Characterization of the definitive classical calpain family of vertebrates using phylogenetic, evolutionary and expression analyses

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Clinical and instrumental evaluation of Botulinum Toxin type A safety profile in post stroke spasticity rehabilitation treatment

Post stroke spasticity (PSS) occurs approximately in 30% of stroke survivors. Spasticity varies from a subtle neurological sign to a gross increase in tone causing immobility of joints. PSS is associated with several complications, increasing care needs and utilisation of healthcare resources. Botulinum toxin type A (BoNT-A) has been considered as an effective and safe treatment for focal spasticity in stroke survivors, with low prevalence of complications, reversibility of effect, and efficacy in reducing spastic hypertonia. Recent studies estimated that a significant percentage of patients affected by PSS could benefit from higher doses than those permitted by current country directives. However, at present time, there is no general consensus on the maximum dose of BoNT-A in terms of safety and clinical interchangeability among the three commercially approved products (abobotulinumtoxinA, onabotulinumtoxinA, incobotulinumtoxinA). In light of these considerations, the aim of this thesis is to investigate the safety profile of BoNT-A high doses in the treatment of post stroke spasticity. In our research activity we investigated the clinical effect of this treatment in severely affected patients, focusing on both clinical and instrumental assessment of systemic effects of BoNT-A

Causes of Higher Climate Sensitivity in CMIP6 Models

Equilibrium climate sensitivity, the global surface temperature response to CO urn:x-wiley:grl:media:grl60047:grl60047-math-0001 doubling, has been persistently uncertain. Recent consensus places it likely within 1.5–4.5 K. Global climate models (GCMs), which attempt to represent all relevant physical processes, provide the most direct means of estimating climate sensitivity via CO urn:x-wiley:grl:media:grl60047:grl60047-math-0002 quadrupling experiments. Here we show that the closely related effective climate sensitivity has increased substantially in Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6 (CMIP6), with values spanning 1.8–5.6 K across 27 GCMs and exceeding 4.5 K in 10 of them. This (statistically insignificant) increase is primarily due to stronger positive cloud feedbacks from decreasing extratropical low cloud coverage and albedo. Both of these are tied to the physical representation of clouds which in CMIP6 models lead to weaker responses of extratropical low cloud cover and water content to unforced variations in surface temperature. Establishing the plausibility of these higher sensitivity models is imperative given their implied societal ramifications

Qualitative Environmental Health Research: An Analysis of the Literature, 1991-2008

BACKGROUND. Recent articles have advocated for the use of qualitative methods in environmental health research. Qualitative research uses nonnumeric data to understand people's opinions, motives, understanding, and beliefs about events or phenomena. OBJECTIVE. In this analysis of the literature, I report the use of qualitative methods and data in the study of the relationship between environmental exposures and human health. DATA SOURCES. A primary search on ISI Web of Knowledge/Web of Science for peer-reviewed journal articles dated from 1991 through 2008 included the following three terms: qualitative, environ*, and health. Inclusion and exclusion criteria are described. DATA EXTRACTION. Searches resulted in 3,155 records. Data were extracted and findings of articles analyzed to determine where and by whom qualitative environmental health research is conducted and published, the types of methods and analyses used in qualitative studies of environmental health, and the types of information qualitative data contribute to environmental health. DATA SYNTHESIS. Ninety-one articles met inclusion criteria. These articles were published in 58 different journals, with a maximum of eight for a single journal. The results highlight a diversity of disciplines and techniques among researchers who used qualitative methods to study environmental health, with most studies relying on one-on-one interviews. Details of the analyses were absent from a large number of studies. Nearly all of the studies identified increased scientific understanding of lay perceptions of environmental health exposures. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS. Qualitative data are published in traditionally quantitative environmental health studies to a limited extent. However, this analysis demonstrates the potential of qualitative data to improve understanding of complex exposure pathways, including the influence of social factors on environmental health, and health outcomes.National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (R25 ES012084, P42ES007381

Sequential Effects in Judgements of Attractiveness: The Influences of Face Race and Sex

In perceptual decision-making, a person’s response on a given trial is influenced by their response on the immediately preceding trial. This sequential effect was initially demonstrated in psychophysical tasks, but has now been found in more complex, real-world judgements. The similarity of the current and previous stimuli determines the nature of the effect, with more similar items producing assimilation in judgements, while less similarity can cause a contrast effect. Previous research found assimilation in ratings of facial attractiveness, and here, we investigated whether this effect is influenced by the social categories of the faces presented. Over three experiments, participants rated the attractiveness of own- (White) and other-race (Chinese) faces of both sexes that appeared successively. Through blocking trials by race (Experiment 1), sex (Experiment 2), or both dimensions (Experiment 3), we could examine how sequential judgements were altered by the salience of different social categories in face sequences. For sequences that varied in sex alone, own-race faces showed significantly less opposite-sex assimilation (male and female faces perceived as dissimilar), while other-race faces showed equal assimilation for opposite- and same-sex sequences (male and female faces were not differentiated). For sequences that varied in race alone, categorisation by race resulted in no opposite-race assimilation for either sex of face (White and Chinese faces perceived as dissimilar). For sequences that varied in both race and sex, same-category assimilation was significantly greater than opposite-category. Our results suggest that the race of a face represents a superordinate category relative to sex. These findings demonstrate the importance of social categories when considering sequential judgements of faces, and also highlight a novel approach for investigating how multiple social dimensions interact during decision-making

Urbanization and seasonality strengthens the CO2 capacity of the Red River Delta, Vietnam

Tropical rivers are dynamic CO2 sources. Regional patterns in the partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) and relationships with other a/biotic factors in densely populated and rapidly developing river delta regions of Southeast Asia are still poorly constrained. Over one year, at 21 sites across the river system in the Red River Delta (RRD), Vietnam, we calculated pCO2 levels from temperature, pH, and total alkalinity and inter-linkages between pCO2 and phytoplankton, water chemistry and seasonality were then assessed. The smaller, more urbanized, and polluted Day River had an annual median pCO2 of 5000 ± 3300 µatm and the larger Red River of 2675 ± 2271 µatm. pCO2 was 1.6 and 3.2 times higher during the dry season in the Day and Red rivers respectively than the rainy season. Elevated pCO2 levels in the Day River during the dry season were also 2.4-fold higher than the median value (2811 ± 3577 µatm) of calculated and direct pCO2 measurements in >20 sub/tropical rivers. By further categorizing the river data into Hanoi City vs. other less urban-populated provinces, we found significantly higher nutrients, organic matter content, and riverine cyanobacteria during the dry season in the Day River across Hanoi City. Forward selection also identified riverine cyanobacteria and river discharge as the main predictors explaining pCO2 variation in the RRD. After accounting for the shared effects (14%), river discharge alone significantly explained 12% of the pCO2 variation, cyanobacteria uniquely a further 21%, while 53% of the pCO2 variance was unexplained by either. We show that the urbanization of rivers deltas could result in increased sources of riverine pCO2, water pollution, and harmful cyanobacterial blooms. Such risks could be mitigated through water management to increase water flows in problem areas during the dry season

A formal proof of the Kepler conjecture

This article describes a formal proof of the Kepler conjecture on dense sphere packings in a combination of the HOL Light and Isabelle proof assistants. This paper constitutes the official published account of the now completed Flyspeck project

DIR-visible grey matter lesions and atrophy in multiple sclerosis: partners in crime?

The extent and clinical relevance of grey matter (GM) pathology in multiple sclerosis (MS) are increasingly recognised. GM pathology may present as focal lesions, which can be visualised using double inversion recovery (DIR) MRI, or as diffuse pathology, which can manifest as atrophy. It is, however, unclear whether the diffuse atrophy centres on focal lesions. This study aimed to determine if GM lesions and GM atrophy colocalise, and to assess their independent relationship with motor and cognitive deficits in MS

Assessing connectivity between an overlying aquifer and a coal seam gas resource using methane isotopes, dissolved organic carbon and tritium

Coal seam gas (CSG) production can have an impact on groundwater quality and quantity in adjacent or overlying aquifers. To assess this impact we need to determine the background groundwater chemistry and to map geological pathways of hydraulic connectivity between aquifers. In south-east Queensland (Qld), Australia, a globally important CSG exploration and production province, we mapped hydraulic connectivity between the Walloon Coal Measures (WCM, the target formation for gas production) and the overlying Condamine River Alluvial Aquifer (CRAA), using groundwater methane (CH4) concentration and isotopic composition (δ13C-CH4), groundwater tritium (3H) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration. A continuous mobile CH4 survey adjacent to CSG developments was used to determine the source signature of CH4 derived from the WCM. Trends in groundwater δ13C-CH4 versus CH4 concentration, in association with DOC concentration and 3H analysis, identify locations where CH4 in the groundwater of the CRAA most likely originates from the WCM. The methodology is widely applicable in unconventional gas development regions worldwide for providing an early indicator of geological pathways of hydraulic connectivity

Intermediate distance correlators in hot Yang-Mills theory

Lattice measurements of spatial correlation functions of the operators FF and FF-dual in thermal SU(3) gauge theory have revealed a clear difference between the two channels at "intermediate" distances, x ~ 1/(pi T). This is at odds with the AdS/CFT limit which predicts the results to coincide. On the other hand, an OPE analysis at short distances (x << 1/(pi T)) as well as effective theory methods at long distances (x >> 1/(pi T)) suggest differences. Here we study the situation at intermediate distances by determining the time-averaged spatial correlators through a 2-loop computation. We do find unequal results, however the numerical disparity is small. Apart from theoretical issues, a future comparison of our results with time-averaged lattice measurements might also be of phenomenological interest in that understanding the convergence of the weak-coupling series at intermediate distances may bear on studies of the thermal broadening of heavy quarkonium resonances.Comment: 31 page