Neural correlates of visuospatial working memory in the ‘at-risk mental state’

Background. Impaired spatial working memory (SWM) is a robust feature of schizophrenia and has been linked to the risk of developing psychosis in people with an at-risk mental state (ARMS). We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine the neural substrate of SWM in the ARMS and in patients who had just developed schizophrenia. Method. fMRI was used to study 17 patients with an ARMS, 10 patients with a first episode of psychosis and 15 agematched healthy comparison subjects. The blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) response was measured while subjects performed an object–location paired-associate memory task, with experimental manipulation of mnemonic load. Results. In all groups, increasing mnemonic load was associated with activation in the medial frontal and medial posterior parietal cortex. Significant between-group differences in activation were evident in a cluster spanning the medial frontal cortex and right precuneus, with the ARMS groups showing less activation than controls but greater activation than first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients. These group differences were more evident at the most demanding levels of the task than at the easy level. In all groups, task performance improved with repetition of the conditions. However, there was a significant group difference in the response of the right precuneus across repeated trials, with an attenuation of activation in controls but increased activation in FEP and little change in the ARMS. Conclusions. Abnormal neural activity in the medial frontal cortex and posterior parietal cortex during an SWM task may be a neural correlate of increased vulnerability to psychosis

Laparoscopic sacrohysteropexy and myomectomy for uterine prolapse: a case report and review of the literature

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>A large number of hysterectomies are carried out for uterine prolapse, menorrhagia and other symptomatic but benign gynaecological conditions, which has increased interest in new approaches to treat these disorders. These new procedures are less invasive and offer reduced risk and faster recovery.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>Sacrohysteropexy can be carried out instead of vaginal hysterectomy in the treatment of uterine prolapse. It involves using a synthetic mesh to suspend the uterus to the sacrum; this maintains durable anatomic restoration, normal vaginal axis and sexual function. A laparoscopic approach has major advantages over the abdominal route including shorter recovery time and less adhesion formation. We describe a laparoscopic sacrohysteropexy in a 55-year-old Caucasian British woman that was technically difficult. An intramural uterine fibroid was encroaching just above the uterosacral ligament making mesh positioning impossible. This was removed and the procedure completed successfully.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Posterior wall fibroid is not a contraindication for laparoscopic sacrohysteropexy. This procedure has increasingly become an effective treatment of uterine prolapse in women who have no indication for hysterectomy.</p

Extracting inter-dot tunnel couplings between few donor quantum dots in silicon

The long term scaling prospects for solid-state quantum computing architectures relies heavily on the ability to simply and reliably measure and control the coherent electron interaction strength, known as the tunnel coupling, tc. Here, we describe a method to extract the tc between two quantum dots (QDs) utilising their different tunnel rates to a reservoir. We demonstrate the technique on a few donor triple QD tunnel coupled to a nearby single-electron transistor(SET)in silicon. The device was patterned using scanning tunneling microscopy-hydrogen lithography allowing for a direct measurement of the tunnel coupling for a given inter-dot distance. We extract tc = ± 5.5 1.8 GHz and tc = ± 2.2 1.3 GHz between each of the nearest-neighbour QDs which are separated by 14.5 nm and 14.0 nm, respectively. The technique allows for an accurate measurement of tc for nanoscale devices even when it is smaller than the electron temperature and is an ideal characterisation tool for multi-dot systems with a charge senso

High-fidelity single-shot singlet-triplet readout of precision-placed donors in silicon

In this work we perform direct single-shot readout of the singlet-triplet states in exchange coupled electrons confined to precision-placed donor atoms in silicon. Our method takes advantage of the large energy splitting given by the Pauli-spin blockaded (2,0) triplet states, from which we can achieve a single-shot readout fidelity of 98.4 ± 0.2%. We measure the triplet-minus relaxation time to be of the order 3 s at 2.5 T and observe its predicted decrease as a function of magnetic field, reaching 0.5 s at 1 T

Quantum walk on distinguishable non-interacting many-particles and indistinguishable two-particle

We present an investigation of many-particle quantum walks in systems of non-interacting distinguishable particles. Along with a redistribution of the many-particle density profile we show that the collective evolution of the many-particle system resembles the single-particle quantum walk evolution when the number of steps is greater than the number of particles in the system. For non-uniform initial states we show that the quantum walks can be effectively used to separate the basis states of the particle in position space and grouping like state together. We also discuss a two-particle quantum walk on a two- dimensional lattice and demonstrate an evolution leading to the localization of both particles at the center of the lattice. Finally we discuss the outcome of a quantum walk of two indistinguishable particles interacting at some point during the evolution.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, To appear in special issue: "quantum walks" to be published in Quantum Information Processin

Global Governance Behind Closed Doors : The IMF Boardroom, the Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility, and the Intersection of Material Power and Norm Change in Global Politics

Up on the 12th floor of its 19th Street Headquarters, the IMF Board sits in active session for an average of 7 hours per week. Although key matters of policy are decided on in the venue, the rules governing Boardroom interactions remain opaque, resting on an uneasy combination of consensual decision-making and weighted voting. Through a detailed analysis of IMF Board discussions surrounding the Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF), this article sheds light on the mechanics of power in this often overlooked venue of global economic governance. By exploring the key issues of default liability and loan conditionality, I demonstrate that whilst the Boardroom is a more active site of contestation than has hitherto been recognized, material power is a prime determinant of both Executive Directors’ preferences and outcomes reached from discussions. And as the decisions reached form the backbone of the ‘instruction sheet’ used by Fund staff to guide their everyday operational decisions, these outcomes—and the processes through which they were reached—were factors of primary importance in stabilizing the operational norms at the heart of a controversial phase in the contemporary history of IMF concessional lending

Wnt5a induces ROR1 to complex with HS1 to enhance migration of chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells.

ROR1 (receptor tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptor 1) is a conserved, oncoembryonic surface antigen expressed in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). We found that ROR1 associates with hematopoietic-lineage-cell-specific protein 1 (HS1) in freshly isolated CLL cells or in CLL cells cultured with exogenous Wnt5a. Wnt5a also induced HS1 tyrosine phosphorylation, recruitment of ARHGEF1, activation of RhoA and enhanced chemokine-directed migration; such effects could be inhibited by cirmtuzumab, a humanized anti-ROR1 mAb. We generated truncated forms of ROR1 and found its extracellular cysteine-rich domain or kringle domain was necessary for Wnt5a-induced HS1 phosphorylation. Moreover, the cytoplamic, and more specifically the proline-rich domain (PRD), of ROR1 was required for it to associate with HS1 and allow for F-actin polymerization in response to Wnt5a. Accordingly, we introduced single amino acid substitutions of proline (P) to alanine (A) in the ROR1 PRD at positions 784, 808, 826, 841 or 850 in potential SH3-binding motifs. In contrast to wild-type ROR1, or other ROR1P→︀A mutants, ROR1P(841)A had impaired capacity to recruit HS1 and ARHGEF1 to ROR1 in response to Wnt5a. Moreover, Wnt5a could not induce cells expressing ROR1P(841)A to phosphorylate HS1 or activate ARHGEF1, and was unable to enhance CLL-cell motility. Collectively, these studies indicate HS1 plays an important role in ROR1-dependent Wnt5a-enhanced chemokine-directed leukemia-cell migration

Mapping the chemical potential landscape of a triple quantum dot

We investigate the non-equilibrium charge dynamics of a triple quantum dot and demonstrate how electron transport through these systems can give rise to non-trivial tunnelling paths. Using a real-time charge sensing method we establish tunnelling pathways taken by particular electrons under well-defined electrostatic configurations. We show how these measurements map to the chemical potentials for different charge states across the system. We use a modified Hubbard Hamiltonian to describe the system dynamics and show that it reproduces all experimental observations.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure