Photo-stability of peptide-bond aggregates: N-methylformamide dimers

E. S.-G acknowledges a Liebig-stipend from the Fonds der Chemischen Industrie. This work was supported by the Cluster of Excellence RESOLV (EXC 1069) funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaf

Solving the Social Choice problem under equality constraints

Suppose that a number of equally qualified agents want to choose collectively an element from a set of alternatives defined by equality constraints. Each agent may well prefer a different element, and the social choice problem consists in deciding whether it is possible to design a rule to aggregate all the agents’ preferences into a social choice in an egalitarian way. In this paper we obtain criteria that solve this problem in terms of conditions that are explicitly computable from the constraints. As a theoretical consequence, we show that the only way to avoid running into a social choice paradox consists in designing (if possible) the set of alternatives satisfying certain optimality condition on the constraints, that is, in the natural way from the point of view of economics

Differences at brain SPECT between depressed females with and without adult ADHD and healthy controls: etiological considerations

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Comorbidity between Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and mood disorders is common. Alterations of the cerebellum and frontal regions have been reported in neuro-imaging studies of ADHD and major depression.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Thirty chronically depressed adult females of whom 16 had scores below, and 14 scores above, cut-offs on the 25-items Wender Utah Retrospective Scale (WURS-25) and the Wender-Reimherr Adult Attention Deficit Disorder Scale (WRAADDS) were divided into subgroups designated "Depression" and "Depression + ADHD", respectively. Twenty-one of the patients had some audiological symptom, tinnitus and/or hearing impairment. The patients were investigated with other rating scales and ^99mTc-HMPAO SPECT. Controls for ^99mTc-HMPAO SPECT were 16 healthy females. SPECT was analyzed by both statistical parametric mapping (SPM2) and the computerized brain atlas (CBA). Discriminant analysis was performed on the volumes of interest generated by the CBA, and on the scores from rating scales with the highest group differences.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mean score of a depression rating scale (MADRS-S) was significantly lower in the "Depression" subgroup compared to in the "Depression + ADHD" subgroup. There was significantly decreased tracer uptake within the bilateral cerebellum at both SPM and CBA in the "Depression + ADHD" subgroup compared to in the controls. No decrease of cerebellar tracer uptake was observed in "Depression". Significantly increased tracer uptake was found at SPM within some bilateral frontal regions (Brodmann areas 8, 9, 10, 32) in the "Depression + ADHD" subgroup compared to in "Depression". An accuracy of 100% was obtained for the discrimination between the patient groups when thalamic uptake was used in the analysis along with scores from Socialization and Impulsivity scales.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The findings confirm the previous observation of a cerebellar involvement in ADHD. Higher bilateral frontal ^99mTc-HMPAO uptake in "Depression + ADHD" compared to in "Depression" indicate a difference between these subgroups. ^99mTc-HMPAO uptake mechanisms are discussed.</p

Identification of transcriptional regulatory variants in pig duodenum, liver, and muscle tissues

Background In humans and livestock species, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been applied to study the association between variants distributed across the genome and a phenotype of interest. To discover genetic polymorphisms affecting the duodenum, liver, and muscle transcriptomes of 300 pigs from 3 different breeds (Duroc, Landrace, and Large White), we performed expression GWAS between 25,315,878 polymorphisms and the expression of 13,891 genes in duodenum, 12,748 genes in liver, and 11,617 genes in muscle. Results More than 9.68 × 1011 association tests were performed, yielding 14,096,080 significantly associated variants, which were grouped in 26,414 expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) regions. Over 56% of the variants were within 1 Mb of their associated gene. In addition to the 100-kb region upstream of the transcription start site, we identified the importance of the 100-kb region downstream of the 3′UTR for gene regulation, as most of the cis-regulatory variants were located within these 2 regions. We also observed 39,874 hotspot regulatory polymorphisms associated with the expression of 10 or more genes that could modify the protein structure or the expression of a regulator gene. In addition, 2 motifs (5′-GATCCNGYGTTGCYG-3′ and a poly(A) sequence) were enriched across the 3 tissues within the neighboring sequences of the most significant single-nucleotide polymorphisms in each cis-eQTL region. Conclusions The 14 million significant associations obtained in this study are publicly available and have enabled the identification of expression-associated cis-, trans-, and hotspot regulatory variants within and across tissues, thus shedding light on the molecular mechanisms of regulatory variations that shape end-trait phenotypes.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

El correo electrónico en la consulta de Parkinson: ¿soluciones a un clic? // Use of e-mail for Parkinson's disease consultations: Are answers just a clic away?

INTRODUCCION: La problemática de los trastornos del movimiento (TM) es compleja y la duración y frecuencia de las consultas presenciales puede estar limitada por problemas de espacio y tiempo. Analizamos el funcionamiento de un servicio de atención por correo electrónico institucional para médicos de Atención Primaria (MAP) y pacientes en la Unidad de Trastornos del Movimiento (UTM). METODOS: Se revisaron retrospectivamente los correos electrónicos enviados y recibidos en un periodo de 4 meses, un año tras su implantación. La dirección se proporcionaba en consulta y mediante sesiones informativas a los MAP del área. Se analizaron datos clínicos y demográficos de los pacientes, tipo de interlocutor, número de consultas, motivo y actuaciones derivadas de ellas. RESULTADOS: Del 1 de enero al 30 de abril de 2015 se recibieron 137 correos de 63 pacientes (43% varones; edad 71 ± 10,5 años) diagnosticados de enfermedad de Parkinson (76%), parkinsonismos atípicos (10%) y otros (14%), y se enviaron 116 respuestas. En 20 casos (32%) fueron redactados por el paciente, en 38 (60%) por sus familiares y en 5 (8%) por MAP. Los motivos de consulta fueron clínicos en 50 casos (80%): deterioro clínico (16; 32%), nuevos síntomas (14; 28%), efectos secundarios o dudas sobre medicación (20; 40%). Como consecuencia, se adelantó una cita programada en 9 casos (14%), mientras que el resto se solucionaron por correo electrónico. En 13 (20%), el motivo de consulta fue burocrático: relacionado con citas (11, 85%) y solicitud de informe (2, 15%). La satisfacción fue generalizada, sin constituir una sobrecarga asistencial excesiva para los facultativos responsables. CONCLUSIONES: La implantación de una consulta por correo electrónico es factible en UTM, facilita la comunicación médico-paciente y la continuidad asistencial con Atención Primaria. // INTRODUCTION: The clinical problems of patients with movement disorders (MD) are complex, and the duration and frequency of face-to-face consultations may be insufficient to meet their needs. We analysed the implementation of an e-mail-based query service for our MD unit's patients and their primary care physicians (PCPs). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed all consecutive emails sent and received over a period of 4 months, one year after implementation of the e-mail inquiry system. All patients received the during consultations, and PCPs, during scheduled informative meetings. We recorded and later analysed the profile of the questioner, patients’ demographic and clinical data, number of queries, reason for consultation, and actions taken. RESULTS: From 1 January 2015 to 30 April 2015, the service received 137 emails from 63 patients (43% male, mean age 71 ± 10.5) diagnosed with Parkinson's disease (76%), atypical parkinsonism (10%), and others (14%); 116 responses were sent. Twenty (32%) emails were written by patients, 38 (60%) by their caregivers, and 5 (8%) by their PCPs. The reasons for consultation were clinical in 50 cases (80%): 16 (32%) described clinical deterioration, 14 (28%) onset of new symptoms, and 20 (40%) side effects or concerns about medications. In 13 cases (20%), the query was bureaucratic: 11 were related to appointments (85%) and 2 were requests for clinical reports (15%). In response, new appointments were scheduled in 9 cases (14%), while the rest of the questions were answered by email. Patients were satisfied overall and the additional care burden on specialists was not excessive. CONCLUSIONS: Implementing an e-mail-based consultation system is feasible in MD units. It facilitates both communication between neurologists and patients and continued care in the primary care setting