Vector Meson Exchanges and CP Asymmetry in K±→π±π0K^{\pm}\rightarrow\pi^{\pm}\pi^0

Using a current algebra framework, we discuss the contribution of vector meson exchanges to the CP violating asymmetry in the decay $K^{\pm}\rightarrow\pi^{\pm}\pi^0$, resulting from the interference of the $K\rightarrow\pi\pi$ amplitude with the radiative correction $K\rightarrow\pi\pi\gamma$.Comment: 9 pages (plain-TEX), IC/93/186, UTS-DFT-93-18, (two figures not included

Delivery of urethral sphincter botulinum toxin injections for treating urinary retention during the COVID19 pandemic

Aims: Urethral sphincter botulinum toxin injections is an alternative treatment for urinary retention in women with Fowler’s syndrome and when access to health services were curtailed during the Covid19 pandemic, we continued to offer treatment to prevent increased demand on catheter services due to a recurrence of urinary retention. We describe our experience delivering safe and timely treatment during this period of lockdowns and restricted access to healthcare. // Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the records of all women with Fowler’s syndrome treated with transperineal urethral sphincter botulinum toxin injection between 23rd March 2020 and 31st December 2021 in a tertiary university hospital and clinical outcomes were recorded. // Results: 15 women (mean age 35.6 ± 10.1 years) received 100U OnabotulinumtoxinA injected into the external urethral sphincter as an out-patient procedure adopting hospital infection control guidelines. 41 injections were administered in total, and 8 (53%) patients received more than 1 injection (median 2 injections/patient, median inter-injection interval 108.5 days). 10 (66.7%) patients reported improvements in urinary symptoms across 31/41 (75.6%) of injections. Side effects were reported after 21.4% of injections which were mild and transient. No patients developed Covid19 within 4 weeks of the hospital visit. // Conclusion: Real-world data shows that transperineal urethral sphincter botulinum toxin injections could be continued safely and effectively during the Covid19 pandemic. This essential outpatient service played an important role in treatment and quality of life for women with Fowler’s syndrome, and avoided an additional burden on the NHS at the time of a health crisis

Assessing the consequences of gestational diabetes mellitus on offspring's cardiovascular health: MySweetHeart Cohort study protocol, Switzerland.

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a state of glucose intolerance with onset during pregnancy. GDM carries prenatal and perinatal risks as well as long-term risks for the mother and her child. GDM may be involved in the foetal programming of long-term cardiovascular health. However, evidence is sparse and the effect of GDM on cardiovascular health is unknown. To address these issues, we will conduct MySweetHeart Cohort study. The objectives are to assess the effect of GDM on offspring's cardiovascular health early in life by using surrogate markers of cardiovascular disease and atherosclerosis. This is a cohort study of 100 offspring of women with GDM and 100 offspring of women without GDM. At inclusion, a baseline assessment of the mothers will be conducted through means of self-report questionnaires, a researcher-administrated interview, blood pressure and anthropometric measurements, and a maternal blood sampling. Between the 30th and 34th weeks of gestation, a foetal echography will be performed to assess the foetal cardiac structure and function, the fetomaternal circulation and the hepatic volume. At birth, maternal and neonatal characteristics will be assessed. An echocardiography will be performed to assess cardiac structure and function 2-7 days after birth; carotid intima-media thickness will be also measured to assess vascular structure. MySweetHeart Cohort is linked to MySweetHeart Trial (clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02890693), a randomised controlled trial assessing the effect of a multidimensional interdisciplinary lifestyle and psychosocial intervention to improve the cardiometabolic and mental health of women with GDM and their offspring. A long-term follow-up of children is planned. Ethical approval has been obtained through the state Human Research Ethics Committee of the Canton de Vaud (study number 2016-00745). We aim to disseminate the findings through regional, national and international conferences and through peer-reviewed journals. ClinicalTrials.gov (clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02872974)

Lower urinary tract and bowel dysfunction in spinocerebellar ataxias

Background: Little information is available in spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs) regarding pelvic organ symptoms. The aim of this study was to characterize the lower urinary tract (LUT) and bowel dysfunction in autosomal dominant spinocerebellar ataxias. Methods: Patients with confirmed SCAs attending a tertiary care service were approached about LUT and bowel complaints, and completed validated questionnaires: urinary symptom profile (USP), QualiveenShort form, International Prostate Symptom Score, and Neurogenic Bowel Dysfunction Score. SCA3 and SCA7 patients with urological complaints additionally underwent urodynamic studies (UDS). Patients’ characterization included demographic, clinical (Scale for the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (SARA), Inventory of Non-Ataxia Signs (INAS)), and genetic variables. Descriptive and comparative analyses were performed. Results: Fifty-one patients participated: SCA1 (n = 4), SCA2 (n = 11), SCA3 (n = 13), SCA6 (n = 17), and SCA7 (n = 6). The prevalence of self-reported LUT symptoms was 60.8% (n = 31), whereas LUT symptoms was reported in 86.3%(n = 44) using the USP. Both storage and voiding symptoms were reported, urinary frequency and urgency being the most frequent (n = 34, 68%). Although LUT symptoms were most often classed as mild (n = 27, 61.4%), they impacted QoL in 38 patients (77.6%). Of these, 21 (55.3%) were not on pharmacological treatment for urinary dysfunction. Most common abnormalities in UDS (n = 14) were detrusor overactivity (storage phase) and detrusor underactivity (voiding phase). Bowel symptoms were less common (31.4%, n = 16) and of mild severity. Conclusion: LUT symptoms are prevalent in SCA patients and impact QoL, whereas bowel symptoms tend to be mild. These symptoms are overlooked by patients and physicians due to the complexity of neurological involvement in SCA, and therefore a multidisciplinary management approach should be adopted

Millimeter Wave Thin-Film Bulk Acoustic Resonator in Sputtered Scandium Aluminum Nitride

This work reports a millimeter wave (mmWave) thin-film bulk acoustic resonator (FBAR) in sputtered scandium aluminum nitride (ScAlN). This paper identifies challenges of frequency scaling sputtered ScAlN into mmWave and proposes a stack and new fabrication procedure with a sputtered Sc0.3Al0.7N on Al on Si carrier wafer. The resonator achieves electromechanical coupling (k2) of 7.0% and quality factor (Q) of 62 for the first-order symmetric (S1) mode at 21.4 GHz, along with k2 of 4.0% and Q of 19 for the third-order symmetric (S3) mode at 55.4 GHz, showing higher figures of merit (FoM, k2xQ) than reported AlN/ScAlN-based mmWave acoustic resonators. The ScAlN quality is identified by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), identifying the bottlenecks in the existing piezoelectric-metal stack. Further improvement of ScAlN/AlN-based mmWave acoustic resonators calls for better crystalline quality from improved thin-film deposition methods.Comment: 3 pages, 7 figures, submitted to JMEM

Clinical correlations between lumbar superficial veins and Batson's epidural plexus congestion in chronic low back pain: analysis of two case reports.

Batson's epidural venous plexus plays a crucial role for the generation of vascular back pain, in particular in those conditions characterized by venous congestion, such as heart failure or pregnancy. Except some rudimentary cuspids, the vertebral venous system is considered to be a valveless anastomotic system; as a result the blood is supposed to flow in either direction depending on changes of cardiovascular conditions during the day. Within the narrow boundaries of the neural canal, the epidural veins can therefore get congested, inducing low back pain. The aim of this case report was to highlight a correlation between lumbar superficial veins in patients with chronic low back pain and epidural deep venous plexus congestion. The patients selected underwent a morphologic examination of venous epidural plexus (included its connections with lumbar superficial blood vessels) through a 3D dynamic contrast-enhanced Magnetic Resonance Angiography. The Authors found two different radiological behaviours: total and partial congestion of the vertebral deep venous system. Clinical consequences were discussed and therapeutic strategies were suggested

Clinical correlations between lumbar superficial veins and Batson's epidural plexus congestion in chronic low back pain: analysis of two case reports.

Batson's epidural venous plexus plays a crucial role for the generation of vascular back pain, in particular in those conditions characterized by venous congestion, such as heart failure or pregnancy. Except some rudimentary cuspids, the vertebral venous system is considered to be a valveless anastomotic system; as a result the blood is supposed to flow in either direction depending on changes of cardiovascular conditions during the day. Within the narrow boundaries of the neural canal, the epidural veins can therefore get congested, inducing low back pain. The aim of this case report was to highlight a correlation between lumbar superficial veins in patients with chronic low back pain and epidural deep venous plexus congestion. The patients selected underwent a morphologic examination of venous epidural plexus (included its connections with lumbar superficial blood vessels) through a 3D dynamic contrast-enhanced Magnetic Resonance Angiography. The Authors found two different radiological behaviours: total and partial congestion of the vertebral deep venous system. Clinical consequences were discussed and therapeutic strategies were suggested

Calorie Restriction in Adulthood Reduces Hepatic Disorders Induced by Transient Postnatal Overfeeding in Mice.

Impaired early nutrition influences the risk of developing metabolic disorders in later life. We observed that transient postnatal overfeeding (OF) in mice induces long-term hepatic alterations, characterized by microsteatosis, fibrosis associated with oxidative stress (OS), and stress-induced premature senescence (SIPS). In this study, we investigated whether such changes can be reversed by moderate calorie restriction (CR). C57BL/6 male mice pups were maintained during lactation in litters adjusted to nine pups in the normal feeding (NF) group and three pups in the transient postnatal OF group. At six months of age, adult mice from the NF and OF groups were randomly assigned to an ad libitum diet or CR (daily energy supply reduced by 20%) for one month. In each group, at the age of seven months, analysis of liver structure, liver markers of OS (superoxide anion, antioxidant defenses), and SIPS (lipofuscin, p53, p21, p16, pRb/Rb, Acp53, sirtuin-1) were performed. CR in the OF group reduced microsteatosis, decreased levels of superoxide anion, and increased protein expression of catalase and superoxide dismutase. Moreover, CR decreased lipofuscin staining, p21, p53, Acp53, and p16 but increased pRb/Rb and sirtuin-1 protein expression. CR did not affect the NF group. These results suggest that CR reduces hepatic disorders induced by OF

MPath2PN - Translating Metabolic Pathways into Petri Nets

We propose MPath2PN, a tool which automatically translates metabolic pathways, as described in the major biological databases, into corresponding Petri net representations. The aim is to allow for a systematic reuse, in the setting of metabolic pathways, of the variety of tools existing for Petri net analysis and simulation. The current prototype implementation of MPath2PN inputs the KEGG description of a metabolic pathway and produces two Petri nets, mainly differing for the treatment of ubiquitous substances. Such Petri nets are represented using PNML, a standard format for many Petri net tools. We are extending the tool by considering further formats for metabolic pathways in input and for Petri nets in output. MPath2PN is part of a more general project aimed at developing an integrated framework which should offer the possibility of automatically querying databases for metabolic pathways, producing corresponding Petri net models and performing analysis and simulation on them by means of various tools

Síntese da renina humana utilizando o sistema de expressão baculovirus Bac-to- Bac.

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