Forecasting Cosmological Constraints from Redshift Surveys

Observations of redshift-space distortions in spectroscopic galaxy surveys offer an attractive method for observing the build-up of cosmological structure, which depends both on the expansion rate of the Universe and our theory of gravity. In this paper we present a formalism for forecasting the constraints on the growth of structure which would arise in an idealized survey. This Fisher matrix based formalism can be used to study the power and aid in the design of future surveys.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, minor revisions to match version accepted by MNRA

Dicarbon­yl(pyrazine-1,3-dithiol­ato-κ2 S,S′)bis­(trimethyl­phosphane-κP)iron(II)

The title compound, [Fe(C4H2N2S2)(C3H9P)2(CO)2], was obtained as a mononuclear by-product during the treatment of [Fe2(μ-S2C4N2H2)(CO)6] in excess trimethyl­phosphane. The Fe atom is six-coordinated by two thiol­ate S atoms, two phosphane P atoms and two carbonyl C atoms in a distorted octa­hedral geometry. The average Fe—C(O) distance (1.771 Å) is relatively shorter than that of its parent hexa­carbonyl­diiron compound, and differs by 0.511 Å from the average Fe—P(Me)3 distance. The five-membered FeC2S2 chelate ring plane is close to being perpendicular to the P/Fe/P plane [86.5 (2)°]

User-adaptive sketch-based 3D CAD model retrieval

3D CAD models are an important digital resource in the manufacturing industry. 3D CAD model retrieval has become a key technology in product lifecycle management enabling the reuse of existing design data. In this paper, we propose a new method to retrieve 3D CAD models based on 2D pen-based sketch inputs. Sketching is a common and convenient method for communicating design intent during early stages of product design, e.g., conceptual design. However, converting sketched information into precise 3D engineering models is cumbersome, and much of this effort can be avoided by reuse of existing data. To achieve this purpose, we present a user-adaptive sketch-based retrieval method in this paper. The contributions of this work are twofold. Firstly, we propose a statistical measure for CAD model retrieval: the measure is based on sketch similarity and accounts for users’ drawing habits. Secondly, for 3D CAD models in the database, we propose a sketch generation pipeline that represents each 3D CAD model by a small yet sufficient set of sketches that are perceptually similar to human drawings. User studies and experiments that demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method in the design process are presented

Penta­carbonyl-1κ2 C,2κ3 C-(μ-pyrazine-2,3-dithiol­ato-1:2κ4 S,S′:S,S′)(trimethyl­phosphane-1κP)diiron(I)(Fe—Fe)

In the title compound, [Fe2(C4H2N2S2)(C3H9P)(CO)5], the Fe2S2 core adopts a butterfly conformation. The PMe3 ligand is coordinated in the basal position, roughly cis to the Fe—Fe bond. The Fe—Fe distance of 2.4970 (6) Å is relatively short compared to those (ca 2.53 Å) found in another monosubstituted diiron compound. A rigid planar dithiol­ate bridge is featured, with an angle of 2.78 (1)° between the Fe—Fe bond and the normal to the pyrazine-2,3-dithiol­ate plane

Chronic Ethanol Consumption Impairs the Tactile-Evoked Long-Term Depression at Cerebellar Molecular Layer Interneuron-Purkinje Cell Synapses in vivo in Mice

The cerebellum is sensitive to ethanol (EtOH) consumption. Chronic EtOH consumption impairs motor learning by modulating the cerebellar circuitry synaptic transmission and long-term plasticity. Under in vitro conditions, acute EtOH inhibits both parallel fiber (PF) and climbing fiber (CF) long-term depression (LTD). However, thus far it has not been investigated how chronic EtOH consumption affects sensory stimulation-evoked LTD at the molecular layer interneurons (MLIs) to the Purkinje cell (PC) synapses (MLI-PC LTD) in the cerebellar cortex of living animals. In this study, we investigated the effect of chronic EtOH consumption on facial stimulation-evoked MLI-PC LTD, using an electrophysiological technique as well as pharmacological methods, in urethane-anesthetized mice. Our results showed that facial stimulation induced MLI–PC LTD in the control mice, but it could not be induced in mice with chronic EtOH consumption (0.8 g/kg; 28 days). Blocking the cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) receptor activity with AM-251, prevented MLI-PC LTD in the control mice, but revealed a nitric oxide (NO)-dependent long-term potentiation (LTP) of MLI–PC synaptic transmission (MLI-PC LTP) in the EtOH consumption mice. Notably, with the application of a NO donor, S-nitroso-N-Acetyl-D, L-penicillamine (SNAP) alone prevented the induction of MLI–PC LTD, but a mixture of SNAP and AM-251 revealed an MLI-PC LTP in control mice. In contrast, inhibiting NO synthase (NOS) revealed the facial stimulation-induced MLI-PC LTD in EtOH consumption mice. These results indicate that long-term EtOH consumption can impair the sensory stimulation-induced MLI–PC LTD via the activation of a NO signaling pathway in the cerebellar cortex in vivo in mice. Our results suggest that the chronic EtOH exposure causes a deficit in the cerebellar motor learning function and may be involved in the impaired MLI–PC GABAergic synaptic plasticity

Inhaled Budesonide and Oral Dexamethasone Prevent Acute Mountain Sickness

AbstractBackgroundThis double-blind, randomized controlled trial aimed to investigate inhaled budesonide and oral dexamethasone compared with placebo for their prophylactic efficacy against acute mountain sickness after acute high-altitude exposure.MethodsThere were 138 healthy young male lowland residents recruited and randomly assigned to receive inhaled budesonide (200 μg, twice a day [bid]), oral dexamethasone (4 mg, bid), or placebo (46 in each group). They traveled to 3900 m altitude from 400 m by car. Medication started 1 day before high-altitude exposure and continued until the third day of exposure. Primary outcome measure was the incidence of acute mountain sickness after exposure.ResultsOne hundred twenty-four subjects completed the study (42, 39, and 43 in the budesonide, dexamethasone, and placebo groups, respectively). Demographic characteristics were comparable among the 3 groups. After high-altitude exposure, significantly fewer participants in the budesonide (23.81%) and dexamethasone (30.77%) groups developed acute mountain sickness compared with participants receiving placebo (60.46%) (P = .0006 and P = .0071, respectively). Both the budesonide and dexamethasone groups had lower heart rate and higher pulse oxygen saturation (SpO2) than the placebo group at altitude. Only the budesonide group demonstrated less deterioration in forced vital capacity and sleep quality than the placebo group. Four subjects in the dexamethasone group reported adverse reactions.ConclusionsBoth inhaled budesonide (200 μg, bid) and oral dexamethasone (4 mg, bid) were effective for the prevention of acute mountain sickness, especially its severe form, compared with placebo. Budesonide caused fewer adverse reactions than dexamethasone

Value of apparent diffusion coefficient for predicting malignancy of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms of the pancreas

PURPOSE: We aimed to explore the potential value of the whole tumor apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) for discriminating between benign and malignant intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) of the pancreas.METHODS:Forty-two patients underwent 1.5 T magnetic resonance imaging that included diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI, b=0.500 s/mm2). The mean, minimum, and maximum ADC values were measured for the whole tumor. The differences between benign and malignant IPMNs were calculated for the mean ADC, ADC-min, and ADC-max values. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis was conducted to evaluate their potential diagnostic performance.RESULTS:Fifteen of 25 benign IPMNs demonstrated low or iso-signal intensity on DWI with a b value of 500 s/mm2 compared with normal pancreatic parenchyma, whereas all malignant IPMNs demonstrated high signal intensity. The mean value of ADC was significantly higher in benign IPMNs compared with malignant IPMNs (3.39×10−3 mm2/s vs. 2.39×10−3 mm2/s, P < 0.001), with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.92 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.79–0.98). The ADC-min value of malignant IPMNs was also significantly lower than that of benign IPMNs (1.24×10−3 mm2/s vs. 2.58×10−3 mm2/s, P < 0.001), with an AUC of 0.94 (95% CI, 0.82–0.99). No marked difference was found between benign and malignant IPMNs for the ADC-max value (3.89×10−3 mm2/s vs. 3.78×10−3 mm2/s, P = 0.299).CONCLUSION:Lower mean and minimum ADC values of the whole tumor might be potential predictors of malignant IPMNs of the pancreas

Hepatoprotective and Antioxidative Activities of Cornus officinalis against Acetaminophen-Induced Hepatotoxicity in Mice

The fruit of Cornus officinalis Sieb. et Zucc. is commonly prescribed in Asian countries as a tonic formula. In this study, the hepatoprotective effect of ethanolic extracts of the fruit of C. officinalis (ECO) was investigated in a mouse model of acetaminophen- (APAP-) induced liver injury. Pretreatment of mice with ECO (100, 250, and 500 mg/kg for 7 days) significantly prevented the APAP (200 mg/kg) induced hepatic damage as indicated by the serum marker enzymes (AST, ALT, and LDH). Parallel to these changes, ECO treatment also prevented APAP-induced oxidative stress in the mice liver by inhibiting lipid peroxidation (MDA) and restoring the levels of antioxidant enzymes (SOD, CAT, and HO-1) and glutathione. Liver injury and collagen accumulation were assessed using histological studies by hematoxylin and eosin staining. Our results indicate that ECO can prevent hepatic injuries associated with APAP-induced hepatotoxicity by preventing or alleviating oxidative stress