ETHANOL PRODUCTION FROM A MEMBRANE PURIFIED HEMICELLULOSIC HYDROLYSATE DERIVED FROM SUGAR MAPLE BY PICHIA STIPITIS NRRL Y-7124

In an effort to devise inexpensive and sustainable production of ethanol fuel, experiments were conducted to establish conditions for Pichia stipitis NRRL Y-7124 to ferment a membrane treated wood hydrolysate derived from sugar maple to produce ethanol. The degree of aeration required to effectively utilize xylose, produce ethanol, and minimize xylitol formation as well as the optimal hydrolysate concentration were the conditions examined. P. stipitis produced the highest concentrations of ethanol in shake flasks at 150 rpm (14.3 g/L in 71 h), and 50% hydrolysate maximized ethanol yield (12.4 g/L in 51.5 h). In the 50% hydrolysate cultures, P. stipitis produced ethanol at a rate of 0.24 g/Lh with a yield of 0.41 g ethanol/g wood-derived carbohydrate

Outcome stability of orthopaedic treatment of skeletal Class III malocclusion: A study of prognostic agreement between three models

Introduction: Long-term stability of the treatment outcome of skeletal Class III malocclusion is always not achievable, thereforeseveral prediction models of stability of orthopaedic treatment of the Class III malocclusion have been proposed. Aim: This cross-sectional study was aimed at the evaluation of the prognostic agreement and association between three differentprediction models based on skeletal parameters recorded on lateral cephalograms. Materials and methods: A total of 75 subjects (34 females and 41 males, age range 7-11, mean age 9.1±1.2years) having skeletal ClassIII malocclusion were included in the study. Prediction models reported by Baccetti et al. 2004 (prediction model 1), Moon et al.2005 (prediction model 2) and Yoshida et al. 2006 (prediction model 3), were considered. Percentage agreement and unweighted kappa coefficient evaluated the agreement between the prediction models in terms of stable or unstable cases. Multiple regressions were run to evaluate the association between the absolute scores obtained from each of the prediction model (prediction scores). Results: Percentage agreement ranged from 77.3% (models 2 and 3) to 89.3%, (models 1 and 2) and corresponding unweighted kappa coefficients ranged from 0.099 (models 1 and 3) to 0.205 (models 2 and 3). The prediction score from model 3 was significantly associated with those from both the other models; on the contrary, prediction scores from models 1 and 2 were not significantly associated. Conclusions: Agreement in terms of stability or instability outcome derived from these models is only partial and not satisfactory,even though significant association between the prediction scores denotes a common biological meaning of the models

Investigation of the impact of load tap changers and automatic generation control on cascading events

This paper presents an assessment of the impact of control mechanisms, specifically load tap changers (LTCs) and automatic generation control (AGC), on cascading events in power systems with renewable generation. In order to identify the impact of these voltage and frequency related mechanisms, a large number of dynamic RMS simulations for various operating conditions is performed taking into consideration renewable generation, system loading and the action of protection devices. The sequences in which the cascading events appear are analysed, and each cascading event is described by the component that trips, the time and the reason for tripping. The number and reason of cascading events, the average load loss and the time between consecutive events are used as metrics to quantify the impact of LTCs and AGC. The study is demonstrated on a modified version of the IEEE-39 bus model with renewable generation and protection devices

Socioeconomic condition and dietary habits in relation to oral health in 12-year-old children from Sarajevo, Bosnia-Hercegovina

Introduction: Living conditions and socioeconomic status are the significant determinants of oral health. The research goal was to analyze the dietary habits of 12-year-old children in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Hercegovina. Another goal was to investigate the differences in food cariogenicity of children living under different socioeconomic conditions and to determine their relationship with the oral health. Materials and methods: The sample included 109 children, classified in groups of high, average and low socioeconomic status. Based on the survey and examination, data on nutrition and caries experience (DMFT index) were obtained. Results: There was a difference in dietary habits between children living under different conditions. Children of high socioeconomic status (SES) had a more favorable number of daily meals comparing to children of low socioeconomic status. The average DMFT index, as a measure of caries experience of 12-year-old children amounted 4.8(±3.2). Children of high socioeconomic status had significantly lower caries experience than those from average and low statuses (high SES DMFT 3,60±2,84SD vs. middle SES DMFT 5,28±3,83SD and low SES DMFT 5,47±2,53SD; p<0.05)

Electronic recording of lifetime locomotory activity patterns of adult medflies.

Age-specific and diurnal patterns of locomotory activity, can be considered as biomarkers of aging in model organisms and vary across the lifetime of individuals. Τhe Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly), Ceratitis capitata, is a commonly used model-species in studies regarding demography and aging. In the present study, we introduce a modification of the automated locomotory activity electronic device LAM25system (Locomotory Activity Monitor)-Trikinetics, commonly used in short time studies, to record the daily locomotory activity patterns of adult medflies throughout the life. Additionally, fecundity rates and survival of adult medflies were recorded. Male and female medflies were kept in the system tubes and had access to an agar-based gel diet, which provided water and nutrients. The locomotory activity was recorded at every minute by three monitors in the electronic device. The locomotory activity of females was higher than that of males across the different ages. For both sexes locomotory rates were high during the first 20 days of the adult life and decreased in older ages. The activity of males was high in the morning and late afternoon hours, while that of females was constantly high throughout the photophase. Negligible locomotory activity was recorded for both sexes during the nighttime. Males outlived females. Fecundity of females was higher in younger ages. Our results support the adoption of LAM25system in studies addressing aging of insects using medfly as a model organism

Cameriere’s European formula for age estimation: A study on the children in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Introduction: A method for age estimation, based on measurements of projections of open apices and heights of developing permanentteeth on orthopantomograms (OPTs), was presented by Cameriere in 2006 and adopted European formula was presented in 2007. Aim: This cross-sectional study tested the accuracy of Cameriere’s European formula on a sample from the City of Sarajevo, Bosniaand Herzegovina. Materials and methods: A final sample of 560 OPTs of 305 girls and 255 boys aged 8 to 14 years was obtained. The sample was collected at the Department of Orthodontics, School of Dental Medicine at the University of Sarajevo (SFUNSA). Dental age was compared to chronological age and mean absolute error (MAE) was calculated. Intra-rater and inter-rater agreement of the evaluated variables were calculated. Results: The dental age was underestimated when compared to chronological age, precisely, mean underestimation was -0.14 years ingirls and -0.17 years in boys. The values of MAE were 0.62 years in girls and 0.56 years in boys. The greatest error was found for the 14-year old group; DA was -1.04 years and -0.70 years in girls and boys respectively. Conclusion: Our results showed that Cameriere’s European formula might be a useful tool for age estimation in children from Bosnia and Herzegovina under the age of 14 years

Inclusion of multiple high‐risk histopathological criteria improves the prediction of adjuvant chemotherapy efficacy in lung adenocarcinoma

AIMS: The decision to consider adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) for non-small cell lung cancer is currently governed by clinical stage. This study aims to assess other routinely collected pathological variables related to metastasis and survival for their ability to predict the efficacy of AC in lung adenocarcinoma. METHODS AND RESULTS: A retrospective single-centre series of 620 resected lung non-mucinous adenocarcinoma cases from 2005-2015 was used. Digital images of all slides were subjected to central review, and data on tumour histopathology, AC treatment and patient survival were compiled. A statistical case matching approach was used to counter selection bias. Several high-risk pathological criteria predict both pathological nodal involvement and early death: positive vascular invasion status (VI+) (HR=2.10 P<0.001), positive visceral pleural invasion status (VPI+) (HR=2.16 P<0.001), and solid/micropapillary-predominant WHO tumour type (SPA/MPPA) (HR=3.29 P<0.001). Crucially, these criteria also identify patient groups benefiting from AC (VI+ HR=0.69 P=0.167, VPI+ HR=0.44 P=0.004, SPA/MPPA HR=0.36 P=0.006). Cases showing VI+/VPI+/SPA/MPPA histology in the absence of AC stage criteria were common (170 of 620 total), and 8 had actually received AC. This group showed much better outcomes than equivalent untreated cases in matched analysis (3-year OS 100.0% vs 31.3%). Inclusion of patients with VI+/VPI+/SPA/MPPA histology would increase AC-eligible patients from 51.0% to 84.0% of non-mucinous tumours in our cohort. CONCLUSIONS: Our data provide preliminary evidence that the consideration of AC in patients with additional high-risk pathological indicators may significantly improve outcomes in operable lung adenocarcinoma, and that AC may be currently underused

Nutritional strategies for correcting low glucose values in patients with postbariatric hypoglycaemia: A randomized controlled three‐arm crossover trial

AimTo evaluate the efficacy of nutritional hypoglycaemia correction strategies in postbariatric hypoglycaemia (PBH) after Roux‐en‐Y gastric bypass (RYGB).Materials and methodsIn a randomized, controlled, three‐arm crossover trial, eight post‐RYGB adults (mean [SD] 7.0 [1.4] years since surgery) with PBH ingested a solid mixed meal (584 kcal, 85 g carbohydrates, 21 g fat, 12 g protein) to induce hypoglycaemia on three separate days. Upon reaching plasma glucose of less than 3.0 mmol/L, hypoglycaemia was corrected with 15 g of glucose (G15), 5 g of glucose (G5) or a protein bar (P10, 10 g of protein) in random order. The primary outcome was percentage of time spent in the target plasma glucose range (3.9‐5.5 mmol/L) during 40 minutes after correction.ResultsPostcorrection time spent in the target glucose range did not differ significantly between the interventions (P = .161). However, postcorrection time with glucose less than 3.9 mmol/L was lower after G15 than P10 (P = .007), whereas time spent with glucose more than 5.5 mmol/L, peak glucose and insulin 15 minutes postcorrection were higher after G15 than G5 and P10 (P < .001). Glucagon 15 minutes postcorrection was higher after P10 than after G15 and G5 (P = .002 and P = .003, respectively). G15 resulted in rebound hypoglycaemia (< 3.0 mmol/L) in three of eight cases (38%), while no rebound hypoglycaemia occurred with G5 and P10.ConclusionsCorrecting hypoglycaemia with 15 g of glucose should be reconsidered in post‐RYGB PBH. A lower dose appears to sufficiently increase glucose levels outside the critical range in most cases, and complementary nutrients (e.g. proteins) may provide glycaemia‐stabilizing benefits.Registration number of clinical trialNTC05250271 (ClinicalTrials.gov)

Nutritional strategies for correcting low glucose values in patients with postbariatric hypoglycaemia: A randomized controlled three-arm crossover trial.

AIM To evaluate the efficacy of nutritional hypoglycaemia correction strategies in postbariatric hypoglycaemia (PBH) after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB). MATERIALS AND METHODS In a randomized, controlled, three-arm crossover trial, eight post-RYGB adults (mean [SD] 7.0 [1.4] years since surgery) with PBH ingested a solid mixed meal (584 kcal, 85 g carbohydrates, 21 g fat, 12 g protein) to induce hypoglycaemia on three separate days. Upon reaching plasma glucose of less than 3.0 mmol/L, hypoglycaemia was corrected with 15 g of glucose (G15), 5 g of glucose (G5) or a protein bar (P10, 10 g of protein) in random order. The primary outcome was percentage of time spent in the target plasma glucose range (3.9-5.5 mmol/L) during 40 minutes after correction. RESULTS Postcorrection time spent in the target glucose range did not differ significantly between the interventions (P = .161). However, postcorrection time with glucose less than 3.9 mmol/L was lower after G15 than P10 (P = .007), whereas time spent with glucose more than 5.5 mmol/L, peak glucose and insulin 15 minutes postcorrection were higher after G15 than G5 and P10 (P < .001). Glucagon 15 minutes postcorrection was higher after P10 than after G15 and G5 (P = .002 and P = .003, respectively). G15 resulted in rebound hypoglycaemia (< 3.0 mmol/L) in three of eight cases (38%), while no rebound hypoglycaemia occurred with G5 and P10. CONCLUSIONS Correcting hypoglycaemia with 15 g of glucose should be reconsidered in post-RYGB PBH. A lower dose appears to sufficiently increase glucose levels outside the critical range in most cases, and complementary nutrients (e.g. proteins) may provide glycaemia-stabilizing benefits. REGISTRATION NUMBER OF CLINICAL TRIAL NTC05250271 (ClinicalTrials.gov)

Online identification of cascading events in power systems with renewable generation using measurement data and machine learning

This paper introduces a framework for online identification of cascading events in power systems with renewable generation, based on supervised machine learning techniques and measurement data. Cascading events are low-probability, high-impact events, the propagation of which can lead even to large-scale blackouts, with severe consequences to society. The proposed methodology is based on Long-short term memory networks, considering uncertainties associated with renewable generation, system loading and initial contingencies. By utilizing time-series measurement data, the proposed method can predict the appearance of cascading events, as defined by the discrete action of protection devices which can capture voltage, frequency or transient instability related dynamic phenomena. The proposed framework is applied on a modified version of the IEEE-39 bus model incorporating detailed dynamic renewable generation and protection devices implementations. Results highlight that the suggested method can successfully identify cases with cascading events with up to 95.6% accuracy and with an average inference time of 0.042s, taking into account practical considerations related to phasor measurement units, such as availability and noise in measurement data