Heterotopic pancreatitis causing confusion in small bowel tumor.

A 39-year-old man was admitted to our hospital for acute epigastric pain with nausea and vomiting. Physical examination was suggestive for acute abdomen without peritoneal irritation findings. Blood tests results were as follow: alanine aminotransferase (ALT): 87 U/L, aspartate aminotransferase (AST): 55 U/L, amylase: 135 U/L, lipase: 69 U/L, total bilirubin: 11,6 mg/l, creatinine: 9 mg/l, C-reactive protein (CRP): 108,4 mg/L, and white blood cells (WBC): 14640/mm

An incremental modular technique for checking LTL-X properties on Petri nets

Model-checking is a powerful and widespread technique for the verification of finite state concurrent systems. However, the main hindrance for wider application of this technique is the well-known state explosion problem. Modular verification is a promising natural approach to tackle this problem. It is based on the "divide and conquer" principle and aims at deducing the properties of the system from those of its components analysed in isolation. Unfortunately, several issues make the use of modular verification techniques difficult in practice. First, deciding how to partition the system into components is not trivial and can have a significant impact on the resources needed for verification. Second, when model-checking a component in isolation, how should the environment of this component be described? In this paper, we address these problems in the framework of model-checking LTL\X action-based properties on Petri nets. We propose an incremental and modular verification approach where the system model is partitioned according to the actions occurring in the property to be verified and where the environment of a component is taken into account using the linear place invariants of the system

Classification d'expressions vocales passives versus actives

Six expressions sont généralement considérées pour caractériser les états émotifs humains : Sourire, Surprise, Colère, Tristesse, dégoût et Neutre. Différentes mesures peuvent être extraites à partir du signal de parole pour caractériser ces expressions, à savoir la fréquence fondamentale, l'énergie, le SPI (rapport des énergies des HF et des BF dans le signal) et le débit de parole. Une classification automatique des cinq expressions basées sur ces caractéristiques présente des conflits entre la Colère, la Surprise et le Sourire d'une part et le Neutre et la Tristesse d'autre part. Ce conflit entre classes d'expressions est également retrouvé chez le classifieur humain. Nous proposons donc de définir deux classes d'expressions: Active regroupant le Sourire, la Surprise et la Colère et Passive regroupant le Neutre et la Tristesse. Une telle classification est également plus réaliste et plus appropriée pour l'intégration d'information de parole dans un système de classification multimodale combinant la parole et la vidéo, ce qui est à long terme le but de notre travail. Dans ce papier, différentes méthodes de classification sont testées: un classifieur Bayésien, une Analyse Discriminante Linéaire (ADL), le classifieur au K plus proches vosins(KNN) et un classifieur à Machine à Vecteur de Support (SVM) avec une fonction de base gaussienne. Pour les deux classes considérées, les meilleurs taux de classification sont obtenus avec le classificateur SVM avec un taux de reconnaissance de 89.74% pour l'état Actif et de 86.54 % pour l'état Passif

Modelling dependency networks to inform data structures in BIM and smart cities

The pervasive deployment of "smart city" and "smart building" projects in cities world-wide is driving innovation on many fronts including; technology, telematics, engineering and entrepreneurship. This paper focuses on the technical and engineering perspectives of BIM and smart cities, by extending building and urban morphology studies as to respond to the challenges posed by Big Data, and smart infrastructure. The proposed framework incorporates theoretical and modelling descriptions to verify how network-based models can act as the backbone skeletal representation of both building and urban complexity, and yet relate to environmental performance and smart infrastructure. The paper provides some empirical basis to support data information models through building dependency networks as to represent the relationships between different existing and smart infrastructure components. These dependency networks are thought to inform decisions on how to represent building and urban data sets in response to different social and environmental performance requirements, feeding that into void and solid descriptions of data maturity models. It is concluded that network-based models are fundamental to comprehend and represent the complexity of cities and inform urban design and public policy practices, in the design and operation phases of infrastructure projects

MULTICUBE: Multi-objective design space exploration of multi-core architectures

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ConR: An R package to assist large-scale multispecies preliminary conservation assessments using distribution data

Published online: 16 Dec 2017The Red List Categories and the accompanying five criteria developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) provide an authoritative and comprehensive methodology to assess the conservation status of organisms. Red List criterion B, which principally uses distribution data, is the most widely used to assess conservation status, particularly of plant species. No software package has previously been available to perform large-scale multispecies calculations of the three main criterion B parameters [extent of occurrence (EOO), area of occupancy (AOO) and an estimate of the number of locations] and provide preliminary conservation assessments using an automated batch process. We developed ConR, a dedicated R package, as a rapid and efficient tool to conduct large numbers of preliminary assessments, thereby facilitating complete Red List assessment. ConR (1) calculates key geographic range parameters (AOO and EOO) and estimates the number of locations sensu IUCN needed for an assessment under criterion B; (2) uses this information in a batch process to generate preliminary assessments of multiple species; (3) summarize the parameters and preliminary assessments in a spreadsheet; and (4) provides a visualization of the results by generating maps suitable for the submission of full assessments to the IUCN Red List. ConR can be used for any living organism for which reliable georeferenced distribution data are available. As distributional data for taxa become increasingly available via large open access datasets, ConR provides a novel, timely tool to guide and accelerate the work of the conservation and taxonomic communities by enabling practitioners to conduct preliminary assessments simultaneously for hundreds or even thousands of species in an efficient and time-saving way

Drug-Initiated Synthesis of Cladribine-Based Polymer Prodrug Nanoparticles: Biological Evaluation and Structure Activity Relationships

International audienceBy using two reversible deactivation radical polymerization techniques, either nitroxide-mediated polymerization or reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization, the "drug-initiated" approach was applied to cladribine (CdA) as an anticancer drug to synthesize small libraries of well-defined and self-stabilized CdA-based polymer prodrug nanoparticles, differing from the nature and the molar mass of the grown polymer, and the nature of the linker between CdA and the polymer, thus allowing structure-cytotoxicity relationships to be determined. Their biological evaluation was investigated in vitro on L1210 cancer cells. The preparation of fluorescent CdA-based nanoparticles with excellent imaging ability was also reported by applying the "drug-initiated" approach to an aggregation-induced emission-active dye

Применение метода контрольных возмущений для определения характерных узлов присоединения комплексной нагрузки при расчетах динамической устойчивости

Рассматривается влияние способа замещения комплексной нагрузки на характер электромеханических переходных процессов в электрических системах (ЭС) от действия больших возмущений. Показано, что установить общие рекомендации относительно способа замещения нагрузки в сложных ЭС затруднительно. Предлагается для опреде­ления характерных узлов нагрузки, оказывающих существенное влияние на характер динамического перехода, применять известный метод контрольных возмущений. Приводятся результаты сравнительных расчетов с использованием предлагаемой методики

Molecular phylogenetics reveal multiple tertiary vicariance origins of the African rain forest trees

Background - Tropical rain forests are the most diverse terrestrial ecosystems on the planet. How this diversity evolved remains largely unexplained. In Africa, rain forests are situated in two geographically isolated regions: the West-Central Guineo-Congolian region and the coastal and montane regions of East Africa. These regions have strong floristic affinities with each other, suggesting a former connection via an Eocene pan-African rain forest. High levels of endemism observed in both regions have been hypothesized to be the result of either 1) a single break-up followed by a long isolation or 2) multiple fragmentation and reconnection since the Oligocene. To test these hypotheses the evolutionary history of endemic taxa within a rain forest restricted African lineage of the plant family Annonaceae was studied. Molecular phylogenies and divergence dates were estimated using a Bayesian relaxed uncorrelated molecular clock assumption accounting for both calibration and phylogenetic uncertainties. Results - Our results provide strong evidence that East African endemic lineages of Annonaceae have multiple origins dated to significantly different times spanning the Oligocene and Miocene epochs. Moreover, these successive origins (c. 33, 16 and 8 million years ¿ Myr) coincide with known periods of aridification and geological activity in Africa that would have recurrently isolated the Guineo-Congolian rain forest from the East African one. All East African taxa were found to have diversified prior to Pleistocene times. Conclusion - Molecular phylogenetic dating analyses of this large pan-African clade of Annonaceae unravels an interesting pattern of diversification for rain forest restricted trees co-occurring in West/Central and East African rain forests. Our results suggest that repeated reconnections between the West/Central and East African rain forest blocks allowed for biotic exchange while the break-ups induced speciation via vicariance, enhancing the levels of endemicity. These results provide an explanation for present day distribution patterns and origins of endemicity for African rain forest trees. Moreover, given the pre-Pleistocene origins of all the studied endemic East African genera and species, these results also offer important insights for setting conservation priorities in these highly diversified but threatene

Effects of butter from mountain-pasture grazing cows on risk markers of the metabolic syndrome compared with conventional Danish butter: a randomized controlled study.

BACKGROUND: There is considerable interest in dairy products from low-input systems, such as mountain-pasture grazing cows, because these products are believed to be healthier than products from high-input conventional systems. This may be due to a higher content of bioactive components, such as phytanic acid, a PPAR-agonist derived from chlorophyll. However, the effects of such products on human health have been poorly investigated. OBJECTIVE: To compare the effect of milk-fat from mountain-pasture grazing cows (G) and conventionally fed cows (C) on risk markers of the metabolic syndrome. DESIGN: In a double-blind, randomized, 12-week, parallel intervention study, 38 healthy subjects replaced part of their habitual dietary fat intake with 39 g fat from test butter made from milk from mountain-pasture grazing cows or from cows fed conventional winter fodder. Glucose-tolerance and circulating risk markers were analysed before and after the intervention. RESULTS: No differences in blood lipids, lipoproteins, hsCRP, insulin, glucose or glucose-tolerance were observed. Interestingly, strong correlations between phytanic acid at baseline and total (P<0.0001) and LDL cholesterol (P=0.0001) were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Lack of effects on blood lipids and inflammation indicates that dairy products from mountain-pasture grazing cows are not healthier than products from high-input conventional systems. Considering the strong correlation between LDL cholesterol and phytanic acid at baseline, it may be suggested that phytanic acid increases total and LDL cholesterol. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT0134358