Verifying compliance with ballast water standards : a decision-theoretic approach

We construct credible intervals to estimate the mean organism (zooplankton and phytoplankton) concentration in ballast water via a decision-theoretic approach. To obtain the required optimal sample size, we use a total cost minimization criterion defined as the sum of the sampling cost and the Bayes risk either under a Poisson or a negative binomial model for organism counts, both with a gamma prior distribution. Such credible intervals may be employed to verify whether the ballast water discharged from a ship is in compliance with international standards. We also conduct a simulation study to evaluate the credible interval lengths associated with the proposed optimal sample sizes

Ultrafast deactivation of bilirubin: dark intermediates and two-photon isomerization

Bilirubin is a neurotoxic product responsible for neonatal jaundice, which is generally treated by phototherapy. The photoreaction involves ultrafast internal conversion via an elusive intermediate and Z–E isomerization with minor yield (less than 3% in solution). The structure of the intermediate remains unclear. Here, the combination of UV-vis and mid-IR ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy reports a comprehensive picture of the mechanism and provides essential structural information about the intermediate species. Thus, spectral dynamics during the earliest ps unveils a wavepacket travelling from the Franck–Condon region to the crossing point with a dark state. The latter shows a tighter molecular skeleton than the ground state and decays with 15 ps time constant. Remarkably, the relative contribution of a non-decaying component increases linearly with pump energy, suggesting that Z–E isomerization could also be triggered by two-photon excitation. Implications for the photochemistry of protein-bound open tetrapyrroles are discussedJLPL thanks the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN) for funding through the grant CTQ2010-17026 (FEDER Funds) and the ‘‘Ramón y Cajal’’ Program 2009, as well as the Xunta de Galicia (Spain) for grants EM2012/091, GPC2013/052 and R2014/051. CCB thanks the Spanish Ministry of Education for a FPU doctoral grantS

Solid helium at high pressure: A path-integral Monte Carlo simulation

Solid helium (3He and 4He) in the hcp and fcc phases has been studied by path-integral Monte Carlo. Simulations were carried out in the isothermal-isobaric (NPT) ensemble at pressures up to 52 GPa. This allows one to study the temperature and pressure dependences of isotopic effects on the crystal volume and vibrational energy in a wide parameter range. The obtained equation of state at room temperature agrees with available experimental data. The kinetic energy, E_k, of solid helium is found to be larger than the vibrational potential energy, E_p. The ratio E_k/E_p amounts to about 1.4 at low pressures, and decreases as the applied pressure is raised, converging to 1, as in a harmonic solid. Results of these simulations have been compared with those yielded by previous path integral simulations in the NVT ensemble. The validity range of earlier approximations is discussed.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

Objective Quantification of Neuromotor Symptoms in Parkinson's Disease: Implementation of a Portable, Computerized Measurement Tool

Quantification of neuromotor symptoms with device-based measures provides a useful supplement to clinical evaluation. Research using the CATSYS has established its utility as a computerized measurement system to quantify neuromotor function. The primary objective of this study is to provide technical guidance on the use of the CATSYS in Parkinson's disease (PD). Forty-four patients with idiopathic PD and 28 healthy controls were prospectively recruited and evaluated with CATSYS, a portable, Windows-based system consisting of a data logger and four different sensors (tremor pen, touch recording plate, reaction time handle, and force plate for balance recording) for quantification of neuromotor functions. CATSYS discriminated between PD and controls on measurements of rest/postural tremor, pronation/supination, finger tapping, simple reaction time, and postural sway intensity and velocity. CATSYS measurements using the proposed test battery were associated with relevant clinician-rated Unified Parkinson's disease rating scale (UPDRS) items assessing tremor and bradykinesia. More work is warranted to establish CATSYS as a diagnostic/monitoring instrument in movement disorders using the proposed technical approaches

Association of metabolic syndrome and change in Unified Parkinson\u27s Disease Rating Scale scores.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the association between metabolic syndrome and the Unified Parkinson\u27s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) scores and, secondarily, the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT). METHODS: This is a secondary analysis of data from 1,022 of 1,741 participants of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Exploratory Clinical Trials in Parkinson Disease Long-Term Study 1, a randomized, placebo-controlled trial of creatine. Participants were categorized as having or not having metabolic syndrome on the basis of modified criteria from the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III. Those who had the same metabolic syndrome status at consecutive annual visits were included. The change in UPDRS and SDMT scores from randomization to 3 years was compared in participants with and without metabolic syndrome. RESULTS: Participants with metabolic syndrome (n = 396) compared to those without (n = 626) were older (mean [SD] 63.9 [8.1] vs 59.9 [9.4] years; p \u3c 0.0001), were more likely to be male (75.3% vs 57.0%; p \u3c 0.0001), and had a higher mean uric acid level (men 5.7 [1.3] vs 5.3 [1.1] mg/dL, women 4.9 [1.3] vs 3.9 [0.9] mg/dL, p \u3c 0.0001). Participants with metabolic syndrome experienced an additional 0.6- (0.2) unit annual increase in total UPDRS (p = 0.02) and 0.5- (0.2) unit increase in motor UPDRS (p = 0.01) scores compared with participants without metabolic syndrome. There was no difference in the change in SDMT scores. CONCLUSIONS: Persons with Parkinson disease meeting modified criteria for metabolic syndrome experienced a greater increase in total UPDRS scores over time, mainly as a result of increases in motor scores, compared to those who did not. Further studies are needed to confirm this finding. CLINICALTRIALSGOV IDENTIFIER: NCT00449865

SRRM2, a Potential Blood Biomarker Revealing High Alternative Splicing in Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects about five million people worldwide. Diagnosis remains clinical, based on phenotypic patterns. The discovery of laboratory markers that will enhance diagnostic accuracy, allow pre-clinical detection and tracking of disease progression is critically needed. These biomarkers may include transcripts with different isoforms.We performed extensive analysis on 3 PD microarray experiments available through GEO and found that the RNA splicing gene SRRM2 (or SRm300), sereine/arginine repetitive matrix 2, was the only gene differentially upregulated among all the three PD experiments. SRRM2 expression was not changed in the blood of other neurological diseased patients versus the healthy controls. Using real-time PCR, we report that the shorter transcript of SRRM2 was 1.7 fold (p = 0.008) upregulated in the substantia nigra of PDs vs controls while the longer transcript was 0.4 downregulated in both the substantia nigra (p = 0.03) and amygdala (p = 0.003). To validate our results and test for the possibility of alternative splicing in PD, we performed independent microarray scans, using Affymetrix Exon_ST1 arrays, from peripheral blood of 28 individuals (17 PDs and 11 Ctrls) and found a significant upregulation of the upstream (5') exons of SRRM2 and a downregulation of the downstream exons, causing a total of 0.7 fold down regulation (p = 0.04) of the long isoform. In addition, we report novel information about hundreds of genes with significant alternative splicing (differential exonic expression) in PD blood versus controls.The consistent dysregulation of the RNA splicing factor SRRM2 in two different PD neuronal sources and in PD blood but not in blood of other neurologically diseased patients makes SRRM2 a strong candidate gene for PD and draws attention to the role of RNA splicing in the disease

Palaeomagnetic study of Lower Jurassic marine strata from the Neuquén Basin, Argentina: A new Jurassic apparent polar wander path for South America

A thorough palaeomagnetic study in four marine sedimentary sections from the Neuquén Basin in west-central Argentina was carried out. Sections are several hundreds meters-thick and consist of ammonite-bearing beds with intercalated volcanics. Two magnetic components carried by titanomagnetites were identified in the studied sections, one soft corresponding most likely to a present-day remagnetisation and a harder one which is interpreted as the primary magnetisation of the sections, based on optical studies and the results of field tests of palaeomagnetic stability, bearing an Early Jurassic age. As a result, two new palaeomagnetic poles for stable South America are presented: one for the Hettangian–Sinemurian located at 223° E, 51° S, A95=6°, N=25, and the other for the Pliensbachian–Toarcian located at 67° E, 74° S, A95=5°, N=52. These and other poles from the literature were used in this study to construct a refined Late Triassic to Jurassic APW path for stable South America, which differs significantly from previous models in showing a cusp between the Sinemurian and the Pliensbachian, indicative of large apparent polar wander. The same feature is observed in other continents of Pangea, like Eurasia. Palaeolatitudes of the Neuquén Basin indicate that South America was subject to considerable N–S movements during the Late Triassic and lowermost Early Jurassic. These latitudinal movements of Pangea are consistent with displacements recorded for marine faunas from South America and Eurasia.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

Eating dysfunction associated with oromandibular dystonia: clinical characteristics and treatment considerations

BACKGROUND: In oromandibular dystonia (OMD) abnormal repetitive contractions of masticatory, facial, and lingual muscles as well as the presence of orobuccolingual (OBL) dyskinesias may interfere with the appropriate performance of tasks such as chewing and swallowing leading to significant dysphagia and weight loss. We present here the clinical characteristics and treatment variables of a series of patients that developed an OMD-associated eating dysfunction. METHODS: We present a series of patients diagnosed and followed-up at the Movement Disorders Clinic of the Department of Neurology of University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine over a 10-year period. Patients were treated with botulinum toxin injections according to standard methods. RESULTS: Five out of 32 (15.6%) OMD patients experienced symptoms of eating dysfunction associated with OMD. Significant weight loss was reported in 3/5 patients (ranged for 13–15 lbs). Two patients regained the lost weight after treatment and one was lost to follow-up. Tetrabenazine in combination with other antidystonic medication and/or botulinum toxin injections provided substantial benefit to the patients with dysphagia caused by OMD. CONCLUSION: Dystonic eating dysfunction may occasionally complicate OMD leading to weight loss. Its adequate characterization at the time of history taking and clinical examination should be part of outcome measurements of the anti-dystonic treatment in clinical practice

Quantitative mineral resource assessment of undiscovered porphyry copper resources in South America

A quantitative resource assessment to be published this fall identifies and evaluates 26 tracts in South America where the geology isconsidered permissive for the occurrence of porphyry copper deposits. For each tract, information is provided on: (1) the rationale fordelineating the tract, (2) examples of important deposits in the tract, (3) the rationale for choosing the mineral deposit model used forthe assessment, (4) exploration history, and (5) expected spatial distribution of undiscovered deposits in the tract. The scale used toevaluate geologic information and define tracts is 1:1,000,000. There are about 600 million tonnes of copper in known porphyry copper deposits in South America. This study estimates there areapproximately 720 million tonnes of additional copper in undiscovered porphyry copper deposits, yielding a combined endowment ofabout 1.3 billion tonnes of copper. There are about 69 known porphyry copper deposits using the criteria adopted here to define a well-explored deposit. This study estimates that a mean of about 140 deposits remain to be found. In other words, about twice as manynew deposits might be found as have already been found. Overall, deposit densities in South America are comparable to those in therest of the world but differ in important details that are reflected in mapped distributions of deposits, metal densities, and percentagesof undiscovered deposits in each tract. The deposits in the tracts that include Chuquicamata and El Teniente are significantly larger intonnage and grade and are reported in a separate model that is more representative of their characteristics. The results of theassessment afirm that not all porphyry copper deposits in South America are located in the Andes. Geologic indications support thepresence of undiscovered deposits in Patagonia as well as the Amazon of Brazil. A preliminary 1:4,000,000 map of the 26 tracts will bedisplayed

A preliminary quantitative mineral resource assessment of undiscovered porphyry copper resources in the Andes mountains of South America

Quantitative information on the probable locations and amounts of undiscovered porphyry copper resources of the world is important to international exploration managers, land-use and environmental planners, economists, and policy makers. The U.S. Geological Survey is organizing and facilitating a cooperative assessment, in collaboration with interested geological surveys and geological organizations, of the likely global distribution, quantity, and quality of selected undiscovered nonfuel mineral resources. This report on undiscovered porphyry copper deposits of the Andes Mountains was produced jointly with the geological surveys of Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Peru, and is a summary of the more extensive report (>300 pages) that will be published soon. Reports on undiscovered copper resources of other regions of the world are being prepared and will be followed by assessments of the global undiscovered resources of platinum-group minerals and potash