Modelling the Process of Building Digital Security in Commodity Markets using Blockchain

Blockchain technology is acquiring momentous popularity in commodity markets over the past few years. A commodity can be regarded as an article of trade between an importer and exporter nation. Several types of commodities—such as agricultural (i.e., wheat, soyabean, corn, rice, spices, oil, meal products, sugar, dairy, marine, and plantation) and non-agricultural (i.e., base metals and petroleum products)—can be traded. The process of commodity trading or shipment between nations involves several actors like exporters, customs, importer, insurance, and importer bank and activities like bills of lading, letter of credit, factoring, exporting credit, and insurance—which are paper based, interdependent, and require human involvement. Blockchain, on the other hand, is a decentralized and distributed ledger technology that is open, immutable or tamperproof, efficient, verifiable, and permanent. The integration of blockchain in commodity markets can revolutionize the entire trading or shipment process. Considering the abovementioned problems, this study attempts to offer a solution by performing business process modelling in commodity markets using blockchain. The inferences made in this study prove to be quite promising wherein paper-based trading processes can be replaced with paperless trading processes via smart contracts—self-executable codes—which operate on top of blockchain, thereby eliminating intermediaries or middlemen and improving not only efficiency but also transparency of existing trading processes

Effects of peritumoral nanoconjugated cisplatin on laryngeal cancer stem cells

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136702/1/lary25808_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136702/2/lary25808.pd

Thioredoxin system protein expression in carcinomas of the pancreas, bile duct and ampulla

Background: Pancreatic cancer (PC), including the ampulla and bile duct, is very aggressive, and thus difficult to treat with effective therapies. The current treatment options have failed to improve PC five-year survival rates over the last 30 to 40 years, which remain very low, at ~3%; there is, therefore, an urgent need to identify new targets and treatment modalities (1). Methods: The protein expression of thioredoxin (Trx), thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) and thioredoxin interacting protein (TxNIP) was assessed in two cancer patient cohorts by standard immunohistochemistry using tissue microarrays. The first cohort was composed of 85 pancreatic adenocarcinomas (PAD) and the second of 145 cancers of the bile duct and ampulla. Results: In the PAD cohort, high cytoplasmic TrxR expression significantly associated with lymph node metastasis (P = 0.033). High expression of cytoplasmic (P = 0.018) and nuclear (P = 0.006) Trx were significantly associated with better overall survival, with nuclear Trx expression remaining significantly associated with survival in multivariate Cox-regression (Hazard Ratio (HR) 0.316; 95% Confidence Interval (95% CI) 0.174-0.573; P < 0.0001) when potentially confounding factors were included (gender, age, tumour size, tumour grade, tumour stage, lymph node status, perineural and venous invasion). In cancers of the bile duct and ampulla, high expression of nuclear TrxR and high cytoplasmic TxNIP were associated with patients aged above 60 years (P = 0.024 and P = 0.049 respectively). Associations were also observed between high nuclear TrxR expression and the presence of venous (P = 0.001) and perineural (P = 0.021) invasion. Low cytoplasmic TxNIP expression was also associated with the presence of perineural invasion (P = 0.025). High expression of cytoplasmic TxNIP was significantly associated with better overall survival (P = 0.0002), which remained significant in multivariate Cox-regression analysis (HR 0.548; 95% CI 0.340-0.882; P = 0.013) when potentially confounding factors were included (tumour grade, stage, lymph node status, perineural and venous invasion). Conclusion: Current findings demonstrate the prognostic importance of Trx system protein expression in pancreatic, bile duct and ampullary cancers, with expression of certain members potentially being involved in disease progression. Current findings warrant a larger follow-up study

Advancing clinical and translational research in germ cell tumours (GCT): recommendations from the Malignant Germ Cell International Consortium

YesGerm cell tumours (GCTs) are a heterogeneous group of rare neoplasms that present in different anatomical sites and across a wide spectrum of patient ages from birth through to adulthood. Once these strata are applied, cohort numbers become modest, hindering inferences regarding management and therapeutic advances. Moreover, patients with GCTs are treated by different medical professionals including paediatric oncologists, neuro-oncologists, medical oncologists, neurosurgeons, gynaecological oncologists, surgeons, and urologists. Silos of care have thus formed, further hampering knowledge dissemination between specialists. Dedicated biobank specimen collection is therefore critical to foster continuous growth in our understanding of similarities and differences by age, gender, and site, particularly for rare cancers such as GCTs. Here, the Malignant Germ Cell International Consortium provides a framework to create a sustainable, global research infrastructure that facilitates acquisition of tissue and liquid biopsies together with matched clinical data sets that reflect the diversity of GCTs. Such an effort would create an invaluable repository of clinical and biological data which can underpin international collaborations that span professional boundaries, translate into clinical practice, and ultimately impact patient outcomes.ALF, JFA, and MJM declare funding from St Baldrick’s Foundation; grant reference number 358099

Lobomycosis in Man and Lobomycosis-like Disease in Bottlenose Dolphin, Venezuela

We report 1 case of lobomycosis caused by Lacazia loboi in a fisherman and 1 case of lobomycosis-like disease in a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) along the coast of Venezuela. These findings suggest that the marine environment is a likely habitat for L. loboi and a reservoir for infection

Integrated genomics and proteomics define huntingtin CAG length-dependent networks in mice.

To gain insight into how mutant huntingtin (mHtt) CAG repeat length modifies Huntington's disease (HD) pathogenesis, we profiled mRNA in over 600 brain and peripheral tissue samples from HD knock-in mice with increasing CAG repeat lengths. We found repeat length-dependent transcriptional signatures to be prominent in the striatum, less so in cortex, and minimal in the liver. Coexpression network analyses revealed 13 striatal and 5 cortical modules that correlated highly with CAG length and age, and that were preserved in HD models and sometimes in patients. Top striatal modules implicated mHtt CAG length and age in graded impairment in the expression of identity genes for striatal medium spiny neurons and in dysregulation of cyclic AMP signaling, cell death and protocadherin genes. We used proteomics to confirm 790 genes and 5 striatal modules with CAG length-dependent dysregulation at the protein level, and validated 22 striatal module genes as modifiers of mHtt toxicities in vivo

Prevalence of somatisation and psychologisation among patients visiting primary health care centres in the State of Qatar

Background: Medically unexplained somatic complaints are among the most common clinical presentations in primary care in developing countries and they are considerable burden for patients and health care system. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of somatisation in comparison to psychologisation among a sample of Qatari patients who were visiting primary health care (PHC) centres and to investigate the clinical and socio-demographic characteristics of somatisers (STs) and psychologisers (PGs). Method: The survey was conducted among PHC Qatari patients during the period from January to July 2007. About 2,320 patients were approached, of whom 1,689 agreed to participate and responded to the questionnaire. Among the studied Qatari patients, 404 patients were identified for clinical interview. The first stage of the study was conducted with the help of general practitioners, using the 12-item General Health Questionnaire. The second stage was carried out by a consultant using the Clinical Interview Schedule. A specific operational criterion was used to identify STs and PGs. Results: The prevalence rate of STs among the total studied sample was 12.4%, while the PGs were 11.5%. Among the identified psychiatric cases, the proportion of STs (52%) was higher than PGs (48%). Most of the diagnostic categories were more prevalent among PGs. The dissatisfaction at work and stressful life events within 12 months before the onset of the presenting symptoms were the three postulated determinants which were significantly more among STs than PGs. Conclusion: The prevalence of somatised mental disorder was little higher than the psychologised mental disorder. The prevalence of somatisation and psychologisation is comparable with other reported studies from the Middle-East and Western countries. Dissatisfaction at work and stressful life events were significantly higher among STs than PGs

Microcrystalline testing used in combination with Raman micro-spectroscopy for absolute identification of novel psychoactive substances

Two new psychoactive substances, namely 4-methylmethcathinone (mephedrone) and 5,6-methylenedioxy-2-aminoindane (MDAI) were analysed with a novel combination of microcrystalline tests followed by Raman micro-spectroscopy to facilitate their absolute identification. The discrimination power of the proposed combination was successfully demonstrated through the analysis of the positional isomers 2- and 3-methylmethcathinone. The addition of mercury dichloride as a microcrystalline test reagent produced specific microcrystals of each tested analyte. The robustness of the method was evaluated in the presence of common cutting agents (caffeine and benzocaine) as well as on street samples. The crystal lattice structures of mephedrone, 2-methylmethcathinone and MDAI mercury dichloride microcrystals were determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction. This confirmed the presence of both drug and reagent together in the lattice and accounts for the distinct habit of the observed microcrystals. Raman spectra of the formed microcrystals differed from those obtained from their standard salt form by loss and/or gain of some vibrational modes. Particularly important was the appearance of the mercury chloride link to each tested drug molecule which showed as strong bands at low wavenumbers. Its presence was corroborated by its detection in the crystal lattice. It was therefore concluded that microcrystalline testing followed by Raman micro-spectroscopy satisfies the technique combination requirement for psychoactive substances recommended by the Scientific Working Group for the Analysis of Seized Drugs (SWGDRUG) and provides a rapid and cheap analysis route. The proposed technique combination also aids the development of new microcrystalline tests as it allows for confirmation of the uniqueness of the developed microcrystals almost in-situ rather than growing single crystals for often long periods of time needed for single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis