Thermodynamic relations in a driven lattice gas: numerical exprements

We explore thermodynamic relations in non-equilibrium steady states with numerical experiments on a driven lattice gas. After operationally defining the pressure and chemical potential in the driven lattice gas, we confirm numerically the validity of the integrability condition (the Maxwell relation) for the two quantities whose values differ from those for an equilibrium system. This implies that a free energy function can be constructed for the non-equilibrium steady state that we consider. We also investigate a fluctuation relation associated with this free energy function. Our result suggests that the compressibility can be expressed in terms of density fluctuations even in non-equilibrium steady states.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Gene expression and growth factor analysis in early nerve regeneration following segmental nerve defect reconstruction with a mesenchymal stromal cell-enhanced decellularized nerve all

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the molecular mechanisms underlying nerve repair by a decellularized nerve allograft seeded with adiposederived mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) and compare it to the unseeded allograft and autograft nerve. Methods: Undifferentiated MSCs were seeded onto decellularized nerve allografts and used to reconstruct a 10 mm gap in a rat sciatic nerve model. Gene expression profiles of genes essential for nerve regeneration and immunohistochemical staining (IHC) for PGP9.5, NGF, RECA-1, and S100 were obtained 2 weeks postoperatively. Results: Semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis showed that the angiogenic molecule VEGFA was significantly increased in seeded allografts, and transcription factor SOX2 was downregulated in seeded allografts. Seeded grafts showed a significant increase in immunohistochemical markers NGF and RECA-1, when compared with unseeded allografts. Conclusions: MSCs contributed to the secretion of trophic factors. A beneficial effect of the MSCs on angiogenesis was found when compared with the unseeded nerve allograft, but implanted MSCs did not show evidence of differentiation into Schwann cell-like cells

Making protected areas effective for biodiversity, climate and food

The spatial extent of marine and terrestrial protected areas (PAs) was among the most intensely debated issues prior to the decision about the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Positive impacts of PAs on habitats, species diversity and abundance are well documented. Yet, biodiversity loss continues unabated despite efforts to protect 17% of land and 10% of the oceans by 2020. This casts doubt on whether extending PAs to 30%, the agreed target in the Kunming-Montreal GBF, will indeed achieve meaningful biodiversity benefits. Critically, the focus on area coverage obscures the importance of PA effectiveness and overlooks concerns about the impact of PAs on other sustainability objectives. We propose a simple means of assessing and visualising the complex relationships between PA area coverage and effectiveness and their effects on biodiversity conservation, nature-based climate mitigation and food production. Our analysis illustrates how achieving a 30% PA global target could be beneficial for biodiversity and climate. It also highlights important caveats: (i) achieving lofty area coverage objectives alone will be of little benefit without concomitant improvements in effectiveness, (ii) trade-offs with food production particularly for high levels of coverage and effectiveness are likely and (iii) important differences in terrestrial and marine systems need to be recognized when setting and implementing PA targets. The CBD's call for a significant increase in PA will need to be accompanied by clear PA effectiveness goals to reduce and revert dangerous anthropogenic impacts on socio-ecological systems and biodiversity

Adult Brachial Plexus Injuries. Part 1: Anatomy, Exam and Evaluation

Introduction: The Brachial plexus is an intricated network of nerves that provide motor and sensory innervation of the shoulder girdle and the upper extremity. A variety of mechanisms may injure the nerves at different locations to a variable degree. Most severely the nerves are avulsed from spinal cord resulting in global loss of function and sensation of the upper extremity. Purpose: This paper intends to review the anatomy of the Brachial Plexus, Mechanisms and Patterns of Injury, and to provide guidelines for a structured physical examination. Additionally, the role of diagnostic and supporting studies will be reviewed. Results: Knowledge of the anatomy of BP assists in identifying location of injury as well as treatment options. Closed traction is the most common mechanism and most of BP injuries are pan plexal at presentation. Physical examination is key in ruling out life threatening situations, diagnostic test interpretation and treatment decision making. CT Myelogram remains the gold standard in diagnostic imaging. Nerve electrophysiologic studies (EMG, NCS, SSEP/MEP) are the most reliable way of identifying nerve injury and document the earliest signs of recovery. While a variety of treatment options are available to restore function, the options chosen depend on which nerves are injured and what the exam findings are. Conclusion: Prognosis in Brachial plexus injury lies on correct and prompt diagnosis. The multifactorial diagnosis process intends to narrow the options helping the surgeon decide the best course of treatment.Introducción. El plexo braquial es una red intrincada de nervios que proveen la inervación sensitiva y motora de la cintura escapular y la extremidad superior. Diferentes mecanismos pueden lesionar estos nervios en diferentes grados y localizaciones, y en los casos más severos las raíces se avulsionan de la médula espinal resultando en una pérdida global de la función y la sensibilidad de la extremidad superior. Objetivos. Revisar la anatomía del plexo braquial y los mecanismos y patrones de lesión; proveer guías para una evaluación estructurada, y revisar el rol de los estudios diagnósticos. Resultados. El conocimiento sobre la anatomía del plexo braquial es útil para identificar el sitio de la lesión y elegir el tratamiento más adecuado. La tracción cerrada es el mecanismo más común de lesión en esta red de nervios y la mayoría de lesiones son completas en el momento de la presentación. El examen físico es fundamental para descartar situaciones que ponen en riesgo la vida, interpretar los estudios diagnósticos y tomar decisiones durante el tratamiento. El mielotac es el estándar de oro de las imágenes diagnósticas y el electrodiagnóstico es la manera más confiable de identificar la lesión nerviosa y documentar los signos más tempranos de reinervación. Aunque existe una gran variedad de opciones para restaurar la función, la elección depende de los nervios lesionados y de los hallazgos al examen físico. Conclusión. El pronóstico de las lesiones del plexo braquial depende de un diagnóstico correcto y oportuno. Los procesos diagnósticos multifactoriales buscan delimitar las opciones para ayudar al cirujano a decidir el mejor curso de tratamiento y evitar pérdidas de tiempo

A New Approach to Assess the Gastrocnemius Muscle Volume in Rodents Using Ultrasound; Comparison with the Gastrocnemius Muscle Index

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability and validity of a new non-invasive ultrasound technique to measure gastrocnemius muscle atrophy after nerve denervation in an animal model. Methods: In sixteen rodents an eight mm sciatic nerve gap was created. In the following 8 weeks, each week, two rodents were euthanized and the gastrocnemius muscle was examined using two different ultrasound systems and two investigators. The standardized ultrasound measurement protocol consisted of identifying pre-defined anatomical landmarks: 1) the fibula, 2) the fibular nerve, and 3) the junction between the most distal point of the semitendinosus muscle and gastrocnemius muscle. Consequently, we measured the muscle thickness as the length of the line between the fibula and the junction between the two muscles, perpendicular to the fibular nerve. After the ultrasound recording, the muscle mass was determined. Results: A steep decline of muscle weight of 24% was observed after one week. In the following weeks, the weight further decreased and then remained stable from 6 weeks onwards, resulting in a maximal muscle weight decrease of 82%. The correlation coefficient was >0.96 between muscle diameter and weight using both ultrasound systems. The inter-rater reliability was excellent for both devices on the operated side (ICC of 0.99 for both ultrasound systems) and good for the non-operated site (ICC's: 0.84 & 0.89). The difference between the muscle mass ratio and the muscle thickness ratio was not more than 5% with two outliers of approximately 13%. Discussion: We have developed an innovative, highly reliable technique for quantifying muscle atrophy after nerve injury. This technique allows serial measurements in the same animal over time. This is a significant advantage compared to the conventional technique for quantifying muscle atrophy, which requires sacrificing the animal

Cation-eutectic transition via sublattice melting in CuInP2S6/In4/3P2S6 van der Waals layered crystals

Single crystals of the van der Waals layered ferrielectric material CuInP2S6 spontaneously phase separate when synthesized with Cu deficiency. Here we identify a route to form and tune intralayer heterostructures between the corresponding ferrielectric (CuInP2S6) and paraelectric (In4/3P2S6) phases through control of chemical phase separation. We conclusively demonstrate that Cu-deficient Cu1–xIn1+x/3P2S6 forms a single phase at high temperature. We also identify the mechanism by which the phase separation proceeds upon cooling. Above 500 K both Cu+ and In3+ become mobile, while P2S64– anions maintain their structure. We therefore propose that this transition can be understood as eutectic melting on the cation sublattice. Such a model suggests that the transition temperature for the melting process is relatively low because it requires only a partial reorganization of the crystal lattice. As a result, varying the cooling rate through the phase transition controls the lateral extent of chemical domains over several decades in size. At the fastest cooling rate, the dimensional confinement of the ferrielectric CuInP2S6 phase to nanoscale dimensions suppresses ferrielectric ordering due to the intrinsic ferroelectric size effect. Intralayer heterostructures can be formed, destroyed, and re-formed by thermal cycling, thus enabling the possibility of finely tuned ferroic structures that can potentially be optimized for specific device architectures

Unique Mass Texture for Quarks and Leptons

Texture specific quark mass matrices which are hermitian and hierarchical are examined in detail . In the case of texture 6 zeros matrices, out of sixteen possibilities examined by us, none is able to fit the low energy data (LED), for example, $V_{us} = 0.2196 \pm 0.0023$, $V_{cb} = 0.0395 \pm 0.0017$, $\frac{V_{ub}}{V_{cb}} = 0.08 \pm 0.02$, $V_{td}$ lies in the range $0.004 - 0.013$ (PDG). Similarly none of the 32 texture 5 zeros mass matrices considered is able to reproduce LED. In particular, the latest data from LEP regarding $|V_{ub}|/|V_{cb}|(=0.093\pm0.016)$ rules out all of them. In the texture 4 zeros case, we find that there is a unique texture structure for $U$ and $D$ mass matrices which is able to fit the data.Comment: 12 pages, LaTeX,some changes in the references,minor changes in the text,to appear in Phys Rev D(Rapid communications