Transport phenomena in electrolyte solutions: Non-equilibrium thermodynamics and statistical mechanics

The theory of transport phenomena in multicomponent electrolyte solutions is presented here through the integration of continuum mechanics, electromagnetism, and non-equilibrium thermodynamics. The governing equations of irreversible thermodynamics, including balance laws, Maxwell's equations, internal entropy production, and linear laws relating the thermodynamic forces and fluxes, are derived. Green-Kubo relations for the transport coefficients connecting electrochemical potential gradients and diffusive fluxes are obtained in terms of the flux-flux time correlations. The relationship between the derived transport coefficients and those of the Stefan-Maxwell and infinitely dilute frameworks are presented, and the connection between the transport matrix and experimentally measurable quantities is described. To exemplify application of the derived Green-Kubo relations in molecular simulations, the matrix of transport coefficients for lithium and chloride ions in dimethyl sulfoxide is computed using classical molecular dynamics and compared with experimental measurements.Comment: fixed typos, added references, addressed comment

Erythropoietic protoporphyria without skin symptoms-you do not always see what they feel

Erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP) is an inherited disorder of the porphyrin metabolism that often remains undiagnosed in children. We report on a 4-year-old girl who had been suffering for 1 year from recurrent painful crises affecting her hands, feet, and nose following sun exposure. Objective skin lesions were absent until the age of 6. Porphyrin analysis revealed elevated free erythrocyte protoporphyrin (FEP) levels confirming the diagnosis of EPP. This illustrates that skin lesions might be completely absent in children affected with EPP, a fact that has only been reported once previously. Because EPP can manifest with few and unspecific cutaneous symptoms or no skin lesions at all, like in this patient, the diagnosis of EPP might be delayed or missed. EPP should be excluded in all photosensitive children, especially when discomfort is disproportionate to the extent of the cutaneous lesions. The clinic, pathophysiology, diagnosis, complications, and therapy of EPP are discussed

Social Closure and the Evolution of Cooperation via Indirect Reciprocity

Direct and indirect reciprocity are good candidates to explain the fundamental problem of evolution of cooperation. We explore the conditions under which different types of reciprocity gain dominance and their performances in sustaining cooperation in the PD played on simple networks. We confirm that direct reciprocity gains dominance over indirect reciprocity strategies also in larger populations, as long as it has no memory constraints. In the absence of direct reciprocity, or when its memory is flawed, different forms of indirect reciprocity strategies are able to dominate and to support cooperation. We show that indirect reciprocity relying on social capital inherent in closed triads is the best competitor among them, outperforming indirect reciprocity that uses information from any source. Results hold in a wide range of conditions with different evolutionary update rules, extent of evolutionary pressure, initial conditions, population size, and density

The “conscious pilot”—dendritic synchrony moves through the brain to mediate consciousness

Cognitive brain functions including sensory processing and control of behavior are understood as “neurocomputation” in axonal–dendritic synaptic networks of “integrate-and-fire” neurons. Cognitive neurocomputation with consciousness is accompanied by 30- to 90-Hz gamma synchrony electroencephalography (EEG), and non-conscious neurocomputation is not. Gamma synchrony EEG derives largely from neuronal groups linked by dendritic–dendritic gap junctions, forming transient syncytia (“dendritic webs”) in input/integration layers oriented sideways to axonal–dendritic neurocomputational flow. As gap junctions open and close, a gamma-synchronized dendritic web can rapidly change topology and move through the brain as a spatiotemporal envelope performing collective integration and volitional choices correlating with consciousness. The “conscious pilot” is a metaphorical description for a mobile gamma-synchronized dendritic web as vehicle for a conscious agent/pilot which experiences and assumes control of otherwise non-conscious auto-pilot neurocomputation

Neuroanatomical Pattern of Mitochondrial Complex I Pathology Varies between Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder and Major Depression

BACKGROUND:Mitochondrial dysfunction was reported in schizophrenia, bipolar disorderand major depression. The present study investigated whether mitochondrial complex I abnormalities show disease-specific characteristics. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:mRNA and protein levels of complex I subunits NDUFV1, NDUFV2 and NADUFS1, were assessed in striatal and lateral cerebellar hemisphere postmortem specimens and analyzed together with our previous data from prefrontal and parieto-occipital cortices specimens of patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression and healthy subjects. A disease-specific anatomical pattern in complex I subunits alterations was found. Schizophrenia-specific reductions were observed in the prefrontal cortex and in the striatum. The depressed group showed consistent reductions in all three subunits in the cerebellum. The bipolar group, however, showed increased expression in the parieto-occipital cortex, similar to those observed in schizophrenia, and reductions in the cerebellum, yet less consistent than the depressed group. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:These results suggest that the neuroanatomical pattern of complex I pathology parallels the diversity and similarities in clinical symptoms of these mental disorders

The topographic evolution of the Tibetan Region as revealed by palaeontology

The Tibetan Plateau was built through a succession of Gondwanan terranes colliding with Asia during the Mesozoic. These accretions produced a complex Paleogene topography of several predominantly east–west trending mountain ranges separated by deep valleys. Despite this piecemeal assembly and resultant complex relief, Tibet has traditionally been thought of as a coherent entity rising as one unit. This has led to the widely used phrase ‘the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau’, which is a false concept borne of simplistic modelling and confounds understanding the complex interactions between topography climate and biodiversity. Here, using the rich palaeontological record of the Tibetan region, we review what is known about the past topography of the Tibetan region using a combination of quantitative isotope and fossil palaeoaltimetric proxies, and present a new synthesis of the orography of Tibet throughout the Paleogene. We show why ‘the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau’ never occurred, and quantify a new pattern of topographic and landscape evolution that contributed to the development of today’s extraordinary Asian biodiversity

Searching for alternatives to full kinetic analysis in 18F-FDG PET: an extension of the simplified kinetic analysis method.

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Non parametric simplified kinetic analysis as an alternative to full kinetic analysis in 18F-FDG PET

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