337 research outputs found
Subclinical immune reactions to viral infections may correlate with child and adolescent diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A preliminary study from Turkey
Background: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neuro-developmental disorders of childhood and adolescence. Studies focusing on the relationship of infectious agents and ADHD are scarce. It is also known that cerebellar injury may lead to hyperactive behavior. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between viral agents of cerebellitis and the diagnosis of ADHD.Methods: The study group was formed of 60 consecutive ADHD patients and 30 healthy children. IgG levels for VZV; HSV-1, CMV, Measles, Mumps, Rubella and EBV were evaluated.Results: Males were significantly higher among patients with ADHD (65% vs. 40%, p=0.025). Patients with ADHD displayed significantly higher positivity for measles IgG (80% vs. 60%, p=0.044). When patients with ADHD were classified according to their pubertal status, adolescents with ADHD displayed higher positivity for mumps (100% vs. 74.4%, p=0.043). Most of the patients were diagnosed with ADHD-Combined or Hyperactive/Impulsive Subtypes (56.6%) while 43.3% were diagnosed with ADHD-predominantly inattentive type. When patients with subtypes of ADHD were compared in terms of seropositivity, it was found that patients with ADHD-Combined/ Hyperactive-Impulsive subtypes had significantly elevated reactions for Rubella (100% vs. 88.5%, p=0.044).Conclusion: Although limited to a single center and may be prone to sampling biases, our results may support the notion that immune reactions may be related with ADHD among children and adolescents. Further, prospective studies from multiple centers are needed to support our findings and establish causality.Key words: ADHD, infection, immunology, measles, rubella, mumps, Ig
Susac’s Syndrome
We have read the interesting article by Raets and Gelin, entitled “Susac’s syndrome: a clinical and radiological challenge” which was published in the 95 (6) issue of the Journal in 2012 (1). The article included fairly important information which was very useful for us. However, we would like to make a few contributions
Electronic and magnetic properties of the topological semimetal SmMgBi
Dirac semimetals show nontrivial physical properties and can host exotic
quantum states like Weyl semimetals and topological insulators under suitable
external conditions. Here, by combining angle-resolved photoemission
spectroscopy measurements (ARPES) and first-principle calculations, we
demonstrate that Zintl-phase compound SmMgBi belongs to the close
proximity to a topological Dirac semimetallic state. ARPES results show a
Dirac-like band crossing at the zone-center near the Fermi level () which is further confirmed by first-principle calculations. Theoretical
studies also reveal that SmMgBi belongs to a topological class
and hosts spin-polarized states around the . Zintl's theory
predicts that the valence state of Sm in this material should be Sm,
however we detect many Sm-4 multiplet states (flat-bands) whose energy
positions suggest the presence of both Sm and Sm. It is also
evident that these flat-bands and other dispersive states are strongly
hybridized when they cross each other. Due to the presence of Sm ions,
the temperature dependence of magnetic susceptibility shows
Curie-Weiss-like contribution in the low temperature region, in addition to the
Van Vleck-like behaviour expected for the Sm ions. The present study
will help in better understanding of the electronic structure, magnetism and
transport properties of related materials.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure
Anisotropic magnetism and electronic structure of trigonal EuAlGe single crystals
The magnetic and electronic properties of the layered Zintl-phase compound
EuAlGe crystallizing in the trigonal CaAlSi-type structure are
reported. Our neutron-diffraction measurements show that EuAlGe
undergoes A-type antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordering below ~K, with the Eu moments (Eu, ) aligned
ferromagnetically in the plane. The magnetic structure consists of
trigonal AFM domains associated with -plane magnetic anisotropy and a
field-induced reorientation of the Eu spins in the domains is evident at ~K below the critical field kOe. Electrical resistivity and
ARPES measurements show that EuAlGe is metallic both above and below
. In the AFM phase, we directly observe folded bands in ARPES due to
the doubling of the magnetic unit cell along the axis with an enhancement
of quasiparticle weight due to the complex change in the coupling between the
magnetic moments and itinerant electrons on cooling below . The
observed electronic structure is well reproduced by first-principle
calculations, which also predict the presence of nontrivial electronic states
near the Fermi level in the AFM phase with topological numbers 1;(000).Comment: 16 pages, 13 captioned figures, 53 references Updated several
affiliation
Atmospheric Pressure Mass Spectrometry of Single Viruses and Nanoparticles by Nanoelectromechanical Systems
Mass spectrometry of intact nanoparticles and viruses can serve as a potent
characterization tool for material science and biophysics. Inaccessible by
widespread commercial techniques, the mass of single nanoparticles and viruses
(>10MDa) can be readily measured by NEMS (Nanoelectromechanical Systems) based
Mass Spectrometry, where charged and isolated analyte particles are generated
by Electrospray Ionization (ESI) in air and transported onto the NEMS resonator
for capture and detection. However, the applicability of NEMS as a practical
solution is hindered by their miniscule surface area, which results in poor
limit-of-detection and low capture efficiency values. Another hindrance is the
necessity to house the NEMS inside complex vacuum systems, which is required in
part to focus analytes towards the miniscule detection surface of the NEMS.
Here, we overcome both limitations by integrating an ion lens onto the NEMS
chip. The ion lens is composed of a polymer layer, which charges up by
receiving part of the ions incoming from the ESI tip and consequently starts to
focus the analytes towards an open window aligned with the active area of the
NEMS electrostatically. With this integrated system, we have detected the mass
of gold and polystyrene nanoparticles under ambient conditions and with two
orders-of-magnitude improvement in capture efficiency compared to the
state-of-the-art. We then applied this technology to obtain the mass spectrum
of SARS-CoV-2 and BoHV-1 virions. With the increase in analytical throughput,
the simplicity of the overall setup and the operation capability under ambient
conditions, the technique demonstrates that NEMS Mass Spectrometry can be
deployed for mass detection of engineered nanoparticles and biological samples
efficiently.Comment: 38 pages, 6 figure
Estimates for heritability and consumer-validation of a penetrometer method for phenotyping softness of cooked cassava roots
Although breeders have made significant progress in the genetic
improvement of cassava ( Manihot esculenta Crantz) for agronomic
traits, lack of information on heritability and limited testing of
high-throughput phenotyping methods are major limitations to improving
root quality traits, such as softness after cooking, which rank high
among Ugandan consumers. The objectives of this study were to determine
heritability for softness of cooked cassava roots, and quantify the
relationship between penetrometer and consumer testing methods for
phenotyping softness of cassava roots. Softness defined as the maximum
force (N) needed to penetrate cooked root samples using a penetrometer,
was evaluated at four cooking time intervals: 15, 30, 45, and 60 min on
268 cassava genotypes. Estimates of broad-sense heritability
(repeatability) ranged from 0.17 to 0.37, with the highest value
observed at 45 min of cooking time interval. In the second study
involving 135 cassava consumers from Kibaale district in Uganda,
penetrometer measurements of cooked roots from six cassava varieties
were found to be in strong agreement (r2 = 0.91; P-value = 0.003) with
ordinal scores of root softness from consumer testing. These results
suggest that: (a) softness of cooked cassava roots is a trait amenable
for evaluation and selection; and (b) a penetrometer can readily be
used for assessment of cooked root softness. These findings form the
basis for operationalising the routine assessment of root softness in
cassava breeding trials, an output that will enhance ongoing efforts to
breed for desired end-user root quality traits.Les s\ue9lectionneurs ont fait des progr\ue8s consid\ue9rables
dans l\u2019am\ue9lioration g\ue9n\ue9tique des caract\ue8res
agronomiques du manioc ( Manihot esculenta Crantz). Cependant un
manque de m\ue9thodes de ph\ue9notypage haut-d\ue9bit
adapt\ue9es aux caract\ue8res de qualit\ue9s tel que la
fermet\ue9 de la racine apr\ue8s cuisson, essentiel pour les
consommateurs Ougandais. Cette \ue9tude ambitionne a) de determiner
l\u2019h\ue9ritabilit\ue9 de la fermete de racine cuite b) de
quantifier la relation entre l \ue9valuation de la fermet\ue9 de
racine cuite au p\ue9n\ue9trom\ue8tre et un panel consommateurs.
Cette \ue9valuation a \ue9t\ue9 realisee a quatre intervals de
temps: 15, 30, 45 et 60 minutes sur 268 genotypes de manioc. Pour
d\ue9finir l\u2019h\ue9ritabilit\ue9 de la fermet\ue9 de la
racine, celle ci a \ue9t\ue9 d\ue9finie par la force maximum (N)
n\ue9cessaire pour p\ue9n\ue9trer des \ue9chantillons de
racines incluant diff\ue8rent temps de cuisson (15, 30, 45, and 60
min) a l\u2019aide d\u2019un p\ue9n\ue9trom\ue8tre.
L\u2019h\ue9ritabilit\ue9 au sens large (ou
r\ue9p\ue9tabilit\ue9) observ\ue9e varie de 0.17 a 0.37, la
valeur la plus \ue9lev\ue9 \ue9tant observ\ue9e pour un temps
de cuisson de 45 minutes. Dans une seconde \ue9tude impliquant 135
consommateurs du district de Kibaale (Ouest de l\u2019Ouganda), les
mesures au p\ue9n\ue9trom\ue8tre de racines cuites de six
vari\ue9t\ue9s ont confirm\ue9es la forte correlation (r2 = 0.91;
P-value = 0.003) avec les valeurs ordinales de fermet\ue9 de racine
du panel consommateur. Les r\ue9sultats de cette \ue9tude indiquent
que cette m\ue9thodologie de ph\ue9notypage est a) utile pour
l\u2019 \ue9valuation de la fermet\ue9 sur des racines cuites en
selection et b) d\ue9montre que l\u2019usage du
p\ue9n\ue9trom\ue8tre est efficace pour celle ci. Ces
r\ue9sultats offrent aux s\ue9lectionneurs une methode d\u2019
\ue9valuation de routine de la qualite de racine pour les essais
experimentaux. Ceux ci contribueront aux efforts actuels pour
l\u2019am\ue9lioration des caract\ue8res qualit\ue9s chers aux
consommateurs
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