PC Values Research Articles

Genetic Variants of Alcohol Metabolizing Enzymes and Alcohol-Related Liver Cirrhosis Risk

Alcohol-related liver disease (ARLD) is a major public health issue caused by excessive alcohol consumption. ARLD encompasses a wide range of chronic liver lesions, alcohol-related liver cirrhosis being the most severe and harmful state. Variations in the genes encoding the enzymes, which play an active role in ethanol metabolism, might influence alcohol exposure and hence be considered as risk factors of developing cirrhosis. We conducted a case-control study in which 164 alcohol-related liver cirrhosis patients and 272 healthy controls were genotyped for the following functional single nucleotide variations (SNVs): ADH1B gene, rs1229984, rs1041969, rs6413413, and rs2066702; ADH1C gene, rs35385902, rs283413, rs34195308, rs1693482, and rs35719513; CYP2E1 gene, rs3813867. Furthermore, copy number variations (CNVs) for ADH1A, ADH1B, ADH1C, and CYP2E1 genes were analyzed. A significant protective association with the risk of developing alcohol-related liver cirrhosis was observed between the mutant alleles of SNVs ADH1B rs1229984 (Pc value = 0.037) and ADH1C rs283413 (Pc value = 0.037). We identified CNVs in all genes studied, ADH1A gene deletions being more common in alcohol-related liver cirrhosis patients than in control subjects, although the association lost statistical significance after multivariate analyses. Our findings support that susceptibility to alcohol-related liver cirrhosis is related to variations in alcohol metabolism genes.

Chase-Escape percolation on the 2D square lattice

Chase-escape percolation is a variation of the standard epidemic spread models. In this model, each site can be in one of three states: unoccupied, occupied by a single prey, or occupied by a single predator. Prey particles spread to neighboring empty sites at rate p, and predator particles spread only to neighboring sites occupied by prey particles at rate 1, killing the prey particle that existed at that site. It was found that the prey can survive forever with non-zero probability, if p>pc with pc<1. Earlier simulations showed that pc is very close to 1∕2. Using Monte Carlo simulations in D=2, we estimate the value of pc to be 0.49451±0.00001 and the critical exponents are consistent with the undirected percolation universality class. We check that at pc, the correlation functions at large length scales are rotationally invariant. We define a discrete-time parallel-update version of the model, which brings out the relation between chase-escape and undirected bond percolation. We further show that for all p<pc, in D dimensions, the probability that the number of predators in the absorbing configuration is greater than s is bounded from below by exp(−Kp−1s1∕D), where K is some p-independent constant. This is in contrast to the exponentially decaying cluster size distribution in the standard percolation theory. Even so, the scaling function for the cluster size distribution for p near pc decays exponentially: the stretched exponential behavior dominates for s≫s∗, but s∗ diverges near pc. We also study the problem starting from an initial condition with predator particles on all lattice points of the line y=0 and prey particles on the line y=1. In this case, for pc<p<1, the center of mass of the fluctuating prey and predator fronts travel at the same speed. This speed is strictly smaller than the speed of an Eden front with the same value of p, but with no predators. This is caused by the prey sites at the leading edge being eaten up by predators. The fluctuations of the front follow KPZ scaling both above and below the depinning transition at p=1.

Design of Single Anti-Reflection Film for High Power Semiconductor Laser Facet

The catastrophic optical damage (COD) threshold of high power semiconductor laser chip is very important in its application. In this paper, based on the transfer matrix calculation method, a coating model is established to explain the relationship between the design parameters and COD threshold. The influence of the refractive index of the film in the whole range between Air and GaAs medium is analyzed. The influence of the refractive index in the range of 1.1 ~ 3.3 on the reflectivity of the film and on the COD threshold are theoretically simulated. The simulation results show that in the design of actual coating parameters, not only the reasonable PC value, but also the requirement of reducing reflectivity and the trade-off between reflectivity and PC value should be considered. In addition, the possible refractive index parameters of the film, the reflectivity of the corresponding film and the corresponding PC value are reflected in the simulation diagram. This paper provides ideas for the improvement of COD threshold and the reliability of chip facet.

Procalcitonin: the ideal predictor of anastomotic leakage. But, when?

Background: Rectal cancer ranks 3rd among the most common malignancies in both sexes. Abdominal infections that can be seen after rectal cancer surgery are the most feared postoperative complications, as they can also be the harbinger of anastomotic leakage. According to its localization, the rate of anastomotic leak varies between 4% and 29.5%. Procalcitonin (PCT) is an increasing parameter in bacterial infections and sepsis. Therefore, it is used to monitor the infection and the effectiveness of the treatment. Our study we aimed to evaluate the effect of PCT on early diagnosis of anastomotic leakage in rectal surgery and the correlation between PCT and CRP and WBC levels.Methods: File records of 50 patients who were operated on for rectal cancer and had anastomosis between 2016 and 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Demographic features, operation information, preoperative and postoperative clinical features of the patients were recorded. The WBC, CRP and procalcitonin values of the patients were measured on the preoperative and postoperative 1st and 5th days. Patients were divided into two groups as PC values&lt;2 ng/ml and ≥2 ng/ml. Patients with surgical site infections were found. The relationship between hospital stay and PCT levels and those with surgical incision site infection and those with intra-abdominal infection was examined. The correlation between PCT values and CRP and WBC values of the patients was evaluated.Results: There was no significant difference in PCT values in infections at the surgical incision site. However, it was observed that the PCT values of patients with surgical infection in the abdomen were significantly higher than those without (p=0.005). It was observed that the PCT level was high and the duration of hospital stay was observed to be prolonged in patients with infections in the surgical incision area and in the abdomen.Conclusions: PCT can be used as a biochemical parameter in terms of abdominal infection and anastomotic leaks. It is recommended to be checked especially on the fifth postoperative day and to investigate for anastomotic leakage if it is seen to reach the highest value.

Comparison of yield, composition and quality of milk of Polish Holstein-Friesian cows in conventional and automatic milking systems

Abstract The aim of the present study was to evaluate the changes in selected production and functional traits of Polish Holstein-Friesian cows after switching from a conventional (CMS) to an automatic milking system (AMS). The study consisted of 3398 Polish Holstein- Friesian dairy cows, from 16 herds in which CMS was changed to AMS. Cows were in their 1st (L1) or 2nd lactation (L2). The data consisted of milk yield [MY, kg], fat content [FC, %], protein content [PC, %], dry matter [DM, %], lactose content [LC, %], urea content [MU, mg/l], somatic cell count [SCC, thous./ml] and score [SCS, log]. The milking system had a significant impact on milk yield, fat, lactose, dry matter and urea contents. Regardless of lactation number, milk derived from CMS was characterised by higher values for FC, PC, DM SCC and SCS, while milk from AMS had higher MY, LC and MU. Multifactor analysis of variance also confirmed significant effect of herd, season, herd × milking system interaction on SCS in milk of cows in L1. In the studied herds change from CMS to AMS was evaluated separately for cows in L1 and L2. The transitioning from CMS to AMS resulted in the decrease of fat content in 6 L1 and 7 L2 herds, dry matter in 8 L1 and 5 L2 herds. SCS in milk also decreased in 4 L1 and 5 L2 herds. The change caused the increase of MY in 11 L1 and 9 L2 herds, lactose content in 6 L1 and 4 L2 herds and urea content in 9 L1 and 10 L2 herds. AMS may positively affect milk yield and health status, however, the change of milking system should be also accompanied by the change in herd management.

Caracterización del pasto mombaza como materia prima para producir bioetanol

El objetivo de este estudio realizado en 2017 fue caracterizar el pasto mombaza (Megathyrsus maximus) para evaluar su potencial como materia prima para la producción de biocombustible líquido (bioetanol). La producción anual de biomasa, el poder calorífico, la composición química y el rendimiento teórico de bioetanol fueron determinadas en cuatro frecuencias de corte (30, 60, 90 y 120 d después del rebrote). Los datos se analizaron con el procedimiento GLM (SAS) y las medias de los tratamientos se compararon con la prueba de Tukey (p 0.05). La mayor producción de biomasa, poder calorífico, producción de energía, producción de bioetanol, FDN, LDA y hemicelulosa se obtuvieron en la frecuencia de corte de 120 d con 11 Mg ha-1 año-1; 16.1 MJ kg-1; 178.4 GJ ha-1 año-1; 238.2 L Mg-1 MS y 68.6, 6.5, 23.3%, respectivamente. No obstante, el mayor contenido de celulosa y FDA se encontraron en la frecuencia de corte de 90 d, con 41.2 y 47.4%, respectivamente. Los valores más altos de humedad, PC y cenizas se encontraron en la frecuencia de corte de 30 d con valores de 8.2, 10.4 y 12.1%, respectivamente, mientras que el contenido de EE fue mayor en la frecuencia de corte de 60 d (1.6%). De acuerdo con los resultados obtenidos en este estudio el pasto mombaza (Megathyrsus maximus) puede ser considerado como una materia prima atractiva para la producción de bioetanol en climas tropicales.

THE IMPACT OF NATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS ON THE ECONOMIC GROWTH OF EUROPEAN ECONOMIES

The aim of this paper is to examine the impact of national competitiveness, measured by GCI 4.0, on the economic growth of European economies within the CEFTA free trade zone, the European Single Market, and the European Monetary Union. The impact of GCI 4.0 on economic growth is analyzed collectively at the level of European economies (34 countries observed), and then analytically per levels of economic integration in CEFTA, EU, and EMU. Panel regression models are used in the paper to assess this impact, namely the Pooled OLS model, fixed effects model (FEM), and random effects model (REM), which increase the number of observations and thus alleviate the research limitation related to a short observation period. The obtained values of the F-test and Breusch-Pagan LM test show that for all 4 observed groups of countries there are significant fixed and random effects. Based on the results of the Sargan-Hansen test, the FEM model was used to estimate the parameters and predict the values of the dependent variable lnRBDP_pc based on changes in the values of the independent variable lnGCI4_0 for the observed European economies collectively as well as at the European Union and the European Monetary Union integration levels. The REM model was used for the CEFTA integration level. Research results show that there exists a positive and statistically significant impact of national competitiveness on real economic growth at the level of the observed European economies collectively as well as analytically within the CEFTA free trade zone, the European Single Market, and the European Monetary Union in the period 2018-2019. The results further show that an increase in the value of the global national competitiveness index 4.0 by 1% leads to increase in real GDP pc by 1.659% within the 34 European economies observed (CEFTA, EU, and EMU). An increase in the value of GCI 4.0 by 1% within CEFTA leads to increase in the value of real GDP pc by 2.183%; at the level of the European Union it leads to increase in the value of real GDP pc by 1.772%, while at the level of the European Monetary Union the growth of GCI 4.0 by 1% leads to increase in the value of real GDP pc by 1.256%. The results show that the strength of the impact decreases with a higher level of economic integration of countries, higher average value of GCI 4.0, and higher average real gross domestic product per capita, because within the observed economies the lowest value of GCI 4.0 and real GDP per capita is within the CEFTA free trade zone, followed by the European Union, while the highest values of GCI 4.0 and real GDP pc are at the level of the European Monetary Union. The cause of this can be found in the fact that when all analytical pillars of national competitiveness that will lead to an increase in economic growth are significantly improved, in order to ensure further growth it is necessary to identify and improve new factors of economic growth.

Evaluation of serum ATX and LPA as potential diagnostic biomarkers in patients with pancreatic cancer

BackgroundPancreatic cancer (PC) is a devastating disease that has a poor prognosis and a total 5-year survival rate of around 5%. The poor prognosis of PC is due in part to a lack of suitable biomarkers that can allow early diagnosis. The lysophospholipase autotaxin (ATX) and its product lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) play an essential role in disease progression in PC patients and are associated with increased morbidity in several types of cancer. In this study, we evaluated both the potential role of serum LPA and ATX as diagnostic markers in PC and their prognostic value for PC either alone or in combination with CA19-9.MethodsATX, LPA and CA19-9 levels were evaluated using ELISA of serum obtained from PC patients (n = 114) healthy volunteers (HVs: n = 120) and patients with benign pancreatic diseases (BPDs: n = 94).ResultsSerum levels of ATX, LPA and CA19-9 in PC patients were substantially higher than that for BPD patients or HVs (p < 0.001). The sensitivity of LPA in early phase PC was 91.74% and the specificity of ATX was 80%. The levels of ATX, LPA and CA19-9 were all substantially higher for early stage PC patients compared to levels in serum from BPD patients and HVs. The diagnostic efficacy of CA19-9 for PC was significantly enhanced by the addition of ATX and LPA (p = 0.0012).ConclusionMeasurement of LPA and ATX levels together with CA19-9 levels can be used for early detection of PC and diagnosis of PC in general.

Magnetic zeolitic imidazolate frameworks composite as an efficient adsorbent for arsenic removal from aqueous solution

In this study, magnetic zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIF-8) was prepared by a one-step method, where its evolution involved the coprecipitation reactions concomitant with the self-assembly reactions. Structural characterizations indicated that magnetic ZIF-8 showed irregular polyhedral morphology with a large specific surface area (696.5 m2/g) and saturation magnetization (4.31 emu/g). The as-prepared magnetic ZIF-8 enhanced the adsorption performance of As(III) and As(V), compared with bare Fe3O4. The pseudo second-order kinetic model (R2 = 0.9627 and 0.9893 for As(III) and As(V), respectively) and the Langmuir model (R2 = 0.9441 for As(III) and 0.9851 for As(V)) can fit the adsorption process well, confirming the nature of single-layer homogeneous chemisorption. The adsorption capacity was 30.87 and 17.51 mg/g, and their corresponding values of PC were 2.664 and 1.286 L/g, for As(III) and As(V), respectively. Solution pH showed an adverse effect on As(V) adsorption whereas no obvious effect on As(III). The ionic strength and coexisting ions had not obvious influence on adsorption of As(III) and As(V). The adsorption mechanism was explored and discussed based on the detailed spectroscopy analysis. This adsorbent can be recovered magnetically after use, which is promising for the practical application.

Prediction of Unknown Fault of Induction Motor using SVM following Decision-Directed Acyclic Graph

Prediction of unknown fault of induction motor is an important task to prevent it from unscheduled shutdown. Here, an unknown fault of induction motor has been classified and authenticated from other type of faults using multiclass support vector machine (SVM) following decision-directed acyclic graph (DDAG). Three phase current data samples are collected from induction motors with different known type of fault conditions and one induction motor with unknown type fault condition. Experiment has been performed for motor fault current signature analysis (MFCSA) to identify the type of unknown fault among the mixture of various type of faults. A feature extraction and dimensions reduction process called principal component analysis (PCA) is used to extract the information from fault current signature of each faulty motor and two eigenvalues of stator currents which are called principal components are effective fault features of the motors are captured with the help of PCA transformation. One vs one (OVO) SVM algorithm is applied to separate each pair of classes out of six classes nonlinearly by RBF type kernel assigning the unknown test sample to the class. The multiple PC values of each phase of each faulty induction motor are considered as one class. The OVO-SVM constructs n (n-1)/2 no of classifiers for n class problem of each phase and DDAG technique is used to create a directed acyclic graph using the classifiers to take accurate decision about the classification of the unknown fault. The unknown fault is classified for each phase among different type of faults depending on maximum membership count generated by classifiers and the fault is also authenticated from the results of DDAG of three phases.

Analysis of the diagnosis of occupational radiogenic neoplasms in three cases of leukemia

Objective: To analyze the diagnosis of 3 cases of leukemia applying for the diagnosis of occupational radiogenic neoplasms. Methods: Retrospective analysis the occupational history, the disease history and the probability of causation (PC value) information of 3 radiological workers. Results: Two cases' PC value of 95% confidence limit of were >50%, and they were diagnosed as radiogenic neoplasms. One case was <50% and diagnosed as nonoccupational radiogenic neoplasms. Conclusion: The probability of causation analysis has important guiding significance for the diagnosis of occupational radiogenic neoplasms. Radiological workers should improve their awareness of self-protection and reduce the occurrence of occupational diseases.

Thermal Laser Separation of PERC and SHJ Solar Cells

This article investigates thermal laser separation (TLS) on p-type Czochralski-grown silicon (Cz-Si) passivated emitter and rear cells (PERC) and n-type Cz-Si heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells. The TLS comprises of two laser-based processes: the crack initiation by a scribe laser and the crack propagation by a cleave process leading to separated cells with smooth edge surfaces. The sole impact of the cleave process on the cells' passivation layers is examined by performing it without the initial scribe, not separating the samples. By means of photoluminescence imaging, different cleave laser powers PC on passivated PERC and SHJ cell precursors are investigated, and the optimum PC values are then chosen for the processing of metallized and fired host cells with half cell and shingle cell layouts. Both, the cleave process as well as the complete TLS process are then separately performed in order to investigate the effect of each individual process by SunsVOC measurements taken before and after processing. For monofacial PERC cells, a drop in pseudofill factor ΔpFF = - 0.3%abs is recorded after TLS of the host cell into five shingle cells with 31.35 mm cell width. The effect on bifacial SHJ cells is stronger with ΔpFF = - 2.1%abs. Thereby, the cleave process itself does not induce significant losses in the cell performance for both cell types. The main losses are attributed to the recombination at the newly created unpassivated edges after complete TLS.

Construct validity and responsiveness of commonly used patient reported outcome instruments in decompression for lumbar spinal stenosis

BackgroundValidity and responsiveness of Oswestry disability index (ODI), Roland Morris disability questionnaires (RMDQ), Short Form-12 Physical Component Score (SF-12 PCS) and Short Form-12 Mental Component Score (SF-12 MCS) in patients undergoing open decompression for lumbar canal stenosis has not been previously reported. MethodsOutcome assessment was prospectively evaluated using the ODI, RMDQ, SF-12 PCS and SF-12 MCS pre-intervention and at average follow-up of three months post-intervention. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to evaluate the association between change in values of ODI, RMDQ, SF-12 PCS and SF-12 MCS. Distribution based methods (Effect size [ES], standardised response mean [SRM]) and anchor based method (Area under the curve [AUC] of receiver operating curve [ROC]) were used to determine responsiveness. AUC value ≥ 0.70 is considered as adequate level of responsiveness and the outcome instrument with the largest AUC is considered to be the most responsive outcome instrument. ResultsThis study included 77 participants. Responsiveness was assessed at a mean follow-up of 12 weeks postoperatively. There was significant strong correlation between ODI and RMDQ (r = 0.65, p < 0.0001). The ES of ODI, RMDQ, SF-12 PCS and SF-12 MCS were 1.54, 1.48, 1.85 and 0.51 respectively. The SRM of RMDQ, ODI, SF-12 PCS and SF-12 MCS were 1.22, 1.17, 1.0 and 0.47 respectively. AUC of ODI, RMDQ, SF-12 PCS and SF-12 MCS were 0.83–0.88, 0.82 to 0.86, 0.78 to 0.81 and 0.69 to 0.70 respectively. ConclusionIt is recommended to use either ODI or RMDQ as region specific patient reported outcome instrument and SF-12 PCS as a health related quality of life outcome instrument to evaluate outcome after decompressive laminectomy for lumbar canal stenosis.

Detection of Pork Gelatin in Jelly Candy Using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)

This study aims to identify the content of pork gelatin in jelly candy using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) methods. This method provide information to the public in choosing halal and tested food products. By uses a stepwise cluster survey method to obtain a sample then the samples obtained were isolated in gelatin, analyzed using the FTIR spectrophotometer method, and continued with data analysis using PCA (Principal Component Analysis). In addition, DNA detection analysis of pork gelatin was carried out using the PCR method. The results of the study were FTIR spectrum at wavelengths of 1450 – 1300 cm-1, 1543 cm-1, and 2800-3000 cm-1. The classification of gelatin sources in jelly candy with PCA resulted in the proportion value of Principal Component 1 (PC 1) of 39%, the value of the proportion of Principal Component 2 (PC 2) of 31%, the value of the proportion of Principal Component 3 (PC 3) of 14.5% and the cumulative value of PC 1, PC 2, and PC 3 is 84.5%. DNA amplification of jelly candy samples by PCR proved that all jelly candy samples A, B, C, D, and E did not contain pork.

Multivariate analysis in sunflower genotypes for yield associated traits

Development and evaluation of genetics resources are an essential part of sunflower breeding. To evolve the potential heterotic hybrids in sunflower, plant breeding studies are being carried out for the selection of promising parental inbreds for various yield attributed traits. Ninety -one sunflower germplasm accessions were evaluated for seven quantitative traits during Rabi 2018-19 and data were subjected to biometric analysis for correlation and Principal Component Analysis. PCA analysis revealed that, out of 7 PCs, only 3 PCs exhibited more than 1.0 Eigenvalue and showed 71.45% variability for 91 genotypes. PC1 reported for highest variability in traits like days to 50% flowering and days to maturity. PC3 showed the positive load on yield attributing traits like hundred seed weight and single plant yield. PC1 and PC3 allowed for simultaneous selection of yield related traits. Maximum PC value found in genotypes TSG 349, GP6-313, CPI 1, CPI 12, CMS PET89B, NDI11, PM155, PM81, DRSF113, GP6 1075, TSG 331 and SCG 103 would be of practical value in sunflower breeding for identifying genotypes with specific traits for utilization in the breeding programme.

Tear Lipid Metabolites As Potential Diagnostic Biomarkers for Ocular Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease

Chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) remains a common threat after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HSCT), and ocular manifestations occur in up to 60% to 90% of cGVHD patients. We sought to reveal major metabolic dysregulation and to determine tear metabolites as potential biomarkers for ocular cGVHD. Twenty-three ocular cGVHD and 16 control tear samples were collected for this study. Differential metabolites were identified using a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry system. Spearman's test was used to analyze the correlation between metabolites and ophthalmic indexes (National Institutes of Health [NIH] eye score, fluorescein tear film break-up time [T-BUT], corneal fluorescein staining [CFS], and Schirmer's test). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was analyzed to evaluate the prediction potential of identified metabolites for ocular cGVHD. Differential metabolites were mainly observed in lipid metabolites, and we highlighted the lipid dysregulation in glycerophospholipid metabolism, sphingolipid metabolism, and biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids. In glycerophospholipid metabolism, phosphatidylcholine (34:1) (PC [34:1]) exhibited the strongest correlation with NIH eye score (r=0.80), T-BUT (r=0.79), CFS (r=0.77), and Schirmer's test (r=0.69). In sphingolipid metabolism, sphingomyelin (SM) was the most consistent with T-BUT (r=0.74) and CFS (r=0.71), whereas lactosylceramide (LacCer) was the most consistent with NIH eye score (r=0.76) and Schirmer's test (r=0.64). In biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) had the highest correlation with NIH eye score (r=0.73), T-BUT (r=0.60), CFS (r=0.67) and Schirmer's test (r=0.67) (P < .0001 for all). ROC analysis revealed that area under the curve (AUC) values for PC (34:1) (AUC=0.967), LacCer (AUC=0.946), SM (AUC=0.932), and DHA (AUC=0.929) were significantly correlated with cGVHD (P < .0001 for all). Our study identified PC (34:1), SM, LacCer, and DHA as promising tear biomarkers to indicate metabolic dysregulation and ophthalmic manifestations in ocular cGVHD.

Susceptibility role of soluble HLA-G and HLA-G 14-bp insertion/deletion polymorphism in inflammatory bowel disease

BackgroundInflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of chronic inflammatory disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. It is fundamentally related to a dysregulated immune response in the intestinal mucosa against microbiota in genetically predisposed individuals. Among the genetic and immunological factors that are suggested to have role in etiology and pathogenesis of IBD are human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-G molecules. Therefore, soluble HLA-G (sHLA-G) serum level and genetic association with HLA-G 14-bp insertion (Ins)/deletion (Del) polymorphism was analyzed in 100 IBD patients; 50 ulcerative colitis (UC) and 50 Crohn’s disease (CD), and 100 controls.ResultssHLA-G level was significantly elevated in IBD patients compared to controls (174.7 ± 27.1 vs. 126.8 ± 15.1; corrected probability [pc] < 0.001). The level was also elevated in UC patients compared to CD patients but the difference was not significant (180.5 ± 27.1 vs. 168.9 ± 26.3; p = 0.059). Receiver operating characteristic analysis confirmed the significance of sHLA-G in total IBD, UC, and CD patients (area under curve = 0.944, 0.961, and 0.927, respectively). The genetic association was analyzed under five genetic models (allele, recessive, dominant, overdominant, and codominant). At the allele level, Del allele frequency was significantly increased in total IBD patients (Odds ratio [OR] = 1.93; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.27–2.94; pc = 0.018) and CD patients (OR = 2.08; 95% CI = 1.23–3.54; pc = 0.042) compared to controls. Among UC patients, a similar increased frequency was observed, but the pc value was not significance (OR = 1.79; 95% CI = 1.07–3.00; p = 0.031). At the genotypic level, Del/Del genotype was associated with a significantly increased IBD-risk in total patients under codominant model (OR = 4.06; 95% CI = 1.56–10.56; pc = 0.024). sHLA-G level was not influenced by the Ins/Del polymorphism.ConclusionsThis study demonstrated a significant increase in serum level of sHLA-G in UC and CD patients. Further, HLA-G 14-bp Ins/Del polymorphism may be associated with susceptibility to IBD, particularly CD.

Effect of diverse recoding of granule cells on optokinetic response in a cerebellar ring network with synaptic plasticity

We consider a cerebellar ring network for the optokinetic response (OKR), and investigate the effect of diverse recoding of granule (GR) cells on OKR by varying the connection probability pc from Golgi to GR cells. For an optimal value of pc∗(=0.06), individual GR cells exhibit diverse spiking patterns which are in-phase, anti-phase, or complex out-of-phase with respect to their population-averaged firing activity. Then, these diversely-recoded signals via parallel fibers (PFs) from GR cells are effectively depressed by the error-teaching signals via climbing fibers from the inferior olive which are also in-phase ones. Synaptic weights at in-phase PF-Purkinje cell (PC) synapses of active GR cells are strongly depressed via strong long-term depression (LTD), while those at anti-phase and complex out-of-phase PF-PC synapses are weakly depressed through weak LTD. This kind of “effective” depression (i.e., strong/weak LTD) at the PF-PC synapses causes a big modulation in firings of PCs, which then exert effective inhibitory coordination on the vestibular nucleus (VN) neuron (which evokes OKR). For the firing of the VN neuron, the learning gain degree Lg, corresponding to the modulation gain ratio, increases with increasing the learning cycle, and it saturates at about the 300th cycle. By varying pc from pc∗, we find that a plot of saturated learning gain degree Lg∗ versus pc forms a bell-shaped curve with a peak at pc∗ (where the diversity degree in spiking patterns of GR cells is also maximum). Consequently, the more diverse in recoding of GR cells, the more effective in motor learning for the OKR adaptation.

Time of Evaluation of Pain Catastrophizing after Surgery for Upper Extremity Motor Disorders.

Background: The evaluation of pain catastrophizing, which is a negative emotion associated with pain, is useful for predicting pain after surgery and is also associated with upper extremity disability. Therefore, it is important to evaluate pain catastrophizing after surgery for upper limb musculoskeletal disorders. This study examined the appropriate time to evaluate pain catastrophizing after surgery for upper extremity motor disorders. Methods: A total of 32 patients underwent surgery. Pain catastrophizing (Pain Catastrophizing Scale: PCS) and pain intensity (Numerical Rating Scale: NRS) were measured at the start of rehabilitation and 2, 4, and 8 weeks postoperatively. The subjective ability of the upper extremity was measured 8 weeks postoperatively using the Hand20 questionnaire. The variation in the postoperative PCS and NRS were investigated. Results: The PCS and NRS values were significantly lower 2 weeks postoperatively than at the time rehabilitation started. Pain catastrophizing was a significant predictor of pain, with the greatest degree of prediction at 2 weeks. Pain catastrophizing was also a significant predictor of the Hand20 result at 8 weeks postoperatively. Conclusions: Our data shows that pain catastrophizing should be evaluated 2 weeks postoperatively for the prediction of continuing pain.

Prediction of hypofibrinogenemia and thrombocytopenia at the point of care with the Quantra® QPlus® System

IntroductionLow fibrinogen and platelet counts are associated with bleeding and the need for transfusion. In this study, we investigated whether the Quantra® QPlus® parameters Fibrinogen Contribution (FCS) and Platelet Contribution (PCS) to clot stiffness could predict commonly used fibrinogen and platelet transfusion thresholds in patients undergoing major surgical procedures. MethodsThis study used data from a multicenter, prospective observational study of adult patients undergoing cardiac or major orthopedic surgery. Quantra and laboratory assays were performed in parallel at multiple time points. Logistic regression models were used to assess the ability of FCS and PCS to predict fibrinogen and platelet thresholds used to guide transfusions. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves were analyzed to determine the diagnostic accuracy and the optimal FCS and PCS values corresponding to the laboratory-based thresholds. ResultsThe areas under the ROC curves (AUCs) for FCS at fibrinogen thresholds of <120, 150, and 200 mg/dl ranged from 0.96 to 0.89. Similarly, for PCS at platelet thresholds of <50, 80, 100,000/μl, AUCs ranged from 0.95 to 0.89. The proposed optimal FCS and PCS cutoff values showed high negative predictive value and high sensitivity and specificity (both >86%) at the lowest fibrinogen and platelet threshold levels. ConclusionsThis study identifies potential cutoff values for QPlus FCS and PCS proposed for use in place of or in conjunction with laboratory-based assays fibrinogen and platelet thresholds to guide transfusion decisions in surgical patients. These cut-off values will need to be validated in future studies.