Local Difference Measures between Complex Networks for Dynamical System Model Evaluation

Acknowledgments We thank Reik V. Donner for inspiring suggestions that initialized the work presented herein. Jan H. Feldhoff is credited for providing us with the STARS simulation data and for his contributions to fruitful discussions. Comments by the anonymous reviewers are gratefully acknowledged as they led to substantial improvements of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Combination Therapy in Diabetic Neuropathy

A high percentage of diabetic patients develop peripheral neuropathy with more than 10 % suffering from severe symptoms. Therapeutic alternatives for diabetic sensorimotor polyneuropathy (DSPN) have so far involved pathogenesis oriented or symptomatic treatments. These two therapeutic approaches differ in their effects: the former aims to reverse, halt or delay progression of neuropathic damage, while the latter aims to relieve neuropathic pain and its associated secondary consequences without impact on the underlying neuropathic process. Most guidelines recommend symptomatic treatments to alleviate the complaints associated with DSPN. Tricyclic antidepressants, serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors, and alpha(2)-delta ligands are frequently mentioned as first-line drugs for painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy. However, new evidence points to pathogenesis-oriented treatments based on alpha-lipoic acid or benfotiamine as promising therapeutic alternatives to classical purely symptomatic treatments. A few new trials have reported an advantage of combination therapies versus single-drug administration, but the limited extent of studies on specific combinations together with design flaws in these studies have caused reluctance in recommending combination therapy as a first treatment option in guidelines. However, combination therapy stands as a powerful instrument for DSPN treatment based on the positive evidence accumulated and the otherwise common use of multidrug treatments in clinical diabetic neuropathy

Neuropathy in chronic kidney disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is characterised by an increasing prevalence, with the current prevalence of approximately 10 % in adults > 20 years in Western industrialized countries. In patients with CKD, frequently both the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS) are affected. Uremia, accumulation of AGE and oxidative stress, hyperkalemia, insulin resistance, adipocytokines, and erythropoietin deficiency and resistance have been identified as potential triggering factors. An impaired cerebral cognitive function in uremic patients is demonstrable even in clinically asymptomatic stages. Typical neurological sequelae include, among others, uremic encephalopathy, dialysis disequilibrium syndrome, and uremic polyneuropathy. In general, initiation of renal replacement treatment is suggested as the most promising therapeutic approach. Additionally, symptomatic treatment of neuropathic pain with first line drugs, such as gabapentin, pregabalin, tricyclic antidepressants or duloxetine, remains a reasonable approach. With respect to the important role of inflammation and oxidative stress in the further deterioration of renal function and nervous damage, additional treatment with benfotiamine may be considered as a pathogenesis-oriented approach

Multinational patterns of seasonal asymmetry in human movement influence infectious disease dynamics

Seasonal variation in human mobility is globally ubiquitous and affects the spatial spread of infectious diseases, but the ability to measure seasonality in human movement has been limited by data availability. Here, we use mobile phone data to quantify seasonal travel and directional asymmetries in Kenya, Namibia, and Pakistan, across a spectrum from rural nomadic populations to highly urbanized communities. We then model how the geographic spread of several acute pathogens with varying life histories could depend on country-wide connectivity fluctuations through the year. In all three countries, major national holidays are associated with shifts in the scope of travel. Within this broader pattern, the relative importance of particular routes also fluctuates over the course of the year, with increased travel from rural to urban communities after national holidays, for example. These changes in travel impact how fast communities are likely to be reached by an introduced pathogen

Additional file 1: of Dynamic denominators: the impact of seasonally varying population numbers on disease incidence estimates

S1-Supplemental figures. (PDF 1136 kb

Usage-Based Language: Investigating the Latent Structures that Underpin Acquisition. Currents in Language Learning

Each of us as language learners had different language experiences, yet somehow we have converged upon broadly the same language system. From diverse, often noisy samples, we have attained similar linguistic competence. How so? What mechanisms channel language acquisition? Could our linguistic commonalities possibly have converged from our shared psychology of learning as applied to the evidence of similar-enough language experience? This article outlines a research program to investigate whether there are sufficient constraints in the dynamics of language to promote robust induction by means of statistical learning over limited samples. It illustrates the approach with regard to English verbs, their grammatical form, semantics, and Zipfian patterns of usage. It explores the emergence of structure from experience using methods from cognitive linguistics, corpus linguistics, learning theory, complex systems, and network science

Prozessentwicklung zur Traubenverarbeitung und Mostgewinnung im Weinberg

Bei der Weinbereitung spielt der Faktor Zeit aus technologischen, biochemischen und ökonomischen Gründen nach wie vor eine bedeutende Rolle. Für die verschiedenen oenologischen Prozesse von der Traubenernte bis hin zum gärfähigen Most müssen im Hinblick auf die erwünschte Endproduktqualität optimale Bedingungen und Zeitabläufe geschaffen werden. In diesem Zeitraum liegen zudem einige Risiken für die angestrebte Produktqualität, wie zum Beispiel unkontrollierte Enzymaktivitäten, die Vermehrung von unerwünschten Mikroorganismen, sowie die mechanische Belastung der Trauben durch die einzelnen Verarbeitungsschritte. Durch die rationelle Ernte und die unmittelbare Entsaftung der Maische im Weinberg werden die Prozesszeiten erheblich verkürzt. Daraus resultieren verschiedene Vorteile gegenüber dem konventionellen Traubenvollerntereinsatz: - verbesserte Kontrolle mikrobiologischer und enzymatischer Prozesse - verminderte Extraktion von unerwünschten Inhaltsstoffen aus Pflanzenbestandteilen - direkter Verbleib von Trester- und Trubbestandteilen im Weinberg Die Realisierung dieser Vorteile erfordert ein leistungsfähiges, kontinuierliches Entsaftungssystem, das mit der heutigen Vollerntertechnik kombiniert werden kann. Die erforderliche Maschinenkombination eines Traubenernteentsafters wird seit 2005 in Deutschland, Chile und Frankreich getestet und im Herbst 2009 weiterentwickelt

Multinational patterns of seasonal asymmetry in human movement influence infectious disease dynamics

Seasonal variation in human mobility is globally ubiquitous and affects the spatial spread of infectious diseases, but the ability to measure seasonality in human movement has been limited by data availability. Here, we use mobile phone data to quantify seasonal travel and directional asymmetries in Kenya, Namibia, and Pakistan, across a spectrum from rural nomadic populations to highly urbanized communities. We then model how the geographic spread of several acute pathogens with varying life histories could depend on country-wide connectivity fluctuations through the year. In all three countries, major national holidays are associated with shifts in the scope of travel. Within this broader pattern, the relative importance of particular routes also fluctuates over the course of the year, with increased travel from rural to urban communities after national holidays, for example. These changes in travel impact how fast communities are likely to be reached by an introduced pathogen

Neuropathy in chronic kidney disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is characterised by an increasing prevalence, with the current prevalence of approximately 10 % in adults > 20 years in Western industrialized countries. In patients with CKD, frequently both the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS) are affected. Uremia, accumulation of AGE and oxidative stress, hyperkalemia, insulin resistance, adipocytokines, and erythropoietin deficiency and resistance have been identified as potential triggering factors. An impaired cerebral cognitive function in uremic patients is demonstrable even in clinically asymptomatic stages. Typical neurological sequelae include, among others, uremic encephalopathy, dialysis disequilibrium syndrome, and uremic polyneuropathy. In general, initiation of renal replacement treatment is suggested as the most promising therapeutic approach. Additionally, symptomatic treatment of neuropathic pain with first line drugs, such as gabapentin, pregabalin, tricyclic antidepressants or duloxetine, remains a reasonable approach. With respect to the important role of inflammation and oxidative stress in the further deterioration of renal function and nervous damage, additional treatment with benfotiamine may be considered as a pathogenesis-oriented approach