Madison, Hamilton, and Reagan: The Limits of Executive Power in Foreign Policy and the Reagan Intervention in Nicaragua

The distribution of power between the executive branch and the legislative branch in the realm of foreign policy is a delicate balance and one that has been debated since the Founding Fathers met in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787. The debate has gotten no less intense and no less crucial in the modern, nuclear age, and it remains unresolved. The Reagan administration\u27s foray into Nicaragua during the 1980\u27s and its confrontations with Congress during that time period illuminate the complexities of the power-sharing arrangement in foreign policy and offer the ideal case study of executive-legislative war power. The lessons to be drawn from America\u27s involvement in Nicaragua are that the expanded Presidential power in the realm of foreign policy are necessary for the safety of the country in today\u27s world, but dangerous without the vigorous oversight and ultimate check by Congress

Characterization of the single end-binding protein homologue TbEB1 in Trypanosoma brucei

Trypanosoma brucei is an early branching protist whose cytoskeleton is predominantly composed of microtubules. The cytoskeleton is the key component involved in cellular shape, organelle positioning, and cytokinesis. T. brucei possesses one homologue of the end-binding protein (EB) 1 family: TbEB1. EB1 proteins belong to the highly conserved family of plusend tracking proteins (+TIPs) and are master regulators of +TIP networks, thereby coordinating microtubule dynamics. In trypanosomes, the TbEB1 labeling pattern varies throughout the cell cycle at the posterior cell pole in immunofluorescence experiments. Additionally, TbEB1 localized to the FAZ/ FAZ region and the subpellicular microtubule array. Depletion of TbEB1 resulted in a severe growth defect, accumulation of atypical cell cycle stages, and an impediment of cytokinesis. Over-expression of TbEB1 resulted in similar phenotypes, however, less severe. Ectopic expression in a mammalian cell line pointed towards an evolutionary conserved mode of action. Altogether this suggests a role of TbEB1 in microtubule polymerization and indicates its putative involvement in cytokinesis

Cold storage and cryopreservation of tick cell lines

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Tick cell lines are now available from fifteen ixodid and argasid species of medical and veterinary importance. However, some tick cell lines can be difficult to cryopreserve, and improved protocols for short- and long-term low temperature storage will greatly enhance their use as tools in tick and tick-borne pathogen research. In the present study, different protocols were evaluated for cold storage and cryopreservation of tick cell lines derived from <it>Rhipicephalus </it>(<it>Boophilus) decoloratus</it>, <it>Rhipicephalus </it>(<it>Boophilus) microplus, Ixodes ricinus </it>and <it>Ixodes scapularis</it>. For short-term cold storage, cells were kept under refrigeration at 6°C for 15, 30 and 45 days. For cryopreservation in liquid nitrogen, use of a sucrose-phosphate-glutamate freezing buffer (SPG) as cryoprotectant was compared with dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) supplemented with sucrose. Cell viability was determined by the trypan blue exclusion test and cell morphology was evaluated in Giemsa-stained cytocentrifuge smears.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Cold storage at 6°C for up to 30 days was successful in preserving <it>R</it>. (<it>B.) microplus</it>, <it>R</it>. (<it>B.) decoloratus, I. ricinus </it>and <it>I. scapularis </it>cell lines; lines from the latter three species could be easily re-cultivated after 45 days under refrigeration. While cell lines from all four tick species cryopreserved with 6% DMSO were successfully resuscitated, the <it>R</it>. (<it>B</it>.) <it>decoloratus </it>cells did not survive freezing in SPG and of the other three species, only the <it>R</it>. (<it>B</it>.) <it>microplus </it>cells resumed growth during the observation period.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This constitutes the first report on successful short-term refrigeration of cells derived from <it>R</it>. (<it>B.) decoloratus</it>, <it>R</it>. (<it>B.) microplus</it>, and <it>I. ricinus</it>, and use of SPG as an alternative to DMSO for cryopreservation, thus making an important contribution to more reliable and convenient tick cell culture maintenance.</p

Localization and grasping of small load carriers with autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles

The application of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in the area of inspection, survey or urban logistics has become a rapidly developing research domain. While the feasibility of material transports with UAVs has already been shown in the scope of different projects, the payload is thereby usually transferred manually into the UAVâs load handling device. A decisive factor for the economic usability of UAVs for aerial transportation, however, is a fully automated system including the autonomous recognition and pick-up of the cargo. We therefore present a solution for the automated detection, localization and grasping of small load carriers with UAVs. The system includes a specialized load handing device, a camera-based real-time tracking solution for small load carriers and a fusion of the global and relative position measurements to achieve the in-flight positioning accuracy required for the autonomous cargo pick-up. Document type: Part of book or chapter of boo

Psychometric characteristics of the FertiQoL questionnaire in a German sample of infertile individuals and couples.

Background: FertiQoL is a questionnaire internationally developed to measure fertility-specific quality of life. It has been validated with infertile populations in many countries and used in several studies focusing on the psychosocial consequences of infertility in Europe, Asia, and North America. Methods: Over a period of two years, 596 infertile women and men took part in the study conducted at three German fertility clinics. Psychometric properties of FertiQoL were tested by performing confirmatory factor analyses, calculating average variance extracted values, reliability and correlation coefficients. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to determine the relations between FertiQoL subscales and both sociodemographic and medical variables. Individual and cross-partner effects were tested for. Results: The confirmatory factor analyses conducted on our FertiQoL data supported the original four-factor solution for both women and men but, resulted in some unsatisfactory indices. Family and friends’ support items loaded weakly on the Social subscale of FertiQoL (.27 and .34 in women, .32 and .19 in men). The Emotional and Mind/Body subscales revealed a strong intercorrelation (r = .77, p &lt; .001 in women, r = .74, p &lt; .001 in men). Women scored lower than men on the Emotional and Mind/Body subscales only, and they reported better fertility-specific relational QoL. In women, the perceived cause of infertility and already mothering a child related significantly to individual FertiQoL scores, while in men, age, educational level, and the duration of their wish for a child had an impact on the FertiQoL subscales (all p &lt; .05). The men’s educational level, the women’s educational level, and the subjective perceived medical cause of fertility problems exerted cross-partner effects on QoL (all p &lt; .05). Conclusions: Our study results represent a contribution both to research and clinical practice. The findings suggest the importance of considering the personal experience of infertility in different cultural and gender specific settings and that the strong connections between the emotional, physical, and cognitive aspects of an individual’s fertility-specific quality of life should be regarded as a more coherent system. Trial registration DRKS: DRKS00014707. Registered: 1 May 2018 (retrospectively registered)

A 19-year-old man with sickle cell disease presenting with spinal infarction: a case report

Abstract Introduction Vasculopathy of the large vessels commonly occurs in sickle cell disease, and as a result cerebral infarction is a well characterized complication of this condition. However, spinal infarction appears to be rare. Spinal infarct is infrequent in the non-sickle cell population as well, and accounts for only about 1 percent of all central nervous system infarcts. Case presentation In the present work, we report the case of a 19-year-old African-American man with sickle cell disease who experienced an anterior spinal infarct and subsequent quadriplegia. He was incidentally noted to be a heterozygote for factor V Leiden. We also reviewed the literature and found two previous cases of spinal cord infarction and sickle hemoglobin. Our literature search did not demonstrate that heterozygocity for factor V Leiden plays an important role in spinal cord infarction. Conclusions The paucity of cases associated with sickle hemoglobin does not allow us to postulate any particular risk factors with sickle cell disease that might predispose patients to spinal cord infarction. Our patient’s case raises the question as to whether spinal cord infarction is being missed in individuals with sickle cell disease and neurologic symptoms

Urinary Albumin Excretion is Associated with Pulmonary Hypertension in Sickle Cell Disease: Potential Role of Soluble Fms-Like Tyrosine Kinase-1

Pulmonary hypertension (PHT) is reported to be associated with measures of renal function in patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). The purpose of this exploratory study was to determine the relationship between albuminuria and both clinical and laboratory variables in SCD

Caracterización de la fibrilación auricular y riesgo tromboembólico en pacientes del Hospital León Cuervo Rubio

Introduction: among cardiac pathologies, atrial fibrillation is related to a high incidence of thromboembolic diseases. Objective: to clinically and epidemiologically characterize atrial fibrillation and thromboembolic risk in patients attended at the León Cuervo Rubio Hospital in Pinar del Río between 2017 and 2019. Methods: an observational, descriptive, cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted on patients with atrial fibrillation attended at the León Cuervo Rubio Hospital in Pinar del Río from 2017 to 2019. The study universe consisted of 198 patients diagnosed with atrial arrhythmias in that hospital, the sample was constituted by 68 patients who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: female sex predominated (58.8%). The most representative age group was 75 to 85 years old (45.5 %). Some type of heart disease associated with atrial fibrillation was present in 69.1% of patients. Persistent atrial fibrillation predominated (35.2%). Palpitations predominated as symptoms of atrial fibrillation (91.1%). Most patients with atrial fibrillation were in the moderate thromboembolic risk category (66.1%). Conclusions: the predominant sex was female, the most affected age group was over 85 years, ischemic heart disease was the most prevalent history, persistent atrial fibrillation was the most frequent, palpitations were the main symptom, and according to the thromboembolic risk category, most patients were at moderate risk.Introducción: dentro de las patologías cardiacas, la fibrilación auricular se relaciona con una alta incidencia de enfermedades tromboembólicas. Objetivo: caracterizar clínica y epidemiológicamente la fibrilación auricular y el riesgo tromboembólico en pacientes atendidos en el Hospital León Cuervo Rubio de Pinar del Río entre 2017 y 2019. Método: se realizó un estudio observacional, descriptivo, de corte transversal a pacientes con fibrilación auricular atendidos en el Hospital León Cuervo Rubio de Pinar del Río de 2017 a 2019. El universo de estudio estuvo conformado por 198 pacientes con diagnóstico de arritmias auriculares en dicho hospital, la muestra quedó constituida por 68 pacientes que cumplieron con los criterios de inclusión y exclusión. Resultados: predominó el sexo femenino (58,8 %). El grupo etario más representativo fue el de 75 a 85 años (45,5 %). El 69,1 % presentaban algún tipo de cardiopatía asociada a la fibrilación auricular. Predominó la fibrilación auricular de tipo persistente (35,2 %). Predominaron las palpitaciones como síntomas de la fibrilación auricular (91,1 %). La mayoría de los pacientes con fibrilación auricular estaban en la categoría de riesgo tromboembólico moderado (66,1 %). Conclusiones: el sexo que predominó fue el femenino, el grupo etáreo más afectado fue el de más de 85 años, la cardiopatía isquémica fue el antecedente de mayor prevalencia, la fibrilación auricular de tipo persistente fue la más frecuente, las palpitaciones constituyeron el síntoma principal y según la categoría de riesgo tromboembólico la mayoría de los pacientes presentaban riesgo moderado

Future research prioritization in cardiac resynchronization therapy

Background: Although cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is effective for some patients with heart failure and a reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (HFrEF), evidence gaps remain for key clinical and policy areas. The objective of the study was to review the data on the effects of CRT for patients with HFrEF receiving pharmacological therapy alone or pharmacological therapy and an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) and then, informed by a diverse group of stakeholders, to identify evidence gaps, prioritize them, and develop a research plan. Methods: Relevant studies were identified using PubMed and EMBASE and ongoing trials using clinicaltrials.gov. Forced-ranking prioritization method was applied by stakeholders to reach a consensus on the most important questions. Twenty-six stakeholders contributed to the expanded list of evidence gaps, including key investigators from existing randomized controlled trials and others representing different perspectives, including patients, the public, device manufacturers, and policymakers. Results: Of the 18 top-tier evidence gaps, 8 were related to specific populations or subgroups of interest. Seven were related to the comparative effectiveness and safety of CRT interventions or comparators, and 3 were related to the association of CRT treatment with specific outcomes. The association of comorbidities with CRT effectiveness ranked highest, followed by questions about the effectiveness of CRT among patients with atrial fibrillation and the relationship between gender, QRS morphology and duration, and outcomes for patients either with CRT plus ICD or with ICD. Conclusions: Evidence gaps presented in this article highlight numerous, important clinical and policy questions for which there is inconclusive evidence on the role of CRT and provide a framework for future collaborative research

Pulmonary, Gonadal, and Central Nervous System Status after Bone Marrow Transplantation for Sickle Cell Disease

We conducted a prospective, multicenter investigation of human-leukocyte antigen (HLA) identical sibling bone marrow transplantation (BMT) in children with severe sickle cell disease (SCD) between 1991 and 2000. To determine if children were protected from complications of SCD after successful BMT, we extended our initial study of BMT for SCD to conduct assessments of the central nervous system (CNS) and of pulmonary function 2 or more years after transplantation. In addition, the impact on gonadal function was studied. After BMT, patients with stroke who had stable engraftment of donor cells experienced no subsequent stroke events after BMT, and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exams demonstrated stable or improved appearance. However, 2 patients with graft rejection had a second stroke after BMT. After transplantation, most patients also had unchanged or improved pulmonary function. Among the 11 patients who had restrictive lung changes at baseline, 5 were improved and 6 had persistent restrictive disease after BMT. Of the 2 patients who had obstructive changes at baseline, 1 improved and 1 had worsened obstructive disease after BMT. There was, however, significant gonadal toxicity after BMT, particularly among female recipients. In summary, individuals who had stable donor engraftment did not experience sickle-related complications after BMT, and were protected from progressive CNS and pulmonary disease