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Skates are characterised by conservative body morphology which hampers identification and leads to frequent taxonomic confusion and market mislabelling. Accurate specimen classification is crucial for reliable stock assessments and effective conservation plans, otherwise the risk of extinction could be unnoticed. The misclassification issue is evident for the genus Dipturus, distributed worldwide, from the continental shelf and slope to the deep sea. In this study, barcode cytochrome oxidase I gene (COI) sequences were used along with species delimitation and specimen assignment methods to improve taxonomy and zoogeography of species of conservation interest inhabiting the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. In this study, we provided new evidence of the occurence of D. nidarosiensis in the Central‐Western Mediterranean Sea and the lack of Atlantic‐Mediterranean genetic divergence. The Atlantic endangered species D. laevis and D. batis clustered together under the same molecular operational taxonomic unit (MOTU) with any delimitation methods used, while the assignment approach correctly discriminated specimens into the two species. These results provided evidence that the presence of the barcode gap is not an essential predictor of identification success, but the use of different approaches is crucially needed for specimen classification, especially when threshold‐ or tree‐based methods result less powerful. The analyses also showed how different putative, vulnerable, species dwelling across South‐Western Atlantic and South‐Eastern Pacific are frequently misidentified in public sequence repositories. Our study emphasised the limits associated to public databases, highlighting the urgency to verify and implement the information deposited therein in order to guarantee accurate species identification and thus effective conservation measures for deep‐sea skates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CHIMERA (Charged Heavy Ions Mass and Energy Resolving Army), a new 4[Pi] detector for charged particles is under development at various sites of the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleate. This paper describes the new data acquisition system built to handle the signals coming out from the detector with a rate up to 1 kHz on almost 5000 electronic channels. The required average throughput for the system is in the order of the 1 MB/s. The used converters allow double-range conversion on 15 bits, in less than 50 [[micro]second] for all the 64 channels. The FDL link connects the different VME 9U crates performing a programmable hardware readout with a rate up to 100 MB/s. It uses a fast hardware protocol (Sparse Data Scan) to read the data buffers and send them to a FIC 8243 CPU board. A FIC 8243 dual-processor board forwards data (through Ethernet) to the analysis station (266Mhz Digital AlphaStation or Sun Sparcstation). A DLT (Digital Linear Tape) unit connected to analysis station is used to store data. The new data acquisition system has been tested under beam conditions at the Laboratorio Nazionale del Sud (Catania, Italy) and at GANIL (Caen, France).

A commercial DSP-based board installed in a host-PC was employed for the fast, on-line and real-time computation of special algorithms, in order to perform event selection and operate as a 2nd level trigger. Moreover an ad hoc built interface, realized using PLDs with a view to connecting the DSP-board to the ADCs and to the data acquisition system, has been tested in order to evaluate the performances of these programmable devices used as a look-up-table and as a decisional part of a 1st level trigger.

The experimental analysis performed on several small size low area ratio aircraft fuel jet pumps in JP4 is outlined. The variables investigated were area ratio, nozzle and throat diameters, nozzle and suction pressures. The experimental values of head ratio were compared to a one-dimensional theoretical prediction method previously found to be applicable to moderate and high area ratio pumps. The results show the necessity of making some modifications in the model at low flow coefficient values. Measured wall static pressures were also compared with the results of an axisymmetric finite difference turbulent calculation; the comparisons are generally in good agreement. The development of cavitation and related parameters were also investigated. In order to enhance cavitation resistance, which is particularly important in the field of aeronautics, some studies were carried out on two stage jet pumps. The results obtained are outlined and discussed.

Summary: Objective: Harnessing social support from existing social ties represents a key weight control practice. This trial evaluated an intervention that provided health‐promoting technologies for leveraging the influence of existing social ties. Methods: Volunteers (N = 36) with a body mass index between 25 and 55 kg m−2 were randomized to a 16‐week, in‐person, technology‐supported behavioural weight‐loss treatment (standard behavioural treatment) or the same programme supplemented by providing self‐selected members of participants' social networks with a digital body‐weight scale and Fitbit Zip physical activity tracker (ENHANCED). Results: Average weight losses from baseline to 16 weeks did not significantly differ between groups (standard behavioural treatment, 5.30%, SD =3.93%; ENHANCED, 5.96%, SD = 5.19%, p = 0.63). By the 1‐year follow‐up, standard behavioural treatment had lost 5.63%, SD = 8.14% of baseline weight versus 4.73%, SD = 9.43% for ENHANCED (p = 0.82). ENHANCED reported self‐weighing on more days than did standard behavioural treatment (p = 0.03). Most participants reported high programme satisfaction. Similar improvements were observed in perceived social support for diet and exercise from baseline to 16 weeks in both groups (ps < 0.05) but regressed by 1 year (ps < 0.01). Conclusion: Although feasible to implement, this technology‐based, social support approach failed to enhance outcomes of a face‐to‐face, group‐based behavioural weight‐loss treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One hundred and six specimens of the Por's goatfish, Upeneus pori Ben-Tuvia & Golani (1989), a Lessepsian species native to the Western Indian Ocean, were collected from bottom trawlers' catches from 2012 to 2016 on the deep shelf off the southern coast of Lampedusa Island (Strait of Sicily, Central Mediterranean Sea). Since it first appeared in Iskenderun Bay (Turkey) in 1950, the Por's goatfish has quickly spread in Levantine Sea waters to become a commercial species used by local fisheries, while continuing its range expansion along the south-eastern coasts of the Mediterranean. Because the Strait of Sicily currently represents the westernmost sector of this species distribution area, it might serve as a stepping-stone for this species' expansion in the western basin of the Mediterranean. Supporting this hypothesis was our finding of specimens with post-spawning gonads. The pattern of westward expansion by the Por's goatfish in the Mediterranean Sea and its settlement in the Strait of Sicily are discussed in relation to the warming trend over the last 30 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A commercial two-DSP-based board is the basic unit of the on-line computational and control system under development for the multidetector array CHIMERA. The system design includes a small scale parallel and distributed architecture of PCs and DSP boards. The PCs are used both as host computer and interface between user and network. Each PC can host up to three DSP boards. The system is able to accomplish the on-beam control of CHIMERA, by means of the on-line computation of special algorithms, instead of using the usual techniques of special pulses to be sent off-beam. The physical data, collected and organized in UDP packets by the data acquisition system, are read through a 10 Mbit/s Ethernet network. The PC software, running under Windows NT 4.0, is based on threads and assures the communication and program managing as well as the result presentation. The DSP-software is written in C++ and takes care of the communication with the PC and of the computation of algorithms. The preliminary on beam results for the first three wheels (about 100 telescopes), obtained by employing two biprocessor boards located in the PCI bus of a Pentium MMX PC, are also presented.

CHIMERA is a second generation 4[Pi] detector for high resolution light particle and fragment measurements in the field of intermediate energy nuclear reactions. An enhanced data acquisition, control and trigger system has been developed to manage the almost 5000 electronic channels of the detector. The data acquisition system is based on a Fast Data Link (FDL) connection between 9U VME crates. The FDL is a highly programmable VME device. It performs data readout and transfer to a destination VME CPU, the FIC8243, running the real time OS9 operating system. Data read and transfer is performed by a fast protocol (Sparse Data Scan) whose performances have been improved introducing the Chained Block Transfer mode (CBLT) technique. Data collected by the CPU are broadcast to analysis work-stations for on-line data analysis and storage. All commands from and to the VME CPU are sent by socket-based network protocols. Complete remote control of the electronic front-end is obtained by a system of client-server applications. A first level event selection and control during readout is made by a trigger system based on a new VME 9U board (MUSE), fully integrated with the FDL readout system.

BackgroundGeneralized anxiety disorder (GAD) and social anxiety disorder (SAD) are co-morbid and associated with similar neural disruptions during emotion regulation. In contrast, the lack of optimism examined here may be specific to GAD and could prove an important biomarker for that disorder.MethodUnmedicated individuals with GAD (n = 18) and age-, intelligence quotient- and gender-matched SAD (n = 18) and healthy (n = 18) comparison individuals were scanned while contemplating likelihoods of high- and low-impact negative (e.g. heart attack; heartburn) or positive (e.g. winning lottery; hug) events occurring to themselves in the future.ResultsAs expected, healthy subjects showed significant optimistic bias (OB); they considered themselves significantly less likely to experience future negative but significantly more likely to experience future positive events relative to others (p < 0.001). This was also seen in SAD, albeit at trend level for positive events (p < 0.001 and p < 0.10, respectively). However, GAD patients showed no OB for positive events (t17 = 0.82, n.s.) and showed significantly reduced neural modulation relative to the two other groups of regions including the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and caudate to these events (p < 0.001 for all). The GAD group further differed from the other groups by showing increased neural responses to low-impact events in regions including the rostral mPFC (p < 0.05 for both).ConclusionsThe neural dysfunction identified here may represent a unique feature associated with reduced optimism and increased worry about everyday events in GAD. Consistent with this possibility, patients with SAD did not show such dysfunction. Future studies should consider if this dysfunction represents a biomarker for GAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundSocial anxiety disorder involves fear of social objects or situations. Social referencing may play an important role in the acquisition of this fear and could be a key determinant in future biomarkers and treatment pathways. However, the neural underpinnings mediating such learning in social anxiety are unknown. Using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging, we examined social reference learning in social anxiety disorder. Specifically, would patients with the disorder show increased amygdala activity during social reference learning, and further, following social reference learning, show particularly increased response to objects associated with other people's negative reactions?MethodA total of 32 unmedicated patients with social anxiety disorder and 22 age-, intelligence quotient- and gender-matched healthy individuals responded to objects that had become associated with others’ fearful, angry, happy or neutral reactions.ResultsDuring the social reference learning phase, a significant group × social context interaction revealed that, relative to the comparison group, the social anxiety group showed a significantly greater response in the amygdala, as well as rostral, dorsomedial and lateral frontal and parietal cortices during the social, relative to non-social, referencing trials. In addition, during the object test phase, relative to the comparison group, the social anxiety group showed increased bilateral amygdala activation to objects associated with others’ fearful reactions, and a trend towards decreased amygdala activation to objects associated with others’ happy and neutral reactions.ConclusionsThese results suggest perturbed observational learning in social anxiety disorder. In addition, they further implicate the amygdala and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex in the disorder, and underscore their importance in future biomarker developments. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Current data indicate that infliximab-given immediately after surgery-may be very effective in preventing postsurgical recurrence of Crohn's disease. However, it is unknown whether a similar benefit would result from early diagnosis and treatment, rather than prevention of endoscopic recurrence.Aims: The primary outcome of this study was to clarify whether infliximab, given after diagnosis of postoperative endoscopic recurrence of Crohn's diseases (Rutgeerts score ≥ 2) can induce endoscopic remission (score <2) at 54 weeks. The secondary outcomes were improvement in the endoscopic score and clinical recurrence at 54 weeks.Methods: In this prospective open label multicenter pilot study 43 patients with ileocolonic Crohn's disease subjected to curative surgery underwent colonoscopy 6 months after surgery. Patients with endoscopic recurrence (Rutgeerts score ≥2) were treated with either mesalamine 800 mg tid or infliximab 5 mg/kg bw on a maintenance basis. Colonoscopy was performed after 54 weeks of therapy.Results: A total of 24/43 patients were diagnosed with endoscopic recurrence at 6 months. Thirteen were treated with infliximab and 11 with mesalamine. None of the 11 mesalamine-treated patients had endoscopic remission at 54 weeks. Two had clinical recurrence at 8 and 9 months. Fifty-four percent of patients treated with infliximab had endoscopic remission at 54 weeks (P = 0.01) while 69% had an improvement in the endoscopic score. None had clinical recurrence.Conclusions: Treatment of postsurgical endoscopic lesions by infliximab appears superior to mesalamine. However, a sizeable proportion of patients did not fully benefit from this strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In England, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women aged under 35 years. Overall incidence of cervical cancer has decreased since the introduction of the national screening programme in 1988 but recent trends of incidence in young women have not been studied in detail.Methods: Information on 71,511 incident cases of cervical cancer in England, 1982-2006, in 20-79-year-olds was extracted from a national cancer registration database. Changes in incidence were analysed by age group, time period and birth cohort. Poisson regression was used to estimate annual percentage change (APC).Results: Overall incidence, during 1982-2006, fell significantly from 213 to 112 per million person years. However, in 20-29-year-olds, after an initial fall, incidence increased significantly during 1992-2006, (APC 2.16). In 30-39-year-olds incidence stabilised during the latter part of the study period. The pattern was most marked in the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber and East Midlands regions. Birth cohorts that were initially called for screening between 60-64 and 35-39 years of age show an incidence peak soon after the age of presumed first screen, whereas younger birth cohorts show a peak at about 35 years of age. Incidence in the 1977-1981 birth cohort has increased relative to that among women born between 1962 and 1976.Conclusion: These results have implications for cervical screening, human papilloma virus vaccination and other public health interventions targeting young people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Division of Lung Diseases of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, with the Office of Rare Diseases Research, held a workshop to identify priority areas and strategic goals to enhance and accelerate research that will result in improved understanding of the lung vasculature, translational research needs, and ultimately the care of patients with pulmonary vascular diseases. Multidisciplinary experts with diverse experience in laboratory, translational, and clinical studies identified seven priority areas and discussed limitations in our current knowledge, technologies, and approaches. The focus for future research efforts include the following: (1) better characterizing vascular genotype-phenotype relationships and incorporating systems biology approaches when appropriate; (2) advancing our understanding of pulmonary vascular metabolic regulatory signaling in health and disease; (3) expanding our knowledge of the biologic relationships between the lung circulation and circulating elements, systemic vascular function, and right heart function and disease; (4) improving translational research for identifying disease-modifying therapies for the pulmonary hypertensive diseases; (5) establishing an appropriate and effective platform for advancing translational findings into clinical studies testing; and (6) developing the specific technologies and tools that will be enabling for these goals, such as question-guided imaging techniques and lung vascular investigator training programs. Recommendations from this workshop will be used within the Lung Vascular Biology and Disease Extramural Research Program for planning and strategic implementation purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Between 1979 and 2001, an analysis of cancer survival in young people in England, aged 13 to 24 years, showed overall improvements. However, for some diagnostic groups, little or no increases were observed. The aim of this study was to analyse the regional distribution of cancer survival in teenagers and young adults in England in order to identify patterns and potential for improvements at a regional scale.Methods: We examined geographical and temporal patterns in relative survival in cancer patients aged 13-24 years in England during the time period 1979-2001. Cancer cases were grouped according to an internationally recognised morphology-based diagnostic scheme.Results: For most diagnostic groups, there was little variation in survival between regions, except for testicular germ cell tumours (P=0.006) and colorectal carcinoma (P=0.002). For certain diagnostic groups, the temporal pattern in survival differed between regions. However, in regions that showed poor survival during the early part of the study period, greatest improvements were observed in groups such as acute lymphoid leukaemia, acute myeloid leukaemia, testicular tumours and melanoma.Conclusion: In conclusion, there was a reduction in the differences in survival between regions during the study period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale: Extracellular superoxide dismutase (EC-SOD) is a potent antioxidant that plays an important role in controlling oxidant-mediated stress and inflammation. High levels of EC-SOD are found in the lung. Acute lung injury (ALI) frequently occurs in patients with infection, and levels of EC-SOD have been shown to modulate severity of lung injury in transgenic animal models of endotoxemia-induced ALI. An R213G single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) has been shown to alter levels of EC-SOD and patient outcomes in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and ischemic heart disease.Objectives: To determine genetic variation in the promoter and EC-SOD gene and to examine whether EC-SOD haplotype blocks are associated with clinical outcomes.Methods: We sequenced the EC-SOD promoter and gene to determine genetic variation and linkage disequilibrium (LD) patterns in a European American population. Two separate patient populations with infection-associated ALI were also evaluated to determine whether EC-SOD haplotypes were associated with clinical outcomes.Measurements and Main Results: Sequencing resulted in the identification of 28 SNPs with relatively strong LD and 1 block consisting of 4691-5321-5360-5955-5982. This specific block was shown to be protective in two separate patient populations with infection associated ALI. In particular, patients with a GCCT haplotype had a reduced risk of time on the ventilator and mortality.Conclusions: These results indicate that a GCCT haplotype may reduce inflammation in the lung, thereby decreasing the severity of lung injury and ultimately protecting patients from mortality associated with infection-induced ALI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer is the leading cause of disease-related death in teenagers and young adults aged 13-24 years (TYAs) in England. We have analysed national 5-year relative survival among more than 30,000 incident cancer cases in TYAs. For cancer overall, 5-year survival improved from 63% in 1979-84 to 74% during 1996-2001 (P<0.001). However, there were no sustained improvements in survival over time among high-grade brain tumours and bone and soft tissue sarcomas. Survival patterns varied by age group (13-16, 17-20, 21-24 years), sex and diagnosis. Survival from leukaemia and brain tumours was better in the youngest age group but in the oldest from germ-cell tumours (GCTs). For lymphomas, bone and soft tissue sarcomas, melanoma and carcinomas, survival was not significantly associated with age. Females had a better survival than males except for GCTs. Most groups showed no association between survival and socioeconomic deprivation, but for leukaemias, head and neck carcinoma and colorectal carcinoma, survival was significantly poorer with increasing deprivation. These results will aid the development of national specialised service provision for this age group and identify areas of clinical need that present the greatest challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined cancer mortality at ages 13-29 years in England and Wales between 1981 and 2005, a total of 20 026 deaths over approximately 303 million person-years (mpy) at risk by sex, age group and time period. Overall, the mortality rate was 65.6 per mpy. Malignant neoplasms of the central nervous system showed the highest rate (8.5), followed by myeloid and monocytic leukaemia (6.6), lymphoid leukaemia (6.4), malignant bone tumours (5.4) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (5.2). These groups together accounted for almost 50% of all cancer deaths. The mortality rate for males (72.4) was 23% higher than for females (58.6) (P-value <0.0001). Males showed significantly higher mortality rates than females in almost all diagnostic groups, in general, mortality increasing with age (P-value <0.0001). There were significant decreases in mortality over time, the annual percentage change between 1981 and 2005 being minus 1.86 (95% confidence interval -2.09 to -1.62). Cancer groups with the highest mortality differed from those with the highest incidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A rather complete experimental study of forward and backward electron velocity spectra from thin foils bombarded with ions at constant velocity of 30 atomic units (23MeV u^-1) was performed. Three different beams ( 12C3+ , 58Ni14+ and 197Au36+ and six different targets ( 12C , 27Al , natNi , natAg , 197Au and 209Bi of approximately 90μg cm^-2 thickness were used. This procedure allowed to study the evolution of electron emission (velocity and angular distributions) for the [projectile; target] matrix [ C , Ni , Au ; C , Al , Ni , Ag , Au , Bi ] in a wide angular range. The projectile and target dependence of absolute cross-sections for binary encounter-, Auger- and backward-emitted electrons are analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Results on projectile fragment–fragment coincidences in the forward direction and for the reaction 40Ar+ 27Al at 44 A MeV are presented and compared with the predictions of two different entrance channel models, a two-body and a three-body mechanism both followed by a binary multisequential decay including fission. This analysis shows that many features of the projectile decay products are well accounted for by the binary multisequential decay model. However the results depend critically upon the initial masses and excitation energies of the primary projectile fragments. In this respect, the three-body approach underestimates the excitation energy imparted to the primary fragments whereas the two-body scenario overestimates it. The present data put strong constraints on the initial excitation energy imparted to the primary fragments which appears to be intermediate between the predictions of the two models. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Doubly differential electron velocity spectra induced by 36Ar18 + (95 MeV/u) from thin target foils (C, Ni, Ag, Au) were measured at GANIL (Caen, France) by means of the ARGOS multidetector and the time-of-flight technique. The main features observed in the forward spectra are convoy electrons, binary-encounter electrons, and (for the Au target only) a high-velocity tail which we attribute to a “Fermi shuttle” acceleration mechanism. Backward spectra do not show distinct structures. The spectra allow us to determine absolute singly differential cross-sections as a function of the target material and the emission angle. The convoy electron yield increases with the target atomic number, but for C their yield is so small that our experiment is not able to detect them. Absolute doubly differential cross-sections for binary-encounter electron ejection from C targets are well described by a transport theory which is based on the relativistic electron impact approximation (EIA) for electron production and which accounts for angular deflection, energy loss and energy straggling of the transmitted electrons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. – The purpose of this work was to define the influence of obesity on static postural control of teenagers.Subjects and method. – Nine obese subjects and seven non-obese subjects were charactezised with stabilometric data of Surface, of Lenghts and spontaneous sway in the lateral (X) and antero-posterior (Y) axis with open eyes and closed eyes in two conditions on firm floor and foam floor condition.Results. – For length data, significative differences were observed between the two groups for the opened eyes condition (p < 0.02) and eyes closed (p < 0.03) during foam floor condition.Conclusion. – During experimental sollicitations, obesity influences significatively the postural control of teenagers. Instead of systematic statistic differences, we observed a decrease in balance capacities of obese subjects. The effects of fat tissue distributions were not verified. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Genomics, or the study of genes and their function, is a burgeoning field with many new technologies. In the present review, we explore the application of genomic approaches to the study of pulmonary hypertension (PH). Candidate genes, important to the pathobiology of the disease, have been investigated. Rodent models enable the manipulation of selected genes, either by transgenesis or targeted disruption. Mutational analysis of genes in the transforming growth factor-beta family have proven pivotal in both familial and sporadic forms of primary PH. Finally, microarray gene expression analysis is a robust molecular tool to aid in delineating the pathobiology of this disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diurnal changes in the frequency of panic attacks and symptoms of generalised anxiety, phobic anxiety and phobic avoidance in 34 panic-disorder patients and 40 normal controls were evaluated. The panic-disorder patients had significant diurnal changes in generalised and phobic anxiety, but not phobic avoidance. Increased severity of symptoms and prominent diurnal changes were most evident in the panic-disorder patients with a history of depression. Although panic attacks were distributed throughout the 24-hour period, patients with a current episode or history of depression tended to have more frequent panic attacks in the morning or early afternoon. These observations challenge the traditional belief that 'anxious neurotic' patients are relatively asymptomatic upon awakening in the morning and then develop more severe symptoms of anxiety later in the day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the introductory data acquisition system which was built to handle the signals from the detectors with a rate up to 1 kilohertz (kHz) on an estimation of 5000 electronic channels, referencing to the detector CHIMERA. Information on the CHIMERA detector; Reference to the on-line diagnostic system under development; Performance of the on-line data control.