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The pathways framework represents an emerging body of work that emphasizes gendered-based influences on crime and incarceration. To date, studies on female pathways often minimize or exclude the role of mental illness. The current study employs Life Course Theory and the use of Life History Calendar to examine the pathways of a sample of 15 female prison inmates diagnosed with serious and persistent mental health conditions. Findings indicate that mental illness carried criminogenic risk throughout the life course, with crucial transitions of risk leading these women toward long term incarceration. Self-reported pathways included repeated victimization, substance use, psychological trauma, delinquency, and/or crime. This study suggests that the pathway framework would benefit from the increased recognition of the role of mental illness on female criminality. Trauma-informed policy implications are provided and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Fibrinolytic agents (FA) activate the fibrinolytic system, converting plasminogen into plasmin to break down fibrin. Their use for irrigation of abdominal abscesses is debated, and this meta-analysis evaluates their efficacy., Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Central for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing FA and saline in percutaneous drainage of abdominal abscesses. Outcomes included length of hospitalization, duration of drainage, and drainage volume. We pooled mean differences (MD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) using a random-effects model. We also performed a trial sequential analysis (TSA)., Results: We included six RCTs encompassing 299 patients. In the overall analysis, FA increased drainage volume (MD 104.25 mL; 95% CI 35.72-172.77 mL; p = 0.003; I 2  = 0%). In children, saline reduced hospitalization duration (MD -1.26 days; 95% CI -1.98 to -0.55 days; p = 0.0006; I 2  = 0%), whereas FA increased drainage volume (MD 84.66 mL; 95% CI 5.77-153.54 mL; p = 0.04; I 2  = 0%). In adults, FA significantly reduced hospitalization duration (MD -11.12 days; 95% CI -15.16 to -7.08 days; p < 0.00001; I 2  = 0%) and duration of drainage (MD -6.53 days; 95% CI -9.25 to -3.81 days; p < 0.00001; I 2  = 0%) while increasing drainage volume (MD 164.47 mL; 95% CI 26.16-302.78 mL; p = 0.02; I 2  = 0%). On TSA, the required information size was achieved only for the adult subgroup's hospitalization and drainage duration., Conclusion: In adults, FA reduce hospitalization and drainage duration and increase drainage volume. In children, saline seems more effective in reducing hospitalization duration, while FA increase drainage volume. These findings underscore the need for age-specific treatments and further research, especially in the pediatric population., (© 2024 International Society of Surgery/Société Internationale de Chirurgie (ISS/SIC).)

Bodyweight is a key indicator of broiler production as it measures the production efficiency and indicates the health of a flock. Currently, broiler weight (i.e., bodyweight) is primarily weighed manually, which is timeconsuming and labor-intensive, and tends to create stress in birds. This study aimed to develop an automatic and stress-free weighing platform for monitoring the weight of floor-reared broiler chickens in commercial production. The developed system consists of a weighing platform, a real-time communication terminal, computer software and a smart phone applet userinterface. The system collected weight data of chickens on the weighing platform at intervals of 6 s, followed by filtering of outliers and repeating readings. The performance and stability of this system was systematically evaluated under commercial production conditions. With the adoption of data preprocessing protocol, the average error of the new automatic weighing system was only 10.3 g, with an average accuracy 99.5% with the standard deviation of 2.3%. Further regression analysis showed a strong agreement between estimated weight and the standard weight obtained by the established live-bird sales system. The variance (an indicator of flock uniformity) of broiler weight estimated using automatic weighing platforms was in accordance with the standard weight. The weighing system demonstrated superior stability for different growth stages, rearing seasons, growth rate types (medium- and slow-growing chickens) and sexes. The system is applicable for daily weight monitoring in floor-reared broiler houses to improve feeding management, growth monitoring and finishing day prediction. Its application in commercial farms would improve the sustainability of poultry industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While modeling solute transport has been an active subject of research in the past few decades, the influence of pore‐wall roughness on contaminant migration has not yet been addressed. We therefore conduct particle tracking simulations in three porous domains that have different pore‐wall roughness characteristics. Specifically, we consider five surface fractal dimensions ds = 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.4, and 1.6, and four different Péclet numbers Pe = 10, 102, 103, and 105. Overall, arrival time distributions are simulated for 60 scenarios (3 domains × $\times $ 5 surface fractal dimensions × $\times $ 4 Péclet numbers) some of which show heavy‐tailed patterns indicating non‐Fickian transport. To interpret the simulations and quantify the transport behavior, we analyze the resulting arrival time distributions by the continuous time random walk (CTRW) approach. Results show that, on average, as the surface fractal dimension increases from 1.0 to 1.6, the CTRW model parameters β $\beta $, an exponent showing the degree of anomalous transport, v, the average solute velocity, and t2, the cut‐off time to Fickian transport, remain nearly constant. However, the dispersion coefficient, D, increases and the characteristic transition time, t1, decreases. We found t1 and D are more sensitive to pore‐wall roughness compared to the other CTRW parameters. We also found that as the Péclet number increases from 10 to 105, on average, v and D increase, t1 and β $\beta $ decrease, and t2 remains nearly constant. The simulations demonstrate that the exponent β $\beta $ and the dispersion coefficient are correlated to the average solute velocity. Key Points: Characteristic transition time and dispersion coefficient are sensitive to pore‐wall roughnessThe exponent β, showing the degree of anomalous transport, is correlated to average solute velocityAs Péclet number increases from 10 to 100,000, v and D increase, t1 and β decrease, and t2 remains nearly constant [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adverse childhood experiences have been found to be associated with negative outcomes during adulthood. Emerging research indicates that adverse childhood experiences may elevate the risk for Alzheimer's disease. Yet, few studies have investigated the association between adverse childhood experiences and subjective cognitive decline among middle-aged and older adults in the United States. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between adverse childhood experiences and subjective cognitive decline among middle-aged and older adults in the United States. Data for this study were obtained from the 2019 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey. An analytic sample of 50,277 adults aged 45 to 79 years (53.3% female) from 15 states was analyzed using binary logistic regression. The outcome variable investigated in this study was subjective cognitive decline, and the main explanatory variable was adverse childhood experiences. Of the 50,277 respondents, 10.3% reported experiencing subjective cognitive decline during the past year, and 14.5% had four or more adverse childhood experiences. We found a dose-response association between adverse childhood experiences and subjective cognitive decline. Respondents who had four or more adverse childhood experiences had 2.98 times higher odds of having subjective cognitive decline when compared to respondents with no adverse childhood experiences (aOR = 2.98, 95% CI = 2.56-3.48). Other factors associated with subjective cognitive decline have been identified and discussed. The findings of this study provide evidence indicating that early life factors may be linked with cognitive decline in later adulthood. The findings of this study are discussed with implications for practice and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature has shown a strong correlation between victimization and violence. As the majority of treatment programs for violence and the associated research have been focused on men, it is vital that services are also oriented to the needs of women who perpetrate violence. Beyond Violence (BV) was developed to fill the gap in violence prevention programming for justice-involved women with histories of violence victimization and perpetration. This randomized controlled trial reports the results of a peer-facilitated model of the BV program implemented in a women's prison. Women volunteered for the intervention and the study. Participants were randomized to either the 20-session BV condition or to a waitlist control (WC) condition. All 145 participants were asked to complete a preintervention (Time 1) and postintervention (Time 2) survey that included validated measures to assess for depression, anxiety, PTSD, anger/aggression, and emotional dysregulation. Preliminary analyses of the background characteristics and preintervention outcome scores showed no significant differences between the groups at Time 1, indicating that randomization was successful. Separate ANCOVAs were run for 13 outcomes measured using the pretest scores from study participants as the covariate and group assignment as the independent variable. Hypotheses were predominantly supported, and findings showed that the BV participants had significant reductions in the majority of the outcome measures at the postintervention assessment when compared to the WC participants. Future research should continue to explore the advantages of peer-facilitated program models and should incorporate postrelease outcomes to assess change over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is used as a complementary intervention in psychiatric healthcare. The reasons for using or not using CAM in psychiatric care in Sweden, and how such decisions are taken, are largely unknown. The aim was to investigate arguments for and against the use of CAM in Swedish psychiatric care, and how decisions are made. Interviews with 10 persons in decision-making positions in psychiatric health care were analysed thematically. The result shows diverging understandings of the evidence base for CAM. Arguments against CAM referred to scepticism, the importance of evidence-based practice and the obligation to follow national guidelines. Arguments in favour of CAM were that CAM was person-centred, safe, cost-effective, nursing interventions with positive effects, appreciated and demanded by patients, providing space for non-verbal communication and reflection, supporting the therapeutic alliance. Decision paths were described as top-down through a hierarchical structure, or bottom-up, driven by committed staff members. We discuss how detailed national guidelines should be to achieve equal and evidence-based care, while still allowing clinics to make local exceptions, adjusting the care according to clinical expertise and patients' preferences. Conclusion: Evidence-based, safe and cost-effective CAM methods may be relevant complementary interventions in psychiatric care, or as self-care, not to cure the psychiatric disease, but to reduce symptoms and promote sleep. With better knowledge of CAM, health professionals could guide patients through the jungle of CAM methods. Due to research problems on complex multicomponent interventions, high-quality pragmatic trials, including biomarkers, and qualitative studies are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding integrative approaches to mental health care can improve the responsiveness of the mental health system. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use is on the rise. Research documents that many mental health consumers use CAM. This exploratory study attempts to advance awareness of CAM in mental health by examining mental health consumers' usage of CAM, their experiences in discussing CAM use with providers, and how CAM use relates to mental health recovery. Results show that 72% of the sample uses such methods, and CAM use is associated with recovery. About 54% of respondents feel CAM combined with medication is more effective than medication alone, and many endorse positive beliefs about CAM. Most consumers shared CAM use with their providers, but when they did not, the main reasons were fear of provider judgment and provider attitudes being a deterrent., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Despite limited evidence, children with neurodevelopmental and psychological disorders may be having dietary interventions incorporated into treatment. Little is known about psychologists' role in influencing these decisions. Australian psychologists working with children (N=60) completed the Nutritional Competence Tool, and questions exploring psychologist attitudes, self-reported competence and practices associated with the use of dietary interventions for children presenting for psychological treatment of psychological disorders. Most respondents reported positive attitudes towards dietary interventions. Incorporating dietary interventions into clinical practice was common, with 56.7% reporting they would be likely to recommend one or more dietary interventions pre-specified for one of the conditions explored. Participants were most likely to endorse the use of dietary interventions for children presenting with oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder or other behavioural problems. Despite training in evidence-based practice, some registered psychologists have positive attitudes towards dietary modifications in the treatment of children with psychological conditions, and may be susceptible to recommending dietary interventions, regardless of the limited evidence base. The conditions for which recommendations were most likely, as well as diets most commonly recommended had hallmark features of "fads", raising several ethical concerns. Further research should determine how widespread this practise is. Key Points What is already known about this topic: Dietary interventions do not have a robust evidence-base in treating psychological and neurodevelopmental disorders. Children often receive dietary modification to aid the amelioration of symptoms of psychological and neurodevelopmental disorders. Limited research suggests that psychologists may be contributing to the use of complementary and alternative treatments. What this paper adds: Some psychologists have positive attitudes towards dietary interventions for a range of psychological disorders in childhood. Some psychologists report that they are likely to recommend dietary interventions for children presenting for psychological treatment. Oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder were the conditions most likely elicit information about dietary interventions or recommendations to consider a dietary interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We observe, utilize dualities in differential equations and differential inequalities (see Theorem 2.1), dualities between comparison theorems in differential equations (see Theorems E and 2.2), and obtain dualities in 'swapping' comparison theorems in differential equations. These dualities generate comparison theorems on differential equations of mixed types I and II (see Theorems 2.3 and 2.4) and lead to comparison theorems in Riemannian geometry (see Theorems 2.5 and 2.8) with analytic, geometric, PDE's and physical applications. In particular, we prove Hessian comparison theorems (see Theorems 3.1–3.5) and Laplacian comparison theorems (see Theorems 2.6, 2.7 and 3.1–3.5) under varied radial Ricci curvature, radial curvature, Ricci curvature and sectional curvature assumptions, generalizing and extending the work of Han-Li-Ren-Wei (2014) and Wei (2016). We also extend the notion of function or differential form growth to bundle-valued differential form growth of various types and discuss their interrelationship (see Theorem 5.4). These provide tools in extending the notion, integrability and decomposition of generalized harmonic forms to those of bundle-valued generalized harmonic forms, introducing Condition W for bundle-valued differential forms, and proving the duality theorem and the unity theorem, generalizing the work of Andreotti and Vesentini (1965) and Wei (2020). We then apply Hessian and Laplacian comparison theorems to obtain comparison theorems in mean curvature, generalized sharp Caffarelli-Kohn-Nirenberg type inequalities on Riemannian manifolds, the embedding theorem for weighted Sobolev spaces of functions on manifolds, geometric differential-integral inequalities, generalized sharp Hardy type inequalities on Riemannian manifolds, monotonicity formulas and vanishing theorems for differential forms of degree k with values in vector bundles, such as F-Yang-Mills fields (when F is the identity map, they are Yang-Mills fields), generalized Yang-Mills-Born-Infeld fields on manifolds, Liouville type theorems for F - harmonic maps (when F (t) = 1 p (2 t) p 2 , p > 1 , they become p-harmonic maps or harmonic maps if p = 2), and Dirichlet problems on starlike domains for vector bundle valued differential 1-forms and {tF}-harmonic maps (see Theorems 4.1, 7.3–7.7, 8.1, 9.1–9.3, 10.1, 11.2, 12.1 and 12.2), generalizing the work of Caffarelli et al. (1984) and Costa (2008), in which M = ℝn and its radial curvature K(r) = 0, the work of Wei and Li (2009), Chen et al. (2011, 2014), Dong and Wei (2011), Wei (2020) and Karcher and Wood (1984), etc. The boundary value problem for bundle-valued differential 1-forms is in contrast to the Dirichlet problem for p-harmonic maps to which the solution is due to Hamilton (1975) for the case p = 2 and RiemN ⩽ 0, and Wei (1998) for 1 < p < ∞. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on findings from a prospective cohort design study that followed abused and neglected children and demographically matched controls into adulthood, this paper focuses on these abused and neglected girls and one important consequence—the extent to which these victims become offenders themselves. We ask four questions: Is criminal behavior among abused and neglected girls and women rare? Are abused and neglected girls at increased risk for becoming violent offenders? Does childhood maltreatment affect criminal career trajectories for girls? Do maltreated girls grow up to maltreat their own children? We conclude with discussion, suggestions for future research, and implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Acute appendicitis (AA) might be amenable to conservative antibiotic treatment, whereas a perforated appendix (PA) necessitates surgery. We investigated the value of clinical–laboratory markers in distinguishing AA from a PA. Methods. Retrospectively obtained preoperative parameters for 306 consecutive patients (<18 years) with histologically confirmed appendicitis (AA (n = 237) vs. PA (n = 69)), treated at our institution between January 2014 and December 2017. Results. A PA was associated with male preponderance, younger age, decreased sodium level and increased white blood cell count, Tzanakis score, C-reactive protein (CRP) level, and CRP-to-lymphocyte ratio (CLR). Upon discrimination analysis, CLR and CRP displayed the highest accuracy in differentiating a PA from AA. Regression analysis identified levels of CRP, sodium, and the Tzanakis score as independent predictors for a PA. Conclusion. Levels of CLR, CRP, sodium, and Tzanakis score might support decision-making regarding treatment options for pediatric appendicitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In spite of their rich stoichiometric chemistry, cyclopentadienyliron(II) dicarbonyl complexes are rarely used as catalysts in organic synthesis. Inspired by precedents in the chemistry of cationic olefin complexes and neutral allylmetal species, our group has developed a coupling of alkynes or alkenes with aldehydes and other carbonyl electrophiles to give homopropargylic and homoallylic alcohols, respectively, by using a substituted cyclopentadienyliron(II) dicarbonyl complex as the catalyst. In this article, we first contextualize this development within the conceptual background of C–H functionalization chemistry and relative to key stoichiometric precedents. We then give an account of our group's discovery and development of the catalytic α-functionalization of alkenes and alkynes with electrophilic reagents. Introduction Preliminary Stoichiometric Work Hydroxyalkylation Development and Scope Conclusions and Future Directions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mental ill-health has been termed the pandemic of the 21st century, and a large share of those exposed do not receive treatment. Many people with depression, anxiety and other mental health problems consult complementary or alternative medicine (CAM), and CAM is used in conventional psychiatric care, in Sweden and in other countries. However, the extent to which CAM is used in psychiatric care, and for what purposes, are largely unknown. This study is based on a survey distributed to all heads of regional, municipal, private and governmental health care units treating persons with psychiatric symptoms across Sweden in 2019. CAM was reportedly used by 62% of the 489 responding health care units, for symptoms including anxiety, sleep disturbances and depression. Main motivations for CAM use were symptom relief, meeting patients' requests and reduced demand for pharmaceutical medication. Very few respondents reported side effects. The most common reason for interrupting CAM use at a unit was a lack of trained professionals. This study confirms the need for further research about CAM, and for CAM education and training among healthcare professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silver nanoparticles have attracted great interests widely in medicine due to its great characteristics of antibacterial activity. In this research, the antibacterial activity and biocompatibility of a topical gel synthesized from polyvinyl alcohol, chitosan, and silver nanoparticles were studied. Hydrogels with different concentrations of silver nanoparticles (15 ppm, 30 ppm, and 60 ppm) were evaluated to compare their antibacterial activity, nanoparticles' sizes, and in vivo behaviors. The resulted silver nanoparticles in the hydrogel were characterized by TEM showing the nanoparticles' sizes less than 22 nm. The in vitro results prove that the antibacterial effects of all of the samples are satisfied. However, the in vivo results demonstrate the significant difference among different hydrogels in wound healing, where hydrogel with 30 ppm shows the best healing rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioactive compounds are extracted from natural sources and they have beneficial effects on human health. Fruits and vegetables are rich in carotenoids, phenolic compounds, Vitamin C, among others. Extraction processes for these compounds depend on several factors such as the technique that is used, the raw material, and the organic solvent. Conventional techniques generally require large amounts of organic solvents, high energy expenditure, and are time consuming, which has generated interest in new technologies that are referred to as clean or green technologies. These can reduce or eliminate the use of toxic solvents, and thus preserve the natural environment and its resources. The aim of this review is to discuss recent techniques used to extract bioactive compounds from natural sources, in order to reduce the economic and ecological impact of these processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the paper, the authors find two sharp and double inequalities for bounding the second Seiffert mean either by a one-parameter family of means derived from the centroidal mean or by a convex combination of the arithmetic and contra-harmonic means. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of novel 2-phenyl-4-trifluoromethyl thiazole-5-carboxamide derivatives have been synthesized and evaluated for their anticancer activity against A-549, Bel7402, and HCT-8 cell lines. Among the tested compounds, highest activity (48%) was achieved with the 4-chloro-2-methylphenyl amido substituted thiazole containing the 2-chlorophenyl group on the two position of the heterocyclic ring. Other structurally similar compounds displayed moderate activity. The key intermediates have been fully characterized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we find the greatest values α, λ and the least values β, μ such that the double inequalities α[G(a, b)/3 + 2A(a, b)/3] + (1 – α)G1/3(a, b)A2/3(a, b) < P(a, b) < β[G(a, b)/3 + 2A(a, b)/3] + (1 – β)G1/3(a, b)A2/3(a, b) and λ[C(a, b)/3 + 2A(a, b)/3] + (1 – λ)C1/3(a, b)A2/3(a, b) < T(a, b) < μ[C(a, b)/3 + 2A(a, b)/3] + (1 – μ)C1/3(a, b)A2/3(a, b) hold for all a, b > 0 with a ≠ b. Here G(a, b), A(a, b), C(a, b), P(a, b) and T(a, b) denote the geometric, arithmetic, contraharmonic, first Seiffert and second Seiffert means of two positive numbers a and b, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we find the greatest value p = log2/(log π − log 2) = 1.53 ... and the least value q = 5/3 = 1.66 ... such that the double inequality M( a, b) < T( a, b) < M( a, b) holds for all a, b > 0 with a ≠ b. Here, M( a, b) and T ( a, b) are the p-th power and Seiffert means of two positive numbers a and b, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Ceftriaxone has been associated with development of pseudolithiasis. In our institution, it is used for treatment of perforated appendicitis in children. This study evaluated the occurrence of ceftriaxone-related pseudolithiasis in this population. Methods: After obtaining IRB approval, we performed a retrospective chart review over 51 months. We included patients undergoing laparoscopic appendectomy for perforated appendicitis. All patients were treated with ceftriaxone post-operatively. Patients without initial or post-treatment gallbladder imaging available for review were excluded. Results: There were 71 patients who met inclusion criteria with a mean (±SD) age of 10.8 ± 3.8 years. Of these, 14 % ( n = 10) developed stones or sludge in the gallbladder. The mean duration of ceftriaxone therapy was 8.7 ± 3.8 days. The average time to post-antibiotic imaging was 11.5 ± 10.3 days from initiation of antibiotics. There was no significant difference in duration of ceftriaxone therapy in the children that developed pseudolithiasis or sludge (10.0 ± 4.9 days) compared to those that did not (8.5 ± 3.6, p = 0.26). One child (10 %) with pseudolithiasis went on to become symptomatic, requiring a laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Conclusions: In our experience, ceftriaxone use for perforated appendicitis is associated with a significant incidence of biliary pseudolithiasis, and is unrelated to duration of ceftriaxone therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the technologies which can determine the weight and growth of livestock are reviewed. Limitations of the weighing task by these different methods are defined. Comparisons between the different techniques highlight the superiority of the non-contact vision-based method. Modelling techniques for weight estimation, size and composition are reviewed along with image segmentation and recognition methods. Conclusions identify that further work is required in regards to (i) estimating the weight, (ii) estimating the weight deviation of groups of livestock animals, (iii) estimating the weight of individual animals, and (iv) improving the design of livestock weighing methods to function in commercially realistic environments. Future direction also centres on enhancing automation, minimising invasive environmental-control, maximising precision and repeatability during the recovery of body measurements and identifying and controlling the effect of any bias in weight estimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Foreign bodies in the esophagus are common in children. Time from ingestion to presentation is variable, and may not be known. Our center usually performs Foley catheter balloon extraction under fluoroscopy as the first step to attempt removal to prevent all patients from going to the operating room. The efficacy of this procedure has been reported. However, information is lacking about the relationship between presentation variables and the likelihood of success. Methods: After IRB approval, we performed a retrospective single-center review from January 1988 to August 2011 of children with an esophageal foreign body. Pearson's correlation was used to evaluate the relationship between variables and successful balloon extraction for P < 0.05. A logistic regression was done to evaluate for independence. Results: 819 patients presented with esophageal foreign bodies, with a mean age of 3.3 years. 572 patients underwent balloon extraction, 83 % successful. Mean ingestion duration was 16.6 h with fluoroscopy time of 2.3 min and mean number of attempts was 1.5. Successful balloon extraction had a negative correlation with refusal to eat, respiratory distress, cough, wheeze, upper respiratory infection symptoms, stridor, fever, duration of ingestion >1 day, unwitnessed ingestion, fluoroscopy time and number of balloon catheter attempts. There was a positive correlation between success and both age and duration of ingestion <1 day. Independent predictive factors were number of balloon catheter attempts. Conclusions: Patients with longer duration of ingestion, symptoms from the foreign body and increased number of removal attempts have a decreased likelihood of success with balloon catheter extraction and should not undergo prolonged efforts of removal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe the electroclinical features, therapy, and long-term evolution of 17 patients with migrating focal seizures in infancy, and analyzed the charts of these patients seen between February 1985 and July 2005. Three different electroclinical patterns were recognized: (1) 8 cases with alternating simple focal motor seizures at onset. The ictal electroencephalography (EEG) pattern was characterized by recurrence of rhythmic focal spikes or rhythmic sharp activity in the Rolandic region; (2) 5 cases with complex focal seizures and progressive appearance of polymorphic δ-θ activity in 1 temporo-occipital region recurring independently; (3) 4 cases with focal complex seizures with motor manifestations. Ictal EEG showed flattening or fast activity in 1 frontotemporal region followed by unilateral fast poly-spikes in alternating clusters in both hemispheres. The focal seizures were refractory to antiepileptic drugs, and all patients except 3 had severe developmental delay. Migrating focal seizures in infancy is a newly defined and rare, but underrecognized, epileptic encephalopathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engineering research and development contributes to the advance of sustainable agriculture both through innovative methods to manage and control processes, and through quantitative understanding of the operation of practical agricultural systems using decision models. This paper describes how an engineering approach, drawing on mathematical models of systems and processes, contributes new methods that support decision making at all levels from strategy and planning to tactics and real-time control. The ability to describe the system or process by a simple and robust mathematical model is critical, and the outputs range from guidance to policy makers on strategic decisions relating to land use, through intelligent decision support to farmers and on to real-time engineering control of specific processes. Precision in decision making leads to decreased use of inputs, less environmental emissions and enhanced profitability—all essential to sustainable systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The organogenesis of esophageal atresia with tracheoesophageal fistula (EA/TEF) remains unknown. The fistula tract appears to develop from a non-branching trifurcation of the embryonic lung bud. The non-branching growth of the fistula differs from the other lung buds and suggests a deficiency in bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling, since BMPs are critical to proper lung development and branching. With IRB approval, portions of newborn human proximal esophageal pouch and distal fistula samples were recovered at the time of surgical repair of EA/TEF. The tissues were processed for immunohistochemistry. Commercially available fetal tissues were used as controls. In control tissues, BMP ligands (BMP 2, 4, and 7) were all present in the esophagus but absent in the trachea. BMPRIA was absent in both tissues. BMPRIB was detected in trachea but not in esophagus and BMPRII was detected in esophagus but not in trachea. In the EA/TEF specimens, all BMP ligands were present in the proximal esophageal pouch but absent in the fistula tract. BMPRIA and BMPRIB were not detected in either tissue. However, BMPRII was found in both fistula tract and proximal pouch. The submucosa of the fistula appears to maintain a mixed (identical neither to lung, esophagus, or trachea) BMP signaling pattern, providing one mechanism which could potentially explain the esophageal dismotility and lack of lung branching seen in the fistula/distal esophagus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is shown that reassignment of the data as proposed by Fernandez et al. is in contradiction to previous experimental results. © 2003 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the article, we prove that λ 1 = 1 / 2 + [ (2 + log (1 + 2)) / 2 ] 1 / ν − 1 / 2 , μ 1 = 1 / 2 + 6 ν / (12 ν) , λ 2 = 1 / 2 + [ (π + 2) / 4 ] 1 / ν − 1 / 2 and μ 2 = 1 / 2 + 3 ν / (6 ν) are the best possible parameters on the interval [ 1 / 2 , 1 ] such that the double inequalities C ν [ λ 1 x + (1 − λ 1) y , λ 1 y + (1 − λ 1) x ] A 1 − ν (x , y) < R Q A (x , y) < C ν [ μ 1 x + (1 − μ 1) y , μ 1 y + (1 − μ 1) x ] A 1 − ν (x , y) , C ν [ λ 2 x + (1 − λ 2) y , λ 2 y + (1 − λ 2) x ] A 1 − ν (x , y) < R A Q (x , y) < C ν [ μ 2 x + (1 − μ 2) y , μ 2 y + (1 − μ 2) x ] A 1 − ν (x , y) hold for all x , y > 0 with x ≠ y and ν ∈ [ 1 / 2 , ∞) , where A (x , y) is the arithmetic mean, C (x , y) is the contraharmonic mean, and R Q A (x , y) and R A Q (x , y) are two Neuman means. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the article, we provide new bounds for two Sándor-Yang means in terms of the arithmetic and contraharmonic means. Our results are the improvements of the previously known results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the article, we provide several sharp upper and lower bounds for two Sándor-Yang means in terms of combinations of arithmetic and contra-harmonic means. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the article, we establish several Ostrowski type inequalities involving the conformable fractional integrals. As applications, we find new inequalities for the arithmetic and generalized logarithmic means. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]