Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation with multiple-organ failure: Can molecular adsorbent recirculating system therapy improve survival?

BACKGROUND: Liver dialysis, molecular adsorbent recirculating system (MARS) particularly, has been used in liver failure to bridge to transplantation. We expanded the indication for MARS to patients with acute shock liver failure and cardiopulmonary failure on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), aiming to improve survival to wean from ECMO. METHODS: Retrospective chart analysis of patients on ECMO between 2010 and 2015 found 28 patients who met the criteria for acute liver failure, diagnosed by hyperbilirubinemia (total bilirubin ≥10 mg/dl) or by elevated transaminase (alanine transaminase \u3e1,000 IU/liter). Of these patients, 14 underwent MARS treatment (Group M), and 14 were supported with optimal medical treatment without MARS (Group C). Patient characteristics, liver function, and survival were compared between groups. RESULTS: Demographics, clinical risk factors, and pre-ECMO laboratory data were identical between the groups. MARS was used continuously for 8 days ± 9 in Group M. Total bilirubin, alanine transaminase, and international normalized ratio were improved significantly in Group M. There were no MARS-related complications. Survival to wean from ECMO for Group M was 64% (9/14) vs 21% (3/14) for Group C (p = 0.02). Mortality related to worsening liver dysfunction during ECMO was 40% (2/5 deaths) in Group M and 100% (11/11 deaths) in Group C (p = 0.004). The 30-day survival after ECMO was 43% (6/14) in Group M and 14% (2/14) in Group C (p = 0.09). CONCLUSIONS: MARS therapy in patients on ECMO safely accelerated recovery of liver function and improved survival to wean from ECMO, without increasing complications

Weakly Coupled Motion of Individual Layers in Ferromagnetic Resonance

We demonstrate a layer- and time-resolved measurement of ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) in a Ni81Fe19 / Cu / Co93Zr7 trilayer structure. Time-resolved x-ray magnetic circular dichroism has been developed in transmission, with resonant field excitation at a FMR frequency of 2.3 GHz. Small-angle (to 0.2 degree), time-domain magnetization precession could be observed directly, and resolved to individual layers through elemental contrast at Ni, Fe, and Co edges. The phase sensitivity allowed direct measurement of relative phase lags in the precession oscillations of individual elements and layers. A weak ferromagnetic coupling, difficult to ascertain in conventional FMR measurements, is revealed in the phase and amplitude response of individual layers across resonance.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figures submitted to Physical Review

Polarization measurements of the polluted white dwarf G29-38

We have made high precision polarimetric observations of the polluted white dwarf G29-38 with the HIgh Precision Polarimetric Instrument 2. The observations were made at two different observatories -- using the 8.1-m Gemini North Telescope and the 3.9-m Anglo AustralianTelescope -- and are consistent with each other. After allowing for a small amount of interstellar polarization, the intrinsic linear polarization of the system is found to be 275.3 +/- 31.9 parts-per-million at a position angle of 90.8 +/- 3.8 degrees in the SDSS g' band. We compare the observed polarization with the predictions of circumstellar disc models. The measured polarization is small in the context of the models we develop which only allows us to place limits on disc inclination and Bond albedo for optically thin disc geometries. In this case either the inclination is near face-on or the albedo is small -- likely in the range 0.05 to 0.15 -- which is in line with other debris disc measurements. A preliminary search for the effects of G29-38's pulsations in the polarization signal produced inconsistent results. This may be caused by beating effects, indicate a clumpy dust distribution, or be a consequence of measurement systematics.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures, 4 tables. Accepted to MNRA

Near-infrared Hubble Space Telescope polarimetry of a complete sample of narrow-line radio galaxies

We present an analysis of 2.05 μm Hubble Space Telescope polarimetric data for a sample of 13 nearby Fanaroff–Riley type II (FRII) 3CR radio sources (0.03 < z < 0.11) that are classified as narrow-line radio galaxies (NLRG) at optical wavelengths. We find that the compact cores of the NLRG in our sample are intrinsically highly polarized in the near-infrared (near-IR) (6 < P2.05 μm < 60 per cent), with the electric vector (E-vector) perpendicular to the radio axis in 54 per cent of the sources. The levels of extinction required to produce near-IR polarization by the dichroic extinction mechanism are consistent with the measured values recently reported in Ramírez et al., provided that this mechanism has its maximum efficiency. This consistency suggests that the nuclear polarization could be due to dichroic extinction. In this case, toroidal magnetic fields that are highly coherent would be required in the circumnuclear tori to align the elongated dust grains responsible for the dichroic extinction. However, it is not entirely possible to rule out other polarization mechanisms (e.g. scattering, synchrotron emission) with our observations at only one near-IR wavelength. Therefore, further polarimetry observations at mid-IR and radio wavelengths will be required to test whether all the near-IR polarization is due to dichroic extinction

Surface and Temporal Biosignatures

Recent discoveries of potentially habitable exoplanets have ignited the prospect of spectroscopic investigations of exoplanet surfaces and atmospheres for signs of life. This chapter provides an overview of potential surface and temporal exoplanet biosignatures, reviewing Earth analogues and proposed applications based on observations and models. The vegetation red-edge (VRE) remains the most well-studied surface biosignature. Extensions of the VRE, spectral "edges" produced in part by photosynthetic or nonphotosynthetic pigments, may likewise present potential evidence of life. Polarization signatures have the capacity to discriminate between biotic and abiotic "edge" features in the face of false positives from band-gap generating material. Temporal biosignatures -- modulations in measurable quantities such as gas abundances (e.g., CO2), surface features, or emission of light (e.g., fluorescence, bioluminescence) that can be directly linked to the actions of a biosphere -- are in general less well studied than surface or gaseous biosignatures. However, remote observations of Earth's biosphere nonetheless provide proofs of concept for these techniques and are reviewed here. Surface and temporal biosignatures provide complementary information to gaseous biosignatures, and while likely more challenging to observe, would contribute information inaccessible from study of the time-averaged atmospheric composition alone.Comment: 26 pages, 9 figures, review to appear in Handbook of Exoplanets. Fixed figure conversion error

Contact Manifolds, Contact Instantons, and Twistor Geometry

Recently, Kallen and Zabzine computed the partition function of a twisted supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory on the five-dimensional sphere using localisation techniques. Key to their construction is a five-dimensional generalisation of the instanton equation to which they refer as the contact instanton equation. Subject of this article is the twistor construction of this equation when formulated on K-contact manifolds and the discussion of its integrability properties. We also present certain extensions to higher dimensions and supersymmetric generalisations.Comment: v3: 28 pages, clarifications and references added, version to appear in JHE

Autism as a disorder of neural information processing: directions for research and targets for therapy

The broad variation in phenotypes and severities within autism spectrum disorders suggests the involvement of multiple predisposing factors, interacting in complex ways with normal developmental courses and gradients. Identification of these factors, and the common developmental path into which theyfeed, is hampered bythe large degrees of convergence from causal factors to altered brain development, and divergence from abnormal brain development into altered cognition and behaviour. Genetic, neurochemical, neuroimaging and behavioural findings on autism, as well as studies of normal development and of genetic syndromes that share symptoms with autism, offer hypotheses as to the nature of causal factors and their possible effects on the structure and dynamics of neural systems. Such alterations in neural properties may in turn perturb activity-dependent development, giving rise to a complex behavioural syndrome many steps removed from the root causes. Animal models based on genetic, neurochemical, neurophysiological, and behavioural manipulations offer the possibility of exploring these developmental processes in detail, as do human studies addressing endophenotypes beyond the diagnosis itself

Teasing apart the heterogeneity of autism: Same behavior, different brains in toddlers with fragile X syndrome and autism

To examine brain volumes in substructures associated with the behavioral features of children with FXS compared to children with idiopathic autism and controls. A cross-sectional study of brain substructures was conducted at the first time-point as part of an ongoing longitudinal MRI study of brain development in FXS. The study included 52 boys between 18–42 months of age with FXS and 118 comparison children (boys with autism-non FXS, developmental-delay, and typical development). Children with FXS and autistic disorder had substantially enlarged caudate volume and smaller amygdala volume; whereas those children with autistic disorder without FXS (i.e., idiopathic autism) had only modest enlargement in their caudate nucleus volumes but more robust enlargement of their amygdala volumes. Although we observed this double dissociation among selected brain volumes, no significant differences in severity of autistic behavior between these groups were observed. This study offers a unique examination of early brain development in two disorders, FXS and idiopathic autism, with overlapping behavioral features, but two distinct patterns of brain morphology. We observed that despite almost a third of our FXS sample meeting criteria for autism, the profile of brain volume differences for children with FXS and autism differed from those with idiopathic autism. These findings underscore the importance of addressing heterogeneity in studies of autistic behavior

Post-depositional fracturing and subsidence of pumice flow deposits: Lascar Volcano, Chile

Unconsolidated pyroclastic flow deposits of the 1993 eruption of Lascar Volcano, Chile, have, with time, become increasingly dissected by a network of deeply penetrating fractures. The fracture network comprises orthogonal sets of decimeter-wide linear voids that form a pseudo-polygonal grid visible on the deposit surface. In this work, we combine shallow surface geophysical imaging tools with remote sensing observations and direct field measurements of the deposit to investigate these fractures and their underlying causal mechanisms. Based on ground penetrating radar images, the fractures are observed to have propagated to depths of up to 10 m. In addition, orbiting radar interferometry shows that deposit subsidence of up to 1 cm/year occurred between 1993 and 1996 with continued subsidence occurring at a slower rate thereafter. In situ measurements show that 1 m below the surface, the 1993 deposits remain 5°C to 15°C hotter, 18 years after emplacement, than adjacent deposits. Based on the observed subsidence as well as estimated cooling rates, the fractures are inferred to be the combined result of deaeration, thermal contraction, and sedimentary compaction in the months to years following deposition. Significant environmental factors, including regional earthquakes in 1995 and 2007, accelerated settling at punctuated moments in time. The spatially variable fracture pattern relates to surface slope and lithofacies variations as well as substrate lithology. Similar fractures have been reported in other ignimbrites but are generally exposed only in cross section and are often attributed to formation by external forces. Here we suggest that such interpretations should be invoked with caution, and deformation including post-emplacement subsidence and fracturing of loosely packed ash-rich deposits in the months to years postemplacement is a process inherent in the settling of pyroclastic material

Frequent loss of the AXIN1 locus but absence of AXIN1 gene mutations in adenocarcinomas of the gastro-oesophageal junction with nuclear β-catenin expression

Up to 60% of gastro-oesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinomas show nuclear β-catenin expression, pointing to activated T-cell factor (TCF)/β-catenin-driven gene transcription. We demonstrate in five human GEJ adenocarcinoma cell lines that nuclear β-catenin expression indeed correlates with enhanced TCF-mediated transcription of a reporter gene. In several tumour types, TCF/β-catenin activation is caused by mutations in either adenomatous polyposis coli (APC), β-catenin exon 3, AXIN1, AXIN2 or β-transducin repeat-containing protein (β-TrCP). In GEJ adenocarcinomas, very few APC and β-catenin mutations have been found. Therefore, the mechanism of Wnt pathway activation remains unclear. In the present study, we did not find AXIN1 gene mutations in 17 GEJ tumours with nuclear β-catenin expression (without β-catenin exon 3 mutations). Six intragenic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified. One of these, the AXIN1 gene T1942C SNP, has a frequency of 21% but is only very recently described despite numerous AXIN1 gene mutational studies. We provide evidence why this SNP was missed in single strand conformation polymorphism analyses. The AXIN1 gene G2063A variation was previously described as a gene mutation but we demonstrate that this is a polymorphism. With these six SNPs loss of heterozygosity (LOH) was found in 11 of 15 (73%) informative tumours. To investigate a possible AXIN1 gene dosage effect in GEJ tumours expressing nuclear β-catenin, AXIN1 locus LOH was determined in 20 tumours expressing membranous and no nuclear β-catenin. LOH was found in 10 of 13 (77%) informative cases. AXIN1 protein immunohistochemistry revealed cytoplasmic expression in all tumours irrespective of the presence of AXIN1 locus LOH. These data indicate that nuclear β-catenin expression is indicative for activated Wnt signalling and that neither AXIN1 gene mutations nor AXIN1 locus LOH are involved in Wnt pathway activation in GEJ adenocarcinomas