73 research outputs found
CYTools: A Software Package for Analyzing Calabi-Yau Manifolds
We provide a user's guide to version 1.0 of the software package CYTools,
which we designed to compute the topological data of Calabi-Yau hypersurfaces
in toric varieties. CYTools has strong capabilities in analyzing and
triangulating polytopes, and can easily handle even the largest polytopes in
the Kreuzer-Skarke list. We explain the main functions and the options that can
be used to optimize them, including example computations that illustrate
efficient handling of large numbers of polytopes. The software, installation
instructions, and a Jupyter notebook tutorial can be found at https://cy.tools.Comment: v1: 42 pages, 2 figures. Software package available at
https://cy.tool
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Improving Student Success: Researching How Students Use Electronic Library Resources
This paper presents a research study conducted at UNT. The UNT Libraries partnered with the Department of Anthropology at UNT to conduct ethnographic research of how UNT students use the electronic library services
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Improving Student Success: Researching How Students Use Electronic Library Resources
This presentation presents a research study conducted at UNT. The UNT Libraries partnered with the Department of Anthropology at UNT to conduct ethnographic research of how UNT students use the electronic library services
Are Trp53 rescue of Brca1 embryonic lethality and Trp53/Brca1 breast cancer association related?
Brca1 is involved in multiple biological pathways including DNA damage repair, transcriptional regulation, and cell-cycle progression. A complex pattern of interactions of Brca1 with Trp53 has also emerged. Xu and coworkers found that haploid loss of Trp53 significantly reduces the embryonic lethality observed in mice with a homozygous in-frame deletion of Brca1 exon 11. They report that widespread apoptosis correlates with the embryonic lethality resulting from this homozygous Δ11 Brca1 mutation. A mechanism responsible for Brca1-associated carcinogenesis is proposed. These experiments extend our knowledge of a complex Brca1/Trp53 relationship. However, the precise mechanisms through which Brca1 interacts with Trp53 to suppress mammary tumor formation have yet to be elucidated
Effects of acute tryptophan depletion on executive function in healthy male volunteers
BACKGROUND: Neurocognitive impairment is frequently described in a number of psychiatric disorders and may be a direct consequence of serotonergic dysfunction. As impairments in executive functions are some of the most frequently described, the purpose of this study was to examine the performance of normal volunteers on a range of executive tasks following a transient reduction of central serotonin (5-HT) levels using the method of acute tryptophan depletion (ATD). METHODS: Fifteen healthy male subjects participated in a within-subject, double-blind, counterbalanced crossover study. ATD was induced by ingestion of a 100 g amino-acid drink. Executive function was evaluated using the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Stroop, Verbal Fluency and Trail Making. Visual analogue scales were administered to assess mood. RESULTS: Plasma free and total tryptophan concentrations were significantly reduced by the depleting drink (P < 0.001). ATD selectively improved motor speed/ attention on the Trails A test (P = 0.027), with no effect on subjective ratings of mood. Interaction effects between drink and the order of drink administration were observed on most neurocognitive tests. CONCLUSIONS: The improvement in simple motor speed/ attention following ATD is in keeping with the ascribed role of 5-HT in the cortex, however performance on tests of executive function is not robustly altered. The presence of interaction effects on most tasks suggests that subtle changes may occur but are masked, possibly by simple learning effects, in the context of a crossover design. This has implications for the design of future studies, particularly those examining executive functions
Hiccup: Mystery, Nature and Treatment
Hiccup is the sudden onset of erratic diaphragmatic and intercostal muscle contraction and immediately followed by laryngeal closure. The abrupt air rush into lungs elicits a "hic" sound. Hiccup is usually a self-limited disorder; however, when it is prolonged beyond 48 hours, it is considered persistent whereas episodes longer than 2 months are called intractable. A reflex arc involving peripheral phrenic, vagal and sympathetic pathways and central midbrain modulation is likely responsible for hiccup. Accordingly, any irritant in terms of physical/chemical factors, inflammation, neoplasia invading the arc leads to hiccups. The central causes of hiccup include stroke, space occupying lesions and injury etc, whereas peripheral causes include lesions along the arc such as tumors, myocardial ischemia, herpes infection, gastroesophageal reflux disease and applied instrumentations on human body etc. Besides, various drugs (eg, anti-parkinsonism drugs, anesthetic agents, steroids and chemotherapies etc) are the possible etiology. An effective treatment of persistent hiccup may be established upon the correct diagnosis of lesion responsible for the serious event. The pharmacotherapy of hiccup includes chlorpromazine, gabapentin, baclofen, serotonergic agonists, prokinetics and lidocaine. Non-pharmacological approaches such as nerve blockade, pacing, acupuncture and measures to hold breathing are also successful. Finally, alternative medicines and remedies are convenient to treat hiccups with uncertain effect. In conclusions, hiccup is likely to result from lesions involving the hiccup reflex arc. The lesion may need to be localized correctly for ablative treatment in patients with intractable hiccup. Apart from lesion ablation, drugs acting on reflex arc may be effective, while some other conventional measures may also be tried
The Brain Tumor Segmentation (BraTS) Challenge 2023: Focus on Pediatrics (CBTN-CONNECT-DIPGR-ASNR-MICCAI BraTS-PEDs)
Pediatric tumors of the central nervous system are the most common cause of
cancer-related death in children. The five-year survival rate for high-grade
gliomas in children is less than 20\%. Due to their rarity, the diagnosis of
these entities is often delayed, their treatment is mainly based on historic
treatment concepts, and clinical trials require multi-institutional
collaborations. The MICCAI Brain Tumor Segmentation (BraTS) Challenge is a
landmark community benchmark event with a successful history of 12 years of
resource creation for the segmentation and analysis of adult glioma. Here we
present the CBTN-CONNECT-DIPGR-ASNR-MICCAI BraTS-PEDs 2023 challenge, which
represents the first BraTS challenge focused on pediatric brain tumors with
data acquired across multiple international consortia dedicated to pediatric
neuro-oncology and clinical trials. The BraTS-PEDs 2023 challenge focuses on
benchmarking the development of volumentric segmentation algorithms for
pediatric brain glioma through standardized quantitative performance evaluation
metrics utilized across the BraTS 2023 cluster of challenges. Models gaining
knowledge from the BraTS-PEDs multi-parametric structural MRI (mpMRI) training
data will be evaluated on separate validation and unseen test mpMRI dataof
high-grade pediatric glioma. The CBTN-CONNECT-DIPGR-ASNR-MICCAI BraTS-PEDs 2023
challenge brings together clinicians and AI/imaging scientists to lead to
faster development of automated segmentation techniques that could benefit
clinical trials, and ultimately the care of children with brain tumors
Overview of the Role of Environmental Factors in Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Evidence implicates environmental factors in the pathogenesis of diverse complex neurodevelopmental disorders. However, the identity of specific environmental chemicals that confer risk for these disorders, and the mechanisms by which environmental chemicals interact with genetic susceptibilities to influence adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes remain significant gaps in our understanding of the etiology of most neurodevelopmental disorders. It is likely that many environmental chemicals contribute to the etiology of neurodevelopmental disorders but their influence depends on the genetic substrate of the individual. Research into the pathophysiology and genetics of neurodevelopmental disorders may inform the identification of environmental susceptibility factors that promote adverse outcomes in brain development. Conversely, understanding how low-level chemical exposures influence molecular, cellular, and behavioral outcomes relevant to neurodevelopmental disorders will provide insight regarding gene-environment interactions and possibly yield novel intervention strategies
Diving into the vertical dimension of elasmobranch movement ecology
Knowledge of the three-dimensional movement patterns of elasmobranchs is vital to understand their ecological roles and exposure to anthropogenic pressures. To date, comparative studies among species at global scales have mostly focused on horizontal movements. Our study addresses the knowledge gap of vertical movements by compiling the first global synthesis of vertical habitat use by elasmobranchs from data obtained by deployment of 989 biotelemetry tags on 38 elasmobranch species. Elasmobranchs displayed high intra- and interspecific variability in vertical movement patterns. Substantial vertical overlap was observed for many epipelagic elasmobranchs, indicating an increased likelihood to display spatial overlap, biologically interact, and share similar risk to anthropogenic threats that vary on a vertical gradient. We highlight the critical next steps toward incorporating vertical movement into global management and monitoring strategies for elasmobranchs, emphasizing the need to address geographic and taxonomic biases in deployments and to concurrently consider both horizontal and vertical movements
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