Dynamical maximum entropy approach to flocking

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Abdominal cyst after early failure of polyethylene liner in total hip arthroplasty

We report a case in which the early failure of a polyethylene liner, coupled with a 32-mm CrCo ball head, caused pelvic cyst formation simulating an abdominal mass. The presence of the mass with inguinal swelling lead us to diagnosis liner failure, as shown by radiography. An extraperitoneal cyst surrounding the iliopsoas muscle from the lesser trochanter up to the lumbosacral junction was demonstrated with pre-operative computed tomography and sonography. The cyst contained fluid and many large particles of polyethylene debris. The liner and the head were substituted and the cyst was removed through a different abdominal approach. We hypothesize that debris falls out and concentrates along the iliopsoas muscle from the very beginning of wear, and then the muscle concentration forces pumped it along the muscle belly. From the histologic point of view, large polyethylene particles were observed in the removed tissue, and no major osteoclastic activation was found

Hospital school program: The right to education for long-term care children

Education and health are two inseparable aspects of a single dynamic which aims to support and increase the physical and mental well-being of children and young people. Children must be guaranteed two rights: the right to study and the right to health. Schools capable of reconciling these two fundamental needs are represented by school in hospital and home schooling. Thanks to this flexible teaching method, it is possible to support the child and his or her family during hospitalization, and to prevent consequences such as school failure and dropout. Hospitalization is always a traumatic event for children, in which white coats are unknown figures, perceived all the more threatening the younger the child: a threat to one’s integrity, loss of autonomy, distorted perception of time, loss of confidence, and a sense of abandonment. Therefore, it is important to create a communicative basis that facilitates the child’s adaptation to the new hospital environment and establishes continuity during this period of time. Teachers play a significant role within the context of such difficulties. They need to understand patients’ emotions and act as a bridge between the small inpatient room of the child and the outside world. In this article we examined: (1) the School in Hospital and the reasons why it is a valid resource for the psychophysical rehabilitation of the student in a hospital; (2) the role of the teacher in hospital and the difficult context in which the teacher has to work; and (3) how the school in hospital was challenged by the SARS-CoV2 pandemic

A RAPD, AFLP and SSR linkage map, and QTL analysis in European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.)

The genetic linkage map of European beech ( Fagus sylvatica L.) that we report here is the first to our knowledge. Based on a total of 312 markers (28 RAPDs, 274 AFLPs, 10 SSRs) scored in 143 individuals from a F(1) full-sib family. Two maps (one for each parent) were constructed according to a "two-way pseudo-testcross" mapping strategy. In the male map 119 markers could be clustered in 11 major groups (971 cM), while in the female map 132 markers were distributed in 12 major linkage groups (844 cM). In addition, four and one minor linkage groups (doublets and triplets) were obtained for the male and female map respectively. The two maps cover about 82% and 78% of the genome. Based on the position of 15 AFLP and 2 SSR loci segregating in both parents, seven homologous linkage groups could be identified. In the same pedigree we investigated the association with genetic markers of several quantitative traits: leaf area, leaf number and shape in 2 different years, specific leaf area, leaf carbon-isotope discrimination and tree height. A composite interval-mapping approach was used to estimate the number of QTLs, the amount of variation explained by each of them, and their position on the genetic linkage maps. Eight QTLs associated with leaf traits were found that explained between 15% and 35% of the trait variation, five on the female map and three on the male map

Multiple outcome meta-analysis of gene-expression data in inflammatory bowel disease

We performed a multivariate meta-analysis of microarray data in Crohn's disease (CD) and Ulcerative colitis (UC), which are the main forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). They share similar symptoms but differ in the location and extent of inflammation and in complications. We identified 249 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in CD and 38 in UC at a false discovery rate of 1%. 20 of the DEGs were common to both diseases. A multivariate test identified 260 DEGs associated with IBD, 53 of which were not found in any of the disorders. We identified important molecular pathways implicated in the pathogenesis of IBD, such as the JAK/STAT and interferon-gamma signaling pathways, genes involved in cell adhesion, apoptosis and carcinogenesis. Among others, BCAT1 and GZMB are interesting novel DEGs that deserve further investigation in experimental models. The method could also be useful to other cases of meta-analysis of gene expression data

ITGB2 mutation combined with deleted ring 21 chromosome in a child with leukocyte adhesion deficiency

Leukocyte adhesion deficiency type 1(LAD-1) is a rare autosomal recessive primary immunodeficiency caused by defects in the ITGB2 gene located on chromosome 21q22. Clinically, LAD-1 patients are characterized by recurrent infections, slow wound healing and dystrophic scars after skin injuries, associated with persistent neutrophilia. The severity of symptoms is related to the level of CD11/CD18 expression on patients’ leucocytes and those with less than 1% expression treated with hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT). We present a child affected by LAD-1 who received HSCT from a matched unrelated donor. Molecular analysis revealed apparent homozygosis for a point mutation in the ITGB2 gene, only the mother however was carrier of the mutation. Cytogenetic and FISH analysis showed the presence of a de-novo ring chromosome 21. Whole Genome Analysis with the Affymetrix GeneChip Human Mapping 250K NspI array confirmed in the child the presence of a de novo deletion of the chromosomal region 21q22.3-qter, where the ITGB2 gene maps. While HSCT resulted in successful engraftment and correction of the immunodeficiency, all the phenotypic features of ring (21) syndrome with a deletion of a 4.6Mb (including 69 genes) clearly remained unchange

Generation of induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (UNIBSi008-A, UNIBSi008-B, UNIBSi008-C) from an Ataxia-Telangiectasia (AT) patient carrying a novel homozygous deletion in ATM gene.

Abstract Using a Sendai Virus based vector delivering Yamanaka Factors, we generated induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs) from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of a patient affected by Ataxia Telangiectasia (AT), caused by a novel homozygous deletion in ATM, spanning exons 5 to 7. Three clones were fully characterized for pluripotency and capability to differentiate. These clones preserved the causative mutation of parental cells and genomic stability over time (>100 passages). Furthermore, in AT derived iPSCs we confirmed the impaired DNA damage response after ionizing radiation. All these data underline potential usefulness of our clones as in vitro AT disease model

Measuring Accessibility Using Gravity and Radiation Models

Since the presentation of the radiation model, much work has been done to compare its findings with those obtained from gravitational models. These comparisons always aim at measuring the accuracy with which the models reproduce the mobility described by origin–destination matrices. This has been done at different spatial scales using different datasets, and several versions of the models have been proposed to adjust to various spatial systems. However, the models, to our knowledge, have never been compared with respect to policy testing scenarios. For this reason, here we use the models to analyse the impact of the introduction of a new transportation network, a bus rapid transport system, in the city of Teresina in Brazil. We do this by measuring the estimated variation in the trip distribution, and formulate an accessibility to employment indicator for the different zones of the city. By comparing the results obtained with the two approaches, we are able to not only better assess the goodness of fit and the impact of this intervention, but also understand reasons for the systematic similarities and differences in their predictions

Tangent map intermittency as an approximate analysis of intermittency in a high dimensional fully stochastic dynamical system: The Tangled Nature model

It is well known that low-dimensional nonlinear deterministic maps close to a tangent bifurcation exhibit intermittency and this circumstance has been exploited, e.g. by Procaccia and Schuster [Phys. Rev. A 28, 1210 (1983)], to develop a general theory of 1/f spectra. This suggests it is interesting to study the extent to which the behavior of a high-dimensional stochastic system can be described by such tangent maps. The Tangled Nature (TaNa) Model of evolutionary ecology is an ideal candidate for such a study, a significant model as it is capable of reproducing a broad range of the phenomenology of macroevolution and ecosystems. The TaNa model exhibits strong intermittency reminiscent of Punctuated Equilibrium and, like the fossil record of mass extinction, the intermittency in the model is found to be non-stationary, a feature typical of many complex systems. We derive a mean-field version for the evolution of the likelihood function controlling the reproduction of species and find a local map close to tangency. This mean-field map, by our own local approximation, is able to describe qualitatively only one episode of the intermittent dynamics of the full TaNa model. To complement this result we construct a complete nonlinear dynamical system model consisting of successive tangent bifurcations that generates time evolution patterns resembling those of the full TaNa model in macroscopic scales. The switch from one tangent bifurcation to the next in the sequences produced in this model is stochastic in nature, based on criteria obtained from the local mean-field approximation, and capable of imitating the changing set of types of species and total population in the TaNa model. The model combines full deterministic dynamics with instantaneous parameter random jumps at stochastically drawn times. In spite of the limitations of our approach, that entails a drastic collapse of degrees of freedom, the description of a high-dimensional model system in terms of a low-dimensional one appears to be illuminating