Update on the Diagnostic Pitfalls of Autopsy and Post-Mortem Genetic Testing in Cardiomyopathies

Inherited cardiomyopathies are frequent causes of sudden cardiac death (SCD), especially in young patients. Despite at the autopsy they usually have distinctive microscopic and/or macroscopic diagnostic features, their phenotypes may be mild or ambiguous, possibly leading to misdiagnoses or missed diagnoses. In this review, the main differential diagnoses of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (e.g., athlete’s heart, idiopathic left ventricular hypertrophy), arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (e.g., adipositas cordis, myocarditis) and dilated cardiomyopathy (e.g., acquired forms of dilated cardiomyopathy, left ventricular noncompaction) are discussed. Moreover, the diagnostic issues in SCD victims affected by phenotype-negative hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and the relationship between myocardial bridging and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy are analyzed. Finally, the applications/limits of virtopsy and post-mortem genetic testing in this field are discussed, with particular attention to the issues related to the assessment of the significance of the genetic variants.     

Mechanophysical Cues in Extracellular Matrix Regulation of Cell Behavior

The extracellular matrix (ECM) is a macromolecular network that can provide biochemical and structural support for cell adhesion and formation. It regulates cell behavior by influencing biochemical and physical cues. It is a dynamic structure whose components are modified, degraded, or deposited during connective tissue development, giving tissues strength and structural integrity. The physical properties of the natural ECM environment control the design of naturally or synthetically derived biomaterials to guide cell function in tissue engineering. Tissue engineering is an important field that explores physical cues of the ECM to produce new viable tissue for medical applications, such as in organ transplant and organ recovery. Understanding how the ECM exerts physical effects on cell behavior, when cells are seeded in synthetic ECM scaffolds, is of utmost importance. Herein we review recent findings in this area that report on cell behaviors in a variety of ECMs with different physical properties, i.e., topology, geometry, dimensionality, stiffness, and tension.     

Hull-less Barley Varieties: Storage Proteins and Amino Acid Distribution in Relation to Nutritional Quality

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) has had an important impact on human nutrition. Hull-less barley is a genetically improved type that has been widely used in recent years. Six Brazilian hull-less barley varieties (IAC-IBON 214-82; IAC 8612-421; IAC 8501-31; IAC 8501-12; IAPAR 39-ACUMAI; IAC 8501-22) were analyzed for storage protein constituents, amino acid contents, and similarity among the hull-less barley varieties. Albumins, globulins, prolamins I and II, and glutelins were extracted and separated by SDS-PAGE. The total protein amino acid contents of the flour were also determined for each variety by TLC and HPLC. Variations in intensity and appearance and disappearance of protein bands were observed among the varieties suggesting genetic variability. However, the amino acid profile did not indicate any major variations in the amino acid concentrations. The high lysine and threonine total concentrations detected in the seeds of the hull-less barley varieties encouraged an investigation into the regulation of amino acid metabolism and storage protein synthesis.     

Time‐dependent heat transfer coefficient of a wall

A time‐dependent coefficient of heat transfer is proposed for the computation of thermal power required, so that a room temperature reaches a desired value within a given time. A mathematical formulation of the room heating transient phenomenon is constructed in a dimensionless form. Using an integral approximate solution an analytical expression for this coefficient is provided and it is verified by diagrams adopted by DIN 4701. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

CMMN evaluation: the modelers’ perceptions of the main notation elements

Software and Systems Modeling - Case Management Model and Notation (CMMN) has been introduced as a graphical modeling language targeting the modeling of human-centric processes. Despite its growing...     

Examining the significance of high-level programming features in source code author classification

The use of Source Code Author Profiles (SCAP) represents a new, highly accurate approach to source code authorship identification that is, unlike previous methods, language independent. While accuracy is clearly a crucial requirement of any author identification method, in cases of litigation regarding authorship, plagiarism, and so on, there is also a need to know why it is claimed that a piece of code is written by a particular author. What is it about that piece of code that suggests a particular author? What features in the code make one author more likely than another? In this study, we describe a means of identifying the high-level features that contribute to source code authorship identification using as a tool the SCAP method. A variety of features are considered for Java and Common Lisp and the importance of each feature in determining authorship is measured through a sequence of experiments in which we remove one feature at a time. The results show that, for these programs, comments, layout features and package-related naming influence classification accuracy whereas user-defined naming, an obvious programmer related feature, does not appear to influence accuracy. A comparison is also made between the relative feature contributions in programs written in the two languages.     

ComPLuS model: A new insight in pupils’ collaborative talk, actions and balance during a computer-mediated music task

This exploratory work describes and analyses the collaborative interactions that emerge during computer-based music composition in the primary school. The study draws on socio-cultural theories of learning, originated within Vygotsky’s theoretical context, and proposes a new model, namely Computer-mediated Praxis and Logos under Synergy (ComPLuS). In this model, peers’ dialogue is categorised into five types; disputational, cumulative, exploratory, operational, and reflective, with each one corresponding to different types of spoken contributions. Moreover, peers’ actions are categorised as individual or joint and are used to evaluate the effect of computer mediation on the collaborative activity and its balance within a pair. The potential and effectiveness of the realisation of the ComPLuS model in practice, as far as peers’ collaboration is concerned, are evaluated from its trialling in an experimental case-study, in which a group of 11-yr old pupils worked in pairs to compose short melodies using computers at the computer room of their school. Emphasis was placed upon the types of social modes of thinking with regard to pupils’ spoken contributions and talk types during their conversation; pupils’ actions when manipulating software, and the balance of talk and action between the pair members. Their ongoing peer-to-peer communication and actions formed the research data. A mixed (qualitative and quantitative) analysis revealed that peers usually adopted cumulative and exploratory talk. Moreover, the action type which dominated their work was based on a consensual decision. Nevertheless, it was found that lead on collaborative talk does not mean lead on joint action and does not always sustain a balance in peers’ collaboration. Experimentation with the music software, in conjunction with pupils’ musical background, facilitated their joint action, exploratory and reflective talk. However, audio feedback provided by the software did not seem to affect peers’ talk types. These results suggest that the ComPLuS model captures the characteristics of peers’ collaborative interactions during their shared discussions and actions, and can lead to a better understanding of the nature of computer-supported collaborative creativity in primary music education.     

Simulating the effect of subsurface stresses and transient pore pressure on wellbore stability in subsea horizontal wells

The most prominent challenge associated with offshore horizontal drilling is wellbore stability. In this paper, simulation of in-situ stresses around the wellbore is conducted to study the effects of transient pore pressure on the stability of horizontal wells. The rock mechanical analysis based on finite element technique lead to investigate a unique behavior found in subsea horizontal wells known as transient pore pressure behavior and near wellbore pressure gradients. The results demonstrate that near wellbore pore pressure gradient is only active in rock formations which possess transient pore pressure behavior; therefore, simulated solutions require adjustment to achieve accurate results.