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Purpose: To study effects of hemodialysis (HD) on retinal and choroidal vasculature in patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). Methods: In this prospective study, we investigated eyes of patients undergoing hemodialysis for ESKD from Mondor University Hospital. Only one eye/patient was considered. Subfoveal choroidal thickness (SCT) was measured on enhanced-depth imaging optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT) before and after the hemodialysis session. OCTA was used to extract retinal vascular density (superficial and deep capillary plexus, SCP, DCP) and choriocapillaris non-perfusion. Clinical, demographic and biological parameters (Blood B-Nitric Peptid rate prior to HD session) were reviewed. Results: Twenty patients (mean age 53.2 ± 13.6 years, 10 males and 10 females) were included in this prospective study. SCT significantly decreased after the HD session (234.3 ± 56.14 µm before HD to 211.9 ± 60.79 µm after hemodialysis (Wilcoxon signed-rank test, p = 0.003)). Non-perfusion in the choriocapillaris significantly increased after HD (41.65 ± 3.58 before HD, 42.95 ± 3.19 after HD, p = 0.036) while no significant modification of the vascular density was observed in the retinal vasculature (SCP, DCP) around the macular zone or the optic nerve. An increased plasma B-Nitric Peptide (BNP) level prior to the onset of the HD session was significantly correlated with the decrease of the SCT (r = 0.45, p = 0.043). Conclusion: Hemodialysis in patients with ESKD is associated with a significant decrease in SCT and an increase in non-perfusion in the choriocapillaris on OCTA. A High BNP level prior to the onset of the hemodialysis appears to be correlated with the decrease in SCT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For an infinite horizon economy with complete contingent markets, bankruptcy risk and default penalties (given by linear loss in utils), Araujo and Sandroni (Econometrica 67(3): 663–672, 1999) and Araujo et al. (J Econ Theory 165:242–256, 2016) show that if agents' posteriors of their average probabilistic beliefs do not converge in the long run, then a competitive equilibrium without bankruptcy does not exist. The first contribution of this paper is to show that even if all agents have homogenous beliefs, existence of an equilibrium is guaranteed only under stringent conditions on default penalty rates. In order to discourage agents from making promises that they know in advance they will not be able to honor, default penalty rates must be large enough. Are the "real-life" default penalties sufficiently harsh? Since utility penalties are difficult to measure in practise, we propose to address this question by replacing the "reduced-form" linear loss in utils by pecuniary punishments in the line of Kehoe and Levine (Rev Econ Stud 60:865–888, 1993). We show that, independently of the severity of the pecuniary punishment, an equilibrium without bankruptcy never exists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structures that are difficult to maintain and access need to have an efficient and robust process for continuous monitoring. Such monitoring through damage detection and identification studies is present in several engineering applications as it allows that corrective measures be applied in order to guarantee the structural safety of a given structure, machine or equipment. In particular, laminated composite materials, often used in aeronautical structures, have a complex failure mechanism where delamination or cracks in these materials are often not visible on the surface. Thus, the use of optimization methods for the characterization of damages in these materials becomes relevant. In this study, both the metaheuristic sunflower optimization, the artificial neural networks and the response surface method were used to solve an inverse crack identification problem. The crack was modeled as a thin elliptical hole in a rectangular laminated plate numerically modeled using the finite element method. As a result of the methods used, different approaches to the problem were obtained that present reliable shape, size and position identification of a crack sized between 3 and 30 mm. The results showed substantial and promising results in the uses of both metaheuristic techniques and artificial neural networks. However, neural networks have a certain competitive advantage over optimization techniques as long as the data that feeds the model present a certain level of quantity and quality. Results obtained were able to identify all damage parameters (location, extension and orientation), with errors less than 1%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Anaesthesia / Journal Canadien d'Anesthésie is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Anaesthesia / Journal Canadien d'Anesthésie is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Mission assurance policy and risk management are essential in enabling decision makers to ensure successful completion of missions by addressing the security status of cyber assets. This paper presents a novel mission assurance policy that adapts to the dynamic security status of all mission assets to quickly and automatically determine mission assurance level and to decide what changes are needed accordingly. The novelty of this mission assurance policy stems from using a time Petri net model for determining the security status of cyber assets, and then employing binary or multi-valued logic decision diagrams to assess the mission assurance level. The ability of a mission assurance policy to successfully complete its objectives depends mainly on whether a risk management scheme is provided to reduce risk to an acceptable level. To that end, this paper also describes a risk management scheme to systematically deal with the main factors of risk management such as the temporal interdependencies of cyber assets, impact of attacks, and risk mitigation. Given that the status of cyber assets changes due to the dynamic cybersecurity environment of asset vulnerabilities, threats, and recovery, the proposed mission assurance policy and risk management scheme enable decision makers to cope with the real-time assessment of mission assurance level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tumor lysis syndrome (TLS) is an oncological emergency that results from massive cytolysis of malignant cells with a sudden release of their contents into the systemic circulation. TLS was rarely described in patients with malignant melanoma. In this article, we describe two patients with malignant melanoma who developed this syndrome. In one of them, the syndrome occurred spontaneously, and this is the second description of spontaneous tumor lysis in a patient with melanoma. We reviewed the previous patients with melanoma-induced TLS and discussed the manifestations and the pathophysiology of the syndrome in our patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chapada das Perdizes is considered a region of high biodiversity, but there are few studies that describe the small mammals in the region, mainly in higher portions of the area. The primary objective of this study was to estimate the richness and abundance of terrestrial small mammals within three different vegetation types in the high altitude region of southern Minas Gerais and to evaluate the relationship between the community composition of terrestrial small mammals and the heterogeneity of phytophysiognomies. Pitfall and cage trap grids were arranged in natural field, semi-deciduous and cloud forests. A total of 26 species was recorded. The compositions of the three phytophysiognomies were significantly different. The expansive study area is located in a region of tension between the Cerrado and Atlantic Forests and should be preserved due to high diversity and ecological importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background  Amiodarone is a very effective antiarrhytmic drug. However its use may be accompanied by side effects. Hyperglobulinemia was not described in association with amiodarone treatment. Materials and methods  Fifteen patients, who developed hyperglobulinemia while on amiodarone therapy, were identified among the patients hospitalized in our hospital. Serum globulin concentration was measured prior to, during and after amiodarone therapy. Results  In 11 of the 15 patients with amiodarone-associated hyperglobulinemia, amiodarone treatment had to be stopped because of amiodarone-induced complications, nine of them had pneumonitis. Mean serum globulin level rose during amiodarone therapy from 2.48  0.51 g/dL to 4.11  0.71 g/dL (p = 0.001), and declined after it was stopped to 2.80  0.49 g/dL (p = 0.001). In 50 patients treated by amiodarone, serum globulin was similar to that found in 50 patients with ischemic heart disease not treated by amiodarone [2.64  0.39 g/dL and 2.56  0.29 g/dL respectively (p = 0.21)]. Conclusions  In some patients amiodarone therapy may be associated with hyperglobulinemia. The incidence of this association is not known. Most of the patients with amiodarone-associated hyperglobulinemia have amiodarone-induced toxicity, mainly pneumonitis. Amiodarone therapy does not cause a general increase in serum globulins. Hyperglobulinemia may be a marker for a damaged organ, or it may have a pathogenetic role in the induction of pneumonitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pseudohypoparathyroidism type Ia (PHP-Ia) is a hereditary disease characterized by resistance to PTH and other hormones that act via cAMP. Patients have deficient activity of Gsα, the α subunit of the G protein, which couples hormone receptors to stimulation of adenylate cyclase. We describe two new mutations discovered in two sporadic patients with PHP-Ia. Using genomic DNA, we have amplified exons 2-13 of the Gsα gene (GNAS1) by PCR, and sequenced the resulting products. Both patients had Albright's hereditary osteodystrophy, resistance to multiple hormones, and deficient Gsα activity. In the first patient, a deletion of a C in exon 5 at codon 115 was found. In the second patient, an insertion of a C in exon 10 at codon 267 was detected. Both these heterozygous mutations cause frameshift, and predict decreased production of Gsα. This report adds two new Gsα mutations to the known ten mutations recently described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Infection is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)