Equal Periods Research Articles

Transgresywność systemów wartości pokoleń we współczesnym kapitalizmie

Artykuł stanowi próbę rewizji dotychczasowej percepcji kategorii pokolenia, sugerującej periodyzację i identyczność przedziałów czasowych przypisywanych kolejnym generacjom. Zawarta w nim analiza porównawcza została oparta na nowym ujęciu pokolenia, wyznaczanym przez procesy społeczne i psychologiczne determinowane wydarzeniami historycznymi i kontekstem ekonomicznym, stymulujące wspólną tożsamość i świadomość pokoleniową, nie zaś na podstawie zbliżonej daty urodzenia. Szczegółowym przedmiotem analizy są różnice, czy raczej transgresje, charakteryzujące najważniejsze wartości pokoleń rezydujących w obrębie tzw. późnego kapitalizmu, tj. jego obecnego ponowoczesnego etapu.

1166 Female Authorship of Major Gastroenterology Society Guidelines and Technical Reviews

INTRODUCTION: Authorship in gastroenterology society guidelines and technical reviews may aid academic advancement. Challenges facing women in academic gastroenterology have gained recent attention, and there may be a disparity in authorship of these documents. The purpose of this study was to analyze the proportion of female authors of major gastroenterology society guidelines and technical reviews in comparison to males. METHODS: American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD), American College of Gastroenterology (ACG), and American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) guidelines and technical reviews were identified from online materials. Documents were included from 2007 to 2018. The sex of each author, and the total number of guideline authors were abstracted. The number of female authors was compared to the total number of authors. We also examined the proportion of guidelines and technical reviews with female first authors. The time period was broken into three equal periods: 2007-2010, 2011-2014 and 2015-2018. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics using Excel (Version 16.23). The Cochrane-Armitage trend test was used to compare the proportion of female authors between time periods. RESULTS: Eighty-three guidelines and technical reviews from 2007 to 2018 were identified. A total of 425 authors were identified after combining author totals of each guideline and technical review while excluding duplicates. Eighty-eight (21%) of authors were women. The total percentage of guideline and technical review authors who were women varied according to each society and over time but remained persistently below that of men (see Figure 1). The proportion of female authors of AASLD guidelines increased from 21% in 2007-2010 to 34% in 2015-2018 (P = 0.042). Female authorship was stable across time for ACG guidelines (20%, 16%, 18%; P = 0.713). For AGA guideline and technical reviews, female authorship declined from 24% in 2011-2014 to 13% in 2015-2018 (P = 0.045). The majority of first authors of guidelines and technical reviews for each society were male (see Figure 2). CONCLUSION: There were significant disparities in female authorship of guidelines and technical reviews by the AASLD, ACG and AGA. There was a statistically significant increase in female authorship over the past ten years only for AASLD guidelines. Addressing disparities in guideline and technical review authorship may promote academic advancement for female gastroenterologists.

309 Changing Characteristics and Survival in Early Onset Colorectal Cancer in an Asian American County Population From 1990 to 2016

INTRODUCTION: The incidence of early onset colorectal cancer has been rising, but we have limited understanding of this pattern. Some groups have noticed racial disparities in survival rates, but we still have little data on ethnic differences. We sought to analyze the characteristics of early onset colorectal cancer in a county population and discovered changes in staging and survival in the Asian subgroup over time. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study involving all patients less than 50 years old that were newly diagnosed with colorectal cancer at a county hospital. We collected data from the hospital’s electronic medical system and existing databases from 1991 to 2016, and analyzed the demographics, staging, survival and follow up rates for patients of Asian descent. We divided the time frame into 2 equal periods (1991-2003 and 2004-2016) and performed chi-square analysis to assess for changes in colorectal cancer diagnoses between these two groups. RESULTS: A total of 182 patients under the age of 50 years old were diagnosed with colorectal cancer during this 26 year period. 69 patients were diagnosed from 1991-2003, of which 17 were of Asian descent. 113 patients were diagnosed from 2004-2016, of which 36 were of Asian descent. Among the Asian population, there was 1 case of Stage 2 (6%), and 16 cases of Stage III and IV (94%) in 1991-2003. Meanwhile, there were 15 cases of Stage 1 and 2 (42%), and 21 cases of Stage 3 and 4 (58%) in 2004-2016. Chi-square analysis of early (Stage 1 and 2) vs late (Stage 3 and 4) staging revealed a significantly higher proportion of early stage colorectal cancer in 2004-2016 compared to 1991-2003 (P-val 0.02). This coincides with a significantly higher 3 year-survival and follow up in 2004-2016 than in 1991-2003 (58% vs 24%, P-val 0.038). There were no significant differences in staging or survival for the non-asian population between these time periods. CONCLUSION: Our findings support that there is a rising incidence of early onset colorectal cancer in general, and within the Asian population. Interestingly, there is an increasing proportion of early stage colon cancer associated with a higher 3-year survival rate in the Asian population that was not found in other ethnicities. While our study is limited to one county population, our findings show the rising incidence is associated with ethnic disparities. Additional investigation into these disparities may help shed light on the driving factors behind the increasing incidence of early colon cancer.

Effects of sedentary behavior and physical activity on sleep quality in older people: A cross-sectional study.

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the influence of replacing sedentary time with time engaged in one of two levels of physical activity on sleep quality using an isotemporal substitution model. The participants were 70 community-dwelling older Japanese adults (approximately 70% female). Physical activity types were measured using a triaxial accelerometer and categorized based on intensity as sedentary, light-intensity, and vigorous-intensity. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index assessed subjective sleep quality. Objective sleep parameters were assessed using an actigraph. A series of multi-linear regression models analyzed the statistical relationships. Our findings showed that replacing 30 min of sedentary activity per day with an equal period of light-intensity physical activity significantly influenced sleep quality parameters. However, there was no significant difference in sleep quality when light-intensity activity was replaced with vigorous-intensity activity. Engaging in one activity type means less available time for other types of activity; habitual replacement of sedentary activity with light-intensity physical activity might have long-term benefits on the sleep quality of older people.

Are Wildland Fires Increasing Large Patches of Complex Early Seral Forest Habitat?

High-severity fire creates patches of complex early seral forest (CESF) in mixed-severity fire complexes of the western USA. Some managers and researchers have expressed concerns that large high-severity patches are increasing and could adversely impact old forest extent or lead to type conversions. We used GIS databases for vegetation and fire severity to investigate trends in large (>400 ha) CESF patches in frequent-fire forests of the western USA, analyzing four equal time periods from 1984 to 2015. We detected a significant increase in the total area of large patches relative to the first time period only (1984–1991), but no significant upward trend since the early 1990s. There was no significant trend in the size of large CESF patches between 1984 and 2015. Fire rotation intervals for large CESF patches ranged from ~12 centuries to over 4000 years, depending on the region. Large CESF patches were highly heterogeneous, internally creating ample opportunities for fire-mediated biodiversity. Interior patch areas far removed from the nearest low/moderate-severity edges comprised a minor portion of high-severity patches but may be ecologically important in creating pockets of open forest. There was ample historical evidence of large CESF patches but no evidence of increases that might indicate a current risk of ecosystem-type shifts.

Climate change adaptation with non-native tree species in Central European forests: early tree survival in a multi-site field trial

Climate projections indicate large increases in temperature, requiring tree species to adapt or migrate faster than observed historic rates. In Central Europe, discussion in forest management has increasingly focused on how humans can assist these adaptation/migration processes, especially when important forest ecosystem services are at risk. One option is to introduce non-native tree species to help forest ecosystems adapt to climate change. We established a long-term experiment in autumn 2012 on five study sites in climatically different regions of Central Europe. The performance of five non-native tree species from warmer climates (Abies bornmuelleriana Mattf., Cedrus libani A. Rich., Fagus orientalis Lipsky, Tilia tomentosa Moench and Tsuga heterophylla Sarg.) was compared to that of one local species native to each site. We monitored sapling survival during the first 4 years after planting. Small differences in timing of inventory campaigns were overcome by fitting a Weibull function to survival curves and analysing time-harmonized estimates for equal biannual periods. Sapling mortality decreased over time, but early after planting, it differed between species. The native and the two non-native broadleaved species showed higher survival than the non-native coniferous species. Moreover, the site conditions of the open areas seemed to initially hamper the growth of shade-tolerant species. All species performed reasonably well during the relatively short observation period. Any differences between hazard rates almost vanished 4 years after planting, which suggests that all species tested are likely to thrive under current climate conditions. Long-term observations are, however, needed to corroborate these results.

109. An investigational study of a dual-layer, chorion-free amnion patch as a protective barrier following lumbar laminectomy in a sheep model

BACKGROUND CONTEXT A decompressive laminectomy is the most common surgery performed to relieve symptoms of lumbar spinal stenosis. While this surgery has been shown to be successful in relieving patient symptoms, partially removing the lamina exposes the dura to elements and potential damage, from the surrounding environment. While a number of different biomaterials have been investigated for use as a protective barrier in spine surgery, the inherent properties of the human amniotic membrane (HAM) may make it favorable to protect neural elements and anterior vessels from the surrounding environment. The effect of a dual-layer HAM patch used as a physical barrier following a laminectomy in an animal model has yet to be investigated. PURPOSE The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a dual-layer, chorion-free amnion patch (DLAM) processed from HAM as a protective barrier following lumbar laminectomy in a sheep model. STUDY DESIGN/SETTING Prospective animal study. PATIENT SAMPLE Twelve skeletally mature female crossbred Suffolk sheep randomly divided into two equal postoperative periods (4 and 10 weeks). OUTCOME MEASURES A multiplex immunoassay was performed to quantify the inherent cytokines present in the amnion after processing. Additionally, at each time point extent of epidural fibrosis and neurohistopathological responses at the laminectomy sites was assessed based on epidural fibrosis-dura tenacity scores and decalcified histology, respectively. METHODS Each sheep underwent a laminectomy at L3 and L5, and one of the surgical sites randomly received the DLAM treatment. At each post-surgical time point, the extent of epidural fibrosis and neurohistopathological responses at the laminectomy sites was assessed based on epidural fibrosis-dura tenacity scores and decalcified histology, respectively. RESULTS Immunoassay results showed that inflammatory mediators and immunomodulatory cytokines were present in the amnion after processing, but no pro-angiogenic cytokines were detected. At 10 weeks, tissue tenacity was significantly less in the DLAM treatment group when compared to the operative control (1.2 ± 0.4 vs 2.8 ± 0.4, p CONCLUSIONS This study found that DLAM reduced fibroblast infiltration and tissue tenacity following lumbar laminectomy in a sheep animal model. These findings support the potential use of DLAM in clinical practice as a protective barrier for neural elements and anterior vessels. FDA DEVICE/DRUG STATUS Unavailable from authors at time of publication.

An investigational study of a dual-layer, chorion-free amnion patch as a protective barrier following lumbar laminectomy in a sheep model.

The inherent properties of the human amniotic membrane (HAM) suggest its potential for use as a physical barrier during surgery to protect neural elements and vessels from the surrounding environment. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a dual-layer, chorion-free amnion patch (DLAM; ViaShield®, Globus Medical Inc., Audubon, PA, USA) processed from HAM as a protective barrier following lumbar laminectomy in a sheep model. A multiplex immunoassay was performed to quantify the inherent cytokines present in the amnion after processing. Twelve skeletally mature female crossbred Suffolk sheep were randomly divided into two equal post-operative periods (4 and 10 weeks). Each sheep underwent a laminectomy at L3 and L5, and one of the surgical sites randomly received the DLAM treatment. At each postsurgical time point, the extent of epidural fibrosis and neurohistopathological responses at the laminectomy sites was assessed based on epidural fibrosis-dura tenacity scores and decalcified histology, respectively. Immunoassay results showed that inflammatory mediators and immunomodulatory cytokines were present in the amnion after processing, but no proangiogenic cytokines were detected. At 10 weeks, tissue tenacity was significantly less in the DLAM treatment group when compared with the operative control (1.2 ± 0.4 vs. 2.8 ± 0.4, p < 0.05), demonstrating the ability of DLAM to act as a barrier and cover the dura. Gross observations showed fewer fibroblasts in the DLAM group in comparison with the control at both post-operative time points. Fibroblast infiltration analysis indicated that at both 4 and 10 weeks, there were significantly more infiltrated fibroblasts in the operative control sites than in the DLAM-treated sites, expressed as a percentage of the total number of fibroblasts present (4 weeks: 72.3 ± 10.2% vs. 10.8 ± 10.1%, p < .05; 10 weeks: 84.9 ± 15.8% vs. 43.1 ± 11.6%, p < .05). Additionally, fibroblasts travelled further into the dura in the operative control group compared with the DLAM-treated group at both time points. In conclusion, this study found that DLAM reduced fibroblast infiltration and tissue tenacity following lumbar laminectomy in a sheep animal model. These findings support the potential use of DLAM in clinical practice as a protective barrier for neural elements and anterior vessels.

EVALUATION OF WILL EFFORTS AND ENDURANCE WITH THE HELP OF COMPUTER MOTOR TEST

A modification of the motor technique - the tapping test - is offered in its computer version for evaluation of volitional efforts and endurance. The study includes two series. The first series is designated as "background" and involves the performance of motor tasks. The second series is called "load" and includes, in addition to performing the main motor work, also a task with the score. The performance of the score is a factor that worsens the implementation of motor work. There is no time limit for presenting individual series. The end of the experiment is considered to be the test subject's refusal to perform the tasks in each series. The following quantitative indicators are registered: 1) the number of keystrokes on the monitor for equal periods of time (10 seconds); 2) the total time of series execution. According to the first indicator, the intensity of volitional efforts is estimated, and the second - the endurance of the subject. Two volitional types of person are distinguished: strong and enduring. The fields of application of the technique are discussed.

Interest-Free Treasury Bonds (IFTB)

Purpose: Although the treasury bill is the most important monetary instrument in central banking, its application in different phases of the business cycle, especially in a liquidity trap, is not working well. To remove this obstacle “Interest-Free Treasury Bond” (IFTB) is introduced as a substitute for conventional treasury bills.&#x0D; Design: IFTB is a valuable paper which is issued by government treasury through a barter contract and is sold to central or commercial banks. The issuer is a debtor to the holder and has to pay back the nominal value at maturity; in addition, the issuer is committed to lending a similar amount of money to the paper holder for an equal period. Zero interest rate is nominated for lending and borrowing.&#x0D; Finding: IFTB is a zero-coupon, asset-backed note with no interest and is designed upon “debt equal to future loan”, or “loan equal to future debt” with “time-withdrawal right”. The paper holder can supply and transact her bond in the secondary market at a competitive price.&#x0D; Practical implication: It can be used as a substitute for conventional treasury bills. All conventional and non-usury systems can implement IFTB.&#x0D; JEL: E43, E44, E52, E58, E62, E63

Productivety of swine fed on poliacrylamide, mineral and vitamin additives

The feeding effect of polyacrylamide (PA), mineral and vitamin additives (MVA) on the reproductive and productive qualities of sows, as well as the development and viability of piglets gained from them has been studied. The polyacrylamide, mineral and vitamin additives have been added to the sow diet of the 2nd and 3rd experemental groups. It has been done according to the animal need in minerals and vitamins. In proportion of 0,5/1 kg of live weight, the mineral and vitamin aditives, polyacrylamide have been added to the ration of sows from the 2nd experimental group. The mineral and vitamin aditives have been added to the ration of the 3rd group in such proportion: iron sulfate – 200, copper carbonate – 15, zinc – 84, cobalt – 3, manganese chloride – 69, potassium iodide (stabilized) – 170 mcg, vitamins A – 2.8 th. IO, D – 736 IO, B1 – 1.4 mg; B2 – 8.4 micrograms per head per day. The mineral and vitamin additives, polyacrylamide have been added to the sow diet of the 4th experimental group in the same proportion as it has been already mentioned above. The sows fed on PA and MVA for 60 days. The feeding was stopped 10 days before farrowing. The experiment on piglets has been carried out in 2 stages. The equalization period was 25 days (the ration of piglets from the control and experimental group was the same). The main period was 150 days (the control group of animals fed on standard compound fodder). The experimental group fed on additional PA and MVA. It has been noticed when the additives are added to the sow diet the gained piglets have an increase of viability, immun response (due to gamma globulins increase in blood proteins) and the average live weight by 23.3% during the rising period. Key words: sows, piglets, polyacrylamide, mineral elements, vitamins, live weight, albumin, globulins, rearing, fattening, feed costs, slaughter yield.

P‐58: Efficiency Enhancement by Non‐Overlapping Time Design and Adaptive Ratio Control for Charge Pump of Display Drivers

In this paper, a high‐efficiency solution to multi‐phase charge pump with full‐coverage integer voltage conversion ratios (VCRs) ranges from 1 to 2n is proposed. To improve the systematic efficiency of multi‐phase charge pump, the critical aspect of non‐overlapping (NON) time is designed. To precisely set the NON time of multi‐phase clock signals, counter‐based solution is proposed. The solution makes NON time to be evenly inserted into every clock phase and achieves equal charging period. In addition, an efficiency enhancement scheme is used by turning off some unnecessary converter stages to improve the efficiency at some particular VCRs. Based on 0.25 µm process, this proposed control strategy is conducted in a multi‐phase power converter. And its peak efficiency and current drivability can reach 96% and 6 mA, respectively.

Interest-Free Treasury Bonds (IFTB): Islamic Finance and Legal Clarifications

Purpose: Although the treasury bill is the essential monetary instrument in central banking operations, its application in Islamic banking is not legitimate because it involves usury. This implies that the system cannot apply monetary and fiscal policies. To remove this obstacle “Interest-Free Treasury Bond” (IFTB) is introduced as a substitute for conventional treasury bills.&#x0D; Design: IFTB is a valuable paper which is issued by government treasury through a barter contract and is sold to central or commercial banks. The issuer is a debtor to the holder, and has to pay back the nominal value at maturity to the holder; in addition, the issuer is committed to lending a similar amount of money to the paper holder for an equal period. The Shariah and legal background of IFTB is explained through new contract types of “time-barter contract” and “time-loan contract”.&#x0D; Finding: IFTB is a zero-coupon, asset-backed note with no interest and is designed upon “debt equal to future loan”, or “loan equal to future debt” with “time-withdrawal right”. The paper holder can supply and transact her bond in the secondary market at a competitive price.&#x0D; Practical Implication: It can be used as a substitute for conventional treasury bills. All traditional and non-usury systems can implement IFTB.&#x0D; JEL: E43, E44, E52, E58, E62, E63

Early mortality in metastatic lung cancer: A SEER population data analysis.

9103 Background: Millions of dollars invested in improving outcomes for metastatic lung cancer patients are essentially aimed at extending long term survival, with significant benefits being achieved over the last decade. However, little is known about lung cancer patients who die rapidly after diagnosis, potentially being deprived of these advances. We analyzed population-based data to describe real-world outcomes in metastatic lung cancer patients focusing on patients with early mortality. Methods: Using the Survival, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Database we analyzed adult metastatic lung cancers diagnosed between 1994-2014. This period was divided into 3 equal time periods: 1994-2000 (TP1), 2001-2007 (TP2) and 2008-2014 (TP3). Early mortality was defined as death within 2 months of diagnosis. Correlations between categorical variables were analyzed with chi squared tests and survival was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method. Results: Of 276,527 patients diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer, median age was 67 (range 20-105) and 154,465 (56%) were males. Thirty eight percent (103,830) of all patients died within 2 months of diagnosis. Of these early deaths, 96,344 (92.8%) were due to lung cancer. While the 2-year survival almost doubled from TP1 compared to TP3 (6% vs 11%, p &lt; 0.001), the percentage of patients who died within 2 months only marginally improved (39.7% vs. 36.2% in TP1 vs TP3, respectively). For patients surviving at least 2 months, 2-year survival increased from 10% to 18% in TP1 vs TP3 (p &lt; 0.001). Factors associated with early mortality include age &gt; 65 (45% vs 31%), unmarried status (42% vs 34%), male sex (39% vs 36%), liver metastases (47% vs 32%) and large cell carcinoma vs adenocarcinoma (44% vs 36%) (all p &lt; 0.001). Conclusions: While there has been a steady improvement in the long-term overall survival of patients with metastatic lung cancer, over one third of patients still die within 2 months of diagnosis. This has only marginally improved in the last 20 years. Research is urgently needed to identify causative and treatable factors.

Spinal Muscular Atrophy: Ordering Trends Pre- and Post-ACOG Committee Opinion 691 [17O

INTRODUCTION: Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a leading inherited cause of infant death and is second to cystic fibrosis (CF) as a common, life-limiting autosomal recessive disorder. In March 2017, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) released a committee opinion (691) stating that screening for SMA should be offered to all patients considering pregnancy or currently pregnant. METHODS: To assess the uptake of SMA screening following the ACOG recommendations, a retrospective analysis of tests ordered from healthcare practices for single gene carrier screening of SMA and CF was performed. Data were analyzed over two equal time periods pre- and post-March 2017. RESULTS: Data were collected from nearly 4,000 healthcare providers who ordered at least one SMA test in the study period. The average number of monthly tests ordered per practice was six pre-ACOG opinion, and 16.7 post-ACOG opinion. Over 50% of practices did not order SMA testing prior to the ACOG opinion. Among practices regularly ordering testing for CF there was an increase in testing for SMA post-opinion, however, the number of CF tests received was 27% higher than SMA tests received. CONCLUSION: Carrier screening for SMA increased more than two and half times post ACOG opinion, likely due to the new recommendations. Despite the increase in SMA carrier tests, the number of SMA tests post-opinion did not match the number of CF tests from healthcare practices sending both tests to our laboratory. These findings suggest increased adoption of SMA screening guidelines but still not at the level observed for CF.

Isochronous cosmological solutions of the Friedmann–Robertson–Walker model

In this paper, the periodic solutions of the equation of Friedmann–Robertson–Walker cosmology with a cosmological constant are investigated. Using variable transformation, the original second-order ordinary differential equation is converted to a planar dynamical system with cosmic time t. Numerical simulations indicate that period function T(h) of this dynamical system is monotonically increasing. However, a new planar dynamical system could be deduced by using conformal time variable [Formula: see text]. We prove that the new planar dynamical system has two isochronous centers under certain parameter conditions by using Picard–Fuchs equation. Explicitly, we find that there exist two families of periodic solutions with equal period for the new planar dynamical system which is derived from the Friedmann–Robertson–Walker model.

Production and maintenance strategies for parallel machines with load transfer in case of failure

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to deal with the problem of integration of production and maintenance policies. In this context, the authors consider production systems made of parallel machines producing a single product over a finite horizon made of equal periods for which a forecasted demand is known. The authors investigate the impact of switching production in case of failure of any given machine.Design/methodology/approachA mathematical model is first developed to find an optimal production plan which minimizes the average total storage, shortage and production costs. Then, using this optimal production plan and taking into account the influence of the production rate on the degradation of each machine, optimal preventive maintenance (PM) policies are proposed for the situations with and without switching.FindingsOptimal production rates are determined for each production period and for each machine. Optimal PM periods are also computed for each machine.Practical implicationsUsually, in manufacturing systems, the production rate of a machine influences its failure rate. In case a machine fails, it takes a random time to repair it during which production is lost. The paper attempts to propose a switching policy (SP) according to which the lost production is compensated by all the other machines. The effects of the SP coupled with the PM strategy are shown through a numerical example.Originality/valueContrarily to previous works, the authors consider more realistic settings with a non-negligible random time for repairing failed machines. In order to compensate the lost production during the repair of a failed machine, a SP is proposed to transfer the load uniformly to all the other machines. As a result, those machines will produce at a higher production rate and will consequently have their failure rate increased. It will therefore be essential to determine an optimal PM schedule knowing that durations of these activities are not negligible. It is shown that the simultaneous implementation of periodic PM and load transfer in case of failure is the most economical integrated strategy.

Environmental Impoverishment, Aging, and Reduction in Mastication Affect Mouse Innate Repertoire to Explore Novel Environments and to Assess Risk

Studies indicate that inhibition of adequate masticatory function, due to soft diet, occlusal disharmony, or molar losses affects the cognitive behavior of rodents. However, no study has tested the effects on new environments exploration and risk assessment coupled with a combination of masticatory function rehabilitation and environmental enrichment. In the present report, we tested the hypothesis that age, environment, and masticatory changes may interact and alter exploratory patterns of locomotor activity and mice preferences in an open field (OF) arena. As OF arenas are widely used to measure anxiety-like behavior in rats and mice. We examined in an open arena, the exploratory and locomotor activities of mature (6-month-old; 6M), late mature (12-month-old; 12M), and aged (18-month-old; 18M) mice, subjected to distinct masticatory regimens and environments. Three different regimens of masticatory activity were used: continuous normal mastication with hard pellets (HD); normal mastication followed by reduced mastication with equal periods of pellets followed by soft powder – HD/SD; or rehabilitated masticatory activity with equal periods of HD, followed by powder, followed by pellets – HD/SD/HD). Under each diet regimen, half of the individuals were raised in standard cages [impoverished environment (IE)] and the other half in enriched cages [enriched environment (EE)]. Animals behavior on the open field (OF) task were recorded by webcam and analyzed with Any Maze software (Stöelting). The locomotor and exploratory activities in OF task declined with age, and this was particularly evident in 18M HD EE mice. Although all groups kept their preference by the peripheral zone, the outcomes were significantly influenced by interactions between environment, age, and diet. Independent of diet regime, 6M young mice maintained in an EE where voluntary exercise apparatus is available, revealed significant less body weight than all other groups. Although body weight differences were minimized as age progressed, 18M EE group revealed intragroup significant influence of diet regimens. We suggest that long life environmental enrichment reduces the tendency to avoid open/lit spaces (OF) and this is particularly influenced by masticatory activity. These measurements may be useful in discussions of anxiety-related tasks.

Sacubitril/valsartan reduces ventricular arrhythmias in parallel with left ventricular reverse remodeling in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction.

Sacubitril/valsartan reduced the occurrence of sudden cardiac death in the PARADIGM-HF trial. However, limited information is available about the mechanism. Heart failure (HF)-patients receiving sacubitril/valsartan for a class-I indication equipped with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) or cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) with remote tele-monitoring were retrospectively analyzed. Device-registered arrhythmic-events were determined [ventricular tachycardia/fibrillation (VT/VF), appropriate therapy, non-sustained VT (NsVT; > 4beats and < 30s), hourly premature ventricular contraction (PVC)-burden], following sacubitril/valsartan initiation (incident-analysis) and over an equal time period before initiation (antecedent-analysis). Reverse remodeling to sacubitril/valsartan was defined as an improvement of left ventricular ejection fraction of ≥ 5% between baseline and follow-up. A-total of 151 HF-patients with reduced LVEF (29 ± 9%) were included. Patients were switched from ACE-I or ARB to equal doses of sacubitril/valsartan (expressed as %-target-dose; before = 58 ± 30% vs. after = 56 ± 27%). The mean follow-up of both the incident and antecedent analysis was 364 days. Following the initiation, VT/VF-burden dropped (individual patients with VT/VF pre_n = 19 vs. post_n = 10, total-episodes of VT/VF pre_n = 51 vs. post_n = 14, both p < 0.001), resulting in reduced occurrence of appropriate therapy (pre_n = 16 vs. post_n = 6; p < 0.001). NsVT-burden per patient also dropped (mean episodes pre_n = 7.7 ± 11.8 vs. post_n = 3.7 ± 5.4; p < 0.001). There was no impact on atrial-fibrillation burden. PVC-burden dropped significantly which was associated with an improvement in BiV-pacing in patients with < 90% BiV-pacing at baseline. A higher degree of reverse remodeling was associated with a lower burden of NsVT and PVCs (both p < 0.05). Initiation of sacubitril/valsartan is associated with a lower degree of VT/VF, resulting in less ICD-interventions. This beneficial effect on ventricular arrhythmias might be related to cardiac reverse remodeling.

Engineering Topological Nodal Line Semimetals in Rashba Spin-Orbit Coupled Atomic Chains

In this paper, we study an atomic chain in the presence of modulated charge potential and modulated Rashba spin-orbit coupling (RSOC) of equal periods. We show that for commensurate periodicities, λ = 4 n with integer n, the three-dimensional synthetic space obtained by sliding the two phases of the charge potential and RSOC features a topological nodal-line semimetal protected by an anti-unitary particle-hole symmetry. The location and shape of the nodal lines strongly depend on the relative amplitude between the charge potential and RSOC.