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Let Gbe an abelian group. The aim of this short paper is to describe a way to identify pure subgroups Hof Gby looking only at how the subgroup lattice L(H)embeds in L(G). It is worth noticing that all results are carried out in a local nilpotent context for a general definition of purity.

Byline: Casaroli, S.,Ferrara, M. Liquid hydrocarbon storage facilities have used triple-offset valves (TOVs) in traditional tank farm applications for decades. Due to more stringent health, safety and environment (HSE) requirements, [...]

This paper has two souls. On one side, it is a survey on (infinite) groups in which certain systems of subgroups are complemented (like for instance the abelian subgroups). On another side, it provides generalizations and new, easier proofs of some (un)known results in this area.

Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) is a very effective antiviral drug that has been associated with tubular dysfunction. The aim of this study was to analyze the demographic, pharmacokinetic, and pharmacogenetic variables associated with TDF discontinuation for renal outcomes in stable HIV-positive patients using multivariable analyses. Three hundred and four patients were included (73% male, with median age and eCrCl of 45.3 years and 90.9 mL/min, respectively). After a median follow-up of 28.3 months, 27 patients discontinued TDF for renal adverse events [persistent urinary abnormalities (n= 21) or eCrCl < 60 mL/min (n= 6)] providing an incidence of 3.77 events per 100 patient-year. The probability of TDF discontinuation was higher with several features (male gender, older age, not Caucasians ancestry, absence of intravenous drug abuse, protease inhibitors, previous indinavir, HCV-positivity, lower CD4 cell count, detectable HIV-RNA, lower eCrCl, spot-urine proteinuria) and higher tenofovir concentrations but not genetic variants. Tenofovir plasma concentrations were prognostic of TDF discontinuation for renal adverse events suggesting that dose-adjustment may be warranted for long-term safety.

Highly expressed in cancer protein 1 (Hec1) is a subunit of the kinetochore (KT)-associated Ndc80 complex, which ensures proper segregation of sister chromatids at mitosis by mediating the interaction between KTs and microtubules (MTs). HEC1 mRNA and protein are highly expressed in many malignancies as part of a signature of chromosome instability. These properties render Hec1 a promising molecular target for developing therapeutic drugs that exert their anticancer activities by producing massive chromosome aneuploidy. A virtual screening study aimed at identifying small molecules able to bind at the Hec1–MT interaction domain identified one positive hit compound and two analogs of the hit with high cytotoxic, pro-apoptotic and anti-mitotic activities. The most cytotoxic analog (SM15) was shown to produce chromosome segregation defects in cancer cells by inhibiting the correction of erroneous KT–MT interactions. Live cell imaging of treated cells demonstrated that mitotic arrest and segregation abnormalities lead to cell death through mitotic catastrophe and that cell death occurred also from interphase. Importantly, SM15 was shown to be more effective in inducing apoptotic cell death in cancer cells as compared to normal ones and effectively reduced tumor growth in a mouse xenograft model. Mechanistically, cold-induced MT depolymerization experiments demonstrated a hyper-stabilization of both mitotic and interphase MTs. Molecular dynamics simulations corroborate this finding by showing that SM15 can bind the MT surface independently from Hec1 and acts as a stabilizer of both MTs and KT–MT interactions. Overall, our studies represent a clear proof of principle that MT-Hec1-interacting compounds may represent novel powerful anticancer agents.

Le rachis fait l’objet de multiples recherches cliniques puisqu’il est à l’origine de nombreuses plaintes douloureuses. Cependant, il existe peu d’évidence scientifique concernant les propositions thérapeutiques. Au cours de la vie, le disque intervertébral dégénère, ce qui au fil du temps amoindrit sa capacité amortissante et facilite l’expulsion du nucleus pulposusau travers de l’annulus fibrosus.La dégénérescence du disque intervertébral (DDI) étant à l’origine de certaines lombalgies, diverses prises en charge spécifiques ont été développées. Parmi celles-ci figure l’infiltration au cœur du disque intervertébral de plasma riche en plaquette (PRP), composé de multiples facteurs de croissance destinés à agir sur la dégénérescence discale. Cette technique thérapeutique récente et moins invasive que les interventions chirurgicales, semble prometteuse selon les résultats préliminaires. Néanmoins, de nombreuses zones d’ombres et plusieurs paramètres restent à éclaircir. Pour ce faire, une revue de la littérature a été réalisée à partir des bases de données bibliographiques Pubmed, Medline et Scopus parcourues avec les termes Mesh : PRP, platelet-rich plasma, intradiscal disc degeneration, disc, intradiscal, discogenic. Cette analyse révèle qu’à l’heure actuelle, aucune étude ne possède suffisamment de recul pour juger de l’efficacité réelle de l’infiltration de PRP. Les premiers résultats récoltés serviront à poser les limites de ce traitement. Dans le futur, il est possible que l’injection de PRP puisse être utile au traitement de la DDI, voire de la lombalgie. Les recherches futures devront générer des études randomisées contrôlées afin de notamment comparer les résultats avec les traitements conservateurs et de mesurer la relation coût-bénéfice.

This paper is devoted to the asymptotic analysis of a mathematical framework that has recently been proposed for modelling complex systems in the applied sciences under the action of an external force field. This framework consists in an integro-differential kinetic equation coupled with a Gaussian isokinetic thermostat. The asymptotic limit obtained here using low-field scaling shows the emergence of diffusive behaviour on a macroscopic scale.

Inelastic excitonic scattering processes have been investigated in ZnSe/ZnSxSel-xmultiple-quantum-well structures of different well width and strain content. The free-exciton energies have been determined by photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy and compared with those calculated accounting for the actual strain contribution. All the samples show strong luminescence related to bound or localized excitons. In strain relaxed samples, the interaction of these states with free-electrons gives rise to optical gain at low temperature. In addition, a stronger stimulated emission is observable up to room temperature. The temperature and pumping intensity dependences of this latter amplification process suggest that two different lasing mechanisms may be invoked, namely free-exciton-bound-exciton or free-exciton-longitudinal-optical-phonon inelastic scattering.

We report the result of a detailed spectroscopic investigation of the optical properties of excitons in rectangular (etched) and V-shaped (grown on non-planar substrates) GaAs quantum wires. High index excitonic transitions and strong polarization anisotropy of the optical spectra have been observed. The experimentally observed trasitions are in agreement with the theoretical evaluation of quantized energy levels based on the respective model potential.

We report our case and review the literature on reversal DWI lesions, ADC thresholds and correlation between DWI lesion and outcome measured with clinical scales. A 30-years-old woman was admitted to our hospital 18 hours after stroke onset. Considering the absence of alterations on CT and the worsening of symptomatology, the patient underwent MRI, which showed a slightly hyperintense signal in FLAIR images in the left portion of the pons and midbrain and a more evident bilateral DWI hyperintensity of the pons. The patient was treated with mechanical and pharmacological intra-arterial thrombolysis. The patient showed a rapid improvement of symptoms. Two weeks after the treatment her clinical conditions were characterized by a residual right hemiparesis and complete recovery of right motility, respiratory and swallowing difficulties. MR examination demonstrated a slight signal alteration of the pons left hemiportion and a disappearance of the mesencephalic signal alteration and of the right portion of the pons. DWI lesions represent irreversibly damaged tissue but new evidence suggests that DWI lesions may be reversible, especially with reperfusion, by now well demonstrated in animal models. Therefore acute DWI lesions probably contain not only irreversibly injured tissue but also parts of the penumbra. The debate on the capability of ADC maps to discriminate irreversibly from reversibly damaged tissue is a matter of controversy. ADC values in human stoke are not an independent indicator of tissue viability. The use of thresholds may improve reproducibility but not validity.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), accounting for about 85 of all lung cancers, includes squamous carcinoma, adenocarcinoma and undifferentiated large cell carcinoma. The majority of patients have advanced disease at diagnosis, and medical treatment is the cornerstone of management. Several randomized trials comparing third-generation platinum-based doublets concluded that all such combinations are comparable in their clinical efficacy, failing to document a difference based on histology. However, recent evidences, arising from the availability of pemetrexed, have shown that histology represents an important variable in the decision making. The major progresses in the understanding cancer biology and mechanism of oncogenesis have allowed the development of several potential molecular targets for cancer treatment such as vascular growth factor and its receptors and epidermal growth factor receptor. Targeted drugs seem to be safer or more effective in a specific histology subtype. All of these data have led to choose the optimal first-line treatment of advanced NSCLC based on histologic diagnosis. However, this scenario raises a diagnostic issue: a specific diagnosis of NSCLC histologic subtype is mandatory. This review will discuss these new evidences in the first-line treatment of advanced NSCLC and their implication in the current clinical decision-making.

We describe a patient with non-alcoholic Wernicke's encephalopathy caused by long-term parenteral nutrition. The diagnosis is based on clinical and magnetic resonance findings. We also reviewed the literature review in typical and atypical findings at MR examination.

AbstractThe main sources of noise and pickups in Alcator C-Mod are identified, and their effects on the measurement and control of the vertical position are evaluated. Broadband noise may affect controllability of C-Mod plasmas at limit elongations and may become an issue with high-order controllers; therefore, two applications of Kalman filters are investigated. A Kalman filter is compared to a state observer based on the pseudoinverse of the measurement matrix and proves to be a better candidate for state reconstruction for vertical stabilization, provided adequate models of the system, the inputs, the process, and measurement noise and an adequate set of diagnostic measurements are available. A single-input single-output application of the filter for the vertical observer rejects high-frequency noise without destabilizing high-elongation plasmas.

Most patients diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have advanced disease. Chemotherapy has apparently reached a plateau of effectiveness in improving survival in this subgroup of patients. Considerable efforts have been initiated to identify novel targets for new biological agents which may be safely and effectively administered to NSCLC patients. New blood vessel formation, known as angiogenesis, is a fundamental event in the process of tumor growth and metastatic dissemination. The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptors play an essential role in tumor proliferation. Approaches to limit VEGF activity include monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and small molecules inhibiting the corresponding receptor-tyrosine kinase activity. Bevacizumab, an anti-VEGF recombinant humanized mAb, is the first targeted agent which, when combined with chemotherapy, has shown superior efficacy versus chemotherapy alone as first-line treatment of advanced NSCLC. Future clinical developments of bevacizumab in NSCLC treatment include the combination with other targeted therapies in advanced disease, and the integration into the combined modality approaches for the treatment of early and locally advanced disease stages. Vandetanib, a small molecule targeting VEGF tyrosine-kinase activity, due to first indications of antitumor activity and the excellent toxicity profile seems to be a promising agent for the treatment of advanced NSCLC. Other antiangiogenic drugs, such as sorafenib, sunitinib, VEGF Trap and a new class named ‘vascular disrupting agents’, which includes ASA404, are being tested in ongoing clinical trials which will further define their role in the management of NSCLC.

In the last three years, the possibility of light generation and/or amplification in silicon, based on Raman emission, has achieved significant results. However, limitations inherent to the physics of silicon have also been pointed out. One possible option to overcome these limitations is to consider low dimensional silicon.

Research on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak has emphasized RF heating, self-generated flows, momentum transport, scrape-off layer (SOL) turbulence and transport and the physics of transport barrier transitions, stability and control. The machine operates with PRF up to 6 MW corresponding to power densities on the antenna of 10 MW m−2. Analysis of rotation profile evolution, produced in the absence of external drive, allows transport of angular momentum in the plasma core to be computed and compared between various operating regimes. Momentum is clearly seen diffusing and convecting from the plasma edge on time scales similar to the energy confinement time and much faster than neo-classical transport. SOL turbulence and transport have been studied with fast scanning electrostatic probes situated at several poloidal locations and with gas puff imaging. Strong poloidal asymmetries are found in profiles and fluctuations, confirming the essential ballooning character of the turbulence and transport. Plasma topology has a dominant effect on the magnitude and direction of both core rotation and SOL flows. The correlation of self-generated plasma flows and topology has led to a novel explanation for the dependence of the H-mode power threshold on the ∇B drift direction. Research into internal transport barriers has focused on control of the barrier strength and location. The foot of the barrier could be moved to larger minor radius by lowering q or BT. The barriers, which are produced in C-Mod by off-axis RF heating, can be weakened by the application of on-axis power. Gyro-kinetic simulations suggest that the control mechanism is due to the temperature dependence of trapped electron modes which are destabilized by the large density gradients. A set of non-axisymmetric coils was installed allowing intrinsic error fields to be measured and compensated. These also enabled the determination of the mode locking threshold and, by comparison with data from other machines, provided the first direct measurement of size scaling for the threshold. The installation of a new inboard limiter resulted in the reduction of halo currents following disruptions. This effect can be understood in terms of the change in plasma contact with the altered geometry during vertical displacement of the plasma column. Unstable Alfven eigenmodes (AE) were observed in low-density, high-power ICRF heated plasmas. The damping rate of stable AEs was investigated with a pair of active MHD antennae.

We consider several extremal problems concerning representations of graphs as distance graphs on the integers. Given a graph $G=(V,E)$, we wish to find an injective function $\phi:V\to{\mathbb Z}^+=\{1,2,\dots\}$ and a set ${\mathcal D}\subset{\mathbb Z}^+$ such that $\{u,v\}\in E$ if and only if $|\phi(u)-\phi(v)|\in{\mathcal D}$.Let $s(n)$ be the smallest $N$ such that any graph $G$ on $n$ vertices admits a representation $(\phi_G,{\mathcal D}_G)$ such that $\phi_G(v)\leq N$ for all $v\in V(G)$. We show that $s(n)=(1+o(1))n^2$ as $n\to\infty$. In fact, if we let $s_r(n)$ be the smallest $N$ such that any $r$-regular graph $G$ on $n$ vertices admits a representation $(\phi_G,{\mathcal D}_G)$ such that $\phi_G(v)\leq N$ for all $v\in V(G)$, then $s_r(n)=(1+o(1))n^2$ as $n\to\infty$ for any $r=r(n)\gg\log n$ with $rn$ even for all $n$.Given a graph $G=(V,E)$, let $D_{\rm e}(G)$ be the smallest possible cardinality of a set ${\mathcal D}$ for which there is some $\phi\:V\to{\mathbb Z}^+$ so that $(\phi,{\mathcal D})$ represents $G$. We show that, for almost all $n$-vertex graphs $G$, we have \begin{equation*} D_{\rm e}(G)\geq\frac{1}{2}\binom{n}{2}-(1+o(1))n^{3/2}(\log n)^{1/2}, \end{equation*} whereas for some $n$-vertex graph $G$, we have \begin{equation*} D_{\rm e}(G)\geq\binom{n}{2}-n^{3/2}(\log n)^{1/2+o(1)}.\end{equation*} Further extremal problems of similar nature are considered.

The study aimed to investigate the time-course of electromagnetic field (EMF)-induced effects on human cognitive and behavioral performance and on tympanic temperature. Subjects were randomly assigned to two groups, exposed to a 902.40 MHz EMF before the testing session, or to the same signal during the data collecting session. Following a double-blind paradigm, subjects were tested on four performance tasks an acoustic simple-reaction time task, a visual search task, an arithmetic descending subtraction task and an acoustic choice-reaction time task. Moreover, tympanic temperature was collected five times during each session. Results indicated an improvement of both simple- and choice-reaction times and an increase of local temperature on the exposed region under the active exposure. There was a clear time-course of the reaction time and temperature data, indicating that performance and physiological measures need a minimum of 25 min of EMF exposure to show appreciable changes.

Aim of the present study was to assess changes in arousal rates after selective slow-wave (SWS) and total sleep deprivations.

Trimethylsilyldiazomethane has been found to add directly to N-sulfonyl (Ts and SES) imines to afford aziridines in good yields and high cis stereoselectivities. The silyl group can be substituted by treatment with a fluoride source and electrophiles again with high selectivity. Complete regioselectivity is observed in ring opening of these aziridines with nucleophiles.

The potential impact of sleep inertia on measures of voluntary oculomotor control have been surprisingly neglected. The present study examined the effects of 40 hours of sleep deprivation on saccadic (SAC) and smooth pursuit (SP) performance, attentional/visual search performance (Letter Cancellation Task, LCT) and subjective sleepiness (Sleepiness Visual Analog Scale, SVAS) recorded immediately after awakening. Standard polysomnography of nine normal subjects was recorded for 3 nights (1 adaptation, AD; 1 baseline, BSL; 1 recovery, REC); BSL and REC were separated by a period of 40 h of continuous wakefulness, during which subjects were tested every two hours. Within 30 s of each morning awakening, a test battery (SAC, SP, LCT, SVAS) was administered to subjects in bed. For data analysis, mean performance obtained during the day preceding the sleep deprivation night was considered as "Diurnal Baseline" and compared to performance upon awakening from nocturnal sleep. As a consequence of sleep deprivation, SWS percentage was doubled during REC. Saccade latency increased and velocity decreased significantly upon awakening from REC as compared to the other three conditions (Diurnal baseline, AD awakening, BSL awakening); accuracy was unaffected. As regards SP, phase did not show any impairment upon awakening, while velocity gain upon awakening from REC was significantly lower as compared to the other conditions. Finally, number of hits on LCT upon awakening from REC was significantly lower and subjective sleepiness higher as compared to Diurnal Baseline. It is concluded that 40 h of sleep deprivation significantly impaired performance to SAC and SP tasks recorded upon awakening from recovery sleep. This performance worsening is limited to the measures of speed, while both SAC accuracy and SP phase do not show a significant decrease upon awakening. Since saccadic velocity has recently been found to negatively correlate with simulator vehicle crash rates, it is suggested that the adverse effects of sleep deprivation on sleep inertia magnitude should be avoided by any personnel who may have to perform critical tasks involving high oculomotor control immediately after awakening.

In the recovery nights after total and partial sleep deprivation there is a reduction of rapid eye movements during REM sleep as compared to baseline nights; recent evidence provided by a selective SWS deprivation study also shows that the highest percentage of variance of this reduction is explained by SWS rebound. The present study assesses whether the reduction of rapid eye movements (REMs) during the recovery night after total sleep deprivation is paralleled by a decrease of middle-ear muscle activity (MEMA), another phasic muscle activity of REM sleep. Standard polysomnography, MEMA and REMs of nine subjects were recorded for three nights (one adaptation, one baseline, one recovery); baseline and recovery night were separated by a period of 40 hours of continuous wake. Results show that, in the recovery night, sleep deprivation was effective in determining an increase of SWS amount and of the sleep efficiency index, and a decrease of stage 1, stage 2, intra-sleep wake, and NREM latencies, without affecting REM duration and latency. However, MEMA frequency during REM sleep did not diminish during these nights as compared to baseline ones, while there was a clear effect of REM frequency reduction. Results indicate an independence of phasic events of REM sleep, suggesting that the inverse relation between recovery sleep after sleep deprivation and REM frequency is not paralleled by a concomitant variation in MEMA frequency.

Amino acid deprivation can inhibit tumour cell proliferation. Since polyamines are required for cell growth, we hypothesised that their regulatory pathways can respond to amino acid restriction. We report here that exposure of human colon adenocarcinoma Caco-2 cells to a medium restricted for a single amino acid, but not for D-glucose, activates spermidine transport. The increase was rapid and seemed transient with a maximum 4-6 hr after amino acid removal. Kinetics showed that the maximal velocity of transport was solely increased in L-methionine- or L-leucine-deprived cells, indicating increased number of transporters. The intracellular level of complex of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) with antizyme, a negative regulator of polyamine transport, was decreased by 16-29% in amino acid-deprived cells. However, exposure to limited amounts of amino acid increased transport without altering the ODC-antizyme complex level. We propose that antizyme-independent mechanisms, sensitive to the amino acid concentration, also participate to the control of spermidine transport.

Discusses how homeowners can maintain a gracious sea of green for their lawns without a lot of work. Some homeowners believe that overseeding fast-growing, water-loving bluegrass with deeper-rooted ryegrass will create a less thirsty turf; Misconception; Both grasses are quick growers and water hogs; Zoysia grass complements its flowery companions better, it's slow-growing, drought-tolerant and almost impervious to pests and disease; More. INSET: Plant quality seed, by M.F..

Provides guidelines and a diary on growing tomatoes from seed using heat mats and different types of artificial lights for comparison. Vita-lite tubes; Standard cool-white; Philips Agro-Lite Indoor Plant Light; Sources. INSET: General guidelines for growing under lights..