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Over the continued course of the COVID-19 pandemic, a significant volume of expert-written diagnosis reports has been accumulated that capture a multitude of symptoms and observations on diagnosed COVID-19 cases, along with expert-validated chest X-ray scans. The utility of rich, latent information embedded in such unstructured expert-written diagnosis reports and its importance as a source of valuable disease-specific information has been explored to a very limited extent. In this work, a convolutional attention-based dense (CAD) neural model for COVID-19 prediction is proposed. The model is trained on the rich disease-specific parameters extracted from chest X-ray images and expert-written diagnostic text reports to support an evidence-based diagnosis. Scalability is ensured by incorporating content based learning models for automatically generating diagnosis reports of identified COVID-19 cases, reducing radiologists' cognitive burden. Experimental evaluation showed that multimodal patient data plays a vital role in diagnosing early-stage cases, thus helping hasten the diagnosis process.

Medical information retrieval (MedIR) involves retrieving relevant medical-related information from a set of medical documents for a particular user query. As the volume of medical records grows, the challenging problem is determining those documents which best suiting a given query by considering user satisfaction. Statistical term weighting and probabilistic approaches for this purpose have several limitations. The gap between information need and user query can be addressed through query optimisation and relevance feedback. In this paper, we propose a document retrieval framework that incorporates query optimisation using techniques like genetic algorithm, particle swarm optimisation (PSO), and global swarm optimisation (GSO). Further, we use relevance feedback methods to reformulate the user query. The proposed techniques are applied to datasets with predefined relevance judgments to perform quantitative validation. Experimental results using the relevance judgements available in the University of Glasgow's Medline collection underscored the significant improvement achieved using BM25 scores as the fitness function.

Content-based image retrieval (CBIR) systems are designed to retrieve images that are relevant, based on detailed analysis of latent image characteristics, thus eliminating the dependency of natural language tags, text descriptions, or keywords associated with the images. A CBIR system maintains high-level image visuals in the form of feature vectors, which the retrieval engine leverages for similarity-based matching and ranking for a given query image. In this paper, a CBIR system is proposed for the retrieval of medical images (CBMIR) for enabling the early detection and classification of lung diseases based on lung X-ray images. The proposed CBMIR system is built on the predictive power of deep neural models for the identification and classification of disease-specific features using transfer learning based models trained on standard COVID-19 Chest X-ray image datasets. Experimental evaluation on the standard dataset revealed that the proposed approach achieved an improvement of 49.71% in terms of precision, averaging across various distance metrics. Also, an improvement of 26.55% was observed in the area under precision-recall curve (AUPRC) values across all subclasses.

Byline: S. Dharap, S. Kamath, V. Kumar Background: Survival after major trauma is considered to be time dependent. Efficient prehospital care with rapid transport is the norm in developed countries, [...]

Modern medical diagnostic techniques facilitate accurate diagnosis and treatment recommendations in healthcare. Such diagnostics procedures are performed daily in large numbers, thus, the clinical interpretation workload of radiologists is very high. Identification of abnormalities is a predominantly manual task that is performed by radiologists before the medical scans are available to the patient’s referring doctor for further recommendations. On the other hand, for a radiologist to delineate the imaging study’s findings/observations as a textual report is also a tedious task. Automated methods for radiographic image examination for identifying abnormalities and generating reliable radiology report are thus a fundamental requirement in clinical workflow management applications. In this work, we present an automated approach for abnormality classification, localization and diagnostic report retrieval for identified abnormalities. We propose MSDNet, an ensemble of Convolutional Neural models for abnormality classification, which combines the features of multiple CNN models to enhance abnormality classification performance. The proposed model also is designed to localize and visualize the detected abnormality on the radiograph image, based on an abnormal region detection algorithm to further optimize the diagnosis quality. Furthermore, the extracted features generated by MSDNet are used to automatically generate the diagnosis text report using an automatic content-based report retrieval algorithm. The upper extremity musculo-skeletal images from the MURA dataset and chest X-ray images from Indiana dataset were used for the experimental evaluation of the proposed approach. The proposed model achieved promising results, with an accuracy of 82.69%, showing its significant impact on alleviating radiologists’ cognitive load, thus improving the overall efficiency.

One of the most common diagnostic techniques for detecting certain cardiovascular diseases is using electrocardiogram (ECG) readings. Doctors around the world mostly rely on human insight and processing to determine and interpret these ECG graphs. This process is thus often prone to human error introduced to the increasing cognitive burden of doctors and might introduce delays in diagnosis, which could be fatal. Ongoing research has focused on the design of automated algorithms to accurately diagnose and speed up the process of analyzing and interpreting an ECG signal. In this paper, we present a novel approach that utilizes a neural network pipeline with Snapshot ensembling to enable automated Bradycardia detection from ECG signals. Before the modeling phase, a cross-correlation and segmentation method is used for detecting relevant features in the ECG signals, using which the detection performance is improved. The proposed approach gave good results, with around 95% accuracy and an AUC score of about 0.96, implying an efficient and accurate classification.

Classification and retrieval of medical images (MedIR) are emerging applications of computer vision for enabling intelligent medical diagnostics. Medical images are multi-dimensional and require specialised processing for the extraction of features from their manifold underlying content. Existing models often fail to consider the inherent characteristics of data and have thus often fallen short when applied to medical images. In this paper, we present a MedIR approach based on the bag of visual words (BoVW) model for content-based medical image retrieval. When it comes to any medical approach models, an imbalance in the dataset is one of the issues. Hence the perspective is also considering a balanced set of categories from an imbalanced dataset. The proposed work on BoVW model extracts features from each image are used to train supervised machine learning classifier for X-ray medical image classification and retrieval. During the experimental validation, the proposed model performed well with the classification accuracy of 89.73% and a good retrieval result using our filter-based approach.

Private insurance represents one of the sectors poised for significant growth. There are insurance solutions available for most high-value assets such as homes, jewelry, vehicles, and other valuable items. To optimize profitability while managing client claims, insurance companies have embraced advanced operations, procedures, and mathematical models to assess risks and prioritize customer satisfaction, all while maximizing profits. This article introduces a machine learning-driven automated framework designed to reduce human intervention, safeguard insurance operations, identify high-risk clients, detect fraudulent claims, and mitigate financial losses within the insurance sector. Initially, the framework focuses on fraud detection to determine the legitimacy of claims. Genuine claims leverage the patient’s medical history to calculate associated risk factors and premiums. Various machine learning-based classification models and ensemble techniques were employed and evaluated for each of the three insurance processing tasks. Performance assessments using relevant metrics are presented and thoroughly discussed.

It has previously been believed that atrial thrombus, which is the source of thromboembolism in atrial fibrillation (AF), is formed after 48 hours of onset of AF, but there are [...]

Table of Contents Abstract Introduction Case report Discussion Conclusion References Abstract Report of a case of fetal demise not responding to induction and operative findings revealed abdominal pregnancy. Keywords: intrauterine [...]

The ability of a polymer chain to relax when it is deformed, and the ease to which this relaxation occurs, dramatically influences the macroscopic properties of the polymeric material. However, the local segmental relaxation processes in multi-component polymer systems are not well understood. The impact of the dynamics of one component on the dynamics of the other is not simply proportional to the relative amounts of each component, as one might expect. This paper discusses recent results using neutron techniques and Monte Carlo simulation that monitor the dynamic properties of a copolymer in a homopolymer matrix. In particular, the results indicate that altering either copolymer sequence distribution or copolymer composition will dramatically impact the dynamics of the copolymer that is surrounded by homopolymers. These results provide important fundamental information on the coupling of the dynamics of two components in a multi-component polymer system. This data also offer insight into the local segmental relaxation processes in multi-component polymer systems, which are not well understood and yet influence the ultimate properties of these mixtures

With the emergence of the Programmable Web paradigm, the World Wide Web is evolving into a Web of Services, where data and services can be effectively reused across applications. Given the wide diversity and scale of published Web services, the problem of service discovery is a big challenge for service-based application development. This is further compounded by the limited availability of intelligent categorization and service management frameworks. In this paper, an approach that extends service similarity analysisby using morphological analysis and machine learning techniques for capturing the functional semantics of real-world Web services for facilitating effective categorization is presented. To capture the functional diversity of the services, different feature vector selection techniques are used to represent a service in vector space, with the aim of finding the optimal set of features. Using these feature vector models, services are classified as per their domain, using ensemble machine learning methods. Experiments were performed to validate the classification accuracy with respect to the various service feature vector models designed, and the results emphasize the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Web service discovery is a challenging task due to the widespread availability of published services on the web. In this paper, a service crawler-based web service discovery framework is proposed, that employs information retrieval techniques to effectively retrieve available, published service descriptions. Their functional semantics is extracted for similarity computation and tag generation using natural language processing techniques. The framework is inherently dynamic in nature as new service descriptions may be continually added during periodic crawler runs or existing ones may be removed if service is unavailable. To deal with these issues, a dynamic, incremental clustering approach based on bird flocking behaviour is proposed. Experimental results show that semantic analysis and automatic tagging captured the services' functional semantics in a meaningful way. The algorithm effectively handled the dynamic requirements of the proposed framework by eliminating cluster recomputation overhead and achieved a speed-up factor of 61.8% when compared to hierarchical clustering.

The sustained release of therapeutic drugs into the tumor environment is gaining much attention due to its advantages like low systemic side effects, high efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. Hence in this study, sustained release of andrographolide (AG) from three-dimensional porous polycaprolactone scaffolds has been formulated. AG loaded albumin nanoparticle (ANP) was synthesized and loaded into 12% (w/v) polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds at different concentrations were characterized for their structure and stability. Further, X-ray diffraction and Raman analysis of ANP and the scaffold groups clearly demonstrated amorphization of andrographolide, which is extremely favorable for drug delivery applications. In addition, FTIR analysis indicated that the drug remained chemically inert to the fabrication process. High-resolution scanning electron microscopy revealed a densely interconnected porous scaffold (diameter 50 μm–300 μm) with ANP sizes ranging from 100 nm to 200 nm. Moreover, these scaffolds exposed showed a sustained release of AG for 8 days, in which the concentration of drug released, was governed by the concentration of ANP in the scaffolds. Furthermore, these scaffolds caused significant (P < 0.1) toxicity in HeLa cell lines. The metabolic viability and apoptosis of anticancer activities were assessed. In summary, such sustained-release formulation of andrographolide from polycaprolactone scaffolds for delivery into a cancer environment would be highly beneficial to overcoming current deficits in targeted cancer therapy. All of the results demonstrated the potential utility of the ANP to be a better strategy to enhance the therapeutic approach.

Disseminated cases of histoplasmosis in acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) are rarely reported from India. Most of these cases report isolation of this fungus from the bone marrow, lymph node aspirate, spleenic aspirate, and biopsies. We report isolation of Histoplasma capsulatumfrom the blood of an AIDS patient. A 30-year-old male from Utter Pradesh was admitted with fever, loss of appetite, and nausea since two months. Few intracellular and extracellular budding cells were observed on bone marrow examination on the fifth day of admission. Diagnosis was confirmed by blood cultures taken on the 11th day of admission. Amphotericin B was started, but the patient’s condition deteriorated and he died.

Abstract: The familiar trace identity associated with the scale transformationx Μ → x′ Μ = e-λ x Μ on the Lagrangian density for a noninteracting massive real scalar field in 2 + 1 dimensions is shown to be violated on a single plate on which the Dirichlet boundary condition Φ(t, x1, x2 = -a) = 0 is imposed. It is however respected in: (i) 1 + 1 dimensions in both free space and on a single plate on which the Dirichlet boundary condition Φ(t, x1 = -a) = 0 holds and (ii) in 2 + 1 dimensions in free space, i.e. the unconstrained configuration. On the plate where Φ(t, x1, x2 = -a) = 0, the modified trace identity is shown to be anomalous with a numerical coefficient for the anomalous term equal to the canonical scale dimension, viz. 1/2. The technique of Bordaget al [Ann. Phys. (N.Y.),165, 162 (1985)] is used to incorporate the said boundary condition into the generating functional for the connected Green’s functions.

Abstract: The trace identity associated with the scale transformation xΜ → x′Μ = e-ρxΜ on the Lagrangian density for the noninteracting electromagnetic field in the co-variant gauge is shown to be violated on a single plate on which the Dirichlet boundary conditionA Μ(t, x1, x2, x3 = -a) = 0 is imposed. It is however respected in free space, i.e. in the absence of the plate. These results reinforce our assertions in an earlier paper where the same exercise was carried out using the Lagrangian density for the free, massive, real scalar field in 2 + 1 dimensions.

Acetabular wedge augmentation is a useful technique and is recommended in situations where cup revision is likely to be excessively difficult. Numerous augmentation designs that improve the stability of the hip are now available in the market. Occasionally, however, these devices are not readily available, particularly if problems such as instability and dislocation are not anticipated preoperatively. We report our experience in treating such a case, using an augment cut from a second cup with a follow-up for 30 months. Though there is no substitute for proper preoperative planning, awareness of this procedure is helpful as unexpected problems do arise in revision acetabular surgery.

An essential step in the HIV life cycle is integration of the viral DNA into the host chromosome. This step is catalyzed by a 32-kDa viral enzyme HIV integrase (IN). HIV-1 IN is an important and validated target, and the drugs that selectively inhibit this enzyme, when used in combination with reverse transcriptase (RT) and protease (PR) inhibitors, are believed to be highly effective in suppressing the viral replication. IN catalyzes two discrete enzymatic processes referred to as 3‘ processing and DNA strand transfer. As a part of a study to optimize new lead molecules we previously identified from a series of 2-mercaptobenzenesulfonamides (MBSAs), we applied three-dimensional quantitative structure−activity relationship methods, comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA), and comparative molecular similarity indices analysis (CoMSIA) to training sets of up to 66 compounds. Two different conformational templates were used:  Conf-d, obtained from docking into the HIV-1 IN active site and Conf-s obtained by a systematic conformational search, using lead compounds 1 and 14, respectively. Reliable models of good predictive power were obtained after removal of compounds with high residuals. The Conf-s models tended to perform better than the Conf-d models. Cross-validated coefficients (q²) of up to 0.719 (strand transfer CoMSIA, Conf-s) regression coefficients (r²) of up to 0.932 (strand transfer CoMSIA, Conf-d) were obtained, with the number of partial least squares (PLS) components varying from 3 to 6, and the number of outliers being 4 in most of the models. Because all biological data were determined under exactly the same conditions using the same enzyme preparation, our predictive models are promising for drug optimization. Therefore, these results combined with docking studies were used to guide the rational design of new inhibitors. Further synthesis of 12 new analogues was undertaken, and these were used as a test set for validation of the quantitative structure−activity relationship (QSAR) models. For compounds with closely related structures, binding energies given by the FlexX scoring function correlated with HIV-1 IN inhibitory activity.

The dynamics of athermal polymer blends with stiffness disparities are studied using computer simulations of the bond-fluctuation model. For mixtures of ten-mer chains, we see a difference in the temperature dependence of the diffusion coefficients of the two blend components for all blend compositions with appreciable amounts of the more flexible component. Hence, our model system can qualitatively capture the composition dependence of dynamic heterogeneity that is observed experimentally in miscible polymer blends. While blends of ten-mer chains display clear evidence for dynamic heterogeneity, the dynamics of the two components in blends of dimers are identical over the entire temperature range studied. Shorter chain systems experience smaller concentration fluctuations and smaller contributions from chain connectivity, suggesting that local concentration variations play a critical role in the dynamic heterogeneity that is observed experimentally in miscible polymer blends with weak interactions. The diffusion coefficient of dilute flexible chains in a matrix of stiff chains is identical to the diffusion coefficient of the matrix chains at all temperatures, clearly demonstrating that inherent mobility differences of the two chains cannot solely explain blend dynamics.

The overexpression and/or mutation of the epidermal growth factor receptor family of tyrosine kinases, namely EGFR and HER-2, have been implicated in poor prognosis of human solid tumors and are under investigation as molecular targets for cancer therapy. To gain insights into selectivity in the interaction of inhibitors at the ATP site of the two kinases, we have carried out docking, comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA), and comparative molecular similarity analysis (CoMSIA) 3D-QSAR studies on 50 benzylidene malonitrile derivatives. Docking studies indicate different binding modes (A, B, C, D, and E) that are dependent on the R1 substituent of the compounds. Binding modes A and B are favored by compounds having a hydroxyl substituent at R1 whereas a methoxy substituent at R1 results in compounds occupying binding modes, C, D, and E. The compounds preferred modes A, B, and C in the apo-enzyme whereas modes B, D, and E were preferred in the enzyme in complex with erlotinib. For 3D QSAR studies, based on the multiple binding modes obtained from the docking, four composite alignment strategies (I, II, III, IV) were employed and compared with alignment V, which is based on pairwise atom alignment of the common structural elements. Alignments I and II produced models with better predictive ability than those from alignments III and IV against an external test set. In the EGFR kinase results, alignments I and II produced comparable 3D-QSAR models with alignment II being slightly better than I, whereas in the HER-2 results, alignment I was better than alignment II in its predictive ability. It appears that differences in binding mode preferences at the ATP site might constitute a reason for the selectivity of the dihydroxy compounds as inhibitors of EGFR relative to HER-2. They are more likely to have multiple binding modes at the ATP site of EGFR, i.e., either modes A or B, than in the ATP site of HER-2 where they are possibly limited to only binding mode, A. Selectivity of the methoxy compounds on the other hand appears to depend on hydrogen bonding interactions involving the cyano group and residue 751 in the ATP site.

The cell cycle-dependent, ordered assembly of protein prereplicative complexes suggests that eukaryotic replication origins determine when genomic replication initiates. By comparison, the factors that determine where replication initiates relative to the sites of prereplicative complex formation are not known. In the human globin gene locus previous work showed that replication initiates at a single site 5' to the ss-globin gene when protein synthesis is inhibited by emetine. The present study has examined the pattern of initiation around the genetically defined ss-globin replicator in logarithmically growing HeLa cells, using two PCR-based nascent strand assays. In contrast to the pattern of initiation detected in emetine-treated cells, analysis of the short nascent strands at five positions spanning a 40 kb globin gene region shows that replication initiates at more than one site in non-drug-treated cells. Quantitation of nascent DNA chains confirmed that replication begins at several locations in this domain, including one near the initiation region (IR) identified in emetine-treated cells. However, the abundance of short nascent strands at another initiation site approximately 20 kb upstream is approximately 4-fold as great as that at the IR. The latter site abuts an early S phase replicating fragment previously defined at low resolution in logarithmically dividing cells.

Sustained release of bioactive molecules promoting proliferation of chondrocytes, differentiation and deposition of collagen and glycosaminoglycans is advantageous for cartilage tissue engineering. In this study, Kaempferol was encapsulated into albumin nanoparticle, which was added to polycaprolactone solution containing dexamethasone and electrospun to obtain nanofibrous mats. Herein, three different concentrations of kaempferol loaded albumin nanoparticles (KNP) (2 mg/ml, 4 mg/ml, 6 mg/ml) were added to fixed concentration of dexamethasone (2 mg/ml). Field emission scanning electron microscopic (FESEM) images implied a decrease in fiber diameter range with an increase in weight of KNP. XRD analysis revealed amorphization of both the drugs which is beneficial for drug delivery applications. Further, drug release study showed sustained release of kaempferol and dexamethasone for 15 days with initial burst release. Also, increased release of kaempferol from the mats was observed in dexamethasone added groups compared to KNP added groups. In addition, in vitroevaluation of fabricated mats with human chondrocytes induced increased deposition of glycosaminoglycans showing non cytotoxicity as well as pro chondrogenic property. To summarize, this model of nanofibrous mat releasing sustained concentrations of kaempferol and dexamethasone seems to be beneficial for cartilage regeneration.

We demonstrate that a mucoid, alginate-producing strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from the lungs of a cystic fibrosis (CF) patient secretes multiple enzymes with nucleoside diphosphate kinase (Ndk), ATPase, adenylate kinase, 5'-nucleotidase, and ATP-modifying enzymatic activities. The secretion is triggered at high cell density and in complex media but is greatly reduced when the mucoid cells are grown in mineral salts media or in presence of 5.0 mM Ca2+ or Mg2+. Interestingly, the secretion is triggered primarily in the mucoid CF isolate of strain 8821M (or in strain FRD1) but not in a nonmucoid laboratory strain, PAO1. The purified secreted Ndk shows 100% match in its N-terminal amino acid sequence with that of purified intracellular Ndk and demonstrates similar enzymatic properties. The N-terminal sequence of the purified ATPase isolated from an ndk knockout mutant shows its identity with that of the heat shock chaperonin Hsp60. During fractionation, the flowthrough fraction from a Mono Q column demonstrates the presence of 5'-nucleotidase, adenylate kinase, and a putative ATP reductase activity. These fractions demonstrate high cytotoxic activities for murine peritoneal primary macrophages which can be further stimulated in the presence of ATP or inhibited by pretreatment of macrophages with oxidized ATP (oATP). The cytotoxicity associated with ATP-induced stimulation is believed to be due to activation of macrophage surface-associated P2Z (P2X7) receptors, which are one of the purinergic receptors responsible for pore formation on macrophage membrane. Blocking of these receptors by pretreatment with oATP blocks ATP-induced macrophage cell death. Thus mucoid P. aeruginosa cells elaborate enzymes that modulate the external ATP levels of macrophages, thereby modulating macrophage cell death through P2Z receptor activation. Evidence for the presence of secreted cytotoxic agents that act independently of P2Z receptor activation is also presented.

Calcium entry across the microvillous membrane of the human placental syncytiotrophoblast is the first step in the transfer of this important nutrient to the fetus. Calcium uptake by isolated microvillous membranes was time dependent. Equilibrium uptake was very much greater than could be explained by equilibration of the vesicle space with medium, indicating that calcium is bound to internal sites. Addition of the ionophore A23187 greatly increased the rates of influx and efflux, indicating that transport across the plasma membrane is rate limiting in entry. Concentration dependence data for calcium transport at 4 s fit well to a Michaelis-Menten equation having two saturable sites and diffusion. Calcium entry by both transporters was unaffected by calcium channel blockers but was strongly inhibited by the group II metals. The distinct inhibition constant values for strontium inhibition provided additional evidence for two transporters. Calcium binding fit well to a single-site model saturable in the micromolar range. In vivo, the saturable transport processes may mediate calcium entry into the syncytiotrophoblast and binding may regulate concentration within the placental microvilli.

The leading QCD corrections to the tree level interaction density for the ΔS≠0, ΔB≠0 couplings in anSU(2)×U(1) five flavour model due to Gorn and Paschos are evaluated.

The linear viscoelasticity of miscible blends of a random copolymer of 80% styrene and 20% acrylonitrile and poly(methyl methacrylate) has been investigated using oscillatory shear. The Flory−Huggins interaction parameter of this blend is weakly negative. The glass transitions of the pure components are very close (ΔTg = 20 K). The blends are thermorheologically simple, in that the oscillatory shear response at different temperatures can be superimposed with the empirical time−temperature superposition principle with a precision similar to that for the pure component polymers. These results are anticipated by a theory of concentration-fluctuation-induced dynamic heterogeneities in miscible polymer blends. While sizable concentration fluctuations are present in this blend system, they do not complicate the dynamics, because all compositions have similar local dynamics. We suggest a simple phase diagram based on this model, that should be useful for deciding whether time−temperature superposition will be valid for a given blend with weak energetic interactions. Regions of thermorheological complexity are separated from regions of thermorheological simplicity on a plot of the range of blend free volume studied against the glass transition contrast of the components (ΔTg).

We present three cases of desmoplastic infantile ganglioglioma in patients admitted to our institution in the past 8 years. CT and MR findings are discussed. Typically, these lesions are located in the frontal and parietal lobes, appearing as cystic tumors with a solid cortical component within the cerebrum, which enhances intensely, and moderate surrounding edema.

Nucleoside-diphosphate kinase (ATP:nucleoside-diphosphate phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.4.6; NDP kinase) is an important enzyme for the maintenance of the correct cellular levels of nucleoside triphosphates (NTPs) and their deoxy derivatives (dNTPs) and is involved in the regulation of cellular development. The enzyme is under the dual control of algR2 and algH in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We report here the purification and characterization of a protein that dephosphorylates the phosphorylated intermediate form of the P. aeruginosa NDP kinase (Ndk). Dephosphorylation of Ndk phosphate leads to loss of its enzymatic activity. The 10.1-kDa polypeptide shows 77% homology at the N terminus with the Spo0E phosphatase, identified as a negative regulator of sporulation in Bacillus subtilis and 66% with the human Bax protein, identified as an effector of programmed cell death. The phosphatase termed Npp showed varied specificity toward phosphorylated Ndks from different sources including human erythrocyte Ndk phosphate. Its activity toward other histidine phosphates such as CheA or the alpha-subunit of succinyl-CoA synthetase or phosphoesters such as p-nitrophenyl phosphate was quite limited. Npp was stable at room temperature up to 2 h and required Mg2+ for activity. The presence of a phosphatase capable of dephosphorylating the phosphorylated form of P. aeruginosa Ndk represents an interesting and efficient mode of post-translational modification of an enzyme crucial to cellular development.

Abstract: The coherent-light-shadow field formed by crack-tip deformation under Mode 1 loading is studied theoretically and experimentally. First-order approximation of geometrical optics and higher order expansions are examined in the theoretical development. The wave-optical analysis shows that the interference fringe spacing around the caustic is approximately proportional toKsu−2/15 for the near-tip singular field, and, that the peak amplitude of the light-intensity distribution around the caustic is proportional toK 4/15. The effects of diffraction on the measurement of the caustic diameter are examinediin detail. The analysis and accompanying experiments show that the diffraction effect alone could lead toK estimation errors of 20 percent or more, if the edge of the shadow spot or it the peak-intensity point is used to determine the caustic diameter. An alternate measure of caustic diameter is therefore suggested for practical use. Effects of the size of the nominal initial curve and crack-tip bluntness onK measurements are included. Finally, possible applications of the coherent-light-shadow spot in fracture mechanics are outlined.

The superconformal trace anomaly is worked out to one-loop order in perturbation theory for the 1+1 dimensional Wess-Zumino model.

Sera obtained at diagnosis from 273 children (0–14 years) with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) were studied to compare different autoantibody levels. The subjects comprise 75% of all incident cases in New South Wales, Australia, for a 2-year period (ascertainment >99% complete). Antibodies against glutamate decarboxylase were measured by radioimmunoprecipitation, insulin autoantibodies (on 176 sera collected within 4 days of initiation of insulin therapy) by radioimmunoassay, thyroid peroxidase and antigliadin IgA antibodies by enzyme-linked immunoassay, and anti-endomysial IgA and islet cell antibodies by indirect immunofluorescence. Reference ranges for anti-glutamate decarboxylase and insulin autoantibodies were determined in a group of non-diabetic children. Of the sera 69% were positive for anti-glutamate decarboxylase, 65% for insulin autoantibodies, 71% for islet cell antibodies (⩾20 Juvenile Diabetes Foundation units), 10% for anti-thyroid peroxidase, 2.6% for antigliadin and 3.0% for anti-endomysial antibodies. Islet cell antibodies and insulin autoantibodies were both negative in 13.7% of the sera, while only 5.8% were negative for all three of islet cell antibodies, insulin autoantibodies and anti-glutamate decarboxylase. There was a higher frequency of anti-glutamate decarboxylase among girls than boys (75% vs 63%, p=0.03) and a negative correlation between the level of insulin autoantibodies and age at diagnosis (r=−0.41, p<0.0001). A higher frequency of antithyroid peroxidase was found with increasing age (p=0.05). Higher titres of islet cell antibodies were associated with a higher frequency of both anti-glutamate decarboxylase (p<0.0001) and insulin autoantibodies (p=0.003). Five children (1.8%) with clear elevations of antigliadin and anti-endomysial antibodies were found to have asymptomatic coeliac disease by small bowel biopsy.

One hundred and ninety hepatitis B surface antigen positive (HBsAG+) sera were subtyped, belonging to : blood donors, hepatitis patients, patients and staff in a hemodialysis unit, all from Kuala Lumpur; Malaysian aborigines from three jungle locations in Peninsular Malaysia; and East Malaysians from Sarawak, East Malaysia; Three subtypes adr, adw and ayw were present in Malaysia in the following frequencies: 44%, 29%, and 27%, respectively; In Kuala Lumpur 87% had subdeterminant d and 13 per cent y, whereas in the deep jungle aborigines of Perak and Pahang, the y subdeterminant was present in 87% and the d in 13%. A similar pattern of preponderance of y prevailed in Sarawak, East Malaysia. In Kuala Lumpur the two main ethnic groups, Malays and Chinese, differed in subtype distribution, in that adr predominated in the Malays (61%), while the adw predominated in the Chinese (51%); Subtype distribution was not related to age or sex of carriers of the antigen, or to whether they had hepatitis, or asymptomatic antigenemia.

A kinematical basis is proposed for form factors of the power type associated with multiple derivative couplings, on the basis of a Lorentz contraction effect on the external momenta involved in the transition matrix elements for mesons and baryons as appropriate quark composites. The argument (due to Licht and Pagnamenta) which applies separately to the Breit and c.m. frames for a decay matrix element provides a formal theoretical justification for thead hocpower form factors used by the Delhi group in a series of applications to hadronic processes over the past few years. The radius of interaction finds a natural place in this description simply from dimensional considerations, and its rather small magnitude, less than 0.5F, estimated fromfits to the data indicates a relatively small role played by structure effects. The Breit frame form factors, which work somewhat better than the c.m. frame ones (effectively used in the earlier studies), give a rather impressive sets of fits to the baryon decays in the (L + 1) wave (consistently for both vertical and horizontal) and the (L − 1) wave (mainly horizontal). The mesonic decays, the data for which are available mostly for the (L + 1) wave, are also fitted with an equal degree of consistency without any extra assumptions.

The Hamiltonian formulation of the BRST method for quantizing constrained systems developed recently by Nemeschanskyet alis applied to the well-known problem of the conical pendulum in classical mechanics. The similarity of the system to a gauge theory wherein the two constraints serve as generators of local Abelian gauge transformations is also pointed out. The definition of the physical states of the system as a gauge theory and also as a BRST invariant theory is then discussed in some detail.

•Summarises over 85 papers that automate the early diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy.•Discusses the early DR diagnosis datasets, digital imaging processing, machine learning and deep learning approaches.•Details the various technical as well as ophthalmological aspects associated with early diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy.•Highlights the current systems along with directions for future research.

Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a plant polyphenol catechin is potent chondrogenic drug which enhances cartilage regeneration. Hence, sustained release of EGCG from interlinked porous polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds can be beneficial in engineering a cartilage construct. In this study, 10% (w/v) and 12% (w/v) PCL scaffold were fabricated by incorporation of 2 different concentrations (1 mg/ml & 2 mg/ml) of EGCG loaded albumin nanoparticles (ENP). Morphological analysis of the fabricated scaffolds with Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) revealed interlinked porous structures (pore size range 50 μm–300 μm) with embedded ENP on the scaffolds surface. In addition, the ENP synthesized by desolvation technique were spherical in shape with diameters in the range of 110 nm–210 nm. Further, X-ray diffraction of ENP and scaffolds implied amorphization of EGCG which is highly preferred in drug delivery application. Moreover, spectroscopic analysis with Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectrophotometry confirmed incorporation of ENP into scaffolds and chemical stability of PCL and EGCG during fabrication. Importantly, all groups showed sustained release for 22 days and non fickian diffusion through scaffolds. The drug release data also inferred that the concentration of ENP modulated EGCG release from scaffolds. Furthermore, in vitrochondrogenic study with Human chondrocytes for 21 days revealed significant increase in glycosaminoglycan deposition under the influence of EGCG. All these results suggest that ENP loaded polycaprolactone scaffolds, with intrinsic ability for releasing EGCG in a sustained fashion can serve as a prospective matrix in cartilage engineering.

Background: The role of the ‘clicky hip’ symptom as a prognostic predictor of developmental dysplasia of hip (DDH) is controversial. We aim to study the role of isolated hip clicks as a prognostic predictor of DDH. Material and methods: 235 babits with persisting or referred with clicky hip beyond six weeks of age were prospectively followed up to note the incidence of DDH. Of these 176 babies were referred for a hip click without additional risk factors. Results: 7 out of 176 cases (4 - IIa, 2 - IIb, 1 - IIc) had initial abnormal ultrasound examination based on Graf classification. However, all babies with isolated hip clicks eventually had normal hips on clinical and radiographic examination. Discussion: While screening of babies with clicky hips does help in diagnosing the odd case of DDH this is not consistently reproducible. Modifying the targeted ultrasound screening by including clicky hip as a risk factor will not reduce the incidence of missed cases. Isolated clicks in the hip joint beyond six weeks age are rarely a predictor of DDH. However when in doubt such cases should be referred to be reviewed by an orthopaedic surgeon or a radiologist experienced in hip ultrasound.

A low molecular weight factor from ascitic fluid stimulates DNA replication—especially with double stranded DNA as template—and cell division. Its properties are those which would be expected of “the wedge”, a protein thought to be essential for the organization and action of DNA polymerase.

BackgroundOrganisations working towards a culture of safety need a reliable measure to monitor the success of their initiatives. Using Safety survey tool, an organisation can gain information about the perceptions of front-line clinical staff.AimTo gain information about safety in the clinical area and management’s commitment to safety.The survey also provides information about how perceptions vary across Multi-disciplinary teams (MDT).MethodQI Working group carried out Literature search for safety climate and culture.RCPCH –Safety survey was selected.Survey was pretested with a small group to ensure easy understanding and relevance.Survey was completed by MDT, medical, nursing, administrative and health care assistants in the Paediatric department.Results38 completed surveys received.Survey looked at Patient safety, Leadership, Staffing and communication.About 72% agreed that concerns were listened to by senior management. 76% agreeing that systems were in place to address concerns. 74% agreed that there was a medical and nursing leadership drive towards a safety centred organisation.Discussing errors at work was deemed easy. 72% felt that medical errors were handled appropriately. 65% received appropriate feedback about performance.ConclusionThis survey provided us in-depth information of safety culture within the department. It provided insight regarding various MDT’s safety perception.We plan to address issues about error discussion. The Safety Awareness For Everyone i.e. SAFE initiative aims to reduce harm and improve safety.Reference. Safety Climate Survey. http://primaris.org/sites/default/files/resources/Patient%20Safety/safety%20climate%20survey.pdf