Single-peakedness and disconnected coalitions

Ordinally single-peaked preferences are distinguished from cardinally single-peaked preferences, in which all players have a similar perception of distances in some one-dimensional ordering. While ordinal single-peakedness can lead to disconnected coalitions that have a "hole" in the ordering, cardinal single-peakedness precludes this possibility, based on two models of coalition formation:• Fallback (FB): Players seek coalition partners by descending lower and lower in their preference rankings until a majority coalition forms.• Build-Up (BU): Similar to FB, except that when nonmajority subcoalitions form, they fuse into composite players, whose positions are defined cardinally and who are treated as single players in the convergence process.FB better reflects the unconstrained, or nonmyopic, possibilities of coalition formation, whereas BU—because all subcoalition members must be included in any majority coalition that forms—restricts combinatorial possibilities and tends to produce less compact majority coalitions. Applications of the models to legislatures, parliamentary coalitions, and military alliances are discussed

Dual-wavelength photometer and fiber optic sensor probe

A dual wavelength optical sensor for measuring chemical properties of a particular quantity, the optical sensor including a sensor probe having a thin sensing film whose optical characteristics are responsive to the chemical properties of the measured quantity The United States Government has certain rights in this invention pursuant to Contract No. ITA87-02 between the U.S. Department of Commerce and Iowa State University

Hemiataxia: A Novel Presentation of Anti-NMDA Receptor Antibody Mediated Encephalitis in an Adolescent.

Anti-NMDA receptor antibody associated encephalitis as a cause of new-onset neuropsychiatric manifestations in children and adults can represent a significant diagnostic challenge for clinicians. Clinical signs often include encephalopathy, new-onset psychosis, and movement phenomenon. Although orofacial dyskinesias were initially identified as a characteristic movement phenomenon in this type of encephalitis, an expanded range of abnormalities has recently been reported, including isolated ataxia. We report a case of isolated hemiataxia in a young adult with mild initial psychiatric manifestations. A personal and family history of preceding neuropsychiatric symptoms produced diagnostic confusion and resulted in a significant diagnostic and therapeutic delay. Our case confirms the unilateral movement manifestations that have been emphasized in recent reports. Additionally, it confirms the need for involvement of neurologic as well as psychiatric services in the evaluation of such cases and emphasizes the importance of the neurologic examination in presentations with an initial psychiatric predominance

Learning from microarray interlaboratory studies: measures of precision for gene expression

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The ability to demonstrate the reproducibility of gene expression microarray results is a critical consideration for the use of microarray technology in clinical applications. While studies have asserted that microarray data can be "highly reproducible" under given conditions, there is little ability to quantitatively compare amongst the various metrics and terminology used to characterize and express measurement performance. Use of standardized conceptual tools can greatly facilitate communication among the user, developer, and regulator stakeholders of the microarray community. While shaped by less highly multiplexed systems, measurement science (metrology) is devoted to establishing a coherent and internationally recognized vocabulary and quantitative practice for the characterization of measurement processes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The two independent aspects of the metrological concept of "accuracy" are "trueness" (closeness of a measurement to an accepted reference value) and "precision" (the closeness of measurement results to each other). A carefully designed collaborative study enables estimation of a variety of gene expression measurement precision metrics: repeatability, several flavors of intermediate precision, and reproducibility. The three 2004 Expression Analysis Pilot Proficiency Test collaborative studies, each with 13 to 16 participants, provide triplicate microarray measurements on each of two reference RNA pools. Using and modestly extending the consensus ISO 5725 documentary standard, we evaluate the metrological precision figures of merit for individual microarray signal measurement, building from calculations appropriate to single measurement processes, such as technical replicate expression values for individual probes on a microarray, to the estimation and display of precision functions representing all of the probes in a given platform.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>With only modest extensions, the established metrological framework can be fruitfully used to characterize the measurement performance of microarray and other highly multiplexed systems. Precision functions, summarizing routine precision metrics estimated from appropriately repeated measurements of one or more reference materials as functions of signal level, are demonstrated and merit further development for characterizing measurement platforms, monitoring changes in measurement system performance, and comparing performance among laboratories or analysts.</p

Discrete mode laser diodes with ultra narrow linewidth emission <3kHz

Ex-facet, free-running ultra-low linewidth (<3 kHz), single mode laser emission is demonstrated using low cost, regrowth-free ridge waveguide discrete mode Fabry-Perot laser diode chips

A transcriptomic time-series reveals differing trajectories during pre-floral development in the apex and leaf in winter and spring varieties of Brassica napus

Oilseed rape (Brassica napus) is an important global oil crop, with spring and winter varieties grown commercially. To understand the transcriptomic differences between these varieties, we collected transcriptomes from apex and leaf tissue from a spring variety, Westar, and a winter variety, Tapidor, before, during, and after vernalisation treatment, until the plants flowered. Large transcriptomic differences were noted in both varieties during the vernalisation treatment because of temperature and day length changes. Transcriptomic alignment revealed that the apex transcriptome reflects developmental state, whereas the leaf transcriptome is more closely aligned to the age of the plant. Similar numbers of copies of genes were expressed in both varieties during the time series, although key flowering time genes exhibited expression pattern differences. BnaFLC copies on A2 and A10 are the best candidates for the increased vernalisation requirement of Tapidor. Other BnaFLC copies show tissue-dependent reactivation of expression post-cold, with these dynamics suggesting some copies have retained or acquired a perennial nature. BnaSOC1 genes, also related to the vernalisation pathway, have expression profiles which suggest tissue subfunctionalisation. This understanding may help to breed varieties with more consistent or robust vernalisation responses, of special importance due to the milder winters resulting from climate change

Gallbladder Ejection Fraction is Unrelated to Gallbladder Pathology in Children and Adolescents

Objectives: Biliary dyskinesia is a common diagnosis that frequently results in cholecystectomy. In adults, most clinicians use a cut off value for the gallbladder ejection fraction (GBEF) of <35% to define the disease. This disorder is not well characterized in children. Our aim was to determine the relation between GBEF and gallbladder pathology using a large statewide medical record repository. Methods: We obtained records from all patients of 21 years and younger who underwent hepatic iminodiacetic acid (HIDA) testing within the Indiana Network for Patient Care from 2004 to 2013. GBEF results were obtained from radiology reports using data mining techniques. Age, sex, race, and insurance status were obtained for each patient. Any gallbladder pathology obtained subsequent to an HIDA scan was also obtained and parsed for mention of cholecystitis, cholelithiasis, or cholesterolosis. We performed mixed effects logistic regression analysis to determine the influence of age, sex, race, insurance status, pathologist, and GBEF on the presence of these histologic findings. Results: Two thousand eight hundred forty-one HIDA scans on 2558 patients were found. Of these, 310 patients had a full-text gallbladder pathology report paired with the HIDA scan. GBEF did not correlate with the presence of gallbladder pathology (cholecystitis, cholelithiasis, or cholesterolosis) when controlling for age, sex, race, insurance status, and pathologist using a mixed effects model. Conclusions: Hypokinetic gallbladders are no more likely to have gallbladder pathology than normal or hyperkinetic gallbladders in the setting of a patient with both a HIDA scan and a cholecystectomy. Care should be used when interpreting the results of HIDA scans in children and adolescents

Development and Application of a Functional Human Esophageal Mucosa Explant Platform to Eosinophilic Esophagitis.

There is an increasing prevalence of esophageal diseases but intact human tissue platforms to study esophageal function, disease mechanisms, and the interactions between cell types in situ are lacking. To address this, we utilized full thickness human donor esophagi to create and validate the ex vivo function of mucosa and smooth muscle (n = 25). Explanted tissue was tested for contractile responses to carbachol and histamine. We then treated ex vivo human esophageal mucosa with a cytokine cocktail to closely mimic the Th2 and inflammatory milieu of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) and assessed alterations in smooth muscle and extracellular matrix function and stiffening. We found that full thickness human esophagus as well as the individual layers of circular and longitudinal muscularis propria developed tension in response to carbachol ex vivo and that mucosa demonstrated squamous cell differentiation. Treatment of mucosa with Th2 and fibrotic cytokines recapitulated the majority of the clinical Eosinophilic Esophagitis Diagnostic Profile (EDP) on fluidic transcriptional microarray. Transforming growth factor-beta-1 (TGFβ1) increased gene expression of fibronectin, smooth muscle actin, and phospholamban (p &lt; 0.001). The EoE cocktail also increased stiffness and decreased mucosal compliance, akin to the functional alterations in EoE (p = 0.001). This work establishes a new, transcriptionally intact and physiologically functional human platform to model esophageal tissue responses in EoE