First record of the Mediterranean asteroid Sclerasterias richardi (Perrier in Milne-Edwards 1882) in the Azores Archipelago (NE Atlantic Ocean)

The first occurrence of the Mediterranean fissiparous asteroid Sclerasterias richardi (Perrier in Milne-Edwards 1882) is reported from the Azores based upon dredged material off the south coast of São Miguel Island at 135 m depth. This record represents a considerable expansion of the species’ geographic range, otherwise reported with certainty only from the Mediterranean Sea. S. richardi is capable of producing long-lived planktotrophic larvae with high dispersal potential to reach remote areas such as the Azores. Alternatively, this species is also capable of reproducing asexually through fission, which could insure the maintenance of viable numbers in a stranded population. The presence of S. richardi in Azorean waters and its rarity in an otherwise thoroughly investigated area does not necessarily imply a recent arrival nor a human-mediated introduction, as the depths in consideration (80-700 m) are also the least studied in the archipelago.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Beam v. Downey

USDC for the Middle District of Pennsylvani

An Improved Bound for First-Fit on Posets Without Two Long Incomparable Chains

It is known that the First-Fit algorithm for partitioning a poset P into chains uses relatively few chains when P does not have two incomparable chains each of size k. In particular, if P has width w then Bosek, Krawczyk, and Szczypka (SIAM J. Discrete Math., 23(4):1992--1999, 2010) proved an upper bound of ckw^{2} on the number of chains used by First-Fit for some constant c, while Joret and Milans (Order, 28(3):455--464, 2011) gave one of ck^{2}w. In this paper we prove an upper bound of the form ckw. This is best possible up to the value of c.Comment: v3: referees' comments incorporate

Independent predictors of breast malignancy in screen-detected microcalcifications: biopsy results in 2545 cases

Background: Mammographic microcalcifications are associated with many benign lesions, ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and invasive cancer. Careful assessment criteria are required to minimise benign biopsies while optimising cancer diagnosis. We wished to evaluate the assessment outcomes of microcalcifications biopsied in the setting of population-based breast cancer screening. Methods: Between January 1992 and December 2007, cases biopsied in which microcalcifications were the only imaging abnormality were included. Patient demographics, imaging features and final histology were subjected to statistical analysis to determine independent predictors of malignancy. Results: In all, 2545 lesions, with a mean diameter of 21.8 mm (s.d. 23.8 mm) and observed in patients with a mean age of 57.7 years (s.d. 8.4 years), were included. Using the grading system adopted by the RANZCR, the grade was 3 in 47.7%; 4 in 28.3% and 5 in 24.0%. After assessment, 1220 lesions (47.9%) were malignant (809 DCIS only, 411 DCIS with invasive cancer) and 1325 (52.1%) were non-malignant, including 122 (4.8%) premalignant lesions (lobular carcinoma in situ, atypical lobular hyperplasia and atypical ductal hyperplasia). Only 30.9% of the DCIS was of low grade. Mammographic extent of microcalcifications >15 mm, imaging grade, their pattern of distribution, presence of a palpable mass and detection after the first screening episode showed significant univariate associations with malignancy. On multivariate modeling imaging grade, mammographic extent of microcalcifications >15 mm, palpable mass and screening episode were retained as independent predictors of malignancy. Radiological grade had the largest effect with lesions of grade 4 and 5 being 2.2 and 3.3 times more likely to be malignant, respectively, than grade 3 lesions. Conclusion: The radiological grading scheme used throughout Australia and parts of Europe is validated as a useful system of stratifying microcalcifications into groups with significantly different risks of malignancy. Biopsy assessment of appropriately selected microcalcifications is an effective method of detecting invasive breast cancer and DCIS, particularly of non-low-grade subtypes.G Farshid, T Sullivan, P Downey, P G Gill, and S Pieters

Determinants of inspiratory muscle strength in healthy humans

We investigated 1) the relationship between the baseline and inspiratory muscle training (IMT) induced increase in maximal inspiratory pressure (PI,max) and 2) the relative contributions of the inspiratory chest wall muscles and the diaphragm (Poes/Pdi) to PI,max prior to and following-IMT. Experiment 1: PI,max was assessed during a Müeller manoeuvre before and after 4-wk IMT (n=30). Experiment 2: PI,max and the relative contribution of the inspiratory chest wall muscles to the diaphragm (Poes/Pdi) were assessed during a Müeller manoeuvre before and after 4-wk IMT (n=20). Experiment 1: PI,max increased 19% (P<0.01) post-IMT and was correlated with baseline PI,max (r=−0.373, P<0.05). Experiment 2: baseline PI,max was correlated with Poe/Pdi (r=0.582, P<0.05) and after IMT PI,max increased 22% and Poe/Pdi increased 5% (P<0.05). In conclusion, baseline PI,max and the contribution of the chest wall inspiratory muscles relative to the diaphragm affect, in part, baseline and IMT-induced ΔPI,max. Great care should be taken when designing future IMT studies to ensure parity in the between-subject baseline PI,max

Inspiratory muscle training and its effect on indices of physiological and perceived stress during incremental walking exercise in normobaric hypoxia

This study evaluated the effects of inspiratory muscle training (IMT) on inspiratory muscle fatigue (IMF) and physiological and perceptual responses during trekking-specific exercise. An 8-week IMT program was completed by 21 males (age 32.4 ± 9.61 years, VO2peak 58.8 ± 6.75 mL/kg/min) randomised within matched pairs to either the IMT group (n = 11) or the placebo group [(P), n = 9]. Twice daily, participants completed 30 (IMT) or 60 (P) inspiratory efforts using a Powerbreathe initially set at a resistance of 50% (IMT) or used at 15% (P) of maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP) throughout. A loaded (12.5 kg) 39-minute incremental walking protocol (3–5 km/hour and 1–15% gradient) was completed in normobaric hypoxia (PIO2 = 110 mmHg, 3000 m) before and after training. MIP increased from 164 to 188 cmH2O (18%) and from 161 to 171 cmH2O (6%) in the IMT and P groups (P = 0.02). The 95% CI for IMT showed a significant improvement in MIP (5.21±43.33 cmH2O), but not for P. IMF during exercise (MIP) was*5%, showing no training effect for either IMT or P (P = 0.23). Rating of perceived exertion (RPE) was consistently reduced (*1) throughout exercise following training for IMT, but not for P (P = 0.03). The mean blood lactate concentration during exercise was significantly reduced by 0.26 and 0.15 mmol/L in IMT and P (P = 0.00), with no differences between groups (P = 0.34). Rating of dyspnoea during exercise decreased (*0.4) following IMT but increased (*0.3) following P (P = 0.01). IMT may attenuate the increased physiological and perceived exercise stress experienced during normobaric hypoxia, which may benefit moderate altitude expedition

Are You Being Rejected or Excluded? Insights from Neuroimaging Studies Using Different Rejection Paradigms

Rejection sensitivity is the heightened tendency to perceive or anxiously expect disengagement from others during social interaction. There has been a recent wave of neuroimaging studies of rejection. The aim of the current review was to determine key brain regions involved in social rejection by selectively reviewing neuroimaging studies that employed one of three paradigms of social rejection, namely social exclusion during a ball-tossing game, evaluating feedback about preference from peers and viewing scenes depicting rejection during social interaction. A cross the different paradigms of social rejection, there was concordance in regions for experiencing rejection, namely dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), subgenual ACC and ventral ACC. Functional dissociation between the regions for experiencing rejection and those for emotion regulation, namely medial prefrontal cortex, ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) and ventral striatum, was evident in the positive association between social distress and regions for experiencing rejection and the inverse association between social distress and the emotion regulation regions. The paradigms of social exclusion and scenes depicting rejection in social interaction were more adept at evoking rejection-specific neural responses. These responses were varyingly influenced by the amount of social distress during the task, social support received, self-esteem and social competence. Presenting rejection cues as scenes of people in social interaction showed high rejection sensitive or schizotypal individuals to under-activate the dorsal ACC and VLPFC, suggesting that such individuals who perceive rejection cues in others down-regulate their response to the perceived rejection by distancing themselves from the scene