2,789 research outputs found
The adverse effect profile of oral azathioprine in pediatric atopic dermatitis, and recommendations for monitoring
Background Azathioprine is efficacious in the treatment of severe childhood atopic dermatitis; however, robust data on adverse effects in this population are lacking. Objective We sought to assess adverse effects of azathioprine treatment in a pediatric atopic dermatitis cohort, and make recommendations for monitoring based on these data
New vascular classification of port-wine stains: improving prediction of Sturge-Weber risk
Background
Facial port-wine stains (PWSs) are usually isolated findings; however, when associated with cerebral and ocular vascular malformations they form part of the classical triad of SturgeâWeber syndrome (SWS).
Objectives
To evaluate the associations between the phenotype of facial PWS and the diagnosis of SWS in a cohort with a high rate of SWS.
Methods
Records were reviewed of all 192 children with a facial PWS seen in 2011â13. Adverse outcome measures were clinical (seizures, abnormal neurodevelopment, glaucoma) and radiological [abnormal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)], modelled by multivariate logistic regression.
Results
The best predictor of adverse outcomes was a PWS involving any part of the forehead, delineated at its inferior border by a line joining the outer canthus of the eye to the top of the ear, and including the upper eyelid. This involves all three divisions of the trigeminal nerve, but corresponds well to the embryonic vascular development of the face. Bilateral distribution was not an independently significant phenotypic feature. Abnormal MRI was a better predictor of all clinical adverse outcome measures than PWS distribution; however, for practical reasons guidelines based on clinical phenotype are proposed.
Conclusions
Facial PWS distribution appears to follow the embryonic vasculature of the face, rather than the trigeminal nerve. We propose that children with a PWS on any part of the âforeheadâ should have an urgent ophthalmology review and a brain MRI. A prospective study has been established to test the validity of these guidelines
Helical and oscillatory microswimmer motility statistics from differential dynamic microscopy
The experimental characterisation of the swimming statistics of populations
of microorganisms or artificially propelled particles is essential for
understanding the physics of active systems and their exploitation. Here, we
construct a theoretical framework to extract information on the
three-dimensional motion of micro-swimmers from the Intermediate Scattering
Function (ISF) obtained from Differential Dynamic Microscopy (DDM). We derive
theoretical expressions for the ISF of helical and oscillatory breaststroke
swimmers, and test the theoretical framework by applying it to video sequences
generated from simulated swimmers with precisely-controlled dynamics. We then
discuss how our theory can be applied to the experimental study of helical
swimmers, such as active Janus colloids or suspensions of motile microalgae. In
particular, we show how fitting DDM data to a simple, non-helical ISF model can
be used to derive three-dimensional helical motility parameters, which can
therefore be obtained without specialised 3D microscopy equipment. Finally, we
discus how our results aid the study of active matter and describe applications
of biological and ecological importance
A New Constructive Heuristic for the Fm|block|ST
This paper deals with the blocking flow shop problem and proposes new constructive procedures for the total tardiness minimization of jobs. The heuristic has three-phases to build the sequence; the first phase selects the first job to be scheduled, the second phase arranges the remaining jobs and the third phase uses the insertion procedure of NEH to improve the sequence. The proposed procedures evaluate the tardiness associated to the sequence obtained before and after the third phase in order to keep the best of both because the insertion phase can worsen the result. The computational evaluation of these procedures against the benchmark constructive procedures from the literature reveals their good performance.Postprint (published version
Statin pretreatment diminishes the levels of myocardial ischemia markers not only in CABG
A response to Ege E, Dereli Y, Kurban S, Sarigul A: Atorvastatin pretreatment diminishes the levels of myocardial ischemia markers early after CABG operation: an observational study. J Cardiothorac Surg 2010, 5:60
The , , and mesons in a double pole QCD Sum Rule
We use the method of double pole QCD sum rule which is basically a fit with
two exponentials of the correlation function, where we can extract the masses
and decay constants of mesons as a function of the Borel mass. We apply this
method to study the mesons: , , and
. We also present predictions for the toponiuns masses
of m(1S)=357 GeV and m(2S)=374 GeV.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures in Braz J Phys (2016
Saccadic facilitation by modulation of microsaccades in natural backgrounds
Saccades move objects of interest into the center of the visual field for high-acuity visual analysis. White, Stritzke, and Gegenfurtner (Current Biology, 18, 124â128, 2008) have shown that saccadic latencies in the context of a structured background are much shorter than those with an unstructured background at equal levels of visibility. This effect has been explained by possible preactivation of the saccadic circuitry whenever a structured background acts as a mask for potential saccade targets. Here, we show that background textures modulate rates of microsaccades during visual fixation. First, after a display change, structured backgrounds induce a stronger decrease of microsaccade rates than do uniform backgrounds. Second, we demonstrate that the occurrence of a microsaccade in a critical time window can delay a subsequent saccadic response. Taken together, our findings suggest that microsaccades contribute to the saccadic facilitation effect, due to a modulation of microsaccade rates by properties of the background
Deconstructing the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender victim of sex trafficking: Harm, exceptionality and religionâsexuality tensions
Contrary to widespread belief, sex trafficking also targets lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) communities. Contemporary social and political constructions of victimhood lie at the heart of regulatory policies on sex trafficking. Led by the US Department of State, knowledge about LGBT victims of trafficking constitutes the newest frontier in the expansion of criminalization measures. These measures represent a crucial shift. From a burgeoning range of preemptive measures enacted to protect an amorphous class of âall potential victimsâ, now policies are heavily premised on the risk posed by traffickers to âvictims of special interestâ. These constructed identities, however, are at odds with established structures. Drawing on a range of literatures, the core task of this article is to confront some of the complexities and tensions surrounding constructions of LGBT trafficking victims. Specifically, the article argues that discourses of âexceptional vulnerabilityâ and the polarized notions of âinnocenceâ and âguiltâ inform hierarchies of victimhood. Based on these insights, the article argues for the need to move beyond monolithic understandings of victims, by reframing the politics of harm accordingly
Aidnogenesis via Leptogenesis and Dark Sphalerons
We discuss aidnogenesis, the generation of a dark matter asymmetry via new
sphaleron processes associated to an extra non-abelian gauge symmetry common to
both the visible and the dark sectors. Such a theory can naturally produce an
abundance of asymmetric dark matter which is of the same size as the lepton and
baryon asymmetries, as suggested by the similar sizes of the observed baryonic
and dark matter energy content, and provide a definite prediction for the mass
of the dark matter particle. We discuss in detail a minimal realization in
which the Standard Model is only extended by dark matter fermions which form
"dark baryons" through an SU(3) interaction, and a (broken) horizontal symmetry
that induces the new sphalerons. The dark matter mass is predicted to be
approximately 6 GeV, close to the region favored by DAMA and CoGeNT.
Furthermore, a remnant of the horizontal symmetry should be broken at a lower
scale and can also explain the Tevatron dimuon anomaly.Comment: Minor changes, discussion of present constraints expanded. 16 pages,
2 eps figures, REVTeX
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