Retro-Aortic Left Renal Vein

The term retro-aortic left renal vein (RLRV) is defined as the left renal vein coursing posterior to the abdominal aorta. RLRV is an uncommon condition in which the left renal vein passes posterior to the abdominal aorta and anterior to the vertebrae. RLRV may lead to left renal vein hypertension (LRVH) syndrome, which is also known as Nutcracker syndrome. Nutcracker syndrome (NCS) is a condition in which the left renal vein is compressed causing hypertension of the vessel. RLRV and Nutcracker syndrome are vascular anomalies considered to be of clinical importance especially during surgical procedures of the renal vasculature

Carotid Artery Aneurysm: A Case Study

A 60 year old male arrived at the emergency department after losing consciousness. CT showed he demonstrated a right hemispheric embolic stroke with a middle cerebral artery distribution. Upon further investigation, the patient was found to have a right common carotid artery aneurysm that extended about 1 cm from the carotid bifurcation into the internal carotid artery. The patient underwent carotid artery reconstruction with the use of his right great saphenous vein. This case demonstrates an unusual form of cerebral embolization due to a internal carotid artery aneurysm

The Dark Side of the Electroweak Phase Transition

Recent data from cosmic ray experiments may be explained by a new GeV scale of physics. In addition the fine-tuning of supersymmetric models may be alleviated by new O(GeV) states into which the Higgs boson could decay. The presence of these new, light states can affect early universe cosmology. We explore the consequences of a light (~ GeV) scalar on the electroweak phase transition. We find that trilinear interactions between the light state and the Higgs can allow a first order electroweak phase transition and a Higgs mass consistent with experimental bounds, which may allow electroweak baryogenesis to explain the cosmological baryon asymmetry. We show, within the context of a specific supersymmetric model, how the physics responsible for the first order phase transition may also be responsible for the recent cosmic ray excesses of PAMELA, FERMI etc. We consider the production of gravity waves from this transition and the possible detectability at LISA and BBO

Access to and use of clinical services and disease-modifying therapies by people with progressive multiple sclerosis in the United Kingdom

Background: According to current UK guidelines everyone with progressive MS should have access to an MS Specialist but levels of access and use of clinical services is unknown. Our objective was to investigate access to MS Specialists, use of clinical services and disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) by people with progressive MS in the United Kingdom. Methods: A UK wide, online survey was conducted via the UK MS Register. Inclusion criteria: age over 18 years, primary or secondary progressive MS and a member of the UK MS Register. Participants were asked about access to MS Specialists; recent clinical service use; receipt of regular review and current and previous DMT use. Participant demographics; quality of life and disease impact measures were supplied from the UK MS Register. Results: In total 1298 participants responded: 5% were currently taking DMT; 23% had previously taken DMT; and 95% reported access to an MS Specialist. Most utilised services were: MS Doctor/Nurse (50%), General Practitioner (45%), and Physiotherapist (40%). Seventy-four percent received a regular review although 37% received theirs less than annually. Current DMT use was associated with better quality of life but past DMT use was associated with poorer quality of life and higher impact of disease. Conclusions: Access to, and use of, MS Specialists was high. However a gap in service provision was highlighted in both receiving and frequency of regular reviews

Requirements modelling and formal analysis using graph operations

The increasing complexity of enterprise systems requires a more advanced analysis of the representation of services expected than is currently possible. Consequently, the specification stage, which could be facilitated by formal verification, becomes very important to the system life-cycle. This paper presents a formal modelling approach, which may be used in order to better represent the reality of the system and to verify the awaited or existing system’s properties, taking into account the environmental characteristics. For that, we firstly propose a formalization process based upon properties specification, and secondly we use Conceptual Graphs operations to develop reasoning mechanisms of verifying requirements statements. The graphic visualization of these reasoning enables us to correctly capture the system specifications by making it easier to determine if desired properties hold. It is applied to the field of Enterprise modelling

Forecasting Player Behavioral Data and Simulating in-Game Events

Understanding player behavior is fundamental in game data science. Video games evolve as players interact with the game, so being able to foresee player experience would help to ensure a successful game development. In particular, game developers need to evaluate beforehand the impact of in-game events. Simulation optimization of these events is crucial to increase player engagement and maximize monetization. We present an experimental analysis of several methods to forecast game-related variables, with two main aims: to obtain accurate predictions of in-app purchases and playtime in an operational production environment, and to perform simulations of in-game events in order to maximize sales and playtime. Our ultimate purpose is to take a step towards the data-driven development of games. The results suggest that, even though the performance of traditional approaches such as ARIMA is still better, the outcomes of state-of-the-art techniques like deep learning are promising. Deep learning comes up as a well-suited general model that could be used to forecast a variety of time series with different dynamic behaviors

A comprehensive evaluation of colonic mucosal isolates of Sutterella wadsworthensis from inflammatory bowel disease

Peer reviewedPublisher PD