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Experimental data of the DNA cyclization (J-factor) at short length scales exceed the theoretical expectation based on the wormlike chain (WLC) model by several orders of magnitude. Here, we propose that asymmetric bending rigidity of the double helix in the groove direction can be responsible for extreme bendability of DNA at short length scales and it also facilitates DNA loop formation at these lengths. To account for the bending asymmetry, we consider the asymmetric elastic rod (AER) model which has been introduced and parametrized in an earlier study [B. Eslami-Mossallam and M. R. Ejtehadi, Phys. Rev. E 80, 011919 (2009)]. Exploiting a coarse grained representation of the DNA molecule at base pair (bp) level and using the Monte Carlo simulation method in combination with the umbrella sampling technique, we calculate the loop formation probability of DNA in the AER model. We show that the DNA molecule has a larger J-factor compared to the WLC model which is in excellent agreement with recent experimental data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The aim of this study was to detect selection signatures considering cows from the German Holstein (GH) and the local dual‐purpose black and white (DSN) population, as well as from generated sub‐populations. The 4654 GH and 261 DSN cows were genotyped with the BovineSNP50 Genotyping BeadChip. The geographical herd location was used as an environmental descriptor to create the East‐DSN and West‐DSN sub‐populations. In addition, two further sub‐populations of GH cows were generated, using the extreme values for solutions of residual effects of cows for the claw disorder dermatitis digitalis. These groups represented the most susceptible and most resistant cows. We used cross‐population extended haplotype homozygosity methodology (XP‐EHH) to identify the most recent selection signatures. Furthermore, we calculated Wright's fixation index (FST). Chromosomal segments for the top 0.1 percentile of negative or positive XP‐EHH scores were studied in detail. For gene annotations, we used the Ensembl database and we considered a window of 250 kbp downstream and upstream of each core SNP corresponding to peaks of XP‐EHH. In addition, functional interactions among potential candidate genes were inferred via gene network analyses. The most outstanding XP‐EHH score was on chromosome 12 (at 77.34 Mb) for DSN and on chromosome 20 (at 36.29–38.42 Mb) for GH. Selection signature locations harbored QTL for several economically important milk and meat quality traits, reflecting the different breeding goals for GH and DSN. The average FST value between GH and DSN was quite low (0.068), indicating shared founders. For group stratifications according to cow health, several identified potential candidate genes influence disease resistance, especially to dermatitis digitalis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The half-metallic, mechanical, and transport properties of the quaternary Heusler compound of PdZrTiAl is discussed under hydrostatic pressures in the range of -11.4 GPa to 18.4 GPa in the framework of the density functional theory (DFT) and Boltzmann quasi-classical theory using the generalization gradient approximation (GGA). By applying the stress, the band gap in the minor spin increases so that the lowest band is obtained 0.25 eV at the pressure of -11.4 GPa while the maximum gap is calculated 0.9 eV at the pressure of 18.4 GPa. In all positive and negative pressures, the PdZrTiAl composition exhibits a half-metallic behavior 100% spin polarization at the Fermi level. It is also found that applying stress increases the Seebeck coefficient in both spin directions. In the minority spin, the n-type PdZrTiAl, the power factor (PF) for all the cases is greater in the equilibrium state than the strain and stress conditions whereas in the majority spin, the PF value of the stress state is greater than the other two. The non-dimensional figure of merit (ZT) is significant and is about one in spin down in the room temperature for the all pressure states that it remains on this value by applying pressure. The obtained elastic constants indicate that the PdZrTiAl crystalline structure has a mechanical stability. Based on the Yong (E), Bulk (B) and shear (G) modulus and Poisson (n) ratio, the brittle-ductile behavior of this compound has been investigated under pressure. The results indicate that PdZrTiAl has a ductile nature and it is a stiffness compound in which elastic and mechanical instability increases by applying strain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black and White dual-purpose cattle (DSN) are kept in diverse production systems, but the same set of genetic parameters is used for official national genetic evaluations, neglecting the herd or production system characteristics. The aim of the present study was to infer genetic (co)variance components within and across defined herd descriptor groups or clusters, considering only herds keeping the local and endangered DSN breed. The study considered 3659 DSN and 2324 Holstein Friesian (HF) cows from parities one to three. The 46 herds always kept DSN cows, but in most cases, herds were 'mixed' herds (Mixed), including both genetic lines HF and DSN. In order to study environmental sensitivity, we had a focus on the naturally occurring negative energy balance in the early lactation period. In consequence, traits were records from the 1st official test-day after calving for milk yield (Milk-kg), somatic cell score (SCS) and fat-to-protein ratio (FPR). Genetic parameters were estimated in bivariate runs (separate runs for the three genetic lines Mixed, HF and DSN), defining the same trait from different herd groups or clusters as different traits. Additive-genetic variances and heritabilities were larger in herd groups that indicated superior herd management, implying that cow records from these herds allow a better genetic differentiation. Superior herd management included larger herds, low calving age, high herd production levels and low intra-herd somatic cell count. Herd descriptor group differences in additive-genetic variances for Milk-kg were stronger in HF than in DSN, indicating environmental sensitivity for DSN. Similar variance components and heritabilities across groups, clusters and genetic lines were found for data stratification according to geographical descriptors altitude and latitude. Considering 72 bivariate herd group runs, 29 genetic correlations were very close to 1 (mostly for Milk-kg). Somatic cell score was the trait showing the smallest genetic correlations, especially in the DSN analyses, and when stratifying herds according to genetic line compositions (r g =0.11), or according to the percentage of natural service sires (r g =0.08). For estimations based on the results of a cluster analysis considering several herd descriptors simultaneously, indications for genotype × environment interactions could be found for SCS, but genetic correlations were larger than 0.80 for Milk-kg and FPR. In conclusion, we suggest multiple-trait animal model applications in genetic evaluations, in order to select the best sires for specific herd environments or herd clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using density functional theory, three noncovalent interactions and mechanism of covalent functionalization of drug artemisinin onto γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles have been investigated. Quantum molecular descriptors of noncovalent configurations were studied. It was specified that binding of drug artemisinin with γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles is thermodynamically suitable. Hardness and the gap of energy between LUMO and HOMO of artemisinin drug are higher than those of noncovalent artemisinin-γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticle configurations, showing the reactivity of artemisinin increases in the presence of γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles. Artemisinin can bond to γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles through carbonyl group. The activation energies, the activation enthalpies and the activation Gibbs free energies of this reaction were calculated. The activation parameters and thermodynamic data indicate that this reaction is exothermic and spontaneous and can take place at room temperature. These results could be generalized to other similar drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To evaluate for the first time the prevalence of human papillomavirus in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma in a Middle-Eastern population, and to determine associations between human papillomavirus profiles and clinicopathological characteristics. Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted of all patients treated for oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma at the Hotel Dieu de France University Hospital (Beirut, Lebanon) between January 2010 and 2016. Existing formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumour samples were analysed. Human papillomavirus DNA viral load and p16 expression were evaluated using polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry respectively. Results: Thirty patients (mean age of 60 years) were included. Twenty-seven per cent of patients were p16-positive/human papillomavirus DNA positive, 53 per cent were p16-negative/human papillomavirus DNA negative and 20 per cent were p16-positive/human papillomavirus DNA negative. Human papillomavirus 16 was the most frequent subtype (75 per cent). Smoking and alcohol consumption were significantly lower in the human papillomavirus positive group compared to the human papillomavirus negative group (p = 0.049 and 0.004, respectively). Conclusion: Human papillomavirus rate was lower than reported rates in Western populations. Possible explanations include differences in social and cultural behaviours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Holstein Friesian cow training sets were created according to disease incidences. The different datasets were used to investigate the impact of random forest (RF) and genomic BLUP (GBLUP) methodology on genomic prediction accuracies. In addition, for further verifications of some specific scenarios, single‐step genomic BLUP was applied. Disease traits included the overall trait categories of (i) claw disorders, (ii) clinical mastitis and (iii) infertility from 80 741 first lactation Holstein cows kept in 58 large‐scale herds. A subset of 6744 cows was genotyped (50K SNP panel). Response variables for all scenarios were de‐regressed proofs (DRPs) and pre‐corrected phenotypes (PCPs). Initially, all sick cows were allocated to the testing set, and healthy cows represented the training set. For the ongoing cow allocation schemes, the number of sick cows in the training set increased stepwise by moving 10% of the sick cows from the testing to the training set in each step. The size of training and testing sets was kept constant by replacing the same number of cows in the testing set with (randomly selected) healthy cows from the training set. For both the RF and GBLUP methods, prediction accuracies were larger for DRPs compared to PCPs. For PCPs as a response variable, the largest prediction accuracies were observed when the disease incidences in training sets reflected the disease incidence in the whole population. A further increase in prediction accuracies for some selected cow allocation schemes (i.e. larger prediction accuracies compared to corresponding scenarios with RF or GBLUB) was achieved via single‐step GBLUP applications. Correlations between genome‐wide association study SNP effects and RF importance criteria for single SNPs were in a moderate range, from 0.42 to 0.57, when considering SNPs from all chromosomes or from specific chromosome segments. RF identified significant SNPs close to potential positional candidate genes: GAS1, GPAT3 and CYP2R1 for clinical mastitis; SPINK5 and SLC26A2 for laminitis; and FGF12 for endometritis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last decades, several endangered breeds of livestock species have been re-established effectively. However, the successful revival of the Dutch and Danish Landrace goats involved crossing with exotic breeds and the ancestry of the current populations is therefore not clear. We have generated genotypes for 27 FAO-recommended microsatellites of these landraces and three phenotypically similar Nordic-type landraces and compared these breeds with central European, Mediterranean and south-west Asian goats. We found decreasing levels of genetic diversity with increasing distance from the south-west Asian domestication site with a south-east-to-north-west cline that is clearly steeper than the Mediterranean east-to-west cline. In terms of genetic diversity, the Dutch Landrace comes next to the isolated Icelandic breed, which has an extremely low diversity. The Norwegian coastal goat and the Finnish and Icelandic landraces are clearly related. It appears that by a combination of mixed origin and a population bottleneck, the Dutch and Danish Land-races are separated from the other breeds. However, the current Dutch and Danish populations with the multicoloured and long-horned appearance effectively substitute for the original breed, illustrating that for conservation of cultural heritage, the phenotype of a breed is more relevant than pure ancestry and the genetic diversity of the original breed. More in general, we propose that for conservation, the retention of genetic diversity of an original breed and of the visual phenotype by which the breed is recognized and defined needs to be considered separately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, some optical properties of pure and transition metal-doped (TM = Co and V) single-walled ZnO nanotubes (8,0) (SWZnONT(8,0)) such as, real and imaginary parts of the dielectric function, optical conductivity, refractive index and optical reflectivity, were investigated. The calculations have been performed within framework of the density functional theory (DFT) using the full potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) and the generalized gradient approximation (GGA). The results show that, optical properties of SWZnONT(8,0) are anisotropic, especially at low energies and this anisotropy at low energies increases with doping of V in SWZnONT(8,0) while the Co-doped SWZnONT(8,0) behaves like pure SWZnONT(8,0). Doping of ZnO nanotubes has a significant impact on the value of the dielectric constant, so that due to the presence of V atom, the dielectric constant is increased up to three times. Study of the imaginary part of the dielectric function and optical conductivity showed that the important energy range for absorption processes and optical transitions is low energy range to 15 eV. The optical transitions have been studied based on band structure and density of states. The results of the optical reflectivity showed that these nanotubes are transparent in a wide energy ranges which provide them for using in transparent coatings. In addition, due to the reported magnetic properties for V- and Co-doped ZnO nanotubes, these nanotubes are suitable for using in spintronics and magneto-optic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: Linguistic factors can decrease or increase the children's speech disfluencies. One of these factors is the type of linguistic tasks presented to the child. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of two tasks of sentence imitation and sentence modeling on severity of speech disfluencies in preschool children with stuttering. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive-analytic study performed on 58 children with stuttering (29 subjects with mild stuttering and 29 subjects with moderate stuttering) and on 58 children with fluent speech aged 4-6 years old. The severity of speech disfluencies was measured by two separate tasks (sentence imitation and sentence modeling), and the results of two tasks were compared. Results: The mean stuttering severity score in boys with moderate stuttering in two tasks of sentence imitation and sentence modeling was 23.79±1.26 & 29.00±1.87 respectively and significant difference was observed (P=0.004). The mean stuttering severity score in girls with moderate stuttering was 25.27±1.93 & 33.18±2.32 respectively and significant difference was observed (P=0.007). The score of speech disfluencies in both sexes of non-stutter children and mild stuttering had no significant difference between two tasks (P>0.05). Conclusion: In preschool children with mild stuttering and peer non-stutters, performing two tasks of sentence imitation and sentence modeling could not increase the severity of stuttering. In preschool children with moderate stuttering, doing the task of sentence modeling increased the stuttering severity score. It is suggested that speech therapists apply the findings of this study to develop linguistic tasks with various levels of difficulty for children with stuttering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering that noradrenergic (NAE) neurons of the locus coeruleus (LC) play significant roles in the formation of biological rhythms, pain, addictions, and mood disorders, we tested the effects of acute intracerebroventricular microinfusions of bupropion, an inhibitor of NA reuptake used in clinics as an antidepressant, on background spike activity on LC neurons in chloral hydrate anesthetized rats. Ten microliters of the solutions containing 0.001, 0.01, 0.1, 1.0, or 10.0 μmol bupropion were infused during 3 min; spike activity of single LC neurons identified according to the known characteristics was recorded extracellularly by glass microelectrodes. Microinfusions of 0.01 to 10.0 μmol bupropion suppressed background spiking of the above neurons in a dose-dependent manner. The normalized mean intensities and durations of inhibition were 17.3, 19.4, 26.3, and 41.1% and 1.4, 7.1, 12.4, and 18.3 min, respectively. The smallest dose (0.001 μmol) was ineffective. It is assumed that bupropion increases the NA level in proximity to NAE LC neurons. The actions of bupropion on other cerebral neuromodulatory systems need further examination. Inhibition of LC neuronal activity by bupropion can help to explain some acute, chronic, and side effects of this agent used in clinics for correction of mood disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tissue engineering is based on three main factors including scaffolds, cells and growth factors. Natural scaffolds derived from decellularized tissues and organs have been successfully used in tissue engineering. Decellularization studies have shown that natural scaffolds which maintaine their main structure and properties could be a suitable tool for studying cellular behaviors and preparation of such scaffolds is an important part of future research in biology that may have extensive applications in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. Blastema tissue which is produced after injuries in some organisms has embryonic cell characteristics, and can be a suitable model for evaluation of cell behaviors in various tissues. In this review, the process of decellularization, process involved in preparation of 3D scaffolds derived from extracellular matrix of various tissues including cartilage, bone, gingiva, aorta and bladder, and assessment of their interactions with blastema tissue under in vitro conditions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, voltage sag compensation of point of common coupling (PCC) using a new structure of fault current limiter (FCL) is proposed. The proposed structure prevents voltage sag and phase-angle jump of the substation PCC after fault occurrence. This structure has a simple control method. Using the semiconductor switch (insulated-gate bipolar transistor or gate turnoff thyristor at dc current rout leads to fast operation of the proposed FCL and, consequently, dc reactor value is reduced. On the other hand, the proposed structure reduces the total harmonic distortion on load voltage and it has low ac losses in normal operation. As a result, other feeders, which are connected to the substation PCC, will have good power quality. Analytical analysis and simulation results using PSCAD/EMTDC software and experimental results are presented to validate the effectiveness of this structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aim: The communicative functioning of children who stutter can be assessed in a variety of ways. Standardized tests are an important tool to assess communication skills particularly in stuttering children .The purpose of the present study was to translate the Test of childhood Stuttering (TOCS) into persian and investigation of validity and reliability of the test . Materials and methods: In this research, 40 stutterers and 40 non-stutterer were evaluated. After the translation of the Test according to Protocol IQOLA and its equalization to Persian Language, Content validity and Face validity of it were determined by the opinions of experts. Then, for concurrent validity determination 80 stutterer and non-stutterer children were examined by TOCS and SSI3 .In order to test reliability, test -retest and Cronbach,s alpha were used. Results: Entirely relevant items had simple translation. The translation items had content and face validity correlation between the marks of TOCS and SSI3 (p=0.000, r= %92). TOCS has high Test-retest ( p=0.000, ICC= %97) and internal reliability (p=0.000,α=%90). Conclusion: Persian equalized TOCS (Test of childhood stuttering) have high validity and reliability. it might be useful to differentiate stuttering children among normal ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge about the phylogenetic history, genetic variation and ecological requirements of a species is important for its conservation and management. Unfortunately, for many species this information is lacking. Here we use multiple approaches (phylogenetics, population genetics and ecological modelling) to evaluate the evolutionary history and conservation status of Capra walie, an endangered flagship species of wild goat endemic to Ethiopia. The analysis of mitochondrial cytochrome b and Y-chromosome DNA sequences suggests that C. walie forms a monophyletic clade with Capra nubiana, but potentially has been isolated for up to 0.8 million years from this closely related species. Microsatellite DNA analyses show that C. walie has very low genetic variation (mean heterozygosity=0.35) compared with other endangered mammals. This reduced variation likely derives from a prolonged demographic decline and small effective population size. Ecological niche modelling using the bioclimatic features of habitats occupied by C. walie, suggests ecological differences between C. walie and C. nubiana, and identifies the areas most suitable for future reintroductions of C. walie. The genetic and bioclimatic data suggest that C. walie is distinct and requires immediate conservation actions including genetic monitoring and reintroductions to establish independent populations. This study illustrates how combining noninvasive sampling along with genetic and ecological (bioclimatic) approaches can help assess conservation status of poorly known species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For about 10 000 years, farmers have been managing cattle, sheep, and goats in a sustainable way, leading to animals that are well adapted to the local conditions. About 200 years ago, the situation started to change dramatically, with the rise of the concept of breed. All animals from the same breed began to be selected for the same phenotypic characteristics, and reproduction among breeds was seriously reduced. This corresponded to a strong fragmentation of the initial populations. A few decades ago, the selection pressures were increased again in order to further improve productivity, without enough emphasis on the preservation of the overall genetic diversity. The efficiency of modern selection methods successfully increased the production, but with a dramatic loss of genetic variability. Many industrial breeds now suffer from inbreeding, with effective population sizes falling below 50. With the development of these industrial breeds came economic pressure on farmers to abandon their traditional breeds, and many of these have recently become extinct as a result. This means that genetic resources in cattle, sheep, and goats are highly endangered, particularly in developed countries. It is therefore important to take measures that promote a sustainable management of these genetic resources; first, by in situ preservation of endangered breeds; second, by using selection programmes to restore the genetic diversity of industrial breeds; and finally, by protecting the wild relatives that might provide useful genetic resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyclin D3 has been shown to play a major role in the regulation of cell cycle progression in lymphocytes. It is therefore important to understand the mechanisms involved in the regulation of this protein. We have previously shown that both basal and cAMP-induced degradation of cyclin D3 in Reh cells is dependent on Thr-283 phosphorylation by glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β). We now provide evidence of an alternative mechanism being involved in the regulation of cyclin D3 degradation. Treatment of lymphoid cells with okadaic acid (OA), an inhibitor of protein phosphatases 1 and 2A (PP1 and PP2A), induces rapid phosphorylation and proteasomal degradation of cyclin D3. This degradation is not inhibited by the GSK-3β inhibitors lithium or Kenpaullone, or by substitution of Thr-283 with Ala on cyclin D3, indicating that cyclin D3 can be degraded independently of Thr-283 phosphorylation and GSK-3β activity. Interestingly, in vitro experiments revealed that PP1, but not PP2A, was able to dephosphorylate cyclin D3 efficiently, and PP1 was found to associate with His-tagged cyclin D3. These results support the hypothesis that PP1 constitutively keeps cyclin D3 in a stable, dephosphorylated state, and that treatment of cells with OA leads to phosphorylation and degradation of cyclin D3 through inhibition of PP1.Oncogene (2006) 25, 2468–2476. doi:10.1038/sj.onc.1209278; published online 5 December 2005 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background.Cervical corpectomy is a common spinal surgery procedure used to decompress the spinal cord in numerous degenerative, traumatic and neoplastic conditions. The aim of this study was to investigate the indications, complications and outcomes in past cervical corpectomy cases at one centre.Method.72 patients who underwent cervical corpectomy between February 1992 and June 2001 were retrospectively investigated.Findings.The indications for this operation were degenerative spondylitic disease (26 cases; 36.1%), trauma (18 cases; 25%), tumour (11 cases; 15.3%), infection (10 cases; 13.9%), and ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (7 cases; 9.7%). Thirty-seven patients (51.4%) underwent one-level corpectomy, and 35 (48.6%) underwent two-level corpectomy. Autografts were used in 13 cases (18.1%) and allografts were used in 59 cases (81.9%). Anterior plate-screw fixation was performed in all cases. There were 31 postoperative complications in 15 (20.8%) patients. Twelve of the complications were surgical, 5 were graft-related, 7 were plating-related, and 7 were medical. Solid bony fusion was achieved in 65 (92.9%) of the 70 surviving patients. The mean follow-up time was 23.4 months. An overall favourable outcome was achieved in 88% of cases.Conclusion.The outcomes in this series indicate that cervical corpectomy is an effective method for treating traumatic lesions, degenerative disease, tumours and infectious processes involving the anterior and middle portions of the cervical spine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was carried out to identify the distinguishing features of brucellosis on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MRI examinations were performed in 14 patients with spinal brucellosis. A 1-T Magnetom (Erlangen, Siemens) was used to obtain T1-weighted (TR/TE 500/30) and T2-weighted (TR/TE 2000/80/20) spin echo sequences, in both sagittal and axial planes. Thirty-three percent of the vertebrae and 18 levels of disc were involved in the 14 brucellar spondylitis cases. Eleven patients (79.8%) with discitis revealed anterior superior vertebral body involvement. Fourteen (77.7%) of the levels with discitis displayed soft tissue swelling without presence of abscess formation. Seven facet joints of five patients with discitis displayed signal increase after contrast enhancement. Vertebral body signal changes without morphologic changes marked signal increase in the intervertebral disc on T2-weighted and contrast-enhanced sequences, and soft tissue involvement without abscess formation can be accepted as specific MRI features of brucellar spondylitis. The facet joint signal changes following contrast enhancement is another MRI sign of spinal brucellosis, which has not been mentioned so far. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite many investigations on the detection of trigeminal evoked potentials (TEP), there is still no consensus on a technique or interpretation of its components. In order to obtain clear TEP waveforms and analyze the origin of early components, we recorded TEP by the conventional far-field technique at the ipsilateral auricula as well as by near-field technique with a bipolar electrode at the trigeminal root just distal to the entry zone of its root. Trigeminal recordings were performed in nine patients with intrameatal vestibular schwannomas and in three with trigeminal neuralgia without trigeminal nerve deficits. In near-field recording at the trigeminal root, a triphasic response was recorded, with the first component occurring at 3.16 ms, 2.98 ms, and 4.16 ms following supraorbital, infraorbital, and mandibular nerve stimulation, respectively. Using conventional far-field TEP, the first component recorded at the trigeminal root occurred later than the first component in all other recordings. This suggests that the N2.0 component of far-field TEP is of extra-axial origin and the N5 component is of brainstem origin. The N13.0 component may be of cortical origin. We conclude that the N5.0 component and N5.0-N13.0 interpeak latency may be used as electrophysiological parameters of brainstem function during posterior fossa surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five patients suffering from spinal epidural abscess associated with neurologic deficit are reported. Four patients underwent a decompressive procedure for abscess drainage, and one patient was medically treated. One of the patients showed a neurologic deterioration at the early postoperative period. The long-term follow-up showed a good outcome in all patients. It is concluded that epidural abscess associated with progressive neurologic deficit requires immediate decompression and administration of antibiotic. Postoperative neurological deterioration may be seen despite proper and immediate decompression and in such a case neurologic improvement is observed in the late postoperative period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on the identification of the conservation units of endangered species from neutral markers to adaptive genetic variation. Researchers have discussed the importance of adaptive genetic variation in addressing issues of conservation genetics. It is noted that neutral genetic markers are considered the most common tools in reconstructing phylogenies, assessing gene flow and spatial structure and in identifying conservation units. It offers a look at some research about the role of local adaptation in evolutionary diversification. It explores the disadvantages of using adaptive genetic markers to delineate or prioritize conservation units.

A case of syringomyelia associated with cervical spondylotic myelopathy is presented. A decompressive cervical laminectomy was performed. The patient improved gradually after operation. It is concluded that the choice of surgical treatment in cases with syringomyelia associated with cervical spondylotic myelopathy requires a careful neurological and radiological examination based on the findings of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and cine-MRI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A compact microstrip lowpass filter (LPF) with sharp roll-off is presented. The proposed filter consists of radial resonator, triangular patch and open stub. The proposed filter has good specifications such as low insertion loss <0.1 dB, high return loss of -20 dB, wide stopband from 4.37 to 19 GHz with -20 dB attenuation level and compact size. The LPF filter has a cut-off frequency of 3 dB at 4.24 GHz and a high roll-off rate of 130.7 and finally a high figure-of-merit of 23526. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A compact microstrip lowpass filter (LPF) with sharp roll‐off is presented. The proposed filter consists of radial resonator, triangular patch and open stub. The proposed filter has good specifications such as low insertion loss <0.1 dB, high return loss of −20 dB, wide stopband from 4.37 to 19 GHz with −20 dB attenuation level and compact size. The LPF filter has a cut‐off frequency of 3 dB at 4.24 GHz and a high roll‐off rate of 130.7 and finally a high figure‐of‐merit of 23526. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, colloidal silver nanoparticles were prepared by chemical reduction of AgNO3 and pure Sn in a new and simple method. The type of crystallite lattice and the size of nanopowders were estimated by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis. The geometric, heterogeneous and mixing structure of synthesized nanopowders were studied by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Optical properties such as plasmon absorption and frequency of soluble colloidal nanopowders in two solutions of distilled water and oil were investigated by UV-Visible spectroscopy, which was developed to calculate the absorbance spectra of nanoparticles solution containing a size distribution of particles using the Mie theory. Dipole and quadrupole plasmons related to molecular structure of water and oil were found by absorbance spectra. Also, Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) analysis was used for determining the thermal behavior, endothermic and exothermic peaks of Ag nanopowder. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]