The frustrated Brownian motion of nonlocal solitary waves

We investigate the evolution of solitary waves in a nonlocal medium in the presence of disorder. By using a perturbational approach, we show that an increasing degree of nonlocality may largely hamper the Brownian motion of self-trapped wave-packets. The result is valid for any kind of nonlocality and in the presence of non-paraxial effects. Analytical predictions are compared with numerical simulations based on stochastic partial differential equationComment: 4 pages, 3 figures

Stiff-person syndrome

Review on Stiff-person syndrome, with data on clinics, and the genes involved

Effect of polymerization cycles on gloss, roughness, hardness and impact strength of acrylic resins

The aim of this study was to evaluate the conventional and boiled polymerization cycles on gloss, roughness, hardness and impact strength of acrylic resins. Samples were made for each Classico and QC-20 materials (n=10) in dental stone molds obtained from rectangular metallic matrices embedded in metallic flasks. The powder-liquid ratio and manipulation of the acrylic resins' were accomplished according to manufacturers' instructions and the resins were conventionally packed in metallic flasks. After polymerization by (1) conventional: 74 °C for 9 h (Classico) and (2) boiled: 20 min (QC-20) cycles, the samples were deflasked after cooling at room temperature and conventionally finished and polished. The properties were evaluated after storage in water at 37 °C for 24 h. Gloss was verified with Multi Gloss 268 meter (Konica Minolta), surface roughness was measured with Surfcorder SE 1700 rugosimeter (Kosaka), Knoop hardness number was obtained with HMV-200 microdurometer, and impact strength was measured in an Otto Wolpert-Werke device by Charpy system (40 kpcm). Data were subjected to Student's t-test (at α=0.05). The results were: Gloss: 67.7 and 62.2 for Classico and QC-20 resins, respectively; Surface roughness: 0.874 and 1.469 Ra-µm for Classico and QC-20, respectively; Knoop hardness: 27.4 and 26.9 for Classico and QC-20, respectively; and Impact strength: 37.6 and 33.6 kgf/cm2 for Classico and QC-20, respectively. No statistically significant difference (p>0.05)were found between the resins for the evaluated properties. In conclusion, conventional and boiled polymerization cycles had similar effects on gloss, roughness, hardness and impact strength of both Classico and QC-20 resins272176180CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQSem informaçãoO propósito neste estudo foi avaliar os ciclos de polimerização convencional e por fervura sobre o brilho, rugosidade, dureza e resistência ao impacto de resinas acrílicas. Amostras foram confeccionadas para cada resina Clássico ou QC-20 (n=20) em moldes de gesso obtidos de matrizes metálicas retangulares incluídas em muflas metálicas. A proporção monômero/polímero das resinas e manipulação foram de acordo com as recomendações dos fabricantes e a massa convencionalmente incluída em muflas metálicas. Após polimerização nos ciclos (1) convencional: 74 °C por 9 horas (Clássico) e (2) fervura: 20 min (QC-20), as amostras foram demufladas após esfriadas em temperatura ambiente e convencionalmente acabadas e polidas. As propriedades foram avaliadas após armazenagem das amostras em água a 37 °C por 24 h. O brilho foi verificado com medidor Multi Gloss 268 (Konica Minolta), a rugosidade avaliada com rugosímetro Surfcorder SE 1700 (Kosaka), a dureza Knoop foi obtida com microdurômetro HMV-200 (Shimadzu) e a resistência ao impacto determinada pelo sistema Charpy (Otto Wolpert Werke). Os dados submetidos ao teste t de Student (α=0.05) mostraram que Os resultados foram: brilho: 67,7 e 62,2 para Clássico e QC-20, respectivamente; rugosidade: 0,874 e 1,469 Ra-µm para Clássico e QC-20, respectivamente; dureza: 27,4 e 26,9 para Clássico e QC-20, respectivamente; e resistência ao impacto: 37,6 e 33,6 kgf/cm2 para Clássico e QC-20, respectivamente. Não houve diference estatisticamente significante entre as resinas para as propriedades avaliadas. Conclui-se que os ciclos de polimerização convencional e por fervura promoveram similares efeitos sobre o brilho, rugosidade, dureza e resistência ao impacto para ambas as resinas Clássico e QC-2

Elevated Concentrations of Liver Enzymes and Ferritin Identify a New Phenotype of Insulin Resistance: Effect of Weight Loss After Gastric Banding

BACKGROUND: Several studies have associated elevated liver enzymes (LFTs), obesity, and type 2 diabetes (T2DM), and a link has been established between insulin resistance (IR) and elevated ferritin concentrations. We examined the relationship between LFTs, ferritin, and IR in morbid obese subjects and the effect of weight loss after bariatric surgery. METHODS: We measured liver enzymes, ferritin, insulin resistance, and glucose tolerance (by OGTT) in 159 morbid obese subjects (BMI = 44.4 +/- 0.4 kg/m(2)) at baseline, 6 months and 1 year after laparoscopic-adjustable-gastric banding (LAGB). Subjects were divided in two groups: increased LFTs (ALT > 30; AST/ALT < 1) vs. normal LFTs. RESULTS: A large proportion of morbid obese subjects had increased LFTs (44%) which were associated with increased IR and ferritin, suggesting potential liver disease. A majority of the morbidly obese with increased LFTs, IGT, and T2DM, were male and had almost double ferritin concentrations, strongly correlated with ALT (r = 0.43, p < 0.0001). Both ferritin and ALT correlated with waist circumference and IR. One year after, LAGB glucose tolerance improved, LFTs and IR were reduced; ferritin did not change significantly, but was still correlated with IR. CONCLUSIONS: Ferritin may be an additional useful marker for more severe hepatic IR

Plurality and cross-linguistic variation: An experimental investigation of the Turkish plural

In English and many other languages, the interpretation of the plural is associated with an ‘exclusive’ reading in positive sentences and an ‘inclusive’ reading in negative ones. For example, the plural noun tulips in a sentence such as Chicken planted tulips suggests that Chicken planted more than one tulip (i.e., a reading which ‘excludes’ atomic individual tulips). At the same time, however, the corresponding negative sentence Chicken didn’t plant tulips doesn’t merely convey that he didn’t plant more than one tulip, but rather that he didn’t plant any tulip (i.e., ‘including’ atomic individual tulips). Different approaches to the meaning contribution of the English plural vary in how they account for this alternation across the polarities, but converge on assuming that (at least one of) the denotation(s) of the plural should include atomic individuals. Turkish, on the other hand, is cited as one of the few known languages in which the plural only receives an exclusive interpretation (e.g., Bale et al. Cross-linguistic representations of numerals and number marking. in: Li, Lutz (eds) Semantics and linguistic theory (SALT) 20, CLC Publications, Ithaca, pp 582–598, 2010). More recent proposals have, however, argued that the Turkish plural should in fact be analysed more like the English plural (e.g., Sag˘, The semantics of number marking: reference to kinds, counting, and optional classifiers, PhD dissertation, Rutgers University, 2019). We report two experiments investigating Turkish-speaking adults’ and preschool-aged children’s interpretation of positive and negative sentences containing plural nouns. The results provide clear evidence for inclusive interpretations of the plural in Turkish, supporting accounts that treat the Turkish and English plurals alike. We briefly discuss how an inclusive meaning of the Turkish plural can be integrated within a theory of the Turkish number system which captures some idiosyncratic properties of the singular and the agreement between number and number numerals

Neoadjuvant eribulin mesylate following anthracycline and taxane in triple negative breast cancer: Results from the HOPE study

Background Eribulin mesylate (E) is indicated for metastatic breast cancer patients previously treated with anthracycline and taxane. We argued that E could also benefit patients eligible for neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Methods Patients with primary triple negative breast cancer 2 cm received doxorubicin 60 mg/m2 and paclitaxel 200 mg/m2 x 4 cycles (AT) followed by E 1.4 mg/m2 x 4 cycles. Primary endpoint was pathological complete response (pCR) rate; secondary and explorative endpoints included clinical/metabolic response rates and safety, and biomarker analysis, respectively. Using a two-stage Simon design, 43 patients were to be included provided that 4 of 13 patients had achieved pCR in the first stage of the study. Results In stage I of the study 13 women were enrolled, median age 43 years, tumor size 2–5 cm in 9/13 (69%), positive nodal status in 8/13 (61%). Main grade 3 adverse event was neutropenia (related to AT and E in 4 and 2 cases, respectively). AT followed by E induced clinical complete + partial responses in 11/13 patients (85%), pCR in 3/13 (23%). Median measurements of maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) resulted 13, 3, and 1.9 at baseline, after AT and E, respectively. Complete metabolic response (CMR) occurred after AT and after E in 2 and 3 cases, respectively. Notably, 2 of the 5 (40%) patients with CMR achieved pCR at surgery. Immunostaining of paired pre-/post-treatment tumor specimens showed a reduction of β-catenin, CyclinD1, Zeb-1, and c-myc expression, in the absence of N-cadherin modulation. The study was interrupted at stage I due to the lack of the required patients with pCR. Conclusions Despite the early study closure, preoperative E following AT showed clinical and biological activity in triple negative breast cancer patients. Furthermore, the modulation of β-catenin pathway core proteins, supposedly outside the domain of epithelial–mesenchymal transition, claims for further investigation. Trial registration EU Clinical Trial Register, EudraCT number 2012-004956-12

Rosiglitazone and Cognitive Stability in Older Individuals With Type 2 Diabetes and Mild Cognitive Impairment

OBJECTIVE— Studies have suggested that insulin resistance plays a role in cognitive impairment in individuals with type 2 diabetes. We aimed to determine whether an improvement in insulin resistance could explain cognitive performance variations over 36 weeks in older individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS— A total of 97 older individuals (mean +/- SD age 76 +/-6 years) who had recently (< 2 months) started an antidiabetes treatment of metformin (500 mg twice a day) (n = 30) or metformin (500 mg/day)*rosiglitazone (4 mg/day) (n = 32) or diet (n = 35) volunteered. The neuropsychological test battery consisted of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Rey Verbal Auditory Learning Test (RAVLT) total recall, and Trail Making Tests (TMT-A and TMT-B) performed at baseline and every 12 weeks for 36 weeks along with clinical testing. RESULTS— At baseline, no significant differences were found between groups in clinical or neuropsychological parameters. Mean +/- SD values in the entire population were as follows: A1C 7.5 +/- 0.5%, fasting plasma glucose (FPG) 8.6 +/- 1.3 mmol/l, fasting plasma insulin (FPI) 148 +/- 74 pmol/l, MMSE 24.9 +/- 2.4, TMT-A 61.6 +/- 42.0, TMT-B 162.8 +/- 78.7, the difference between TMT-B and TMT-A [DIFFBA] 101.2 +/- 58.1, and RAVLT 24.3 +/- 2.1. At follow-up, ANOVA models tested changes in metabolic control parameters (FPI, FPG, and A1C). Such parameters improved in the metformin and metformin/rosiglitazone groups (Ptrend < 0.05 in both groups). ANCOVA repeated models showed that results for the metformin/rosiglitazone group remained stable for all neuropsychological tests, and results for the diet group remained stable for the MMSE and TMT-A and declined for the TMT-B (Ptrend = 0.024), executive efficiency (DIFFBA) (Ptrend = 0.026), and RAVLT memory test (Ptrend = 0.011). Results for the metformin group remained stable for the MMSE and TMTs but declined for the RAVLT (Ptrend = 0.011). With use of linear mixed-effects models, the interaction term, FPI * time, correlated with cognitive stability on the RAVLT in the metformin/rosiglitazone group (beta = -1.899; P = 0.009)