INFLATION AND ITS CONTROL

Financial Economics,

A postsynaptic PI3K-cII dependent signaling controller for presynaptic homeostatic plasticity.

Presynaptic homeostatic plasticity stabilizes information transfer at synaptic connections in organisms ranging from insect to human. By analogy with principles of engineering and control theory, the molecular implementation of PHP is thought to require postsynaptic signaling modules that encode homeostatic sensors, a set point, and a controller that regulates transsynaptic negative feedback. The molecular basis for these postsynaptic, homeostatic signaling elements remains unknown. Here, an electrophysiology-based screen of the Drosophila kinome and phosphatome defines a postsynaptic signaling platform that includes a required function for PI3K-cII, PI3K-cIII and the small GTPase Rab11 during the rapid and sustained expression of PHP. We present evidence that PI3K-cII localizes to Golgi-derived, clathrin-positive vesicles and is necessary to generate an endosomal pool of PI(3)P that recruits Rab11 to recycling endosomal membranes. A morphologically distinct subdivision of this platform concentrates postsynaptically where we propose it functions as a homeostatic controller for retrograde, trans-synaptic signaling

Origin and Dynamics of the Mutually Inclined Orbits of Upsilon Andromedae c and d

We evaluate the orbital evolution and several plausible origins scenarios for the mutually inclined orbits of Upsilon Andromedae c and d. These two planets have orbital elements that oscillate with large amplitudes and lie close to the stability boundary. This configuration, and in particular the observed mutual inclination, demands an explanation. The planetary system may be influenced by a nearby low-mass star, Upsilon And B, which could perturb the planetary orbits, but we find it cannot modify two coplanar orbits into the observed mutual inclination of ~30 deg. However, it could incite ejections or collisions between planetary companions that subsequently raise the mutual inclination to >30 deg. Our simulated systems with large mutual inclinations tend to be further from the stability boundary than Upsilon And, but we are able to produce similar systems. We conclude that scattering is a plausible mechanism to explain the observed orbits of Upsilon And c and d, but we cannot determine whether the scattering was caused by instabilities among the planets themselves or by perturbations from Upsilon And B. We also develop a procedure to quantitatively compare numerous properties of the observed system to our numerical models. Although we only implement this procedure to Upsilon And, it may be applied to any exoplanetary system.Comment: 19 pages, 5 figures, accepted to Astrophysical Journa

Heat Shock Protein 70 Expression in Juvenile Eastern Oysters, Crassostrea virginica (Gmelin, 1791), Exposed to Anoxic Conditions

Anoxic water events in conjunction with summer high temperatures are thought to be one of the causes of declines in natural oyster reefs on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. Work is underway to determine whether tolerance to low oxygen can be selected for in hatchery-produced oysters. As a component of this work, the expression of heat shock protein 70 (HSP 70) was examined in control (normoxia) and anoxia-challenged juvenile oysters. Parental Eastern oysters, Crassostrea virginica were collected from 2 sites, Cedar Point Reef (CP), an area considered to have normoxic conditions, and White House Reef (WH), an area suspected to experience periodic anoxia. F1 generation oysters were produced from CP and WH parents that survived an anoxic exposure of 96 h. Control F1 generation oysters from both parental stocks not exposed to anoxia were also produced. The F1 generation oysters were subsequently exposed to anoxia or control normoxic conditions, and differences in expression of HSP 70 were examined. Nitrogen was used to create the anoxic conditions for both the parental and F1 generations. Three HSP 70 isoforms—2 constitutive forms (HSC 77 and HSC 72) and 1 inducible form (HSP 69)—were expressed in both anoxia- and normoxia-exposed oysters from all groups. Although there were differences among groups of oysters from the 2 sites, there were no differences in the expression of HSC 77 and HSC 72 between the control and anoxia-treated oysters within a group. Interestingly, the expression of HSP 69 was higher in oysters exposed to normoxia than the ones from anoxia treatments. These differences are thought to reflect a combination of responses to nutritional stress in the controls and facultative anaerobiosis and metabolic arrest in the anoxia groups

Effect of head impacts on diffusivity measures in a cohort of collegiate contact sport athletes

Objective: To determine whether exposure to repetitive head impacts over a single season affects white matter diffusion measures in collegiate contact sport athletes. Methods: A prospective cohort study at a Division I NCAA athletic program of 80 nonconcussed varsity football and ice hockey players who wore instrumented helmets that recorded the acceleration time history of the head following impact, and 79 non–contact sport athletes. Assessment occurred preseason and shortly after the season with diffusion tensor imaging and neurocognitive measures. Results: There was a significant (p 5 0.011) athlete-group difference for mean diffusivity (MD) in the corpus callosum. Postseason fractional anisotropy (FA) differed (p 5 0.001) in the amygdala (0.238 vs 0.233). Measures of head impact exposure correlated with white matter diffusivity measures in several brain regions, including the corpus callosum, amygdala, cerebellar white matter, hippocampus, and thalamus. The magnitude of change in corpus callosum MD postseason was associated with poorer performance on a measure of verbal learning and memory. Conclusion: This study suggests a relationship between head impact exposure, white matter diffusion measures, and cognition over the course of a single season, even in the absence of diagnosed concussion, in a cohort of college athletes. Further work is needed to assess whether such effects are short term or persisten

The stroke ‘Act FAST’ campaign: Remembered but not understood?

Background: The stroke awareness raising campaign ‘Act FAST' (Face, Arms, Speech: Time to call Emergency Medical Services) has been rolled out in multiple waves in England, but impact on stroke recognition and response remains unclear. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to test whether providing knowledge of the FAST acronym through a standard Act FAST campaign leaflet increases accurate recognition and response in stroke-based scenario measures. Methods: This is a population-based, cross-sectional survey of adults in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, sampled using the electoral register, with individuals randomized to receive a questionnaire and Act FAST leaflet (n = 2500) or a questionnaire only (n = 2500) in 2012. Campaign message retention, stroke recognition, and response measured through 16 scenario-based vignettes were assessed. Data were analyzed in 2013. Results: Questionnaire return rate was 32·3% (n = 1615). No differences were found between the leaflet and no-leaflet groups in return rate or demographics. Participants who received a leaflet showed better campaign recall (75·7% vs. 68·2%, P = 0·003) and recalled more FAST mnemonic elements (66·1% vs. 45·3% elements named correctly, P < 0·001). However, there were no between-group differences for stroke recognition and response to stroke-based scenarios (P > 0·05). Conclusions: Despite greater levels of recall of specific ‘Act FAST' elements among those receiving the Act FAST leaflet, there was no impact on stroke recognition and response measures

A consistent derivation of the quark--antiquark and three quark potentials in a Wilson loop context

In this paper we give a new derivation of the quark-antiquark potential in the Wilson loop context. This makes more explicit the approximations involved and enables an immediate extension to the three-quark case. In the $q\overline{q}$ case we find the same semirelativistic potential obtained in preceding papers but for a question of ordering. In the $3q$ case we find a spin dependent potential identical to that already derived in the literature from the ad hoc and non correct assumption of scalar confinement. Furthermore we obtain the correct form of the spin independent potential up to the $1/m^2$ order.Comment: 30 pages, Revtex (3 figures available as hard copies only), IFUM 452/F

Factors that influence clinicians’ decisions to offer intravenous alteplase in acute ischemic stroke patients with uncertain treatment indication:Results of a discrete choice experiment

Background: Treatment with intravenous alteplase for eligible patients with acute ischemic stroke is underused, with variation in treatment rates across the UK. This study sought to elucidate factors influencing variation in clinicians’ decision-making about this thrombolytic treatment. Methods: A discrete choice experiment using hypothetical patient vignettes framed around areas of clinical uncertainty was conducted with UK-based clinicians. Mixed logit regression analyses were conducted on the data. Results: A total of 138 clinicians completed the discrete choice experiment. Seven patient factors were individually predictive of increased likelihood of immediately offering IV alteplase (compared to reference levels in brackets): stroke onset time 2 h 30 min [50 min]; pre-stroke dependency mRS 3 [mRS 4]; systolic blood pressure 185 mm/Hg [140 mm/Hg]; stroke severity scores of NIHSS 5 without aphasia, NIHSS 14 and NIHSS 23 [NIHSS 2 without aphasia]; age 85 [68]; Afro-Caribbean [white]. Factors predictive of withholding treatment with IV alteplase were: age 95 [68]; stroke onset time of 4 h 15 min [50 min]; severe dementia [no memory problems]; SBP 200 mm/Hg [140 mm/Hg]. Three clinician-related factors were predictive of an increased likelihood of offering IV alteplase (perceived robustness of the evidence for IV alteplase; thrombolyzing more patients in the past 12 months; and high discomfort with uncertainty) and one with a decreased likelihood (high clinician comfort with treating patients outside the licensing criteria). Conclusions: Both patient- and clinician-related factors have a major influence on the use of alteplase to treat patients with acute ischemic stroke. Clinicians’ views of the evidence, comfort with uncertainty and treating patients outside the license criteria are important factors to address in programs that seek to reduce variation in care quality regarding treatment with IV alteplase. Further research is needed to further understand the differences in clinical decision-making about treating patients with acute ischemic stroke with IV alteplase

Witness Response at Acute Onset of Stroke: A Qualitative Theory-Guided Study

Background: Delay in calling emergency medical services following stroke limits access to early treatment that can reduce disability. Emergency medical services contact is mostly initiated by stroke witnesses (often relatives), rather than stroke patients. This study explored appraisal and behavioural factors that are potentially important in influencing witness behaviour in response to stroke. Methods and Findings: Semi-structured interviews with 26 stroke witnesses were transcribed and theory-guided content analysed was undertaken based on the Common Sense Self-Regulation Model (appraisal processes) and Theory Domains Framework (behavioural determinants). Response behaviours were often influenced by heuristics-guided appraisal (i.e. mental rules of thumb). Some witnesses described their responses to the situation as ‘automatic' and ‘instinctive', rather than products of deliberation. Potential behavioural influences included: environmental context and resources (e.g. time of day), social influence (e.g. prompts from patients) and beliefs about consequences (e.g. 999 accesses rapid help). Findings are based on retrospective accounts and need further verification in prospective studies. Conclusions: Witnesses play a key role in patient access to emergency medical services. Factors that potentially influence witnesses' responses to stroke were identified and could inform behavioural interventions and future research. Interventions might benefit from linking automatic/instinctive threat perceptions with deliberate appraisal of stroke symptoms, prompting action to call emergency medical services

Discovery of Two Distant Type Ia Supernovae in the Hubble Deep Field North with the Advanced Camera for Surveys

We present observations of the first two supernovae discovered with the recently installed Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) on the Hubble Space Telescope. The supernovae were found in Wide Field Camera images of the Hubble Deep Field North taken with the F775W, F850LP, and G800L optical elements as part of the ACS guaranteed time observation program. Spectra extracted from the ACS G800L grism exposures confirm that the objects are Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) at redshifts z=0.47 and z=0.95. Follow-up HST observations have been conducted with ACS in F775W and F850LP and with NICMOS in the near-infrared F110W bandpass, yielding a total of 9 flux measurements in the 3 bandpasses over a period of 50 days in the observed frame. We discuss many of the important issues in doing accurate photometry with the ACS. We analyze the multi-band light curves using two different fitting methods to calibrate the supernovae luminosities and place them on the SNe Ia Hubble diagram. The resulting distances are consistent with the redshift-distance relation of the accelerating universe model, although evolving intergalactic grey dust remains as a less likely possibility. The relative ease with which these SNe Ia were found, confirmed, and monitored demonstrates the potential ACS holds for revolutionizing the field of high-redshift SNe Ia, and therefore of testing the accelerating universe cosmology and constraining the "epoch of deceleration".Comment: 11 pages, 8 embedded figures. Accepted for publication in Ap