Depression in small-vessel disease relates to white matter ultrastructural damage, not disability.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether cerebral small-vessel disease (SVD) is a specific risk factor for depression, whether any association is mediated via white matter damage, and to study the role of depressive symptoms and disability on quality of life (QoL) in this patient group. METHODS: Using path analyses in cross-sectional data, we modeled the relationships among depression, disability, and QoL in patients with SVD presenting with radiologically confirmed lacunar stroke (n = 100), and replicated results in a second SVD cohort (n = 100). We then compared the same model in a non-SVD stroke cohort (n = 50) and healthy older adults (n = 203). In a further study, to determine the role of white matter damage in mediating the association with depression, a subgroup of patients with SVD (n = 101) underwent diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). RESULTS: Reduced QoL was associated with depression in patients with SVD, but this association was not mediated by disability or cognition; very similar results were found in the replication SVD cohort. In contrast, the non-SVD stroke group and the healthy older adult group showed a direct relationship between disability and depression. The DTI study showed that fractional anisotropy, a marker of white matter damage, was related to depressive symptoms in patients with SVD. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that in stroke patients without SVD, disability is an important causal factor for depression, whereas in SVD stroke, other factors specific to this stroke subtype have a causal role. White matter damage detected on DTI is one factor that mediates the association between SVD and depression

Bimagnon studies in cuprates with Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering at the O K edge. II - The doping effect in La2-xSrxCuO4

We present RIXS data at O K edge from La2-xSrxCuO4 vs. doping between x=0.10 and x=0.22 with attention to the magnetic excitations in the Mid-Infrared region. The sampling done by RIXS is the same as in the undoped cuprates provided the excitation is at the first pre-peak induced by doping. Note that this excitation energy is about 1.5 eV lower than that needed to see bimagnons in the parent compound. This approach allows the study of the upper region of the bimagnon continuum around 450 meV within about one third of the Brilluoin Zone around \Gamma. The results show the presence of damped bimagnons and of higher even order spin excitations with almost constant spectral weight at all the dopings explored here. The implications on high Tc studies are briefly addressed

Going viral in PNG - exploring routes and circumstances of entry of a rabies-infected dog into Papua New Guinea

In this qualitative study implemented in November 2016, we elicited narratives about fictional rabies incursions from key employees (n = 16) of the National Agriculture and Quarantine Inspection Authority in Papua New Guinea (PNG) to explore the potential circumstances and routes of entry of a rabies-infected dog, and direct rabies preparedness. Although PNG is rabies free, proximity to rabies-endemic Indonesia poses a risk of introduction and it is expected that an outbreak in PNG would have devastating human health impacts consistent with other countries with similarly low human development indices and abundant free-roaming dogs. Participants used their local and professional knowledge to create plausible narratives in response to contextual, but fictitious, newspaper stories. An ethnographic content analysis was used to extract themes and interpret the narratives. Themes were assessed in the context of their potential influence on rabies preparedness in PNG against the social and political background of PNG and relevant, published literature. Consistent themes included the ubiquity of trade and the complexity of routes between Indonesia and PNG. Dog ownership seemed pragmatic - actors in the narratives readily and rationally involved dogs in transactions in response to trade, exchange or gifting opportunities. Consequently, dogs changed ownership frequently. The findings of this study have important implications for rabies preparedness in PNG; there is potential for wide geographic dissemination of rabies in dogs before outbreak detection. However, common patterns of travel - trade of dogs via Papuan towns and use of traditional trade routes - do provide opportunity for targeted surveillance and response in the event of an incursion

Similar temperature scale for valence changes in Kondo lattices with different Kondo temperatures

The Kondo model predicts that both the valence at low temperatures and its temperature dependence scale with the characteristic energy T_K of the Kondo interaction. Here, we study the evolution of the 4f occupancy with temperature in a series of Yb Kondo lattices using resonant X-ray emission spectroscopy. In agreement with simple theoretical models, we observe a scaling between the valence at low temperature and T_K obtained from thermodynamic measurements. In contrast, the temperature scale T_v at which the valence increases with temperature is almost the same in all investigated materials while the Kondo temperatures differ by almost four orders of magnitude. This observation is in remarkable contradiction to both naive expectation and precise theoretical predictions of the Kondo model, asking for further theoretical work in order to explain our findings. Our data exclude the presence of a quantum critical valence transition in YbRh2Si2

An industry-level analysis of potential intangible and economic impacts affecting Australian pork producers during an emergency animal disease control program

Emerging and transboundary diseases have been responsible for dramatic impacts on human health, the economy, trade, animal health and biodiversity in Australia and around the world. The Australian pig industry’s health status provides it with a competitive advantage. Freedom from major transboundary diseases – such as foot-and-mouth disease and classical swine fever – secures access to international markets and enables producers to invest in their businesses free from the complication of major disease incursions, ensures the industry’s future sustainability and allows it to meet community standards for food production. Planning for a disease response is driven by many factors. Among these factors, the cost of the response is often the single most important driving factor. However, cost involves more than the actual financial cost of the response. It involves a number of intangible elements and the views of a diverse range of stakeholders. For example, human health, environmental and sociological consequences need to be considered. Currently, a unifying framework for such decision-making is unavailable. Application of a newly developed framework to several diseases that concern the Australian pig industry will facilitate dialogue on what is the best response to minimize the impact of incursions of such diseases. This novel framework for economic analysis of animal health emergencies incorporates risk assessment, tangible and intangible elements and a value-added cost-benefit analysis. These case studies assess the comparability, applicability and accountability of different response actions through producer perspectives. An example of the application of this framework for a disease which threatens the Australian pig industry will be presented

Hole-depletion of ladders in Sr14_{14}Cu24_{24}O41_{41} induced by correlation effects

The hole distribution in Sr$_{14}$Cu$_{24}$O$_{41}$ is studied by low temperature polarization dependent O K Near-Edge X-ray Absorption Fine Structure measurements and state of the art electronic structure calculations that include core-hole and correlation effects in a mean-field approach. Contrary to all previous analysis, based on semi-empirical models, we show that correlations and antiferromagnetic ordering favor the strong chain hole-attraction. For the remaining small number of holes accommodated on ladders, leg-sites are preferred to rung-sites. The small hole affinity of rung-sites explains naturally the 1D - 2D cross-over in the phase diagram of (La,Y,Sr,Ca)$_{14}$Cu$_{24}$O$_{41}$Comment: 6 pages, 8 figure

Electrophysiological and morphological changes in colonic myenteric neurons from chemotherapy-treated patients: A pilot study

BACKGROUND: Patients receiving anticancer chemotherapy experience a multitude of gastrointestinal side‐effects. However, the causes of these symptoms are uncertain and whether these therapeutics directly affect the enteric nervous system is unknown. Our aim was to determine whether the function and morphology of myenteric neurons are altered in specimens of the colon from chemotherapy‐treated patients. METHODS: Colon specimens were compared from chemotherapy‐treated and non‐treated patients following colorectal resections for removal of carcinoma. Intracellular electrophysiological recordings from myenteric neurons and immunohistochemistry were performed in whole mount preparations. KEY RESULTS: Myenteric S neurons from chemotherapy‐treated patients were hyperexcitable; more action potentials (11.4 ± 9.4, p < 0.05) were fired in response to depolarising current pulses than in non‐treated patients (1.4 ± 0.5). The rheobase and the threshold to evoke action potentials were significantly lower for neurons from chemotherapy‐treated patients compared to neurons from non‐treated patients (p < 0.01). Fast excitatory postsynaptic potential reversal potential was more positive in neurons from chemotherapy‐treated patients (p < 0.05). An increase in the number of neurons with translocation of Hu protein from the cytoplasm to the nucleus was observed in specimens from chemotherapy‐treated patients (103 ± 25 neurons/mm(2), 37.2 ± 7.0%, n = 8) compared to non‐treated (26 ± 5 neurons/mm(2), 11.9 ± 2.7%, n = 12, p < 0.01). An increase in the soma size of neuronal nitric oxide synthase‐immunoreactive neurons was also observed in these specimens. CONCLUSIONS & INFERENCES: This is the first study suggesting functional and structural changes in human myenteric neurons in specimens of colon from patients receiving anticancer chemotherapy. These changes may contribute to the causation of gastrointestinal symptoms experienced by chemotherapy‐treated patients

High-resolution resonant inelastic soft X-ray scattering as a probe of the crystal electrical field in lanthanides demonstrated for the case of CeRh2Si2

The magnetic properties of rare earth compounds are usually well captured by assuming a fully localized f shell and only considering the Hund's rule ground state multiplet split by a crystal electrical field (CEF). Currently, the standard technique for probing CEF excitations in lanthanides is inelastic neutron scattering. Here we show that with the recent leap in energy resolution, resonant inelastic soft X-ray scattering has become a serious alternative for looking at CEF excitations with some distinct advantages compared to INS. As an example we study the CEF scheme in CeRh2Si2, a system that has been intensely studied for more than two decades now but for which no consensus has been reached yet as to its CEF scheme. We used two new features that have only become available very recently in RIXS, high energy resolution of about 30 meV as well as polarization analysis in the scattered beam, to find a unique CEF description for CeRh2Si2. The result agrees well with previous INS and magnetic susceptibility measurements. Due to its strong resonant character, RIXS is applicable to very small samples, presents very high cross sections for all lanthanides, and further benefits from the very weak coupling to phonon excitation. The rapid progress in energy resolution of RIXS spectrometers is making this technique increasingly attractive for the investigation of the CEF scheme in lanthanides

Spitzer Observations of Centaurus A: Infrared Synchrotron Emission from the Northern Lobe

We present measurements obtained with the Spitzer Space Telescope in five bands from 3.6-24 microns of the northern inner radio lobe of Centaurus A, the nearest powerful radio galaxy. We show that this emission is synchrotron in origin. Comparison with ultraviolet observations from GALEX shows that diffuse ultraviolet emission exists in a smaller region than the infrared but also coincides with the radio jet. We discuss the possibility, that synchrotron emission is responsible for the ultraviolet emission and conclude that further data are required to confirm this.Comment: 4 pages, accepted by ApJ