Bell's local causality is a d-separation criterion

This paper aims to motivate Bell's notion of local causality by means of Bayesian networks. In a locally causal theory any superluminal correlation should be screened off by atomic events localized in any so-called \textit{shielder-off region} in the past of one of the correlating events. In a Bayesian network any correlation between non-descendant random variables are screened off by any so-called \textit{d-separating set} of variables. We will argue that the shielder-off regions in the definition of local causality conform in a well defined sense to the d-separating sets in Bayesian networks.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figure

Lagrangian matching invariants for fibred four-manifolds: I

In a pair of papers, we construct invariants for smooth four-manifolds equipped with `broken fibrations' - the singular Lefschetz fibrations of Auroux, Donaldson and Katzarkov - generalising the Donaldson-Smith invariants for Lefschetz fibrations. The `Lagrangian matching invariants' are designed to be comparable with the Seiberg-Witten invariants of the underlying four-manifold. They fit into a field theory which assigns Floer homology groups to fibred 3-manifolds. The invariants are derived from moduli spaces of pseudo-holomorphic sections of relative Hilbert schemes of points on the fibres, subject to Lagrangian boundary conditions. Part I is devoted to the symplectic geometry of these Lagrangians.Comment: 72 pages, 4 figures. v.2 - numerous small corrections and clarification

PROTECTION OF FEMALE C3H MICE AGAINST WHOLE-BODY gamma-IRRADIATION WITH 2,3-DIMETHYL-6-((2-DIMETHYLAMINO)ETHYL)-6H-INDOLO[2,3-b]QUINOXALINE (B220)

Radioprotection by 2,3-dimethyl-6-(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl)-6H-indolo[2,3-b]quinoxaline (B220) on survival and growth of female C3H mice exposed to acute whole-body gamma-radiation was evaluated for 7.5-8 months following irradiation in two separate experiments. For adult (12 weeks old) mice, B220 administration increased median survival after 8 Gy by a factor of 1.27 when given within 24 h pre-irradiation, administration up to 24 h post-irradiation had a similar effect (1.20) but in addition resulted in 1 of 9 (11 %) mice alive after 32 weeks. For adult mice irradiated with 10-14 Gy, B220 had no significant effect on survival. For very young mice (4 weeks old), however, B220 administration within 24 h pre-irradiation protected from growth retardation at both 1 and 6 Gy, and from gray-hairing at 6 Gy. In conclusion, the well tolerated drug B220 offered radioprotection in both studies and its administration could be further optimized

Cerebral Iron Deposition in Neurodegeneration

Disruption of cerebral iron regulation appears to have a role in aging and in the pathogenesis of various neurodegenerative disorders. Possible unfavorable impacts of iron accumulation include reactive oxygen species generation, induction of ferroptosis, and acceleration of inflammatory changes. Whole-brain iron-sensitive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques allow the examination of macroscopic patterns of brain iron deposits in vivo, while modern analytical methods ex vivo enable the determination of metal-specific content inside individual cell-types, sometimes also within specific cellular compartments. The present review summarizes the whole brain, cellular, and subcellular patterns of iron accumulation in neurodegenerative diseases of genetic and sporadic origin. We also provide an update on mechanisms, biomarkers, and effects of brain iron accumulation in these disorders, focusing on recent publications. In Parkinson’s disease, Friedreich’s disease, and several disorders within the neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation group, there is a focal siderosis, typically in regions with the most pronounced neuropathological changes. The second group of disorders including multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis shows iron accumulation in the globus pallidus, caudate, and putamen, and in specific cortical regions. Yet, other disorders such as aceruloplasminemia, neuroferritinopathy, or Wilson disease manifest with diffuse iron accumulation in the deep gray matter in a pattern comparable to or even more extensive than that observed during normal aging. On the microscopic level, brain iron deposits are present mostly in dystrophic microglia variably accompanied by iron-laden macrophages and in astrocytes, implicating a role of inflammatory changes and blood–brain barrier disturbance in iron accumulation. Options and potential benefits of iron reducing strategies in neurodegeneration are discussed. Future research investigating whether genetic predispositions play a role in brain Fe accumulation is necessary. If confirmed, the prevention of further brain Fe uptake in individuals at risk may be key for preventing neurodegenerative disorders.publishedVersio

Long-term effects of caloric restriction or exercise on DNA and RNA oxidation levels in white blood cells and urine in humans

Excessive adiposity is associated with increased oxidative stress and accelerated aging. Weight loss induced by negative energy balance reduces markers of oxidation in experimental animals and humans. The long-term effects of weight loss induced by calorie restriction or increased energy expenditure induced by exercise on measures of oxidative stress and damage have not been studied in humans. The objective of the present study was to compare the effects of 20% caloric restriction or 20% exercise alone over 1 year on oxidative damage to DNA and RNA, as assessed through white blood cell and urine analyses. Eighteen men and women aged 50 to 60 years with a body mass index (BMI) between 23.5 to 29.9 kg/m(2) were assigned to one of two conditions — 20% CR (n = 9) or 20% EX (n = 9) — which was designed to produce an identical energy deficit through increased energy expenditure. Compared to baseline, both interventions significantly reduced oxidative damage to both DNA (48.5% and 49.6% reduction for the CR and EX groups, respectively) and RNA (35.7% and 52.1% reduction for the CR and EX groups, respectively) measured in white blood cells. However, urinary levels of DNA and RNA oxidation products did not differ from baseline values following either 12-month intervention program. Data from the present study provide evidence that negative energy balances induced through either CR or EX result in substantial and similar improvements in markers of DNA and RNA damage to white blood cells, potentially by reducing systemic oxidative stress

Bell's local causality is a d-separation criterion

This paper aims to motivate Bell’s notion of local causality by means of Bayesian networks. In a locally causal theory any superluminal correlation should be screened off by atomic events localized in any so-called shielder-off region in the past of one of the correlating events. In a Bayesian network any correlation between non-descendant random variables are screened off by any so-called d-separating set of variables. We will argue that the shielder-off regions in the definition of local causality conform in a well defined sense to the d-separating sets in Bayesian networks

North Atlantic Eddy-Driven Jet in Interglacial and Glacial Winter Climates

The atmospheric westerly flow in the North Atlantic (NA) sector is dominated by atmospheric waves or eddies generating via momentum flux convergence, the so-called eddy-driven jet. The position of this jet is variable and shows for the present-day winter climate three preferred latitudinal states: a northern, central, and southernposition in the NA. Here, the authors analyze the behavior of the eddy-driven jet under different glacial and interglacial boundary conditions using atmosphere–land-only simulations with the CCSM4 climate model. As state-of-the-art climate models tend to underestimate the trimodality of the jet latitude, the authors apply a bias correction and successfully extract the trimodal behavior of the jet within CCSM4. The analysis shows that during interglacial times (i.e., the early Holocene and the Eemian) the preferred jet positions are rather stable and the observed multimodality is the typical interglacial character of the jet. During glacial times, the jet is strongly enhanced, its position is shifted southward, and the trimodal behavior vanishes. This is mainly due to the presence of the Laurentide ice sheet (LIS). The LIS enhances stationary waves downstream, thereby accelerating and displacing the NA eddy-driven jet by anomalous stationary momentum flux convergence. Additionally, changes in the transient eddy activity caused by topography changes as well as other glacial boundary conditions lead to an acceleration of the westerly winds over the southern NA at the expenseof more northernareas. Consequently, bothstationaryand transient eddiesfoster the southward shift of the NA eddy-driven jet during glacial winter times

Effects of soil organic matter properties and microbial community composition on enzyme activities in cryoturbated arctic soils

Enzyme-mediated decomposition of soil organic matter (SOM) is controlled, amongst other factors, by organic matter properties and by the microbial decomposer community present. Since microbial community composition and SOM properties are often interrelated and both change with soil depth, the drivers of enzymatic decomposition are hard to dissect. We investigated soils from three regions in the Siberian Arctic, where carbon rich topsoil material has been incorporated into the subsoil (cryoturbation). We took advantage of this subduction to test if SOM properties shape microbial community composition, and to identify controls of both on enzyme activities. We found that microbial community composition (estimated by phospholipid fatty acid analysis), was similar in cryoturbated material and in surrounding subsoil, although carbon and nitrogen contents were similar in cryoturbated material and topsoils. This suggests that the microbial community in cryoturbated material was not well adapted to SOM properties. We also measured three potential enzyme activities (cellobiohydrolase, leucine-amino-peptidase and phenoloxidase) and used structural equation models (SEMs) to identify direct and indirect drivers of the three enzyme activities. The models included microbial community composition, carbon and nitrogen contents, clay content, water content, and pH. Models for regular horizons, excluding cryoturbated material, showed that all enzyme activities were mainly controlled by carbon or nitrogen. Microbial community composition had no effect. In contrast, models for cryoturbated material showed that enzyme activities were also related to microbial community composition. The additional control of microbial community composition could have restrained enzyme activities and furthermore decomposition in general. The functional decoupling of SOM properties and microbial community composition might thus be one of the reasons for low decomposition rates and the persistence of 400 Gt carbon stored in cryoturbated material

Mitochondrial DNA Mutations Induce Mitochondrial Dysfunction, Apoptosis and Sarcopenia in Skeletal Muscle of Mitochondrial DNA Mutator Mice

Background: Aging results in a progressive loss of skeletal muscle, a condition known as sarcopenia. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations accumulate with aging in skeletal muscle and correlate with muscle loss, although no causal relationship has been established. Methodology/Principal Findings: We investigated the relationship between mtDNA mutations and sarcopenia at the gene expression and biochemical levels using a mouse model that expresses a proofreading-deficient version (D257A) of the mitochondrial DNA Polymerase c, resulting in increased spontaneous mtDNA mutation rates. Gene expression profiling of D257A mice followed by Parametric Analysis of Gene Set Enrichment (PAGE) indicates that the D257A mutation is associated with a profound downregulation of gene sets associated with mitochondrial function. At the biochemical level, sarcopenia in D257A mice is associated with a marked reduction (35–50%) in the content of electron transport chain (ETC) complexes I, III and IV, all of which are partly encoded by mtDNA. D257A mice display impaired mitochondrial bioenergetics associated with compromised state-3 respiration, lower ATP content and a resulting decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential (Dym). Surprisingly, mitochondrial dysfunction was not accompanied by an increase in mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) production or oxidative damage. Conclusions/Significance: These findings demonstrate that mutations in mtDNA can be causal in sarcopenia by affecting the assembly of functional ETC complexes, the lack of which provokes a decrease in oxidative phosphorylation, without an increase in oxidative stress, and ultimately, skeletal muscle apoptosis and sarcopenia

Выявление понятий и их взаимосвязей в рамках технологии контент-мониторинга

Приведены подходы к решению проблемы выявления фактографической информации из неструктурированных текстовых потоков. Описаны технологические решения, позволяющие извлекать из полнотекстовых документов такие понятия как фирмы, фамилии, географические названия и т.п., а также выявлять силу их взаимосвязей на основе применения двух алгоритмов. Первый из этих алгоритмов основывается на учете совместного вхождения понятий в одни и те же документы, а второй на учете общего для рассматриваемых понятий контекста.Наведено підходи до вирішення проблеми виявлення фактографічної інформації з неструктурованих текстових потоків. Описано технологічні рішення, що дозволяють добути з повнотекстових документів такі поняття як фірми, прізвища, географічні назви тощо, а також виявляти силу їхніх взаємозв’язків на базі застосування двох алгоритмів. Перший з цих алгоритмів базується на врахуванні спільного входження понять до одних і тих самих документів, а другий — на врахуванні загального для понять, що розглядаються, контексту.Approaches to the solution of a problem of revealing factual information from unstructured text flows are given. The technological solutions, allowing to take from text-through documents such concepts as a firm, a surname, place names, etc., and also to reveal force of their interrelations on the basis of application of two algorithms are described. The first of these algorithms is based on the account of joint concepts occurrence in the same documents, and the second one on the account of the context common for considered concepts