Distinctive Sign Research Articles

The role of echocardiography in the non-invasive diagnosis of cardiac amyloidosis.

The diagnosis of cardiac amyloidosis (CA) is usually performed by endomyocardial biopsy; however, possible sampling errors and procedural risks such as cardiac tamponade, malignant arrhythmias and bleeding risk, limit its use. Therefore, a non-invasive diagnostic method appears to be necessary. Echocardiography plays an important role in this need. Conventional two-dimensional echocardiography appears able to detect some specific and distinguishing signs of cardiac amyloid infiltration. Of these, thickened right and left ventricular (LV) myocardium, normal or small LV cavity size in contrast to enlarged biatrial cavities, diffuse hyper-refractile 'granular sparkling' appearance and 'mismatch' ECG/ECHO are the most specific findings. The magnitude of cyclic variation recorded with integrated backscatter reflects structural changes in the myocardium. In patients with CA, this magnitude is reduced because myocardial amyloid infiltration is characterized by a reduction of number of "contractile"fibers. Other informations concerning LV dysfunction CA-relatedcan be obtained by Tei index. Finally, new echocardiographic imaging modalities, such as tissue Doppler, Doppler-based strain, speckle tracking imaging and three-dimensional echocardiography, can provide some findings regarding the preclinical stages of LV dysfunction when other echocardiographic measurements are showing normal; however, these are unable to provide a non-invasive diagnosis of cardiac amyloidosis.

El nombre comercial y su uso por parte de la persona jurídica

Este artículo analiza la función del nombre comercial como signo distintivo del agente económico y su uso, teniendo en cuenta el marco regulatorio actual y los problemas generados por la confusión con el nombre de la persona jurídica, el rótulo de establecimiento o la marca de servicio. Además, se analiza el surgimiento del derecho sobre el referido signo, la acreditación del uso y los efectos de la falta del mismo.

Interpretation of the news qualities of Sharif Al-Radi, a study in his Quranic and prophetic metaphors

Al-Sharif Al-Radi is considered a prominent scientific figure in his era, which was marked by a scientific renaissance and replete with the presence of great giants of thinkers and scholars in various sciences, especially human and religious ones. He is an encyclopedic figure in her knowledge, so besides being one of the great poets, he had important achievements in the sciences of jurisprudence, hadith, interpretation, speech, and the arts and rhetoric of Arabic. His books (Metaphors of the Qur’an) and (Metaphors of the Prophet) are among the distinguishing signs of his scholarly achievement. Because he dealt in them with the process of revealing the true meanings and connotations of the Qur’anic and prophetic text in their inclusion of the foundations of belief and the system of legislation, and the research stopped at an issue that had its location, importance and presence in these two books; It is the interpretation of news qualities

Structural features of plastic deformation in bulk metallic glasses

Spatially resolved strain maps of a plastically deformed bulk metallic glass (BMG) have been created by using high-energy X-ray diffraction. The results reveal that plastic deformation creates a spatially heterogeneous atomic arrangement, consisting of strong compressive and tensile strain fields. In addition, significant shear strain is introduced in the samples. The analysis of the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the strain tensor indicates that considerable structural anisotropy occurs in both the magnitude and direction of the strain. These features are in contrast to the behavior observed in elastically deformed BMGs and represent a distinctive structural sign of plastic deformation in metallic glasses.

Da bambini intorno al Millenovecento. Frammenti d’infanzia nelle riflessioni di Walter Benjamin

The text aims at analyzing the complex and refined anthropology of childhood that takes shape in the pages of Walter Benjamin. This anthropology of childhood is deeply rooted in his memories of child “around 1900” and is patiently reconstructed from the picture books, from the games and the vintage toys, from the images and the characters that fill fantastic stories and fairy tales, from domestic and family rituals, from the world of objects and atmospheres of the bourgeois interieur, Above all, this anthropology brings to light images. These images have a peculiar feature, a distinctive sign: they seem brought together by the idea and the experience of the threshold, a crucial figure in the epistemology of Benjamin.

Computed tomography enterography in assessment of Crohn’s disease activity

BackgroundMonitoring the disease activity in Crohn’s disease (CD) may be challenging with endoscopic manoeuvers due to difficulties in reaching the affected areas and being restricted to mucosal lesions, so the existence of a more tolerable and reliable technique will be highly warranted. ObjectivesThis study aims at detection of CD’s activity by computed tomography enterography (CTE) in correlation with ileocolonoscopy evaluation as well as detection of extra-enteric manifestations and complications of the disease. Materials and methodsTwenty-four patients who were clinically and histopathologically proven as CD patients were retrospectively included in this study. Patients were divided into active and inactive groups according to ileocolonoscopic evaluation. All patients underwent CTE as clinically indicated within 1 week of ileocolonoscopy. Radiological parameters suggestive of Crohn’s disease activity at CTE were interpreted at the terminal ileum and correlated to the corresponding ileocolonoscopy reports for signs of CD activity. Extra-enteric findings and complications of CD were also reported if present. ResultsCTE was accurate in detecting CD activity in 15 out of 18 active cases (active group) and in detecting disease inactivity in 5 out of 6 inactive cases (inactive group) with sensitivity and specificity of 83.3%. Mural hyperenhancement was the most distinguished sign of CD activity in CTE. ConclusionCTE is a non invasive and reliable technique that has a significant value in assessment of CD activity in correlation with endoscopy, hence, it is useful in follow up and preoperative guidance.

Postexcisional melanocytic regrowth extending beyond the initial scar: a novel clinical sign of melanoma

Recurrent naevi are widely recognized to occur commonly following incomplete removal of melanocytic lesions. These lesions have been generally understood as representing benign imitators of melanoma. To provide a formal description of the clinical findings of postexcisional melanocytic regrowth. We examined all cases of recurrent pigmentation adjacent to scars from previous excisional biopsies of melanocytic naevi treated at a private dermatology practice from 1995 to 2012. We report nine cases of recurrence of melanocytic lesions that were melanomas. The most suspicious clinical feature for melanoma in these cases was the growth of the lesion beyond the confines of the initial scar, into the surrounding normal skin. This pattern of recurrence of a melanocytic lesion represents a little recognized and distinctive clinical presenting sign of melanoma.

The Construction of Tourist Space by Public Administration and Institutional Communication: The Image of the Brand Andalucía as a Tourist Destination

The public administration in Spain is using service public advertising to promote the brand image of one destination: Andalucía. The purpose of campaigns to promote tourism is: to increase the gross domestic product; to devise, create, and execute law-abiding messages within the public space; and to create and reinforce the values being constructed around a certain location and around its brand as a distinctive sign of that location. In this article the goal is to analyze how the public administration creates the brand image of Andalucía through the campaigns “Andalucía te quiere” (Andalucía loves you) and “Smile! You are in Andalucía.”

Long Ringing Cochlear Microphonics - Not Unique to Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder in Children

Long Ringing Cochlear Microphonics - Not Unique to Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder in Children Background: The detection of cochlear microphonics in surface recordings has been considered a distinctive sign of outer hair cell integrity in participants with auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder. The study highlights that this notion could result in misdiagnosis of patients. Methods: The study reports three children with sloping hearing loss who were misdiagnosed as auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder based on absence of auditory brainstem response and presence of long ringing cochlear microphonics. The study also reports of three children with abnormal cochlear microphonics who have neurological abnormalities. Results: The abnormal cochlear microphonics (long ringing) with absent auditory brainstem response was noted in sloping hearing loss participants. In addition, abnormal cochlear microphonics was also observed along with auditory brainstem response in children with neurological abnormalities. Conclusion: Our results show that abnormal CM detection in surface recording is not a distinctive feature of auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder and participants who are diagnosed with auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder based on traditional diagnostic criteria should be reviewed to rule out possible misdiagnosis.

Neonatal epilepsy and underlying aetiology: to what extent do seizures and EEG abnormalities influence outcome?

Neonatal seizures constitute the most common and distinctive sign of neurological dysfunction in the first weeks of life and reflect a wide variety of underlying central nervous system disorders. Acute symptomatic seizures occur more often during the neonatal period than at any period of life and are associated with adverse long-term neurodevelopmental sequelae and an increased risk of post-neonatal epilepsy. The improvements of neonatal care in the last decades have changed the spectrum of insults to which the immature brain is exposed and facilitated a decrease in mortality of newborns with seizures. However, the prevalence of long-term morbidity in survivors remains unchanged. Whereas aetiology is presumed to be the main predictor of long-term outcome in neonates with seizures, there is converging evidence that specific electroencephalographic (EEG) abnormalities are related to unfavourable outcomes. Interictal EEG abnormalities, especially concerning background activity patterns, thus constitute a major indicator of disease severity and predictor of outcome, while the added value of sequential EEG assessments is so far controversial. Moreover, experimental as well as clinical studies of hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy support the notion that recurrent seizures may amplify injury to the developing brain beyond that associated with the underlying aetiology, thus justifying antiepileptic drug treatment. To date, unresolved issues in seizure detection and classification, in addition to the significant variation in gestational ages and brain insults of neonates, still impede clinical research of neonatal seizures. The wider use of long-term EEG or amplitude integrated EEG monitoring may prove crucial for timely neonatal seizure identification and treatment initiation, and thus ultimately improve outcome.

Nome empresarial

This research is about the legal treatment for brand names in the context of the business theory and the analysis of the applicable law on it. The beginning of the brand name protection took place in 1883, with the Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. Brand name is a distinctive sign which distinguishes the entrepreneur in the exercise of their economic activity as well as the expression (fancy name) by which one develops trading, industry or services activities. The brand name legal system is enforced by a number of statutory rules, such as the Federal Constitution, art. 5, XXIX; Civil Code, article 1.166, Law n. 8.934/1994, article 33; Decree. 1.800/1996, Instruction of the Department of Commerce National Registry - DNRC - n. 116/2011, and Law n. 9.279/1996, articles 195, inc. V, and 209. One examines the rules relating to the creation of brand names, the store names (fancy name), the emblem, and the conflicts between brand and domain names.

El hombre unidimensional fragmentado

Parafraseamos el título del conocido ensayo de Herbert Marcuse, puesto que la imagen que tradicionalmente se ha generado del hombre, de la masculinidad, ha sido unidimensional. Es decir, el hombre se caracterizaba por unos rasgos y conductas establecidos y afianzados desde tiempos remotos, considerándose todas las demás señas diferenciadoras como meras desviaciones impropias de lo normativo. Pero observaremos que esta realidad incuestionable, tal y como han analizado diversos investigadores a través de lo que se ha venido en denominar Men’s studies, ha demostrado ser una falacia difícil de mantener a lo largo de la historia y que en la actualidad deviene en falaz e inoperante frente a los cambios existentes en nuestros actuales modelos societarios.

What Lawyers Want

During the last decade international lawyers and IT specialists are brought together to conferences on issues of cyber-security. With various topics covered from such different perspectives, a clash of educations occurs. Lawyers are rarely able to understand the deep technological discussions, while legal presentations might seem too philosophical for the IT professionals, leaving them wondering, what do lawyers want and why. In this environment legal questions that cannot be answered without the deep technological knowledge possessed by the computer experts, should be formulated carefully and very precisely. Therefore, with emphasis on the jus in bello, this article aims to outline a list of issues that inevitably require joint lawyer-IT specialists dialogue and explain their significance from the point of view of international law. These issues include possibilities for digital “marking” of internationally protected objects online required under the existing humanitarian law, developing a “distinctive sign” for cyber-combatants, forewarning the enemy of incoming attacks (“carrying arms visibly”) and re-evaluating the concept of “vicinity” to dangerous installations in the context of cyber-space.

Defective autophagy in spastizin mutated patients with hereditary spastic paraparesis type 15

Hereditary spastic paraparesis type 15 is a recessive complicated form of the disease clinically characterized by slowly progressive spastic paraparesis and mental deterioration with onset between the first and second decade of life. Thinning of corpus callosum is the neuroradiological distinctive sign frequently associated with white matter abnormalities. The causative gene, ZFYVE26, encodes a large protein of 2539 amino acid residues, termed spastizin, containing three recognizable domains: a zinc finger, a leucine zipper and a FYVE domain. Spastizin protein has a diffuse cytoplasmic distribution and co-localizes partially with early endosomes, the endoplasmic reticulum, microtubules and vesicles involved in protein trafficking. In addition, spastizin localizes to the mid-body during the final step of mitosis and contributes to successful cytokinesis. Spastizin interacts with Beclin 1, a protein required for cytokinesis and autophagy, which is the major lysosome-mediated degradation process in the cell. In view of the Beclin 1-spastizin interaction, we investigated the possible role of spastizin in autophagy. We carried out this analysis by using lymphoblast and fibroblast cells derived from four different spastizin mutated patients (p.I508N, p.L243P, p.R1209fsX, p.S1312X) and from control subjects. Of note, the truncating p.R1209fsX and p.S1312X mutations lead to loss of spastizin protein. The results obtained indicate that spastizin interacts with the autophagy related Beclin 1-UVRAG-Rubicon multiprotein complex and is required for autophagosome maturation. In cells lacking spastizin or with mutated forms of the protein, spastizin interaction with Beclin 1 is lost although the formation of the Beclin 1-UVRAG-Rubicon complex can still be observed. However, in these cells we demonstrate an impairment of autophagosome maturation and an accumulation of immature autophagosomes. Autophagy defects with autophagosome accumulation can be observed also in neuronal cells upon spastizin silencing. These results indicate that autophagy is a central process in the pathogenesis of complicated forms of hereditary spastic paraparesis with thin corpus callosum.

Scientific Historical and Archeological Discoveries as an Updating Factor of Teaching the History of Central Asia in the Institutes of Higher Education of Kazakhstan

Abstract The article deals with actual issues of the history of Central Asia. In the development of scientific concepts in this article, one thing in common can be defined: was there a civilization in the steppes of Eurasia and if there is a need to accept the nomadic world as part of the civilization of the Eurasian steppes? Recently, among the scientists of the former Soviet Union a new methodological approach has been developed which is radically different from the Soviet historiography to the study of the history of a distinctive culture of the Saka tribes. The given tribes were, more or less, strong unified, as a very harmonious coexistence (prototype of the government), and a special attention is paid to the implementation of scientific materials of unique archaeological discoveries and written texts, considered as artifacts of material culture of the Saka tribes. These facts enable the emergence of new scientific development. At the present an Ethnic History of the Saks Based on such scientific concepts, is stated as the story of Turks (prototype of Turks). At present, along with this issue, the most vulnerable subject, requiring a proper attention from historians, is refutation of established ideological concepts of the Soviet era on the Mongol-Tatar invasion. Increasingly, scientists from Central Asia are wondering whether to call the campaign the Mongol-Tatar as invasion, where also the problem of irrigation system development, as the distinctive sign of prospering culture of the settlement is considered? In answering these questions, in the history of Central Asia, a new vision of the historical events that gave rise to a new understanding of history teaching, was formed. The above- mentioned concepts, as well as the accession of Kazakhstan to the Bologna process has given a new impetus to the improvement of the content of education and training standards in higher education in Kazakhstan.

Oczekiwania konsumentów odnośnie do oferowanych im towarów oparte na zapewnieniach publicznych pochodzących od sprzedawcy, producenta, osoby, która się za producenta podaje, importera i dystrybutora towaru oraz ich przedstawicieli

The article touches on the issue of the expectations consumers have towards the goods which are offered to them in the light of the seller?s responsibility for the quality of such goods. Specifically, the considerations concern the consumers? expectations which sources are public statements that have been made by the seller as well as the manufacturer, importer and distributor (wholesaler) of a given good, or a person who ? by placing his/her name, trade mark or other distinctive sign on a consumer good ? purports to be them. To this aim, the survey of the opinions of Polish legal doctrine and thorough analysis of the provisions of the Polish Consumer Sale Act and the directive no. 1999/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 May 1999 on certain aspects of the sale of consumer goods and associated guarantees have been undertaken. In consequence, the reader gains not only the commentary but also an insight into the possible discrepancies between Polish domestic law and the European Union legal regulations.

Hegemonic Influence of Trade Globalisation : The Implication on the Survival of Nigerian Businesses

The 1972 indigenisation policy was planned to encourage the growth of indigenous Nigerian businesses. This paper takes a clue from this policy to engage a discourse on the hegemonic influences of trademarks of multinational companies and its implication on the growth of indigenous Nigerian businesses. Trademark is a distinctive sign, mark or symbol which is used to brand a product or service. Despite the fact that a trademark section exists under Nigerian commercial law, and used in indigenous businesses, their operational trademark existences were rarely recognized in consumption decision. On the other hand, trademarks of the products/ service of multinational companies continue to dominate and circulate the consumer behaviour. With the use of magazines, trade journals and books, examples were drawn for analysis.

Fast micrographia: An unusual but distinctive sign

Fast micrographia is a rare clinical sign, which is reported in patients with pallidal pathology. A 68-year-old male presented with hypophonia and short shuffling gait with decreased arm swing. About 3 weeks before, he had an acute myocardial infarction and a period of hemodynamic and respiratory distress during which he required mechanical ventilatory support. He was found to have a fast handwriting with micrographia from the outset. His rapid alternating hand and finger movements were normal. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain showed features of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy including hyperintensities on T1 and T2 weighted images in the globus pallidus, and putamen bilaterally.

Activation of Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 5 Mediates Orofacial Mechanical Hyperalgesia

BackgroundCyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) is a unique member of the serine/threonine kinase family. This kinase plays an important role in neuronal development, and deregulation of its activity leads to neurodegenerative disorders. Cdk5 also serves an important function in the regulation of nociceptive signaling. Our previous studies revealed that the expression of Cdk5 and its activator, p35, is upregulated in nociceptive neurons during peripheral inflammation. The aim of the present study was to characterize the involvement of Cdk5 in orofacial pain. Since mechanical hyperalgesia is the distinctive sign of many orofacial pain conditions, we adapted an existing orofacial stimulation test to assess the behavioral responses to mechanical stimulation in the trigeminal region of the transgenic mice with either reduced or increased Cdk5 activity.ResultsMice overexpressing or lacking p35, an activator of Cdk5, showed altered phenotype in response to noxious mechanical stimulation in the trigeminal area. Mice with increased Cdk5 activity displayed aversive behavior to mechanical stimulation as indicated by a significant decrease in reward licking events and licking time. The number of reward licking/facial contact events was significantly decreased in these mice as the mechanical intensity increased. By contrast, mice deficient in Cdk5 activity displayed mechanical hypoalgesia.ConclusionsCollectively, our findings demonstrate for the first time the important role of Cdk5 in orofacial mechanical nociception. Modulation of Cdk5 activity in primary sensory neurons makes it an attractive potential target for the development of novel analgesics that could be used to treat multiple orofacial pain conditions.

Neurogenic orthostatic hypotension: pathophysiology, evaluation, and management

Neurogenic orthostatic hypotension is a distinctive and treatable sign of cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction. It is caused by failure of noradrenergic neurotransmission that is associated with a range of primary or secondary autonomic disorders, including pure autonomic failure, Parkinson’s disease with autonomic failure, multiple system atrophy as well as diabetic and nondiabetic autonomic neuropathies. Neurogenic orthostatic hypotension is commonly accompanied by autonomic dysregulation involving other organ systems such as the bowel and the bladder. In the present review, we provide an overview of the clinical presentation, pathophysiology, epidemiology, evaluation and management of neurogenic orthostatic hypotension focusing on neurodegenerative disorders.