Intentional intoxication with monkshood plant leading to atrioventricular dissociation and ventricular ectopy in a 17-year-old female: a case report.

Background: Monkshood, a toxic plant containing a potent cardio- and neurotoxin called aconitine, can lead to a range of symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, dizziness, seizures, and cardiac arrhythmias. Mortality associated with this intoxication are due to ventricular tachyarrhythmias which are difficult to treat and often refractory in nature.

Case Presentation: We present a case of a 17-year-old female patient who presented to the emergency department after intentionally ingesting a monkshood plant and developed atrioventricular dissociation and frequent ventricular ectopy.

Impact of Solution {Ba}:{SO} on Charge Evolution of Forming and Growing Barite (BaSO) Crystals: A ζ-Potential Measurement Investigation.

The impact of solution stoichiometry on formation of BaSO (barite) crystals and the development of surface charge was investigated at various predefined stoichiometries ( = 0.01, 0.1, 1, 10, and 100, where = {Ba}:{SO}).

[Heart failure in young children; a serious cause of feeding problems].

Feeding problems in children are usually harmless and common, but can rarely exist as a result of pathology. Heart failure is one of them and has to be recognized early because of its many consequences. We present a 15-week-old female infant who was seen at the outpatient clinic.

Asymmetrical Dependence of {Ba}:{SO } on BaSO Crystal Nucleation and Growth in Aqueous Solutions: A Dynamic Light Scattering Study.

The impact of solution stoichiometry, upon formation of BaSO crystals in 0.02 M NaCl suspensions, on the development of particle size was investigated using dynamic light scattering (DLS). Measurements were performed on a set of suspensions prepared with predefined initial supersaturation, based on the quotient of the constituent ion activity product {Ba}{SO } over the solubility product (Ω = {Ba}{SO }/ = 100, 500, or 1000-11,000 in steps of 1000), and ion activity solution stoichiometries ( = {Ba}:{SO } = 0.

Long Lasting Antibodies From Convalescent Pertussis Patients Induce ROS Production and Bacterial Killing by Human Neutrophils.

Pertussis is a respiratory infection caused by the Gram-negative bacterium . Despite high vaccination coverage this disease remains a public health concern worldwide. A better understanding of the protective immune responses to is required for the development of improved vaccines.

Trust and Cooperation.

We AI researchers are concerned about the potential impact of artificially intelligent systems on humanity. In the first half of this essay, I argue that ethics is an evolved body of cultural knowledge that (among other things) encourages individual behavior that promotes the welfare of the society (which in turn promotes the welfare of its individual members). The causal paths involved suggest that and play key roles in this process.

Inter-species Metabolic Interactions in an In-vitro Minimal Human Gut Microbiome of Core Bacteria.

Knowledge of the functional roles and interspecies interactions are crucial for improving our understanding of the human intestinal microbiome in health and disease. However, the complexity of the human intestinal microbiome and technical challenges in investigating it pose major challenges. In this proof-of-concept study, we rationally designed, assembled and experimentally tested a synthetic Diet-based Minimal Microbiome (Db-MM) consisting of ten core intestinal bacterial species that together are capable of efficiently converting dietary fibres into short chain fatty acids (SCFAs).

Bifidobacterial β-Galactosidase-Mediated Production of Galacto-Oligosaccharides: Structural and Preliminary Functional Assessments.

In the current study the ability of four previously characterized bifidobacterial β-galactosidases (designated here as BgaA, BgaC, BgaD, and BgaE) to produce galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) was optimized. Of these enzymes, BgaA and BgaE were found to be promising candidates for GOS production (and the corresponding GOS mixtures were called GOS-A and GOS-E, respectively) with a GOS concentration of 19.0 and 40.

Galacto-oligosaccharides as infant prebiotics: production, application, bioactive activities and future perspectives.

Galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) are non-digestible oligosaccharides characterized by a mix of structures that vary in their degree of polymerization (DP) and glycosidic linkage between the galactose moieties or between galactose and glucose. They have enjoyed extensive scientific scrutiny, and their health-promoting effects are supported by a large number of scientific and clinical studies. A variety of GOS-associated health-promoting effects have been reported, such as growth promotion of beneficial bacteria, in particular bifidobacteria and lactobacilli, inhibition of pathogen adhesion and improvement of gut barrier function.

Infant-Associated Bifidobacterial β-Galactosidases and Their Ability to Synthesize Galacto-Oligosaccharides.

Galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) represent non-digestible glycans that are commercially produced by transgalactosylation of lactose, and that are widely used as functional food ingredients in prebiotic formulations, in particular in infant nutrition. GOS consumption has been reported to enhance growth of specific bacteria in the gut, in particular bifidobacteria, thereby supporting a balanced gut microbiota. In a previous study, we assessed the hydrolytic activity and substrate specificity of seventeen predicted β-galactosidases encoded by various species and strains of infant-associated bifidobacteria.

Controlling CaCO Particle Size with {Ca}:{CO } Ratios in Aqueous Environments.

The effect of stoichiometry on the new formation and subsequent growth of CaCO was investigated over a large range of solution stoichiometries (10 < < 10, where = {Ca}:{CO }) at various, initially constant degrees of supersaturation (30 < Ω < 200, where Ω = {Ca}{CO }/ ), pH of 10.5 ± 0.27, and ambient temperature and pressure.

Depletion-Induced Chiral Chain Formation of Magnetic Spheres.

Experimental evidence is presented for the spontaneous formation of chiral configurations in bulk dispersions of magnetized colloids that interact by a combination of anisotropic dipolar interactions and isotropic depletion attractions. The colloids are superparamagnetic silica spheres, magnetized and aligned by a carefully tuned uniform external magnetic field; isotropic attractions are induced by using poly(ethylene oxide) polymers as depleting agents. At specific polymer concentrations, sphere chains wind around each other to form helical structures-of the type that previously have only been observed in simulations on small sets of unconfined dipolar spheres with additional isotropic interactions.

The International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean Version 4.0.

Bathymetry (seafloor depth), is a critical parameter providing the geospatial context for a multitude of marine scientific studies. Since 1997, the International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO) has been the authoritative source of bathymetry for the Arctic Ocean. IBCAO has merged its efforts with the Nippon Foundation-GEBCO-Seabed 2030 Project, with the goal of mapping all of the oceans by 2030.

Scattering from colloidal cubic silica shells: Part II, static structure factors and osmotic equation of state.

Hypothesis: The shape of colloidal particles affects the structure of colloidal dispersions. The effect of the cube shape on the thermodynamics of colloidal cube dispersions has not yet been studied experimentally. Static light scattering measurements on colloidal cubic silica shells at finite concentrations allows us to measure the structure factor of colloidal cube fluids and to test theoretical predictions for the equation of state of hard convex superballs.

Scattering from colloidal cubic silica shells: Part I, particle form factors and optical contrast variation.

Hypothesis: Colloidal cubic silica shells, prepared from cuprous oxide cubes, with a typical size of 100 nm are promising model particles for scattering studies on dilute, as well as concentrated fluids, of non-spherical colloids.

Experiments: Small angle X-ray scattering, and static light scattering are employed to determine form factors of cubic silica shells and silica covered cuprous oxide cubes. Contrast variation experiments are performed to assess the refractive index and optical homogeneity of the cubic silica shells, which is important for the extension of the scattering study to concentrated dispersions of cubic shells in Part II (Dekker, submitted for publication).

Multi-component meningococcal serogroup B (MenB)-4C vaccine induces effective opsonophagocytic killing in children with a complement deficiency.

Vaccination against meningococcal serogroup B is recommended for patients with a complement deficiency; however, although immunogenicity in this patient group has been shown, efficacy has not yet been established. In this study, we collected serum from children with a complement deficiency in the alternative pathway or in late terminal pathway before and after vaccination with multi-component meningococcal serogroup B (MenB)-4C. MenB-4C is a multi-component, protein-based vaccine against MenB consisting of factor H-binding protein, Neisserial heparin-binding protein, Neisserial adhesion A and outer membrane vesicles containing Porin A.

Learning and Acting in Peripersonal Space: Moving, Reaching, and Grasping.

The young infant explores its body, its sensorimotor system, and the immediately accessible parts of its environment, over the course of a few months creating a model of peripersonal space useful for reaching and grasping objects around it. Drawing on constraints from the empirical literature on infant behavior, we present a preliminary computational model of this learning process, implemented and evaluated on a physical robot. The learning agent explores the relationship between the configuration space of the arm, sensing joint angles through proprioception, and its visual perceptions of the hand and grippers.

Goal Setting in Teams: Goal Clarity and Team Performance in the Public Sector.

With the rise of performance management, work in the public sector has changed. An output focus has become more common. Other changes include decentralization and managing organizations more horizontally.

Detection of opsonizing antibodies directed against a recently circulating Bordetella pertussis strain in paired plasma samples from symptomatic and recovered pertussis patients.

Correlates of protection (CoPs) against the highly contagious respiratory disease whooping cough, caused by Bordetella pertussis, remain elusive. Characterizing the antibody response to this pathogen is essential towards identifying potential CoPs. Here, we evaluate levels, avidity and functionality of B.

Interactions between amphoteric surfaces with strongly overlapping double layers.

The entropic repulsion between strongly overlapping electrical double-layers from two parallel amphoteric plates is described via the Donnan equilibrium in the limit of zero electric field. The plates feature charge-regulation and the inter-plate solution is in equilibrium with a reservoir of a monovalent electrolyte solution. A finite electric potential and disjoining pressure is found at contact between the plates, due to a complete discharging of the plates.

Cardiopulmonary Adaptation During First Day of Life in Human Neonates.

Objective: To characterize the natural history of cardiopulmonary physiology in the first 24 hours after birth.

Study Design: A prospective observational study of healthy newborns was conducted at a large tertiary perinatal center. Echocardiography was performed at <0.

Acquisition of C1 inhibitor by Bordetella pertussis virulence associated gene 8 results in C2 and C4 consumption away from the bacterial surface.

Whooping cough, or pertussis, is a contagious disease of the respiratory tract that is re-emerging worldwide despite high vaccination coverage. The causative agent of this disease is the Gram-negative Bordetella pertussis. Knowledge on complement evasion strategies of this pathogen is limited.

Coronary artery Doppler patterns are associated with clinical outcomes post-arterial switch operation for transposition of the great arteries.

Aims: Transposition of the great arteries (TGA) is generally repaired using the arterial switch operation (ASO) involving coronary transfer. The objective of this prospective study was to determine whether specific coronary Doppler patterns intra-operatively predicted adverse early myocardial events.

Methods And Results: Patients < 3 months old with TGA undergoing the ASO were eligible.