Network of Earthquakes and Recurrences Therein

We quantify the correlation between earthquakes and use the same to distinguish between relevant causally connected earthquakes. Our correlation metric is a variation on the one introduced by Baiesi and Paczuski (2004). A network of earthquakes is constructed, which is time ordered and with links between the more correlated ones. Data pertaining to the California region has been used in the study. Recurrences to earthquakes are identified employing correlation thresholds to demarcate the most meaningful ones in each cluster. The distribution of recurrence lengths and recurrence times are analyzed subsequently to extract information about the complex dynamics. We find that the unimodal feature of recurrence lengths helps to associate typical rupture lengths with different magnitude earthquakes. The out-degree of the network shows a hub structure rooted on the large magnitude earthquakes. In-degree distribution is seen to be dependent on the density of events in the neighborhood. Power laws are also obtained with recurrence time distribution agreeing with the Omori law.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figure

A case of Kawasaki disease with coexistence of a parapharyngeal abscess requiring incision and drainage

Kawasaki disease (KD) causes multisystemic vasculitis but infrequently manifests with deep neck infections, such as a peritonsillar abscess, peritonsillar or deep neck cellulitis, suppurative parapharyngeal infection, or retropharyngeal abscess. As its etiology is still unknown, the diagnosis is usually made based on typical symptoms. The differential diagnosis between KD and deep neck infections is important, considering the variable head and neck manifestations of KD. There are several reports on KD patients who were initially diagnosed with retropharyngeal abscess on on computed tomography scans (CT). However, the previously reported cases did not have abscess or fluid collection on retropharyngeal aspiration. Therefore, false-positive neck CT scans have been obtained, until recently. In this case, suspected neck abscess in patients with KD unresponsive to intravenous immunoglobulin could signal the possible coexistence of suppurative cervical lymphadenitis

Climate Dynamics: A Network-Based Approach for the Analysis of Global Precipitation

Precipitation is one of the most important meteorological variables for defining the climate dynamics, but the spatial patterns of precipitation have not been fully investigated yet. The complex network theory, which provides a robust tool to investigate the statistical interdependence of many interacting elements, is used here to analyze the spatial dynamics of annual precipitation over seventy years (1941-2010). The precipitation network is built associating a node to a geographical region, which has a temporal distribution of precipitation, and identifying possible links among nodes through the correlation function. The precipitation network reveals significant spatial variability with barely connected regions, as Eastern China and Japan, and highly connected regions, such as the African Sahel, Eastern Australia and, to a lesser extent, Northern Europe. Sahel and Eastern Australia are remarkably dry regions, where low amounts of rainfall are uniformly distributed on continental scales and small-scale extreme events are rare. As a consequence, the precipitation gradient is low, making these regions well connected on a large spatial scale. On the contrary, the Asiatic South-East is often reached by extreme events such as monsoons, tropical cyclones and heat waves, which can all contribute to reduce the correlation to the short-range scale only. Some patterns emerging between mid-latitude and tropical regions suggest a possible impact of the propagation of planetary waves on precipitation at a global scale. Other links can be qualitatively associated to the atmospheric and oceanic circulation. To analyze the sensitivity of the network to the physical closeness of the nodes, short-term connections are broken. The African Sahel, Eastern Australia and Northern Europe regions again appear as the supernodes of the network, confirming furthermore their long-range connection structure. Almost all North-American and Asian nodes vanish, revealing that extreme events can enhance high precipitation gradients, leading to a systematic absence of long-range patterns

The inner centromere is a biomolecular condensate scaffolded by the chromosomal passenger complex.

The inner centromere is a region on every mitotic chromosome that enables specific biochemical reactions that underlie properties, such as the maintenance of cohesion, the regulation of kinetochores and the assembly of specialized chromatin, that can resist microtubule pulling forces. The chromosomal passenger complex (CPC) is abundantly localized to the inner centromeres and it is unclear whether it is involved in non-kinase activities that contribute to the generation of these unique chromatin properties. We find that the borealin subunit of the CPC drives phase separation of the CPC in vitro at concentrations that are below those found on the inner centromere. We also provide strong evidence that the CPC exists in a phase-separated state at the inner centromere. CPC phase separation is required for its inner-centromere localization and function during mitosis. We suggest that the CPC combines phase separation, kinase and histone code-reading activities to enable the formation of a chromatin body with unique biochemical activities at the inner centromere

Potential effects of oilseed rape expressing oryzacystatin-1 (OC-1) and of purified insecticidal proteins on larvae of the solitary bee Osmia bicornis

Despite their importance as pollinators in crops and wild plants, solitary bees have not previously been included in non-target testing of insect-resistant transgenic crop plants. Larvae of many solitary bees feed almost exclusively on pollen and thus could be highly exposed to transgene products expressed in the pollen. The potential effects of pollen from oilseed rape expressing the cysteine protease inhibitor oryzacystatin-1 (OC-1) were investigated on larvae of the solitary bee Osmia bicornis (= O. rufa). Furthermore, recombinant OC-1 (rOC-1), the Bt toxin Cry1Ab and the snowdrop lectin Galanthus nivalis agglutinin (GNA) were evaluated for effects on the life history parameters of this important pollinator. Pollen provisions from transgenic OC-1 oilseed rape did not affect overall development. Similarly, high doses of rOC-1 and Cry1Ab as well as a low dose of GNA failed to cause any significant effects. However, a high dose of GNA (0.1%) in the larval diet resulted in significantly increased development time and reduced efficiency in conversion of pollen food into larval body weight. Our results suggest that OC-1 and Cry1Ab expressing transgenic crops would pose a negligible risk for O. bicornis larvae, whereas GNA expressing plants could cause detrimental effects, but only if bees were exposed to high levels of the protein. The described bioassay with bee brood is not only suitable for early tier non-target tests of transgenic plants, but also has broader applicability to other crop protection products

What are we measuring? A critique of range of motion methods currently in use for Dupuytren's disease and recommendations for practice

Background: Range of motion is the most frequently reported measure used in practice to evaluate outcomes. A goniometer is the most reliable tool to assess range of motion yet, the lack of consistency in reporting prevents comparison between studies. The aim of this study is to identify how range of motion is currently assessed and reported in Dupuytren’s disease literature. Following analysis recommendations for practice will be made to enable consistency in future studies for comparability. This paper highlights the variation in range of motion reporting in Dupuytren’s disease. Methods: A Participants, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes and Study design format was used for the search strategy and search terms. Surgery, needle fasciotomy or collagenase injection for primary or recurrent Dupuytren’s disease in adults were included if outcomes were monitored using range of motion to record change. A literature search was performed in May 2013 using subject heading and free-text terms to also capture electronic publications ahead of print. In total 638 publications were identified and following screening 90 articles met the inclusion criteria. Data was extracted and entered onto a spreadsheet for analysis. A thematic analysis was carried out to establish any duplication, resulting in the final range of motion measures identified. Results: Range of motion measurement lacked clarity, with goniometry reportedly used in only 43 of the 90 studies, 16 stated the use of a range of motion protocol. A total of 24 different descriptors were identified describing range of motion in the 90 studies. While some studies reported active range of motion, others reported passive or were unclear. Eight of the 24 categories were identified through thematic analysis as possibly describing the same measure, ‘lack of joint extension’ and accounted for the most frequently used. Conclusions: Published studies lacked clarity in reporting range of motion, preventing data comparison and meta-analysis. Percentage change lacks context and without access to raw data, does not allow direct comparison of baseline characteristics. A clear description of what is being measured within each study was required. It is recommended that range of motion measuring and reporting for Dupuytren’s disease requires consistency to address issues that fall into 3 main categories:- Definition of terms Protocol statement Outcome reportin

Preferential killing of multidrug-resistant KB cells by inhibitors of glucosylceramide synthase

This study has compared the preferential killing of three multidrug-resistant (MDR) KB cell lines, KB-C1, KB-A1 and KB-V1 by two inhibitors of glucosylceramide synthase, 1-phenyl-2-decanoylamino-3-morpholino-1-propanol (PDMP) and 1-phenyl-2-hexadecanoylamino-3-pyrrolidino-1-propanol (PPPP), to the killing produced by these compounds in the drug-sensitive cell line, KB-3-1. Both of the inhibitors caused much greater induction of apoptosis in each of the three MDR cell lines than in the drug-sensitive cell line, as judged by morphological assay and confirmed by poly-(ADP-ribose)-polymerase cleavage. The highest level of apoptosis was produced following 24-h exposure to 5 μM PPPP. This treatment produced 75.8 (± 7.1)%, 73.6 (± 9.8)% and 75.3 (± 6.4)% apoptotic cells in the three MDR cell lines respectively, compared to 19.0 (± 9.8)% in the drug-sensitive cell line. A reduction in glucosylceramide level following inhibitor treatment occurred in KB-3-1 cells as well as in the MDR cell lines, suggesting that the increased apoptotic response in the MDR cells reflected a different downstream response to changes in the levels of this lipid in these cells compared to that in the drug-sensitive cells. These results suggest that the manipulation of glucosylceramide levels may be a fruitful way of causing the preferential killing of MDR cells in vitro and possibly in vivo. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig

Lying about the Valence of Affective Pictures: An fMRI Study

The neural correlates of lying about affective information were studied using a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) methodology. Specifically, 13 healthy right-handed Chinese men were instructed to lie about the valence, positive or negative, of pictures selected from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) while their brain activity was scanned by a 3T Philip Achieva scanner. The key finding is that the neural activity associated with deception is valence-related. Comparing to telling the truth, deception about the valence of the affectively positive pictures was associated with activity in the inferior frontal, cingulate, inferior parietal, precuneus, and middle temporal regions. Lying about the valence of the affectively negative pictures, on the other hand, was associated with activity in the orbital and medial frontal regions. While a clear valence-related effect on deception was observed, common neural regions were also recruited for the process of deception about the valence of the affective pictures. These regions included the lateral prefrontal and inferior parietal regions. Activity in these regions has been widely reported in fMRI studies on deception using affectively-neutral stimuli. The findings of this study reveal the effect of valence on the neural activity associated with deception. Furthermore, the data also help to illustrate the complexity of the neural mechanisms underlying deception

UC Updatable Databases and Applications

We define an ideal functionality \Functionality_{\UD} and a construction \mathrm{\Pi_{\UD}} for an updatable database (\UD). \UD is a two-party protocol between an updater and a reader. The updater sets the database and updates it at any time throughout the protocol execution. The reader computes zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs of knowledge of database entries. These proofs prove that a value is stored at a certain position in the database, without revealing the position or the value. (Non-)updatable databases are implicitly used as building block in priced oblivious transfer, privacy-preserving billing and other privacy-preserving protocols. Typically, in those protocols the updater signs each database entry, and the reader proves knowledge of a signature on a database entry. Updating the database requires a revocation mechanism to revoke signatures on outdated database entries. Our construction \mathrm{\Pi_{\UD}} uses a non-hiding vector commitment (NHVC) scheme. The updater maps the database to a vector and commits to the database. This commitment can be updated efficiently at any time without needing a revocation mechanism. ZK proofs for reading a database entry have communication and amortized computation cost independent of the database size. Therefore, \mathrm{\Pi_{\UD}} is suitable for large databases. We implement \mathrm{\Pi_{\UD}} and our timings show that it is practical. In existing privacy-preserving protocols, a ZK proof of a database entry is intertwined with other tasks, e.g., proving further statements about the value read from the database or the position where it is stored. \Functionality_{\UD} allows us to improve modularity in protocol design by separating those tasks. We show how to use \Functionality_{\UD} as building block of a hybrid protocol along with other functionalities