Abstract
The identification of CpG Islands play a major role in the analysis of DNA sequences because of association of CpG Islands with many epigenetic events. Some of these events are promoter ...activity and consequently gene prediction, chromosome inactivation, and for early detection of cancer etc. And hence the exact identification of CpG Islands in the stretch of DNA sequences has always remained a challenging task. Numerous computational algorithms have been developed for the identification of CpG Islands in DNA sequences. Recently various transform based methods have been reported for the CpG Islands detection in literature. In these transform based methods, there is a requirement of transforming the signal from time domain to frequency domain and correspondingly there is probability of transform biasing. Hence to overcome this issue, a modified P-spectrum based algorithm has been proposed in this paper. Also the performance of the proposed method has been compared with recently reported methods of CpG Islands detection using standard evaluation metrics. The performance of proposed method has been proved to be much better than the other methods and hence the proposed approach is an efficient method in detecting CpG Islands.
Fundamentally, material flow stress increases exponentially at deformation rates exceeding, typically, ~10
s
, resulting in brittle failure. The origin of such behavior derives from the dislocation ...motion causing non-Arrhenius deformation at higher strain rates due to drag forces from phonon interactions. Here, we discover that this assumption is prevented from manifesting when microstructural length is stabilized at an extremely fine size (nanoscale regime). This divergent strain-rate-insensitive behavior is attributed to a unique microstructure that alters the average dislocation velocity, and distance traveled, preventing/delaying dislocation interaction with phonons until higher strain rates than observed in known systems; thus enabling constant flow-stress response even at extreme conditions. Previously, these extreme loading conditions were unattainable in nanocrystalline materials due to thermal and mechanical instability of their microstructures; thus, these anomalies have never been observed in any other material. Finally, the unique stability leads to high-temperature strength maintained up to 80% of the melting point (~1356 K).
We sought to investigate the clinical determinants of intestinal failure and death in preterm infants with surgical NEC.
Retrospective comparison of clinical information between Group A = intestinal ...failure (Parenteral nutrition (PN) >90 days) and death and Group B = survivors and with PN dependence < 90 days in preterm infants with surgical NEC.
Group A (n = 99/143) had a lower mean gestational age (26.4 weeks SD3.5 vs. 29.4 SD 3.5; p = 0.013), lower birth weight (873 gm SD 427g vs. 1425 gm 894g; p = <0.001), later age of NEC onset (22 days SD20 vs. 16 days SD 17; p = 0.128), received surgery later (276 hours SD 544 vs. 117 hours SD 267; p = 0.032), had cholestasis, received dopamine (80.6% vs. 58.5%; p = 0.010) more frequently and had longer postoperative ileus time (19.8 days SD 15.4 vs. 11.8 days SD 6.5; p = <0.001) and reached full feeds later (93 days SD 45 vs. 44 SD 22; p = <0.001) than Group B.On multivariate logistic regression, higher birth weight was associated with lower risk (OR 0.35, 95% CI 0.15-0.82; p = 0.016) of TPN > 90 days or death. Longer length of bowel resected (OR 1.76, 95% CI 1.02-3.02; p = 0.039) and longer postoperative ileus (OR 2.87, 95% CI 1.26-6.53; p = 0.011) were also independently associated with TPN >90days or death adjusted for gestational age and antenatal steroid treatment.
In preterm infants with surgical NEC, clinical factors such as lower birth weight, longer bowel loss, and postoperative ileus days were significantly and independently associated with TPN >90 days or death.
Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a hyperinflammatory syndrome caused by macrophages and cytotoxic T cells with aberrant activation. The primary (genetic) form, which is caused by mutations ...that affect lymphocyte cytotoxicity and immune regulation, is most prevalent in children, whereas the secondary (acquired) form is prevalent in adults. Secondary HLH is commonly caused by infections or cancers, but it can also be caused by autoimmune disorders, in which case it is known as macrophage activation syndrome (MAS; or MAS-HLH). A 25-year-old female presented with a high-grade fever that lasted for two weeks. His laboratory results revealed pancytopenia, neutropenia, hypertriglyceridemia, hypofibrinogenemia, and hyperferritinemia. Based on the clinical presentation and laboratory findings, a provisional diagnosis of HLH has been made. A HLH protocol was utilized to treat the patient. During the course of hospitalization, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) was identified as the underlying cause. She improved dramatically after receiving an immunosuppressive regimen of etoposide, cyclosporine, and dexamethasone according to HLH protocol-2004 with individualized modifications. The clinician should be aware that HLH may be the initial manifestation of underlying SLE. Early diagnosis and aggressive, individualized treatment are the key to improving outcomes.
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