A Customizable Quantum-Dot Cellular Automata Building Block for the Synthesis of Classical and Reversible Circuits.

Quantum-dot cellular automata (QCA) are nanoscale digital logic constructs that use electrons in arrays of quantum dots to carry out binary operations. In this paper, a basic building block for QCA will be proposed. The proposed basic building block can be customized to implement classical gates, such as XOR and XNOR gates, and reversible gates, such as CNOT and Toffoli gates, with less cell count and/or better latency than other proposed designs.

Insights into the Hydrocarbon Tolerance of Two Devosia Isolates, D. chinhatensis Strain IPL18T and D. geojensis Strain BD-c194T, via Whole-Genome Sequence Analysis.

Hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) was among the most commonly used pesticides after the Second World War. The extensive use of this hydrocarbon for almost six decades has created a contamination problem on a global scale, and bioremediation methods are being extensively explored. The reported ability of some Devosia species to grow in the presence of appreciable amounts of hydrocarbons (2,000 mg/kg of contaminated soil) is attracting closer attention.

A novel Peptide-binding motifs inference approach to understand deoxynivalenol molecular toxicity.

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a type B trichothecene mycotoxin that is commonly detected in cereals and grains world-wide. The low-tolerated levels of this mycotoxin, especially in mono-gastric animals, reflect its bio-potency. The toxicity of DON is conventionally attributed to its ability to inhibit ribosomal protein biosynthesis, but recent advances in molecular tools have elucidated novel mechanisms that further explain DON's toxicological profile, complementing the diverse symptoms associated with its exposure.

Genome Assemblies of Three Soil-Associated Devosia species: D. insulae, D. limi, and D. soli.

Agricultural soils constitute highly diverse ecosystems with very rich bacterial populations. Recent studies employing next-generation sequencing techniques have begun to explore the dynamics of bacterial species of such soils and utilized metagenomics approaches to understand how the diversity in soil microorganisms is affected or modified by agricultural practices. Understanding any microorganism's environmental adaptability in the genomic era starts by fully appreciating their encoding genome.

Determinants of functional status among survivors of severe sepsis and septic shock: One-year follow-up.

Rationale: Sepsis is a leading cause of intensive care unit (ICU) admissions worldwide and a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Limited data exist regarding the outcomes and functional status among survivors of severe sepsis and septic shock.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the functional status among survivors of severe sepsis and septic shock a year after hospital discharge.

Report: trends in adherence to secondary prevention medications in post-acute coronary syndrome patients.

To evaluate patients' adherence to evidence-based therapies at an average of 2 years after discharge for Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) and to identify factors associated with non-adherence. This study was conducted at Hospital Pulau Pinang, Malaysia. A random sample of ACS patients (n=190) who had discharged on a regimen of secondary preventive medications were included and followed up over a three follow-up appointments at 8, 16, and 23 months post discharge.

Semantic Clustering of Search Engine Results.

This paper presents a novel approach for search engine results clustering that relies on the semantics of the retrieved documents rather than the terms in those documents. The proposed approach takes into consideration both lexical and semantics similarities among documents and applies activation spreading technique in order to generate semantically meaningful clusters. This approach allows documents that are semantically similar to be clustered together rather than clustering documents based on similar terms.

Levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers and novel flame retardants in microenvironment dust from Egypt: an assessment of human exposure.

There are very few studies reporting concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and novel flame retardants (FRs) or non-PBDEs in Africa and the Middle East. The present work reported concentrations of fourteen PBDE congeners and eleven non-PBDE flame retardants in dust samples collected from homes (n=17), workplaces (n=9) and cars (n=5) in the greater Cairo region. The median ∑PBDE concentrations were 57, 425 and 1608 ng g(-1) in homes, workplaces and cars respectively.

Draft Genome Sequences of Devosia sp. Strain 17-2-E-8 and Devosia riboflavina Strain IFO13584.

Here we report the draft genome of Devosia sp. strain 17-2-E-8, isolated from Ontario agricultural soil (Canada) with promising deoxynivalenol biotransformation capabilities. In addition, we report the draft genome of Devosia riboflavina strain IFO13584, used as a control strain in our studies aimed at highlighting unique gene clusters involved in deoxynivalenol epimerization.

Does the duration of smoking cessation have an impact on hospital admission and health-related quality of life amongst COPD patients?

Background: Lack of awareness among ex-smokers on the benefits of sustaining smoking cessation may be the main cause of their smoking relapse. This study explored health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and hospital admission amongst chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients according to the duration of smoking cessation.

Materials And Methods: This study recruited COPD patients from a chest clinic who agreed to participate in a medication therapy-adherence program from January to June 2013.

Microscale chaotic advection enables robust convective DNA replication.

The ability of chaotic advection under microscale confinement to direct chemical processes along accelerated kinetic pathways has been recognized for some time. However, practical applications have been slow to emerge because optimal results are often counterintuitively achieved in flows that appear to possess undesirably high disorder. Here we present a 3D time-resolved analysis of polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-mediated DNA replication across a broad ensemble of geometric states.

Novel AQP2 mutation causing congenital nephrogenic diabetes insipidus: challenges in management during infancy.

Congenital nephrogenic diabetes insipidus (NDI) is a rare inherited disorder, mostly caused by AVPR2 mutations. Less than 10% of cases are due to mutations in the aquaporin-2 (AQP2) gene. Diagnosis and management of this condition remain challenging especially during infancy.

Valproic acid induced hyperammonaemic encephalopathy.

Objective: To observe clinical and laboratory features of valproic acid-induced hyperammonaemic encephalopathy in patients taking valproic acid.

Methods: Observational study was conducted at the Neurology Department, Dow University of Health Sciences, Civil Hospital, Karachi, from February 26, 2010 to March 20, 2011. Ten patients on valproic acid therapy of any age group with idiopathic or secondary epilepsy, who presented with encephalopathic symptoms, were registered and followed up during the study.

Impact of sulfate and chloride on sediment phosphorus release in the Yangtze Estuary Reservoir, China.

The impact of sulfate (SO4(2-)) and chloride (Cl(-)) on phosphorus (P) release from sediment in the drinking water reservoir of Yangtze River Estuary was studied systematically. A significant correlation between sodium (Na(+)), Cl(-), SO4(2-) and total P was found, suggesting that P was directly or indirectly associated with these ions. SO4(2-) and Cl(-) were important factors that had an impact on P release from the sediment.

The impact of pharmacist-initiated interventions in improving acute coronary syndrome secondary prevention pharmacotherapy prescribing upon discharge.

What Is Known And Objectives: Pharmacists have the knowledge regarding optimal use of medications and the ability to influence physician prescribing. Successful interventions by a pharmacist to implement cardioprotective medications to a coronary artery disease patient's regimen would not only improve the patient's quality of care but may also increase his or her likelihood of survival. Therefore, the aim of this study was to (i) evaluate the effectiveness of pharmacist initiated interventions in increasing the prescription rates of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) secondary prevention pharmacotherapy at discharge, and to (ii) evaluate the acceptance rate of these interventions by prescribers.

Holocarboxylase synthetase interacts physically with euchromatic histone-lysine N-methyltransferase, linking histone biotinylation with methylation events.

Holocarboxylase synthetase (HCS) catalyzes the binding of the vitamin biotin to histones H3 and H4, thereby creating rare histone biotinylation marks in the epigenome. These marks co-localize with K9-methylated histone H3 (H3K9me), an abundant gene repression mark. The abundance of H3K9me marks in transcriptionally competent loci decreases when HCS is knocked down and when cells are depleted of biotin.

Patients' adherence to secondary prevention pharmacotherapy after acute coronary syndromes.

Background: Secondary prevention pharmacotherapy improves outcomes after acute coronary syndrome (ACS). However, poor medication adherence is common, and various factors play a role in adherence.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate patients' level of adherence to evidence-based therapies at an average of 6 months after discharge for acs and to identify factors associated with self-reported non-adherence.

Noninvasive management of hemangioma and vascular malformation using intralesional bleomycin injection.

Background: Successful treatment of vascular anomalies represents a challenging problem despite using various treatments. Intralesional injection of bleomycin has been successfully used in treatment of macrocystic lymphatic malformations and hemangiomas, based specifically on a high sclerosing effect on vascular endothelium.

Methods: In a prospective study of 75 patients, there were 47 women and 28 men.

Graphene-enhanced nanorefrigerants.

Recent reports that a host liquid's thermal properties can be augmented by dispersal of small quantities of nanoparticles have stimulated intense interest as an intriguing avenue to produce advanced heat transfer fluids. But effects are challenging to exploit in practical settings because it is difficult to prepare refrigerant-based dispersions displaying sufficient long-term stability. Moreover, the most dramatic enhancements in thermal conductivity obtained using anisotropic nanomaterials (e.

Education: DNA replication using microscale natural convection.

There is a need for innovative educational experiences that unify and reinforce fundamental principles at the interface between the physical, chemical, and life sciences. These experiences empower and excite students by helping them recognize how interdisciplinary knowledge can be applied to develop new products and technologies that benefit society. Microfluidics offers an incredibly versatile tool to address this need.

Online tools for bioinformatics analyses in nutrition sciences.

Recent advances in "omics" research have resulted in the creation of large datasets that were generated by consortiums and centers, small datasets that were generated by individual investigators, and bioinformatics tools for mining these datasets. It is important for nutrition laboratories to take full advantage of the analysis tools to interrogate datasets for information relevant to genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics. This review provides guidance regarding bioinformatics resources that are currently available in the public domain, with the intent to provide a starting point for investigators who want to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the bioinformatics field.

Use of evidence-based therapy for the secondary prevention of acute coronary syndromes in Malaysian practice.

Rationale: Despite the availability of various prevention guidelines on acute coronary syndrome (ACS), secondary prevention practice utilizing aspirin, beta-blockers, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors and statins still can be sub-optimal.

Aims And Objectives: To review and document the utilization of pharmacotherapy for the secondary prevention of ACS in patients discharged from a Malaysian hospital.

Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary hospital in Penang, Malaysia.

A simple microfluidic probe of nanoparticle suspension stability.

We describe a simple experimental tool that enables stability of multicomponent nanoparticle suspensions to be readily assessed by establishing a confinement-imposed chemical discontinuity at the interface between co-flowing laminar streams in a microchannel. When applied to examine Al(2)O(3) nanoparticle suspensions, this method readily reveals compositions that are susceptible to aggregation even when conventional bulk measurements (zeta potential, dynamic light scattering, bulk viscosity) suggest only subtle differences between formulations. This microfluidic stability test enables simple and rapid assessment of quality and variability in complex multicomponent mixtures for which few, if any, comparable data exist.

Guidelines adherence and hypertension control at a tertiary hospital in Malaysia.

Rationale, Aims And Objectives: Existing literature suggests that doctors' poor adherence with guidelines is one of the major contributing factors to suboptimal control of hypertension. This study aims to evaluate doctors' adherence with Malaysian clinical practice guideline (CPG 2008) in a tertiary care hospital, and factors associated with guideline adherence and hypertension control.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted at Hospital Pulau Pinang, Penang, Malaysia.