Fundamental Limits of "Ankylography" due to Dimensional Deficiency

Single-shot diffractive imaging of truly 3D structures suffers from a dimensional deficiency and does not scale. The applicability of "ankylography" is limited to objects that are small-sized in at least one dimension or that are essentially 2D otherwise.Comment: 2 pages, no figur

Statistically derived contributions of diverse human influences to twentieth-century temperature changes

The warming of the climate system is unequivocal as evidenced by an increase in global temperatures by 0.8 °C over the past century. However, the attribution of the observed warming to human activities remains less clear, particularly because of the apparent slow-down in warming since the late 1990s. Here we analyse radiative forcing and temperature time series with state-of-the-art statistical methods to address this question without climate model simulations. We show that long-term trends in total radiative forcing and temperatures have largely been determined by atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations, and modulated by other radiative factors. We identify a pronounced increase in the growth rates of both temperatures and radiative forcing around 1960, which marks the onset of sustained global warming. Our analyses also reveal a contribution of human interventions to two periods when global warming slowed down. Our statistical analysis suggests that the reduction in the emissions of ozone-depleting substances under the Montreal Protocol, as well as a reduction in methane emissions, contributed to the lower rate of warming since the 1990s. Furthermore, we identify a contribution from the two world wars and the Great Depression to the documented cooling in the mid-twentieth century, through lower carbon dioxide emissions. We conclude that reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are effective in slowing the rate of warming in the short term.F.E. acknowledges financial support from the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia (http://www.conacyt.gob.mx) under grant CONACYT-310026, as well as from PASPA DGAPA of the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. (CONACYT-310026 - Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia; PASPA DGAPA of the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico

Extension and approximation of mm-subharmonic functions

Let $\Omega\subset \mathbb C^n$ be a bounded domain, and let $f$ be a real-valued function defined on the whole topological boundary $\partial \Omega$. The aim of this paper is to find a characterization of the functions $f$ which can be extended to the inside to a $m$-subharmonic function under suitable assumptions on $\Omega$. We shall do so by using a function algebraic approach with focus on $m$-subharmonic functions defined on compact sets. We end this note with some remarks on approximation of $m$-subharmonic functions

Planning with Information-Processing Constraints and Model Uncertainty in Markov Decision Processes

Information-theoretic principles for learning and acting have been proposed to solve particular classes of Markov Decision Problems. Mathematically, such approaches are governed by a variational free energy principle and allow solving MDP planning problems with information-processing constraints expressed in terms of a Kullback-Leibler divergence with respect to a reference distribution. Here we consider a generalization of such MDP planners by taking model uncertainty into account. As model uncertainty can also be formalized as an information-processing constraint, we can derive a unified solution from a single generalized variational principle. We provide a generalized value iteration scheme together with a convergence proof. As limit cases, this generalized scheme includes standard value iteration with a known model, Bayesian MDP planning, and robust planning. We demonstrate the benefits of this approach in a grid world simulation.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figure

Cerebral malaria: Gamma-interferon redux

There are two theories that seek to explain the pathogenesis of cerebral malaria, the mechanical obstruction hypothesis and the immunopathology hypothesis. Evidence consistent with both ideas has accumulated from studies of the human disease and experimental models. Thus, some combination of these concepts seems necessary to explain the very complex pattern of changes seen in cerebral malaria. The interactions between malaria parasites, erythrocytes, the cerebral microvascular endothelium, brain parenchymal cells, platelets and microparticles need to be considered. One factor that seems able to knit together much of this complexity is the cytokine interferon-gamma (IFN-?). In this review we consider findings from the clinical disease, in vitro models and the murine counterpart of human cerebral malaria in order to evaluate the roles played by IFN-? in the pathogenesis of this often fatal and debilitating condition. © 2014 Hunt, Ball, Hansen, Khaw, Guo, Bakmiwewa, Mitchell, Combes and Grau

Progressive IgA Nephropathy Is Associated With Low Circulating Mannan-Binding Lectin-Associated Serine Protease-3 (MASP-3) and Increased Glomerular Factor H-Related Protein-5 (FHR5) Deposition

Introduction IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is characterized by glomerular deposition of galactose-deficient IgA1 and complement proteins and leads to renal impairment. Complement deposition through the alternative and lectin activation pathways is associated with renal injury. Methods To elucidate the contribution of the lectin pathway to IgAN, we measured the 11 plasma lectin pathway components in a well-characterized cohort of patients with IgAN. Results M-ficolin, L-ficolin, mannan-binding lectin (MBL)–associated serine protease (MASP)-1 and MBL-associated protein (MAp) 19 were increased, whereas plasma MASP-3 levels were decreased in patients with IgAN compared with healthy controls. Progressive disease was associated with low plasma MASP-3 levels and increased glomerular staining for C3b/iC3b/C3c, C3d, C4d, C5b-9, and factor H–related protein 5 (FHR5). Glomerular FHR5 deposition positively correlated with glomerular C3b/iC3b/C3c, C3d, and C5b-9 deposition, but not with glomerular C4d. These observations, together with the finding that glomerular factor H (fH) deposition was reduced in progressive disease, are consistent with a role for fH deregulation by FHR5 in renal injury in IgAN. Conclusion Our data indicate that circulating MASP-3 levels could be used as a biomarker of disease severity in IgAN and that glomerular staining for FHR5 could both indicate alternative complement pathway activation and be a tissue marker of disease severity

Tau protein, A beta 42 and S-100B protein in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with dementia with Lewy bodies

The intra vitam diagnosis of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is still based on clinical grounds. So far no technical investigations have been available to support this diagnosis. As for tau protein and beta-amyloid((1-42)) (Abeta42), promising results for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease ( AD) have been reported; we evaluated these markers and S-100B protein in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), using a set of commercially available assays, of 71 patients with DLB, 67 patients with AD and 41 nondemented controls (NDC) for their differential diagnostic relevance. Patients with DLB showed significantly lower tau protein values compared to AD but with a high overlap of values. More prominent differences were observed in the comparison of DLB patients with all three clinical core features and AD patients. Abeta42 levels were decreased in the DLB and AD groups versus NDC, without significant subgroup differences. S-100B levels were not significantly different between the groups. Tau protein levels in CSF may contribute to the clinical distinction between DLB and AD, but the value of the markers is still limited especially due to mixed pathology. We conclude that more specific markers have to be established for the differentiation of these diseases. Copyright (C) 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel

Optimized intermolecular potential for nitriles based on Anisotropic United Atoms model

An extension of the Anisotropic United Atoms intermolecular potential model is proposed for nitriles. The electrostatic part of the intermolecular potential is calculated using atomic charges obtained by a simple Mulliken population analysis. The repulsion-dispersion interaction parameters for methyl and methylene groups are taken from transferable AUA4 literature parameters [Ungerer et al., J. Chem. Phys., 2000, 112, 5499]. Non-bonding Lennard-Jones intermolecular potential parameters are regressed for the carbon and nitrogen atoms of the nitrile group (–C≡N) from experimental vapor-liquid equilibrium data of acetonitrile. Gibbs Ensemble Monte Carlo simulations and experimental data agreement is very good for acetonitrile, and better than previous molecular potential proposed by Hloucha et al. [J. Chem. Phys., 2000, 113, 5401]. The transferability of the resulting potential is then successfully tested, without any further readjustment, to predict vapor-liquid phase equilibrium of propionitrile and n-butyronitrile