Characterization of an Inherited Neurologic Syndrome in Toyger Cats with Forebrain Commissural Malformations, Ventriculomegaly and Interhemispheric Cysts.

BackgroundIn children, frequent congenital malformations with concomitant agenesis of the corpus callosum are diagnosed by neuroimaging in association with other cerebral malformations, including interhemispheric cysts and ventriculomegaly. Similar studies providing full characterization of brain defects by in vivo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and correlations with the pertinent anatomic pathologic examinations are absent in veterinary medicine.Hypothesis/objectivesCongenital brain defects underlie the neurologic signs observed in Toyger cats selectively bred for a short ear phenotype.AnimalsUsing proper pedigree analysis and genetic evaluations, 20 related Oriental-derived crossbred Toyger cats were evaluated. Seven clinically healthy (carrier) cats and 13 clinically affected cats that had neurologic signs, short ear phenotype and concomitant complex brain anomalies were studied.MethodsComplete physical and neurologic examinations and MRI were performed in all clinically healthy and affected cats. Postmortem and histopathologic examinations were performed in 8 affected cats and 5 healthy cats.ResultsNeurologic and MRI investigations confirmed 13 clinically affected cats with structural brain abnormalities. Ventriculomegaly with frequent concomitant supratentorial interhemispheric, communicating ventricular type-1b cysts and multiple midline and callosal malformations were detected in all cats displaying neurologic signs. Genetic analysis confirmed autosomal recessive mode of inheritance with no chromosomal abnormalities.Conclusions and clinical importanceNeuroanatomic dissections and histopathology were helpful for evaluation of abnormalities in midline brain structures, and for the full characterization of cysts. However, MRI was more sensitive for detection of small cysts. In this feline model, MRI diagnosis had extremely good correlation with pathologic abnormalities noted in the subset of animals that were examined by both modalities

About the screening of the charge of a proton migrating in a metal

The amount of screening of a proton in a metal, migrating under the influence of an applied electric field, is calculated using different theoretical formulations. First the lowest order screening expression derived by Sham (1975) is evaluated. In addition 'exact' expressions are evaluated which were derived according to different approaches. For a proton in a metal modeled as a jellium the screening appears to be 15 +/- 10 %, which is neither negligible not reconcilable with the controversial full-screening point of view of Bosvieux and Friedel (1962). In reconsidering the theory of electromigration, a new simplified linear-response expression for the driving force is shown to lead to essentially the same result as found by Sorbello (1985), who has used a rather complicated technique. The expressions allow for a reduction such that only the scattering phase shifts of the migrating impurity are required. Finally it is shown that the starting formula for the driving force of Bosvieux and Friedel leads exactly to the zero-temperature limit of well-established linear response descriptions, by which the sting of the controversy has been removed.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figure

Evaluating the administration costs of biologic drugs: development of a cost algorithm.

Biologic drugs, as with all other medical technologies, are subject to a number of regulatory, marketing, reimbursement (financing) and other demand-restricting hurdles applied by healthcare payers. One example is the routine use of cost-effectiveness analyses or health technology assessments to determine which medical technologies offer value-for-money. The manner in which these assessments are conducted suggests that, holding all else equal, the economic value of biologic drugs may be determined by how much is spent on administering these drugs or trade-offs between drug acquisition and administration costs. Yet, on the supply-side, it seems very little attention is given to how manufacturing and formulation choices affect healthcare delivery costs. This paper evaluates variations in the administration costs of biologic drugs, taking care to ensure consistent inclusion of all relevant cost resources. From this, it develops a regression-based algorithm with which manufacturers could possibly predict, during process development, how their manufacturing and formulation choices may impact on the healthcare delivery costs of their products

Intrapartum asphyxia and hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy in a public hospital: Incidence and predictors of poor outcome

Objective: To determine the incidence of asphyxia and hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE) and predictors of poor outcome in a hospital in a developing country.Methods: Neonates of birth weight ≥2 000 g who required bag-and-mask ventilation and were admitted with a primary diagnosis of asphyxia from January to December 2011 were included. Medical records were retrieved and maternal and infant data collected and analysed. Infants who had severe HIE and/or died were compared with those who survived to hospital discharge with no or mild to moderate HIE.Results: There were 21 086 liveborn infants with a birth weight of ≥2 000 g over the study period. The incidence of asphyxia ranged from 8.7 to 15.2/1 000 live births and that of HIE from 8.5 to 13.3/1 000, based on the definition of asphyxia used. In 60% of patients with HIE it was moderate to severe. The overall mortality rate was 7.8%. The mortality rate in infants with moderate and severe HIE was 7.1% and 62.5%, respectively. The odds of severe HIE and/or death were high if the Apgar score was <5 at 10 minutes (odds ratio (OR) 19.1; 95% confidence interval (CI) 5.7 - 66.9) and if there was no spontaneous respiration at 20 minutes (OR 27.2; 95% CI 6.9 - 117.4), a need for adrenaline (OR 81.2; 95% CI 13.2 - 647.7) and a pH of <7 (OR 5.33; 95% CI 1.31 - 25.16). Predictors of poor outcome were Apgar score at 10 minutes (p=0.004), need for adrenaline (p=0.034) and low serum bicarbonate (p=0.028).Conclusion: The incidence of asphyxia in term and near-term infants is higher than that reported in developed countries. Apgar score at 10 minutes and need for adrenaline remain important factors in predicting poor outcome in infants with asphyxia

Submission of art studio-based assignments: Students experience

Attitudes toward submission of assignment by students have been a major concern for educationists. On several occasions, authorities have complained about students’ lateness or persistent appeals for extension in submitting their assignment. In this study, the reasons why art students are reluctant to complete their studio assignments on time are critically examined. Both quantitative and qualitative data, derived from survey and interviews were used to examine students’ attitudes and investigate their experience. The study revealed that although procrastination is a challenge to students as suggested by empirical studies, students procrastinate because they struggle to conceptualize and ideate the concepts. The percentage of females who submit was greater than males although the outcome was not statistically significant (p=0.50). Age (p=0.044), area of specialization (p=0.001) and academic level (p=0.084) were found to be statistically significant in terms of submission ratings. Although factors such as too many assignments at a time, access to studio, waiting to use equipment and availability of space were found to be issues delaying assignment submissions, students inability to conceptualize, ideate and gather materials appear to be challenges confronting them. An effective approach to the challenges is the teaching and understanding of art conceptualization, ideation and provision of materials. The increase in student numbers must go with increase in infrastructure and equipment if the best is required from these students. Keywords: Studio, Art, Assignment, Late submissio

Quantum field theoretic approach to neutrino oscillations in matter

We consider neutrino oscillations in non-uniform matter in a quantum field theoretic (QFT) approach, in which neutrino production, propagation and detection are considered as a single process. We find the conditions under which the oscillation probability can be sensibly defined and demonstrate how the properly normalized oscillation probability can be obtained in the QFT framework. We derive the evolution equation for the oscillation amplitude and discuss the conditions under which it reduces to the standard Schr\"odinger-like evolution equation. It is shown that, contrary to the common usage, the Schr\"odinger-like evolution equation is not applicable in certain cases, such as oscillations of neutrinos produced in decays of free pions provided that sterile neutrinos with $\Delta m^2\gtrsim 1$ eV$^2$ exist.Comment: LaTeX, 24 pages + 16 pages of appendices, 1 figure. V2: typos correcte

Developing Business Architecture for SMEs: A Strategic Tool for Capability Orchestration and Managing Dynamisms

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly faced with competitive pressure due to swift and constant change to the dynamic and highly interconnected environment in which they operate. Competing in this dynamic ecosystem, SMEs need a strategic tool for managing co-evolution with the dynamic environment in order to create sustained value. Drawing from the specific SME characteristics operating in a collaborative network ecosystem of firms, this paper elicits the specific strategic management requirements that need to be satisfied by a Business Architecture. Extensive exploratory literature review and semi-structured interviews are used to explicate the underlying drivers of SME’s requirements for business architecture that need to be addressed by the requisite BA practice. The paper finds that, the BA practice must possess the capabilities to guide and assist the SMEs to adapt with the dynamic collaborative ecosystem of firms and sense, leverage and orchestrate the network of resources and ICT capabilities to create sustained value. This paper concludes with some guidelines for developing the business architecture-enabled journey toward creating sustained value within the said dynamic ecosystem

AN ETHNOBOTANICAL EXPLORATION OF MEDICINAL PLANTS IN MANAR BEAT, KARAMADAI RANGE, WESTERN GHATS, TAMIL NADU

Objectives: This investigation provides an ethnobotanical information that truly focused on the traditional medicinal plants used by Irula community inhaled in Manar beat to treat various human diseases. Ethnobotanical study about medicinal plants was carried out from January 2018 to December 2018 in Manar beat, Karamadai range, Western Ghats, Tamil Nadu. Methods: The traditional in-depth knowledge of medicinal plants was collected during group discussion, interviews, and guided field walks along with tribe. All the traditional medicinal plants collected during the field visit were identified with local floras and the identity was authenticated by Botanical Survey of India. Results: A total of 89 medicinally important endemic, threatened and endangered aromatic herbal plants distributed in 71 genera and 42 families were collected and identified. Among the surveyed plants, Fabaceae and Moraceae with eight species were the largest plant families, respectively. Leaves (35%) are most widely used plant part of reported plants and decoction forms are mostly used by Irulas. The surveyed plants were checked for conservation status in Red Data List formulated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature; around nine species were listed out. Conclusion: The documentation of the medicinal herbal plants will be a good reference to all the young researches to carry out various conservation works

A delay-dependent approach to H∞ filtering for stochastic delayed jumping systems with sensor non-linearities

This is the post print version of the article. The official published version can be obtained from the link below - Copyright 2007 Taylor & Francis Ltd.In this paper, a delay-dependent approach is developed to deal with the stochastic H∞ filtering problem for a class of It type stochastic time-delay jumping systems subject to both the sensor non-linearities and the exogenous non-linear disturbances. The time delays enter into the system states, the sensor non-linearities and the external non-linear disturbances. The purpose of the addressed filtering problem is to seek an H∞ filter such that, in the simultaneous presence of non-linear disturbances, sensor non-linearity as well as Markovian jumping parameters, the filtering error dynamics for the stochastic time-delay system is stochastically stable with a guaranteed disturbance rejection attenuation level γ. By using It's differential formula and the Lyapunov stability theory, we develop a linear matrix inequality approach to derive sufficient conditions under which the desired filters exist. These conditions are dependent on the length of the time delay. We then characterize the expression of the filter parameters, and use a simulation example to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed results.This work was supported in part by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) of the U.K. under Grant GR/S27658/01, the Nuffield Foundation of the U.K.under Grant NAL/00630/G, and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany