Abnormal metabolic network activity in REM sleep behavior disorder

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the Parkinson disease-related covariance pattern (PDRP) expression is abnormally increased in idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) and whether increased baseline activity is associated with greater individual risk of subsequent phenoconversion. METHODS: For this cohort study, we recruited 2 groups of RBD and control subjects. Cohort 1 comprised 10 subjects with RBD (63.5 +/- 9.4 years old) and 10 healthy volunteers (62.7 +/- 8.6 years old) who underwent resting-state metabolic brain imaging with (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET. Cohort 2 comprised 17 subjects with RBD (68.9 +/- 4.8 years old) and 17 healthy volunteers (66.6 +/- 6.0 years old) who underwent resting brain perfusion imaging with ethylcysteinate dimer SPECT. The latter group was followed clinically for 4.6 +/- 2.5 years by investigators blinded to the imaging results. PDRP expression was measured in both RBD groups and compared with corresponding control values. RESULTS: PDRP expression was elevated in both groups of subjects with RBD (cohort 1: p \u3c 0.04; cohort 2: p \u3c 0.005). Of the 17 subjects with long-term follow-up, 8 were diagnosed with Parkinson disease or dementia with Lewy bodies; the others did not phenoconvert. For individual subjects with RBD, final phenoconversion status was predicted using a logistical regression model based on PDRP expression and subject age at the time of imaging (r(2) = 0.64, p \u3c 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Latent network abnormalities in subjects with idiopathic RBD are associated with a greater likelihood of subsequent phenoconversion to a progressive neurodegenerative syndrome

Effects of cultivation years on effective constituent content of Fritillaria pallidiflora Schernk

Fritillaria pallidiflora Schrenk has been treasured in traditional classic medicine as an antitussive, antiasthmatic and expectorant for hundreds of years. With gradually decreasing wild F. pallidiflora resources, the herb can no longer satisfy the demand. Artificial cultivation is one of the most effective ways to solve the contradiction between supply and demand in the medicinal material market. During the growth of Rhizomes medicinal plants, root biomass and active ingredient content showed dynamic accumulated variation with increasing cultivation years. Up to now, hardly any attempts have been made to investigate the relationship between quality and cultivation years of F. pallidiflora. Therefore, in this paper, we determined the optimum harvesting time by comparing biomass and biological characteristics of F. pallidiflora at different cultivation times. High-performance liquid chromatography with evaporative light scattering detection and phenol-sulfuric acid visible spectrophotometry was performed to determine imperialine and polysaccharide content of F. pallidiflora bulbs. From year 1 to 6 of cultivation, we observed an upward trend in plant height, diameter and dry weight of F. pallidiflora, while water content decreased. Plant height and dry weight increased remarkably during the fourth year of cultivation. The content of imperialine and polysaccharide of F. pallidiflora bulbs, on the other hand, showed an upward trend from year 1 to 3, after which it decreased from year 3 to 6. By comparing plant growth, biomass development and the accumulation of imperialine and polysaccharide, the best harvesting time of F. pallidiflora was determined to be after 4 years of cultivation. Our results showed that it is possible to establish a safe, effective, stable and controllable production process, which could play an important role in achieving sustainable utilization of F. pallidiflora resources.Fritillaria pallidiflora Schrenk has been treasured in traditional classic medicine as an antitussive, antiasthmatic and expectorant for hundreds of years. With gradually decreasing wild F. pallidiflora resources, the herb can no longer satisfy the demand. Artificial cultivation is one of the most effective ways to solve the contradiction between supply and demand in the medicinal material market. During the growth of Rhizomes medicinal plants, root biomass and active ingredient content showed dynamic accumulated variation with increasing cultivation years. Up to now, hardly any attempts have been made to investigate the relationship between quality and cultivation years of F. pallidiflora. Therefore, in this paper, we determined the optimum harvesting time by comparing biomass and biological characteristics of F. pallidiflora at different cultivation times. High-performance liquid chromatography with evaporative light scattering detection and phenol-sulfuric acid visible spectrophotometry was performed to determine imperialine and polysaccharide content of F. pallidiflora bulbs. From year 1 to 6 of cultivation, we observed an upward trend in plant height, diameter and dry weight of F. pallidiflora, while water content decreased. Plant height and dry weight increased remarkably during the fourth year of cultivation. The content of imperialine and polysaccharide of F. pallidiflora bulbs, on the other hand, showed an upward trend from year 1 to 3, after which it decreased from year 3 to 6. By comparing plant growth, biomass development and the accumulation of imperialine and polysaccharide, the best harvesting time of F. pallidiflora was determined to be after 4 years of cultivation. Our results showed that it is possible to establish a safe, effective, stable and controllable production process, which could play an important role in achieving sustainable utilization of F. pallidiflora resources

Pan-cancer analysis of whole genomes

Cancer is driven by genetic change, and the advent of massively parallel sequencing has enabled systematic documentation of this variation at the whole-genome scale(1-3). Here we report the integrative analysis of 2,658 whole-cancer genomes and their matching normal tissues across 38 tumour types from the Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium of the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). We describe the generation of the PCAWG resource, facilitated by international data sharing using compute clouds. On average, cancer genomes contained 4-5 driver mutations when combining coding and non-coding genomic elements; however, in around 5% of cases no drivers were identified, suggesting that cancer driver discovery is not yet complete. Chromothripsis, in which many clustered structural variants arise in a single catastrophic event, is frequently an early event in tumour evolution; in acral melanoma, for example, these events precede most somatic point mutations and affect several cancer-associated genes simultaneously. Cancers with abnormal telomere maintenance often originate from tissues with low replicative activity and show several mechanisms of preventing telomere attrition to critical levels. Common and rare germline variants affect patterns of somatic mutation, including point mutations, structural variants and somatic retrotransposition. A collection of papers from the PCAWG Consortium describes non-coding mutations that drive cancer beyond those in the TERT promoter(4); identifies new signatures of mutational processes that cause base substitutions, small insertions and deletions and structural variation(5,6); analyses timings and patterns of tumour evolution(7); describes the diverse transcriptional consequences of somatic mutation on splicing, expression levels, fusion genes and promoter activity(8,9); and evaluates a range of more-specialized features of cancer genomes(8,10-18).Peer reviewe

Application of Metal-Organic Frameworks in the Production of Radionuclides

Radionuclides are essential in nuclear medicine and therefore new and improved production methods continue to play an important role in ensuring sustainable availability. This thesis focuses on the production of two radionuclides (99mTc and 51Cr) using metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). MOFs are novel porous materials and their potential to be utilized in radionuclide production has been explored for the first time in this thesis. Chapter 1 gives a general introduction to the current production of 99mTc and 51Cr, and emphasizes the role that metal-organic frameworks can play based on their attractive properties.RST/Applied Radiation & Isotope

Pixel ADC Design for Hybrid CMOS Image Sensors

This thesis presents the design of a pixel level analog-to-digital converter (ADC) circuit for hybrid CMOS image sensors. There are several methods to increase the dynamic range of the sensor through the readout algorithm. The multiple sampling method can increase the dynamic range (DR) without a loss of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The idea is to acquire several images during one frame. Based on the multiple sampling method, the method described in this thesis uses the special feature of the pinned photodiode to select the charge transfer time locally to change the total integration time in one frame based on the input light intensity. The comparator is reused during the different conversion phases to save power and area. Only one comparison is needed after each charge transfer, so compared with traditional multiple sampling method for DR enhancement this method can save a lot of power. In-pixel memory is used to store the converted data, and these data are read by column wise current sense amplifiers. The simulation results show that the charge transfer of the pinned photo diode is controlled locally and for a 7-bit dynamic range enhancement the additional power is only 2.2% compared with no DR enhancement.MicroelectronicsMicroelectronics & Computer EngineeringElectrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Scienc

The NASA MATB-II predicts prospective memory performance during complex simulated flight

Prospective memory is essential for flight, where failures can result in incorrect flight control settings, leading to loss of life and equipment. Furthermore, prospective memory is highly-sensitive to pilot age, cognition, and experience. This research reports on the relation of the NASA Multi-Attribute Test Battery-II (MATB-II) to prospective memory during simulated VFR flight (N=51). Prospective memory was indexed with specialized radio calls that were associated with non-focal visual cues. Linear regression models examined the relative association of MATB-II variables to prospective memory in low and high workloads. System monitoring, psychomotor tracking, and resource management, generally at higher difficulty levels, were the variables most predictive of prospective memory, r2 =0.41. Pilot experience improved the model in the high workload condition. Estimating risk for prospective memory failures via multitasking ability, with a focus on monitoring tasks, may inform cognitive assessment approaches to enhance aviation safety

Compact collimators for high brightness blue LEDs using dielectric multilayers

A novel method is presented to inject the light of millimeter-sized high-brightness blue LEDs into light guides of submillimeter thickness. Use is made of an interference filter that is designed to pass only those modes that will propagate in the light guide by total internal reflection. Other modes are reflected back to the LED cavity and recycled, leading to an increased brightness. With this method a collimator has been designed and made that is only 1mm thick, with a diameter of 6.5mm. It creates a beam of 26deg Full Width at Half Maximum. Presently, collimators with these characteristics have a thickness of 10-20mm and a diameter of 20-30mm and require careful mounting and alignment. The new collimator contains a 4.5micron thick interference filter made of 54 layers of Nb2O5 and SiO2 layers. The filter is optically coupled to the LED with Silicone adhesive which makes the configuration very robust. A cylindrical lightguide, tapered from 6.5mm to 2.5mm diameter and 1mm thick captures the light that passes the filter, folds the light path and redirects the beam. Measurements on collimator prototypes show good agreement with the designed characteristics. This promising approach enables much more compact collimators optics that offer material cost savings and design freedom.Optics Research GroupApplied Science

Virtual reality flight environments may taxworking memory and disrupt prospective memory

While vivid virtual reality (VR) environments may afford better performance for some flight tasks, it is possible that enhanced stimuli could overload some cognitive resources. Prospective memory (PM) is a cognitive factor sensitive to working memory and visual processing demands, and it may be a performance factor either adversely affected or enhanced by VR factors. Forty-seven pilots flew a VR flight simulation scenario, which included an auditory cue-based PM task. Self-ratings of psychological experiences in VR revealed three factors with relationships to PM: fluency, presence, and interactivity. Path analyses examined the relation of each of these factors with PM, and with two types of working memory, based on Level 1 SA. Higher fluency ratings were associated with lower PM, whereas greater presence and interactivity were correlated with better PM. Working memory also significantly mediated the effects of fluency on PM

Technological and profitable analysis of airlifting in deep sea mining systems

Airlifting technology utilized in deep-sea mining (DSM) industry was proposed in the 70s of last century, which was triggered by the discovery of vast amounts of mineral resources on the seabed. The objective of this paper is to assess the technological feasibility and profitability analyses in terms of solid production rate, energy consumption per tonnage of mineral, and profitability per tonnage of mineral. The effects of submergence ratio, pipe diameter, particle diameter, mining depth, and gas flux rate are investigated. The analysis is based on a numerical calculation performed in a Matlab environment. The research reported in this paper can assist to select an optimal transport plan for DSM projects depending on its solid production rate, energy consumption, and profitability.Transport Engineering and LogisticsOffshore and Dredging Engineerin

Porphyrinic metal-organic frameworks as molybdenum adsorbents for the ⁹⁹Mo/^99mTc generator

Two porphyrinic metal-organic frameworks (PCN-222 and PCN-224) were prepared and their potential as molybdenum adsorbents for the 99Mo/99mTc generator was explored. The molybdenum adsorption properties of the two adsorbents, including adsorption kinetics and equilibrium isotherms, were evaluated at different molybdenum concentrations and pH. The maximum adsorption capacity of PCN-222 and PCN-224 was evaluated to be 525 mg g−1 and 455 mg g−1, respectively. The possible adsorption mechanism was investigated by X-ray Photoelectron Spectra and Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. The results demonstrated that molybdenum species were adsorbed on the two MOFs through electrostatic attraction and hydrogen bonds. In the case of PCN-222, the Mo-O-Zr coordination interaction also played an important role. Additionally, the elution performance of two 99Mo/99mTc generators developed by using PCN-222 and PCN-224 as adsorbents was measured to assess possible clinical applications. The PCN-222-based 99Mo/99mTc generator exhibited better elution performance and showed that around 56% of 99mTc could be obtained without zirconium breakthrough when relatively high pH solutions were used (pH = 9.6).Funding Information: The authors are thankful to the China Scholarship Council (Grant No. 201807040061). The authors are grateful to Willy Rook for her help with the N adsorption measurements. We gratefully acknowledge Bart Boshuizen for the XPS measurement. The authors are grateful to Andrea Garcia-Junceda Ameigenda for the SEM pictures. The authors appreciate Katalin Gmeling in the Institute for Energy Security and Environmental Safety Centre for Energy Research, Hungary for the supply of Mo. 2 99 Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Royal Society of Chemistry.RST/Applied Radiation & Isotope