Serological correlate of protection against norovirus-induced gastroenteritis

Norovirus infection is the leading cause of acute nonbacterial gastroenteritis. Histoblood group antigens (HBGAs) are host susceptibility determinants for Norwalk virus (NV) infection. We hypothesized that antibodies that block NV-HBGA binding are associated with protection from clinical illness following NV exposure.

Protection of corneal endothelium from irrigation damage:A comparison of sodium hyaluronate and hydroxypropylmethyl-cellulose

Purpose: To compare the endothelial protection of sodium hyaluronate and hydroxypropylmethylcellulose against endothelial damage induced by irrigation. Methods: An in vitro assay with freshly excised porcine eyes was developed using the Janus green photometry technique. Irrigation and aspiration technique was standardised. Forty pairs of porcine eyes were used. One randomly chosen eye was filled with sodium hyaluronate (SH) and the other with hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC). Irrigation and aspiration was carried out with balanced salt solution for 5 min. Twenty additional pairs of porcine eyes served as controls. Student's t-test was used for statistical analysis. Results: Both viscoelastic agents protected the endothelium as compared with controls. The endothelial protection, determined with the Janus green photometric technique, was significantly greater with HPMC than with SH. Conclusions: Viscoelastic agents are effective in protecting the endothelium from irrigation damage in porcine eyes in vitro. HPMC provided greater protection than SH in this particular model.

Late Pleistocene climate change and landscape dynamics in the Eastern Alps: the inner-alpine Unterangerberg record (Austria)

Drill cores from the inner-alpine valley terrace of Unterangerberg, located in the Eastern Alps of Austria, offer first insights into a Pleistocene sedimentary record that was not accessible so far. The succession comprises diamict, gravel, sand, lignite and thick, fine grained sediments. Additionally, cataclastic deposits originating from two paleo-landslide events are present. Multi-proxy analyses including sedimentological and palynological investigations as well as radiocarbon and luminescence data record the onset of the last glacial period (Wurmian) at Unterangerberg at similar to 120-110 ka. This first time period, correlated to the MIS 5d, was characterised by strong fluvial aggradation under cold climatic conditions, with only sparse vegetation cover. Furthermore, two large and quasi-synchronous landslide events occurred during this time interval. No record of the first Early Wiirmian interstadial (MIS 5c) is preserved. During the second Early Wiirmian interstadial (MIS 5a), the local vegetation was characterised by a boreal forest dominated by Picea, with few thermophilous elements. The subsequent collapse of the vegetation is recorded by sediments dated to similar to 70-60 ka (i.e. MIS 4), with very low pollen concentrations and the potential presence of permafrost. Climatic conditions improved again between similar to 55 and 45 ka (MIS 3) and cold-adapted trees re-appeared during interstadials, forming an open forest vegetation. MIS 3 stadials were shorter and less severe than the MIS 4 at Unterangerberg, and vegetation during these cold phases was mainly composed of shrubs, herbs and grasses, similar to what is known from today's alpine timberline. The Unterangerberg record ended at similar to 45 ka and/or was truncated by ice during the Last Glacial Maximum. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adaptive binary mask for privacy region protection

Privacy region protection in video surveillance systems is an active topic at present. In previous research, a binary mask mechanism has been developed to indicate the privacy region; however this incurs a significant bitrate overhead. In this paper, an adaptive binary mask is proposed to represent the privacy region. In a practical privacy region protection application, in which the privacy region typically occupies less than half of the overall frame and is rectangular or approximately rectangular, the proposed adaptive binary mask can effectively reduce the bitrate overhead. The proposed method can also be easily applied to the FMO mechanism of H.264/AVC, providing both error resilience and a lower bitrate overhead.

Papers in Italian Archaeology IV - Vol 1 Landscape in Italian Archaeology:The Cambridge Conference

Malone, C.A.T. and S.K.F. Stoddart. (eds.). IV. S243 1985. Cambridge: British Archaeological Reports.

Power in Context: the Lismore landscape project.

Redhouse, D.I., Anderson, M., Cockerell, T., Gilmour, S., Housley, R., *Malone, C., *Stoddart,S.

Data Structure Report of the Lismore Landscape project.: Submitted to Historic Scotland. 2004, Historic Scotland: Edinburgh.

Stoddart, S. and C. Malone,