Decreased functional connectivity within a language subnetwork in benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes.

OBJECTIVE: Benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS, also known as Rolandic epilepsy) is a common epilepsy syndrome that is associated with literacy and language impairments. The neural mechanisms of the syndrome are not known. The primary objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that functional connectivity within the language network is decreased in children with BECTS. We also tested the hypothesis that siblings of children with BECTS have similar abnormalities. METHODS: Echo planar magnetic resonance (MR) imaging data were acquired from 25 children with BECTS, 12 siblings, and 20 healthy controls, at rest. After preprocessing with particular attention to intrascan motion, the mean signal was extracted from each of 90 regions of interest. Sparse, undirected graphs were constructed from adjacency matrices consisting of Spearman's rank correlation coefficients. Global and nodal graph metrics and subnetwork and pairwise connectivity were compared between groups. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in graph metrics between groups. Children with BECTS had decreased functional connectivity relative to controls within a four-node subnetwork, which consisted of the left inferior frontal gyrus, the left superior frontal gyrus, the left supramarginal gyrus, and the right inferior parietal lobe (p = 0.04). A similar but nonsignificant decrease was also observed for the siblings. The BECTS groups had significant increases in connectivity within a five-node, five-edge frontal subnetwork. SIGNIFICANCE: The results provide further evidence of decreased functional connectivity between key mediators of speech processing, language, and reading in children with BECTS. We hypothesize that these decreases reflect delayed lateralization of the language network and contribute to specific cognitive impairments

Are Interaction-free Measurements Interaction Free?

In 1993 Elitzur and Vaidman introduced the concept of interaction-free measurements which allowed finding objects without ``touching'' them. In the proposed method, since the objects were not touched even by photons, thus, the interaction-free measurements can be called as ``seeing in the dark''. Since then several experiments have been successfully performed and various modifications were suggested. Recently, however, the validity of the term ``interaction-free'' has been questioned. The criticism of the name is briefly reviewed and the meaning of the interaction-free measurements is clarified.Comment: 11 pages, 3 eps figures. Contribution to the ICQO 2000, Raubichi, Belaru

Cosmic rays and molecular clouds

This paper deals with the cosmic-ray penetration into molecular clouds and with the related gamma--ray emission. High energy cosmic rays interact with the dense gas and produce neutral pions which in turn decay into two gamma rays. This makes molecular clouds potential sources of gamma rays, especially if they are located in the vicinity of a powerful accelerator that injects cosmic rays in the interstellar medium. The amplitude and duration in time of the cosmic--ray overdensity around a given source depend on how quickly cosmic rays diffuse in the turbulent galactic magnetic field. For these reasons, gamma-ray observations of molecular clouds can be used both to locate the sources of cosmic rays and to constrain the properties of cosmic-ray diffusion in the Galaxy.Comment: To appear in the proceedings of the San Cugat Forum on Astrophysics 2012, 27 pages, 10 figure

Three‐dimensional structure, ground rupture hazards, and static stress models for complex non‐planar thrust faults in the Ventura basin, southern California

To investigate the subsurface geometry of a recently discovered, seismically‐active fault in the Ventura basin, southern California, USA, we present a series of cross sections and a new three‐dimensional fault model across the Southern San Cayetano fault (SSCF) based on integration of surface data with petroleum industry well‐log data. Additionally, the fault model for the SSCF, along with models of other regional faults extracted from the Southern California Earthquake Center three‐dimensional Community Fault Model, are incorporated in static Coulomb stress modeling to investigate static Coulomb stress transfer between thrust faults with complex geometry and to further our understanding of stress transfer in the Ventura basin. The results of the subsurface well investigation provide evidence for a low‐angle SSCF that dips ~15° north and connects with the western section of the San Cayetano fault around 1.5–3.5 km depth. We interpret the results of static Coulomb stress models to partly explain contrasting geomorphic expression between different sections of the San Cayetano fault and a potential mismatch in timings between large‐magnitude uplift events suggested by paleoseismic studies on the Pitas Point, Ventura, and San Cayetano faults. In addition to new insights into the structure and potential rupture hazard of a recently discovered active reverse fault in a highly populated area of southern California, this study provides a simple method to model static Coulomb stress transfer on complex geometry faults in fold and thrust belts

Interactions between dietary docosahexaenoic acid and other long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids on performance and fatty acid retention in post-smolt Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

A study with varying dietary inclusion levels (1, 5, 10, 15 and 20 g kg-1) of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6n-3) was conducted with post-smolt (111 ± 2.6 g; mean ± S.) Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) over a 9-week period. In addition to the series of DHA inclusion levels, the study included further diets that had DHA at 10 g kg-1 in combination with either eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5n-3) or arachidonic acid (ARA; 20:4n-6), both also included at 10 g kg-1. An additional treatment with both EPA and DHA included at 5 g kg-1 (total of 10 g kg-1 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, LC-PUFA) was also included. After a 9-week feeding period, fish were weighed, and carcass, blood and tissue samples collected. A minor improvement in growth was seen with increasing inclusion of DHA. However, the addition of EPA further improved growth response while addition of ARA had no effect on growth. As with most lipid studies, the fatty acid composition of the whole body lipids generally reflected that of the diets. However, there were notable exceptions to this, and these implicate some interactions among the different LC-PUFA in terms of the fatty acid bio- chemistry in this species. At very low inclusion levels, DHA retention was substantially higher (*250 %) than that at all other inclusion levels (31–58 %). The inclusion of EPA in the diet also had a positive effect on the retention efficiency of DHA. However, EPA retention was highly variable and at low DHA inclusion levels there was a net loss of EPA as this fatty acid was most likely elongated to produce DHA, consistent with increased DHA retention with addi- tional EPA in the diet. Retention of DPA (22:5n-3) was high at low levels of DHA, but diminished with increasing DHA inclusion, similar to that seen with DHA retention. The addition of EPA to the diet resulted in a substantial increase in the efficiency of DPA retention; the inclusion of ARA had the opposite effect. Retention of ARA was unaffected by DHA inclusion, but the addition of either EPA or ARA to the diet resulted in a substantial reduction in the efficiency of ARA retention. No effects of dietary treatment were noted on the retention of either linolenic (18:3n-3) or linoleic (18:2n-6) acids. When the total n-3 LC-PUFA content of the diet was the same but consisted of either DHA alone or as a combination of EPA plus DHA, the performance effects were similar

Both male and female identity influence variation in male signalling effort

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Male sexual displays play an important role in sexual selection by affecting reproductive success. However, for such displays to be useful for female mate choice, courtship should vary more among than within individual males. In this regard, a potentially important source of within male variation is adjustment of male courtship effort in response to female traits. Accordingly, we set out to dissect sources of variation in male courtship effort in a fish, the desert goby (<it>Chlamydogobius eremius</it>). We did so by designing an experiment that allowed simultaneous estimation of within and between male variation in courtship, while also assessing the importance of the males and females as sources of courtship variation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Although males adjusted their courtship depending on the identity of the female (a potentially important source of within-male variation), among-male differences were considerably greater. In addition, male courtship effort towards a pair of females was highly repeatable over a short time frame.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Despite the plasticity in male courtship effort, courtship displays had the potential to reliably convey information about the male to mate-searching females. Our experiment therefore underscores the importance of addressing the different sources contributing to variation in the expression of sexually-selected traits.</p

Decreased functional connectivity within a language subnetwork in benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes

Objective: Benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS, also known as Rolandic epilepsy) is a common epilepsy syndrome that is associated with literacy and language impairments. The neural mechanisms of the syndrome are not known. The primary objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that functional connectivity within the language network is decreased in children with BECTS. We also tested the hypothesis that siblings of children with BECTS have similar abnormalities. Methods: Echo planar magnetic resonance (MR) imaging data were acquired from 25 children with BECTS, 12 siblings, and 20 healthy controls, at rest. After preprocessing with particular attention to intrascan motion, the mean signal was extracted from each of 90 regions of interest. Sparse, undirected graphs were constructed from adjacency matrices consisting of Spearman's rank correlation coefficients. Global and nodal graph metrics and subnetwork and pairwise connectivity were compared between groups. Results: There were no significant differences in graph metrics between groups. Children with BECTS had decreased functional connectivity relative to controls within a four‐node subnetwork, which consisted of the left inferior frontal gyrus, the left superior frontal gyrus, the left supramarginal gyrus, and the right inferior parietal lobe (p = 0.04). A similar but nonsignificant decrease was also observed for the siblings. The BECTS groups had significant increases in connectivity within a five‐node, five‐edge frontal subnetwork. Significance: The results provide further evidence of decreased functional connectivity between key mediators of speech processing, language, and reading in children with BECTS. We hypothesize that these decreases reflect delayed lateralization of the language network and contribute to specific cognitive impairments

The Rat IgGFcγBP and Muc2 C-Terminal Domains and TFF3 in Two Intestinal Mucus Layers Bind Together by Covalent Interaction

The secreted proteins from goblet cells compose the intestinal mucus. The aims of this study were to determine how they exist in two intestinal mucus layers.The intestinal mucosa was fixed with Carnoy solution and immunostained. Mucus from the loose layer, the firm layer was gently suctioned or scraped, respectively, lysed in SDS sample buffer with or without DTT, then subjected to the western blotting of rTFF3, rIgGFcγBP or rMuc2. The non-reduced or reduced soluble mucus samples in RIPA buffer were co-immunoprecipitated to investigate their possible interactions. Polyclonal antibodies for rTFF3, the rIgGFcγBP C-terminal domain and the rMuc2 C-terminal domain confirmed their localization in the mucus layer and in the mucus collected from the rat intestinal loose layer or firm layer in both western blot and immunoprecipitation experiments. A complex of rTFF3, which was approximately 250 kDa, and a monomer of 6 kDa were present in both layers of the intestinal mucus; rIgGFcγBP was present in the complex (250-280 kDa) under non-reducing conditions, but shifted to 164 kDa under reducing conditions in both of the layers. rMuc2 was found mainly in a complex of 214-270 kDa under non-reducing conditions, but it shifted to 140 kDa under reducing conditions. The co-immunoprecipitation experiments showed that binding occurs among rTFF3, rIgGFcγBP and rMuc2 in the RIPA buffer soluble intestinal mucus. Blocking the covalent interaction by 100 mM DTT in the RIPA buffer soluble intestinal mucus disassociated their binding.Rat goblet cell-secreted TFF3, IgGFcγBP and Muc2, existing in the two intestinal mucus layers, are bound together by covalent interactions in the soluble fraction of intestinal mucus and form heteropolymers to be one of the biochemical mechanisms of composing the net-like structure of mucus

Identification of priorities for improvement of medication safety in primary care: a PRIORITIZE study

Background Medication error is a frequent, harmful and costly patient safety incident. Research to date has mostly focused on medication errors in hospitals. In this study, we aimed to identify the main causes of, and solutions to, medication error in primary care. Methods We used a novel priority-setting method for identifying and ranking patient safety problems and solutions called PRIORITIZE. We invited 500 North West London primary care clinicians to complete an open-ended questionnaire to identify three main problems and solutions relating to medication error in primary care. 113 clinicians submitted responses, which we thematically synthesized into a composite list of 48 distinct problems and 45 solutions. A group of 57 clinicians randomly selected from the initial cohort scored these and an overall ranking was derived. The agreement between the clinicians’ scores was presented using the average expert agreement (AEA). The study was conducted between September 2013 and November 2014. Results The top three problems were incomplete reconciliation of medication during patient ‘hand-overs’, inadequate patient education about their medication use and poor discharge summaries. The highest ranked solutions included development of a standardized discharge summary template, reduction of unnecessary prescribing, and minimisation of polypharmacy. Overall, better communication between the healthcare provider and patient, quality assurance approaches during medication prescribing and monitoring, and patient education on how to use their medication were considered the top priorities. The highest ranked suggestions received the strongest agreement among the clinicians, i.e. the highest AEA score. Conclusions Clinicians identified a range of suggestions for better medication management, quality assurance procedures and patient education. According to clinicians, medication errors can be largely prevented with feasible and affordable interventions. PRIORITIZE is a new, convenient, systematic, and replicable method, and merits further exploration with a view to becoming a part of a routine preventative patient safety monitoring mechanism

Cost-effectiveness of malaria microscopy and rapid diagnostic tests versus presumptive diagnosis: implications for malaria control in Uganda

BACKGROUND: Current Uganda National Malaria treatment guidelines recommend parasitological confirmation either by microscopy or rapid diagnostic test (RDT) before treatment with artemether-lumefantrine (AL). However, the cost-effectiveness of these strategies has not been assessed at rural operational primary care centres. METHODS: Three health centres (HCs) were randomized to three diagnostic arms (microscopy, RDT and presumptive diagnosis) in a district of low and another of high malaria transmission intensities in Uganda. Some 22,052 patients presenting with fever at outpatients departments were enrolled from March 2010 to February 2011. Of these, a random sample of 1,627 was selected to measure additional socio-economic characteristics. Costing was performed following the standard step-down cost allocation and the ingredients approach. Effectiveness was measured as the number and proportion of patients correctly diagnosed and treated. Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratios (ICERs) were estimated from the societal perspective (http://Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT00565071). RESULTS: Overall RDT was most cost-effective with lowest ICER US$5.0 compared to microscopy US$9.61 per case correctly diagnosed and treated. In the high transmission setting, ICER was US$4.38 for RDT and US$12.98 for microscopy. The corresponding ICERs in the low transmission setting were US$5.85 and US$7.63 respectively. The difference in ICERs between RDT and microscopy was greater in the high transmission area (US$8.9) than in low transmission setting (US$1.78). At a willingness to pay of US$2.8, RDT remained cost effective up to a threshold value of the cost of treatment of US$4.7. CONCLUSION: RDT was cost effective in both low and high transmission settings. With a global campaign to reduce the costs of AL and RDT, the Malaria Control Programme and stakeholders need a strategy for malaria diagnosis because as the cost of AL decreases, presumptive treatment is likely to become more attractive