East-West Genetic Differentiation in Musk Ducks (Biziura lobata) of Australia Suggests Late Pleistocene Divergence at the Nullarbor Plain

Musk Ducks (Biziura lobata) are endemic to Australia and occur as two geographically isolated populations separated by the Nullarbor Plain, a vast arid region in southern Australia. We studied genetic variation in Musk Duck populations at coarse (eastern versus western Australia) and fine scales (four sites within eastern Australia). We found significant genetic structure between eastern and western Australia in the mtDNA control region (UST = 0.747), one nuclear intron (UST = 0.193) and eight microsatellite loci (FST = 0.035). In contrast, there was little genetic structure between Kangaroo Island and adjacent mainland regions within eastern Australia. One small population of Musk Ducks in Victoria (Lake Wendouree) differed from both Kangaroo Island and the remainder of mainland eastern Australia, possibly due to genetic drift exacerbated by inbreeding and small population size. The observed low pairwise distance between the eastern and western mtDNA lineages (0.36%) suggests that they diverged near the end of the Pleistocene, a period characterised by frequent shifts between wet and arid conditions in central Australia. Our genetic results corroborate the display call divergence and Mathews’ (Austral Avian Record 2:83–107, 1914) subspecies classification, and confirm that eastern and western populations of Musk Duck are currently isolated from each other

Dynamic walking features and improved walking performance in multiple sclerosis patients treated with fampridine (4-aminopyridine)

Background: Impaired walking capacity is a frequent confinement in Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Patients are affected by limitations in coordination, walking speed and the distance they may cover. Also abnormal dynamic walking patterns have been reported, involving continuous deceleration over time. Fampridine (4-aminopyridine), a potassium channel blocker, may improve walking in MS. The objective of the current study was to comprehensively examine dynamic walking characteristics and improved walking capacity in MS patients treated with fampridine. Methods: A sample of N = 35 MS patients (EDSS median: 4) underwent an electronic walking examination prior to (Time 1), and during treatment with fampridine (Time 2). Patients walked back and forth a distance of 25 ft for a maximum period of 6 min (6-minute 25-foot-walk). Besides the total distance covered, average speed on the 25-foot distance and on turns was determined separately for each test minute, at Time 1 and Time 2. Results: Prior to fampridine administration, 27/35 patients (77 %) were able to complete the entire 6 min of walking, while following the administration, 34/35 patients (97 %) managed to walk for 6 min. In this context, walking distance considerably increased and treatment was associated with faster walking and turning across all six test minutes (range of effect sizes: partial eta squared = .34-.72). Importantly, previously reported deceleration across test minutes was consistently observable at Time 1 and Time 2. Discussion: Fampridine administration is associated with improved walking speed and endurance. Regardless of a treatment effect of fampridine, the previously identified, abnormal dynamic walking feature, i.e. the linear decline in walking speed, may represent a robust feature. Conclusions: The dynamic walking feature might hence be considered as a candidate for a new outcome measure in clinical studies involving interventions other than symptomatic treatment, such as immune-modulating medication. Trial registration: DRKS00009228 (German Clinical Trials Register). Date obtained: 25.08.2015

Control of light transmission through opaque scattering media in space and time

We report the first experimental demonstration of combined spatial and temporal control of light trajectories through opaque media. This control is achieved by solely manipulating spatial degrees of freedom of the incident wavefront. As an application, we demonstrate that the present approach is capable to form bandwidth-limited ultrashort pulses from the otherwise randomly transmitted light with a controllable interaction time of the pulses with the medium. Our approach provides a new tool for fundamental studies of light propagation in complex media and has potential for applications for coherent control, sensing and imaging in nano- and biophotonics

Update on the Surgical Trial in Lobar Intracerebral Haemorrhage (STICH II):Statistical analysis plan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Previous studies had suggested that the outcome for patients with spontaneous lobar intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) and no intraventricular haemorrhage (IVH) might be improved with early evacuation of the haematoma. The Surgical Trial in Lobar Intracerebral Haemorrhage (STICH II) set out to establish whether a policy of earlier surgical evacuation of the haematoma in selected patients with spontaneous lobar ICH would improve outcome compared to a policy of initial conservative treatment. It is an international, multi-centre, prospective randomised parallel group trial of early surgery in patients with spontaneous lobar ICH. Outcome is measured at six months via a postal questionnaire.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Recruitment to the study began on 27 November 2006 and closed on 15 August 2012 by which time 601 patients had been recruited. The protocol was published in <it>Trials</it> (<url>http://www.trialsjournal.com/content/12/1/124/</url>). This update presents the analysis plan for the study without reference to the unblinded data. The trial data will not be unblinded until after follow-up is completed in early 2013. The main trial results will be presented in spring 2013 with the aim to publish in a peer-reviewed journal at the same time.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The data from the trial will provide evidence on the benefits and risks of early surgery in patients with lobar ICH.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>ISRCTN: ISRCTN22153967</p

Fortnightly tides and subtidal motions in a choked inlet

This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. The definitive version was published in Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 150, Pt.B (2014): 325-331, doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2014.03.025.Amplitudes of semi-diurnal tidal fluctuations measured at an ocean inlet system decay nearly linearly by 87% between the ocean edge of the offshore ebb-tidal delta and the backbay. A monochromatic, dynamical model for a tidally choked inlet separately reproduces the evolution of the amplitudes and phases of the semi-diurnal and diurnal tidal constituents observed between the ocean and inland locations. However, the monochromatic model over-predicts the amplitude and under-predicts the lag of the lower-frequency subtidal and fortnightly motions observed in the backbay. A dimensional model that considers all tidal constituents simultaneously, balances the along-channel pressure gradient with quadratic bottom friction, and that includes a time-varying channel water depth, is used to show that that these model-data differences are associated with nonlinear interactions between the tidal constituents that are not included in non-dimensional, monochromatic models. In particular, numerical simulations suggest that the nonlinear interactions induced by quadratic bottom friction modify the amplitude and phase of the subtidal and fortnightly backbay response. This nonlinear effect on the low-frequency (subtidal and fortnightly) motions increases with increasing high-frequency (semi-diurnal) amplitude. The subtidal and fortnightly motions influence water exchange processes, and thus backbay temperature and salinity.We thank the Office of Naval Research (N0001411WX20962; N0001412WX20498) for funding

Real-time quantification and display of skin radiation during coronary angiography and intervention

BACKGROUND: Radiographically guided investigations may be associated with excessive radiation exposure, which may cause skin injuries. The purpose of this study was to develop and test a system that measures in real time the dose applied to each 1-cm(2) area of skin, taking into account the movement of the x-ray source and changes in the beam characteristics. The goal of such a system is to help prevent high doses that might cause skin injury. METHODS AND RESULTS: The entrance point, beam size, and dose at the skin of the patient were calculated by use of the geometrical settings of gantry, investigation table, and x-ray beam and an ionization chamber. The data are displayed graphically. Three hundred twenty-two sequential cardiac investigations in adult patients were analyzed. The mean peak entrance dose per investigation was 0.475 Gy to a mean skin area of 8.2 cm(2). The cumulative KERMA-area product per investigation was 52.2 Gy/cm(2) (25.4 to 99.2 Gy/cm(2)), and the mean entrance beam size at the skin was 49.2 cm(2). Twenty-eight percent of the patients (90/322) received a maximum dose of 2 Gy. CONCLUSIONS: Monitoring of the dose distribution at the skin will alert the operator to the development of high-dose areas; by use of other gantry settings with nonoverlapping entrance fields, different generator settings, and extra collimation, skin lesion can be avoided

Edge detection versus densitometry in the quantitative assessment of stenosis phantoms: an in vivo comparison in procine coronary arteries

The aim of this study was the in vivo validation and comparison of the geometric and densitometric technique of a computer-assisted automatic quantitative angiographic system (CAAS system). In six Landrace Yorkshire pigs (45 to 55 kg), precision-drilled phantoms with a circular lumen of 0.5, 0.7, 1.0, 1.4, and 1.9 mm were percutaneously introduced into the left anterior descending or left circumflex coronary artery. Twenty-eight coronary angiograms obtained with the phantom in a wedged intracoronary position could be quantitatively analyzed. Minimal lumen diameter, minimal cross-sectional area, percent diameter stenosis, and cross-sectional area stenosis were automatically measured with both the geometric and densitometric technique and were compared with the known phantom dimensions. When minimal lumen diameter was measured using the geometric approach, a nonsignificant underestimation of the phantom size was observed, with a mean difference of -0.06 +/- 0.14 mm. The larger mean difference observed with videodensitometry (-0.11 +/- 0.20 mm) was the result of the failure of the technique to differentiate the low lumen videodensities of two phantoms of smaller size (0.5 and 0.7 mm) from a dense background. Percent cross-sectional area stenosis measured with the two techniques showed a good correlation with the corresponding phantom measurements (mean difference between percent cross-sectional area stenosis calculated from the quantitative angiographic measurements and the corresponding phantom dimensions was equal to 2 +/- 6% for both techniques, correlation coefficient = 0.93 with both techniques, SEE = 5% with the geometric technique and 6% with the densitometric approach).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS

Obesity and diabetes mellitus association in rural community of Katana, South Kivu, in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo : Bukavu Observ Cohort study results

Background: Factual data exploring the relationship between obesity and diabetes mellitus prevalence from rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa remain scattered and are unreliable. To address this scarceness, this work reports population study data describing the relationship between the obesity and the diabetes mellitus in the general population of the rural area of Katana (South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo). Methods: A cohort of three thousand, nine hundred, and sixty-two (3962) adults (>15 years old) were followed between 2012 and 2015 (or 4105 person-years during the observation period), and data were collected using the locally adjusted World Health Organization's (WHO) STEPwise approach to Surveillance (STEPS) methodology. The hazard ratio for progression of obesity was calculated. The association between diabetes mellitus and obesity was analyzed with logistic regression. Results: The diabetes mellitus prevalence was 2.8 % versus 3.5 % for obese participants and 7.2 % for those with metabolic syndrome, respectively. Within the diabetes group, 26.9 % had above-normal waist circumference and only 9.8 % were obese. During the median follow-up period of 2 years, the incidence of obesity was 535/100,000 person-years. During the follow-up, the prevalence of abdominal obesity significantly increased by 23 % (p < 0.0001), whereas the increased prevalence of general obesity (7.8 %) was not significant (p = 0.53). Finally, diabetes mellitus was independently associated with age, waist circumference, and blood pressure but not body mass index. Conclusion: This study confirms an association between diabetes mellitus and abdominal obesity but not with general obesity. On the other hand, the rapid increase in abdominal obesity prevalence in this rural area population within the follow-up period calls for the urgent promoting of preventive lifestyle measures