Anthropogenic pressure in the high altitude lakes such as Titicaca and Uru (Bolivia) may favor the production of methylmercury (MeHg) known to accumulate in trophic chains. Periphyton associated with emerged aquatic plants (totoras) from the lake shores accumulates and demethylates MeHg providing a potential cost-effective water treatment technique. In this laboratory study, we measured the MeHg u

Wrist-worn devices are popular for heart rate monitoring, including use of photoplethysmography. The Apple Watch series 4 can identify atrial fibrillation. We describe a case of identification re-entrant supraventricular tachycardia not identified by outpatient rhythm monitoring, however, was identified by the Apple Watch series 4, which lead to electrophysiology study and successful ablation of a

Introduction of exogenous genetic material into primary stem cells is essential for studying biological function and for clinical applications. Traditional delivery methods for nucleic acids, such as electroporation, have advanced the field, but have negative effects on stem cell function and viability. We introduce nanostraw-assisted transfection as an alternative method for RNA delivery to human

Patients undergoing radiotherapy to treat pelvic-organ cancer are commonly advised to follow a restricted fiber diet. However, reducing dietary fiber may promote gastrointestinal inflammation, eventually leading to deteriorated intestinal health. The goal of this study was to evaluate the influence of dietary fiber on radiation-induced inflammation. C57BL/6J male mice were fed a High-oat bran diet

In this work we report the impact of using mid-infrared laser-induced thermal grating spectroscopy (IRLITGS) for temperature measurements in flames by probing hot water lines. The measurements have been performed in the product zone of laminar atmospheric CH 4 /H 2 /air flat flames with equivalence ratio ranging between 0.6 and 1.05. LITGS is a technique based on thermalization through collisions

Background and purpose — The use of custom-made 3D-printed titanium implants for the reconstruction of large acetabular defects has been successively introduced in the last decade. In an observational cohort study we evaluated the agreement between preoperatively planned and actually achieved cup-cage position as well as 1-year follow-up migration of the cup-cage component. Patients and methods —

Aims/Introduction: Given that mutations related to maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) are rarely found in Chinese populations, we aim to characterize the mutation spectrum of MODY pedigrees. Materials and Methods: Maturity-onset diabetes of the young candidate gene- or exome-targeted capture sequencing was carried out in 76 probands from unrelated families fulfilling the clinical diagnost

Objective: Early decrease in fetal haemoglobin (HbF) is an indicator of loss of endogenous blood components that might have predictive value for development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). The link between HbF and BPD has not been evaluated. Design: Retrospective observational study. Setting: Tertiary level neonatal intensive care unit, referral centre for Southern Sweden. Patients: 452 very

Unusual amongst dung beetles, Scarabaeus galenus digs a burrow that it provisions by making repeated trips to a nearby dung pile. Even more remarkable is that these beetles return home moving backwards, with a pellet of dung between their hind legs. Here, we explore the strategy that S. galenus uses to find its way home. We find that, like many other insects, they use path integration to calculate

Braided convolutional codes (BCCs) are a class of spatially coupled turbo-like codes that can be described by a (2), (3)-regular compact graph. In this paper, we introduce a family of (d v , d c )-regular GLDPC codes with convolutional code constraints (CC-GLDPC codes), which form an extension of classical BCCs to arbitrary regular graphs. In order to characterize the performance in the waterfall

This article focuses on the production and reception of television drama, specifically the case study of conspiracy thriller Utopia. The empirical research is based on 21 production interviews with the makers of the drama and 56 interviews with audience members and fans of the drama. The concept of the television imaginary is used as an analytical lens for investigating the various ways television

Constructive Alignment (CA) is neither the panacea, nor the unalloyed evil depicted in the majority of higher education discourses. But rather, the theory is a heuristic and accessible representation of commonly agreed upon aspects of modern curriculum and educational theory, designed explicitly to support learning and teaching. However, when imposed top-down for accountability purposes, or used a

The damping ratio is a key performance measure in systems that can be modelled as networks of masses and springs. We derive a lower bound on this quantity that applies to such networks when the masses are subject to viscous damping. The result allows the size of the damping ratio to be understood as a function of the system parameters. We use this to derive a decentralised criterion which, if sati

An efficient synthetic route to the mono-endo-6- and bis-endo,endo-6,12-N,N-diethylcarbamoyl derivatives of Tröger’s base (TB), endo-7 and endo-8, is reported. Studies of reaction time, proton source, and additive allowed establishment of optimized conditions for the conversion of exo-7 into the corresponding isomer endo-7. With a longer reaction time, the exo,exo-6,12 bis-carbamoyl derivative exo

We present a young male patient with breast cancer having several risk factors likely acting in consort: irradiation of the breast for gynecomastia in adolescence and a life-long administration of phenothiazine for schizophrenia from the age of 16 years, with elevated serum prolactin level resulting in breast cancer development 24 years after irradiation.

We study the problem of determining the Boolean product of two n × n Boolean matrices in an unconventional computational model allowing for mechanical operations. We show that O(n2 ) operations are sufficient to compute the product in this model.

Giant Cell Tumour of Bone (GCTB) is a rare bone tumour. Locally aggressive and recurrent, it might evolve into pulmonary metastases. Our present work is aimed at investigating the involvement of the epidermal growth factor receptor (ErbB) family and its downstream effectors in the development and recurrence of GCTB. For this purpose, we used a cohort of 32 GCTB patients and we evaluated the clinic

Objective: To describe the clinical and ultrasound characteristics of urinary bladder malignancies diagnosed on transvaginal ultrasound in women presenting with suspected gynecological problems. Methods: This was a multicenter retrospective study of women with a histological diagnosis of urinary bladder malignancy that was suspected on transvaginal ultrasound examination. The cases were collected