Search

The response to antitachycardia pacing can sometimes reveal clues about tachycardia mechanisms. This article discusses a case in which the diagnosis of typical atrioventricular nodal reciprocating tachycardia could be firmly established from the implantable cardioverter-defibrillator interrogation alone.

Despite unprecedented advances in technology, the electrocardiogram (ECG) remains essential to the practice of modern electrophysiology. Since its emergence at the turn of the nineteenth century, the form of the ECG has changed little. What has changed is our ability to understand the complex mechanisms that underlie various arrhythmias. In this article, the authors review several important principles of ECG interpretation by providing illustrative tracings. The authors also highlight several important concepts that be can used in ECG analysis. There are several fundamental principles that should be considered in ECG interpretation.

This article reports a typical case of incessant double-fire tachycardia resulting in implantable cardioverter-defibrillator discharge caused by the device's misdiagnosis of ventricular tachycardia. At electrophysiology study, the presence of double-fire physiology was confirmed, and modification of the slow pathway resulted in elimination of repetitive double fires. Although this is an unusual entity, it is important to recognize, because it may be misdiagnosed as atrial fibrillation, resulting in inappropriate anticoagulation and/or antiarrhythmic therapy. Modification of the slow pathway and elimination of double-fire physiology can result in marked improvement in quality of life and reversal of tachycardia-mediated cardiomyopathy.

The arrangements characteristic of systems of networked governance are likely to generate conspiracy theories because they rely on informal rather than formal structures of power. A formal hierarchy may be resented, but it is understood by those affected by it; in network systems, by contrast, it is often hard to determine who is in charge, even though such systems can heavily influence or even determine important social outcomes. While conspiracy theories may be motivated by many factors, in a world in which informal norms and the decisions of networked elites play a large role, we should expect to see a continued and increasing preoccupation with alleged conspiracies. Some allegations of conspiracy may even function as cognitive shortcuts—“as-if” conspiracies—which apply a cui bono style of reasoning to make sense of otherwise opaque modes of social control.

Mineral extractive industries are becoming increasingly relevant in climate change science and policy. Guyana’s economic policy, the Low Carbon Development Strategy, seeks to align sectors of the economy along a low carbon emission trajectory. Although the artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) sector is economically important, it is a known emissions-intensive sector that contributes to deforestation and direct operational emissions.

A phosphor CdMoO4:Dy3+ was prepared by co-precipitation method at room temperature. The effects of annealing temperature on its structural, surface morphology and luminescence properties have been investigated. The crystal structure and phase composition of the prepared phosphors was investigated by XRD and Raman spectroscopy. SEM analysis indicated an increase of grain size and change of morphology with annealing temperature. The excitation spectra of all the prepared samples were found to consist of a strong broad band originated from the MoO42− group of host lattice and narrow peaks originated from the electronic transitions within the 4f orbitals of Dy3+ ion. With increasing the annealing temperature, the maximum of the broad band was shifted towards the longer wavelength region. When excited at UV and NUV regions, two primary sharp emission bands centering at 490 and 575 nm were obtained. The intensities of the peaks were increased with the rise of annealing temperature which is because of the increase of crystallinity, size and change of morphology. CIE chromaticity diagram showed a nearly white color when excited at 274 nm and multiple colors on excitation at 353 nm. It is strongly believed from the observations that the prepared samples may get potential applications in LED based devices.

The Open Material Transfer Agreement is a material-transfer agreement that enables broader sharing and use of biological materials by biotechnology practitioners working within the practical realities of technology transfer. Supplementary information The online version of this article (doi:10.1038/nbt.4263) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background: To determine overall benefit-risk, we examined the effect of single inhaler fluticasone furoate/umeclidinium/vilanterol (FF/UMEC/VI) versus UMEC/VI and FF/VI on the composite outcome of acute exacerbation of COPD or pneumonia in the IMPACT study, a 52-week, randomized, multicentre study in patients with symptomatic COPD and prior exacerbation. Methods: We defined two composite outcomes: time to first moderate (required antibiotics and/or systemic corticosteroids)/severe (required hospitalisation) exacerbation or pneumonia; and time to first severe exacerbation/hospitalised pneumonia. Analyses were based on a proportional hazards model. Results: Moderate/severe exacerbations occurred in 47% of patients randomized to FF/UMEC/VI, 49% in those randomized to FF/VI and 50% in those randomized to UMEC/VI. Pneumonias occurred in 8%, 7%, and 5% of patients in these groups. FF/UMEC/VI reduced the risk of first moderate/severe exacerbation or pneumonia vs. FF/VI by 13.2% (95%CI 7.8%-18.3%; p Conclusion: These composite exacerbation/pneumonia outcomes support a favourable benefit-risk profile of FF/UMEC/VI compared with FF/VI and UMEC/VI in patients with moderate to severe COPD and prior exacerbation.

This essay advances three theses on the current crisis of international liberalism. First, it is a composite one, comprising interrelated crises of domestic political representation and of global governance affecting the international and supranational arrangements that were constructed in the post-war period. Second, the crisis is a specific development of neoliberal governance, which requires distinguishing international liberalism’s two historical variants: “embedded liberalism” and “neoliberalism.” The turn from the post-war regime of “embedded liberalism” to the “neoliberalism” of recent decades has had the effect of undoing the domestic social contracts that underlay post-war political stability even while failing to secure peace and prosperity internationally. Third, neoliberal governance operates through a distinct form of legality from the embedded liberalism of the post-war period. The turn to neoliberalism involves a shift from the inter-state orientation that characterized the first decades of international liberalism to a “dialectic of globalization,” in which newly empowered transnational activity across states generates pressure for supranational governance above them. This dialectic has the effect of undermining the international legal order on which liberalism has depended historically, which suggests that the present crisis is at root the product of an internal transformation rather than the result of competition with external enemies.

Mimosa pudica ( M. pudica ) leaves extract mediated environmental benign synthesis of gold (Au) nanoparticles (NPs) in aqueous medium at room temperature. The growth of these nanoscopic Au particles was monitored by UV–vis spectrophotometer. The particles have spherical shape with narrow size distribution. The average diameter of the Au NPs is 16 nm as determined from HRTEM. The ensuing nanodimensional Au particles were used as an efficient nanocatalyst in the degradation of organic pollutants like dye such as rhodamine B (Rh B) and aromatic nitrocompound such as o -nitrophenol (ONP) in the presence of NaBH 4 in aqueous medium at room temperature. Both the reactions were assayed spectrophotometrically and are of first order. In the absence of catalyst, the reactions occur extremely slow but enhance abruptly upon addition of Au NPs indicating their catalytic efficacy. Such significant catalytic behavior of the so-synthesis Au NPs can be attributed to their large number of active sites for the reactant molecules to interact by serving an electron relay effect.

In this article a monopole leaky wave antenna is proposed. This article describe comparative analysis of leaky wave antenna with monopole leaky wave antenna .The configuration of the proposed LWA contains two parts: the conventional open structure LWA, the added monopole connected to the end of the LWA on a reduce ground plane, Because of the open structure of the LWA, the reflected power produces a large back lobe radiated backwardly. By using the method of the added monopole connected to the end of the antenna, the remainder power could radiate through the added monopole without reflecting at the end. This paper uses a monopole antenna which can improve the return loss, reduce the back lobe of proposed antenna. . Above antenna has become interesting due to their simple shape and geometry. This antenna has been simulated on electromagnetic simulator computer simulation technology (CST)Microwave suit software and results are analyzed at frequency 2.76 GHz.

Summary Synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles was carried out through an environmental benign route using tannic acid as reducing and capping agent. The TEM image shows the details of the poly-dispersity in size of the iron oxide nanoparticle and average diameter of the particles range in between 30 and 50 nm. XRD result rule out that iron oxide nanoparticle is a mixed phase constituted by Fe +2 and Fe +3 ions. The average size of the particle determined from XRD data is 45.6 nm which is agreeable with the finding obtained from TEM images. This particle of iron oxide is used for the degradation of p-cresol and it successfully degraded p-cresol. Catalytic property of the iron oxide nanoparticle was also investigation using methylene blue as role model dye. Degradation of methylene blue dye was studied in presence of NaBH 4 and the degradation reaction followed first order kinetics with rate constant value of 1.6 × 10 −3 min −1 . The rate constant of the reaction in absence of iron oxide nanoparticles is 4 × 10 −4 min −1 , this result confirmed the catalytic nature of as such prepared iron oxide nanoparticles.

Summary Nanoparticles of Eu 3+ doped YPO 4 have been prepared by co-precipitation method. The structure, morphology, composition and photoluminescence were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), IR Spectroscopy, and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL). In this method EG was used as a solvent, tri sodium citrate dihydrate and EDTA were used as a complexing agent. X-ray diffraction results show that the nanoparticles are crystalline in tetragonal structure and the presence of two phases, tetragonal and hexagonal phase for citrate mediated and EDTA complexed nanoparticles. The SEM image shows spherical nanoparticles which are non-agglomerated and highly dispersible in water. With the addition of citrate and EDTA, there is a slightly shift towards the lower wavelength in emission peaks. A broad peak at 250 nm is observed due to the Eu O charge transfer band in the excitation spectra. Emission intensity decreases with complexing agent because of decrease of particle size as well as decrease of number of Eu 3+ activators per unit volume. The emission spectrum of Eu 3+ doped YPO 4 nanoparticles clearly shows f–f transitions of Eu 3+ .

Rationale: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by impaired clearance of pulmonary bacteria. Objectives: The effect of COPD on alveolar macrophage (AM) microbicidal responses was investigated. Methods: AMs were obtained from bronchoalveolar lavage from healthy donors or patients with COPD and challenged with opsonized serotype 14 Streptococcus pneumoniae. Cells were assessed for apoptosis, bactericidal activity, and mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mROS) production. A transgenic mouse line in which the CD68 promoter ensures macrophage-specific expression of human induced myeloid leukemia cell differentiation protein Mcl-1 (CD68.hMcl-1) was used to model the molecular aspects of COPD. Measurements and Main Results: COPD AMs had elevated levels of Mcl-1, an antiapoptotic B-cell lymphoma 2 family member, with selective reduction of delayed intracellular bacterial killing. CD68.hMcl-1 AMs phenocopied the microbicidal defect because transgenic mice demonstrated impaired clearance of pulmonary bacteria and increased neutrophilic inflammation. Murine bone marrow–derived macrophages and human monocyte-derived macrophages generated mROS in response to pneumococci, which colocalized with bacteria and phagolysosomes to enhance bacterial killing. The Mcl-1 transgene increased oxygen consumption rates and mROS expression in mock-infected bone marrow–derived macrophages but reduced caspase-dependent mROS production after pneumococcal challenge. COPD AMs also increased basal mROS expression, but they failed to increase production after pneumococcal challenge, in keeping with reduced intracellular bacterial killing. The defect in COPD AM intracellular killing was associated with a reduced ratio of mROS/superoxide dismutase 2. Conclusions: Up-regulation of Mcl-1 and chronic adaption to oxidative stress alter mitochondrial metabolism and microbicidal function, reducing the delayed phase of intracellular bacterial clearance in COPD.

Viviana Zelizer has helped to prompt a turn in economic sociology away from models that take a simple, naturalized conception of the market economy for granted. Through in-depth explorations of the monetary dimensions of contemporary social life, she has argued that money has necessarily different meanings in different contexts. This chapter turns to a question that Zelizer's work raises for the history of economic thought. For present purposes, it takes it as uncontested that money is diverse in the ways that Zelizer and her students and allies have argued: a social institution whose richness and complexity is belied by simple economic accounts. The chapter examines the origin of those accounts themselves. How should we understand their meaning in the broader project of meaning-making through money? It is with these questions in mind that it offers a condensed genealogy of what Zelizer calls the “mirage” that economic theory projects onto society.

Department of Chemistry, National Institute of Technology Manipur, Imphal-795 004, Manipur, India Department of Chemistry, Manipur University, Imphal-795 003, Manipur, India E-mail : davidthiyam@gmail.com Manuscript received online 16 September 2016, accepted 02 October 2016 Preparation of composite NiO-Ag and its individual monometallic nanoparticles is demonstrated by utilizing non-toxic and abundantly available tannic acid at room temperature through an eco-friendly green aqueous technique. These monometallic and composite nanoparticles were characterized using TEM, SAED, EDAX, photoluminences, Zeta potential, IR and UV-Vis spectroscopy. Monometallic and composite nanoparticles have a narrow size distribution with spherical morphology. Moreover, the average diameters of all these three different nanoparticles are almost identical and ranges from 7 nm to 10 nm as measured from HRTEM. Comparative catalytic efficacy of the nanoparticulate materials were studied employing photo degradation of a cationic (methyl violet) and anionic (methyl orange) dye at room temperature. NiO-Ag composite nanoparticles exhibits higher catalytic potential and the rate constants for photo degradation reactions follow the order of the reaction condition : kNiO-Ag composite NPs> kNiO NPs > KAg NPs > kuncat. Higher catalytic performance of the composite system is attributed to the composition effect which basically results due to synergistic electronic effect.

Widespread recognition that economic inequality has been growing for forty years in most of the developed world, and in fact has tended to grow across most of the history of modern economies, shows that the period 1945-1973, when inequality of wealth and income shrank, was a marked anomaly in historical experience. At the time, however, the anomalous period of equality seemed to vindicate a long history of optimism about economic life:that growth would overcome meaningful scarcity and usher in an egalitarian and humanistic period that could almost qualify as post-economic. This has not been the experience of the last four decades. In this intellectual history of the anomalous period, we trace the main lines of that optimism and its undoing.

Background Because the His bundle is intrinsic to the circuit in orthodromic reciprocating tachycardia and remote from that of atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT), pacing the His bundle during supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) may be useful to distinguish these arrhythmias. Objective The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that His overdrive pacing (HOP) would affect SVT immediately for orthodromic reciprocating tachycardia and in a delayed manner for AVNRT. Methods Once SVT was induced, HOP was performed by pacing the His bundle 10–30 ms faster than the SVT cycle length. The maneuver was determined to have entered the tachycardia circuit when a nonfused His-capture beat advanced or delayed the subsequent atrial electrogram by ≥10 ms or when the tachycardia was terminated. The number of beats required to enter each tachycardia with HOP was recorded. Results HOP was performed during 66 SVTs (26 atrioventricular reciprocating tachycardia [AVRT] and 40 AVNRT). Entry into the tachycardia within 1 beat had sensitivity of 92%, specificity of 92%, positive predictive value (PPV) of 89% and negative predictive value (NPV) of 95% to confirm the diagnosis of AVRT. A cutoff ≥3 beats to enter the circuit had sensitivity of 90%, specificity of 92%, PPV of 95% and NPV of 86% to confirm the diagnosis of AVNRT. HOP had sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of 100% for distinguishing septal AVRT from atypical AVNRT. Conclusion HOP during SVT is a novel technique for distinguishing orthodromic reciprocating tachycardia from AVNRT. It can reliably distinguish between these arrhythmias with high sensitivity and specificity.

Simple co-precipitation method was used to synthesize Ce3+ doped YP1−xVxO4 (x = 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5) phosphors. The prepared nanoscale phosphors were characterized by XRD, TG-DTA, TEM, EDAX and IR technique. The structural characterization reveals that the lattice parameters and micro-strain increases but crystallite sizes decrease with increase in the content of vanadium ion in the prepared nanoparticles. Blue and red emissions of Ce3+ ions were observed in YP1−xVxO4 nanophosphors and investigated in details. Red emission is originating from the 5d1 → 4f1 transition of the Ce3+ ion. The prepared phosphor is novel as no such luminescence data are available earlier for this compound. The optimal V ion substitution proportions of P ion were determined to be 20 at.% and investigated as a potential red emitting phosphor for white LEDs.

International audience; BACKGROUND: Reliable and timely information on the leading causes of death in populations, and how these are changing, is a crucial input into health policy debates. In the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2010 (GBD 2010), we aimed to estimate annual deaths for the world and 21 regions between 1980 and 2010 for 235 causes, with uncertainty intervals (UIs), separately by age and sex. METHODS: We attempted to identify all available data on causes of death for 187 countries from 1980 to 2010 from vital registration, verbal autopsy, mortality surveillance, censuses, surveys, hospitals, police records, and mortuaries. We assessed data quality for completeness, diagnostic accuracy, missing data, stochastic variations, and probable causes of death. We applied six different modelling strategies to estimate cause-specific mortality trends depending on the strength of the data. For 133 causes and three special aggregates we used the Cause of Death Ensemble model (CODEm) approach, which uses four families of statistical models testing a large set of different models using different permutations of covariates. Model ensembles were developed from these component models. We assessed model performance with rigorous out-of-sample testing of prediction error and the validity of 95% UIs. For 13 causes with low observed numbers of deaths, we developed negative binomial models with plausible covariates. For 27 causes for which death is rare, we modelled the higher level cause in the cause hierarchy of the GBD 2010 and then allocated deaths across component causes proportionately, estimated from all available data in the database. For selected causes (African trypanosomiasis, congenital syphilis, whooping cough, measles, typhoid and parathyroid, leishmaniasis, acute hepatitis E, and HIV/AIDS), we used natural history models based on information on incidence, prevalence, and case-fatality. We separately estimated cause fractions by aetiology for diarrhoea, lower respiratory infections, and meningitis, as well as disaggregations by subcause for chronic kidney disease, maternal disorders, cirrhosis, and liver cancer. For deaths due to collective violence and natural disasters, we used mortality shock regressions. For every cause, we estimated 95% UIs that captured both parameter estimation uncertainty and uncertainty due to model specification where CODEm was used. We constrained cause-specific fractions within every age-sex group to sum to total mortality based on draws from the uncertainty distributions. FINDINGS: In 2010, there were 52*8 million deaths globally. At the most aggregate level, communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional causes were 24*9% of deaths worldwide in 2010, down from 15*9 million (34*1%) of 46*5 million in 1990. This decrease was largely due to decreases in mortality from diarrhoeal disease (from 2*5 to 1*4 million), lower respiratory infections (from 3*4 to 2*8 million), neonatal disorders (from 3*1 to 2*2 million), measles (from 0*63 to 0*13 million), and tetanus (from 0*27 to 0*06 million). Deaths from HIV/AIDS increased from 0*30 million in 1990 to 1*5 million in 2010, reaching a peak of 1*7 million in 2006. Malaria mortality also rose by an estimated 19*9% since 1990 to 1*17 million deaths in 2010. Tuberculosis killed 1*2 million people in 2010. Deaths from non-communicable diseases rose by just under 8 million between 1990 and 2010, accounting for two of every three deaths (34*5 million) worldwide by 2010. 8 million people died from cancer in 2010, 38% more than two decades ago; of these, 1*5 million (19%) were from trachea, bronchus, and lung cancer. Ischaemic heart disease and stroke collectively killed 12*9 million people in 2010, or one in four deaths worldwide, compared with one in five in 1990; 1*3 million deaths were due to diabetes, twice as many as in 1990. The fraction of global deaths due to injuries (5*1 million deaths) was marginally higher in 2010 (9*6%) compared with two decades earlier (8*8%). This was driven by a 46% rise in deaths worldwide due to road traffic accidents (1*3 million in 2010) and a rise in deaths from falls. Ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lower respiratory infections, lung cancer, and HIV/AIDS were the leading causes of death in 2010. Ischaemic heart disease, lower respiratory infections, stroke, diarrhoeal disease, malaria, and HIV/AIDS were the leading causes of years of life lost due to premature mortality (YLLs) in 2010, similar to what was estimated for 1990, except for HIV/AIDS and preterm birth complications. YLLs from lower respiratory infections and diarrhoea decreased by 45-54% since 1990; ischaemic heart disease and stroke YLLs increased by 17-28%. Regional variations in leading causes of death were substantial. Communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional causes still accounted for 76% of premature mortality in sub-Saharan Africa in 2010. Age standardised death rates from some key disorders rose (HIV/AIDS, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes mellitus, and chronic kidney disease in particular), but for most diseases, death rates fell in the past two decades; including major vascular diseases, COPD, most forms of cancer, liver cirrhosis, and maternal disorders. For other conditions, notably malaria, prostate cancer, and injuries, little change was noted. INTERPRETATION: Population growth, increased average age of the world's population, and largely decreasing age-specific, sex-specific, and cause-specific death rates combine to drive a broad shift from communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional causes towards non-communicable diseases. Nevertheless, communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional causes remain the dominant causes of YLLs in sub-Saharan Africa. Overlaid on this general pattern of the epidemiological transition, marked regional variation exists in many causes, such as interpersonal violence, suicide, liver cancer, diabetes, cirrhosis, Chagas disease, African trypanosomiasis, melanoma, and others. Regional heterogeneity highlights the importance of sound epidemiological assessments of the causes of death on a regular basis. FUNDING: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

In January 2016, the Canadian infrastructure company TransCanada Corporation filed a notice of intent to sue the United States government in a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Chapter 11 arbitration over the Keystone XL pipeline. At the center of this dispute is the State Department's refusal to permit the construction of an oil pipeline between Canada and Nebraska. TransCanada claims that the State Department ignored its own favorable environmental assessments of the pipeline multiple times and rejected the proposal to placate misinformed activists and foreign governments. The State Department acknowledges that it denied the permit to enhance the Obama Administration's credibility at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris, with the long-term goal of reducing emissions through collective political action. This Essay situates the TransCanada arbitration within the history of investment arbitration, highlighting recent collisions between arbitral regimes and the modern regulatory state. After briefly discussing the history of investment arbitration, we discuss in depth the collision's most startling fallout so far- the Clayton v. Canada award on liability. Finally, we suggest how the TransCanada tribunal should view the Clayton award.

This case highlights characteristic features of atrial tachycardia arising from the mitral annulus. P wave morphologies can provide additional clues regarding the origin of atrial tachycardia on the mitral annulus. The atrial activation sequence is sometimes, but not always, earliest in the His potential electrogram position and may or may not be characterized by proximal-to-distal coronary sinus activation. Careful mapping along the mitral annulus to determine the earliest site of activation with reference to the surface P wave is a reliable method for precisely localizing an atrial tachycardia origin. Catheter ablation can be approached using either a transseptal or retrograde aortic approach.

Dronedarone is a new antiarrhythmic agent that was recently approved for the prevention of cardiovascular hospitalization driven by atrial fibrillation/flutter. Its approval was based largely on the results of the ATHENA (A Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind, Parallel Arm Trial to Assess the Efficacy of Dronedarone 400 mg bid for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Hospitalization or Death From Any Cause in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation/Atrial Flutter) trial, which demonstrated a significant 24% reduction in the combined end point of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular hospitalization, primarily driven by the latter. However, several other clinical trials have evaluated the impact of dronedarone on various cardiovascular end points and yielded mixed results. In this article, we summarize the available evidence concerning dronedarone, and offer practical recommendations to health care providers regarding its use in the treatment of atrial fibrillation. We conclude that the available data support the use of dronedarone in select patient populations as a second- or third-line agent.

Absorption difference and comparative absorption spectrophotometric studies involving 4f-4f transitions of Nd(III) and different amino acids: DL-valine, DL-alanine, and β-alanine in presence and absence of Ca(II) and Zn(II) in aqueous and different aquated organic solvents have been carried out. Variations in the spectral energy parameters: Slater-Condon (FK) factor, Racah (EK), Lande factor (ξ4f), nephelauxetic ratio (β), bonding (b1/2), percentage covalency (δ) are calculated to explore the mode of interaction of Nd(III) with different amino acids: DL-valine, DL-alanine, and β-alanine. The values of experimentally calculated oscillator strength (P) and computed values of Judd-Ofelt electric dipole intensity parameters, Tλ (λ = 2,4,6), are also determined for different 4f-4f transitions. The variation in the values of P and Tλ parameters explicitly shows the relative sensitivities of the 4f-4f transitions as well as the specific correlation between relative intensities, ligand structures, and nature of Nd(III)-ligand interaction.

Comparative absorption and spectral analysis of 4f–4f transitions of the heterobimetallic complexation of glutathione reduced (GSH) with Pr(III) and Nd(III) in presence of Zn(II) has been explored in different aquated organic solvents like methanol (CH 3 OH), acetonitrile (CH 3 CN), dioxane, DMF and their equimolar mixtures. The variation in the energy parameters like Slater Condon ( F K ), Racah ( E K ) and Lande ( ξ 4f ), Nephelauxetic parameter ( β ) bonding parameter ( b 1/2 ) and percent covalency parameter ( δ ) are computed to explain the nature of complexation. The values of experimentally calculated oscillator strengths ( P ) and computed values of Judd–Ofelt electric dipole intensity parameters, T λ ( λ = 2, 4, 6) are studied for different 4f–4f transitions in different experimental conditions. The changes in the values of oscillator strengths ( P ) and T λ parameters also suggest the specific correlation between relative intensities, ligand structures and nature of interaction of Pr(III) and Nd(III) with GSH in presence of Zn(II). Kinetics for the formation of the complex, Pr(III):GSH:Zn(II) have also been studied at different temperatures in DMF medium and activation energy ( E a ) of the complexation is calculated.

Cystatin C is a marker of kidney function that may also be associated with inflammation. In this study, we compared the relative strengths of association of cystatin C and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) with inflammatory biomarkers.We measured serum cystatin C and creatinine in 990 outpatients with coronary artery disease enrolled in the Heart and Soul Study. GFR was estimated (eGFR) by the abbreviated Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) equation. We compared the associations of serum cystatin C and eGFR with C-reactive protein (CRP) and fibrinogen, after adjustment for 24 h creatinine clearance.Cystatin C concentrations had moderate correlations with CRP (r=0.15, P0.001) and fibrinogen (r=0.26, P0.0001); eGFR had similar correlations with CRP (r=-0.17, P=0.01) and fibrinogen (r=-0.25, P0.001) among persons with eGFRor=60 ml/min, but had no association with either biomarker among those with eGFR60 ml/min (r=0.04, P=0.32; r=-0.03, P=0.38). Quartiles of cystatin C were strongly and directly associated with CRP (P=0.02) and fibrinogen (P0.007) after multivariate adjustment. However, these associations disappeared after adjustment for creatinine clearance (P=0.26 and 0.23, respectively).Cystatin C concentrations have moderate associations with CRP and fibrinogen that are not independent of creatinine clearance. Although a gold standard of kidney function is lacking, this analysis suggests that cystatin C captures an association of mildly impaired kidney function with increased inflammation.

A previously healthy 18-year-old man presented to the emergency department with weakness, fever, and joint pains and was found to have complete heart block with transient asystole requiring urgent transvenous pacing. After further workup, the patient was found to have complete heart block secondary to acute rheumatic carditis. The conduction system recovered in a step-wise fashion following treatment with Penicillin, and high dose Aspirin, without the need for permanent pacemaker placement. This case illustrates that acute rheumatic carditis, although rare, can present with advanced conduction system involvement, which is reversible if treatment is initiated.

Rationale: The ADEPT study aimed to correlate clinical features and accessible biomarkers with molecular characteristics by profiling asthmatics across severities and healthy nonatopic volunteers (HVs). This report focuses on the identification of mucosal Th2 phenotype (based on IL-13 driven gene expression), using accessible biomarkers, such as exhaled nitric oxide (FENO), blood eosinophils (bEOS) and serum analytes. Methods: Assessments included questionnaires, pulmonary function tests, airway hyperresponsiveness, FENO, and biomarkers from sputum, blood, and endobronchial biopsy (EBBX). Th2 phenotype was evaluated by EBBX gene expression of CCL26, periostin, or an IL-13 in vitro gene signature (IVS). Results: Relative to HVs, EBBX gene expression of CCL26 provided the best segregation into Th2-high and Th2-low asthmatics compared to periostin or IL-13 IVS. Most EBBX-Th2-CCL26-high subjects with moderate-severe asthma were FENO≥35ppb (69%) and bEOS≥300/ul (77%), compared to a minority of EBBX-Th2-CCL26-low subjects (24% for each). Classifying subjects to EBBX-Th2-CCL26-high status based on FENO-high or bEOS-high status gave 100% sensitivity but only 64% specificity. Serum CCL17-high status added to FENO/bEOS model improved specificity to 93% for identification of Th2 status, with 85% sensitivity. Conclusions: Combinations of accessible biomarkers (FENO, bEOS, and serum CCL17) can accurately predict Th2 status measured by EBBX expression of CCL26. Eosinophilic inflammation was associated with but not limited to persistent airway Th2 gene expression. The ability to identify distinct asthma phenotypes using accessible biomarkers will be important in developing novel therapeutic agents.

Objective: The purpose was to test a model that may explain how physically abused children become physically abusive parents. It was predicted that when the family's affective environment is uncohesive, unexpressive, and conflictual, a history of abuse experiences would be associated with elevated dissociation. It was hypothesized that dissociation would mediate between a childhood history of abuse and the current potential to be physically abusive. Method: Abuse history, affective environment in the family-of-origin, dissociation, and abuse potential were assessed in a sample of 76 mothers with elementary school-age children. Results: Predictions were supported. Affective Family Environment moderated the relation between abuse history and dissociation, with abuse history relating to greater dissociation primarily when the family environment was conflictual, uncohesive and unexpressive. Further, dissociation significantly mediated the relation between abuse history and abuse potential ( Z = 2.19, p Conclusions: Dissociation's strong association with abuse potential may partially explain why only some abused children later perpetuate the cycle of abuse, as those who are not dissociative into adulthood are likely to have lower abuse potential, in contrast to those displaying elevated dissociation. The extent of the dissociation may depend on the affective family environment in which the abuse took place.

The coordination chemistry of glutathione reduced (GSH) is of great importance as it acts as excellent model system for the binding of metal ions. The GSH complexation with metal ions is involved in the toxicology of different metal ions. Its coordination behaviour for soft metal ions and hard metal ions is found different because of the structure of GSH and its different potential binding sites. In our work we have studied two chemically dissimilar metal ions viz. Pr(III), which prefer hard donor site like carboxylic groups and Zn(II) the soft metal ion which prefer peptide-NH and sulphydryl groups. The absorption difference and comparative absorption spectroscopy involving 4f-4f transitions of the heterobimetallic Complexation of GSH with Pr(III) and Zn(II) has been explored in aqueous and aquated organic solvents. The variation in the energy parameters like Slater-Condon (F(K)), Racah (E(K)) and Lande (xi(4f)), Nephelauxetic parameter (beta) and bonding parameter (b(1/2)) are computed to explain the nature of complexation.

This essay examines the controversy over the attempt to establish rules governing global capital flows in the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI), which became a target of “antiglobalization” activism. Making sense of the activists' concerns about the MAI requires understanding how the emergence of transnational standards in contemporary globalization constitutes an exercise in power. I develop the concept of “network power” to explain the way in which the rise of a single coordinating standard for global activity can be experienced as coercive, as it eclipses alternative standards and abrogates the genuinely free choice among different conventions. Using a network-power analysis, I reinterpret the controversy over the MAI as a concern about the processes by which neoliberal globalization is being brought about.

Studies on the difference in energy parameters and comparative absorption spectrophotometry involving 4f-4f transitions on Nd(III) and glutathione reduced (GSH) in the absence and presence of Zn(II) have been carried out in aquated organic solvents (50 : 50) like methanol, dioxane, acetonitrile and dimethylformamide. Variations in the spectral energy parameters — Slater-Condon (F k ) factor, Lande spin-orbit coupling constant (ξ4f), nephelauxetic ratio (β), bonding parameter (b 1/2 ) and percent covalency (δ) — are calculated and correlated with binding of Nd(III) with GSH in presence and absence of Zn(II).

The articles in this special edition attempt to capture the key learnings and the legacy of the Australian Research Council ‘Special Research Initiative’ funded by the National Indigenous Research and Knowledges Network (NIRAKN). NIRAKN is a national, inclusive, multidisciplinary hub-and-spokes-model network of Indigenous researchers at various stages of their careers. The significant research problem that the network sought to address was how to harness the power of diverse Indigenous knowledges to build a strong, sustainable cohort of linked, qualified, Indigenous researchers across disciplines and fields, and how to weave that cohort into the very fabric of Australian research.