial (MTM) structure with a reconfigurable property designed to operate at the millimetre-wave (mm-wave) spectrum. Four switches are used to achieve the reconfigurable property of the MTM with two configurations. These two configurations exhibit different refractive indices, which used to guide the radiation beam of the antenna to the desired direction. The proposed planar dipole antenna operates at the 5th generation (5G) band of 28 GHz. The electromagnetic (EM) rays of the proposed antenna pass through different MTM configurations with different phases, subsequently results in the tilting of the radiation beam toward MTM configuration of high refractive index. Simulated and measured results of the proposed antenna loaded by MTM demonstrate that the radiation beam is tilted by angles of +34° and −31° in the E-plane depending on the arrangement of two MTM configurations onto the antenna substrate. Furthermore, the gain is improved by 1.7 and 1.5 dB for positive and negative tilting angles, respectively. The reflection coefficients of the antenna with MTM are kept below −10 dB at 28 GHz

Electron spin contrast of Purcell-enhanced nitrogen-vacancy ensembles in nanodiamonds

Nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond allow for coherent spin state manipulation at room temperature, which could bring dramatic advances to nanoscale sensing and quantum information technology. We introduce a novel method for the optical measurement of the spin contrast in dense nitrogen-vacancy (NV) ensembles. This method brings a new insight into the interplay between the spin contrast and fluorescence lifetime. We show that for improving the spin readout sensitivity in NV ensembles, one should aim at modifying the far field radiation pattern rather than enhancing the emission rate

The effectiveness and safety of antifibrinolytics in patients with acute intracranial haemorrhage: statistical analysis plan for an individual patient data meta-analysis

Introduction: The Antifibrinolytic Trialists Collaboration aims to increase knowledge about the effectiveness and safety of antifibrinolytic treatment by conducting individual patient data (IPD) meta-analyses of randomised trials. This article presents the statistical analysis plan for an IPD meta-analysis of the effects of antifibrinolytics for acute intracranial haemorrhage. Methods: The protocol for the IPD meta-analysis has been registered with PROSPERO (CRD42016052155). We will conduct an individual patient data meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials with 1000 patients or more assessing the effects of antifibrinolytics in acute intracranial haemorrhage. We will assess the effect on two co-primary outcomes: 1) death in hospital at end of trial follow-up, and 2) death in hospital or dependency at end of trial follow-up. The co-primary outcomes will be limited to patients treated within three hours of injury or stroke onset. We will report treatment effects using odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. We use logistic regression models to examine how the effect of antifibrinolytics vary by time to treatment, severity of intracranial bleeding, and age. We will also examine the effect of antifibrinolytics on secondary outcomes including death, dependency, vascular occlusive events, seizures, and neurological outcomes. Secondary outcomes will be assessed in all patients irrespective of time of treatment. All analyses will be conducted on an intention-to-treat basis. Conclusions: This IPD meta-analysis will examine important clinical questions about the effects of antifibrinolytic treatment in patients with intracranial haemorrhage that cannot be answered using aggregate data. With IPD we can examine how effects vary by time to treatment, bleeding severity, and age, to gain better understanding of the balance of benefit and harms on which to base recommendations for practice

Massive right-sided hemorrhagic pleural effusion due to pancreatitis; a case report

BACKGROUND: Hemorrhagic pleural effusion, especially in the right hemithorax rarely occurs as the sole presentation of pancreatitis. CASE PRESENTATION: This article reports massive right-sided hemorrhagic pleural effusion as the sole manifestation of pancreatitis in a 16-year-old Iranian boy. The patient referred to Nemazee Hospital, the main hospital of southern Iran, with right-sided shoulder and chest pain accompanied with dyspnea. His chest x-ray showed massive right-sided pleural effusion. The pleural fluid amylase was markedly elevated (8840 U/L), higher than that in the serum (3318 U/L). Abdominal CT scan showed a cystic structure measuring about 5·2 cm in the head of pancreas, highly suggestive of a pancreatic pseudocyst. Pleural effusion resolved after 3 weeks of chest tube insertion but not completely. After this period of conservative therapy another CT scan showed that pseudocyst was still in the head of pancreas. So, external drainage was done with mushroom insertion and the patient was discharged after 40 days of hospitalization. The cause of pancreatitis could not be identified. CONCLUSION: Pancreatitis should be taken into consideration when hemorrhagic pleural effusion, especially in the right hemithorax occurs

Dual-Band Metamaterial Microwave Absorber using Ring and Circular Patch with Slits

This paper proposes a dual-band metamaterial microwave absorber operating at 2.5 GHz and 5.8 GHz. The absorber consists of a ring and a circular patch with slits resonator structures printed on a FR4 dielectric substrate backed by a ground layer. The main advantage of the absorber lies in its design flexibility in which each absorption band is independent and can be individually tuned by changing the dimensions of each resonator structure. The absorber unit cell is simulated and parametrically optimized using Computer Simulation Technology (CST) software. The absorption mechanism is analyzed through surface current analysis.  The absorber prototype, with dimensions of 200 × 200 × 1.6 mm3 and consisting of an array of 7 × 7 unit cells, is fabricated and experimentally investigated using antennas in free-space measurement. The absorber exhibits over 97% absorption at both resonance frequencies. Furthermore, the absorber is demonstrated to be applicable in sensing applications for dielectric constant determination. With its design simplicity, wide-angle receptive, and polarization insensitive behavior, it is envisaged that the proposed absorber will find practical use in absorbing and sensing applications