Sleep disturbance and serum ferritin levels associate with high impulsivity and impulse control disorders in male Parkinson\u27s Disease patients

Impulse control disorders (ICDs) occur in a subset of Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients on dopaminergic medications however there are currently no reliable markers to identify patients at risk. Sleep disturbances are more common in patients with an ICD. Serum ferritin levels have been associated with PD disease stage and progression, but have not previously been associated with impulsivity levels. The objective of this study was to determine if serum ferritin levels and sleep disturbance are associated with high traits of impulsivity and ICD in a cohort of PD patients attending a movement disorders clinic. This study assessed impulsiveness in 87 PD patients using the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale. Severity of sleep disturbance was determined using the sleep-related items of the MDS-UPDRS. Serum ferritin, iron and transferrin levels were measured in patients, as well as 36 age-matched healthy controls. Serum ferritin levels were significantly elevated in male PD patients in the high impulsivity group compared to patients in the low (p=.022) and normal range groups (p=.024) and showed a linear increase across the three groups. Sleep disturbance also demonstrated a linear trend, which was most severe in the high impulsivity group (p=.030). A subgroup of 11 male PD patients who fulfilled the DSM-5 criteria for an ICD had significantly higher ferritin levels and more severe sleep disturbance when compared with the remaining male PD cohort. Serum ferritin levels and sleep disturbance severity are highlighted as potential markers for abnormal impulsivity and ICD in PD patients

The structure and petrology of the Cnoc nan Cuilean Intrusion, Loch Loyal Syenite Complex, NW Scotland

In NW Scotland, several alkaline intrusive complexes of Silurian age intrude the Caledonian orogenic front. The most northerly is the Loch Loyal Syenite Complex, which is divided into three separate intrusions (Ben Loyal, Beinn Stumanadh and Cnoc nan Cuilean). Mapping of the Cnoc nan Cuilean intrusion shows two main zones: a Mixed Syenite Zone (MZ) and a Massive Leucosyenite Zone (LZ), with a gradational contact. The MZ forms a lopolith, with multiple syenitic lithologies, including early basic melasyenites and later felsic leucosyenites. Leucosyenite melts mixed and mingled with melasyenites, resulting in extreme heterogeneity within the MZ. Continued felsic magmatism resulted in formation of the relatively homogeneous LZ, invading western parts of the MZ and now forming the topographically highest terrane. The identification of pegmatites, microgranitic veins and unusual biotite-magnetite veins demonstrates the intrusion's complex petrogenesis. Cross-sections have been used to create a novel 3D GoCad™ model contributing to our understanding of the intrusion. The Loch Loyal Syenite Complex is known to have relatively high concentrations of rare earth elements (REEs), and thus the area has potential economic and strategic value. At Cnoc nan Cuilean, abundant REE-bearing allanite is present within melasyenites of the MZ. Extensive hydrothermal alteration of melasyenites here formed steeply dipping biotite-magnetite veins, most enriched in allanite and other REE-bearing accessories. This study has thus identified the area of greatest importance for further study of REE enrichment processes in the Cnoc nan Cuilean intrusion

K-theory of noncommutative Bieberbach manifolds

We compute $K-theory of noncommutative Bieberbach manifolds, which quotients of a three-dimensional noncommutative torus by a free action of a cyclic group Z_N, N=2,3,4,6.Comment: 19 page

Safety, efficacy, and intraoperative characteristics of DisCoVisc and Healon ophthalmic viscosurgical devices for cataract surgery

Satish S Modi1, James A Davison2, Tom Walters3 1Seeta Eye Centers, Poughkeepsie, NY, USA; 2Wolfe Clinic, Marshalltown, IA, USA; 3Texas Eye Care, Austin, TX, USA Purpose: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of DisCoVisc ophthalmic viscosurgical device (OVD, Alcon Laboratories, Inc) with respect to a comparator, Healon OVD (Advanced Medical Optics, Inc). Patients and methods: In this prospective study, patients with cataracts were randomized to an OVD, and then received phacoemulsification and injection of an intraocular lens. After each surgery, unmasked investigators completed subjective questionnaires about OVD characteristics during each stage of the procedure. Masked technicians evaluated objective safety parameters of intraocular pressure (IOP) and endothelial cell density, with 90 days of follow-up. Results: The DisCoVisc OVD group (128 eyes) and the Healon OVD group (121 eyes) had statistically similar outcomes for IOP and for endothelial cell loss. Subjectively assessed viscosity was statistically different (P < 0.0001), with Healon OVD most often rated “cohesive” and DisCoVisc OVD most often rated “both dispersive and cohesive”. Workspace maintenance differed between groups (P < 0.0001), with workspace most frequently rated “full chamber maintained” when using DisCoVisc OVD and most frequently rated “workspace maintained” when using Healon OVD. “Flat” or “shallow” workspace ratings occurred only in the Healon OVD group. Conclusion: DisCoVisc OVD had both cohesive and dispersive properties, and was safe and effective for every stage of cataract surgery. Keywords: cataract, endothelial cell density, viscoelastic, phacoemulsificatio

A Cascade Neural Network Architecture investigating Surface Plasmon Polaritons propagation for thin metals in OpenMP

Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) confined along metal-dielectric interface have attracted a relevant interest in the area of ultracompact photonic circuits, photovoltaic devices and other applications due to their strong field confinement and enhancement. This paper investigates a novel cascade neural network (NN) architecture to find the dependance of metal thickness on the SPP propagation. Additionally, a novel training procedure for the proposed cascade NN has been developed using an OpenMP-based framework, thus greatly reducing training time. The performed experiments confirm the effectiveness of the proposed NN architecture for the problem at hand