Assessment of regional gray matter loss in dementia with Lewy bodies: a surface-based MRI analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To compare magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) patterns of cortical thinning in subjects with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), Alzheimer's disease (AD), and normal aging and investigate the relationship between cortical thickness and clinical measures. METHODS: Study participants (31 DLB, 30 AD, and 33 healthy comparison subjects) underwent 3-Tesla T1-weighted MRI and completed clinical and cognitive assessments. We used the FreeSurfer analysis package to measure cortical thickness and investigated the patterns of cortical thinning across groups. RESULTS: Cortical thinning in AD was found predominantly in the temporal and parietal areas extending into the frontal lobes (N = 63, df = 59, t >3.3, p 3.6, p 2.8, p <0.01 uncorrected). CONCLUSION: Cortical thickness may be a sensitive measure for characterising gray matter loss in DLB and highlights important structural imaging differences between the conditions.The study was funded by the Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust [grant ref: 05/JTA] and supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre in Ageing and Chronic Disease and Biomedical Research Unit in Lewy Body Dementia based at Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Newcastle University, and the Biomedical Research Centre and Unit in Dementia based at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.This is the accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S106474811400219X

Predicting Securities Fraud Settlements and Amounts: A Hierarchical Bayesian Model of Federal Securities Class Action Lawsuits

This article develops models that predict the incidence and amount of settlements for federal class action securities fraud litigation in the post-PLSRA period. We build hierarchical Bayesian models using data that come principally from Riskmetrics and identify several important predictors of settlement incidence (e.g., the number of different types of securities associated with a case, the company return during the class period) and settlement amount (e.g., market capitalization, measures of newsworthiness). Our models also allow us to estimate how the circuit court a case is filed in as well as the industry of the plaintiff firm associate with settlement outcomes. Finally, they allow us to accurately assess the variance of individual case outcomes revealing substantial amounts of heterogeneity in variance across cases

Predicting Securities Fraud Settlements and Amounts: A Hierarchical Bayesian Model of Federal Securities Class Action Lawsuits

This article develops models that predict the incidence and amount of settlements for federal class action securities fraud litigation in the post-PLSRA period. We build hierarchical Bayesian models using data that come principally from Riskmetrics and identify several important predictors of settlement incidence (e.g., the number of different types of securities associated with a case, the company return during the class period) and settlement amount (e.g., market capitalization, measures of newsworthiness). Our models also allow us to estimate how the circuit court a case is filed in as well as the industry of the plaintiff firm associate with settlement outcomes. Finally, they allow us to accurately assess the variance of individual case outcomes revealing substantial amounts of heterogeneity in variance across cases

Digging deeper : the influence of historical mining on Glasgow's subsurface thermal state to inform geothermal research

Studies of the former NE England coalfield in Tyneside demonstrated that heat flow perturbations in boreholes were due to the entrainment and lateral dispersion of heat from deeper in the subsurface through flooded mine workings. This work assesses the influence of historical mining on geothermal observations across Greater Glasgow. The regional heat flow for Glasgow is 60 mW m−2 and, after correction for palaeoclimate, is estimated as c. 80 mW m−2. An example of reduced heat flow above mine workings is observed at Hallside (c. 10 km SE of Glasgow), where the heat flow through a 352 m deep borehole is c. 14 mW m−2. Similarly, the heat flow across the 199 m deep GGC01 borehole in the Glasgow Geothermal Energy Research Field Site is c. 44 mW m−2. The differences between these values and the expected regional heat flow suggest a significant component of horizontal heat flow into surrounding flooded mine workings. This deduction also influences the quantification of deeper geothermal resources, as extrapolation of the temperature gradient above mine workings would underestimate the temperature at depth. Future projects should consider the influence of historical mining on heat flow when temperature datasets such as these are used in the design of geothermal developments

A null mutation for tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-3 (Timp-3) impairs murine bronchiole branching morphogenesis.

Tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) regulate extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation by matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). We have examined the role of TIMP-3 on ECM homeostasis and bronchiole branching morphogenesis during murine embryogenesis. Employing an in vitro organ culture system, we found decreased bronchiolar branching in null lungs when compared with wild type (WT) counterparts after 2 days in culture. When a synthetic inhibitor of MMPs at low dose was added to the culture system, branching was augmented regardless of genotype. Gelatin and in situ zymography revealed that null lungs exhibited enhanced activation of MMPs throughout lung development. We analysed the impact of increased MMP activity on a number of ECM molecules by Western blot analysis, but found that only fibronectin abundance was consistently reduced in the null lungs throughout development. To confirm that our observed defect in culture was not simply a developmental delay in the null lung, we examined null and WT lungs from newborn pups. Here, we found not only a reduced number of bronchioles in the null, but also that the bronchiole tubes were dilated compared with controls and that alveologenesis was attenuated. We propose that the deletion of TIMP-3 disrupts the exquisite TIMP/MMP balance required for proper focal ECM proteolysis, which leads to correct bronchiole branching morphogenesis in the developing mouse lung

Phenylethynyl Terminated Imide (PETI) Composites Made by High Temperature VARTM

Fabrication of composite structures using vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) is generally more affordable than conventional autoclave techniques. Recent efforts have focused on adapting VARTM for the fabrication of high temperature composites. Due to their low melt viscosity and long melt stability, certain phenylethynyl terminated imides (PETI) can be processed into composites using high temperature VARTM (HT-VARTM). However, one of the disadvantages of the current HT-VARTM resin systems has been the high porosity of the resultant composites. For aerospace applications, a void fraction of <2% is desired. In the current study, two PETI resins, LARC. PETI-330 and LARC. PETI-8 have been used to fabricate test specimens using HT-VARTM. The resins were infused into carbon fiber preforms at 260 C and cured between 316 and 371 C. Photomicrographs of the panels were taken and void contents were determined by acid digestion. Modifications to the thermal cycle used in the laminate fabrication have reduced the void content significantly; typically .3% for carbon fiber biaxially woven fabric and less than 2% for carbon fiber uniaxial fabric. Mechanical properties (short beam shear and flexure) of the panels were determined at both room and elevated temperatures. The results of this work are presented herein. This paper is declared a work of the U.S. Government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States

Phenylethynyl Terminated Imide (PETI) Composites Made by High Temperature Vartm

The use of composites as primary structures on aerospace vehicles has increased dramatically over the past decade. As these advanced structures increase in size and complexity, their production costs have grown significantly. A major contributor to these manufacturing costs is the requirement of elevated pressures, during high temperature processing, to create fully consolidated composite parts. Recently, NASA Langley has licensed a series of low viscosity Phenyl Ethynyl Terminated Imide, PETI, oligomers that possess a wide processing window to allow for Resin Transfer Molding, RTM, processing. These resins, PETI-8 and PETI-330, demonstrate void fractions of approx.1% under elevated pressure consolidation. However, when used with a standardized thermal curing cycle in a High Temperature Vacuum Assisted RTM (HT-VARTM) process, they display undesirable void contents in excess of 7%. It was determined previously that under the thermal cycles used for laminate fabrication, the phenylethynyl endcap underwent degradation leading to volatile evolution. Modifications to the processing cycle used in the laminate fabrication have reduced the void content significantly (typically less than 3%) for carbon fiber biaxially woven fabric. For carbon fiber uniaxial fabric, void contents of less than 2% have been obtained using both PETI-8 and PETI-330. The resins were infused into carbon fiber preforms at 260 C and cured between 316 C and 371 C. Photomicrographs of the panels were taken and void contents were determined by acid digestion. Mechanical properties of the panels were determined at both room and elevated temperatures. These include short beam shear and flexure tests. The results of this work are presented herein