People

Sorry, no results were found.

Circles

Sorry, no results were found.

Posts

2 hrs ago

Elon Musk's call to audit the IRS sparks debate over government oversight and efficiency

https://www.naturalnews.com/2025-02-06-musks-call-to-audit-irs-sparks-debate.html

Elon Musk posted a poll on X asking if his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) should audit the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which received nearly one million responses, with 52 percent voting “Yes” and 41 percent voting “F Yes,” reflecting public frustration with government inefficiency and Musk’s growing influence. Musk claimed to have “deleted” 18F, […]

www.naturalnews.com

12 hrs ago


0%, 97.7%, 76.3%, 99.3%, and 97.2%, respectively. When DG1 was excluded in the process, the sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and accuracy were 85.2%, 98.9%, 80.6%, and 99.2% and 98.2%, respectively.Brain-computer interfaces enable active communication and execution of a pre-defined set of commands, such as typing a letter or moving a cursor. However, they have thus far not been able to infer more complex intentions or adapt more complex output based on brain signals. Here, we present neuroadaptive generative modelling, which uses a participant's brain signals as feedback to adapt a boundless generative model and generate new information matching the participant's intentions. We report an experiment validating the paradigm in generating images of human faces. In the experiment, participants were asked to specifically focus on perceptual categories, such as old or young people, while being presented with computer-generated, photorealistic faces with varying visual features. Their EEG signals associated with the images were then used as a feedback signal to update a model of the user's intentions, from which new images were generated using a generative adversarial network. A double-blind follow-up with the participant evaluating the output shows that neuroadaptive modelling can be utilised to produce images matching the perceptual category features. The approach demonstrates brain-based creative augmentation between computers and humans for producing new information matching the human operator's perceptual categories.Debate still exists for the management of choledocholithiasis. The purpose of this study is to quantify the rate of recurrent choledocholithiasis post choledochoscopic bile duct exploration (CBDE) in comparison to ERCP and sphincterotomy, and to demonstrate the feasibility of this approach in a busy metropolitan hospital. Data of patients undergoing CBDE from 2009-2014 at the Northern Hospital, Victoria, Australia, was collected retrospectively. Primary outcomes were bile duct clearance rate and rate of recurrent stones post-clearance. Secondary outcomes measured were post-operative complications, laparoscopic to open conversion rate and operative time. Data of patients undergoing ERCP at the same institution was collected and compared. In total, there were 4,091 cholecystectomy cases performed from 2009-2014, of which 260 (6.3%) of patients had an intraoperative cholangiography (IOC) indicating a common bile duct (CBD) stone. Two hundred and forty-eight patients (95.3%) had a CBDE. The remaining 12 patients (4.6%) had radiological clearance, which were excluded from the study. The overall clearance rate for patients undergoing CBDE was 84% (209/248). https://www.selleckchem.com/products/vx803-m4344.html The risk of recurrent stones up to 8 years post clearance was 2% (4/209). In the same institution, and between 1998-2012, a total of 1,148 patients underwent ERCP, of which 571 had endoscopic sphincterotomy (ES). Forty-three patients required a repeat ERCP for recurrent CBD stones with a complication rate of 7.5%. Time to recurrence ranged from 6 months to 10 years with a mean of 4.5 years. The rate of recurrence was lower in the CBDE group compared to the patients who had an ERCP (8.9% vs. 2%). CBDE is a feasible and effective method for clearance of CBD stones at the time of laparoscopic cholecystectomy. This approach, although not widely used, reduces the need for ERCP, which has inherent complications. In the longer term, this series showed a significant reduction in the rate of CBD stone recurrence.The connectivity among distributed wetlands is critical for aquatic habitat integrity and to maintain metapopulation biodiversity. Here, we investigated the spatiotemporal fluctuations of wetlandscape connectivity driven by stochastic hydroclimatic forcing, conceptualizing wetlands as dynamic habitat nodes in dispersal networks. We hypothesized that spatiotemporal hydrologic variability influences the heterogeneity in wetland attributes (e.g., size and shape distributions) and wetland spatial organization (e.g., gap distances), in turn altering the variance of the dispersal network topology and the patterns of ecological connectivity. We tested our hypotheses by employing a DEM-based, depth-censoring approach to assess the eco-hydrological dynamics in a synthetically generated landscape and three representative wetlandscapes in the United States. Network topology was examined for two end-member connectivity measures centroid-to-centroid (C2C), and perimeter-to-perimeter (P2P), representing the full range of within-patch habitat preferences. Exponentially tempered Pareto node-degree distributions well described the observed structural connectivity of both types of networks. High wetland clustering and attribute heterogeneity exacerbated the differences between C2C and P2P networks, with Pareto node-degree distributions emerging only for a limited range of P2P configuration. Wetlandscape network topology and dispersal strategies condition species survival and biodiversity.PolyCystic Ovary Syndrome KnowledgeBase (PCOSKBR2) is a manually curated database with information on 533 genes, 145 SNPs, 29 miRNAs, 1,150 pathways, and 1,237 diseases associated with PCOS. This data has been retrieved based on evidence gleaned by critically reviewing literature and related records available for PCOS in databases such as KEGG, DisGeNET, OMIM, GO, Reactome, STRING, and dbSNP. Since PCOS is associated with multiple genes and comorbidities, data mining algorithms for comorbidity prediction and identification of enriched pathways and hub genes are integrated in PCOSKBR2, making it an ideal research platform for PCOS. PCOSKBR2 is freely accessible at http//www.pcoskb.bicnirrh.res.in/ .Thin films of β-W are the most interesting for manipulating magnetic moments using spin-orbit torques, and a clear understanding of α to β phase transition in W by doping impurity, especially oxygen, is needed. Here we present a combined experimental and theoretical study using grazing incidence X-ray diffraction, photoelectron spectroscopy, electron microscopy, and ab initio calculations to explore atomic structure, bonding, and oxygen content for understanding the formation of β-W. It is found that the W films on SiO2/Si have 13-22 at.% oxygen in A15 β structure. Ab initio calculations show higher solution energy of oxygen in β-W, and a tendency to transform locally from α to β phase with increasing oxygen concentration. X-ray absorption spectroscopy also revealed local geometry of oxygen in β-W, in agreement with the simulated one. These results offer an opportunity for a fundamental understanding of the structural transition in α-W and further development of β-W phase for device applications.

13 hrs ago


Western blot results revealed that the stability/turnover of the mutated BolA proteins is differently affected depending on the dephosphorylated residue. Moreover, we provide evidences that phosphorylation events are crucial in the modulation of BolA activity as a transcription factor and as a regulator of cell morphology and biofilm development. Here we propose that phosphorylation affects BolA downstream functions, and discuss the possible significance of these phospho-residues in the protein structure, stability, dimerization and function as a transcription factor.Background There is debate regarding whether the association between maternal depressive symptoms (MDS) and child outcomes is due to the timing or chronicity of symptoms. Objectives To investigate whether critical periods, sensitive periods, or accumulation models provided the best explanation for the association between MDS and children's behaviour and development. Methods Data on mothers (N = 892) were collected from 1996 to 2015 as part of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health, a prospective longitudinal epidemiological study. Data on children (N = 978, 2-12 years) were collected in 2016/17 as part of the Mothers and their Children's Health study. Mothers were categorised according to whether they reported MDS (scored ≥ 10 on the CESD-10) before pregnancy, during pregnancy, or in early childhood. Child outcomes were maternal-rated behaviour problems (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire; SDQ) and teacher-rated development (Australian Early Development Census; AEDC). We used a structured life course approach to rigorously test critical period, sensitive period, and accumulation (ie chronicity) theories by comparing the fit of a series of models. Results Most mothers did not report MDS at any time (69.2%), 16.9% reported MDS before pregnancy, 13.2% during pregnancy, and 16.5% in early childhood. High/very high total behaviour problems were reported for 7.0% of children, and developmental vulnerability/risk was reported for 15.9% for social competence and 15.7% for emotional maturity. An accumulation model was the best fit, with each period of MDS associated with an increase of 1.71 points (95% CI 1.26, 2.17) on the SDQ and decreases of 0.31 (95% CI -0.50, -0.12) and 0.29 points (95% CI -0.49, -0.08) on AEDC social competence and emotional maturity, respectively. Conclusions Chronic MDS were associated with poorer child outcomes than MDS at any single time. Sensitive and critical period models were not supported. This suggests chronicity of symptoms may be more important than timing.Roukou Wuwei pills is one of the most commonly used Mongolian medicinal prescriptions and historically used for the treatment of depression. This research aimed to illustrate the metabolic characteristic of Roukou Wuwei pills in vivo. To address this objective, an ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry method based metabonomics approach was used to detect and analyze the metabolites of Roukou Wuwei pills. The chromatographic separation was completed on an Agilent SB-C18 column (1.8 µm, 2.1 × 50 mm) with a gradient elution system (acetonitrile and 0.1% formic acid-water). Electrospray ionization was operated in a full-scan mode at m/z 100-1000. The data were collected in positive and negative ion modes. The Masslynx 4.1 and SIMCA-P 13.0 software were used to analyze the mass spectrometry data and select the potential metabolites by using an orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis, which was applied to investigate the differences between the blank and drug groups in biosamples of rats. Finally, totally 87 metabolites were detected based on their tandem mass spectrometry data. Among them, 69 metabolites are potential new compounds.Aim In Japan, fatal traffic accidents due to older drivers are on the rise. Considering that approximately half the older drivers who caused fatal accidents were cognitively normal healthy people, it has been required to detect older drivers who are cognitively normal but at high risk of having fatal traffic accidents. However, a standardized method for assessing the driving ability of older drivers has not yet been established. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/atglistatin.html We thus aimed to identify a new sensing method for the evaluation of the on-road driving ability of healthy older people on the basis of vehicle behaviors. Methods We enrolled thirty-three healthy older individuals aged over 65 years and utilized a machine learning approach to dissociate unsafe drivers from safe drivers based on cognitive assessments and a visual acuity test. Results The linear SVM classifier successfully dissociated unsafe drivers from safe drivers with accuracy of 84.8% (sensitivity of 66.7% and specificity of 95.2%). Five clinical parameters, namely age, the first trial of the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test immediate recall, the delayed recall of the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test, the result of the free-drawn Clock Drawing Test, and maximum visual acuity, were consistently selected as essential features for the best classification model. Conclusion Our findings improve our understanding of clinical risk factors leading to unsafe driving and may provide insight into a new intervention that prevents fatal traffic accidents caused by healthy older people. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.CENP-50/U is a component of the CENP-O complex (CENP-O/P/Q/R/U) and localizes to the centromere throughout the cell cycle. Aberrant expression of CENP-50/U has been reported in many types of cancers. However, as Cenp-50/U-deficient mice die during early embryogenesis, its functions remain poorly understood in vivo. To investigate the role of Cenp-50/U in skin carcinogenesis, we generated Cenp-50/U conditional knockout (K14CreER -Cenp-50/Ufl/fl ) mice and subjected them to the 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA)/terephthalic acid (TPA) chemical carcinogenesis protocol. As a result, early-stage papillomas decreased in Cenp-50/U-deficient mice. In contrast, Cenp-50/U-deficient mice demonstrated almost the same carcinoma incidence as control mice. Furthermore, mRNA expression analysis using DMBA/TPA-induced papillomas and carcinomas revealed that Cenp-50/U expression levels in papillomas were significantly higher than in carcinomas. These results suggest that Cenp-50/U functions mainly in early papilloma development and it has little effect on malignant conversion.

Videos

09/24/2024

It seems like every week offers a different twist to the 2024 campaign—some predicted moments and some not. The upcoming weeks are no different, with the Republican Presidential candidate facing the possibility of immediately being thrown into jail and the Democratic candidate facing the same situation that took out her predecessor.
On this episode of Perspective, Scottie Nell Hughes talks the upcoming presidential debate and Trumps sentencing with her panel (Bjorn Handeen, strategist, McShane LLC political consultants; Lionel, attorney & media analyst; Larry Ward, Chairman of Constitutional Rights PAC)

Welcome to The Daily Wrap Up, a concise show dedicated to bringing you the most relevant independent news, as we see it, from the last 24 hours.

All Video Source Links Can Be Found Here At The Last American Vagabond: https://www.thelastamericanvagabond.com/israel-murders-us-debate-palestine

Want to send a check to support TLAV, or just words of encouragement?
Use our new P.O. box:
Ryan Cristian
1113 Murfreesboro Rd. Ste 106-146
Franklin, Tn 37064

Get A Privacy Phone/Laptop & Support TLAV (Promo code TLAV50)
https://abovephone.com/?above=tlav

Get TLAV Apparel:
https://truthclothing.io/collections/tlav
https://tlavfreespeech.itemorder.com/shop/home/

SAVE TLAV Campaign:
https://www.givesendgo.com/SaveTLAV

Like What You See? Help Us Stay People Funded:
https://www.thelastamericanvagabond.com/donations/donation-form/
https://www.spotfund.com/story/3690ba65-c20e-4b09-adf1-013c27d6488d
https://www.paychute.com/c/b7c68a5b-d437-444c-973b-e0413a5e07c3
https://www.subscribestar.com/the-last-american-vagabond
https://cash.app/$TLAVagabond
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/tlavagabond
https://tlavagabond.substack.com/

Bitcoin Donations: 3HybuDuvH4x5uJHemgc7EW4ms2nz3F8Gah
Ethereum Donations: 0x5e68B8984d9D8167dAf890588a7037Ae6Cc87d4b
Litecoin Donations: MX3T2kYvzfD4mNS4VNSyXFgY4abhUJC5ff
Bitcoin Cash Donations: qqsef23980qu5nlk2dj7s7ezwedl4fmy2gl2mxp9dp

Support The Last American Vagabond by Subscribing here:
http://www.feedblitz.com/f/?Sub=906867

Ryan Cristián’s Objectivity Course: 
https://marketplace.autonomyagora.com/objective-research

The Last American Vagabond Links:
Sovern: https://sovren.media/u/tlavagabond/
Rumble: https://rumble.com/user/TheLastAmericanVagabond
Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TLAVagabond:5
Rokfin: https://www.rokfin.com/TLAVagabond
Minds: https://www.minds.com/TLAVagabond
Bitchute: https://www.bitchute.com/channel/24yVcta8zEjY/
Telegram: https://t.me/TLAVagabond
VK: https://vk.com/id504366611
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TLAVagabond
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_last_american_vagabond/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thelastamericanvagabond
Getter: https://gettr.com/user/tlavagabond
TruthSocial: https://truthsocial.com/@TLAVagabond
Locals: https://thelastamericanvagabond.locals.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Vagabond-Censored-103475109010293/
Memo: https://memo.cash/profile/1Np4Z2d25RSsQi99gKhf2cd5CAwN57jk13
MeWe: https://mewe.com/profile/5bcfb5d2a5f4e5420d7d5a2f
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/tlavagabond.bsky.social

#TLAVPirateStreams #TheDailyWrapUp #TheLastAmericanVagabond

"Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.”

09/13/2024

On this episode of Direct Impact, Rick Sanchez delves into the latest geopolitical developments and their far-reaching implications. With expert analysis from Ghadi Francis and Elijah Magnier, Sanchez explores Ukraine’s precarious position and the potential US authorization for Ukrainian missile strikes on Russian territory. The show also investigates the surprising celebrations in Jordan following an attack on Israeli soldiers and dissects the global reaction to Donald Trump’s controversial debate comments.

People

Sorry, no results were found.

Circles

Sorry, no results were found.

Videos

09/24/2024

It seems like every week offers a different twist to the 2024 campaign—some predicted moments and some not. The upcoming weeks are no different, with the Republican Presidential candidate facing the possibility of immediately being thrown into jail and the Democratic candidate facing the same situation that took out her predecessor.
On this episode of Perspective, Scottie Nell Hughes talks the upcoming presidential debate and Trumps sentencing with her panel (Bjorn Handeen, strategist, McShane LLC political consultants; Lionel, attorney & media analyst; Larry Ward, Chairman of Constitutional Rights PAC)

Welcome to The Daily Wrap Up, a concise show dedicated to bringing you the most relevant independent news, as we see it, from the last 24 hours.

All Video Source Links Can Be Found Here At The Last American Vagabond: https://www.thelastamericanvagabond.com/israel-murders-us-debate-palestine

Want to send a check to support TLAV, or just words of encouragement?
Use our new P.O. box:
Ryan Cristian
1113 Murfreesboro Rd. Ste 106-146
Franklin, Tn 37064

Get A Privacy Phone/Laptop & Support TLAV (Promo code TLAV50)
https://abovephone.com/?above=tlav

Get TLAV Apparel:
https://truthclothing.io/collections/tlav
https://tlavfreespeech.itemorder.com/shop/home/

SAVE TLAV Campaign:
https://www.givesendgo.com/SaveTLAV

Like What You See? Help Us Stay People Funded:
https://www.thelastamericanvagabond.com/donations/donation-form/
https://www.spotfund.com/story/3690ba65-c20e-4b09-adf1-013c27d6488d
https://www.paychute.com/c/b7c68a5b-d437-444c-973b-e0413a5e07c3
https://www.subscribestar.com/the-last-american-vagabond
https://cash.app/$TLAVagabond
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/tlavagabond
https://tlavagabond.substack.com/

Bitcoin Donations: 3HybuDuvH4x5uJHemgc7EW4ms2nz3F8Gah
Ethereum Donations: 0x5e68B8984d9D8167dAf890588a7037Ae6Cc87d4b
Litecoin Donations: MX3T2kYvzfD4mNS4VNSyXFgY4abhUJC5ff
Bitcoin Cash Donations: qqsef23980qu5nlk2dj7s7ezwedl4fmy2gl2mxp9dp

Support The Last American Vagabond by Subscribing here:
http://www.feedblitz.com/f/?Sub=906867

Ryan Cristián’s Objectivity Course: 
https://marketplace.autonomyagora.com/objective-research

The Last American Vagabond Links:
Sovern: https://sovren.media/u/tlavagabond/
Rumble: https://rumble.com/user/TheLastAmericanVagabond
Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TLAVagabond:5
Rokfin: https://www.rokfin.com/TLAVagabond
Minds: https://www.minds.com/TLAVagabond
Bitchute: https://www.bitchute.com/channel/24yVcta8zEjY/
Telegram: https://t.me/TLAVagabond
VK: https://vk.com/id504366611
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TLAVagabond
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_last_american_vagabond/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thelastamericanvagabond
Getter: https://gettr.com/user/tlavagabond
TruthSocial: https://truthsocial.com/@TLAVagabond
Locals: https://thelastamericanvagabond.locals.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Vagabond-Censored-103475109010293/
Memo: https://memo.cash/profile/1Np4Z2d25RSsQi99gKhf2cd5CAwN57jk13
MeWe: https://mewe.com/profile/5bcfb5d2a5f4e5420d7d5a2f
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/tlavagabond.bsky.social

#TLAVPirateStreams #TheDailyWrapUp #TheLastAmericanVagabond

"Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.”

09/13/2024

On this episode of Direct Impact, Rick Sanchez delves into the latest geopolitical developments and their far-reaching implications. With expert analysis from Ghadi Francis and Elijah Magnier, Sanchez explores Ukraine’s precarious position and the potential US authorization for Ukrainian missile strikes on Russian territory. The show also investigates the surprising celebrations in Jordan following an attack on Israeli soldiers and dissects the global reaction to Donald Trump’s controversial debate comments.

09/13/2024

On this episode of Direct Impact, Rick Sanchez dissects a contentious and dramatic presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. With insightful commentary and analysis from experts Craig Jardula and Angie Wong, Sanchez explores how Harris strategically baited Trump into revealing his frustration and anger, while both candidates failed to deliver substantial policy details. The show highlights key moments from the debate, including Trump’s handling of the Ukraine conflict and Harris’ provocative tactics, concluding that Harris’ approach might sway undecided voters and attract Democratic support.

09/13/2024

In this episode of Direct Impact, Rick Sanchez takes a closer look at the tangled web of global conflicts and shifting public opinions. The show kicks off with a jaw-dropping moment: a high-ranking Chinese diplomat delivers a sharp critique to former US Vice President Dick Cheney. From there, Rick dives into recent polls from Israel and Ukraine, which suggest a growing public desire to end these protracted wars. Rick is joined by Craig ‘Pasta’ Jardula of The Convo Couch to unpack the significance of these polling trends and their potential effects on media and policy. In the second half of the show, attorney and political commentator Steve Gill weighs in on the upcoming US presidential debate and what it could mean for the political landscape ahead.

Posts

2 hrs ago

Elon Musk's call to audit the IRS sparks debate over government oversight and efficiency

https://www.naturalnews.com/2025-02-06-musks-call-to-audit-irs-sparks-debate.html

Elon Musk posted a poll on X asking if his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) should audit the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which received nearly one million responses, with 52 percent voting “Yes” and 41 percent voting “F Yes,” reflecting public frustration with government inefficiency and Musk’s growing influence. Musk claimed to have “deleted” 18F, […]

www.naturalnews.com

12 hrs ago


0%, 97.7%, 76.3%, 99.3%, and 97.2%, respectively. When DG1 was excluded in the process, the sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and accuracy were 85.2%, 98.9%, 80.6%, and 99.2% and 98.2%, respectively.Brain-computer interfaces enable active communication and execution of a pre-defined set of commands, such as typing a letter or moving a cursor. However, they have thus far not been able to infer more complex intentions or adapt more complex output based on brain signals. Here, we present neuroadaptive generative modelling, which uses a participant's brain signals as feedback to adapt a boundless generative model and generate new information matching the participant's intentions. We report an experiment validating the paradigm in generating images of human faces. In the experiment, participants were asked to specifically focus on perceptual categories, such as old or young people, while being presented with computer-generated, photorealistic faces with varying visual features. Their EEG signals associated with the images were then used as a feedback signal to update a model of the user's intentions, from which new images were generated using a generative adversarial network. A double-blind follow-up with the participant evaluating the output shows that neuroadaptive modelling can be utilised to produce images matching the perceptual category features. The approach demonstrates brain-based creative augmentation between computers and humans for producing new information matching the human operator's perceptual categories.Debate still exists for the management of choledocholithiasis. The purpose of this study is to quantify the rate of recurrent choledocholithiasis post choledochoscopic bile duct exploration (CBDE) in comparison to ERCP and sphincterotomy, and to demonstrate the feasibility of this approach in a busy metropolitan hospital. Data of patients undergoing CBDE from 2009-2014 at the Northern Hospital, Victoria, Australia, was collected retrospectively. Primary outcomes were bile duct clearance rate and rate of recurrent stones post-clearance. Secondary outcomes measured were post-operative complications, laparoscopic to open conversion rate and operative time. Data of patients undergoing ERCP at the same institution was collected and compared. In total, there were 4,091 cholecystectomy cases performed from 2009-2014, of which 260 (6.3%) of patients had an intraoperative cholangiography (IOC) indicating a common bile duct (CBD) stone. Two hundred and forty-eight patients (95.3%) had a CBDE. The remaining 12 patients (4.6%) had radiological clearance, which were excluded from the study. The overall clearance rate for patients undergoing CBDE was 84% (209/248). https://www.selleckchem.com/products/vx803-m4344.html The risk of recurrent stones up to 8 years post clearance was 2% (4/209). In the same institution, and between 1998-2012, a total of 1,148 patients underwent ERCP, of which 571 had endoscopic sphincterotomy (ES). Forty-three patients required a repeat ERCP for recurrent CBD stones with a complication rate of 7.5%. Time to recurrence ranged from 6 months to 10 years with a mean of 4.5 years. The rate of recurrence was lower in the CBDE group compared to the patients who had an ERCP (8.9% vs. 2%). CBDE is a feasible and effective method for clearance of CBD stones at the time of laparoscopic cholecystectomy. This approach, although not widely used, reduces the need for ERCP, which has inherent complications. In the longer term, this series showed a significant reduction in the rate of CBD stone recurrence.The connectivity among distributed wetlands is critical for aquatic habitat integrity and to maintain metapopulation biodiversity. Here, we investigated the spatiotemporal fluctuations of wetlandscape connectivity driven by stochastic hydroclimatic forcing, conceptualizing wetlands as dynamic habitat nodes in dispersal networks. We hypothesized that spatiotemporal hydrologic variability influences the heterogeneity in wetland attributes (e.g., size and shape distributions) and wetland spatial organization (e.g., gap distances), in turn altering the variance of the dispersal network topology and the patterns of ecological connectivity. We tested our hypotheses by employing a DEM-based, depth-censoring approach to assess the eco-hydrological dynamics in a synthetically generated landscape and three representative wetlandscapes in the United States. Network topology was examined for two end-member connectivity measures centroid-to-centroid (C2C), and perimeter-to-perimeter (P2P), representing the full range of within-patch habitat preferences. Exponentially tempered Pareto node-degree distributions well described the observed structural connectivity of both types of networks. High wetland clustering and attribute heterogeneity exacerbated the differences between C2C and P2P networks, with Pareto node-degree distributions emerging only for a limited range of P2P configuration. Wetlandscape network topology and dispersal strategies condition species survival and biodiversity.PolyCystic Ovary Syndrome KnowledgeBase (PCOSKBR2) is a manually curated database with information on 533 genes, 145 SNPs, 29 miRNAs, 1,150 pathways, and 1,237 diseases associated with PCOS. This data has been retrieved based on evidence gleaned by critically reviewing literature and related records available for PCOS in databases such as KEGG, DisGeNET, OMIM, GO, Reactome, STRING, and dbSNP. Since PCOS is associated with multiple genes and comorbidities, data mining algorithms for comorbidity prediction and identification of enriched pathways and hub genes are integrated in PCOSKBR2, making it an ideal research platform for PCOS. PCOSKBR2 is freely accessible at http//www.pcoskb.bicnirrh.res.in/ .Thin films of β-W are the most interesting for manipulating magnetic moments using spin-orbit torques, and a clear understanding of α to β phase transition in W by doping impurity, especially oxygen, is needed. Here we present a combined experimental and theoretical study using grazing incidence X-ray diffraction, photoelectron spectroscopy, electron microscopy, and ab initio calculations to explore atomic structure, bonding, and oxygen content for understanding the formation of β-W. It is found that the W films on SiO2/Si have 13-22 at.% oxygen in A15 β structure. Ab initio calculations show higher solution energy of oxygen in β-W, and a tendency to transform locally from α to β phase with increasing oxygen concentration. X-ray absorption spectroscopy also revealed local geometry of oxygen in β-W, in agreement with the simulated one. These results offer an opportunity for a fundamental understanding of the structural transition in α-W and further development of β-W phase for device applications.

13 hrs ago


Western blot results revealed that the stability/turnover of the mutated BolA proteins is differently affected depending on the dephosphorylated residue. Moreover, we provide evidences that phosphorylation events are crucial in the modulation of BolA activity as a transcription factor and as a regulator of cell morphology and biofilm development. Here we propose that phosphorylation affects BolA downstream functions, and discuss the possible significance of these phospho-residues in the protein structure, stability, dimerization and function as a transcription factor.Background There is debate regarding whether the association between maternal depressive symptoms (MDS) and child outcomes is due to the timing or chronicity of symptoms. Objectives To investigate whether critical periods, sensitive periods, or accumulation models provided the best explanation for the association between MDS and children's behaviour and development. Methods Data on mothers (N = 892) were collected from 1996 to 2015 as part of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health, a prospective longitudinal epidemiological study. Data on children (N = 978, 2-12 years) were collected in 2016/17 as part of the Mothers and their Children's Health study. Mothers were categorised according to whether they reported MDS (scored ≥ 10 on the CESD-10) before pregnancy, during pregnancy, or in early childhood. Child outcomes were maternal-rated behaviour problems (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire; SDQ) and teacher-rated development (Australian Early Development Census; AEDC). We used a structured life course approach to rigorously test critical period, sensitive period, and accumulation (ie chronicity) theories by comparing the fit of a series of models. Results Most mothers did not report MDS at any time (69.2%), 16.9% reported MDS before pregnancy, 13.2% during pregnancy, and 16.5% in early childhood. High/very high total behaviour problems were reported for 7.0% of children, and developmental vulnerability/risk was reported for 15.9% for social competence and 15.7% for emotional maturity. An accumulation model was the best fit, with each period of MDS associated with an increase of 1.71 points (95% CI 1.26, 2.17) on the SDQ and decreases of 0.31 (95% CI -0.50, -0.12) and 0.29 points (95% CI -0.49, -0.08) on AEDC social competence and emotional maturity, respectively. Conclusions Chronic MDS were associated with poorer child outcomes than MDS at any single time. Sensitive and critical period models were not supported. This suggests chronicity of symptoms may be more important than timing.Roukou Wuwei pills is one of the most commonly used Mongolian medicinal prescriptions and historically used for the treatment of depression. This research aimed to illustrate the metabolic characteristic of Roukou Wuwei pills in vivo. To address this objective, an ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry method based metabonomics approach was used to detect and analyze the metabolites of Roukou Wuwei pills. The chromatographic separation was completed on an Agilent SB-C18 column (1.8 µm, 2.1 × 50 mm) with a gradient elution system (acetonitrile and 0.1% formic acid-water). Electrospray ionization was operated in a full-scan mode at m/z 100-1000. The data were collected in positive and negative ion modes. The Masslynx 4.1 and SIMCA-P 13.0 software were used to analyze the mass spectrometry data and select the potential metabolites by using an orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis, which was applied to investigate the differences between the blank and drug groups in biosamples of rats. Finally, totally 87 metabolites were detected based on their tandem mass spectrometry data. Among them, 69 metabolites are potential new compounds.Aim In Japan, fatal traffic accidents due to older drivers are on the rise. Considering that approximately half the older drivers who caused fatal accidents were cognitively normal healthy people, it has been required to detect older drivers who are cognitively normal but at high risk of having fatal traffic accidents. However, a standardized method for assessing the driving ability of older drivers has not yet been established. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/atglistatin.html We thus aimed to identify a new sensing method for the evaluation of the on-road driving ability of healthy older people on the basis of vehicle behaviors. Methods We enrolled thirty-three healthy older individuals aged over 65 years and utilized a machine learning approach to dissociate unsafe drivers from safe drivers based on cognitive assessments and a visual acuity test. Results The linear SVM classifier successfully dissociated unsafe drivers from safe drivers with accuracy of 84.8% (sensitivity of 66.7% and specificity of 95.2%). Five clinical parameters, namely age, the first trial of the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test immediate recall, the delayed recall of the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test, the result of the free-drawn Clock Drawing Test, and maximum visual acuity, were consistently selected as essential features for the best classification model. Conclusion Our findings improve our understanding of clinical risk factors leading to unsafe driving and may provide insight into a new intervention that prevents fatal traffic accidents caused by healthy older people. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.CENP-50/U is a component of the CENP-O complex (CENP-O/P/Q/R/U) and localizes to the centromere throughout the cell cycle. Aberrant expression of CENP-50/U has been reported in many types of cancers. However, as Cenp-50/U-deficient mice die during early embryogenesis, its functions remain poorly understood in vivo. To investigate the role of Cenp-50/U in skin carcinogenesis, we generated Cenp-50/U conditional knockout (K14CreER -Cenp-50/Ufl/fl ) mice and subjected them to the 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA)/terephthalic acid (TPA) chemical carcinogenesis protocol. As a result, early-stage papillomas decreased in Cenp-50/U-deficient mice. In contrast, Cenp-50/U-deficient mice demonstrated almost the same carcinoma incidence as control mice. Furthermore, mRNA expression analysis using DMBA/TPA-induced papillomas and carcinomas revealed that Cenp-50/U expression levels in papillomas were significantly higher than in carcinomas. These results suggest that Cenp-50/U functions mainly in early papilloma development and it has little effect on malignant conversion.

13 hrs ago


Invasive species are increasingly driving biodiversity decline, and knowledge of colonization dynamics, including both drivers and dispersal modes, are important to prevent future invasions. The bee species Megachile sculpturalis (Hymenoptera Megachilidae), native to East-Asia, was first recognized in Southeast-France in 2008, and has since spread throughout much of Europe. The spread is very fast, and colonization may result from multiple fronts.

To track the history of this invasion, codominant markers were genotyped using Illumina sequencing and the invasion history and degree of connectivity between populations across the European invasion axis were investigated. Distinctive genetic clusters were detected with east-west differentiations in Middle-Europe.

We hypothesize that the observed cluster formation resulted from multiple, independent introductions of the species to the European continent. This study draws a first picture of an early invasion stage of this wild bee and forms a foundation for further investigations, including studies of the species in their native Asian range and in the invaded range in North America.
We hypothesize that the observed cluster formation resulted from multiple, independent introductions of the species to the European continent. This study draws a first picture of an early invasion stage of this wild bee and forms a foundation for further investigations, including studies of the species in their native Asian range and in the invaded range in North America.
It has been shown that eosinophils are decreased and monocytes are elevated in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS), but the impact of eosinophil-to-monocyte ratio (EMR) on clinical outcomes among AIS patients remains unclear. We aimed to determine the relationship between EMR on admission and 3-month poor functional outcome in AIS patients.

A total of 521 consecutive patients admitted to our hospital within 24h after onset of AIS were prospectively enrolled and categorized in terms of quartiles of EMR on admission between August 2016 and September 2018. The endpoint was the poor outcome defined as modified Rankin Scale score of 3 to 6 at month 3 after admission.

As EMR decreased, the risk of poor outcome increased (p < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis revealed that EMR was independently associated with poor outcome after adjusting potential confounders (odds ratio, 0.09; 95% CI 0.03-0.34; p = 0.0003), which is consistent with the result of EMR (quartile) as a categorical variable (odds ratio, 0.23; 95% CI 0.10-0.52; p
 < 0.0001). A non-linear relationship was detected between EMR and poor outcome, whose point was 0.28. Subgroup analyses further confirmed these associations. The addition of EMR to conventional risk factors improved the predictive power for poor outcome (net reclassification improvement 2.61%, p = 0.382; integrated discrimination improvement 2.41%, p < 0.001).

EMR on admission was independently correlated with poor outcome in AIS patients, suggesting that EMR may be a potential prognostic biomarker for AIS.
EMR on admission was independently correlated with poor outcome in AIS patients, suggesting that EMR may be a potential prognostic biomarker for AIS.
Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are frequently prescribed to patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) under antiplatelet therapy to prevent gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding. However, its clinical impact is still under debate, especially in Asian population. This study was undertaken to explore the effects of concurrent use of clopidogrel and PPIs on the clinical outcomes in Chinese patients with CHD in secondary prevention.

A single-center retrospective study was conducted in 638 patients with CHD on consecutive clopidogrel therapy for at least 1year. After 18-month follow-up, adverse clinical events were collected. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/adavivint.html Cox regression was used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for the effect of PPI use on the outcomes. A total of 638 patients were recruited from 2014 to 2015 in this study, among whom 201 were sustained PPI users, 188 were intermittent PPI users and the remaining 249 were non-PPI users.

Compared with sustained PPI users, intermittent use of PPIs was associated with a lower risk of stroke, major adverse cardiac events (MACE) and net adverse clinical event (NACE) (stroke adjusted HR 0.109, 95% CI 0.014-0.878, p = 0.037; MACE adjusted HR 0.293, 95% CI 0.119-0.722; p = 0.008; NACE adjusted HR 0.357, 95% CI 0.162-0.786, p = 0.011). Subgroup analysis further revealed the benefit of intermittent PPI use was significant in male CHD patients over 60years old, with hypertension or chronic kidney disease, and undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention during hospitalization.

The current findings suggest that the intermittent concurrent use of PPIs and clopidogrel is not associated with an increased risk of 18-month adverse clinical outcomes, and intermittent use of PPIs is associated with a lower rate of MACE and NACE.
The current findings suggest that the intermittent concurrent use of PPIs and clopidogrel is not associated with an increased risk of 18-month adverse clinical outcomes, and intermittent use of PPIs is associated with a lower rate of MACE and NACE.
NET (neutrophil extracellular trap) has been shown to directly influence inflammation; in SLE (systemic lupus erythematosus), it is reportedly a plausible cause for the broken self-tolerance that contributes to this pathology. Meanwhile, the role of NET is not easily explicable, and there is a serious discrepancy in the role of NET in SLE pathology and generally inflammation; in particular, the interactions of neutrophils with NET have been rarely inspected. This study evaluates the effect of NET on neutrophils in the context of SLE. The neutrophils were incubated by the collected NET (from SLE patients and healthy controls) and their expression of an activation marker, viability and oxidative burst ability were measured.

The level of cell mortality, CD11b expression and the oxidative burst capacity were elevated in NET-treated neutrophils. Also, the elevation caused by the SLE NET was higher than that produced by the healthy NET.

The decreased neutrophil viability was not due to the increase in apoptosis; rather, it was because of the augmentation of other inflammatory cell-death modes.

13 hrs ago


Breast CT provides image volumes with isotropic resolution in high contrast, enabling detection of small calcification (down to a few hundred microns in size) and subtle density differences. Since breast is sensitive to x-ray radiation, dose reduction of breast CT is an important topic, and for this purpose, few-view scanning is a main approach. In this article, we propose a Deep Efficient End-to-end Reconstruction (DEER) network for few-view breast CT image reconstruction. The major merits of our network include high dose efficiency, excellent image quality, and low model complexity. By the design, the proposed network can learn the reconstruction process with as few as O ( N ) parameters, where N is the side length of an image to be reconstructed, which represents orders of magnitude improvements relative to the state-of-the-art deep-learning-based reconstruction methods that map raw data to tomographic images directly. Also, validated on a cone-beam breast CT dataset prepared by Koning Corporation on a commercial scanner, our method demonstrates a competitive performance over the state-of-the-art reconstruction networks in terms of image quality. The source code of this paper is available at https//github.com/HuidongXie/DEER.Smartphone wound image analysis has recently emerged as a viable way to assess healing progress and provide actionable feedback to patients and caregivers between hospital appointments. Segmentation is a key image analysis step, after which attributes of the wound segment (e.g. wound area and tissue composition) can be analyzed. The Associated Hierarchical Random Field (AHRF) formulates the image segmentation problem as a graph optimization problem. Handcrafted features are extracted, which are then classified using machine learning classifiers. More recently deep learning approaches have emerged and demonstrated superior performance for a wide range of image analysis tasks. FCN, U-Net and DeepLabV3 are Convolutional Neural Networks used for semantic segmentation. While in separate experiments each of these methods have shown promising results, no prior work has comprehensively and systematically compared the approaches on the same large wound image dataset, or more generally compared deep learning vs non-deep learning wound image segmentation approaches. In this paper, we compare the segmentation performance of AHRF and CNN approaches (FCN, U-Net, DeepLabV3) using various metrics including segmentation accuracy (dice score), inference time, amount of training data required and performance on diverse wound sizes and tissue types. Improvements possible using various image pre- and post-processing techniques are also explored. As access to adequate medical images/data is a common constraint, we explore the sensitivity of the approaches to the size of the wound dataset. We found that for small datasets ( 300 images), AHRF saturates quickly, and all CNN approaches (FCN, U-Net and DeepLabV3) are significantly more accurate than AHRF.Background After a slow start due to an effective lockdown, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in India has been raging at a rapid pace, posing a formidable challenge to the healthcare system in the country. The personal protective equipment (PPE) undoubtedly provides a shield of protection for the healthcare workers (HCWs) fighting the disease as a valuable asset to the nation. However, there have been various problems associated with the PPE, ranging from its shortage to problems arising from heat, dehydration, etc while wearing them. There is a need to assess these problems faced by HCWs both qualitatively and quantitatively for their timely and effective redressal. Methods An electronic questionnaire survey was conducted among a cohort of HCWs who had performed COVID-19 duties and used PPE kits. The cohort consisted of different categories of doctors, nursing personnel, and other paramedical staff. Results The most common problems associated with using PPE kits was excessive sweating (100%), fogging of goggles, spectacles, or face shields (88%), suffocation (83%), breathlessness (61%), fatigue (75%), headache due to prolonged use (28%), and pressure marks on the skin at one or more areas on repeated use (19%). Occasional problems reported were skin allergy/dermatitis caused by the synthetic material of the PPE kit, face shield impinging onto the neck during intubation, and nasal pain, pain at the root of the pinna, and slipperiness of shoe covers. Various ways and means have been employed by the HCWs to actively address and solve these problems. Conclusion These plausible solutions will definitely help the HCWs to deal with and solve the problems arising out of the PPE use.Background Intranasal corticosteroids (INCSs) are the first-line treatment for patients with moderate to severe conditions of allergic rhinitis (AR) as per current guidelines. However, patients' knowledge and practice towards the safety of such medications remains ambiguous. Therefore, this study was undertaken to identify the awareness of and knowledge about the safety of nasal corticosteroid usage in patients with allergic rhinitis as well as their adherence to taking the medication. Materials and methods We conducted a cross-sectional study from June to September 2020 at Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University Medical Center, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/Belinostat.html Data were collected through questionnaire-based surveys, and a total of 375 patients were enrolled in the study. The eligibility criteria included all adult patients diagnosed with allergic rhinitis. Results Most of the patients had used intranasal corticosteroids. However, only two-fifths of patients stated these medications were effective and only and adherence to the treatment plan. Corrective measures are needed to ensure better health outcomes.Introduction Multiligament knee injuries are uncommon but serious injuries. There is ongoing debate on the optimal treatment of these injuries. We designed a study to establish the effects of repair or reconstruction on proprioceptive outcomes following multiligament injury to the knee. Materials and Methods A total of 34 patients were analysed by independent researchers who had no conflict of interest in the cases (23 in the repair group and 11 in the reconstruction group). Proprioception of the knee was measured using a previously validated tool to assess the reproduction of passive positioning. Functional outcome was measured using the Lysholm score. Sub-group analysis was performed. The mean time from injury to review was 83 months (range 25-193 months). Results There were no significant differences in proprioceptive acuity between the injured (5.9±4.2°; range 1.0-18.3°) and uninjured contralateral (control) knees (5.2±3.8°; range 1.0-15.0°; p=0.35). Similarly, there was no significant difference in proprioceptive acuity identified between the injured knees that underwent repair (6.