Spherical harmonic decomposition applied to spatial-temporal analysis of human high-density EEG

We demonstrate an application of spherical harmonic decomposition to analysis of the human electroencephalogram (EEG). We implement two methods and discuss issues specific to analysis of hemispherical, irregularly sampled data. Performance of the methods and spatial sampling requirements are quantified using simulated data. The analysis is applied to experimental EEG data, confirming earlier reports of an approximate frequency-wavenumber relationship in some bands.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. E, uses APS RevTeX style

Chalcogen Impact on Covalency within Molecular [Cu\u3csub\u3e3\u3c/sub\u3e(μ\u3csub\u3e3\u3c/sub\u3e-E)]\u3csup\u3e3+\u3c/sup\u3e Clusters (E = O, S, Se): A Synthetic, Spectroscopic, and Computational Study

Reaction of the tricopper(I)-dinitrogen tris(β-diketiminate) cyclophane, Cu3(N2)L, with O-atom-transfer reagents or elemental Se affords the oxido-bridged tricopper complex Cu3(μ3-O)L (2) or the corresponding Cu3(μ3-Se)L (4), respectively. For 2 and 4, incorporation of the bridging chalcogen donor was supported by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) data. Cu L2,3-edge X-ray absorption data quantify 49.5% Cu 3d character in the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital of 2, with Cu 3d participation decreasing to 33.0% in 4 and 40.8% in the related sulfide cluster Cu3(μ3-S)L (3). Multiedge XAS and UV/visible/near-IR spectra are employed to benchmark density functional theory calculations, which describe the copper-chalcogen interactions as highly covalent across the series of [Cu3(μ-E)]3+ clusters. This result highlights that the metal-ligand covalency is not reserved for more formally oxidized metal centers (i.e., CuIII + O2- vs CuII + O-) but rather is a significant contributor even at more typical ligand-field cases (i.e., Cu3II/II/I + E2-). This bonding is reminiscent of that observed in p-block elements rather than in early-transition-metal complexes

HIV-1 integrase polymorphisms are associated with prior antiretroviral drug exposure

In a recent summary of integrase sequences, primary integrase inhibitor mutations were rare. In a review of integrase inhibitor-naïve Australian HIV-1 sequences, primary mutations were not identified, although the accessory mutation G140S was detected. A link with previous antiretroviral therapy, intra-subtype B divergence across the integrase gene and transmission of integrase polymorphisms were also noted. Based on these findings, we would recommend ongoing surveillance of integrase mutations, and integrase region sequencing for patients prior to commencement of integrase inhibitors

The Tolman Surface Brightness Test for the Reality of the Expansion. IV. A Measurement of the Tolman Signal and the Luminosity Evolution of Early-Type Galaxies

We review a sample of the early literature in which the reality of the expansion is discussed, explain Hubble's reticence to accept the expansion as real, and contrast the Tolman surface brightness test with three other modern tests. We search for the Tolman surface brightness depression with redshift using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) data from Paper III for 34 early-type galaxies from the three clusters Cl 1324+3011 (z=0.76), Cl 1604+4304 (z=0.90), and Cl 1604+4321 (z=0.92). Depressions of the surface brightness relative to the zero-redshift fiducial lines in the mean surface brightness, log linear radius diagrams of Paper I are found for all three clusters. Expressed as the exponent, n, in 2.5 log (1 + z)^n mag, the value of n for all three clusters is n = 2.59 +/- 0.17 in the R band and 3.37 +/- 0.13 in the I band for a q_o = 1/2 model. The sensitivity of the result to the assumed value of q_o is shown to be less than 23% between q_o = 0 and +1. For a true Tolman signal with n = 4, the luminosity evolution in the look-back time, expressed as the exponent in 2.5 log (1+z)^(4-n) mag, must then be between 1.72 to 1.19 in the R band and 0.94 to 0.45 in the I band. We show that this is precisely the range expected from the evolutionary models of Bruzual & Charlot. We conclude that the Tolman surface brightness test is consistent with the reality of the expansion. We have also used the high-redshift HST data to test the ``tired light'' speculation for a non-expansion model for the redshift. The HST data rule out the ``tired light'' model at a significance level of better than 10 sigma.Comment: 36 pages, 6 figures; accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journa

Carbon uptake and water use in woodlands and forests in southern Australia during an extreme heat wave event in the ‘Angry Summer’ of 2012/2013

As a result of climate change warmer temperatures are projected through the 21st century and are already increasing above modelled predictions. Apart from increases in the mean, warm/hot temperature extremes are expected to become more prevalent in the future, along with an increase in the frequency of droughts. It is crucial to better understand the response of terrestrial ecosystems to such temperature extremes for predicting land-surface feedbacks in a changing climate. While land-surface feedbacks in drought conditions and during heat waves have been reported from Europe and the US, direct observations of the impact of such extremes on the carbon and water cycles in Australia have been lacking. During the 2012/2013 summer, Australia experienced a record-breaking heat wave with an exceptional spatial extent that lasted for several weeks. In this study we synthesised eddy-covariance measurements from seven woodlands and one forest site across three biogeographic regions in southern Australia. These observations were combined with model results from BIOS2 (Haverd et al., 2013a, b) to investigate the effect of the summer heat wave on the carbon and water exchange of terrestrial ecosystems which are known for their resilience toward hot and dry conditions. We found that water-limited woodland and energy-limited forest ecosystems responded differently to the heat wave. During the most intense part of the heat wave, the woodlands experienced decreased latent heat flux (23 % of background value), increased Bowen ratio (154 %) and reduced carbon uptake (60 %). At the same time the forest ecosystem showed increased latent heat flux (151 %), reduced Bowen ratio (19 %) and increased carbon uptake (112 %). Higher temperatures caused increased ecosystem respiration at all sites (up to 139 %). During daytime all ecosystems remained carbon sinks, but carbon uptake was reduced in magnitude. The number of hours during which the ecosystem acted as a carbon sink was also reduced, which switched the woodlands into a carbon source on a daily average. Precipitation occurred after the first, most intense part of the heat wave, and the subsequent cooler temperatures in the temperate woodlands led to recovery of the carbon sink, decreased the Bowen ratio (65 %) and hence increased evaporative cooling. Gross primary productivity in the woodlands recovered quickly with precipitation and cooler temperatures but respiration remained high. While the forest proved relatively resilient to this short-term heat extreme the response of the woodlands is the first direct evidence that the carbon sinks of large areas of Australia may not be sustainable in a future climate with an increased number, intensity and duration of heat waves.Eva van Gorsel, Sebastian Wolf, James Cleverly, Peter Isaac, Vanessa Haverd, Cäcilia Ewenz, Stefan Arndt, Jason Beringer, Víctor Resco de Dios, Bradley J. Evans, Anne Griebel, Lindsay B. Hutley, Trevor Keenan, Natascha Kljun, Craig Macfarlane, Wayne S. Meyer, Ian McHugh, Elise Pendall, Suzanne M. Prober and Richard Silberstei

Comparing Open Radical Cystectomy and Robot-assisted Laparoscopic Radical Cystectomy: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Background: Open radical cystectomy (ORC) and urinary diversion in patients with bladder cancer (BCa) are associated with significant perioperative complication risk. Objective: To compare perioperative complications between robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) and ORC techniques. Design, setting, and participants: A prospective randomized controlled trial was conducted during 2010 and 2013 in BCa patients scheduled for definitive treatment by radical cystectomy (RC), pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND), and urinary diversion. Patients were randomized to ORC/PLND or RARC/PLND, both with open urinary diversion. Patients were followed for 90 d postoperatively. Intervention: Standard ORC or RARC with PLND; all urinary diversions were performed via an open approach. Outcome measurements and statistical analysis: Primary outcomes were overall 90-d grade 2-5 complications defined by a modified Clavien system. Secondary outcomes included comparison of high-grade complications, estimated blood loss, operative time, pathologic outcomes, 3-and 6-mo patient-reported quality-of-life (QOL) outcomes, and total operative room and inpatient costs. Differences in binary outcomes were assessed with the chi-square test, with differences in continuous outcomes assessed by analysis of covariance with randomization group as covariate and, for QOL end points, baseline score. Results and limitations: The trial enrolled 124 patients, of whom 118 were randomized and underwent RC/PLND. Sixty were randomized to RARC and 58 to ORC. At 90 d, grade 2-5 complications were observed in 62% and 66% of RARC and ORC patients, respectively (95% confidence interval for difference, -21% to -13%; p = 0.7). The similar rates of grade 2-5 complications at our mandated interim analysis met futility criteria; thus, early closure of the trial occurred. The RARC group had lower mean intraoperative blood loss (p = 0.027) but significantly longer operative time than the ORC group (p \u3c 0.001). Pathologic variables including positive surgical margins and lymph node yields were similar. Mean hospital stay was 8 d in both arms (standard deviation, 3 and 5 d, respectively; p = 0.5). Three-and 6-mo QOL outcomes were similar between arms. Cost analysis demonstrated an advantage to ORC compared with RARC. A limitation is the setting at a single high-volume, referral center; our findings may not be generalizable to all settings. Conclusions: This trial failed to identify a large advantage for robot-assisted techniques over standard open surgery for patients undergoing RC/PLND and urinary diversion. Similar 90-d complication rates, hospital stay, pathologic outcomes, and 3-and 6-mo QOL outcomes were observed regardless of surgical technique. Patient summary: Of 118 patients with bladder cancer who underwent radical cystectomy, pelvic lymph node dissection, and urinary diversion, half were randomized to open surgery and half to robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery. We compared the rate of complications within 90 d after surgery for the open group versus the robotic group and found no significant difference between the two groups. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials. gov identifier NCT01076387, www.clinicaltrials.gov. (C) 2014 European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Astrocytic Ion Dynamics: Implications for Potassium Buffering and Liquid Flow

We review modeling of astrocyte ion dynamics with a specific focus on the implications of so-called spatial potassium buffering, where excess potassium in the extracellular space (ECS) is transported away to prevent pathological neural spiking. The recently introduced Kirchoff-Nernst-Planck (KNP) scheme for modeling ion dynamics in astrocytes (and brain tissue in general) is outlined and used to study such spatial buffering. We next describe how the ion dynamics of astrocytes may regulate microscopic liquid flow by osmotic effects and how such microscopic flow can be linked to whole-brain macroscopic flow. We thus include the key elements in a putative multiscale theory with astrocytes linking neural activity on a microscopic scale to macroscopic fluid flow.Comment: 27 pages, 7 figure

Asymptotic bounds for the sizes of constant dimension codes and an improved lower bound

We study asymptotic lower and upper bounds for the sizes of constant dimension codes with respect to the subspace or injection distance, which is used in random linear network coding. In this context we review known upper bounds and show relations between them. A slightly improved version of the so-called linkage construction is presented which is e.g. used to construct constant dimension codes with subspace distance $d=4$, dimension $k=3$ of the codewords for all field sizes $q$, and sufficiently large dimensions $v$ of the ambient space, that exceed the MRD bound, for codes containing a lifted MRD code, by Etzion and Silberstein.Comment: 30 pages, 3 table

From current status to optimization of HCV treatment: Recommendations from an expert panel

Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major public health problem at a global level, causing an enormous burden of hepatic and extra-hepatic morbidity and mortality. Treatment of chronic HCV (CHC) has been revolutionized in the last few years by the introduction of highly effective and well tolerated direct acting antiviral agents (DAAs) able to achieve >90% rates of sustained virological response (SVR) in many groups of patients, including those previously excluded from interferon-based regimens. For such reason interferon-free regimens are now the treatments of choice for all patients. Successful anti-HCV treatment can stop liver disease progression and can solve the HCV-related extra hepatic manifestations, eventually reducing both liver-related and overall mortality. Together with the rapidly accumulating data about the evolution of treatment landscape, different guidelines from national and international Liver Scientific Societies have been published until today. However, these recommendations may not be applied worldwide as, due to high treatment costs, most of them identify as priority groups only patients with advanced liver disease. Moreover some types of patients pose clinical management problems for which even the guidelines do not always provide useful answers. With the aim of treatment optimization by filling some of the gaps of the current guidelines and addressing the remaining unmet needs in practice, a group of Italian experts, experienced on treatment of HCV infection, met in Stresa in February 2016. The summary of all the considerations arising from this two-day meeting and the final statements are reported in this position paper

Impact of social determinants on antiretroviral therapy access and outcomes entering the era of universal treatment for people living with HIV in Italy

Background: Social determinants are known to be a driving force of health inequalities, even in high income countries. Aim of our study was to determine if these factors can limit antiretroviral therapy (ART) access, outcome and retention in care of people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Italy. Methods: All ART naïve HIV+ patients (pts) of Italian nationality enrolled in the ICONA Cohort from 2002 to 2016 were included. The association of socio-demographic characteristics (age, sex, risk factor for HIV infection, educational level, occupational status and residency area) with time to: ART initiation (from the first positive anti-HIV test), ART regimen discontinuation, and first HIV-RNA < 50 cp/mL, were evaluated by Cox regression analysis, Kaplan Meier method and log-rank test. Results: A total of 8023 HIV+ pts (82% males, median age at first pos anti-HIV test 36 years, IQR: 29-44) were included: 6214 (77.5%) started ART during the study period. Women, people who inject drugs (PWID) and residents in Southern Italy presented the lowest levels of education and the highest rate of unemployment compared to other groups. Females, pts aged > 50 yrs., unemployed vs employed, and people with lower educational levels presented the lowest CD4 count at ART initiation compared to other groups. The overall median time to ART initiation was 0.6 years (yrs) (IQR 0.1-3.7), with a significant decrease over time [2002-2006 = 3.3 yrs. (0.2-9.4); 2007-2011 = 1.0 yrs. (0.1-3.9); 2012-2016 = 0.2 yrs. (0.1-2.1), p < 0.001]. By multivariate analysis, females (p < 0.01) and PWID (p < 0.001), presented a longer time to ART initiation, while older people (p < 0.001), people with higher educational levels (p < 0.001), unemployed (p = 0.02) and students (p < 0.001) were more likely to initiate ART. Moreover, PWID, unemployed vs stable employed, and pts. with lower educational levels showed a lower 1-year probability of achieving HIV-RNA suppression, while females, older patients, men who have sex with men (MSM), unemployed had higher 1-year risk of first-line ART discontinuation. Conclusions: Despite median time to ART start decreased from 2002 to 2016, socio-demographic factors still contribute to disparities in ART initiation, outcome and durability