Sex differences in atheroma burden and endothelial function in patients with early coronary atherosclerosis.

AIMS: Women and men have different clinical presentations and outcomes in coronary artery disease (CAD). We tested the hypothesis that sex differences may influence coronary atherosclerotic burden and coronary endothelial function before development of obstructive CAD. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 142 patients (53 men, 89 women; mean +/- SD age, 49.3 +/- 11.7 years) with early CAD simultaneously underwent intravascular ultrasonography and coronary endothelial function assessment. Atheroma burden in the left main and proximal left anterior descending (LAD) arteries was significantly greater in men than women (median, 23.0% vs. 14.1%, P = 0.002; median, 40.1% vs. 29.3%, P = 0.001, respectively). Atheroma eccentricity in the proximal LAD artery was significantly higher in men than women (median, 0.89 vs. 0.80, P = 0.04). The length of the coronary segments with endothelial dysfunction was significantly longer in men than women (median, 39.2 vs. 11.1 mm, P = 0.002). In contrast, maximal coronary flow reserve was significantly lower in women than men (2.80 vs. 3.30, P < 0.001). Sex was an independent predictor of atheroma burden in the left main and proximal LAD arteries (both P < 0.05) by multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION: Men have greater atheroma burden, more eccentric atheroma, and more diffuse epicardial endothelial dysfunction than women. These results suggest that men have more severe structural and functional abnormalities in epicardial coronary arteries than women, even in patients with early atherosclerosis, which may result in the higher incidence rates of CAD and ST-segment myocardial infarction in men than women.

Investigation of Field Corrosion Performance and Bond/Development Length of Galvanized Reinforcing Steel, TR-666, 2014

In reinforced concrete systems, ensuring that a good bond between the concrete and the embedded reinforcing steel is critical to long-term structural performance. Without good bond between the two, the system simply cannot behave as intended. The bond strength of reinforcing bars is a complex interaction between localized deformations, chemical adhesion, and other factors. Coating of reinforcing bars, although sometimes debated, has been commonly found to be an effective way to delay the initiation of corrosion in reinforced concrete systems. For many years, the standard practice has been to coat reinforcing steel with an epoxy coating, which provides a barrier between the steel and the corrosive elements of water, air, and chloride ions. Recently, there has been an industry-led effort to use galvanizing to provide the protective barrier commonly provided by traditional epoxy coatings. However, as with any new structural product, questions exist regarding both the structural performance and corrosion resistance of the system. In the fall of 2013, Buchanan County, Iowa constructed a demonstration bridge in which the steel girders and all internal reinforcing steel were galvanized. The work completed in this project sought to understand the structural performance of galvanized reinforcing steel as compared to epoxy-coated steel and to initiate a long-term corrosion monitoring program. This work consisted of a series of controlled laboratory tests and the installation of a corrosion monitoring system that can be observed for years in the future. The results of this work indicate there is no appreciable difference between the bond strength of epoxy-coated reinforcing steel and galvanized reinforcing steel. Although some differences were observed, no notable difference in either peak load, slip, or failure mode could be identified. Additionally, a long-term monitoring system was installed in this Buchanan County bridge and, to date, no corrosion activity has been identified.

Statistical modeling of bowing control applied to violin sound synthesis

Excitation-continuous music instrument control patterns are often not explicitly represented in current sound synthesis techniques when applied to automatic performance. Both physical model-based and sample-based synthesis paradigmswould benefit from a flexible and accurate instrument control model, enabling the improvement of naturalness and realism. Wepresent a framework for modeling bowing control parameters inviolin performance. Nearly non-intrusive sensing techniques allow for accurate acquisition of relevant timbre-related bowing control parameter signals.We model the temporal contour of bow velocity, bow pressing force, and bow-bridge distance as sequences of short Bézier cubic curve segments. Considering different articulations, dynamics, and performance contexts, a number of note classes are defined. Contours of bowing parameters in a performance database are analyzed at note-level by following a predefined grammar that dictates characteristics of curve segment sequences for each of the classes in consideration. As a result, contour analysis of bowing parameters of each note yields an optimal representation vector that is sufficient for reconstructing original contours with significant fidelity. From the resulting representation vectors, we construct a statistical model based on Gaussian mixtures suitable for both the analysis and synthesis of bowing parameter contours. By using the estimated models, synthetic contours can be generated through a bow planning algorithm able to reproduce possible constraints caused by the finite length of the bow. Rendered contours are successfully used in two preliminary synthesis frameworks: digital waveguide-based bowed stringphysical modeling and sample-based spectral-domain synthesis.

Reaction of arracacha genotypes to the root soft rot caused by Pectobacterium chrysanthemi

The purpose of this paper was to screen thirty-two arracacha genotypes for their reaction to root soft rot. Twenty roots of each genotype were inoculated with two Pectobacterium chrysanthemi isolates in a randomized experiment (10 roots/isolate). After inoculation, roots were individually wrapped with PVC film and kept at 26ºC in closed plastic bags. Soft rot lesions were recorded after 36 hours and genotypes were grouped in four classes of susceptibility by cluster analysis: 10 were less susceptible, 16 intermediate, 3 susceptible and 3 very susceptible. All the tested arracacha genotypes showed only variation in the degree of susceptibility.

A new classification of the Turkish terranes and sutures and its implication for the paleotectonic history of the region

The Turkish part of the Tethyan realm is represented by a series of terranes juxtaposed through Alpine convergent movements and separated by complex suture zones. Different terranes can be defined and characterized by their dominant geological background. The Pontides domain represents a segment of the former active margin of Eurasia, where back-arc basins opened in the Triassic and separated the Sakarya terrane from neighbouring regions. Sakarya was re-accreted to Laurasia through the Balkanic mid-Cretaceous orogenic event that also affected the Rhodope and Strandja zones. The whole region from the Balkans to the Caucasus was then affected by a reversal of subduction and creation of a Late Cretaceous arc before collision with the Anatolian domain in the Eocene. If the Anatolian terrane underwent an evolution similar to Sakarya during the Late Paleozoic and Early Triassic times, both terranes had a diverging history during and after the Eo-Cimmerian collision. North of Sakarya, the Küre back-arc was closed during the Jurassic, whereas north of the Anatolian domain, the back-arc type oceans did not close before the Late Cretaceous. During the Cretaceous, both domains were affected by ophiolite obduction, but in very different ways: north directed diachronous Middle to Late Cretaceous mélange obduction on the Jurassic Sakarya passive margin; Senonian synchronous southward obduction on the Triassic passive margin of Anatolia. From this, it appears that the Izmir-Ankara suture, currently separating both terranes, is composite, and that the passive margin of Sakarya is not the conjugate margin of Anatolia. To the south, the Cimmerian Taurus domain together with the Beydağları domain (part of the larger Greater Apulian terrane), were detached from north Gondwana in the Permian during the opening of the Neotethys (East-Mediterranean basin). The drifting Cimmerian blocks entered into a soft collision with the Anatolian and related terranes in the Eo-Cimmerian orogenic phase (Late Triassic), thus suturing the Paleotethys. At that time, the Taurus plate developed foreland-type basins, filled with flysch-molasse deposits that locally overstepped the lower plate Taurus terrane and were deposited in the opening Neotethys to the south. These olistostromal deposits are characterized by pelagic Carboniferous and Permian material from the Paleotethys suture zone found in the Mersin mélange. The latter, as well as the Antalya and Mamonia domains are represented by a series of exotic units now found south of the main Taurus range. Part of the Mersin exotic material was clearly derived from the former north Anatolian passive margin (Huğlu-type series) and re-displaced during the Paleogene. This led us to propose a plate tectonic model where the Anatolian ophiolitic front is linked up with the Samail/Baër-Bassit obduction front found along the Arabian margin. The obduction front was indented by the Anatolian promontory whose eastern end was partially subducted. Continued slab roll-back of the Neotethys allowed Anatolian exotics to continue their course southwestward until their emplacement along the Taurus southern margin (Mersin) and up to the Beydağları promontory (Antaya-Mamonia) in the latest Cretaceous-Paleocene. The supra-subduction ocean opening at the back of the obduction front (Troodos-type Ocean) was finally closed by Eocene north-south shortening between Africa and Eurasia. This brought close to each other Cretaceous ophiolites derived from the north of Anatolia and those obducted on the Arabian promontory. The latter were sealed by a Maastrichtian platform, and locally never affected by Alpine tectonism, whereas those located on the eastern Anatolian plate are strongly deformed and metamorphosed, and affected by Eocene arc magmatism. These observations help to reconstruct the larger frame of the central Tethyan realm geodynamic evolution.

Vectorisation intra-oculaire [Drug delivery to target the posterior segment of the eye].

Retinal diseases are nowadays the most common causes of vision threatening in developed countries. Therapeutic advances in this field are hindered by the difficulty to deliver drugs to the posterior segment of the eye. Due to anatomical barriers, the ocular biodisponibility of systemically administered drugs remains poor, and topical instillation is not adequate to achieve therapeutic concentrations of drugs in the back of the eye. Ocular drug delivery has thus become one of the main challenges of modern ophthalmology. A multidisciplinary research is being conducted worldwide including pharmacology, biomaterials, ophthalmology, pharmaceutics, and biology. New promising fields have been developed such as implantable or injectable slow release intravitreal devices and degradable polymers, dispersed polymeric systems for intraocular drug delivery, and transscleral delivery devices such as iontophoresis, osmotic pumps or intra-scleraly implantable materials. The first clinical applications emerging from this research are now taking place, opening new avenues for the treatment of retinal diseases.

Anterior Segment Angiography in Strabismus Surgery

Background: Anterior ciliary arteries travelling along recti muscles provide anterior segment vascularization, which can be compromised by surgery involving more than 2 muscles.Patients and Methods: We studied retrospectively the files of 10 patients in whom a fluorescein angiography of the iris had been performed as a pre-operative assessment prior to a second or third oculomotor surgery.Results: The median age of the patients was 47.5 years (range 15 to 73 years). Relative iris ischemia was present in 4 patients following multiple surgeries, none of them presenting any general cardiovascular risk. The initial surgical protocol was modified according to angiographic results in these 4 patients.Conclusion: When further surgery has to be performed on previously multi-operated patients, anterior segment angiography can be useful in the planning of surgery in order to minimize the risks of anterior segment ischemia.

Systèmes de délivrance des médicaments pour le segment antérieur: bases fondamentales et applications cliniques [Drug delivery systems to target the anterior segment of the eye: fundamental bases and clinical applications].

The development of new drug delivery systems to target the anterior segment of the eye may offer many advantages: to increase the biodisponibility of the drug, to allow the penetration of drug that cannot be formulated as solutions, to obtain constant and sustained drug release, to achieve higher local concentrations without systemic effects, to target more specifically one tissue or cell type, to reduce the frequency of instillation and therefore increase the observance and comfort of the patient while reducing side effects of frequent instillation. Several approaches are developed, aiming to increase the corneal contact time by modified formulation or reservoir systems, or by increasing the tissue permeability using iontophoresis. To date, no ocular drug delivery system is ideal for all purposes. To maximize treatment efficacy, careful evaluation of the specific pathological condition, the targeted Intraocular tissue and the location of the most severe pathology must be made before selecting the method of delivery most suitable for each individual patient.

Evaluation of a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism assay for dermatophyte and nondermatophyte identification in onychomycosis.

BACKGROUND: Dermatophytes are the main cause of onychomycoses, but various nondermatophyte filamentous fungi are often isolated from abnormal nails. The correct identification of the aetiological agent of nail infections is necessary in order to recommend appropriate treatment. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate a rapid polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) assay based on 28S rDNA for fungal identification in nails on a large number of samples in comparison with cultures. METHODS: Infectious fungi were analysed using PCR-RFLP in 410 nail samples in which fungal elements were observed in situ by direct mycological examination (positive samples). The results were compared with those previously obtained by culture of fungi on Sabouraud agar from the same nail samples. RESULTS: PCR-RFLP identification of fungi in nails allowed validation of the results obtained in culture when Trichophyton spp. grew from infected samples. In addition, nondermatophyte filamentous fungi could be identified with certainty as the infectious agents in onychomycosis, and discriminated from dermatophytes as well as from transient contaminants. The specificity of the culture results relative to PCR-RFLP appeared to be 81%, 71%, 52% and 63% when Fusarium spp., Scopulariopsis brevicaulis, Aspergillus spp. and Candida spp., respectively, grew on Sabouraud agar. It was also possible to identify the infectious agent when direct nail mycological examination showed fungal elements, but negative results were obtained from fungal culture. CONCLUSIONS: Improved sensitivity for the detection of fungi in nails was obtained using the PCR-RFLP assay. Rapid and reliable molecular identification of the infectious fungus can be used routinely and presents several important advantages compared with culture in expediting the choice of appropriate antifungal therapy.

Erwinia chrysanthemi: pectolytic bacterium causing soft rot outbreaks of arracacha in Brazil

The objetive of this work was to identify the pectolytic bacteria associated with soft rot of arracacha roots in Brazil. From 1998 to 2001, 227 isolates of Erwinia spp. were obtained from arracacha roots and identified by biochemical and physiological tests (pectolytic activity, lecithinase, a-methyl glucoside, phosphatase, erythromycin sensivity, growth at 37ºC). Of these isolates, 89.9% were identified as E. chrysanthemi (Ech), 9.7% as E. carotovora subsp. carotovora (Ecc) and 0.5% as E. carotovora subsp. atroseptica. The identity of seventeen out of twenty representative isolates of Ech and Ecc was confirmed by PCR (primers '149f', 'L1r', 'ADE1', 'ADE2').

Length Change of P. C. Concrete Due to Moisture Content, MLR-85-09, 1987

Portland cement concrete is an outstanding structural material but stresses and cracks often occur in large structures due to drying shrinkage. The objective of this research was to determine the change in length due to loss of moisture from placement through complete drying of portland cement concrete. The drying shrinkage was determined for four different combinations of Iowa DOT structural concrete mix proportions and materials. The two mix proportions used were an Iowa DOT D57 (bridge deck mix proportions) and a water reduced modified C4 mix. Three 4"x 4"x 18" beams were made for each mix. After moist curing for three days, all beams were maintained in laboratory dry air and the length and weight were measured at 73°F ± 3°F. The temperature was cycled on alternate days from 73°F to 90°F through four months. From four months through six months, the temperature was cycled one day at 73°F and six days at 130°F. It took approximately six months for the concrete to reach a dry condition with these temperatures. The total drying shrinkage for the four mixes varied from .0106 in. to .0133 in. with an average of .0120 in. The rate of shrinkage was approximately .014% shrinkage per 1% moisture loss for all four mixes. The rate and total shrinkage for all four mixes was very similar and did not seem to depend on the type of coarse aggregate or the use of a retarder.

Docetaxel and gemcitabine combination in 133 advanced soft-tissue sarcomas: a retrospective analysis.

Advanced soft-tissue sarcomas are usually resistant to cytotoxic agents such as doxorubicin and ifosfamide. Antitumor activity has been observed for gemcitabine and docetaxel combination. We conducted a retrospective study on 133 patients (58 males/75 females) with unresectable or metastatic soft-tissue sarcoma. The median age at diagnosis was 51.7 (18-82), with 76 patients with leiomoyosarcoma and 57 patients with other histological subtypes. The initial localizations were limb (44), uterine (32), retroperitoneal (23) and organs or bone (34). Patients received 900 mg/m2 of gemcitabine (days 1 and 8) over 90 min plus 100 mg/m2 of docetaxel (day 8), intravenously every 21 days. Gemcitabine/docetaxel combination was well tolerated with an overall response of 18.4% and with no clear statistical difference between leiomyosarcomas and other histological subtypes (24.2% versus 10.4% (p=0.06)). No difference was found between uterine soft-tissue sarcomas versus others. The median overall survival was 12.1 months (1-28). Better overall survival was correlated with leiomyosarcoma (p=0.01) and with the quality of the response, even for patients with stable disease (p<10(-4)). No statistical difference was found for the initial localization. Response to treatment and overall survival were better for patients in World Health Organization (WHO) performance status classification (PS) 0 at baseline versus patients in WHO PS-1, 2 or 3 (p=0.023 and p<10(-4), respectively). Gemcitabine/docetaxel combination was tolerable and demonstrated better response and survival for leiomyosarcoma, especially for patients in WHO PS-0 at baseline. For the other histological subtypes, the response was not encouraging, but the survival for patients in response or stable suggests further investigation.

CAVIN-3 regulates circadian period length and PER:CRY protein abundance and interactions.

In mammals, transcriptional autorepression by Period (PER) and Cryptochrome (CRY) protein complexes is essential for the generation of circadian rhythms. We have identified CAVIN-3 as a new, cytoplasmic PER2-interacting protein influencing circadian clock properties. Thus, CAVIN-3 loss- and gain-of-function shortened and lengthened, respectively, the circadian period in fibroblasts and affected PER:CRY protein abundance and interaction. While depletion of protein kinase Cδ (PKCδ), a known partner of CAVIN-3, had little effect on circadian gene expression, CAVIN-3 required the PKCδ-binding site to exert its effect on period length. This suggests the involvement of yet uncharacterized protein kinases. Finally, CAVIN-3 activity in circadian gene expression was independent of caveolae.