628 research outputs found
Bandgap determination from individual orthorhombic thin cesium lead bromide nanosheets by electron energy-loss spectroscopy
Inorganic lead halide perovskites are promising candidates for optoelectronic applications, due to their high photoluminescence quantum yield and narrow emission line widths. Particularly attractive is the possibility to vary the bandgap as a function of the halide composition and the size or shape of the crystals at the nanoscale. Here we present an aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and monochromated electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) study of extended nanosheets of CsPbBr3. We demonstrate their orthorhombic crystal structure and their lateral termination with Cs–Br planes. The bandgaps are measured from individual nanosheets, avoiding the effect of the size distribution which is present in standard optical spectroscopy techniques. We find an increase of the bandgap starting at thicknesses below 10 nm, confirming the less marked effect of 1D confinement in nanosheets compared to the 3D confinement observed in quantum dots, as predicted by density functional theory calculations and optical spectroscopy data from ensemble measurements
CycSAT-Unresolvable Cyclic Logic Encryption Using Unreachable States
Logic encryption has attracted much attention due to increasing IC design costs and growing number of untrusted foundries. Unreachable states in a design provide a space of flexibility for logic encryption to explore. However, due to the available access of scan chain, traditional combinational encryption cannot leverage the benefit of such flexibility. Cyclic logic encryption inserts key-controlled feedbacks into the original circuit to prevent piracy and overproduction. Based on our discovery, cyclic logic encryption can utilize unreachable states to improve security. Even though cyclic encryption is vulnerable to a powerful attack called CycSAT, we develop a new way of cyclic encryption by utilizing unreachable states to defeat CycSAT. The attack complexity of the proposed scheme is discussed and its robustness is demonstrated
A framework for intelligent policy decision making based on a government data hub
Author ProofThe e-Oman Integration Platform is a data hub that enables data
exchanges across government in response to transactions. With millions of
transactions weekly, and thereby data exchanges, we propose to investigate the
potential of gathering intelligence from these linked sources to help government
officials make more informed decisions. A key feature of this data is the richness
and accuracy, which increases the value of the learning outcome when augmented
by other big and open data sources. We consider a high-level framework
within a government context, taking into account issues related to the definition
of public policies, data privacy, and the potential benefits to society. A preliminary,
qualitative validation of the framework in the context of e-Oman is
presented. This paper lays out foundational work into an ongoing research to
implement government decision-making based on big data.“SmartEGOV: Harnessing EGOV for Smart Governance (Foundations, Methods, Tools)/NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000037”, supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (EFDR
A multicentre matched case control study of risk factors for Preeclampsia in healthy women in Pakistan
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Preeclampsia is one of the leading causes of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality world-wide. The risk for developing preeclampsia varies depending on the underlying mechanism. Because the disorder is heterogeneous, the pathogenesis can differ in women with various risk factors. Understanding these mechanisms of disease responsible for preeclampsia as well as risk assessment is still a major challenge. The aim of this study was to determine the risk factors associated with preeclampsia, in healthy women in maternity hospitals of Karachi and Rawalpindi.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted a hospital based matched case-control study to assess the factors associated with preeclampsia in Karachi and Rawalpindi, from January 2006 to December 2007. 131 hospital-reported cases of PE and 262 controls without history of preeclampsia were enrolled within 3 days of delivery. Cases and controls were matched on the hospital, day of delivery and parity. Potential risk factors for preeclampsia were ascertained during in-person postpartum interviews using a structured questionnaire and by medical record abstraction. Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate matched odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In multivariate analysis, women having a family history of hypertension (adjusted OR 2.06, 95% CI; 1.27-3.35), gestational diabetes (adjusted OR 6.57, 95% CI; 1.94 -22.25), pre-gestational diabetes (adjusted OR 7.36, 95% CI; 1.37-33.66) and mental stress during pregnancy (adjusted OR 1.32; 95% CI; 1.19-1.46, for each 5 unit increase in Perceived stress scale score) were at increased risk of preeclampsia. However, high body mass index, maternal age, urinary tract infection, use of condoms prior to index pregnancy and sociodemographic factors were not associated with higher risk of having preeclampsia.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Development of preeclampsia was associated with gestational diabetes, pregestational diabetes, family history of hypertension and mental stress during pregnancy. These factors can be used as a screening tool for preeclampsia prediction. Identification of the above mentioned predictors would enhance the ability to diagnose and monitor women likely to develop preeclampsia before the onset of disease for timely interventions and better maternal and fetal outcomes.</p
Retinal glycoprotein enrichment by concanavalin a enabled identification of novel membrane autoantigen synaptotagmin-1 in equine recurrent uveitis.
Complete knowledge of autoantigen spectra is crucial for understanding pathomechanisms of autoimmune diseases like equine recurrent uveitis (ERU), a spontaneous model for human autoimmune uveitis. While several ERU autoantigens were identified previously, no membrane protein was found so far. As there is a great overlap between glycoproteins and membrane proteins, the aim of this study was to test whether pre-enrichment of retinal glycoproteins by ConA affinity is an effective tool to detect autoantigen candidates among membrane proteins. In 1D Western blots, the glycoprotein preparation allowed detection of IgG reactions to low abundant proteins in sera of ERU patients. Synaptotagmin-1, a Ca2+-sensing protein in synaptic vesicles, was identified as autoantigen candidate from the pre-enriched glycoprotein fraction by mass spectrometry and was validated as a highly prevalent autoantigen by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Analysis of Syt1 expression in retinas of ERU cases showed a downregulation in the majority of ERU affected retinas to 24%. Results pointed to a dysregulation of retinal neurotransmitter release in ERU. Identification of synaptotagmin-1, the first cell membrane associated autoantigen in this spontaneous autoimmune disease, demonstrated that examination of tissue fractions can lead to the discovery of previously undetected novel autoantigens. Further experiments will address its role in ERU pathology
Potential of Low Dose Leuco-Methylthioninium Bis(Hydromethanesulphonate) (LMTM) Monotherapy for Treatment of Mild Alzheimer’s Disease : Cohort Analysis as Modified Primary Outcome in a Phase III Clinical Trial
The supplementary material is available in the electronic version of this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.3233/JAD-170560. The study was sponsored by TauRx Therapeutics (Singapore). We thank Lon Schneider and Howard Feldman for their contribution to the Scientific Advisory Board. We gratefully acknowledge study investigators and the generosity of study participants. Authors’ disclosures available online (http://j-alz.com/manuscript disclosures/17-0560r3).Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Molecular diagnosis of Pseudoterranova decipiens s.s in human, France
Background: Anisakis and Pseudoterranova are the main genera involved in human infections caused by nematodes
of the Anisakidae family. Species identification is complicated due to the lack of differential morphological
characteristics at the larval stage, thus requiring molecular differentiation. Pseudoterranova larvae ingested through
raw fish are spontaneously eliminated in most cases, but mechanical removal by means of endoscopy might be
required. To date, only very few cases of Pseudoterranova infection have been reported in France.
Case presentation: A 19-year-old woman from Northeastern France detected, while brushing her teeth, a larva
exiting through her mouth. The patient who presented with headache, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps reported
having eaten baked cod. The worm was a fourth-stage larva with a size of 22 × 0.9 mm, and molecular
biology identified it as Pseudoterranova decipiens sensu stricto (s. s.). In a second P. decipiens infection case, occurring a
few months later, a worm exited through the patient’s nose after she had eaten raw sea bream.
Conclusion: These two cases demonstrate that Pseudoterranova infection is not uncommon among French patients.
Therefore, molecular techniques should be more widely applied for a better characterization of anisakidosis epidemiology
in France
Acute maternal infection and risk of pre-eclampsia: a population-based case-control study.
BACKGROUND: Infection in pregnancy may be involved in the aetiology of pre-eclampsia. However, a clear association between acute maternal infection and pre-eclampsia has not been established. We assessed whether acute urinary tract infection, respiratory tract infection, and antibiotic drug prescriptions in pregnancy (a likely proxy for maternal infection) are associated with an increased risk of pre-eclampsia. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We used a matched nested case-control design and data from the UK General Practice Research Database to examine the association between maternal infection and pre-eclampsia. Primiparous women aged at least 13 years and registered with a participating practice between January 1987 and October 2007 were eligible for inclusion. We selected all cases of pre-eclampsia and a random sample of primiparous women without pre-eclampsia (controls). Cases (n=1533) were individually matched with up to ten controls (n=14236) on practice and year of delivery. We calculated odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for pre-eclampsia comparing women exposed and unexposed to infection using multivariable conditional logistic regression. After adjusting for maternal age, pre-gestational hypertension, diabetes, renal disease and multifetal gestation, the odds of pre-eclampsia were increased in women prescribed antibiotic drugs (adjusted odds ratio 1.28;1.14-1.44) and in women with urinary tract infection (adjusted odds ratio 1.22;1.03-1.45). We found no association with maternal respiratory tract infection (adjusted odds ratio 0.91;0.72-1.16). Further adjustment for maternal smoking and pre-pregnancy body mass index made no difference to our findings. CONCLUSIONS: Women who acquire a urinary infection during pregnancy, but not those who have a respiratory infection, are at an increased risk of pre-eclampsia. Maternal antibiotic prescriptions are also associated with an increased risk. Further research is required to elucidate the underlying mechanism of this association and to determine whether, among women who acquire infections in pregnancy, prompt treatment or prophylaxis against infection might reduce the risk of pre-eclampsia
High-Risk and Low-Risk Human Papillomavirus in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma at Mazandaran, Northern Iran
Cancers are the second most common cause of nonaccidental
deaths in Iran, following cardiovascular deaths.
Mazandaran, near the Caspian Littoral at north of Iran have
identified as a several-high incidence area for Esophageal
Squamous Cell Carcinoma (ESCC) in the world. Several associated
risk factors, such as dietary and cultural habits, infectious
agents, nutritional deficiencies, too much use of tobacco
and alcohol and infection to certain DNA tumor viruses
(HPVs), including environmental and genetic factors are attributed
to this disease. To explore this issue, we analyzed HPV
DNA prevalence and HPV types together in relation to tumor
sites a high-incidence population. Archived tissue blocks from
46, 69 and 62 upper, middle and lower third of esophagus,
respectively from ESCC patients were evaluated for the presence
of HPV DNA by PCR using the degenerate HPV L1
consensus primer pairs MY09/MY11. The positive specimens
were evaluated by Real-time PCR to determine HPV genotypes.
From the 49 HPV positive cases, of ESCC patients, 5
(23.1%), 11 (55 %) and 9 (56.3 %) of upper, middle and lower
third of ESCC specimens, respectively were positive by at least
one high and one low-risk HPV genotypes. In general, HPV45
and HPV11 were the most common high- risk and low-risk
HPV genotypes in HPV L1 positive cases, respectively, followed
by HPV6, HPV52 and HPV39. Therefore, the high
prevalence of HPV DNA in different anatomical sites of ESCC
patients from the Mazandaran region in North of Iran provides
more evidence for a role of HPV in this cancer
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