Increased liver stiffness in alcoholic liver disease: differentiating fibrosis from steatohepatitis

To test if inflammation also interferes with liver stiffness (LS) assessment in alcoholic liver disease (ALD) and to provide a clinical algorithm for reliable fibrosis assessment in ALD by FibroScan (FS).

Treatment with denosumab reduces the incidence of new vertebral and hip fractures in postmenopausal women at high risk

The FREEDOM (Fracture REduction Evaluation of Denosumab in Osteoporosis every 6 Months) trial showed denosumab significantly reduced the risk of fractures in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis.

Stimulus-induced, sleep-bound, focal seizures: a case report

In nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy (NFLE), seizures occur almost exclusively during NREM sleep. Why precisely these seizures are sleep-bound remains unknown. Studies of patients with nonlesional familial forms of NFLE have suggested the arousal system may play a major role in their pathogenesis. We report the case of a patient with pharmaco-resistant, probably cryptogenic form of non-familial NFLE and strictly sleep-bound seizures that could be elicited by alerting stimuli and were associated with ictal bilateral thalamic and right orbital-insular hyperperfusion on SPECT imaging.

Fish possess multiple copies of fgfrl1, the gene for a novel FGF receptor

FGFRL1 is a novel FGF receptor that lacks the intracellular tyrosine kinase domain. While mammals, including man and mouse, possess a single copy of the FGFRL1 gene, fish have at least two copies, fgfrl1a and fgfrl1b. In zebrafish, both genes are located on chromosome 14, separated by about 10 cM. The two genes show a similar expression pattern in several zebrafish tissues, although the expression of fgfrl1b appears to be weaker than that of fgfrl1a. A clear difference is observed in the ovary of Fugu rubripes, which expresses fgfrl1a but not fgfrl1b. It is therefore possible that subfunctionalization has played a role in maintaining the two fgfrl1 genes during the evolution of fish. In human beings, the FGFRL1 gene is located on chromosome 4, adjacent to the SPON2, CTBP1 and MEAEA genes. These genes are also found adjacent to the fgfrl1a gene of Fugu, suggesting that FGFRL1, SPON2, CTBP1 and MEAEA were preserved as a coherent block during the evolution of Fugu and man.

A continuous-time MILP model for short-term scheduling of make-and-pack production processes

In process industries, make-and-pack production is used to produce food and beverages, chemicals, and metal products, among others. This type of production process allows the fabrication of a wide range of products in relatively small amounts using the same equipment. In this article, we consider a real-world production process (cf. Honkomp et al. 2000. The curse of reality – why process scheduling optimization problems are diffcult in practice. Computers & Chemical Engineering, 24, 323–328.) comprising sequence-dependent changeover times, multipurpose storage units with limited capacities, quarantine times, batch splitting, partial equipment connectivity, and transfer times. The planning problem consists of computing a production schedule such that a given demand of packed products is fulfilled, all technological constraints are satisfied, and the production makespan is minimised. None of the models in the literature covers all of the technological constraints that occur in such make-and-pack production processes. To close this gap, we develop an efficient mixed-integer linear programming model that is based on a continuous time domain and general-precedence variables. We propose novel types of symmetry-breaking constraints and a preprocessing procedure to improve the model performance. In an experimental analysis, we show that small- and moderate-sized instances can be solved to optimality within short CPU times.

Dimensions of Global Change in African Mountains: The Example of Mount Kenya

This paper discusses the effects of global change in African mountains, with the example of Mount Kenya. The geographical focus is the northwestern, semi-arid foot zone of the mountain (Laikipia District). Over the past 50 years, this area has experienced rapid and profound transformation, the respective processes of which are all linked to global change. The main driving forces behind these processes have been political and economic in nature. To these an environmental change factor has been added in recent years – climate change. After introducing the area of research, the paper presents three dimensions of global change that are manifested in the region and largely shape its development: Socio-political change, economic change, environmental change. For the regions northwest of Mount Kenya, climate models predict important changes in rainfall distribution that will have a profound impact on freshwater availability and management. The results presented here are based on research undertaken northwest of Mount Kenya within the framework of a series of long-term Kenyan-Swiss research programmes that began in the early 1980s.

Dehydration of the zeolite merlinoite from the Khibiny massif, Russia: an in situ temperature-dependent single-crystal X-ray study

Dehydration behaviour of the zeolite merlinoite, NaK11[Al12Si20O64]·15H2O, from the Khibiny massif (Russia) was studied by means of single-crystal X-ray diffraction conjoined with step-wise heating to 225 C. At room temperature merlinoite has the space group Immm with a = 14.0312(5), b = 14.2675(6), c = 10.0874(4) Å, and V = 2019.40(14) Å3. At 75 °C the merlinoite structure undergoes pronounced dehydration accompanied by a phase transition to a structure that has the space group P42/nmc and remains consistent at elevated temperature. A fully dehydrated phase occurs at 200 °C (at 225 °C: a = 13.341(4), b = 13.341(4), c = 9.707(4) Å, V = 1727.7(12) Å3). Dehydration-induced framework distortion and symmetry were found to be different from those observed for synthetic potassium merlinoite with the K11.5[Al11.5Si20.5O64]·15H2O composition.

Life-long growth of Quercus ilex L. at natural CO2 springs acclimates sulphur, nitrogen and carbohydrate metabolism of the progeny to elevated pCO2

The aim of the present study was to analyse whether offspring of mature Quercus ilex trees grown under life-long elevated pCO2 show alterations in the physiological response to elevated pCO2 in comparison with those originating from mature trees grown at current ambient pCO2. To investigate changes in C- (for changes in photosynthesis, biomass and lignin see Polle, McKee & Blaschke Plant, Cell and Environment 24, 1075–1083, 2001), N-, and S-metabolism soluble sugar, soluble non-proteinogenic nitrogen compounds (TSNN), nitrate reductase (NR), thiols, adenosine 5′-phosphosulphate (APS) reductase, and anions were analysed. For this purpose Q. ilex seedlings were grown from acorns of mother tree stands at a natural spring site (elevated pCO2) and a control site (ambient pCO2) of the Laiatico spring, Central Italy. Short-term elevated pCO2 exposure of the offspring of control oaks lead to higher sugar contents in stem tissues, to a reduced TSNN content in leaves, and basipetal stem tissues, to diminished thiol contents in all tissues analysed, and to reduced APS reductase activity in both, leaves and roots. Most of the components of C-, N- and S-metabolism including APS reductase activity which were reduced due to short-term elevated pCO2 exposure were recovered by life-long growth under elevated pCO2 in the offspring of spring oaks. Still TSNN contents in phloem exudates increased, nitrate contents in lateral roots and glutathione in leaves and phloem exudates remained reduced in these plants. The present results demonstrated that metabolic adaptations of Q. ilex mother trees to elevated pCO2 can be passed to the next generation. Short- and long-term effects on source-to-sink relation and physiological and genetic acclimation to elevated pCO2 are discussed.