219 research outputs found
Circle of Willis variation in a complex stroke presentation: a case report
BACKGROUND: The impact of circle of Willis anatomical variation upon the presentation of stroke is probably underrecognised. CASE PRESENTATION: A 63-year-old right-handed woman developed a left hemiparesis and right leg weakness sequentially following a road traffic accident (RTA). Despite initial concern about the possibility of cervical spinal cord injury, the final diagnosis was bilateral artery-to-artery embolic cerebral infarction with dominant right internal carotid artery. CONCLUSION: The case illustrates the complex presentation of stroke as a pseudo-cervical cord lesion and the impact of circle of Willis anatomical variation upon the expression of large vessel cerebrovascular disease
A holographic model for the fractional quantum Hall effect
Experimental data for fractional quantum Hall systems can to a large extent
be explained by assuming the existence of a modular symmetry group commuting
with the renormalization group flow and hence mapping different phases of
two-dimensional electron gases into each other. Based on this insight, we
construct a phenomenological holographic model which captures many features of
the fractional quantum Hall effect. Using an SL(2,Z)-invariant
Einstein-Maxwell-axio-dilaton theory capturing the important modular
transformation properties of quantum Hall physics, we find dyonic diatonic
black hole solutions which are gapped and have a Hall conductivity equal to the
filling fraction, as expected for quantum Hall states. We also provide several
technical results on the general behavior of the gauge field fluctuations
around these dyonic dilatonic black hole solutions: We specify a sufficient
criterion for IR normalizability of the fluctuations, demonstrate the
preservation of the gap under the SL(2,Z) action, and prove that the
singularity of the fluctuation problem in the presence of a magnetic field is
an accessory singularity. We finish with a preliminary investigation of the
possible IR scaling solutions of our model and some speculations on how they
could be important for the observed universality of quantum Hall transitions.Comment: 86 pages, 16 figures; v.2 references added, typos fixed, improved
discussion of ref. [39]; v.3 more references added and typos fixed, several
statements clarified, v.4 version accepted for publication in JHE
What we talk about when we talk about "global mindset": managerial cognition in multinational corporations
Recent developments in the global economy and in multinational corporations have placed significant emphasis on the cognitive orientations of managers, giving rise to a number of concepts such as “global mindset” that are presumed to be associated with the effective management of multinational corporations (MNCs). This paper reviews the literature on global mindset and clarifies some of the conceptual confusion surrounding the construct. We identify common themes across writers, suggesting that the majority of studies fall into one of three research perspectives: cultural, strategic, and multidimensional. We also identify two constructs from the social sciences that underlie the perspectives found in the literature: cosmopolitanism and cognitive complexity and use these two constructs to develop an integrative theoretical framework of global mindset. We then provide a critical assessment of the field of global mindset and suggest directions for future theoretical and empirical research
The quality control theory of aging
The quality control (QC) theory of aging is based on the concept that aging is the result of a reduction in QC of cellular systems designed to maintain lifelong homeostasis. Four QC systems associated with aging are 1) inadequate protein processing in a distressed endoplasmic reticulum (ER); 2) histone deacetylase (HDAC) processing of genomic histones and gene silencing; 3) suppressed AMPK nutrient sensing with inefficient energy utilization and excessive fat accumulation; and 4) beta-adrenergic receptor (BAR) signaling and environmental and emotional stress. Reprogramming these systems to maintain efficiency and prevent aging would be a rational strategy for increased lifespan and improved health. The QC theory can be tested with a pharmacological approach using three well-known and safe, FDA-approved drugs: 1) phenyl butyric acid, a chemical chaperone that enhances ER function and is also an HDAC inhibitor, 2) metformin, which activates AMPK and is used to treat type 2 diabetes, and 3) propranolol, a beta blocker which inhibits BAR signaling and is used to treat hypertension and anxiety. A critical aspect of the QC theory, then, is that aging is associated with multiple cellular systems that can be targeted with drug combinations more effectively than with single drugs. But more importantly, these drug combinations will effectively prevent, delay, or reverse chronic diseases of aging that impose such a tremendous health burden on our society
Loss of interleukin-12 modifies the pro-inflammatory response but does not prevent duct obstruction in experimental biliary atresia
BACKGROUND: Livers of infants with biliary atresia and of neonatal mice infected with rotavirus (RRV) have increased expression of interferon-gamma (IFNγ) and interleukin (IL)-12. While the expression of IFNγ regulates the obstruction of extrahepatic bile ducts by lymphocytes, the role of IL-12 in the pathogenesis of biliary obstruction is unknown. Based on the role of IL-12 as a key proinflammatory cytokine, we hypothesized that loss of IL-12 prevents the obstruction of extrahepatic bile ducts. METHODS: IL12-knockout (IL-12KO) and wild type mice were injected with RRV or saline at day 1 of age and monitored for the development of symptoms. The cellular and molecular phenotypes were determined at days 3, 7, and 14 by real-time PCR and flow cytometry. RESULTS: RRV infection of IL-12KO mice resulted in growth failure, jaundice/acholic stools, and decreased survival similar to wild-type mice. IL-12KO mice had a remarkable neutrophil-rich portal inflammation and epithelial sloughing of extrahepatic bile ducts. Loss of IL-12 decreased but did not abolish the hepatic expression of IFNγ, displayed a remarkable increase in expression of TNFα, IFNα, IFNβ and decreased expression of IL-4 and IL-5. CONCLUSION: Loss of IL-12 did not modify the progression of bile duct obstruction in experimental biliary atresia. However, the inflammatory response was predominantly neutrophil-based and displayed a Th1 response in the absence of IL-12
Schr\"odinger Holography with and without Hyperscaling Violation
We study the properties of the Schr\"odinger-type non-relativistic holography
for general dynamical exponent z with and without hyperscaling violation
exponent \theta. The scalar correlation function has a more general form due to
general z as well as the presence of \theta, whose effects also modify the
scaling dimension of the scalar operator. We propose a prescription for minimal
surfaces of this "codimension 2 holography," and demonstrate the (d-1)
dimensional area law for the entanglement entropy from (d+3) dimensional
Schr\"odinger backgrounds. Surprisingly, the area law is violated for d+1 < z <
d+2, even without hyperscaling violation, which interpolates between the
logarithmic violation and extensive volume dependence of entanglement entropy.
Similar violations are also found in the presence of the hyperscaling
violation. Their dual field theories are expected to have novel phases for the
parameter range, including Fermi surface. We also analyze string theory
embeddings using non-relativistic branes.Comment: 62 pages and 6 figures, v2: several typos in section 5 corrected,
references added, v3: typos corrected, references added, published versio
Neutrophil elastase reduces secretion of secretory leukoproteinase inhibitor (SLPI) by lung epithelial cells: role of charge of the proteinase-inhibitor complex
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Secretory leukoproteinase inhibitor (SLPI) is an important inhibitor of neutrophil elastase (NE), a proteinase implicated in the pathogenesis of lung diseases such as COPD. SLPI also has antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties, but the concentration of SLPI in lung secretions in COPD varies inversely with infection and the concentration of NE. A fall in SLPI concentration is also seen in culture supernatants of respiratory cells exposed to NE, for unknown reasons. We investigated the hypothesis that SLPI complexed with NE associates with cell membranes <it>in vitro</it>.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Respiratory epithelial cells were cultured in the presence of SLPI, varying doses of proteinases over time, and in different experimental conditions. The likely predicted charge of the complex between SLPI and proteinases was assessed by theoretical molecular modelling.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We observed a rapid, linear decrease in SLPI concentration in culture supernatants with increasing concentration of NE and cathepsin G, but not with other serine proteinases. The effect of NE was inhibited fully by a synthetic NE inhibitor only when added at the same time as NE. Direct contact between NE and SLPI was required for a fall in SLPI concentration. Passive binding to cell culture plate materials was able to remove a substantial amount of SLPI both with and without NE. Theoretical molecular modelling of the structure of SLPI in complex with various proteinases showed a greater positive charge for the complex with NE and cathepsin G than for other proteinases, such as trypsin and mast cell tryptase, that also bind SLPI but without reducing its concentration.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These data suggest that NE-mediated decrease in SLPI is a passive, charge-dependent phenomenon <it>in vitro</it>, which may correlate with changes observed <it>in vivo</it>.</p
Cluster Lenses
Clusters of galaxies are the most recently assembled, massive, bound
structures in the Universe. As predicted by General Relativity, given their
masses, clusters strongly deform space-time in their vicinity. Clusters act as
some of the most powerful gravitational lenses in the Universe. Light rays
traversing through clusters from distant sources are hence deflected, and the
resulting images of these distant objects therefore appear distorted and
magnified. Lensing by clusters occurs in two regimes, each with unique
observational signatures. The strong lensing regime is characterized by effects
readily seen by eye, namely, the production of giant arcs, multiple-images, and
arclets. The weak lensing regime is characterized by small deformations in the
shapes of background galaxies only detectable statistically. Cluster lenses
have been exploited successfully to address several important current questions
in cosmology: (i) the study of the lens(es) - understanding cluster mass
distributions and issues pertaining to cluster formation and evolution, as well
as constraining the nature of dark matter; (ii) the study of the lensed objects
- probing the properties of the background lensed galaxy population - which is
statistically at higher redshifts and of lower intrinsic luminosity thus
enabling the probing of galaxy formation at the earliest times right up to the
Dark Ages; and (iii) the study of the geometry of the Universe - as the
strength of lensing depends on the ratios of angular diameter distances between
the lens, source and observer, lens deflections are sensitive to the value of
cosmological parameters and offer a powerful geometric tool to probe Dark
Energy. In this review, we present the basics of cluster lensing and provide a
current status report of the field.Comment: About 120 pages - Published in Open Access at:
http://www.springerlink.com/content/j183018170485723/ . arXiv admin note:
text overlap with arXiv:astro-ph/0504478 and arXiv:1003.3674 by other author
Awards, Archives, and Affects: Tropes in the World Press Photo Contest 2009 - 2011
__Abstract__
Photography contests have assumed an increasingly significant public role in the context of the global surge of mass-mediated war reporting. This study focuses on the recurrence of visual tropes in press photographs awarded in the annual contest World Press Photo (WPP) in the years 2009–11. By tropes, we mean conventions (e.g. a mourning woman, a civilian facing soldiers, a distressed witness to an atrocity) that remain unchanged despite their travels across the visual sphere, gaining professional and public recognition and having a strong affective impact. We contend that photography contests such as the WPP influence and organize a process of generic understanding of war, disaster and atrocity that is based on a number of persistent tropes, such as the mourner, the protester or the survivor amidst chaos and ruins. We further show that these tropes are gendered along traditional conceptions of femininity and masculinity, appealing strongly to both judges and wider audiences. The evidence for our claim comes from an analysis of the photographs that won awards, observation of the judging sessions, semi-structured interviews with three jury chairmen, and public commentary on the juries’ choices (blogs, newspapers and websites)
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