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Strombidinopsis species were collected from theGulf of Alaska, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Maine, and Barents Sea. Six strains were conservatively placed in six species: Strombidinopsis chilorhax sp. nov.; Strombidinopsis batos sp. nov.; Strombidinopsis sphaira sp. nov.;Strombidinopsis cercionis sp. nov.;Strombidinopsis acuminatum Fauré-Fremiet, 1924; and Strombidinopsis spiniferum (Leegaard, 1915) comb. nov. Based on the characters of these species, the diagnosis of the genus Strombidinopsis was revised.

Abstract A simple geometry is used to compare several of the available Monte Carlo software codes for radiation transport. EGSnrc, Geant4 and MCNP5 are all used to calculate the photon fluence produced from electrons incident on a copper target. Four energies for the isotropic point source are chosen to simulate the average and maximum emission energies of 32 P and 90 Y: (0.7, 1.71) MeV and (0.93, 2.28) MeV, respectively. The energy deposition in the copper target, the electron current at the target and the computational efficiency are also calculated. EGSnrc is found to be the only self-consistent code when comparing results calculated using the default transport parameters of the condensed history mode with those calculated in the single scattering mode.

This article examines aspects related to the dystopic consumption and production of the musical and performance art form known as black metal. Steeped in anti-Christian motifs, surrounded by a history of violence and brutal imagery, black metal is an extreme metal art form that has been growing steadily in popularity throughout Europe, South America, and the United States. We first examine black metal culture through the eyes of both artists and consumers, using mixed qualitative methodologies. Thereafter, we derive specific theoretical interpretations from the black metal subculture that are predicated on the emerging themes of signification, identity transformation, xenophobia, and a reconstructed mythology that all point to what we present as a dystopian consumption model. The model demonstrates how dystopia, in context, is at the heart of the symbiotic relationship between consumers and producers and is encapsulated by a specific set of processes and overarching conditions. Implications and relationships to utopian models are discussed.

Abstract Background Fibrosis regression has been associated with nucleoside analogue (NA) treatment in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. Although non-invasive fibrosis markers have been evaluated in CHB, their utility for monitoring on-treatment histologic regression has not been evaluated. Aims To characterize improvements in disease severity and the utility of non-invasive biomarkers in CHB NA treated patients. Methods Histology, labs, AST-to-platelet ratio index, and Fibrosis-4 (Fib-4) from treatment-naive CHB patients were evaluated at baseline and longitudinally. Relative change from baseline to various time points during treatment were evaluated. Correlative analysis of APRI and Fib-4 with histology was performed longitudinally. Results 80 CHB patients (84% male, median age 45 (IQR 32, 54)) with histology up to 17 years (median 6(IQR 3.9, 8.0)) years were studied. Median baseline Ishak fibrosis was 3 (IQR 2, 4), histologic activity index (HAI) inflammation was 9 (IQR 7, 11), and AUROC of fibrosis markers for detecting cirrhosis (Ishak ≥ 5) was >0.64. HAI improved at a rate of 54% during year 1 and 37% in year 2, both greater than in the remaining follow-up periods. Within the first year, fibrosis improved by 35%, greater than all other time periods. Non-invasive biomarkers began to correlate with histology beyond 4 years (APRI: 4–6 years: r = 0.33, p = 0.03; ≥6 years: r = 0.41, p = 0.009; Fib-4: ≥6 years: r = 0.35, p = 0.03). Conclusion Early dynamic changes in histology occur in CHB patients on NA followed by linear improvements. Non-invasive fibrosis biomarkers do not capture these dynamic changes and may demonstrate clinical utility beyond 4 years of treatment.

Background Child survival initiatives historically prioritized efforts to reduce child morbidity and mortality from infectious diseases and maternal conditions. Little attention has been devoted to paediatric injuries in resource‐limited settings. This study aimed to evaluate the demographics and outcomes of paediatric injury in a sub‐Saharan African country in an effort to improve prevention and treatment. Methods A prospective trauma registry was established at the two university teaching campuses of the University of Rwanda to record systematically patient demographics, prehospital care, initial physiology and patient outcomes from May 2011 to July 2015. Univariable analysis was performed for demographic characteristics, injury mechanisms, geographical location and outcomes. Multivariable analysis was performed for mortality estimates. Results Of 11 036 patients in the registry, 3010 (27·3 per cent) were under 18 years of age. Paediatric patients were predominantly boys (69·9 per cent) and the median age was 8 years. The mortality rate was 4·8 per cent. Falls were the most common injury (45·3 per cent), followed by road traffic accidents (30·9 per cent), burns (10·7 per cent) and blunt force/assault (7·5 per cent). Patients treated in the capital city, Kigali, had a higher incidence of head injury (7·6 per cent versus 2·0 per cent in a rural town, P < 0·001; odds ratio (OR) 4·08, 95 per cent c.i. 2·61 to 6·38) and a higher overall injury‐related mortality rate (adjusted OR 3·00, 1·50 to 6·01; P = 0·019). Pedestrians had higher overall injury‐related mortality compared with other road users (adjusted OR 3·26, 1·37 to 7·73; P = 0·007). Conclusion Paediatric injury is a significant contributor to morbidity and mortality. Delineating trauma demographics is important when planning resource utilization and capacity‐building efforts to address paediatric injury in low‐resource settings and identify vulnerable populations. This study evaluated the demographics and outcomes of paediatric injury in Rwanda through a prospective trauma registry to inform capacity‐building for prevention and treatment. Patients treated in the capital city had a higher incidence of head injury and a higher overall injury‐related mortality than those in a rural town. Pedestrians had higher overall injury‐related mortality compared with other road‐users. Falls and road traffic accidents significant contributors to pediatric injury in Rwanda

The interaction between photochemical and biological processes in the degradation of marine dissolved organic matter (DOM) was investigated with seawater from a coastal southeastern U.S. salt marsh. Seawater supplemented with humic substances was exposed to alternating cycles of sunlight (equivalent to 8 h of midday sun) and dark incubations with natural bacterial populations (l-2 weeks in length). Photochemical degradation of the DOM was monitored during sunlight exposure by direct measurements of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and carbon monoxide (CO) formation in 0.2-Frn filtered seawater. Bacterial degradation was monitored during dark incubations by tritiated leucine uptake and changes in bacterial numbers in bacterivore-free incubations and by direct measurements of DOM loss. The alternating cycles of sunlight and microbial activity resulted in more complete degradation of bulk DOM and marine humic substances than was found for nonirradiated controls (i.e. with microbial activity alone) by a factor of up to 3-fold. Increased decomposition was due both to direct losses of carbon gas photoproducts (DIC and CO in a 15 : 1 ratio) and to enhanced microbial degradation of photodegraded DOM, with approximately equal contributions from each pathway. Mass balance calculations indicated that low-molecular-weight carbon photoproducts, currently considered to be the compounds responsible for stimulating bacterial activity following photodegradation of DOM, were insufficient to account for the enhanced bacterial production observed. Thus, higher molecular weight, chemically uncharacterized fractions of DOM may also be modified to more biologically available forms during exposure to natural sunlight. Photochemical processes play a number of important roles in the biogeochemical cycling of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in natural waters. Water optical properties, biological processes, and trace element distributions have all been demonstrated to be affected, either directly or indirectly, by

Aerosolised drugs are prescribed for use in a range of inhaler devices and systems. Delivering drugs by inhalation requires a formulation that can be successfully aerosolised and a delivery system that produces a useful aerosol of the drug; the particles or droplets need to be of sufficient size and mass to be carried to the distal lung or deposited on proximal airways to give rise to a therapeutic effect. Patients and caregivers must use and maintain these aerosol drug delivery devices correctly. In recent years, several technical innovations have led to aerosol drug delivery devices with efficient drug delivery and with novel features that take into account factors such as dose tracking, portability, materials of manufacture, breath actuation, the interface with the patient, combination therapies, and systemic delivery. These changes have improved performance in all four categories of devices: metered dose inhalers, spacers and holding chambers, dry powder inhalers, and nebulisers. Additionally, several therapies usually given by injection are now prescribed as aerosols for use in a range of drug delivery devices. In this Review, we discuss recent developments in the design and clinical use of aerosol devices over the past 10-15 years with an emphasis on the treatment of respiratory disorders.