Minority Economic Development: The Problem of Business Failures

Inflammatory pseudotumour is a rare condition that can affect various organs. The clinical and histologic appearance of the pseudotumour may mimic haematological, lymphoproliferative, paraneoplastic or malignant processes. A previously healthy 39-year-old man presented with nephrotic syndrome. He had a history of headaches, nausea and swollen ankles. Computed tomography of the abdomen revealed a 6-cm mass in the spleen. Following a renal biopsy, a diagnosis of membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN) type I was made. Splenectomy was performed and the examination revealed a mixed population of lymphocytes with predominantly T-cells, B-cells and lymphoplasmacytoid cells. Immunostaining confirmed that the small cells were mostly T-cells positive for all T-cell markers including CD2, CD3, CD4, CD5, CD7 and CD8. A diagnosis of inflammatory pseudotumour was established. The removal of the spleen was followed by remission of glomerulonephritis, but it was complicated by a subphrenic abscess and pneumonia. This association between an inflammatory pseudotumour of the spleen and MPGN has not been previously described. Abnormal immune response due to the inflammation leading to secondary glomerulonephritis might be the main pathogenic mechanism

Double Secret Protection: Bridging Federal and State Law To Protect Privacy Rights for Telemental and Mobile Health Users

Mental health care in the United States is plagued by stigma, cost, and access issues that prevent many people from seeking and continuing treatment for mental health conditions. Emergent technology, however, may offer a solution. Through telemental health, patients can connect with providers remotely—avoiding stigmatizing situations that can arise from traditional healthcare delivery, receiving more affordable care, and reaching providers across geographic boundaries. And with mobile health technology, people can use smart phone applications both to self-monitor their mental health and to communicate with their doctors. But people do not want to take advantage of telemental and mobile health unless their privacy is protected. After evaluating the applicability of current health information privacy law to these new forms of treatment, this Note proposes changes to the federal regime to protect privacy rights for telemental and mobile health users

Growth and metabolic characteristics of fastidious meat-derived Lactobacillus algidus strains

Lactobacillus algidus is a meat spoilage bacterium often dominating the bacterial communities on chilled, packaged meat. Yet, L. algidus strains are rarely recovered from meat, and only few studies have focused on this species. The main reason limiting detailed studies on L. algidus is related to its poor growth on the media routinely used for culturing food spoilage bacteria. Thus, our study sought to develop reliable culture media for L. algidus to enable its recovery from meat, and to allow subculturing and phenotypic analyses of the strains. We assessed the growth of meat-derived L. algidus strains on common culture media and their modifications, and explored the suitability of potential media for the recovery of L. algidus from meat. Moreover, we determined whether 12 meat-derived L. algidus strains selected from our culture collection produce biogenic amines that may compromise safety or quality of meat, and finally, sequenced de novo and annotated the genomes of two meat-derived L. algidus strains to uncover genes and metabolic pathways relevant for phenotypic traits observed. MRS agar supplemented with complex substances (peptone, meat and yeast extract, liver digest) supported the growth of L. algidus, and allowed the recovery of new L. algidus isolates from meat. However, most strains grew poorly on standard MRS agar and on general-purpose media. In MRS broth, most strains grew well but a subset of strains required supplementation of MRS broth with additional cysteine. Supplementation of MRS broth with catalase allowed growth in aerated cultures suggesting that the strains produced hydrogen peroxide when grown aerobically. The strains tested (n = 12) produced ornithine from arginine and putrescine from agmatine, and two strains produced tyramine from tyrosine. Our findings reveal that L. algidus populations are underestimated if routine culture protocols are applied, and prompt concerns that L. algidus may generate tyramine or putrescine in meat or fermented meat products.Peer reviewe

Pangenome and genomic taxonomy analyses of Leuconostoc gelidum and Leuconostoc gasicomitatum

Peer reviewe

The Road I Can\u27t Help Travelling : Holmes on Truth and Persuadability

Nano-structural evolution of layer morphology and interfacial roughness in Cr/Sc metal multilayers grown with ion assistance during magnetron sputter deposition has been investigated by high resolution transmission electron microscopy and hard X-ray reflectivity. Calculations based on a binary collision model predict an ion-assisted growth window for optimized Cr/Sc multilayer interface sharpness, within the ion energy range of 21 eV to 37 eV and an ion flux of 10 ions per deposited atom. Multilayers with nominal modulation periods in the range of 1.6 nm to 10.2 nm, grown with these conditions, exhibit a well-defined layer structure with an improved flattening and abruptness of the interfaces. It is shown that multilayers with a modulation period smaller than 3.4 nm have clear benefit from the reduced intermixing obtained by utilizing a two-stage ion energy modulation for each individual layer. The amorphization of Sc and Cr layers, below certain thicknesses, is found to be independent of the low energy ion-assistance. It is also shown that the Cr/Sc multilayers, containing periods less than 2 nm are ‘self healing’ i.e. they re-gain abrupt interfaces and flat layers after morphological disturbances during ion assisted growth. In comparison, multilayers grown without ion-assistance exhibited severe roughness and layer distortions.Original publication: N. Ghafoor, F. Eriksson, P.O.Å. Persson, L. Hultman and J. Birch, Effects of ion-assisted growth on the layer definition in Cr/Sc multilayers, 2008, Thin Solid Films, (516), 6, 982-990. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tsf.2007.06.108. Copyright: Elsevier B.V., http://www.elsevier.com

The electronic-structure origin of the anisotropic thermopower of nanolaminated Ti3SiC2 determined by polarized x-ray spectroscopy and Seebeck measurements

Nanolaminated materials exhibit characteristic magnetic, mechanical, and thermoelectric properties, with large contemporary scientific and technological interest. Here, we report on the anisotropic Seebeck coefficient in nanolaminated Ti3SiC2 single-crystal thin films and trace the origin to anisotropies in element-specific electronic states. In bulk polycrystalline form, Ti3SiC2 has a virtually zero Seebeck coefficient over a wide temperature range. In contrast, we find that the in-plane (basal ab) Seebeck coefficient of Ti3SiC2, measured on single-crystal films has a substantial and positive value of 4-6 muV/K. Employing a combination of polarized angle-dependent x-ray spectroscopy and density functional theory we directly show electronic structure anisotropy in inherently nanolaminated Ti3SiC2 single-crystal thin films as a model system. The density of Ti 3d and C 2p states at the Fermi level in the basal ab-plane is about 40 % higher than along the c-axis. The Seebeck coefficient is related to electron and hole-like bands close to the Fermi level but in contrast to ground state density functional theory modeling, the electronic structure is also influenced by phonons that need to be taken into account. Positive contribution to the Seebeck coefficient of the element-specific electronic occupations in the basal plane is compensated by 73 % enhanced Si 3d electronic states across the laminate plane that give rise to a negative Seebeck coefficient in that direction. Strong phonon vibration modes with three to four times higher frequency along the c-axis than along the basal ab-plane also influence the electronic population and the measured spectra by the asymmetric average displacements of the Si atoms. These results constitute experimental evidence explaining why the average Seebeck coefficient of Ti3SiC2 in polycrystals is negligible over a wide temperature range.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures; http://prb.aps.org/abstract/PRB/v85/i19/e19513

Element Replacement Approach by Reaction with Lewis Acidic Molten Salts to Synthesize Nanolaminated MAX Phases and MXenes

Nanolaminated materials are important because of their exceptional properties and wide range of applications. Here, we demonstrate a general approach to synthesize a series of Zn-based MAX phases and Cl-terminated MXenes originating from the replacement reaction between the MAX phase and the late transition metal halides. The approach is a top-down route that enables the late transitional element atom (Zn in the present case) to occupy the A site in the pre-existing MAX phase structure. Using this replacement reaction between Zn element from molten ZnCl2 and Al element in MAX phase precursors (Ti3AlC2, Ti2AlC, Ti2AlN, and V2AlC), novel MAX phases Ti3ZnC2, Ti2ZnC, Ti2ZnN, and V2ZnC were synthesized. When employing excess ZnCl2, Cl terminated MXenes (such as Ti3C2Cl2 and Ti2CCl2) were derived by a subsequent exfoliation of Ti3ZnC2 and Ti2ZnC due to the strong Lewis acidity of molten ZnCl2. These results indicate that A-site element replacement in traditional MAX phases by late transition metal halides opens the door to explore MAX phases that are not thermodynamically stable at high temperature and would be difficult to synthesize through the commonly employed powder metallurgy approach. In addition, this is the first time that exclusively Cl-terminated MXenes were obtained, and the etching effect of Lewis acid in molten salts provides a green and viable route to prepare MXenes through an HF-free chemical approach.Comment: Title changed; experimental section and discussion revise

Microbiomes in the Context of Refrigerated Raw Meat Spoilage

Peer reviewe

Інтеграція знань з астрономії та фізики щодо уявлень про приливи та відливи

(uk) В статті розкриті окремі гравітаційні, енергетичні та екологічні особливості припливів та відливів, які у підручниках для середніх загальноосвітніх навчальних закладів та вищої школи мало висвітлені. Автором якісну картину припливів та відпливів доповнено кількісною.(en) The article revealed specific gravity, energy and environmental features tides and low tides that textbooks for secondary schools and higher education was highlighted. The author of picture quality tides supplemented with quantitative