Arithmetic properties of blocks of consecutive integers

This paper provides a survey of results on the greatest prime factor, the number of distinct prime factors, the greatest squarefree factor and the greatest m-th powerfree part of a block of consecutive integers, both without any assumption and under assumption of the abc-conjecture. Finally we prove that the explicit abc-conjecture implies the Erd\H{o}s-Woods conjecture for each k>2.Comment: A slightly corrected and extended version of a paper which will appear in January 2017 in the book From Arithmetic to Zeta-functions published by Springe

До мінералогії сезонних сульфатів мису Фіолент (Південно-Західний Крим)

Комплексом методів вивчено колекцію зразків вторинних мінералів одного з узбережних відслонень зони окиснення сульфідної мінералізації мису Фіолент (Південно-Західний Крим). Установлено, що всі досліджені зразки є полімінеральними утвореннями, в яких одночасно співіснують у різних пропорціях сульфати Mg, Al, Fe²⁺, Fe³⁺, Ca тощо: пікерингіт (найпоширеніший), пікерингіт залізистий, гексагідрит, старкіїт, епсоміт, алуноген, ботріоген, копіапіт, ярозит, гіпс та ін. Старкіїт і ботріоген у Криму виявлено вперше.The collection of secondary minerals from one of littoral occurrences of sulphide zone of oxidation of the Fiolent Cape (South-Western Crimea) is studied by different methods. It was established that all studied samples were polymineral formations which consisted of sulphates of Mg, Al, Fe²⁺, Fe³⁺, Ca, etc. in different proportions: pickeringite (the most wide-spread), ferropickeringite, hexahydrite, starkeyite, epsomite, alunogen, botryogen, copiapite, jarosite, gypsum etc. Starkeyite and botryogen are detected in the Crimea for the first time

Epidermal growth factor receptor expression in pancreatic lesions induced in the rat by azaserine.

In the present study, the expression of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) was investigated in putative preneoplastic and neoplastic acinar cell lesions induced in the rat pancreas by azaserine, using Northern blotting, in situ hybridisation (ISH) and immunohistochemistry. EGFR protein levels were decreased in putative preneoplastic eosinophilic acinar cell lesions (atypical acinar cell nodules, AACN) in comparison with normal acinar cells of the pancreas. However, EGFR mRNA expression correlated positively with the volume of AACN in pancreatic homogenates and ISH showed equal or stronger EGFR mRNA expression in AACN than in the surrounding normal acinar cells. Neither EGFR protein nor EGFR mRNA was detected in more advanced lesions such as acinar adenocarcinomas (in situ). Moreover, EGFR protein expression showed an inverse relationship with the mitotic rate of the acinar cells. These findings suggest that down-regulation of EGFR at the protein level may abrogate negative constraints on cell growth, which may stimulate the development of putative preneoplastic AACN to more advanced lesions and, ultimately, acinar adenocarcinomas

Small-q phonon-mediated superconductivity in organic \kappa-BEDT-TTF compounds

We propose a mew picture for superconductivity in $\kappa-(BEDT-TTF)_2X$ salts arguing that small-{\bf q} electron-phonon scattering dominates the pairing. We reproduce the distinct X-shaped d-wave gap reported recently by magnetooptic measurements and we argue that the softness of the momentum structure of the gap and the near degeneracy of s- and d-wave gap states may be at the origin of the experimental controversy about the gap symmetry. We show that a magnetic field applied parallel to the planes may induce extended gapless-regions on the FS accounting for the experimental signatures of a Fulde-Ferrel-Larkin-Ovchinikov state and it may induce gap symmetry transitions as well.Comment: 4 pages and 7 figure

Prognostic value of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in patients with severe aortic stenosis who underwent transcatheter aortic valve implantation

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events. Although the association between NAFLD and aortic valve sclerosis has been described, the prevalence and prognostic implications of NAFLD among patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) have not been described. In addition, the effect of the presence of severe tricuspid regurgitation (TR) on the prevalence of NAFLD remains unexplored. Accordingly, we investigated the prognostic implications of NAFLD among patients with severe AS with and without concomitant significant TR. A total of 538 patients (aged 80 +/- 7 y, 49.6% men) who underwent noncontrast computed tomography before transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) between 2007 and 2019 were included. NAFLD was defined as a liver-to-spleen attenuation ratio Thoracic Surger

Sandy contourite drift in the late Miocene Rifian Corridor (Morocco):Reconstruction of depositional environments in a foreland-basin seaway

The Rifian Corridor was a seaway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea during the late Miocene. The seaway progressively closed, leading to the Messinian Salinity Crisis in the Mediterranean Sea. Despite the key palaeogeographic importance of the Rifian Corridor, patterns of sediment transport within the seaway have not been thoroughly studied. In this study, we investigated the upper Miocene sedimentation and bottom current pathways in the South Rifian Corridor. The planktic and benthic foraminifera of the upper Tortonian and lower Messinian successions allow us to constrain the age and palaeo-environment of deposition. Encased in silty marls deposited at 150–300 m depth, there are (i) 5 to 50 m thick, mainly clastic sandstone bodies with unidirectional cross-bedding; and (ii) 50 cm thick, mainly clastic, tabular sandstone beds with bioturbation, mottled silt, lack of clear base or top, and bi-gradational sequences. Furthermore, seismic facies representing elongated mounded drifts and associated moat are present at the western mouth of the seaway. We interpret these facies as contourites: the products of a westward sedimentary drift in the South Rifian Corridor. The contourites are found only on the northern margin of the seaway, thus suggesting a geostrophic current flowing westward along slope and then northward. This geostrophic current may have been modulated by tides. By comparing these fossil examples with the modern Gulf of Cadiz, we interpret these current-dominated deposits as evidence of late Miocene Mediterranean overflow into the Atlantic Ocean, through the Rifian Corridor. This overflow may have affected late Miocene ocean circulation and climate, and the overflow deposits may represent one of the first examples of mainly clastic contourites exposed on land

Distinct fibrosis pattern in desmosomal and phospholamban mutation carriers in hereditary cardiomyopathies

Background: Desmosomal and phospholamban (PLN) mutations are associated with arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy. Ultimately, most cardiomyopathic hearts develop significant cardiac fibrosis. // Objective: To compare the fibrosis patterns of desmosomal and p. Arg14del PLN–associated cardiomyopathies with the pattern in hearts with other hereditary cardiomyopathies. // Methods: A midventricular transversal slice was obtained from hearts of 30 patients with a cardiomyopathy with a known underlying mutation and from 8 controls. Fibrosis and fatty changes were quantitatively analyzed using digital microscopy. // Results: Hearts from patients with desmosomal mutations (n = 6) showed fibrosis and fibrofatty replacement in the left ventricular (LV) outer myocardium, mainly in the posterolateral wall, and in the right ventricle. A similar phenotype, but with significantly more severe fibrotic changes in the LV, was found in the PLN mutation group (n = 8). Cardiomyopathies associated with lamin A/C (n = 5), sarcomeric (n = 8), and desmin (n = 3) mutations all showed a different pattern from that of the desmosomal and PLN mutation carriers. The posterolateral LV wall appeared to be the most discriminative area with fibrosis and fatty changes predominantly at the outer compact myocardium in 13 of 14 hearts with desmosomal and PLN mutations (93%), in 0 of 13 hearts with lamin A/C and sarcomeric mutations (0%), and in 1 of 3 desminopathic hearts (33%) (P < .001). // Conclusion: Desmosomal- and PLN-associated cardiomyopathies have a fibrosis pattern distinct from the patterns in other hereditary cardiomyopathies. The posterolateral LV wall appeared to be the most discriminative region between mutation groups. These results may provide a roadmap for cardiac imaging interpretation and may help in further unraveling disease mechanisms

Lost in reviews:Looking for the involvement of stakeholders, patients, public and other non-researcher contributors in realist reviews

The involvement of non‐researcher contributors (eg, stakeholders, patients and the public, decision and policy makers, experts, lay contributors) has taken a variety of forms within evidence syntheses. Realist reviews are a form of evidence synthesis that involves non‐researcher contributors yet this practice has received little attention. In particular, the role of patient and public involvement (PPI) has not been clearly documented. This review of reviews describes the ways in which contributor involvement, including PPI, is documented within healthcare realist reviews published over the last five years. A total of 448 papers published between 2014 and 2019 were screened, yielding 71 full‐text papers included in this review. Statements about contributor involvement were synthesized across each review using framework analysis. Three themes are described in this article including nomenclature, nature of involvement, and reporting impact.Papers indicate that contributor involvement in realist reviews refers to stakeholders, experts, or advisory groups (ie, professionals, clinicians, or academics). Patients and the public are occasionally subsumed into these groups and in doing so, the nature and impact of their involvement become challenging to identify and at times, is lost completely. Our review findings indicate a need for the realist review community to develop guidance to support researchers in their future collaboration with contributors, including patients and the public