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Eliana Brković,1 Katarina Novak,2,3 Livia Puljak3 1Department of Psychiatry, 2Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiology, 3Laboratory for Pain Research, University of Split School of Medicine, Split, Croatia Background: The aim of the study was to analyze the most recent trends in myocardial infarction (MI) care, the number of patients treated for MI and their outcomes, cardiovascular disease risk factors, and pain-to-hospital times in MI patients. Subjects and methods: For 778 patients treated for acute MI at the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) of University Hospital Split, Croatia the following data were acquired: outcome during hospitalization (survived, deceased), cardiovascular risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, previous MI, smoking), and pain-to-CCU time. Results: Among 778 patients treated for acute MI, there were 291 (37%) women and 487 (63%) men. Forty-five patients (6%) died during hospitalization, mostly due to cardiogenic shock. An association was found between early intrahospital mortality and the following risk factors: age >70 years, female sex, previous MI, and smoking. Median pain-to-call time was 2 hours, and median time from the onset of pain to arrival into the CCU was 4 hours. There were 59 (7.6%) patients admitted to the CCU within recommended 90 minutes. Diabetic comorbidity was not associated with early death or with longer time from pain to emergency calls. Conclusion: Some of the risk factors associated with adverse outcomes in MI are modifiable. Prehospital delay of 4 hours observed in patients who suffered an MI is too long, and more effort should be devoted to investments in health care and education of the general public regarding chest pain symptoms. Keywords: prehospital delay, ischemic heart disease

Objective: To determine the Dynamin-related protein 1 (DRP1) regulation of mitochondrial fission in chondrocytes under pathological conditions, an area which is underexplored in osteoarthritis pathogenesis.Design: DRP1 protein expression was determined by immunohistochemistry (IHC) or immunofluorescence (IF) staining of cartilage sections. IL-1β-induced DRP1 mRNA expression in chondrocytes was quantified by qPCR and protein expression by immunoblotting. Mitochondrial fragmentation in chondrocytes was visualized by MitoTracker staining or IF staining of mitochondrial marker proteins or by transient expression of mitoDsRed. Mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels were determined by MitoSOX staining. Apoptosis was determined by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release assay, Caspase 3/7 activity assay, propidium iodide (PI), and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining and IF staining of cleaved caspase 3. Cytochrome c release was determined by confocal microscopy. Surgical destabilization of the medial meniscus (DMM) was used to induce osteoarthritis (OA) in mice.Results: Expression of DRP1 and mitochondrial damage was high in human OA cartilage and in the joints of mice subjected to DMM surgery which also showed increased chondrocytes apoptosis. IL-1β-induced mitochondrial network fragmentation and chondrocyte apoptosis via modulation of DRP1 expression and activity and induce apoptosis via Bax-mediated release of Cytochrome c. Pharmacological inhibition of DRP1 activity by Mdivi-1 blocked IL-1β-induced mitochondrial damage and apoptosis in chondrocytes. Additionally, IL-1β-induced activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) is crucial for DRP1 activation and induction of mitochondrial network fragmentation in chondrocytes as these were blocked by inhibiting ERK1/2 activation.Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that ERK1/2 is a critical player in DRP1-mediated induction of mitochondrial fission and apoptosis in IL-1β-stimulated chondrocytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psychophysiological measures have become increasingly accessible to researchers and many have properties that indicate their use as individual difference indicators. For example, the error-related negativity (ERN), an event-related potential (ERP) thought to reflect error-monitoring processes, has been related to individual differences, such as Neuroticism and Conscientiousness traits. Although various tasks have been used to elicit the ERN, only a few studies have investigated its variability across tasks when examining the relations between the ERN and personality traits. In this project, we examined the relations of the ERN elicited from four variants of the Flanker task (Arrow, Social, Unpleasant, and Pleasant) that were created to maximize the differences in their relevance to personality traits. A sample of 93 participants with a history of treatment for psychopathology completed the four tasks as well as self-report measures of the general and maladaptive five-factor model (FFM) traits. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) of ERN amplitudes indicated that three of the four tasks (Arrow, Social, and Unpleasant) were unidimensional. Another set of CFAs indicated that a general factor underlies the ERN elicited from all tasks as well as unique task-specific variances. The correlations of estimated latent ERN scores and personality traits did not reflect the hypothesized correlation patterns. Variability across tasks and the hierarchical model of the ERN may aid in understanding psychopathology dimensions and in informing future endeavors integrating the psychophysiological methods into the study of personality. Recommendations for future research on psychophysiological indicators as individual differences are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has been conducted on stable nonnodulating mutant pea lines. Results demonstrate that complementation groups formed by the mutants show additional nodulation loci in pea to those previously reported, and confirm the complexity of genetic control of early stages of nodulation.

Aim: Trends in surgical rates for Crohn's disease (CD) in the biological era are controversial. We aim to assess modern trends in the formation rates of surgical stomas. Method: Population‐based surveillance in the Calgary Health Zone (CHZ), Canada, was conducted between 1 April 2002 and 31 March 2011, using the Discharge Abstract Database to identify adult patients with CD admitted to hospital and treated with surgical stoma formation (n = 545). Annual stoma incidence was calculated by dividing the number of incident stomas by the prevalence of CD in the CHZ. Time trend analysis of the stoma‐formation rate was performed, expressed as annual percentage change (APC) with 95% CI. Stoma‐formation rates were stratified according to procedure (emergency vs elective) and duration of stoma [temporary (reversed within 2 years of formation) vs permanent]. Results: The overall rate of stoma formation between 2002 and 2011 showed a downwards trend, of a mean of 5.2% (95% CI: −8.5 to −1.8) per year, from a rate of 2.30 stomas/100 person‐years (PY) in 2002 to 1.51 stomas/100 PY in 2011. The rate of emergency stoma formation decreased significantly from 2002 to 2011 (mean APC = −9.4%; 95% CI: −15.6 to −2.8), while the rate of elective ostomies essentially showed no change (mean APC = −0.9%; 95% CI: −5.3 to 3.8). The rate of temporary stoma formation decreased significantly, by 4.6% (95% CI: −7.3 to −1.8) per year, while permanent stoma formation was stable (APC = 1.0%; 95% CI: −4.0 to +6.3). Conclusion: A reduction in the overall rate of stoma formation in CD has been driven by fewer emergency stomas, although rates of permanent stoma have remained stable. Summary: In this population‐based time trend analysis, we demonstrate that overall rates of surgical stoma formation have decreased, primarily as a result of reduction in emergency stomas. However, the rate of permanent stoma formation (> 2 years without reversal) has been stable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bi2Te3 semiconductor compound and Bi2Te3 -based solid solutions are presently among the best lowtemperature thermoelectric materials. One of the methods of controlling the conductivity type and properties of Bi2Te3 is changing the stoichiometry of this compound. Earlier, we have obtained the room-temperature dependences of mechanical and thermoelectric properties of Bi2Te3 polycrystals on the degree of deviation from stoichiometry. The goal of this work is to investigate the behavior of such dependences at other temperatures. Bismuth telluride polycrystals with compositions in the range of 59.6-67.5 at. % Te were obtained, and for all the crystals the Seebeck coefficient, the Hall coefficient, electrical conductivity and charge carrier mobility were measured in the temperature range 77-300 K. On the basis of the temperature dependences, the isotherms of kinetic coefficients were plotted. It was found that similar to the room-temperature isotherms, the isotherms at lower temperatures were non-monotonic: they exhibited inversion of the conductivity sign between 60.5 and 61.0 at. % Te and extrema near 60.0 and 63.0 at. % Te. The experimental data are interpreted taking into account changes in the band and defect structures of Bi2Te3 under varying stoichiometry. The obtained results make it possible to control thermoelectric properties of Bi2Te3 polycrystals in the temperature range 77-300 K by changing the degree of deviation from stoichiometry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thermally reversible single-crystal-to-single-crystal [2+2] photodimerization of a styrylpyrylium salt, (E)-2,6-Di-tert-butyl-4-[2-(4-methoxyphenyl)-ethenyl]pyrylium- trifluormethansulfonate, has been investigated by means of a laser-induced holographic grating technique. By irradiation far into the long wavelength absorption tail, the single crystalline character of the sample can be retained both during the photodimerization and the thermal backreaction. Without irradiation the holographic gratings are stable at room temperature, but decay at elevated temperatures. From the temperature dependence of the holographic growth and decay curves an upper limit for the activation energy for the photodimerization is obtained to 15.2 kJ/mol. For the thermal cyclobutane cleavage an activation energy of 99 kJ/mol and an attempt frequency of 1.2×1012 s-1 are found. © 1994 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present new side-channel attacks on SIKE, the isogeny-based candidate in the NIST PQC competition. Previous works had shown that SIKE is vulnerable to differential power analysis, and pointed to coordinate randomization as an effective countermeasure. We show that coordinate randomization alone is not sufficient, because SIKE is vulnerable to a class of attacks similar to refined power analysis in elliptic curve cryptography, named zero-value attacks. We describe and confirm in the lab two such attacks leading to full key recovery, and analyze their countermeasures.

Background Ustekinumab is a monoclonal antibody targeting interleukins-12 and -23, with efficacy in Crohn's disease ( CD) demonstrated in clinical trials. Aim To assess the real-world clinical, endoscopic and radiographic response and remission outcomes achieved with ustekinumab in medically-refractory CD. Methods A retrospective multicentre cohort study was performed on CD patients receiving ustekinumab between 2011 and 2016. The primary outcome was achievement of clinical and objective steroid-free response and remission at 3, 6 and 12 months. Clinical response and remission were defined by reduction in Harvey Bradshaw Index ( HBI) of ≥3 points and an HBI ≤4 points respectively. Objective response was defined by improvement in endoscopic or radiographic CD, as assessed by ileocolonoscopy, contrast-enhanced ultrasound or CT/ MR enterography. Objective remission was defined by endoscopic mucosal healing or complete resolution of inflammatory parameters on radiographic assessment. Results A total of 167 CD patients were treated with ustekinumab. 95.2% (159/167) previously failed anti- TNF therapy. Median follow-up was 45.6 weeks ( IQR: 24.4-88.9). At 3 months, clinical response was achieved in 38.9% (65/167) and remission in 15.0% (25/167) of patients. At 6 months, clinical response was achieved in 60.3% (91/151) and remission in 25.2% (38/151) of patients. At 12 months, clinical response was achieved in 59.5% (66/111) and remission in 27.9% (31/111) of patients. Endoscopic or radiographic response was demonstrated in 54.5% (67/123) at 6 months and 55.8% (48/86) of patients at 12 months. Conclusions Ustekinumab is an effective therapeutic option for inducing and maintaining clinical, endoscopic and radiographic response in patients with Crohn's disease failing anti- TNF therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Posterior distributions for physical parameters describing relativistic heavy-ion collisions, such as the viscosity of the quark-gluon plasma, are extracted through a comparison of hydrodynamic-based transport models to experimental results from 100/4 GeV + 100A GeV Au + Au collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. By simultaneously varying six parameters and by evaluating several classes of observables, we are able to explore the complex intertwined dependencies of observables on model parameters. The methods provide a full multidimensional posterior distribution for the model output, including a range of acceptable values for each parameter, and reveal correlations between them. The breadth of observables and the number of parameters considered here go beyond previous studies in this field. The statistical tools, which are based upon Gaussian process emulators, are tested in detail and should be extendable to larger data sets and a higher number of parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We studied the occurrence of missing rings (MR) around and along the stems of three Pinus halepensis and three Pinus pinea trees growing in a semiarid Mediterranean site in SE Spain. Tree-ring analyses were performed along 8 radii on stem discs taken at 1 m distances from the base to the top of the trees. The tree rings analysed showed that 19% were missing in P. halepensis and 10% in P. pinea. MR were recorded in 61% of P. halepensis and 24% of P. pinea in the years analysed. Dry conditions from January to May and high late winter to spring temperatures seem to be the main climatic elements promoting MR in both species. In our research into P. halepensis, the frequency of MR gradually decreased from the bottom upward, but no such pattern was observed in P. pinea. Most tree rings were missing only locally (LMR), indicating that wood formation occurred every year in at least some part of a tree, and the tree rings were often discontinuous around and along the stem. Since the frequency of LMR greatly varies around and along the stem, our results suggest that serial sectioning along the stem provides more information on wood formation and responses of trees to environment than studying the samples at breast height only. The disadvantage of the technique is that, as in our study case, research is based on a limited sample size, since it requires destructive sampling with tree felling, which is not usually possible or desirable on highly vulnerable semiarid forest ecosystems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We have recently demonstrated that extracorporeal shock-wave therapy (ESWT) is effective in promoting the healing of dermal wounds and in regenerating alveolar bone lost through periodontal disease. The objective of the present study was to determine any antibacterial effect of ESWT on oral bacteria. Monoculture suspensions of 6 bacterial species were treated with 100 to 500 pulses of ESWT at energy flux densities (EFD) of 0.12 mJ/mm², 0.22 mJ/mm², and 0.3 mJ/ mm². Following treatment, aliquots were plated for viability determination and compared with untreated controls. ESWT showed a significant microbicidal effect for Streptococcus mutans and an unencapsulated strain of Porphyromonas gingivalis following as few as 100 pulses at 0.3 mJ/mm² (p ≤ 0.001). In addition, a significant disruption of bacterial aggregates was observed at lower EFDs. No significant reduction in viability was observed for all other bacteria at EFDs and pulses tested (p > 0.05). These findings suggest that low-energy ESWT may be bactericidal for selected oral bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A multiplicative and a semi-mechanistic, BWB-type [Ball, J. T. , Woodrow, I. E. , Berry, J. A. , 1987. A model predicting stomatal conductance and its contribution to the control of photosynthesis under different environmental conditions. In: Biggens, J. (Ed. ), Progress in Photosynthesis Research, vol. IV. Martinus Nijhoff, Dordrecht, pp. 221–224. ] algorithm for calculating stomatal conductance (g s) at the leaf level have been parameterised for two crop and two tree species to test their use in regional scale ozone deposition modelling. The algorithms were tested against measured, site-specific data for durum wheat, grapevine, beech and birch of different European provenances. A direct comparison of both algorithms showed a similar performance in predicting hourly means and daily time-courses of g s, whereas the multiplicative algorithm outperformed the BWB-type algorithm in modelling seasonal time-courses due to the inclusion of a phenology function. The re-parameterisation of the algorithms for local conditions in order to validate ozone deposition modelling on a European scale reveals the higher input requirements of the BWB-type algorithm as compared to the multiplicative algorithm because of the need of the former to model net photosynthesis (A n). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]