Factors affecting mortality in late stage Parkinson’s Disease

To determine the effect of dysphagia and hospital admissions on mortality in late stage Parkinson’s disease

Non-immune fetal hydrops: etiology and outcome according to gestational age at diagnosis.

OBJECTIVE: Fetal hydrops is associated with increased perinatal morbidity and mortality. The etiology and outcome of fetal hydrops may differ according to the gestational age at diagnosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cause, evolution and outcome of non-immune fetal hydrops (NIFH), according to the gestational age at diagnosis. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of all singleton pregnancies complicated by NIFH, at the Fetal Medicine Unit at St George's University Hospital, London, UK, between 2000 and 2018. All fetuses had detailed anomaly and cardiac ultrasound scans, karyotyping and infection screening. Prenatal diagnostic and therapeutic intervention, gestational age at diagnosis and delivery, as well as pregnancy outcome, were recorded. Regression analysis was used to test for potential association between possible risk factors and perinatal mortality. RESULTS: We included 273 fetuses with NIFH. The etiology of the condition varied significantly in the three trimesters. Excluding 30 women who declined invasive testing, the cause of NIFH was defined as unknown in 62 of the remaining 243 cases (25.5%). Chromosomal aneuploidy was the most common cause of NIFH in the first trimester. It continued to be a significant etiologic factor in the second trimester, along with congenital infection. In the third trimester, the most common etiology was cardiovascular abnormality. Among the 152 (55.7%) women continuing the pregnancy, 48 (31.6%) underwent fetal intervention, including the insertion of pleuroamniotic shunts, fetal blood transfusion and thoracentesis. Fetal intervention was associated significantly with lower perinatal mortality (odds ratio (OR), 0.30 (95% CI, 0.14-0.61); P  0.05). CONCLUSIONS: An earlier gestational age at diagnosis of NIFH was associated with an increased risk of aneuploidy and worse pregnancy outcome, including a higher risk of perinatal loss. Fetal therapy was associated significantly with lower perinatal mortality. © 2020 The Authors. Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology

Hydrodynamic theory of an electron gas

The generalised hydrodynamic theory of an electron gas, which does not rely on an assumption of a local equilibrium, is derived as the long-wave limit of a kinetic equation. Apart from the common hydrodynamics variables the theory includes the tensor fields of the higher moments of the distribution function. In contrast to the Bloch hydrodynamics, the theory leads to the correct plasmon dispersion and in the low frequency limit recovers the Navies-Stocks hydrodynamics. The linear approximation to the generalised hydrodynamics is closely related to the theory of highly viscous fluids.Comment: 4 pages, revte

A spread spectrum approach to time-domain near-infrared diffuse optical imaging using inexpensive optical transceiver modules

We introduce a compact time-domain system for near-infrared spectroscopy using a spread spectrum technique. The proof-of-concept single channel instrument utilises a low-cost commercially available optical transceiver module as a light source, controlled by a Kintex 7 field programmable gate array (FPGA). The FPGA modulates the optical transceiver with maximum-length sequences at line rates up to 10Gb/s, allowing us to achieve an instrument response function with full width at half maximum under 600ps. The instrument is characterised through a set of detailed phantom measurements as well as proof-of-concept in vivo measurements, demonstrating performance comparable with conventional pulsed time-domain near-infrared spectroscopy systems

Effect of isospin dependent cross-section on fragment production in the collision of charge asymmetric nuclei

To understand the role of isospin effects on fragmentation due to the collisions of charge asymmetric nuclei, we have performed a complete systematical study using isospin dependent quantum molecular dynamics model. Here simulations have been carried out for $^{124}X_{n}+ ^{124}X_{n}$, where n varies from 47 to 59 and for $^{40}Y_{m}+ ^{40}Y_{m}$, where m varies from 14 to 23. Our study shows that isospin dependent cross-section shows its influence on fragmentation in the collision of neutron rich nuclei

Hysteresis effect due to the exchange Coulomb interaction in short-period superlattices in tilted magnetic fields

We calculate the ground-state of a two-dimensional electron gas in a short-period lateral potential in magnetic field, with the Coulomb electron-electron interaction included in the Hartree-Fock approximation. For a sufficiently short period the dominant Coulomb effects are determined by the exchange interaction. We find numerical solutions of the self-consistent equations that have hysteresis properties when the magnetic field is tilted and increased, such that the perpendicular component is always constant. This behavior is a result of the interplay of the exchange interaction with the energy dispersion and the spin splitting. We suggest that hysteresis effects of this type could be observable in magneto-transport and magnetization experiments on quantum-wire and quantum-dot superlattices.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures, Revtex, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Eclogites and basement terrane tectonics in the northern arm of the Grenville orogen, NW Scotland

The presence of eclogites within continental crust is a key indicator of collisional orogenesis. Eclogites within the Eastern Glenelg basement inlier of the Northern Highland Terrane (NHT) have been re-dated in order to provide more accurate constraints on the timing of collision within the northern arm of the Grenville Orogen. The eclog-ites yield dates of ca.1200 Ma which are interpreted to record the onset of continent-continent interaction, and the NHT as a whole is thought to represent the lower plate in successive 1200-1000 Ma collision events. The Eastern Glenelg basement inlier is viewed as a fragment of the leading edge of the NHT continental basement that was partially subducted along a suture and then exhumed back up the subduction channel. Differences in ages of igneous protoliths and intrusive histories, and metamorphic events (this paper) between the NHT basement and the Laurentian foreland, suggests that they were separate crustal blocks until after ca. 1600 Ma. We therefore suggest that: (1) the NHT represents a fragment of Archean-Paleoproterozoic crust that was reworked within the ca. 1.7-1.6 Ga Labradorian-Gothian belt, although whether it was derived from Laurentia or Baltica is uncertain, and (2) amalgamation of the NHT with the Laurentian foreland did not occur until the terminal stages of the Grenville collision at ca. 1000 Ma

Rescuing human fetal tissue research in the United States: A call for additional regulatory reform

Research using human fetal tissue has saved millions of lives through vaccines and other advances, but was markedly restricted by federal regulations in 2019. Although the restrictions were partially reversed in 2021, additional regulatory changes are needed to prevent further damage to essential research programs while preserving protection for human subjects