Temporal change in India’s imbalance of carbon emissions embodied in international trade

In India, rapid industrialization and reorganization of the global supply chain are driving economic growth, accompanied by increasing exports and carbon emissions. India is poised to succeed China as the next world manufactory, which will lead to huge emissions in the country. To formulate appropriate emission mitigation measures, it is necessary to further understand the temporal change in India’s emissions at the sectoral level from both the production and consumption perspectives. However, existing studies that have estimated emissions in India have paid less attention to the link among original emitters, final producers and final consumers and to its temporal change. Based on an emission inventory compiled in this study, we trace emission flows from original emitters to final producers and then to final consumers through the international supply chain by using an environmentally extended multi-regional input-output model. This study finds that both production-based and consumption-based emissions in India increased constantly from 2000 to 2014, and production-based emissions had higher growth rates due to the increased coal share. The major receivers of India’s exported emissions were developed countries (e.g., the European Union and the United States), while the main sources of India’s imported emissions were developing countries (e.g., China and Russia). From 2011 to 2014, India’s net exported emissions increased by 29.2% because of the decrease of imported emissions. Moreover, intermediate products (63% and 73.7%) were the major contributors to exported and imported emissions, most of which were embodied in manufacturing products (48.8% and 65.7%, respectively). Therefore, international cooperation to optimize the energy and trade structure and to improve energy efficiency can be effective in mitigating carbon emissions in India

Effects of acute fatigue on the volitional and magnetically-evoked electromechanical delay of the knee flexors in males and females

Neuromuscular performance capabilities, including those measured by evoked responses, may be adversely affected by fatigue; however, the capability of the neuromuscular system to initiate muscle force rapidly under these circumstances is yet to be established. Sex-differences in the acute responses of neuromuscular performance to exercise stress may be linked to evidence that females are much more vulnerable to ACL injury than males. Optimal functioning of the knee flexors is paramount to the dynamic stabilisation of the knee joint, therefore the aim of this investigation was to examine the effects of acute maximal intensity fatiguing exercise on the voluntary and magnetically-evoked electromechanical delay in the knee flexors of males and females. Knee flexor volitional and magnetically-evoked neuromuscular performance was assessed in seven male and nine females prior to and immediately after: (i) an intervention condition comprising a fatigue trial of 30-seconds maximal static exercise of the knee flexors, (ii) a control condition consisting of no exercise. The results showed that the fatigue intervention was associated with a substantive reduction in volitional peak force (PFV) that was greater in males compared to females (15.0%, 10.2%, respectively, p < 0.01) and impairment to volitional electromechanical delay (EMDV) in females exclusively (19.3%, p < 0.05). Similar improvements in magnetically-evoked electromechanical delay in males and females following fatigue (21%, p < 0.001), however, may suggest a vital facilitatory mechanism to overcome the effects of impaired voluntary capabilities, and a faster neuromuscular response that can be deployed during critical times to protect the joint system

Resolving photon number states in a superconducting circuit

Electromagnetic signals are always composed of photons, though in the circuit domain those signals are carried as voltages and currents on wires, and the discreteness of the photon's energy is usually not evident. However, by coupling a superconducting qubit to signals on a microwave transmission line, it is possible to construct an integrated circuit where the presence or absence of even a single photon can have a dramatic effect. This system is called circuit quantum electrodynamics (QED) because it is the circuit equivalent of the atom-photon interaction in cavity QED. Previously, circuit QED devices were shown to reach the resonant strong coupling regime, where a single qubit can absorb and re-emit a single photon many times. Here, we report a circuit QED experiment which achieves the strong dispersive limit, a new regime of cavity QED in which a single photon has a large effect on the qubit or atom without ever being absorbed. The hallmark of this strong dispersive regime is that the qubit transition can be resolved into a separate spectral line for each photon number state of the microwave field. The strength of each line is a measure of the probability to find the corresponding photon number in the cavity. This effect has been used to distinguish between coherent and thermal fields and could be used to create a photon statistics analyzer. Since no photons are absorbed by this process, one should be able to generate non-classical states of light by measurement and perform qubit-photon conditional logic, the basis of a logic bus for a quantum computer.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, hi-res version at http://www.eng.yale.edu/rslab/papers/numbersplitting_hires.pd

Resolution of Recalcitrant Uveitic Optic Disc Edema Following Administration of Methotrexate: Two Case Reports

A 13-year-old male and a 15-year-old female presented with optic disc edema associated with chronic recurrent uveitis. While the ocular inflammation responded to high doses of oral prednisolone, the disc edema showed little improvement. After oral administration of methotrexate, the disc edema and ocular inflammation were resolved, and the dose of oral corticosteroid could be reduced

Stability of Spatial Optical Solitons

We present a brief overview of the basic concepts of the soliton stability theory and discuss some characteristic examples of the instability-induced soliton dynamics, in application to spatial optical solitons described by the NLS-type nonlinear models and their generalizations. In particular, we demonstrate that the soliton internal modes are responsible for the appearance of the soliton instability, and outline an analytical approach based on a multi-scale asymptotic technique that allows to analyze the soliton dynamics near the marginal stability point. We also discuss some results of the rigorous linear stability analysis of fundamental solitary waves and nonlinear impurity modes. Finally, we demonstrate that multi-hump vector solitary waves may become stable in some nonlinear models, and discuss the examples of stable (1+1)-dimensional composite solitons and (2+1)-dimensional dipole-mode solitons in a model of two incoherently interacting optical beams.Comment: 34 pages, 9 figures; to be published in: "Spatial Optical Solitons", Eds. W. Torruellas and S. Trillo (Springer, New York

Amidst an amygdala renaissance in Alzheimer’s disease

Laura E. M. Wisse and David Berron contributed equally to this work. Accepted manuscripts: Accepted manuscripts are PDF versions of the author’s final manuscript, as accepted for publication by the journal but prior to copyediting or typesetting. They can be cited using the author(s), article title, journal title, year of online publication, and DOI. They will be replaced by the final typeset articles, which may therefore contain changes. The DOI will remain the same throughout.Supplementary material: Supplementary material is available at Brain online at: https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awad411 .Copyright © The Author(s) 2023. The amygdala was highlighted as an early site for neurofibrillary tau tangle pathology in Alzheimer’s disease in the seminal Braak & Braak article (1991). This knowledge has, however, only received traction recently with advances in imaging and image analysis techniques. Here, we provide a cross-disciplinary overview of pathology and neuroimaging studies on the amygdala. These studies provide strong support for an early role of the amygdala in Alzheimer’s disease and the utility of imaging biomarkers of the amygdala in detecting early changes and predicting decline in cognitive functions and neuropsychiatric symptoms in early stages. We summarize the animal literature on connectivity of the amygdala, demonstrating that amygdala nuclei that show the earliest and strongest accumulation of neurofibrillary tangle pathology are those that are connected to brain regions that also show early neurofibrillary tangle accumulation. Additionally, we propose an alternative pathway of neurofibrillary tangle spreading within the medial temporal lobe between the amygdala and the anterior hippocampus. The proposed existence of this pathway is strengthened by novel experimental data on human functional connectivity. Finally, we summarize the functional roles of the amygdala, highlighting the correspondence between neurofibrillary tangle accumulation and symptomatic profiles in Alzheimer’s disease. In summary, these findings provide a new impetus for studying the amygdala in Alzheimer’s disease and a unique perspective to guide further study on neurofibrillary tangle spreading and the occurrence of neuropsychiatric symptoms in Alzheimer’s disease.This work is supported by grants from the Swedish Research Council (2022-00900) and the Crafoord Foundation (LW). This study is supported by MultiPark - A Strategic Research Area at Lund University (LW). This work is supported by the National Institutes of Health: U19-AG033655, P30-AG066507, P41-EB031771, R01-EB020062, T32-GM13677, U19-MH114821, R01-NS074980-10S1, RF1MH126732, RF1MH128875, F30AG077736 (MM and KS) and the Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute (MM and KS) as well as the Kavli Foundation and the KG. Jebsen Foundation (MPW). This work is further supported by the Elly Bergren Foundation and regional research support by the Division of Psychiatry, Habilitation and Medical aid, Region Skåne (MJ). This work was partly supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research 23 Exeter Biomedical Research Centre

Regulatory role of CD8(+ )T lymphocytes in bone marrow eosinophilopoiesis

BACKGROUND: There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that CD8(+ )T lymphocytes contribute to local allergen-induced eosinophilic inflammation. Since bone marrow (BM) responses are intricately involved in the induction of airway eosinophilia, we hypothesized that CD8(+ )T lymphocytes, as well as CD4(+ )T lymphocytes, may be involved in this process. METHODS: Several approaches were utilized. Firstly, mice overexpressing interleukin-5 (IL-5) in CD3(+ )T lymphocytes (NJ.1638; CD3(IL-5+ )mice) were bred with gene knockout mice lacking either CD4(+ )T lymphocytes (CD4(-/-)) or CD8(+ )T lymphocytes (CD8(-/-)) to produce CD3(IL-5+ )knockout mice deficient in CD4(+ )T lymphocytes (CD3(IL-5+)/CD4(-/-)) and CD8(+ )T lymphocytes (CD3(IL-5+)/CD8(-/-)), respectively. Secondly, CD3(+), CD4(+ )and CD8(+ )T lymphocytes from naïve CD3(IL-5+ )and C57BL/6 mice were adoptively transferred to immunodeficient SCID-bg mice to determine their effect on BM eosinophilia. Thirdly, CD3(IL-5+), CD3(IL-5+)/CD8(-/- )and CD3(IL-5+)/CD4(-/- )mice were sensitized and allergen challenged. Bone marrow and blood samples were collected in all experiments. RESULTS: The number of BM eosinophils was significantly reduced in CD3(IL-5+)/CD8(-/- )mice compared to CD3(IL-5+ )mice and CD3(IL-5+)/CD4(-/- )mice. Serum IL-5 was significantly higher in CD3(IL-5+)/CD4(-/- )mice compared to CD3(IL-5+ )mice but there was no difference in serum IL-5 between CD3(IL-5+)/CD4(-/- )and CD3(IL-5+)/CD8(-/- )mice. Adoptive transfer of CD8(+), but not CD4(+ )T lymphocytes from naïve CD3(IL-5+ )and C57BL/6 mice restored BM eosinophilia in immunodeficient SCID-bg mice. Additionally, allergen challenged CD3(IL-5+)/CD8(-/- )mice developed lower numbers of BM eosinophils compared to CD3(IL-5+ )mice and CD3(IL-5+)/CD4(-/- )mice. CONCLUSION: This study shows that CD8(+ )T lymphocytes are intricately involved in the regulation of BM eosinophilopoiesis, both in non-sensitized as well as sensitized and allergen challenged mice

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) extracts suppress the adhesion, migration and invasion of human breast cancer cell line

We examined the inhibitory effects of loquat methanol extract on the adhesion, migration, invasion and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activities of MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cell line. Cells were cultured with DMSO or with 10, 25, or 50 µg/ml of loquat methanol extract. Both leaf and seed extracts significantly inhibited growth of MDA-MB-231 cells in a dose-dependent manner, although leaf extract was more effective. Adhesion and migration were significantly inhibited by loquat extracts in a dose-dependent manner. Loquat extract also inhibited the invasion of breast cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner and leaf extract was more effective than seed extract. MMP-2 and MMP-9 activities were also inhibited by loquat extract. Our results indicate that methanol extracts of loquat inhibit the adhesion, migration and invasion of human breast cancer cells partially through the inhibition of MMP activity and leaf extract has more anti-metastatic effects in cell based assay than seed extract. Clinical application of loquat extract as a potent chemopreventive agent may be helpful in limiting breast cancer invasion and metastasis

Early and late skin reactions to radiotherapy for breast cancer and their correlation with radiation-induced DNA damage in lymphocytes

INTRODUCTION: Radiotherapy outcomes might be further improved by a greater understanding of the individual variations in normal tissue reactions that determine tolerance. Most published studies on radiation toxicity have been performed retrospectively. Our prospective study was launched in 1996 to measure the in vitro radiosensitivity of peripheral blood lymphocytes before treatment with radical radiotherapy in patients with breast cancer, and to assess the early and the late radiation skin side effects in the same group of patients. We prospectively recruited consecutive breast cancer patients receiving radiation therapy after breast surgery. To evaluate whether early and late side effects of radiotherapy can be predicted by the assay, a study was conducted of the association between the results of in vitro radiosensitivity tests and acute and late adverse radiation effects. METHODS: Intrinsic molecular radiosensitivity was measured by using an initial radiation-induced DNA damage assay on lymphocytes obtained from breast cancer patients before radiotherapy. Acute reactions were assessed in 108 of these patients on the last treatment day. Late morbidity was assessed after 7 years of follow-up in some of these patients. The Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) morbidity score system was used for both assessments. RESULTS: Radiosensitivity values obtained using the in vitro test showed no relation with the acute or late adverse skin reactions observed. There was no evidence of a relation between acute and late normal tissue reactions assessed in the same patients. A positive relation was found between the treatment volume and both early and late side effects. CONCLUSION: After radiation treatment, a number of cells containing major changes can have a long survival and disappear very slowly, becoming a chronic focus of immunological system stimulation. This stimulation can produce, in a stochastic manner, late radiation-related adverse effects of varying severity. Further research is warranted to identify the major determinants of normal tissue radiation response to make it possible to individualize treatments and improve the outcome of radiotherapy in cancer patients