Cerebellar Morphometry and Cognition in the Context of Chronic Alcohol Consumption and Cigarette Smoking.

BackgroundCerebellar atrophy (especially involving the superior-anterior cerebellar vermis) is among the most salient and clinically significant effects of chronic hazardous alcohol consumption on brain structure. Smaller cerebellar volumes are also associated with chronic cigarette smoking. The present study investigated effects of both chronic alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking on cerebellar structure and its relation to performance on select cognitive/behavioral tasks.MethodsUsing T1-weighted Magnetic Resonance Images (MRIs), the Cerebellar Analysis Tool Kit segmented the cerebellum into bilateral hemispheres and 3 vermis parcels from 4 participant groups: smoking (s) and nonsmoking (ns) abstinent alcohol-dependent treatment seekers (ALC) and controls (CON) (i.e., sALC, nsALC, sCON, and nsCON). Cognitive and behavioral data were also obtained.ResultsWe found detrimental effects of chronic drinking on all cerebellar structural measures in ALC participants, with largest reductions seen in vermis areas. Furthermore, both smoking groups had smaller volumes of cerebellar hemispheres but not vermis areas compared to their nonsmoking counterparts. In exploratory analyses, smaller cerebellar volumes were related to lower measures of intelligence. In sCON, but not sALC, greater smoking severity was related to smaller cerebellar volume and smaller superior-anterior vermis area. In sALC, greater abstinence duration was associated with larger cerebellar and superior-anterior vermis areas, suggesting some recovery with abstinence.ConclusionsOur results show that both smoking and alcohol status are associated with smaller cerebellar structural measurements, with vermal areas more vulnerable to chronic alcohol consumption and less affected by chronic smoking. These morphometric cerebellar deficits were also associated with lower intelligence and related to duration of abstinence in sALC only

Evaluation of mTOR-regulated mRNA translation.

mTOR, the mammalian target of rapamycin, regulates protein synthesis (mRNA translation) by affecting the phosphorylation or activity of several translation factors. Here, we describe methods for studying the impact of mTOR signalling on protein synthesis, using inhibitors of mTOR such as rapamycin (which impairs some of its functions) or mTOR kinase inhibitors (which probably block all functions).To assess effects of mTOR inhibition on general protein synthesis in cells, the incorporation of radiolabelled amino acids into protein is measured. This does not yield information on the effects of mTOR on the synthesis of specific proteins. To do this, two methods are described. In one, stable-isotope labelled amino acids are used, and their incorporation into new proteins is determined using mass spectrometric methods. The proportions of labelled vs. unlabeled versions of each peptide from a given protein provide quantitative information about the rate of that protein's synthesis under different conditions. Actively translated mRNAs are associated with ribosomes in polyribosomes (polysomes); thus, examining which mRNAs are found in polysomes under different conditions provides information on the translation of specific mRNAs under different conditions. A method for the separation of polysomes from non-polysomal mRNAs is describe

Ultimate behavior of idealized composite floor elements at ambient and elevated temperature

This paper is concerned with the ultimate behavior of composite floor slabs under extreme loading situations resembling those occurring during severe building fires. The study focuses on the failure state associated with rupture of the reinforcement in idealized slab elements, which become lightly reinforced in a fire situation due to the early loss of the steel deck. The paper describes a fundamental approach for assessing the failure limit associated with reinforcement fracture in lightly reinforced beams, representing idealized slab strips. A description of the ambient-temperature tests on isolated restrained elements, carried out to assess the influence of key material parameters on the failure conditions, is firstly presented. The results of a series of material tests, undertaken mainly to examine the effect of elevated temperature on ductility, are also described. A simplified analytical model is employed, in conjunction with the experimental findings, to assess the salient material parameters and their implications on the ultimate response at both ambient and elevated temperature. © 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

Iterative forcing and hyperimmunity in reverse mathematics

The separation between two theorems in reverse mathematics is usually done by constructing a Turing ideal satisfying a theorem P and avoiding the solutions to a fixed instance of a theorem Q. Lerman, Solomon and Towsner introduced a forcing technique for iterating a computable non-reducibility in order to separate theorems over omega-models. In this paper, we present a modularized version of their framework in terms of preservation of hyperimmunity and show that it is powerful enough to obtain the same separations results as Wang did with his notion of preservation of definitions.Comment: 15 page

The interactive bending wrinkling behaviour of inflated beams

ArticleA model is proposed based on a Fourier series method to analyse the interactive bending wrinkling behaviour of inflated beams. The whole wrinkling evolution is tracked and divided into three stages by identifying the bifurcations of the equilibrium path. The critical wrinkling and failure moments of inflated beam are then able to be predicted. The global-local interactive buckling pattern is elucidated by the proposed theoretical model and also verified by non-contact experimental tests. The effects of geometric parameters, internal pressure and boundary conditions on the buckling of inflated beams are investigated in the end. Results reveal that the interactive buckling characteristics of inflated beam under bending are more sensitive to the dimensions of the structure and boundary conditions. We find that beams which are simply supported at both ends or clamped and simply supported boundary conditions may prevent the wrinkling formation. The results provide significant support for our understanding of the bending-wrinkling behaviour of inflated beams.This work is supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China, 11172079 and 11572099; Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University, NCET-11-0807; Natural Science Foundation of Heilongjiang Province of China, A2015002; the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, HIT.BRETIII.201209 and HIT.MKSTISP.2016 29

The thermal analysis of cutting/grinding processes by meshless finite block method

© 2018 Elsevier Ltd Development of the Finite Block Method (FBM) is presented, with the introduction of infinite elements for the first time, for predicting stationary and transient heat conduction in cutting/grinding processes. Utilizing the Lagrange series the first order partial differential matrix is derived, adopting a mapping technique, followed by the construction of the higher order derivative matrix. For linear stationary heat conductivity three free parameters including the velocity of the workpiece, the cooling coefficient and the inclined angle of the contact zone, together with their effects on temperature, are observed. For the transient heat conduction study, the Laplace transformation method and Durbin's inverse technique are employed. Numerical solutions are discussed and comparisons made with the finite element method and analytical solutions, demonstrating the accuracy and convergence of the finite block method

How to Make a Better-Informed Go-No-Go Decision in Oncology Trials Using Tumor Measurement Data and Beyond

In this paper, we discussed new methods to summarize clinical efficacy data. The method is called “Trajectory and their corresponding non-missing Proportions Plot (TPP). The method focuses on the conditional mean response, condition on that the data are non-missing, and the proportion of non-missing, overtime. This graph is proposed for all trials to assess the treatment effect and dropout pattern across all time points. These two parameters are jointly used to access the treatment effect to answer a particular question about effectiveness that reduces the ambiguity of phrasing in federal regulations. It will be seen that it requires both parameters to conclude that one treatment is better than other at a particular time point. The first parameter is obvious, while the second parameter is from the belief that the proportion of non-missing from the more effective treatment (A) should not be less than that of the less effective treatment (B) to conclude that A is better than B. Another way to put this is: to conclude A is better than B, we should not know less about A than B. From the parameters defined above, the missing proportions are an integral and intrinsic part of our data and are used in assessing non-missing probability. The non-missing proportion overtime reflects the reality in practice and is a very important information for stakeholders. The paper focuses on using the approach in making go-no-go decision in oncology proof-of-concept trials

Buckling behavior of carbon nanotubes under bending: from ripple to kink

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record.This paper elucidates the buckling behavior of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) under bending. CNTs are modeled as continuous thin-wall circular tubes, and their buckling is governed by equations that take into account of the sectional Brazier effect and non-uniform structural deformation. The CNT governing equations (fourth-order ordinary differential nonlinear equations with integral conditions) are solved by introducing a continuation algorithm. In addition, the buckling behavior of CNTs under bending is simulated with objective molecular dynamics (OMD), and is used to verify the continuum results. We show that there exist low- and high-strain phases during the bending process of CNTs, and the transition in between may divide the whole bending process into three stages: low-curvature stage, mixed-curvature stage and high-curvature stage. Ripples are generated on the CNT surfaces before the formation of kinks. Compared to single-walled CNTs (SWCNTs), hydrogen-filled CNTs have a longer mixed-strain stage owing to the presence of internal pressure, and are therefore more inclined to exhibit a ripple morphology. Our results offer better understanding of the buckling behavior of CNTs, and may open up new opportunities for the design and applications of novel CNT-based nanoelectronics.National Natural Science Foundation of ChinaProgram for New Century 24 Excellent Talents in UniversityNatural Science Foundation of Heilongjiang Province of ChinaFundamental Research Funds for the Central Universitie

Bioconjugates of Glucose Oxidase and Gold Nanorods Based on Electrostatic Interaction with Enhanced Thermostability

Bioconjugates made up of an enzyme and gold nanorods (GNRs) were fabricated by electrostatic interactions (layer-by-layer method, LBL) between anionic glucose oxidase (GOD) and positively charged GNRs. The assembled processes were monitored by UV–Vis spectra, zeta potential measurements, and transmission electron microscopy. The enzyme activity assays of the obtained bioconjugates display a relatively enhanced thermostability behavior in contrast with that of free enzyme. Free GOD in solution only retains about 22% of its relative activity at 90 °C. Unexpectedly, the immobilized GOD on GNRs still retains about 39.3% activity after the same treatment. This work will be of significance for the biologic enhancement using other kinds of anisotropic nanostructure and suggests a new way of enhancing enzyme thermostability using anisotropic metal nanomaterials