Fractal Properties of Robust Strange Nonchaotic Attractors in Maps of Two or More Dimensions

We consider the existence of robust strange nonchaotic attractors (SNA's) in a simple class of quasiperiodically forced systems. Rigorous results are presented demonstrating that the resulting attractors are strange in the sense that their box-counting dimension is N+1 while their information dimension is N. We also show how these properties are manifested in numerical experiments.Comment: 9 pages, 14 figure

Gold-on-glass microwave split-ring resonators with PDMS microchannels for differential measurement in microfluidic sensing

This paper describes a microwave resonator incorporating microfluidic lab-on-chip sensor system capable of performing simultaneous differential measurement based sensing of liquid samples. The resonators are split-ring resonator shapes made of gold on glass substrates. Directly bonded on glass substrates are polydimethylsiloxane microchannels. Sensor system design incorporates a pair of identical resonators, one of which performs reference reading from the background. Tracking the difference of the responses of both resonators simultaneously, rather than a single one, is used to obtain a more linear and noise-free reading. The sensor system was produced with conventional fabrication techniques. It is compatible with low-cost, simple, easy to handle sensing applications. Results indicate that reliable differential measurement was possible owing to a well-matched pair of sensors with a response error as low as 0.1%. It was also demonstrated that differential measurement capability enables sensing with improved linearity. Measurements were performed with glucose solutions in the range of 3.2–16.1 mM, achieving a sensitivity of 0.16 MHz/mM

Interruption of torus doubling bifurcation and genesis of strange nonchaotic attractors in a quasiperiodically forced map : Mechanisms and their characterizations

A simple quasiperiodically forced one-dimensional cubic map is shown to exhibit very many types of routes to chaos via strange nonchaotic attractors (SNAs) with reference to a two-parameter $(A-f)$ space. The routes include transitions to chaos via SNAs from both one frequency torus and period doubled torus. In the former case, we identify the fractalization and type I intermittency routes. In the latter case, we point out that atleast four distinct routes through which the truncation of torus doubling bifurcation and the birth of SNAs take place in this model. In particular, the formation of SNAs through Heagy-Hammel, fractalization and type--III intermittent mechanisms are described. In addition, it has been found that in this system there are some regions in the parameter space where a novel dynamics involving a sudden expansion of the attractor which tames the growth of period-doubling bifurcation takes place, giving birth to SNA. The SNAs created through different mechanisms are characterized by the behaviour of the Lyapunov exponents and their variance, by the estimation of phase sensitivity exponent as well as through the distribution of finite-time Lyapunov exponents.Comment: 27 pages, RevTeX 4, 16 EPS figures. Phys. Rev. E (2001) to appea

Burned-out testis tumour that metastasized to retroperitoneal lymph nodes: a case report

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

Mitochondrial carrier homolog 1 (Mtch1) antibodies in neuro-Behçet's disease

Cataloged from PDF version of article.Efforts for the identification of diagnostic autoantibodies for neuro-Behcet's disease (NBD) have failed. Screening of NBD patients' sera with protein macroarray identified mitochondrial carrier homolog 1 (Mtch1), an apoptosis-related protein, as a potential autoantigen. ELISA studies showed serum Mtch1 antibodies in 68 of 144 BD patients with or without neurological involvement and in 4 of 168 controls corresponding to a sensitivity of 47.2% and specificity of 97.6%. Mtch1 antibody positive NBD patients had more attacks, increased disability and lower serum nucleosome levels. Mtch1 antibody might be involved in pathogenic mechanisms of NBD rather than being a coincidental byproduct of autoinflammation. © 2013 Elsevier B.V

The AIM2 inflammasome exacerbates atherosclerosis in clonal haematopoiesis

Clonal haematopoiesis, which is highly prevalent in older individuals, arises from somatic mutations that endow a proliferative advantage to haematopoietic cells. Clonal haematopoiesis increases the risk of myocardial infarction and stroke independently of traditional risk factors(1). Among the common genetic variants that give rise to clonal haematopoiesis, the JAK2(V617F) (JAK2(VF)) mutation, which increases JAK-STAT signalling, occurs at a younger age and imparts the strongest risk of premature coronary heart disease(1,2). Here we show increased proliferation of macrophages and prominent formation of necrotic cores in atherosclerotic lesions in mice that express Jak2(VF) selectively in macrophages, and in chimeric mice that model clonal haematopoiesis. Deletion of the essential inflammasome components caspase 1 and 11, or of the pyroptosis executioner gasdermin D, reversed these adverse changes. Jak2(VF) lesions showed increased expression of AIM2, oxidative DNA damage and DNA replication stress, and Aim2 deficiency reduced atherosclerosis. Single-cell RNA sequencing analysis of Jak2(VF) lesions revealed a landscape that was enriched for inflammatory myeloid cells, which were suppressed by deletion of Gsdmd. Inhibition of the inflammasome product interleukin-1 beta reduced macrophage proliferation and necrotic formation while increasing the thickness of fibrous caps, indicating that it stabilized plaques. Our findings suggest that increased proliferation and glycolytic metabolism in Jak2(VF) macrophages lead to DNA replication stress and activation of the AIM2 inflammasome, thereby aggravating atherosclerosis. Precise application of therapies that target interleukin-1 beta or specific inflammasomes according to clonal haematopoiesis status could substantially reduce cardiovascular risk

Postoperative complications and waiting time for surgical intervention after radiologically guided drainage of intra-abdominal abscess in patients with Crohn's disease

In patients with active Crohn's disease (CD), treatment of intra-abdominal abscess usually comprises antibiotics and radiologically guided percutaneous drainage (PD) preceding surgery. The aim of this study was to investigate the risk of postoperative complications and identify the optimal time interval for surgical intervention after PD

CLP1 Founder Mutation Links tRNA Splicing and Maturation to Cerebellar Development and Neurodegeneration

SummaryNeurodegenerative diseases can occur so early as to affect neurodevelopment. From a cohort of more than 2,000 consanguineous families with childhood neurological disease, we identified a founder mutation in four independent pedigrees in cleavage and polyadenylation factor I subunit 1 (CLP1). CLP1 is a multifunctional kinase implicated in tRNA, mRNA, and siRNA maturation. Kinase activity of the CLP1 mutant protein was defective, and the tRNA endonuclease complex (TSEN) was destabilized, resulting in impaired pre-tRNA cleavage. Germline clp1 null zebrafish showed cerebellar neurodegeneration that was rescued by wild-type, but not mutant, human CLP1 expression. Patient-derived induced neurons displayed both depletion of mature tRNAs and accumulation of unspliced pre-tRNAs. Transfection of partially processed tRNA fragments into patient cells exacerbated an oxidative stress-induced reduction in cell survival. Our data link tRNA maturation to neuronal development and neurodegeneration through defective CLP1 function in humans