Frontal Electroencephalogram α‑Asymmetry during the Luteal Phase of the Menstrual Cycle in Women with Premenstrual Syndrome

Background: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is a severe form of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) that causes significant distress and interferes with normal functioning. Aim: The aim of this work was to assess the resting frontal electroencephalographic patterns in females who meet criteria for PMS and PMDD. Subjects and Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted on 150 female participants, of which 145 had PMS, and 45 were control women. All cases were counseled about the procedure. Furthermore, a written consent was taken from every patient. Cases were asked about their current phase of the cycle, in order to determine cycle timing. The custom PMDD interview involved asking each woman a series of questions concerning PMDD symptoms. This structured interview was created from the DSM‑IV‑TR criteria for PMDD. Women with PMDD were asked to complete a daily symptom rating checklist for three consecutive cycles. The ensuing methods were undertaken for each patient, including history taking, general, local and fundus examination, and routine investigations, and were submitted to resting electroencephalogram (EEG) examination during both follicular and luteal phases of the cycle. Results: Seventy percent of women with PMS and 75% of women with PMDD exhibited left frontal activity at rest, during the luteal phase of the cycle (P <0.001). Conclusions: We concluded that resting luteal phase of EEG frontal asymmetry must be added to the research criteria for PMDD (DSM‑IV‑TR).Keywords: Electroencephalogram, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, premenstrual tension, premenstrual syndrome, Tanta University Hospita

Evolution of the TOR Pathway

The TOR kinase is a major regulator of growth in eukaryotes. Many components of the TOR pathway are implicated in cancer and metabolic diseases in humans. Analysis of the evolution of TOR and its pathway may provide fundamental insight into the evolution of growth regulation in eukaryotes and provide a practical framework on which experimental evidence can be compared between species. Here we performed phylogenetic analyses on the components of the TOR pathway and determined their point of invention. We find that the two TOR complexes and a large part of the TOR pathway originated before the Last Eukaryotic Common Ancestor and form a core to which new inputs have been added during animal evolution. In addition, we provide insight into how duplications and sub-functionalization of the S6K, RSK, SGK and PKB kinases shaped the complexity of the TOR pathway. In yeast we identify novel AGC kinases that are orthologous to the S6 kinase. These results demonstrate how a vital signaling pathway can be both highly conserved and flexible in eukaryotes

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Περιέχει την περίληψηΜέσα στα πλαίσια της Κοινωνίας της Πληροφορίας οι βιβλιοθηκονόμοι διεκδικούν, άλλοτε πετυχημένα, άλλοτε όχι και τόσο, ένα πιο ενεργό και απαιτητικό ρόλο, προβάλλοντας το επιχείρημα πώς όσο μεγαλύτερη είναι η παραγωγή πληροφορίας και γνώσης και η παροχή πληροφόρησης τόσο mo απαιτητική είναι και η διαδικασία που αναγκάζεται να ακολουθήσει ο χρήστης ώστε να ικανοποιήσει τις ανάγκες του. Αλλά, η αναγκαιότητα του βιβλιοθηκονόμου (ως επιστήμονα της πληροφόρησης πλέον), του διαμεσολαβητή, δηλαδή, ανάμεσα στην πληροφορία και στον χρήστη, δικαιολογεί απαραιτήτως και την αναγκαιότητα για την ίδια τη Βιβλιοθήκη; Τεκμηριώνεται, δηλαδή, η ύπαρξη αυτού του οργανισμού ως μη κερδοσκοπικού, πολιτιστικού ιδρύματος που εξυπηρετεί όχι μόνο πληροφοριακές αλλά και ψυχαγωγικές, εκπαιδευτικές, κοινωνικοοικονομικές ανάγκες των επισκεπτών του; Και τότε, το έργο του βιβλιοθηκονόμου πώς προδιαγράφεται; Ποιο το περιεχόμενο και ο τρόπος της διαμεσολάβησης; Πρόκειται για σύνθεση ή μηχανιστική διάδοση της πληροφορίας; Αν η Πληροφορία διακινείται, στις μέρες μας κυρίως και πρωτίστως, με ηλεκτρονικά μέσα, τότε το αυτονόητο της ύπαρξης ενός απτού οικοδομήματος που στεγάζει την πληροφορία παύει να ισχύει και είτε πρέπει να καταλυθεί, είτε να εφευρεθεί από την αρχή, προσδίδοντας νέα επίκαιρα χαρακτηριστικά σε ένα αρχαιότατο κατασκεύασμα

Civil engineering grand challenges: Opportunities for data sensing, information analysis, and knowledge discovery

This paper presents an exploratory analysis to identify civil engineering challenges that can be addressed with further data sensing and analysis (DSA) research. An initial literature review was followed by a web-based survey to solicit expert opinions in each civil engineering subdiscipline to select challenges that can be addressed by civil engineering DSA research. A total of 10 challenges were identified and evidence of economic, environmental, and societal impacts of these challenges is presented through a review of the literature. The challenges presented in this paper are high building energy consumption, crude estimation of sea level, increased soil and coastal erosion, inadequate water quality, untapped and depleting groundwater, increasing traffic congestion, poor infrastructure resilience to disasters, poor and degrading infrastructure, need for better mining and coal ash waste disposal, and low construction site safety. The paper aims to assist the civil engineering research community in setting an agenda for data sensing and analysis research to address these challenges. © 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers