Reaction of Boron Chloride with Methoxyamine Hydrochloride

Boron chloride and methoxyamine hydrochloride were reacted in refluxing chlorobenzene. The reaction product was then identified as possibly being N-trimethoxy-B-trichloroborazine. The identification was made by comparing the Infra-re spectrum of the reaction product with the spectra of N-trimethyl-B-trichloroborzaine, methoxyamine hydrocholoride and, the addition compond MeNH2-BC13

Exact entanglement renormalization for string-net models

We construct an explicit renormalization-group transformation for Levin and Wen’s string-net models on a hexagonal lattice. The transformation leaves invariant the ground-state “fixed-point” wave function of the string-net condensed phase. Our construction also produces an exact representation of the wave function in terms of the multiscale entanglement renormalization ansatz (MERA). This sets the stage for efficient numerical simulations of string-net models using MERA algorithms. It also provides an explicit quantum circuit to prepare the string-net ground-state wave function using a quantum computer

Racheting assessment of a fixed tube sheet heat exchanger subject to in-phase pressure and temperature cycles

An investigation of the cyclic elastic-plastic response of an Olefin plant heat exchanger subject to cyclic thermal and pressure loading is presented. Design by Analysis procedures for assessment of shakedown and ratcheting are considered, based on elastic and inelastic analysis methods. The heat exchanger tube sheet thickness is non-standard as it is considerably less than that required by conventional design by formula rules. Ratcheting assessment performed using elastic and stress linearization indicates that shakedown occurs under the specified loading when the non-linear component of the through thickness stress is categorized as peak stress. In practice, the presence of the peak stress will cause local reverse plasticity or plastic shakedown in the component. In non-linear analysis with an elastic-perfectly plastic material model the vessel exhibits incremental plastic strain accumulation for 10 full load cycles, with no indication that the configuration will adapt to steady state elastic or plastic action; i.e. elastic shakedown or plastic shakedown. However, the strain increments are small and would not lead to the development of a global plastic collapse or gross plastic deformation during the specified life of the vessel. Cyclic analysis based on a strain hardening material model indicates that the vessel will adapt to plastic shakedown after 6 load cycles. This indicates that the stress categorization and linearization assumptions made in the elastic analysis are valid for this configuration

Origin of the quasi-quantized Hall effect in ZrTe5

The quantum Hall effect (QHE) is traditionally considered a purely two-dimensional (2D) phenomenon. Recently, a three-dimensional (3D) version of the QHE has been reported in the Dirac semimetal ZrTe5. It was proposed to arise from a magnetic-field-driven Fermi surface instability, transforming the original 3D electron system into a stack of 2D sheets. Here, we report thermodynamic, thermoelectric and charge transport measurements on ZrTe5 in the quantum Hall regime. The measured thermodynamic properties: magnetization and ultrasound propagation, show no signatures of a Fermi surface instability, consistent with in-field single crystal X-ray diffraction. Instead, a direct comparison of the experimental data with linear response calculations based on an effective 3D Dirac Hamiltonian suggests that the quasi-quantization of the observed Hall response is an intrinsic property of the 3D electronic structure. Our findings render the Hall effect in ZrTe5 a truly 3D counterpart of the QHE in 2D systems

Objective measurement of gait parameters in healthy and cognitively impaired elderly using the dual-task paradigm

International audienceObjectives The present study explores the differences in gait parameters in elderly subjects with or without cognitive impairment measured by means of ambulatory actigraphy while performing a single and a dual task.Methods Sixty-nine participants of which 23 individuals were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), 24 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 22 healthy controls performed a single and dual walking task while wearing a wrist-worn accelerometer. Objective measures of gait features such as walking speed, cadence (i.e., number of steps per minute), and step variance (i.e., variance in time between two consecutive steps) were derived andanalyzed.Results While differences in several gait parameters, namely walking speed, were found between MCI and ADpatients, no differences between healthy elderly and MCI patients were found.Conclusion Walking speed seems to be a gait-related feature that differs significantly between MCI and AD patients and thus could be used as an additional measurement in clinical assessment. However, differences in gait may not be salient enough in the early stages of dementia to be detected by actigraphy. More research comparing different methods to measure gait in early stages of dementia under different dual task conditions is necessary

Automatic prediction of autonomy in activities of daily living of older adults

Short-paper15.s.875.00 Purpose: world population is aging and the number of seniors in need of care is expected to surpass the number of young people capable of providing it. It is then quintessential to develop instruments to support doctors at the task of diagnosing and monitoring the health status of seniors 1-3. Methods to assess autonomy and functional abilities of seniors currently rely on rating scales 4. The subjective character of these scales and their dependence on human observations tend to jeopardize the timely diagnosis of deteriorations in cognitive health. We propose a probabilistic model (PM) to objectively classify a person's performance in executive functions into three classes of cognitive status: Alzheimer's disease (AD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and healthy control (HC); and into different levels of autonomy: good, intermediate or poor. Material & Methods: the proposed PM relies on Naïve Bayes model for classification and takes as input automatically extracted parameters about a person's performance at activities of daily living (event monitoring system, EMS, Fig. 1). To evaluate our approach participants aged 65 or older were recruited within the Dem@care project protocol, at the Memory Center of the Nice university hospital: n=49; 12 AD (5 male), 23 MCI (13) and 14 HC (5). They were asked to carry out a set of instrumental activities of daily living (IADL, e.g., medication preparation; talking on the telephone) in an observation room equipped with everyday objects. Results & Discussion: EMS recognized targeted IADLs with a high precision (e.g., 'prepare medication': 93%, 'talk on the telephone': 89%). The proposed PM achieved average classification accuracy of 73.5 % for cognitive status classes and of 83.7% for autonomy classes. Moreover, the proposed PM displayed a higher accuracy when inputted with EMS data than with human annotations of daily activities. This finding is explained by the stability of EMS recognition which permits to relate subtle deviations from activity norms to characteristic traits of target classes. Conclusion: The proposed framework provides clinicians with diagnostic relevant information to support autonomy assessment in ecological scenarios by decreasing observer biases and facilitating a more timely diagnosis of frailty patterns in senior. Further work will extend the proposed framework to other clinical sites and seek for novel cues about autonomy decline in seniors

Qualidade da carne e desempenho de frangos de corte alimentados com dietas contendo selênio levedura e selenito de sódio

The objective of this work was to evaluate performance parameters, carcass and cut yields, meat quality, plasma glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity, and selenium tissue deposition for broilers fed with Se from organic (Se-yeast) and inorganic (sodium selenite) sources. A total of 1,200 Cobb 500 chicks, males with one day of age, were randomly distributed into four treatments with ten replicates. The treatments consisted of two Se-yeast levels (3,000 and 2,000 ppm), sodium selenite (45.7%), and the combination between sodium selenite and 3,000 ppm Se-yeast. All diets, based on corn and soybean meal, were supplemented with 0.3 ppm Se. Among treatments, there were no differences for performance, carcass and cut yields, and meat quality. Diets containing only Se-yeast provided meat with lower values of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances. A higher GSH-Px activity was observed with 3,000 ppm Se-yeast and a greater deposition of Se in the muscle tissue with Se-yeast. The sources of Se do not affect performance parameters and carcass yield; however, the organic source 3,000 ppm Se-yeast results in a greater deposition of the mineral in the muscle and in a greater oxidative stability in the meat.O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar parâmetros de desempenho, rendimento de carcaça e cortes, qualidade de carne, atividade plasmática de glutationa peroxidase (GSH-Px) e deposição tecidual de selênio em frangos de corte alimentados com Se de fontes orgânica (Se-levedura) e inorgânica (selenito de sódio). Um total de 1.200 pintos Cobb 500, machos com um dia de idade, foram distribuídos inteiramente ao acaso em quatro tratamentos, com dez repetições. Os tratamentos consistiram de dois níveis de Se-levedura (3.000 e 2.000 ppm), de selenito de sódio (45,7%), e da combinação entre selenito de sódio e 3.000 ppm de Se-levedura. Todas as dietas, à base de milho e farelo de soja, foram suplementadas com 0,3 ppm de Se. Entre os tratamentos, não houve diferenças quanto a desempenho, rendimento de carcaça e de cortes, e qualidade de carne. Dietas apenas com Se-levedura proporcionaram carnes com menores valores de substâncias reativas ao ácido tiobarbitúrico. Observaram-se maior atividade de GSH-Px com 3.000 ppm Se-levedura e maior deposição muscular de Se com Se-levedura. As fontes de Se não afetam os parâmetros de desempenho e o rendimento de carcaça; no entanto, a fonte orgânica 3.000 ppm de Se-levedura resulta em maior deposição do mineral no músculo e maior estabilidade oxidativa da carne

Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans-induced hypercitrullination links periodontal infection to autoimmunity in rheumatoid arthritis

A bacterial etiology of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been suspected since the beginnings of modern germ theory. Recent studies implicate mucosal surfaces as sites of disease initiation. The common occurrence of periodontal dysbiosis in RA suggests that oral pathogens may trigger the production of disease-specific autoantibodies and arthritis in susceptible individuals. We used mass spectrometry to define the microbial composition and antigenic repertoire of gingival crevicular fluid in patients with periodontal disease and healthy controls. Periodontitis was characterized by the presence of citrullinated autoantigens that are primary immune targets in RA. The citrullinome in periodontitis mirrored patterns of hypercitrullination observed in the rheumatoid joint, implicating this mucosal site in RA pathogenesis. Proteomic signatures of several microbial species were detected in hypercitrullinated periodontitis samples. Among these, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (Aa), but not other candidate pathogens, induced hypercitrullination in host neutrophils. We identified the pore-forming toxin leukotoxin-A (LtxA) as the molecular mechanism by which Aa triggers dysregulated activation of citrullinating enzymes in neutrophils, mimicking membranolytic pathways that sustain autoantigen citrullination in the RA joint. Moreover, LtxA induced changes in neutrophil morphology mimicking extracellular trap formation, thereby releasing the hypercitrullinated cargo. Exposure to leukotoxic Aa strains was confirmed in patients with RA and was associated with both anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPAs) and rheumatoid factor (RF). The effect of HLA-DRB1 shared epitope alleles on autoantibody positivity was limited to RA patients that were exposed to Aa. These studies identify the periodontal pathogen Aa as a candidate bacterial trigger of autoimmunity in RA

A randomized assessment of adding the kinase inhibitor lestaurtinib to first-line chemotherapy for FLT3-mutated AML

The clinical benefit of adding FMS-like tyrosine kinase-3 (FLT3)-directed small molecule therapy to standard first-line treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has not yet been established. As part of the UK AML15 and AML17 trials, patients with previously untreated AML and confirmed FLT3-activating mutations, mostly younger than 60 years, were randomly assigned either to receive oral lestaurtinib (CEP701) or not after each of 4 cycles of induction and consolidation chemotherapy. Lestaurtinib was commenced 2 days after completing chemotherapy and administered in cycles of up to 28 days. The trials ran consecutively. Primary endpoints were overall survival in AML15 and relapse-free survival in AML17; outcome data were meta-analyzed. Five hundred patients were randomly assigned between lestaurtinib and control: 74% had FLT3-internal tandem duplication mutations, 23% FLT3–tyrosine kinase domain point mutations, and 2% both types. No significant differences were seen in either 5-year overall survival (lestaurtinib 46% vs control 45%; hazard ratio, 0.90; 95% CI 0.70-1.15; P = .3) or 5-year relapse-free survival (40% vs 36%; hazard ratio, 0.88; 95% CI 0.69-1.12; P = .3). Exploratory subgroup analysis suggested survival benefit with lestaurtinib in patients receiving concomitant azole antifungal prophylaxis and gemtuzumab ozogamicin with the first course of chemotherapy. Correlative studies included analysis of in vivo FLT3 inhibition by plasma inhibitory activity assay and indicated improved overall survival and significantly reduced rates of relapse in lestaurtinib-treated patients who achieved sustained greater than 85% FLT3 inhibition. In conclusion, combining lestaurtinib with intensive chemotherapy proved feasible in younger patients with newly diagnosed FLT3-mutated AML, but yielded no overall clinical benefit. The improved clinical outcomes seen in patients achieving sustained FLT3 inhibition encourage continued evaluation of FLT3-directed therapy alongside front-line AML treatment. The UK AML15 and AML17 trials are registered at www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN17161961 and www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN55675535 respectively