The Gram-Schmidt Walk: A Cure for the Banaszczyk Blues

A classic result of Banaszczyk (Random Str. & Algor. 1997) states that given any n vectors in Rm with ℓ2-norm at most 1 and any convex body K in Rm of Gaussian measure at least half, there exists a ±1 combination of these vectors that lies in 5K. Banaszczyk’s proof of this result was non-constructive and it was open how to find such a ±1 combination in polynomial time. In this paper, we give an efficient randomized algorithm to find a ±1 combination of the vectors which lies in cK for some fixed constant c > 0. This leads to new efficient algorithms for several problems in discrepancy theory

Reconfigurable and non-volatile vertical magnetic logic gates

In this paper, we discuss the concept and prototype fabrication of reconfigurable and non-volatile vertical magnetic logic gates. These gates consist of two input layers and a RESET layer. The RESET layer allows the structure to be used as either an and or an or gate, depending on its magnetization state. To prove this concept, the gates were fabricated using a multi-layered patterned magnetic media, in which three magnetic layers are stacked and exchange-decoupled via non-magnetic interlayers. We demonstrate the functionality of these logic gates by conducting atomic force microscopy and magnetic force microscopy (MFM) analysis of the multi-layered patterned magnetic media. The logic gates operation mechanism and fabrication feasibility are both validated by the MFM imaging results

CD74 (CD74 molecule, major histocompatibility complex, class II invariant chain)

Review on CD74, with data on DNA/RNA, on the protein encoded and where the gene is implicated

Induced pluripotent stem cells from hair follicles as a cellular model for neurodevelopmental disorders

AbstractDisease-specific induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) allow unprecedented experimental platforms for basic research as well as high-throughput screening. This may be particularly relevant for neuropsychiatric disorders, in which the affected neuronal cells are not accessible. Keratinocytes isolated from hair follicles are an ideal source of patients' cells for reprogramming, due to their non-invasive accessibility and their common neuroectodermal origin with neurons, which can be important for potential epigenetic memory. From a small number of plucked human hair follicles obtained from two healthy donors we reprogrammed keratinocytes to pluripotent iPSC. We further differentiated these hair follicle-derived iPSC to neural progenitors, forebrain neurons and functional dopaminergic neurons.This study shows that human hair follicle-derived iPSC can be differentiated into various neural lineages, suggesting this experimental system as a promising in vitro model to study normal and pathological neural developments, avoiding the invasiveness of commonly used skin biopsies

The survival and function of IL-10-producing regulatory B cells are negatively controlled by SLAMF5

B cells have essential functions in multiple sclerosis and in its mouse model, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, both as drivers and suppressors of the disease. The suppressive effects are driven by a regulatory B cell (Breg) population that functions, primarily but not exclusively, via the production of IL-10. However, the mechanisms modulating IL-10-producing Breg abundance are poorly understood. Here we identify SLAMF5 for controlling IL-10+ Breg maintenance and function. In EAE, the deficiency of SLAMF5 in B cells causes accumulation of IL10+ Bregs in the central nervous system and periphery. Blocking SLAMF5 in vitro induces both human and mouse IL-10-producing Breg cells and increases their survival with a concomitant increase of a transcription factor, c-Maf. Finally, in vivo SLAMF5 blocking in EAE elevates IL-10+ Breg levels and ameliorates disease severity. Our results suggest that SLAMF5 is a negative moderator of IL-10+ Breg cells, and may serve as a therapeutic target in MS and other autoimmune diseases

Esophageal perforation secondary to malignant gastric outlet obstruction: a case report

Background Esophageal perforation is a rare presenting sign of gastric cancer. To date, only nine case reports of this phenomenon have been previously published. Case presentation Esophageal perforation was diagnosed radiographically during workup for acute chest pain in a 67-year-old man. Emergent endoscopy confirmed esophageal perforation and biopsied a pre-pyloric mass confirmed to be adenocarcinoma. The perforation was managed with endoscopically placed transluminal pleural and mediastinal drains and esophageal stenting. The gastric outlet obstruction was temporized with a transpyloric stent. After the patient recovered from sepsis, distal gastrectomy was performed and he made a full recovery. Conclusions Rarely, pre-pyloric gastric cancer can present with Boerhaave syndrome, spontaneous esophageal perforation associated with forceful vomiting. We present the tenth report in the literature of this phenomenon and the first to be initially treated with endoscopic stenting and transluminal thoracoscopic drainage. When endoscopic management is used to treat patients with Boerhaave syndrome, it may be beneficial to examine the entire stomach to evaluate for malignant etiology

Empowering minority women: Autonomy versus participation

Feminist attempts to empower women within their own cultural traditions have employed two broad strategies: authentic choice and participation. This paper argues that the methodological problems that beset the authentic choice strategy tell in favour of the participation approach. However, proponents of the participation strategy have failed to pay sufficient attention to the background conditions that need to be met if women are to make effective use of the institutional mechanisms their models advocate. If women are to be effective political agents at least some of the most serious structural inequalities that women face must be addressed. A nuanced statement of the participation strategy must therefore take account of long-standing feminist concerns regarding economic equality and access to resources. While this approach falls short of the demanding conditions for democratic citizenship implicit in the authentic choice strategy, it none the less places significant limits on the scope of participatory strategies and links the goal of empowering women within their own cultural traditions to wider feminist struggles to secure greater economic equality for women in general

Sp1 Expression Is Disrupted in Schizophrenia; A Possible Mechanism for the Abnormal Expression of Mitochondrial Complex I Genes, NDUFV1 and NDUFV2

The prevailing hypothesis regards schizophrenia as a polygenic disease, in which multiple genes combine with each other and with environmental stimuli to produce the variance of its clinical symptoms. We investigated whether the ubiquitous transcription factor Sp1 is abnormally expressed in schizophrenia, and consequently can affect the expression of genes implicated in this disorder. promoter by binding to its three GC-boxes. Both activation and binding were inhibited by mithramycin.These findings suggest that abnormality in Sp1, which can be the main activator/repressor or act in combination with additional transcription factors and is subjected to environmental stimuli, can contribute to the polygenic and clinically heterogeneous nature of schizophrenia

Toddlers later diagnosed with autism exhibit multiple structural abnormalities in temporal corpus callosum fibers

Interhemispheric functional connectivity abnormalities are often reported in autism and it is thus not surprising that structural defects of the corpus callosum (CC) are consistently found using both traditional MRI and DTI techniques. Past DTI studies however, have subdivided the CC into 2 or 3 segments without regard for where fibers may project to within the cortex, thus placing limitations on our ability to understand the nature, timing and neurobehavioral impact of early CC abnormalities in autism. Leveraging a unique cohort of 97 toddlers (68 autism; 29 typical) we utilized a novel technique that identified seven CC tracts according to their cortical projections. Results revealed that younger (<2.5 years old), but not older toddlers with autism exhibited abnormally low mean, radial, and axial diffusivity values in the CC tracts connecting the occipital lobes and the temporal lobes. Fractional anisotropy and the cross sectional area of the temporal CC tract were significantly larger in young toddlers with autism. These findings indicate that water diffusion is more restricted and unidirectional in the temporal CC tract of young toddlers who develop autism. Such results may be explained by a potential overabundance of small caliber axons generated by excessive prenatal neural proliferation as proposed by previous genetic, animal model, and postmortem studies of autism. Furthermore, early diffusion measures in the temporal CC tract of the young toddlers were correlated with outcome measures of autism severity at later ages. These findings regarding the potential nature, timing, and location of early CC abnormalities in autism add to accumulating evidence, which suggests that altered inter-hemispheric connectivity, particularly across the temporal lobes, is a hallmark of the disorder