Permanent Deformation of Earth Dams Under Earthquakes

Assessment of dam embankment deformation by various methods such as those proposed by Newmark, Ambraseys and Seed was reviewed herewith. A simple method based on dynamic response spectrum analyses by step-by-step integration technique is proposed for independent permanent deformation evaluation. The proposed method assumes that failure occurs on a well-defined slip surface and that the material behaves elastically at stress level below failure but develops a perfectly plastic behavior above the yield acceleration. The results of the proposed method were compared with those obtained from other method for actual examples. Favorable agreement on the analytical results was achieved

Measurement of gut permeability using fluorescent tracer agent technology

Abstract The healthy gut restricts macromolecular and bacterial movement across tight junctions, while increased intestinal permeability accompanies many intestinal disorders. Dual sugar absorption tests, which measure intestinal permeability in humans, present challenges. Therefore, we asked if enterally administered fluorescent tracers could ascertain mucosal integrity, because transcutaneous measurement of differentially absorbed molecules could enable specimen-free evaluation of permeability. We induced small bowel injury in rats using high- (15 mg/kg), intermediate- (10 mg/kg), and low- (5 mg/kg) dose indomethacin. Then, we compared urinary ratios of enterally administered fluorescent tracers MB-402 and MB-301 to urinary ratios of sugar tracers lactulose and rhamnose. We also tested the ability of transcutaneous sensors to measure the ratios of absorbed fluorophores. Urinary fluorophore and sugar ratios reflect gut injury in an indomethacin dose dependent manner. The fluorophores generated smooth curvilinear ratio trajectories with wide dynamic ranges. The more chaotic sugar ratios had narrower dynamic ranges. Fluorophore ratios measured through the skin distinguished indomethacin-challenged from same day control rats. Enterally administered fluorophores can identify intestinal injury in a rat model. Fluorophore ratios are measureable through the skin, obviating drawbacks of dual sugar absorption tests. Pending validation, this technology should be considered for human use

Characteristics, survival, and related factors of newly diagnosed colorectal cancer patients refusing cancer treatments under a universal health insurance program

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide. Few studies have addressed the causes and risks of treatment refusal in a universal health insurance setting. METHODS: We examined the characteristics and survival associated with treatment refusal in patients with newly diagnosed colorectal cancer in Taiwan during 2004–2008. Treatment refusal was defined as not undergoing any cancer treatment within 4 months of confirmed cancer diagnosis. Patient data were extracted from four national databases. Factors associated with treatment refusal were identified through logistic regression using the generalized estimating equation method, and survival analysis was performed using the Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: Of the 41,340 new colorectal cancer cases diagnosed, 3,612 patients (8.74%) refused treatment. Treatment refusal rate was higher in patients with less urbanized areas of residence, lower incomes, preexisting catastrophic illnesses, cancer stages of 0 and IV, and diagnoses at regional and district hospitals. Logistic regression analysis revealed that patients aged >75 years were the most likely to refuse treatment (OR, 1.87); patients with catastrophic illnesses (OR, 1.66) and stage IV cancer (OR, 1.43) had significantly higher refusal rates. The treatment refusers had 2.66 times the risk of death of those who received treatment. Factors associated with an increased risk of death in refusers included age ≥75 years, insured monthly salary ≥22,801 NTD, low-income household or aboriginal status, and advanced cancer stage (especially stage IV; HR, 11.33). CONCLUSION: Our results show a lower 5-year survival for colorectal patients who refused treatment than for those who underwent treatment within 4 months. An age of 75 years or older, low-income household status, advanced stages of cancer, especially stage IV, were associated with higher risks of death for those who refused treatment

Increased MDSC Accumulation and Th2 Biased Response to Influenza A Virus Infection in the Absence of TLR7 in Mice

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play an important role in the induction of innate and adaptive immune response against influenza A virus (IAV) infection; however, the role of Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) during the innate immune response to IAV infection and the cell types affected by the absence of TLR7 are not clearly understood. In this study, we show that myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSC) accumulate in the lungs of TLR7 deficient mice more so than in wild-type C57Bl/6 mice, and display increased cytokine expression. Furthermore, there is an increase in production of Th2 cytokines by TLR7-/- compared with wildtype CD4+ T-cells in vivo, leading to a Th2 polarized humoral response. Our findings indicate that TLR7 modulates the accumulation of MDSCs during an IAV infection in mice, and that lack of TLR7 signaling leads to a Th2-biased response

Estimation of the OSNR penalty due to in-band crosstalk on the performance of virtual carrier-assisted metropolitan OFDM systems

The impact of the in-band crosstalk on the performance of virtual carrier (VC)-assisted direct detection (DD) multi-band orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (MB-OFDM) systems was numerically assessed via Monte-Carlo simulations, by means of a single interferer and 4-ary, 16-ary and 64-ary quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) formats in the OFDM subcarriers. It was also investigated the influences of the virtual carrier-to-band power ratio (VBPR) and the virtual carrier-to-band gap (VBG) on the DD in-band crosstalk tolerance of the OFDM receiver. It was shown the modulation format order decrease enhances the tolerance to in-band crosstalk. When the VBG is the same for both interferer and selected signal, the interferer VBPR increase is seen to lead to lower optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) penalties due to in-band crosstalk. Considering that the VCs frequencies of the selected and interferer OFDM signals are equal, the increase of the interferer VBG also gives rise to lower OSNR penalties. When the interferer and selected signals bands central frequencies are the same, the change of interferer VBG can attain 11 dB less tolerance to in-band crosstalk of the VC-assisted DD OFDM system. We also evaluate the error vector magnitude (EVM) accuracy of the in-band crosstalk tolerance of the DD OFDM receiver and our results show that the EVM estimations are inaccurate.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

A global database for metacommunity ecology, integrating species, traits, environment and space

The use of functional information in the form of species traits plays an important role in explaining biodiversity patterns and responses to environmental changes. Although relationships between species composition, their traits, and the environment have been extensively studied on a case-by-case basis, results are variable, and it remains unclear how generalizable these relationships are across ecosystems, taxa and spatial scales. To address this gap, we collated 80 datasets from trait-based studies into a global database for metaCommunity Ecology: Species, Traits, Environment and Space; “CESTES”. Each dataset includes four matrices: species community abundances or presences/absences across multiple sites, species trait information, environmental variables and spatial coordinates of the sampling sites. The CESTES database is a live database: it will be maintained and expanded in the future as new datasets become available. By its harmonized structure, and the diversity of ecosystem types, taxonomic groups, and spatial scales it covers, the CESTES database provides an important opportunity for synthetic trait-based research in community ecology

Genotype-phenotype correlation at codon 1740 ofSETD2

The SET domain containing 2, histone lysine methyltransferase encoded by SETD2 is a dual-function methyltransferase for histones and microtubules and plays an important role for transcriptional regulation, genomic stability, and cytoskeletal functions. Specifically, SETD2 is associated with trimethylation of histone H3 at lysine 36 (H3K36me3) and methylation of α-tubulin at lysine 40. Heterozygous loss of function and missense variants have previously been described with Luscan-Lumish syndrome (LLS), which is characterized by overgrowth, neurodevelopmental features, and absence of overt congenital anomalies. We have identified 15 individuals with de novo variants in codon 1740 of SETD2 whose features differ from those with LLS. Group 1 consists of 12 individuals with heterozygous variant c.5218C>T p.(Arg1740Trp) and Group 2 consists of 3 individuals with heterozygous variant c.5219G>A p.(Arg1740Gln). The phenotype of Group 1 includes microcephaly, profound intellectual disability, congenital anomalies affecting several organ systems, and similar facial features. Individuals in Group 2 had moderate to severe intellectual disability, low normal head circumference, and absence of additional major congenital anomalies. While LLS is likely due to loss of function of SETD2, the clinical features seen in individuals with variants affecting codon 1740 are more severe suggesting an alternative mechanism, such as gain of function, effects on epigenetic regulation, or posttranslational modification of the cytoskeleton. Our report is a prime example of different mutations in the same gene causing diverging phenotypes and the features observed in Group 1 suggest a new clinically recognizable syndrome uniquely associated with the heterozygous variant c.5218C>T p.(Arg1740Trp) in SETD2

An outbreak of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, Chile, 1997

Fil: Toro, Jorge. Ministry of Health; Chile.Fil: Vega, Jeanette D. Pan American Health Organization; Chile.Fil: Khan, Ali S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Estados Unidos.Fil: Mills, James N. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Estados Unidos.Fil: Padula, Paula. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas; Argentina.Fil: Terry, William. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Estados Unidos.Fil: Yadón, Zaida. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas; Argentina.Fil: Valderrama, Rosa. Aysen Region XI Health Service; Chile.Fil: Ellis, Barbara A. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Estados Unidos.Fil: Pavletic, Carlos. Ministry of Health; Chile.Fil: Cerda, Rodrigo. Pan American Health Organization; Chile.Fil: Zaki, Sherif. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Estados Unidos.Fil: Wun-Ju, Shieh. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Estados Unidos.Fil: Meyer, Richard. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Estados Unidos.Fil: Tapia, Mauricio. Coyhaique Regional Hospital; Chile.Fil: Mansilla, Carlos. Coyhaique Regional Hospital; Chile.Fil: Baro, Michel. Llanchipal Health Services; Chile.Fil: Vergara, Jose A. Llanchipal Health Services; Chile.Fil: Concha, Marisol. Ministry of Health; Chile.Fil: Calderón, Gladys. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Virales Humanas Dr. Julio Maiztegui; Argentina.Fil: Enria, Delia. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Virales Humanas Dr. Julio Maiztegui; Argentina.Fil: Peters, C.J. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Estados Unidos.Fil: Ksiazek, Thomas G. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Estados Unidos.An outbreak of 25 cases of Andes virus-associated hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) was recognized in southern Chile from July 1997 through January 1998. In addition to the HPS patients, three persons with mild hantaviral disease and one person with asymptomatic acute infection were identified. Epidemiologic studies suggested person-to-person transmission in two of three family clusters. Ecologic studies showed very high densities of several species of sigmodontine rodents in the area

An outbreak of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, Chile, 1997

Fil: Toro, Jorge. Ministry of Health; Chile.Fil: Vega, Jeanette D. Pan American Health Organization; Chile.Fil: Khan, Ali S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Estados Unidos.Fil: Mills, James N. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Estados Unidos.Fil: Padula, Paula. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas; Argentina.Fil: Terry, William. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Estados Unidos.Fil: Yadón, Zaida. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas; Argentina.Fil: Valderrama, Rosa. Aysen Region XI Health Service; Chile.Fil: Ellis, Barbara A. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Estados Unidos.Fil: Pavletic, Carlos. Ministry of Health; Chile.Fil: Cerda, Rodrigo. Pan American Health Organization; Chile.Fil: Zaki, Sherif. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Estados Unidos.Fil: Wun-Ju, Shieh. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Estados Unidos.Fil: Meyer, Richard. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Estados Unidos.Fil: Tapia, Mauricio. Coyhaique Regional Hospital; Chile.Fil: Mansilla, Carlos. Coyhaique Regional Hospital; Chile.Fil: Baro, Michel. Llanchipal Health Services; Chile.Fil: Vergara, Jose A. Llanchipal Health Services; Chile.Fil: Concha, Marisol. Ministry of Health; Chile.Fil: Calderón, Gladys. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Virales Humanas Dr. Julio Maiztegui; Argentina.Fil: Enria, Delia. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Virales Humanas Dr. Julio Maiztegui; Argentina.Fil: Peters, C.J. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Estados Unidos.Fil: Ksiazek, Thomas G. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Estados Unidos.An outbreak of 25 cases of Andes virus-associated hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) was recognized in southern Chile from July 1997 through January 1998. In addition to the HPS patients, three persons with mild hantaviral disease and one person with asymptomatic acute infection were identified. Epidemiologic studies suggested person-to-person transmission in two of three family clusters. Ecologic studies showed very high densities of several species of sigmodontine rodents in the area