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Over the last ten years, 135 new times of maximum light were collected at the Allan I. Carswell Observatory (York University, Toronto) and 723 new times of maximum light were collected from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). This work uses these new times of maximum light to discuss the period changes and pulsations of the δ Scuti star XX Cyg. A new O - C diagram for XX Cyg is presented, along with an updated period of 0.134865124(2) days. The period of XX Cyg is found to be increasing continuously with a rate of (1/P)(dP/dt) = (1.12 ± 0.06) × 10-8yr-1. Fourier analysis performed on the TESS data shows that XX Cyg pulsates with a fundamental frequency of 7.408(8) cycles day-1. Pulsations are also reported at 17 other harmonic frequencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A longitudinal analysis using discrete-time proportional hazards models of competing risks was conducted to evaluate the link between household transitions and housing transitions of renters in the housing market. The objectives of the analysis are: to identify the changes in household composition of renters and their economic profile and to establish the connection between household and residential stability. The results are discussed.

New Findings: What is the topic of this review?The review discusses how eosinophils can contribute to the function of perivascular adipose tissue and explores the mechanisms involved.What advances does it highlight?Understanding the communication between the cell populations that constitute perivascular adipose tissue function is important for exploring therapeutic options in the treatment of obesity‐related cardiovascular complications. This article highlights that eosinophils are able to contribute directly to healthy perivascular adipose tissue function. These immune cells contribute to adrenergic signalling and nitric oxide‐ and adiponectin‐dependent mechanisms in perivascular adipose tissue. Perivascular adipose tissue is a heterogeneous tissue that surrounds most blood vessels in the body. This review focuses on the contribution of eosinophils located within the adipose tissue to vascular contractility. A high‐fat diet reduces the number of these immune cells within perivascular adipose tissue, and this loss is linked to an increase in vascular contractility and hypertension. We explored the mechanisms by which eosinophils contribute to this function using genetically modified mice, ex vivo assessment of contractility and pharmacological tools. We found that eosinophils contribute to adrenergic signalling and nitric oxide‐ and adiponectin‐dependent mechanisms in perivascular adipose tissue. It is now important to explore whether manipulation of these pathways in obesity can alleviate cardiovascular complications, in order to determine whether eosinophils are a valid target for obesity‐related disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Schwannomas of the eighth cranial nerve are benign tumours commonly found in the internal auditory meatus or in the cerebellopontine angle. In most cases, they arise from the inferior or vestibular portion of the vestibular nerve. Rarely, these tumours present in the inner ear and are then called intralabyrinthine schwannomas. Bilateral schwannomas are known in neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2). Bilateral and ipsilateral, multilocular sporadic schwannomas of the eighth cranial nerve have been described as extremely rare findings. This report describes the first case of bilateral sporadic intracochlear schwannomas in a patient with no genetic or clinical features of NF2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study which demonstrated a broad band germanium optical amplifier of terahertz radiation. Mechanism of amplification of terahertz emission in germanium lasers; Methodology used in the study; Analysis of laser emission spectra.

Experimental toxicological studies in laboratory animals and epidemiological human studies have reported a possible association between water fluoridation and osteosarcoma (OSA). To further explore this possibility, a case-control study of individual dogs evaluated by the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital was conducted using ecologic data on water fluoridation based on the owner's residence. The case group included 161 dogs with OSA diagnosed between 2008-2012. Two cancer control groups included dogs diagnosed with lymphoma (LSA) or hemangiosarcoma (HSA) during the same period ( n = 134 and n = 145, respectively). Dogs with OSA were not significantly more likely to live in an area with optimized fluoride in the water than dogs with LSA or HSA. Additional analyses within OSA patients also revealed no significant differences in age, or skeletal distribution of OSA cases relative to fluoride status. Taken together, these analyses do not support the hypothesis that optimal fluoridation of drinking water contributes to naturally occurring OSA in dogs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advances in next-generation sequencing (NGS) allow for rapid development of genomics resources needed to generate molecular diagnostics assays for infectious agents. NGS approaches are particularly helpful for organisms that cannot be cultured, such as the downy mildew pathogens, a group of biotrophic obligate oomycetes that infect crops of economic importance. Unlike most downy mildew pathogens that are highly host-specific, Pseudoperonospora cubensis causes disease on a broad range of crops belonging to the family Cucurbitaceae. In this study, we identified candidate diagnostic markers for P. cubensis by comparing NGS data from a diverse panel of P. cubensis and P. humuli isolates, two very closely related oomycete species. P. cubensis isolates fo ra diverse hosts and geographical regions in the United States were selected for sequencing to ensure that candidates were conserved in P cubensis isolates infecting different cucurbit hosts. Genomic regions unique to and conserved in P. cubensis isolates were identified through bioinformatics. These candidate regions were then validated using PCR against a larger collection of isolates from P cubensis, P. humuli, and other oomycetes. Overall seven diagnostic markers were found to be specific to P. cubensis. These markers could be used for pathogen diagnostics on infected tissue, or adapted for monitoring airborne inoculum with real-time PCR and spore traps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mono-, di- and trisaccharide derivatives of 1,2-unsaturated N-acetyl-d-glucal have been synthesized and shown to function as tight-binding inhibitors/slow substrates of representative hexosaminidases. Turnover is slow and not observed in the thioamide analogue, allowing determination of the 3-dimensional structure of the complex. Inhibition is insensitive to pH and to mutation of key catalytic residues, consistent with the uncharged character of the inhibitor. These properties could render this inhibitor class less prone to development of resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To investigate the physiological effects of two different three times a week, eight week training programmes on the aerobic fitness of nine to ten year old girls.Methods: Treadmill determined peak VO2, submaximal heart rates, and submaximal blood lactate were the criterion measures. Seventeen girls completed a programme of "aerobics" training where sessions lasted 20-25 minutes. Eighteen girls followed a cycle ergometer training programme which involved pedalling continuously for 20 minutes with the heart rate maintained between 160 and 170 beats/minute. A control group of 16 girls completed the criterion tests but did not train. In the cycle ergometer group and eight control subjects plasma total cholesterol and high density lipoprotein cholesterol were determined before and after training.Results: Peak VO2 did not change significantly with training in either training group, neither were there any significant changes in submaximal heart rates. Blood lactate declined significantly at the two lowest submaximal exercise intensities in the cycle ergometer training group (from 2.3 (1.1) to 1.4 (0.06) mmol/l at stage 1 and from 2.1 (1.2) to 1.6 (0.06) mmol/l at stage 2; means (SD); P < 0.01). Total cholesterol and high density lipoprotein cholesterol remained unchanged with training.Conclusions: These findings suggest that an eight week structured exercise programme produces minimal changes in either the aerobic fitness or blood lipids of young girls. It may be more beneficial for long term health to promote enjoyment in activity and positive attitudes to exercise rather than attempting to enhance aerobic fitness through strenuous exercise programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe a neonate of 38-week and 6-day gestation born by lower uterine cesarean section for breech presentation, where it was evident on delivery that there was significant edema of the right arm from the deltoid to the distal tips of the fingers. Doppler low ultrasound revealed extensive arterial thromboembolus. Intravenous heparin was prescribed for three days at a dose of 27.5U/kg/h, targeting an activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) of 60-75 seconds, followed by a course of subcutaneous enoxaparin at a dose of 1.8mg/kg and then 2mg/kg twice daily, titrated to a factor Xa level of 0.5-1.0U/mL for another three days. Significant clinical improvement occurred and the child was eventually, discharged on subcutaneous enoxaparin. Magnetic resonance imaging showed multiple intracranial abnormalities. At five months increased upper limb tone, brisk reflexes, and small head circumference were noted. At one year, increased tone and increased paucity of movement on the right side persisted, and some speech delay and visual inattention were noted. Recent follow-up at 16.5 months of age demonstrated a right sided hemiplegia with increased tone and brisk reflexes. We describe the case in detail and review current knowledge regarding the management of arterial thrombosis in the neonate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Question: What are the key items in the clinical reasoning process which expert clinicians identify as being relevant to the assessment and management of patients with shoulder pain? Design: Qualitative study using a three-round Delphi procedure. Participants: Twenty-six experts in the UK consented to be involved and were contactable, of whom 20 contributed, with 12, 15, and 15 contributing to the different rounds. Results: Clinical reasoning was mostly about diagnostic reasoning, but also involved narrative reasoning. Diagnostic reasoning involved both pattern recognition and hypothetico-deductive reasoning. Diagnostic reasoning emphasised general history items, a constellation of signs and symptoms to identify specific diagnostic categories, and standard physical examination procedures. Narrative reasoning was highlighted by the communication involved in expert history taking, seeing patients in their functional and psychological context, and collaborative reasoning with the patient regarding management. Conclusions: These expert clinicians demonstrated the use of diagnostic pattern recognition, and hypothetico-deductive and narrative clinical reasoning processes. The emphasis was on the history and basic physical examination procedures to make clinical decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glycosyltransferases catalyze glycosidic bond formation using sugar donors containing a nucleoside phosphate or a lipid phosphate leaving group. Only two structural folds, GT-A and GT-B, have been identified for the nucleotide sugar-dependent enzymes, but other folds are now appearing for the soluble domains of lipid phosphosugar-dependent glycosyl transferases. Structural and kinetic studies have provided new insights. Inverting glycosyltransferases utilize a direct displacement SN2-1ike mechanism involving an enzymatic base catalyst. Leaving group departure in GT-A fold enzymes is typically facilitated via a coordinated divalent cation, whereas GT-B fold enzymes instead use positively charged side chains and/or hydroxyls and helix dipoles. The mechanism of retaining glycosyltransferases is less clear. The expected two-step double-displacement mechanism is rendered less likely by the lack of conserved architecture in the region where a catalytic nucleophile would be expected. A mechanism involving a short-lived oxocarbenium iota intermediate now seems the most likely, with the leaving phosphate serving as the base. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I Introduction, Over the years, the style of the progress reports on quantitative methods has varied from an assessment of recent contributions in scholarly journals to a detailed explication of a particular quantitative method. Examples of the latter are the reports by Wrigley during the 1980s, wherein he introduced many human geographers to quantitative methods that had been developed outside the discipline yet promised to make a considerable contribution within the discipline. At the time the readership was generally well versed in linear regression methods and cross-sectional analysis, but generally unfamiliar with categorical data analysis and longitudinal methods. Wrigley’s (1982; 1986) reports went a long way towards encouraging progress in human geography by challenging the discipline to consider new and promising quantitative techniques. Such is the goal of the current report. Recent advancement in the analysis of ecological inference has the potential to make a significant contribution to geographic inquiry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mechanism-based inhibition of influenza neuraminidases by difluorosialic acids (DFSA) is not only rendered highly specific by incorporation of 4-amino or 4-guanidine substituents but also the half-life for reactivation is greatly increased. Measurement of rate constants for spontaneous hydrolysis of a series of such substituted DFSAs reveals, surprisingly, that inherent inductive effects play very little role in this rate reduction and that interactions with the enzyme are more important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rate and extent of xylan utilization and the specific activities of extracellular polysaccharide-degrading enzymes formed by Ruminococcus flavefaciens FD1 were increased by cocultivation with Methanobrevibacter smithii PS. As a consequence of interspecies hydrogen transfer interactions, the fermentation became acetogenic; methane, not hydrogen, was formed, less succinate was produced, and formate did not accumulate in the coculture. Accumulation of xylobiose and xylose released during xylanolysis was transient in the methanogenic coculture. The interaction of R. flavefaciens and the hydrogen-utilizing acetogen Acetitomaculum ruminis also resulted in an acetogenic fermentation, higher polysaccharolytic enzyme activities, and increased xylan utilization; the effects of cocultivation of R. flavefaciens with Eubacterium limosum were not so pronounced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: An adequate blood supply is essential for the maintenance of uterine function and fetal health during parturition. However, labouring uterine contractions will impart compressive forces on small uterine arteries (SUA). We demonstrate that isolated, pressurised rat SUA arteries, pre-constricted with arginine vasopressin or high potassium solution, exhibit regulatory responses to elevations in extravascular pressure (EVP) which maintain internal diameter constant at EVPs of 0–40 mm Hg. This response is endothelium independent and is not modulated by pregnancy. No regulation was observed in calcium free solution. SUA myogenic responses to elevated EVP likely represents a mechanism for limiting reductions in uterine blood flow during uterine contraction. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective: This paper reports a case of a patient who has had bilateral cochlear implants that have been manufactured by different cochlear implant companies (Cochlear Corporation and Med-El). Method: Comparison of speech perception tests following single implant insertion and bilateral insertion (3 and 12 months). The patient was also interviewed to obtain a subjective opinion on their quality of hearing. Results: The patient reported that their Med-El implant had better sound quality than their Cochlear Corporation implant. The speech perception tests however failed to show any difference. Conclusion: Despite no difference found with the objective tests hearing is very subjective and therefore the patient's opinion on the quality of sound is important. It is only a matter of time before other patients are fitted with bilateral cochlear implants from different companies and this information should be collated to allow comparison between manufacturers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nadim Malik, Kelly A Farrell, Sarah B Withers, Elizabeth J Wright, Cathy M HoltInstitute for Cardiovascular Science, University of Manchester, Manchester, United KingdomBackground: The early stages of left ventricular (LV) dysfunction account for a much larger proportion of the population with heart disease than that with clinical heart failure. However, LV dysfunction is more difficult to diagnose than established heart failure, and because of this it is not usually treated. Research on LV dysfunction is commonly conducted in small animal models in which the cardiac pathophysiology is dissimilar to that in humans, thereby restricting translation. This study aimed to use a novel pig model of mild to moderate early ischemic LV dysfunction to assess the effects of such dysfunction in the myocardium.Methods: Multiple areas of controlled microinfarcts were created via microembolization using embolization beads, with invasive hemodynamic and transthoracic echocardiographic assessment of LV function. Four weeks after intervention, the hearts were explanted for determination of the infarcted surface area and analysis of calcium regulatory proteins.Results: In vivo hemodynamic measurements confirmed a >25% decrease in LV dP/dt (maximum and minimum) with creation of microinfarcts compared with baseline, whilst echocardiography showed mild to moderate LV dysfunction. Perioperative mortality was 10%–15%. In surviving pigs, morphometry at 4 weeks confirmed that up to 20% of the total LV surface area contained microinfarcts. Western blot analysis showed alterations in levels of the calcium regulatory proteins, sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ ATPase and sodium-calcium exchange, in infarcted areas, compared with normal LV tissue from the same animals.Conclusion: These results demonstrate the usefulness of this model for investigation of the precise molecular and cellular changes associated with early mild to moderate LV dysfunction from ischemic injury, and its potential use for modulating these changes with the aim of achieving functional reversibility or regeneration of the myocardium.Keywords: left ventricular dysfunction, heart failure, porcine model

Saxifraga spicata (Micranthes spicata (D. Don) Small), a large perennial showy saxifrage endemic to the unglaciated regions of Alaska and Yukon, was rediscovered after not having been seen in Canada for 110 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is the first report of priapism in a child with Henoch-Schönlein purpura. Priapism is a condition rarely seen in childhood. When seen in the paediatric population, it is most often associated with haematological disorders. On a world-wide basis, sickle cell anaemia accounts for the majority of childhood priapism. Failure to treat priapism can lead to serious sequelae, including fibrosis and impotence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We tested the hypothesis that aldosterone causes a loss of the normal anticontractile function of healthy fat via a hypoxia-related pathway, which can be rescued using spironolactone. Healthy rat mesenteric arteries (~250%α/4M diameter) and perivascular fat were investigated using wire myography and Perl's Prussian blue staining for activated macrophages. The effects of aldosterone%±spironolactone were assessed after incubation for 10 min and 3 h, and experimental hypoxia (95% N2/5% CO2) for 2.5 h. Contractile responses were calculated as a percentage of KCl contraction and expressed as mean±SEM. Macrophage activation was expressed semiquantitatively and expressed as macrophage abundance values (MAV). The anticontractile capacity of healthy fat was lost upon incubation with aldosterone (5 nM) (fat: 90±4% n=36, fat+10 min aldosterone: 165±5% n=25, fat+3 h aldosterone 172%±12% n=7) and was associated with an increase in activated macrophages (immediately fixed: 2.2±0.5% n=5 vs 10 min aldosterone: 3.8±0.4% n=5, p=NS; immediately fixed: 2.2±0.5% n=5 vs 3 h aldosterone: 4.7±0.3% n=5, p=0.0313). Spironolactone (10%α/4M) restored anticontractile activity after incubation for 3 h only (3 h:111±4% p<0.05, n=5) and caused a significant reduction in macrophage activation (3.0±1.0%, n=5). As for aldosterone, hypoxia caused an increase in contractility (149±17% n=15) and macrophage activation (5.5±0.5% n=5), which was reversed upon incubation with spironolactone (contractility: 120±12% n=5;MAV: 3.3±0.8%, n=3, p=0.500). Aldosterone ameliorates the anticontractile capacity of healthy fat by a common pathway to hypoxia, which correlates with an increase in the number of activated macrophages within adipose tissue. Spironolactone can restore the effect of hypoxia on contractility and macrophage activation in the absence of aldosterone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single axial-mode operation of the pulsed far-infrared p-Ge laser with an intracavity Fabry-Perot type frequency selector has been observed by means of Fourier-transform spectroscopy. A spectral resolution better than 1 GHz has been achieved on an ordinary continuous-scan spectrometer using the event-locked technique for pulsed emission sources. A laser active-cavity finesse of at least unity has been directly confirmed from the measured emission spectral width. Analysis of the envelope of the corresponding interferogram suggests that the finesse exceeds 10. © 2000 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]