Generalized Ricci Curvature Bounds for Three Dimensional Contact Subriemannian manifolds

Measure contraction property is one of the possible generalizations of Ricci curvature bound to more general metric measure spaces. In this paper, we discover sufficient conditions for a three dimensional contact subriemannian manifold to satisfy this property.Comment: 49 page

Gait kinematic analysis in patients with a mild form of central cord syndrome

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Central cord syndrome (CCS) is considered the most common incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI). Independent ambulation was achieved in 87-97% in young patients with CCS but no gait analysis studies have been reported before in such pathology. The aim of this study was to analyze the gait characteristics of subjects with CCS and to compare the findings with a healthy age, sex and anthropomorphically matched control group (CG), walking both at a self-selected speed and at the same speed.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Twelve CCS patients and a CG of twenty subjects were analyzed. Kinematic data were obtained using a three-dimensional motion analysis system with two scanner units. The CG were asked to walk at two different speeds, at a self-selected speed and at a slower one, similar to the mean gait speed previously registered in the CCS patient group. Temporal, spatial variables and kinematic variables (maximum and minimum lower limb joint angles throughout the gait cycle in each plane, along with the gait cycle instants of occurrence and the joint range of motion - ROM) were compared between the two groups walking at similar speeds.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The kinematic parameters were compared when both groups walked at a similar speed, given that there was a significant difference in the self-selected speeds (p < 0.05). Hip abduction and knee flexion at initial contact, as well as minimal knee flexion at stance, were larger in the CCS group (p < 0.05). However, the range of knee and ankle motion in the sagittal plane was greater in the CG group (p < 0.05). The maximal ankle plantar-flexion values in stance phase and at toe off were larger in the CG (p < 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The gait pattern of CCS patients showed a decrease of knee and ankle sagittal ROM during level walking and an increase in hip abduction to increase base of support. The findings of this study help to improve the understanding how CCS affects gait changes in the lower limbs.</p

Autoimmune and autoinflammatory mechanisms in uveitis

The eye, as currently viewed, is neither immunologically ignorant nor sequestered from the systemic environment. The eye utilises distinct immunoregulatory mechanisms to preserve tissue and cellular function in the face of immune-mediated insult; clinically, inflammation following such an insult is termed uveitis. The intra-ocular inflammation in uveitis may be clinically obvious as a result of infection (e.g. toxoplasma, herpes), but in the main infection, if any, remains covert. We now recognise that healthy tissues including the retina have regulatory mechanisms imparted by control of myeloid cells through receptors (e.g. CD200R) and soluble inhibitory factors (e.g. alpha-MSH), regulation of the blood retinal barrier, and active immune surveillance. Once homoeostasis has been disrupted and inflammation ensues, the mechanisms to regulate inflammation, including T cell apoptosis, generation of Treg cells, and myeloid cell suppression in situ, are less successful. Why inflammation becomes persistent remains unknown, but extrapolating from animal models, possibilities include differential trafficking of T cells from the retina, residency of CD8(+) T cells, and alterations of myeloid cell phenotype and function. Translating lessons learned from animal models to humans has been helped by system biology approaches and informatics, which suggest that diseased animals and people share similar changes in T cell phenotypes and monocyte function to date. Together the data infer a possible cryptic infectious drive in uveitis that unlocks and drives persistent autoimmune responses, or promotes further innate immune responses. Thus there may be many mechanisms in common with those observed in autoinflammatory disorders

Supranuclear eye movements and nystagmus in children: A review of the literature and guide to clinical examination, interpretation of findings and age-appropriate norms.

Abnormal eye movements in children present a significant challenge to Ophthalmologists and other healthcare professionals. Similarly, examination of supra-nuclear eye movements in children and interpretation of any resulting clinical signs can seem very complex. A structured assessment is often lacking although in many cases, simple clinical observations, combined with a basic understanding of the underlying neurology, can hold the key to clinical diagnosis. As the range of underlying diagnoses for children with abnormal eye movements is broad, recognising clinical patterns and understanding their neurological basis is also imperative for ongoing management. Here we present a review and best practice guide for a structured, methodical clinical examination of supranuclear eye movements in children, a guide to clinical interpretation and age-appropriate norms. We also detail the more common specific clinical findings and how they should be interpreted and used to guide further management. In summary, this review will encourage clinicians to combine a structured assessment and a logical interpretation of the resulting clinical signs, in order to recognise patterns of presentation and avoid unnecessary investigations and protracted delays in diagnosis and clinical care

Evaluation of Oxfendazole, Praziquantel and Albendazole against Cystic Echinococcosis: A Randomized Clinical Trial in Naturally Infected Sheep

Cystic Echinococcosis (CE) is a near-cosmopolitan parasitic zoonosis that causes economic losses in many regions of the world. This parasitic infection can be regarded as an emerging or re-emerging disease causing considerable losses in livestock production. CE is produced by the larval cystic stage (hydatid) of the dog parasite Echinococcus granulosus. After infective eggs are ingested, cysts develop mainly in lungs and liver of humans and animals (sheep, cattle, pigs, horses, etc). Infected people may require surgery and/or Albendazole-based chemotherapy. In this study, we evaluated the effects of Oxfendazole alone (an antiparasitic drug used in animals), Oxfendazole plus Praziquantel, and Albendazole plus Praziquantel against hydatid cysts in sheep over 4 to 6 weeks of treatment. All of the treatments in this study were efficacious in killing the larval stages and, therefore, in minimizing the risk of a dog acquiring new infections (taenias). These treatment schemes can be added to control measures in animals and eventually could be used for the treatment of human infection. Further investigations on different schedules of monotherapy or combined chemotherapy are needed, as well as studies to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Oxfendazole in humans

Gram Negative Bacteria Are Associated with the Early Stages of Necrotizing Enterocolitis

Introduction: Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) affects 5–10 % of infants born weighing less than 1500 g. Most models of NEC recapitulate late-stage disease with gut necrosis and elevated inflammatory mediators. Evaluation of NEC at earlier, less lethal stages of disease will allow investigation of initial disease triggers and may advance our understanding of temporal relationships between factors implicated in NEC pathogenesis. In this manuscript, we describe our investigation of early NEC and test the hypothesis that bacteria and inflammatory mediators differ between animals with early NEC and disease fre

Turtle Carapace Anomalies: The Roles of Genetic Diversity and Environment

Background: Phenotypic anomalies are common in wild populations and multiple genetic, biotic and abiotic factors might contribute to their formation. Turtles are excellent models for the study of developmental instability because anomalies are easily detected in the form of malformations, additions, or reductions in the number of scutes or scales. Methodology/Principal Findings: In this study, we integrated field observations, manipulative experiments, and climatic and genetic approaches to investigate the origin of carapace scute anomalies across Iberian populations of the European pond turtle, Emys orbicularis. The proportion of anomalous individuals varied from 3 % to 69 % in local populations, with increasing frequency of anomalies in northern regions. We found no significant effect of climatic and soil moisture, or climatic temperature on the occurrence of anomalies. However, lower genetic diversity and inbreeding were good predictors of the prevalence of scute anomalies among populations. Both decreasing genetic diversity and increasing proportion of anomalous individuals in northern parts of the Iberian distribution may be linked to recolonization events from the Southern Pleistocene refugium. Conclusions/Significance: Overall, our results suggest that developmental instability in turtle carapace formation might be caused, at least in part, by genetic factors, although the influence of environmental factors affecting the developmental stability of turtle carapace cannot be ruled out. Further studies of the effects of environmental factors, pollutants an

Molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the evolution of form and function in the amniote jaw.

The amniote jaw complex is a remarkable amalgamation of derivatives from distinct embryonic cell lineages. During development, the cells in these lineages experience concerted movements, migrations, and signaling interactions that take them from their initial origins to their final destinations and imbue their derivatives with aspects of form including their axial orientation, anatomical identity, size, and shape. Perturbations along the way can produce defects and disease, but also generate the variation necessary for jaw evolution and adaptation. We focus on molecular and cellular mechanisms that regulate form in the amniote jaw complex, and that enable structural and functional integration. Special emphasis is placed on the role of cranial neural crest mesenchyme (NCM) during the species-specific patterning of bone, cartilage, tendon, muscle, and other jaw tissues. We also address the effects of biomechanical forces during jaw development and discuss ways in which certain molecular and cellular responses add adaptive and evolutionary plasticity to jaw morphology. Overall, we highlight how variation in molecular and cellular programs can promote the phenomenal diversity and functional morphology achieved during amniote jaw evolution or lead to the range of jaw defects and disease that affect the human condition

Inflammation and breast cancer. Inflammatory component of mammary carcinogenesis in ErbB2 transgenic mice

This review addresses genes differentially expressed in the mammary gland transcriptome during the progression of mammary carcinogenesis in BALB/c mice that are transgenic for the rat neu (ERBB2, or HER-2/neu) oncogene (BALB-neuT664V-E mice). The Ingenuity knowledge database was used to characterize four functional association networks whose hub genes are directly linked to inflammation (specifically, the genes encoding IL-1β, tumour necrosis factor, interferon-γ, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1/CC chemokine ligand-2) and are increasingly expressed during such progression. In silico meta-analysis in a human breast cancer dataset suggests that proinflammatory activation in the mammary glands of these mice reflects a general pattern of human breast cancer

Pattern of healthcare resource utilization and direct costs associated with manic episodes in Spain

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although some studies indicate that bipolar disorder causes high health care resources consumption, no study is available addressing a cost estimation of bipolar disorder in Spain. The aim of this observational study was to evaluate healthcare resource utilization and the associated direct cost in patients with manic episodes in the Spanish setting.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Retrospective descriptive study was carried out in a consecutive sample of patients with a DSM-IV diagnosis of bipolar type I disorder with or without psychotic symptoms, aged 18 years or older, and who were having an active manic episode at the time of inclusion. Information regarding the current manic episode was collected retrospectively from the medical record and patient interview.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Seven hundred and eighty-four evaluable patients, recruited by 182 psychiatrists, were included in the study. The direct cost associated with healthcare resource utilization during the manic episode was high, with a mean cost of nearly €4,500 per patient, of which approximately 55% corresponded to the cost of hospitalization, 30% to the cost of psychopharmacological treatment and 10% to the cost of specialized care.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results show the high cost of management of the patient with a manic episode, which is mainly due to hospitalizations. In this regard, any intervention on the management of the manic patient that could reduce the need for hospitalization would have a significant impact on the costs of the disease.</p