Unusual compulsive motor activity during treatment with clothiapine in a mentally retarded adolescent

Atypical antipsychotic agents, specifically those with a high hyposerotonergic activity such as clozapine and clothiapine, have been associated with de novo obsessive–compulsive symptoms. We report the case of a 16-year-old adolescent male with severe mental impairment and disruptive behaviour who developed a compulsive head and body turning disorder on clothiapine. Such a symptom had to be distinguished from epileptic partial seizures; it promptly disappeared with the drug discontinuation

ESTUDO DA APLICAÇÃO DE ENERGIA SOLAR FOTOVOLTAICA NO SEGMENTO DE NEGÓCIOS SOHO – SMALL OFFICE HOME OFFICE

RESUMO: Diante de um cenário onde a procura dos recursos energéticos apresentou um crescimento ao longo dos anos e também a busca de alternativas para suprir essa demanda, a energia solar fotovoltaica ganha destaque entre as fontes renováveis. O objetivo deste estudo foi identificar as vantagens da aplicação da energia fotovoltaica nos pequenos empreendimentos conhecidos como SOHO – Small Office Home Office, exemplificar a atividade no Brasil e no mundo, além de relatar os diversos tipos de benefícios que a adaptação ao sistema fotovoltaico proporciona para este segmento de negócios. Concluiu-se que este tipo de energia traz não só boas perspectivas econômicas, mas também sociais. Além disso, pela sustentabilidade ser encarada como um diferencial no ramo empresarial, a atividade fotovoltaica torna-se um atrativo e um diferencial competitivo para os empreendimentos. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: energia solar, pequenas empresas, sustentabilidade

Behaviour and Degenerative Changes in the Basal Forebrain Systems of Aged Rats (12 Months Old) after Levo-Acetyl-Carnitine Treatments

One group of six male control rats [12 months old] and one group of six male rats of the same age, singularly maintained in a cage, and treated with acetyl-L-carnitine-HCl [(gamma-trimethyl-beta-acetyl-butyrobetaine-HCl: Sigma-Tau code ST200 or ALCAR: 60 mg/kg/day[7]/po)] for six months were tested in the spatial learning/memory Morris mazewater task and for atrophy and cell loss in seven myelo- and cytostructurally defined basal forebrain (BF) cholinergic regions [Freddi et al., 2009]. Coronal sections 25 ?m thick were cut through the BF regions and processed every 200 ?m for choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) immunohistochemistry. The ALCAR-treated rats had significantly shorter exit times on the Morris maze-water task test than the control rats (average \ub1 SD 28.3 \ub1 12.4 s vs. 61.16 \ub1 4.67 s; t = 6.07, DOF = 10, P = 0.0001). Degenerative morphological changes in the BF ChAT-positive cells were observed in the substantia innominata pars anterior of the control rats but not in the treated animals (P < 0.05). In the BF, the counted and estimated average number of ChAT + cells in the 12-month-old ALCAR-treated rats (ChAT-ALCAR-12+ [Nos. 2,3,4]) was higher but not significantly (15.288 \ub1 3281) than that counted and estimated in the 12-month-old control rats [(ChAT-CT-12 [Nos. 1,2,3]) (11.508 \ub1 3868), t = 1.82, DOF = 10, P = 0.319]. In the substantia innominata pars posterior, the ChAT+ cells were significantly more numerous (P < 0.05) in the 12-month-old ALCAR-treated rats (ChAT-ALCAR-12 + [Nos. 2,3,4]) than in the control rats (ChAT-CT-12 [Nos. 1,2,3]). Above all, these results dem-onstrate that treatment with ALCAR from the age of 6 up to 12 months significantly attenuated spatial learning/memory impairment on the Morris maze-water behavioral task (P < 0.001) and also importantly reduced degeneration in size and number of cholinergic cells in the nucleus basalis magnocellularis of the BF. Accordingly, the surviving cholinergic neurons found in the BF of the ALCAR-treated rats might play an important role in modulating cortical activity and facilitating processes of attention, learning and memory

Electroencephalographic Changes after a Marathon at 4300 M of Altitude

Running at altitude is gaining greater popularity but it may expose participants to the risk of acute mountain sickness (AMS). The study investigated electroencephalographic (EEG) changes and eventual symptoms suggestive of AMS in 5 well-trained lowland native male runners (average age, 38.2 \uf0b1 4.6 years; VO2 peak 61.4 \uf0b1 2.7 mL\ub7kg\u20131\ub7min\u20131 at sea level; best marathon performance at sea level under 3 hours), who completed a marathon at 4300 m altitude. EEG, per-centage of peripheral arterial oxygen saturation (% SpaO2) and heart rate (HR) were recorded during wakefulness at rest (supine position) and in comfort: 1) at sea level; 2) at 3600 m after 32 - 38 hours of acute acclimatization; 3) at 4300 m after 145 - 153 hours of chronic acclimatization; and 4) at 4300 m immediately after a marathon race. Symptoms of AMS were evaluated with the Lake Louise questionnaire before any ECG recording. There was a significant decrease in low-voltage high-frequency activities at rest after acute hypoxic-hypobaric exposure at 3600 m as compared to sea level. After six days of acclimatization at 4300 m there was a significant increase in the power of low-voltage high-frequency activities, particularly beta and gamma, indicating an aroused waking state and an integrated activity across widely dis-tributed cortical regions. An increase in the power of low-voltage high-frequency activities over the entire cortex was observed, particularly after completion of the marathon at 4300 m. The increase in the high-frequency activities was probably due to direct and indirect reflex activation of the forebrain and reticular activating system involved in behav-ioral and metabolic integration of autonomic control and arousal and due to residual activation of the somatomotor and parietal cortex after the end of the marathon. Lake Louise score always resulted lower than 3, indicating no signs of AMS in all the runners. The results of this study indicate that in well-trained and acclimatized athletes, arousal has a protective role in preventing excessive oxygen deprivation also after an endurance exercise performed at high altitude. The absence of AMS fond in our study bear out that well trained and acclimatized runners, can safely participate in a marathon at high altitude that gives rise to temporary EEG changes without inducing paroxysmal phenomena

Gemcitabine plus vinorelbine in elderly or unfit patients with non-small cell lung cancer

Cisplatin-based combinations are efficacious in increasing the overall survival of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but their toxicity makes them unsuitable for elderly and unfit patients. The primary objective of this non-randomized phase II study was to evaluate the feasibility and activity of the gemcitabine plus vinorelbine combination in previously untreated elderly and/or unfit patients with measurable stage III or IV NSCLC. Forty-three patients aged ≥ 65 years or with contraindications against cisplatin treatment (36 males and seven females: median age 66 years; range 48–75: PS 0 = 11, PS 1 = 19, PS 2 = 13) received intravenous (i.v.) gemcitabine 1000 mg m–2, followed by vinorelbine 25 mg m–2i.v. on day 1 and 8 every 21 days. Fifteen patients (34.9%) achieved partial remission (confidence interval: 27.6–42.2%) for a median duration of 6 months; the median survival of these patients has not yet been reached. A further 15 had stable disease for a median of 4 months and a median survival of 7 months. The 10 patients (23.2%) who experienced disease progression had a median survival of 4 months. Three patients are not evaluable. The 1-year actuarial survival rate is 31.1%. The treatment was well tolerated: only 35% of the patients had grade 3 or 4 granulocytopenia on day 14, none experienced episodes of neutropenic fever, and there was no evidence of severe haematological toxicity upon recycling. Only 9% of the patients suffered from gastrointestinal toxicity (grade 3); increased but reversible transaminase levels were observed in 11.6%. In conclusion, the results of this phase II study show that the combination of gemcitabine and vinorelbine is active and well tolerated in NSCLC, and thus encourage its use in elderly or unfit patients. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaig

A Survey on Exotic Signatures for Post-quantum Blockchain: Challenges and Research Directions

Blockchain technology provides efficient and secure solutions to various online activities by utilizing a wide range of cryptographic tools. In this article, we survey the existing literature on post-quantum secure digital signatures that possess exotic advanced features and that are crucial cryptographic tools used in the blockchain ecosystem for (1) account management, (2) consensus efficiency, (3) empowering scriptless blockchain, and (4) privacy. The exotic signatures that we particularly focus on in this work are the following: multi-/aggregate, threshold, adaptor, blind, and ring signatures. Herein the term "exotic"refers to signatures with properties that are not just beyond the norm for signatures, e.g., unforgeability, but also imbue new forms of functionalities. Our treatment of such exotic signatures includes discussions on existing challenges and future research directions in the post-quantum space. We hope that this article will help to foster further research to make post-quantum cryptography more accessible so that blockchain systems can be made ready in advance of the approaching quantum threats

Reinstated p53 response and high anti-T-cell leukemia activity by the novel alkylating deacetylase inhibitor tinostamustine

Non peer reviewe