An unusual case of intramural Meckel's diverticulum as a lead point for ileoileal intussusception - Laparoscopically assisted management

Intussusception is a frequent cause of intestinal obstruction in children. Ileoileal intussusception is rare and it is secondary to pathological or congenital lead points. We report an unusual case of an intramural Meckel's diverticulum as a lead point for ileoileal intussusception presenting with acute lower intestinal bleeding. Laparoscopically assisted resection of the involved ileum was successfully accomplished

The topological Kondo model out of equilibrium

The topological Kondo effect is a genuine manifestation of the nonlocality of Majorana modes. We investigate its out-of-equilibrium signatures in a model with a Cooper-pair box hosting four of these topological modes, each connected to a metallic lead. Through matrix-product-state techniques, we simulate the relaxation of the Majorana magnetization, which allows us to determine the related Kondo temperature. Then, we analyze the onset of electric transport after a quantum quench of a lead voltage. Our results apply to Majorana Cooper-pair boxes fabricated in double nanowire devices and provide non-perturbative evidence of the crossover from weak-coupling states to the strongly correlated topological Kondo regime. The latter dominates at the superconductor charge degeneracy points and displays the expected universal fractional zero-bias conductance.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, Supplemental Materia

Construction of a synthetic infectious cDNA clone of Grapevine Algerian latent virus (GALV-Nf) and its biological activity in Nicotiana benthamiana and grapevine plants

Background: Grapevine Algerian latent virus (GALV) is a tombusvirus first isolated in 1989 from an Algerian grapevine (Vitis spp.) plant and more recently from water samples and commercial nipplefruit and statice plants. No further reports of natural GALV infections in grapevine have been published in the last two decades, and artificial inoculations of grapevine plants have not been reported. We developed and tested a synthetic GALV construct for the inoculation of Nicotiana benthamiana plants and different grapevine genotypes to investigate the ability of this virus to infect and spread systemically in different hosts. Methods: We carried out a phylogenetic analysis of all known GALV sequences and an epidemiological survey of grapevine samples to detect the virus. A GALV-Nf clone under the control of the T7 promoter was chemically synthesized based on the full-length sequence of the nipplefruit isolate GALV-Nf, the only available sequence at the time the project was conceived, and the infectious transcripts were tested in N. benthamiana plants. A GALV-Nf-based binary vector was then developed for the agroinoculation of N. benthamiana and grapevine plants. Infections were confirmed by serological and molecular analysis and the resulting ultrastructural changes were investigated in both species. Results: Sequence analysis showed that the GALV coat protein is highly conserved among diverse isolates. The first epidemiological survey of cDNAs collected from 152 grapevine plants with virus-like symptoms did not reveal the presence of GALV in any of the samples. The agroinoculation of N. benthamiana and grapevine plants with the GALV-Nf binary vector promoted efficient infections, as revealed by serological and molecular analysis. The GALV-Nf infection of grapevine plants was characterized in more detail by inoculating different cultivars, revealing distinct patterns of symptom development. Ultrastructural changes induced by GALV-Nf in N. benthamiana were similar to those induced by tombusviruses in other hosts, but the cytopathological alterations in grapevine plants were less severe. Conclusions: This is the first report describing the development of a synthetic GALV-Nf cDNA clone, its artificial transmission to grapevine plants and the resulting symptoms and cytopathological alterations

Contributo della micropropagazione alla valorizzazione del sorbo da legno

Nell\u2019attivit\ue0 di micropropagazione di selezioni autoctone da legno di S. torminalis e S. domestica la fase di radicazione si \ue8 rivelata critica per S. torminalis e quella d\u2019ambientamento per entrambe. Nel presente lavoro si evidenzia l\u2019influenza del genotipo e della citochinina sulla fase di radicazione di S. torminalis e si descrive l\u2019evoluzione dell\u2019apparato fogliare durante la fase di ambientamento delle colture.Sorbus spp. is particularly important for timber production as the price of its good-quality wood is extremely high and its demand is increasing on the European market. The use of in vitro propagation allows the large-scale production of interesting accessions as those selected at DIPROVE of Milan University. Whereas rooting was critic for S. torminalis accessions acclimatization appeared critical also for S. domestica. S. torminalis gave better rooting and in vivo survival when preconditioned on BA free medium. Changes in the morphological and histological features and in the development of the mesophyll layer of persistent (ex vitro) leaves as compared to both in vitro and new formed ones were observed

A study of the usefulness of Skylab EREP data for earth resources studies in Australia

The author has identified the following significant results. In subhumid, vegetated areas, S190B photography: (1) has a potentially operational role in detecting lineaments in 1:100,000 scale geological mapping and in major civil engineering surveys; (2) is of limited value for regional lithological mapping at 1:500,000 scale; and (3) provided much useful synoptic information and some detailed information of direct value to the mapping of nonmineral natural resources such as vegetation, land soil, and water. In arid, well exposed areas, S190B photography could be used: (1) with a limited amount of field traverses, to produce reliable 1:500,000 scale geological maps of sedimentary sequences; (2) to update superficial geology on 1:250,000 scale maps; and (3) together with the necessary field studies, to prepare landform, soil, and vegetation maps at 1:1,000,000 scale. Skylab photography was found to be more useful than LANDSAT images for small scale mapping of geology and land types, and for the revision of topographic maps at 1:100,000 scale, because of superior spatial resolution and stereoscopic coverage

Feedback topology and XOR-dynamics in Boolean networks with varying input structure

We analyse a model of fixed in-degree Random Boolean Networks in which the fraction of input-receiving nodes is controlled by a parameter gamma. We investigate analytically and numerically the dynamics of graphs under a parallel XOR updating scheme. This scheme is interesting because it is accessible analytically and its phenomenology is at the same time under control, and as rich as the one of general Boolean networks. Biologically, it is justified on abstract grounds by the fact that all existing interactions play a dynamical role. We give analytical formulas for the dynamics on general graphs, showing that with a XOR-type evolution rule, dynamic features are direct consequences of the topological feedback structure, in analogy with the role of relevant components in Kauffman networks. Considering graphs with fixed in-degree, we characterize analytically and numerically the feedback regions using graph decimation algorithms (Leaf Removal). With varying gamma, this graph ensemble shows a phase transition that separates a tree-like graph region from one in which feedback components emerge. Networks near the transition point have feedback components made of disjoint loops, in which each node has exactly one incoming and one outgoing link. Using this fact we provide analytical estimates of the maximum period starting from topological considerations

Movimentos da memória - da ditadura à ditadura

Esta pesquisa se propõe a analisar fotos e reportagens das duas últimas campanhas para a Presidência da República do Brasil. Para tanto, se inscreve no campo teórico da Análise do Discurso francesa. A nossa proposta é analisar discursivamente fotos das campanhas da candidata Dilma Rousseff em 2010 e em 2014 e enunciados que circularam na Revista Época em 2010 e no site de notícias R7 da Record em 2014. Buscamos compreender o funcionamento da memória discursiva mobilizada em um caso e em outro, na forma do pré-construído. A relação desses pré-construídos com os processos de constituição, formulação e circulação, permitiu compreender os deslocamentos de sentido nas campanhas. Palavras-chave: Discurso. Memória. Político. Mídia

Inhibition of neddylation represses lipopolysaccharide-induced proinflammatory cytokine production in macrophage cells

Background: Lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) up-regulate proinflammatory cytokines in macrophages, partly through a NF-κB-dependent process. Results: Blocking neddylation, which helps regulate NF-κB, represses LPS-induced up-regulation of proinflammatory cytokines. Conclusion: Neddylation plays a role in the up-regulation of NF-κB-regulated proinflammatory cytokines produced by macrophages in response to LPS. Significance: Inhibition of neddylation represents a novel and effective method for the prevention of LPS-induced proinflammatory cytokines