Euglycemic Diabetic Ketoacidosis in Pregnancy

The clinical presentation of diabetic ketoacidosis in pregnancy (DKP) is similar to that observed in nonpregnant women, although reports suggest the presenting blood glucose level may not be as high. It is hypothesized that lower, maternal fasting glucose levels are a result of both the fetus and the placenta consuming glucose. We report the case of a 38-year-old woman gravida 2, para 0, abortion 1 with type 1 diabetes who had euglycemic diabetic ketoacidosis and review the literature on DKP, with a focus on diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of the mother and fetus

IUGS–IUPAC recommendations and status reports on the half-lives of 87 Rb, 146 Sm, 147 Sm, 234 U, 235 U, and 238 U (IUPAC Technical Report)

The IUPAC–IUGS joint Task Group “Isotopes in Geosciences” (TGIG) has evaluated the published literature on the half-lives of six long-lived, geologically relevant radioactive nuclides. Where conflicting literature estimates are present, it is necessary to first identify any systematic bias in accordance with metrological traceability and to exclude the biased estimates from further consideration. The TGIG recommends three robust half-life estimates: 49.61±0.16 Ga for 87Rb, corresponding to a decay constant λ(87Rb) = (1.3972±0.0045)×10–11 a–1; 106.25±0.38 Ga for 147Sm, and a corresponding decay constant λ(147Sm) = (6.524±0.024)×10–12 a–1; 4.4683±0.0096 Ga for 238U, i.e. a decay constant λ(238U) = (1.55125±0.00333)×10–10 a–1. All cited uncertainties have a coverage factor k = 2. For other radionuclides of Sm and U no unambiguous consensus value can be endorsed at present by TGIG, which limits its evaluation to a status report highlighting unaccounted-for potential sources of bias. The improved repeatability of mass spectrometric measurements has revealed systematic bias effects that had been dismissed as subordinate in the past. These issues can only be resolved by future dedicated investigations

Minimum requirements for publishing hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur stable-isotope delta results (IUPAC Technical Report)

Stable hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur (HCNOS) isotope compositions expressed as isotope-delta values are typically reported relative to international standards such as Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water (VSMOW), Vienna Peedee belemnite (VPDB) or Vienna Cañon Diablo Troilite (VCDT). These international standards are chosen by convention and the calibration methods used to realise them in practice undergo occasional changes. To ensure longevity and reusability of published data, a comprehensive description of (1) analytical procedure, (2) traceability, (3) data processing, and (4) uncertainty evaluation is required. Following earlier International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry documents on terminology and notations, this paper proposes minimum requirements for publishing HCNOS stable-isotope delta results. Each of the requirements are presented with illustrative example

Pleiotropic effects of ezetimibe/simvastatin vs. high dose simvastatin

Background: In the setting of stable coronary artery disease (CAD), it is not known if the pleiotropic effects of cholesterol reduction differ between combined ezetimibe/simvastatin and high-dose simvastatin alone. Objective: We sought to compare the anti-inflammatory and antiplatelet effects of ezetimibe 10 mg/simvastatin 20 mg (E10/S20) with simvastatin 80 mg (S80). Methods and results: CAD patients (n = 83, 63 +/- 9 years, 57% men) receiving S20, were randomly allocated to receive E10/S20 or S80, for 6 weeks. Lipids, inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, soluble CD40 ligand and oxidized LDL), and platelet aggregation (platelet function analyzer [PFA]-100) changes were determined. Baseline lipids, inflammatory markers and PFA-100 were similar between groups. After treatment, E10/S20 and S80 patients presented, respectively: (1) similar reduction in LDL-C (29 +/- 13% vs. 28 +/- 30%, p = 0.46), apo-B (18 +/- 17% vs. 22 +/- 15%, p = 0.22) and oxidized LDL (15 +/- 33% vs. 18 +/- 47%, p = 0.30); (2) no changes in inflammatory markers; and, (3) a higher increase of the PFA-100 with E10/S20 than with S80 (27 +/- 43% vs. 8 +/- 33%, p = 0.02). Conclusions: These data suggest that among stable CAD patients treated with S20, (1) both E10/S20 and S80 were equally effective in further reducing LDL-C; (2) neither treatment had any further significant anti-inflammatory effects; and (3) E10/S20 was more effective than S80 in inhibiting platelet aggregation. Thus, despite similar lipid lowering and doses 4x less of simvastatin, E10/S20 induced a greater platelet inhibitory effect than S80. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.Astra ZenecaAstraZenecaMerck/Schering PloughMerck/Schering PloughPfizerPfizerSao Paulo Research FoundationSao Paulo Research Foundation [FAPESP/05/57710-3

Additive Manufacturing Round Robin Protocols: A Pilot Study

As the number of users of additive manufacturing (AM) steadily increases, and considering their demand for material and process specifications, the need for standard protocols for round robin studies is increasing accordingly. Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have conducted and participated in several AM round robin studies with the aim not only to characterize the AM process, and material but also to improve the understanding of AM round robin studies themselves. One simple study, a pilot round robin study investigating geometric performance of NIST-owned consumer-grade 3D printers, provides excellent examples of typical results and lessons learned. While individual printers produced relatively consistent results, there was significant variability between the printers. This variability existed despite best efforts to ensure participants followed consistent procedures in building the test parts. Further, the variability made it apparent that collecting pedigree data from each build was required to draw any conclusions about potential causes of the variability.Mechanical Engineerin

R Implementation of a Polyhedral Approximation to a 3D Set of Points Using the ?-Shape

This work presents the implementation in R of the ?-shape of a finite set of points in the three-dimensional space R3. This geometric structure generalizes the convex hull and allows to recover the shape of non-convex and even non-connected sets in 3D, given a ran- dom sample of points taken into it. Besides the computation of the ?-shape, the R package alphashape3d provides users with tools to facilitate the three-dimensional graphical visu- alization of the estimated set as well as the computation of important characteristics such as the connected components or the volume, among others