Comment on "Measuring the Orbital Angular Momentum of a Single Photon"

Optical modes with different orbital angular momentums (OAMs) per photon may be sorted by Mach-Zehnder interferometers incorporated with beam rotators, without resorting to OAM mode converters.Comment: 1 page, 1 figur

Fusion pore expansion is a slow, discontinuous, and Ca2+-dependent process regulating secretion from alveolar type II cells

In alveolar type II cells, the release of surfactant is considerably delayed after the formation of exocytotic fusion pores, suggesting that content dispersal may be limited by fusion pore diameter and subject to regulation at a postfusion level. To address this issue, we used confocal FRAP and N-(3-triethylammoniumpropyl)-4-(4-[dibutylamino]styryl) pyridinium dibromide (FM 1-43), a dye yielding intense localized fluorescence of surfactant when entering the vesicle lumen through the fusion pore (Haller, T., J. Ortmayr, F. Friedrich, H. Volkl, and P. Dietl. 1998. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 95:1579–1584). Thus, we have been able to monitor the dynamics of individual fusion pores up to hours in intact cells, and to calculate pore diameters using a diffusion model derived from Fick's law. After formation, fusion pores were arrested in a state impeding the release of vesicle contents, and expanded at irregular times thereafter. The expansion rate of initial pores and the probability of late expansions were increased by elevation of the cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration. Consistently, content release correlated with the occurrence of Ca2+ oscillations in ATP-treated cells, and expanded fusion pores were detectable by EM. This study supports a new concept in exocytosis, implicating fusion pores in the regulation of content release for extended periods after initial formation

Adaptive estimation in circular functional linear models

We consider the problem of estimating the slope parameter in circular functional linear regression, where scalar responses Y1,...,Yn are modeled in dependence of 1-periodic, second order stationary random functions X1,...,Xn. We consider an orthogonal series estimator of the slope function, by replacing the first m theoretical coefficients of its development in the trigonometric basis by adequate estimators. Wepropose a model selection procedure for m in a set of admissible values, by defining a contrast function minimized by our estimator and a theoretical penalty function; this first step assumes the degree of ill posedness to be known. Then we generalize the procedure to a random set of admissible m's and a random penalty function. The resulting estimator is completely data driven and reaches automatically what is known to be the optimal minimax rate of convergence, in term of a general weighted L2-risk. This means that we provide adaptive estimators of both the slope function and its derivatives

The impact of a ten-week physical exercise program on health-related quality of life in patients with inflammatory bowel disease: A prospective randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND Improving health-related quality of life is a primary target of therapy for patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Physical activity has been demonstrated to improve health-related quality of life in several patient populations with chronic disease. There are very few studies investigating the effects of physical activity on health-related quality of life in inflammatory bowel disease. The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of 10 weeks of moderate physical activity on health-related quality of life in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. METHODS Thirty patients with mild to moderate IBD (Crohn's Disease Activity Index (CDAI) \textless220 or Rachmilewitz Index (RI) \textless11) were randomized 1:1 to either supervised moderate-intensity running thrice a week for 10 weeks or a control group who were not prescribed any exercise. Health-related quality of life, symptoms, and inflammation were assessed at baseline and after 10 weeks. RESULTS Participants were 41 ± 14 years (73% female), had a body mass index of 22.8 ± 4.1 kg/m(2), and an average CDAI or RI of 66.8 ± 42.4 and 3.6 ± 3.1. No adverse events occurred during the 10-week training period. Health-related quality of life, reported as IBDQ total score, improved 19% in the intervention group and 8% in the control group. Scores for the IBDQ social sub-scale were significantly improved in the intervention group compared with controls (\textgreekDIBDQsocial = 6.27 ± 5.46 vs. 1.87 ± 4.76, p = 0.023). CONCLUSION Patients suffering from moderately active IBD are capable of performing symptom-free regular endurance exercise. Our data support the assumption that PA is feasible in IBD patients. PA may furthermore improve quality of life through improvements in social well-being, and may, therefore, be a useful adjunct to IBD therapy

Biomarkers of Hemodynamic Stress and Aortic Stiffness after STEMI: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

Aim. Increased aortic stiffness might adversely affect cardiac structure, function, and perfusion. Release of biomarkers of hemodynamic stress is thought to be enhanced by these alterations. We aimed to evaluate the association between biomarkers of hemodynamic stress and aortic stiffness assessed at a chronic stage after ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Methods. Fifty-four patients four months after STEMI were enrolled in this cross-sectional, single-center study. N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), mid-regional pro-A-type natriuretic peptide (MR-proANP), and mid-regional proadrenomedullin (MR-proADM) levels were measured by established assays. Aortic stiffness was assessed by the measurement of pulse wave velocity using phase-contrast cardiovascular magnetic resonance. Results. NT-proBNP, MR-proANP, and MR-proADM concentrations were all correlated with aortic stiffness in univariate analysis ( = 0.378, = 0.425, and = 0.532; all < 0.005, resp.). In multiple linear regression analysis, NT-proBNP ( = 0.316, = 0.005) and MR-proADM ( = 0.284, < 0.020) levels were associated with increased aortic stiffness independently of age, blood pressure, and renal function. NT-proBNP was the strongest predictor for high aortic stiffness (area under the curve: 0.82, 95% CI 0.67-0.96). Conclusion. At a chronic stage after STEMI, concentrations of biomarkers for hemodynamic stress, especially NT-proBNP, are positively correlated with aortic stiffness. These biomarkers might also be useful as predictors of high aortic stiffness after STEMI

Maternally supplied S-acyl-transferase is required for crystalloid organelle formation and transmission of the malaria parasite.

Transmission of the malaria parasite from the mammalian host to the mosquito vector requires the formation of adequately adapted parasite forms and stage-specific organelles. Here we show that formation of the crystalloid-a unique and short-lived organelle of the Plasmodium ookinete and oocyst stage required for sporogony-is dependent on the precisely timed expression of the S-acyl-transferase DHHC10. DHHC10, translationally repressed in female Plasmodium berghei gametocytes, is activated translationally during ookinete formation, where the protein is essential for the formation of the crystalloid, the correct targeting of crystalloid-resident protein LAP2, and malaria parasite transmission

SnRK1-triggered switch of bZIP63 dimerization mediates the low-energy response in plants

Metabolic adjustment to changing environmental conditions, particularly balancing of growth and defense responses, is crucial for all organisms to survive. The evolutionary conserved AMPK/Snf1/SnRK1 kinases are well-known metabolic master regulators in the low-energy response in animals, yeast and plants. They act at two different levels: by modulating the activity of key metabolic enzymes, and by massive transcriptional reprogramming. While the first part is well established, the latter function is only partially understood in animals and not at all in plants. Here we identified the Arabidopsis transcription factor bZIP63 as key regulator of the starvation response and direct target of the SnRK1 kinase. Phosphorylation of bZIP63 by SnRK1 changed its dimerization preference, thereby affecting target gene expression and ultimately primary metabolism. A bzip63 knock-out mutant exhibited starvation-related phenotypes, which could be functionally complemented by wild type bZIP63, but not by a version harboring point mutations in the identified SnRK1 target sites

Whole brain radiation therapy alone versus radiosurgery for patients with 1–10 brain metastases from small cell lung cancer (ENCEPHALON Trial): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background: Conventional whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT) has been established as the treatment standard in patients with cerebral metastases from small-cell lung cancer (SCLC), however, it has only modest efficacy and limited prospective data is available for WBRT as well as local treatments such as stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). Methods/design: The present single-center prospective randomized study, conducted at Heidelberg University Hospital, compares neurocognitive function, as objectively measured by significant deterioration in Hopkins Verbal Learning Test – Revised total recall at 3 months. Fifty-six patients will be randomized to receive either SRS of all brain metastases (up to ten lesions) or WBRT. Secondary endpoints include intracranial progression (local tumor progression and number of new cerebral metastases), extracranial progression, overall survival, death due to brain metastases, local (neurological) progression-free survival, progression-free survival, changes in other cognitive performance measures, quality of life and toxicity. Discussion: Recent evidence suggests that SRS might be a promising treatment option for SCLC patients with brain metastases. The present trial is the first to prospectively investigate the treatment response, toxicity and neurocognition of WBRT and SRS in SCLC patients. Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT03297788 . Registered September 29, 2017

Quantitative historical analysis uncovers a single dimension of complexity that structures global variation in human social organization.

Do human societies from around the world exhibit similarities in the way that they are structured, and show commonalities in the ways that they have evolved? These are long-standing questions that have proven difficult to answer. To test between competing hypotheses, we constructed a massive repository of historical and archaeological information known as "Seshat: Global History Databank." We systematically coded data on 414 societies from 30 regions around the world spanning the last 10,000 years. We were able to capture information on 51 variables reflecting nine characteristics of human societies, such as social scale, economy, features of governance, and information systems. Our analyses revealed that these different characteristics show strong relationships with each other and that a single principal component captures around three-quarters of the observed variation. Furthermore, we found that different characteristics of social complexity are highly predictable across different world regions. These results suggest that key aspects of social organization are functionally related and do indeed coevolve in predictable ways. Our findings highlight the power of the sciences and humanities working together to rigorously test hypotheses about general rules that may have shaped human history