Relationship between site of oesophageal cancer and areca chewing and smoking in Taiwan

Among 309 male patients, those who had heavily consumed betel and tobacco were more likely than nonchewers (OR = 2. 91; 95% CI = 1.36-6.25) and nonsmokers (OR = 2.49; 95% CI = 1.02-6.08) to develop cancer in the upper and middle third of the oesophagus, respectively; the effects of alcohol did not dominate in any third

Multisensory causal inference in the brain

At any given moment, our brain processes multiple inputs from its different sensory modalities (vision, hearing, touch, etc.). In deciphering this array of sensory information, the brain has to solve two problems: (1) which of the inputs originate from the same object and should be integrated and (2) for the sensations originating from the same object, how best to integrate them. Recent behavioural studies suggest that the human brain solves these problems using optimal probabilistic inference, known as Bayesian causal inference. However, how and where the underlying computations are carried out in the brain have remained unknown. By combining neuroimaging-based decoding techniques and computational modelling of behavioural data, a new study now sheds light on how multisensory causal inference maps onto specific brain areas. The results suggest that the complexity of neural computations increases along the visual hierarchy and link specific components of the causal inference process with specific visual and parietal regions

Microwave Oscillations of a Nanomagnet Driven by a Spin-Polarized Current

We describe direct electrical measurements of microwave-frequency dynamics in individual nanomagnets that are driven by spin transfer from a DC spin-polarized current. We map out the dynamical stability diagram as a function of current and magnetic field, and we show that spin transfer can produce several different types of magnetic excitations, including small-angle precession, a more complicated large-angle motion, and a high-current state that generates little microwave signal. The large-angle mode can produce a significant emission of microwave energy, as large as 40 times the Johnson-noise background.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure

TL1A/DR3 axis involvement in the inflammatory cytokine network during pulmonary sarcoidosis

BACKGROUND: TNF-like ligand 1A (TL1A), a recently recognized member of the TNF superfamily, and its death domain receptor 3 (DR3), firstly identified for their relevant role in T lymphocyte homeostasis, are now well-known mediators of several immune-inflammatory diseases, ranging from rheumatoid arthritis to inflammatory bowel diseases to psoriasis, whereas no data are available on their involvement in sarcoidosis, a multisystemic granulomatous disease where a deregulated T helper (Th)1/Th17 response takes place. METHODS: In this study, by flow cytometry, real-time PCR, confocal microscopy and immunohistochemistry analyses, TL1A and DR3 were investigated in the pulmonary cells and the peripheral blood of 43 patients affected by sarcoidosis in different phases of the disease (29 patients with active sarcoidosis, 14 with the inactive form) and in 8 control subjects. RESULTS: Our results demonstrated a significant higher expression, both at protein and mRNA levels, of TL1A and DR3 in pulmonary T cells and alveolar macrophages of patients with active sarcoidosis as compared to patients with the inactive form of the disease and to controls. In patients with sarcoidosis TL1A was strongly more expressed in the lung than the blood, i.e., at the site of the involved organ. Additionally, zymography assays showed that TL1A is able to increase the production of matrix metalloproteinase 9 by sarcoid alveolar macrophages characterized, in patients with the active form of the disease, by reduced mRNA levels of the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-1. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that TL1A/DR3 interactions are part of the extended and complex immune-inflammatory network that characterizes sarcoidosis during its active phase and may contribute to the pathogenesis and to the progression of the disease

The biosocial event : responding to innovation in the life sciences

Innovation in the life sciences calls for reflection on how sociologies separate and relate life processes and social processes. To this end we introduce the concept of the ‘biosocial event’. Some life processes and social processes have more mutual relevance than others. Some of these relationships are more negotiable than others. We show that levels of relevance and negotiability are not static but can change within existing relationships. Such changes, or biosocial events, lie at the heart of much unplanned biosocial novelty and much deliberate innovation. We illustrate and explore the concept through two examples – meningitis infection and epidemic, and the use of sonic ‘teen deterrents’ in urban settings. We then consider its value in developing sociological practice oriented to critically constructive engagement with innovation in the life sciences

Recognition without identification, erroneous familiarity, and déjà vu

Déjà vu is characterized by the recognition of a situation concurrent with the awareness that this recognition is inappropriate. Although forms of déjà vu resolve in favor of the inappropriate recognition and therefore have behavioral consequences, typical déjà vu experiences resolve in favor of the awareness that the sensation of recognition is inappropriate. The resultant lack of behavioral modification associated with typical déjà vu means that clinicians and experimenters rely heavily on self-report when observing the experience. In this review, we focus on recent déjà vu research. We consider issues facing neuropsychological, neuroscientific, and cognitive experimental frameworks attempting to explore and experimentally generate the experience. In doing this, we suggest the need for more experimentation and amore cautious interpretation of research findings, particularly as many techniques being used to explore déjà vu are in the early stages of development.PostprintPeer reviewe

Individual Eigenvalue Distributions for the Wilson Dirac Operator

We derive the distributions of individual eigenvalues for the Hermitian Wilson Dirac Operator D5 as well as for real eigenvalues of the Wilson Dirac Operator DW. The framework we provide is valid in the epsilon regime of chiral perturbation theory for any number of flavours Nf and for non-zero low energy constants W6, W7, W8. It is given as a perturbative expansion in terms of the k-point spectral density correlation functions and integrals thereof, which in some cases reduces to a Fredholm Pfaffian. For the real eigenvalues of DW at fixed chirality nu this expansion truncates after at most nu terms for small lattice spacing "a". Explicit examples for the distribution of the first and second eigenvalue are given in the microscopic domain as a truncated expansion of the Fredholm Pfaffian for quenched D5, where all k-point densities are explicitly known from random matrix theory. For the real eigenvalues of quenched DW at small "a" we illustrate our method by the finite expansion of the corresponding Fredholm determinant of size nu.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures; v2: typos corrected, refs added and discussion of W6 and W7 extende

Two-step stabilization of orbital order and the dynamical frustration of spin in the model charge-transfer insulator KCuF3

We report a combined experimental and theoretical study of KCuF3, which offers - because of this material's relatively simple lattice structure and valence configuration (d9, i.e., one hole in the d-shell) - a particularly clear view of the essential role of the orbital degree of freedom in governing the dynamical coupling between the spin and lattice degrees of freedom. We present Raman and x-ray scattering evidence that the phase behaviour of KCuF3 is dominated above the Neel temperature (T_N = 40 K) by coupled orbital/lattice fluctuations that are likely associated with rotations of the CuF6 octahedra, and we show that these orbital fluctuations are interrupted by a static structural distortion that occurs just above T_N. A detailed model of the orbital and magnetic phases of KCuF3 reveals that these orbital fluctuations - and the related frustration of in-plane spin-order-are associated with the presence of nearly degenerate low-energy spin-orbital states that are highly susceptible to thermal fluctuations over a wide range of temperatures. A striking implication of these results is that the ground state of KCuF3 at ambient pressure lies near a quantum critical point associated with an orbital/spin liquid phase that is obscured by emergent Neel ordering of the spins; this exotic liquid phase might be accessible via pressure studies.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figure

Skeletal Muscle Ultrasonography in Nutrition and Functional Outcome Assessment of Critically Ill Children: Experience and Insights From Pediatric Disease and Adult Critical Care Studies

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: [FULL CITE], which has been published in final form atOng, C. , Lee, J. H., Leow, M. K. and Puthucheary, Z. A. (2017), Skeletal Muscle Ultrasonography in Nutrition and Functional Outcome Assessment of Critically Ill Children: Experience and Insights From Pediatric Disease and Adult Critical Care Studies. Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, 41: 1091-1099. doi:10.1177/0148607116683143. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Version