Bench-to-bedside review: The importance of the precision of the reference technique in method comparison studies - with specific reference to the measurement of cardiac output

Bland-Altman analysis is used for assessing agreement between two measurements of the same clinical variable. In the field of cardiac output monitoring, its results, in terms of bias and limits of agreement, are often difficult to interpret, leading clinicians to use a cutoff of 30% in the percentage error in order to decide whether a new technique may be considered a good alternative. This percentage error of ± 30% arises from the assumption that the commonly used reference technique, intermittent thermodilution, has a precision of ± 20% or less. The combination of two precisions of ± 20% equates to a total error of ± 28.3%, which is commonly rounded up to ± 30%. Thus, finding a percentage error of less than ± 30% should equate to the new tested technique having an error similar to the reference, which therefore should be acceptable. In a worked example in this paper, we discuss the limitations of this approach, in particular in regard to the situation in which the reference technique may be either more or less precise than would normally be expected. This can lead to inappropriate conclusions being drawn from data acquired in validation studies of new monitoring technologies. We conclude that it is not acceptable to present comparison studies quoting percentage error as an acceptability criteria without reporting the precision of the reference technique

Thermally induced directed currents in hard rod systems

We study the non equilibrium statistical properties of a one dimensional hard-rod fluid undergoing collisions and subject to a spatially non uniform Gaussian heat-bath and periodic potential. The system is able to sustain finite currents when the spatially inhomogeneous heat-bath and the periodic potential profile display an appropriate relative phase shift, $\phi$. By comparison with the collisionless limit, we determine the conditions for the most efficient transport among inelastic, elastic and non interacting rods. We show that the situation is complex as, depending on shape of the temperature profile, the current of one system may outperform the others.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

Mancozeb impairs the ultrastructure of mouse granulosa cells in a dose-dependent manner

Mancozeb, an ethylene bis-dithiocarbamate, is widely used as a fungicide and exerts reproductive toxicity in vivo and in vitro in mouse oocytes by altering spindle morphology and impairing the ability to fertilize. Mancozeb also induces a premalignant status in mouse granulosa cells (GCs) cultured in vitro, as indicated by decreased p53 expression and tenuous oxidative stress. However, the presence and extent of ultrastructural alterations induced by mancozeb on GCs in vitro have not yet been reported. Using an in vitro model of reproductive toxicity, comprising parietal GCs from mouse antral follicles cultured with increasing concentrations of mancozeb (0.001-1 µg/ml), we sought to ascertain the in vitro ultrastructural cell toxicity by means of transmission (TEM) and scanning (SEM) electron microscopy. The results showed a dose-dependent toxicity of mancozeb on mouse GCs. Ultrastructural data showed intercellular contact alterations, nuclear membrane irregularities, and chromatin marginalization at lower concentrations, and showed chromatin condensation, membrane blebbing, and cytoplasmic vacuolization at higher concentrations. Morphometric analysis evidenced a reduction of mitochondrial length in GCs exposed to mancozeb 0.01-1 µg/ml and a dose-dependent increase of vacuole dimension. In conclusion, mancozeb induced dose-dependent toxicity against GCs in vitro, including ultrastructural signs of cell degeneration compatible with apoptosis, likely due to the toxic breakdown product ethylenethiourea. These alterations may represent a major cause of reduced/delayed/missed oocyte maturation in cases of infertility associated with exposure to pesticides

Fine morphological assessment of quality of human mature oocytes after slow freezing or vitrification with a closed device: a comparative analysis

BACKGROUND: Human mature oocytes are very susceptible to cryodamage. Several reports demonstrated that vitrification might preserve oocyte better than slow freezing. However, this is still controversial. Thus, larger clinical, biological and experimental trials to confirm this concept are necessary. The aim of the study was to evaluate and compare fine morphological features in human mature oocytes cryopreserved with either slow freezing or vitrification. METHODS: We used 47 supernumerary human mature (metaphase II) oocytes donated by consenting patients, aged 27-32 years, enrolled in an IVF program. Thirtyfive oocytes were cryopreserved using slow freezing with 1.5 M propanediol +0.2 M sucrose concentration (20 oocytes) or a closed vitrification system (CryoTip Irvine Scientific CA) (15 oocytes). Twelve fresh oocytes were used as controls. All samples were prepared for light and transmission electron microscopy evaluation. RESULTS: Control, slow frozen/thawed and vitrified/warmed oocytes (CO, SFO and VO, respectively) were rounded, 90-100 mum in diameter, with normal ooplasm showing uniform distribution of organelles. Mitochondria-smooth endoplasmic reticulum (M-SER) aggregates and small mitochondria-vesicle (MV) complexes were the most numerous structures found in all CO, SFO and VO cultured for 3-4 hours. M-SER aggregates decreased, and large MV complexes increased in those SFO and VO maintained in culture for a prolonged period of time (8-9 hours). A slight to moderate vacuolization was present in the cytoplasm of SFO. Only a slight vacuolization was present in VO, whereas vacuoles were almost completely absent in CO. Amount and density of cortical granules (CG) appeared abnormally reduced in SFO and VO, irrespective of the protocol applied. CONCLUSIONS: Even though, both slow freezing and vitrification ensured a good overall preservation of the oocyte, we found that: 1) prolonged culture activates an intracellular membrane "recycling" that causes the abnormal transformation of the membranes of the small MV complexes and of SER into larger rounded vesicles; 2) vacuolization appears as a recurrent form of cell damage during slow freezing and, at a lesser extent, during vitrification using a closed device; 3) premature CG exocytosis was present in both SFO and VO and may cause zona pellucida hardenin

Refurbishing Voyager 1 & 2 Planetary Radio Astronomy (PRA) Data

Voyager/PRA (Planetary Radio Astronomy) data from digitized tapes archived at CNES have been reprocessed and recalibrated. The data cover the Jupiter and Saturn flybys of both Voyager probes. We have also reconstructed goniopolarimetric datasets (flux and polarization) at full resolution. These datasets are currently not available to the scientific community, but they are of primary interest for the analysis of the Cassini data at Saturn, and the Juno data at Jupiter, as well as for the preparation of the JUICE mission. We present the first results derived from the re-analysis of this dataset.Comment: Accepted manuscript for PRE8 (Planetary Radio Emission VIII conference) proceeding

Short period attractors and non-ergodic behavior in the deterministic fixed energy sandpile model

We study the asymptotic behaviour of the Bak, Tang, Wiesenfeld sandpile automata as a closed system with fixed energy. We explore the full range of energies characterizing the active phase. The model exhibits strong non-ergodic features by settling into limit-cycles whose period depends on the energy and initial conditions. The asymptotic activity $\rho_a$ (topplings density) shows, as a function of energy density $\zeta$, a devil's staircase behaviour defining a symmetric energy interval-set over which also the period lengths remain constant. The properties of $\zeta$-$\rho_a$ phase diagram can be traced back to the basic symmetries underlying the model's dynamics.Comment: EPL-style, 7 pages, 3 eps figures, revised versio

Non-ergodic site response model based on local recordings for Menta Dam site

The paper describes the development of a non-ergodic site response model for a strategic site in the Aspromonte mountains, in Southern Italy. Fractured metamorphic rocks belonging to Calabrian complex outcrop in this area, located in a region where Southern Apennines crustal faults and subduction of the Calabrian Arc contribute to the seismic hazard. At the site, three accelerometers are installed since 2016 as part of the monitoring system of the Menta Dam, a bituminous-faced rockfill dam constructed for the water supply of the region. Ground motions recorded at the site and elsewhere from regional crustal and subduction earthquakes have been used to evaluate region-specific source and path adjustment to global ground motion models (GMMs). Those regionally adjusted GMMs have, in turn, been used to evaluate the mean bias of site-specific recordings, which is used to estimate non-ergodic site response for the dam site. This analysis highlights that site-specific site response is appreciably larger than the global average prediction of GMMs for periods lower than 0.4s. A non-ergodic GMM is developed that accounts for these effects to be used in subsequent Probabilistic Site Hazard Analysis (PSHA)

N-tree approximation for the largest Lyapunov exponent of a coupled-map lattice

The N-tree approximation scheme, introduced in the context of random directed polymers, is here applied to the computation of the maximum Lyapunov exponent in a coupled map lattice. We discuss both an exact implementation for small tree-depth $n$ and a numerical implementation for larger $n$s. We find that the phase-transition predicted by the mean field approach shifts towards larger values of the coupling parameter when the depth $n$ is increased. We conjecture that the transition eventually disappears.Comment: RevTeX, 15 pages,5 figure

In-flight calibration of STEREO-B/WAVES antenna system

The STEREO/WAVES (SWAVES) experiment on board the two STEREO spacecraft (Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory) launched on 25 October 2006 is dedicated to the measurement of the radio spectrum at frequencies between a few kilohertz and 16 MHz. The SWAVES antenna system consists of 6 m long orthogonal monopoles designed to measure the electric component of the radio waves. With this configuration direction finding of radio sources and polarimetry (analysis of the polarization state) of incident radio waves is possible. For the evaluation of the SWAVES data the receiving properties of the antennas, distorted by the radiation coupling with the spacecraft body and other onboard devices, have to be known accurately. In the present context, these properties are described by the antenna effective length vectors. We present the results of an in-flight calibration of the SWAVES antennas using the observations of the nonthermal terrestrial auroral kilometric radiation (AKR) during STEREO roll maneuvers in an early stage of the mission. A least squares method combined with a genetic algorithm was applied to find the effective length vectors of the STEREO Behind (STEREO-B)/WAVES antennas in a quasi-static frequency range ($L_{antenna} \ll \lambda_{wave}$) which fit best to the model and observed AKR intensity profiles. The obtained results confirm the former SWAVES antenna analysis by rheometry and numerical simulations. A final set of antenna parameters is recommended as a basis for evaluations of the SWAVES data