Alcohol-related dementia: An update of the evidence

The characteristics of dementia relating to excessive alcohol use have received increased research interest in recent times. In this paper, the neuropathology, nosology, epidemiology, clinical features, and neuropsychology of alcohol-related dementia (ARD) and alcohol-induced persisting amnestic syndrome (Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, or WKS) are reviewed. Neuropathological and imaging studies suggest that excessive and prolonged use of alcohol may lead to structural and functional damage that is permanent in nature; however, there is debate about the relative contributions of the direct toxic effect of alcohol (neurotoxicity hypothesis), and the impact of thiamine deficiency, to lasting damage. Investigation of alcohol-related cognitive impairment has been further complicated by differing definitions of patterns of alcohol use and associated lifestyle factors related to the abuse of alcohol. Present diagnostic systems identify two main syndromes of alcohol-related cognitive impairment: ARD and WKS. However, 'alcohol-related brain damage' is increasingly used as an umbrella term to encompass the heterogeneity of these disorders. It is unclear what level of drinking may pose a risk for the development of brain damage or, in fact, whether lower levels of alcohol may protect against other forms of dementia. Epidemiological studies suggest that individuals with ARD typically have a younger age of onset than those with other forms of dementia, are more likely to be male, and often are socially isolated. The cognitive profile of ARD appears to involve both cortical and subcortical pathology, and deficits are most frequently observed on tasks of visuospatial function as well as memory and higher-order (executive) tasks. The WKS appears more heterogeneous in nature than originally documented, and deficits on executive tasks commonly are reported in conjunction with characteristic memory deficits. Individuals with alcohol-related disorders have the potential to at least partially recover - both structurally and functionally - if abstinence is maintained. In this review, considerations in a clinical setting and recommendations for diagnosis and management are discussed. It is well established that excessive and prolonged alcohol use can lead to permanent damage to the structure and function of the brain [1]. Despite this, there is little consensus on the characteristics of a dementia syndrome related to sustained alcohol abuse or its relationship to Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (WKS). After a long period of neglect, research interest has increased in recent years and has been spurred on by clinical demand, increased reported rates of alcohol abuse in older people, and increasing alcohol consumption by women [2, 3]. In this paper, we aim to review the neuropathology, nosology, epidemiology, clinical features, and neuropsychology of alcohol-related dementia (ARD) and WKS. To retrieve papers for the purpose of this review, the search terms (alcohol OR alcoholism) AND (dementia OR brain damage OR brain injury OR cognitive impairment) were used as keywords in the Medline and PsycINFO databases. Additional terms included Wernicke's encephalopathy, Korsakoff, and Alcohol Amnestic Disorder. Reference lists were also scanned for relevant papers

Harnessing microbial volatiles to replace pesticides and fertilizers

Global agricultural systems are under increasing pressure to deliver sufficient, healthy food for a growing population. Seasonal inputs, including synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, are applied to reduce losses by pathogens, and enhance crop biomass, although their production and application can also incur several economic and environmental penalties. New solutions are therefore urgently required to enhance crop yield whilst reducing dependence on these seasonal inputs. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) produced by soil microorganisms may provide alternative solutions, due to their ability to inhibit fungal pathogens, induce plant resistance against pathogens, and enhance plant growth promotion. This review will highlight recent advances in our understanding of these biological activities of microbial VOCs (mVOCs), providing perspectives on research required to develop them into viable alternatives to current unsustainable seasonal inputs. This can identify potential new avenues for mVOC research and stimulate discussion across the academic community 25 and agri-business sector

Enantiomeric Discrimination in Insects: The Role of OBPs and ORs

Olfaction is a complex recognition process that is critical for chemical communication in insects. Though some insect species are capable of discrimination between compounds that are structurally similar, little is understood about how this high level of discrimination arises. Some insects rely on discriminating between enantiomers of a compound, demonstrating an ability for highly selective recognition. The role of two major peripheral olfactory proteins in insect olfaction, i.e., odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) and odorant receptors (ORs) has been extensively studied. OBPs and ORs have variable discrimination capabilities, with some found to display highly specialized binding capability, whilst others exhibit promiscuous binding activity. A deeper understanding of how odorant-protein interactions induce a response in an insect relies on further analysis such as structural studies. In this review, we explore the potential role of OBPs and ORs in highly specific recognition, specifically enantiomeric discrimination. We summarize the state of research into OBP and OR function and focus on reported examples in the literature of clear enantiomeric discrimination by these proteins

The evolution of complete software systems

This thesis tackles a series of problems related to the evolution of completesoftware systems both in terms of the underlying Genetic Programmingsystem and the application of that system. A new representation is presented that addresses some of the issues withother Genetic Program representations while keeping their advantages. Thiscombines the easy reproduction of the linear representation with the inheritablecharacteristics of the tree representation by using fixed-length blocks ofgenes representing single program statements. This means that each block ofgenes will always map to the same statement in the parent and child unless itis mutated, irrespective of changes to the surrounding blocks. This methodis compared to the variable length gene blocks used by other representationswith a clear improvement in the similarity between parent and child. Traditionally, fitness functions have either been created as a selection ofsample inputs with known outputs or as hand-crafted evaluation functions. Anew method of creating fitness evaluation functions is introduced that takesthe formal specification of the desired function as its basis. This approachensures that the fitness function is complete and concise. The fitness functionscreated from formal specifications are compared to simple input/outputpairs and the results show that the functions created from formal specificationsperform significantly better. A set of list evaluation and manipulation functions was evolved as anapplication of the new Genetic Program components. These functions havethe common feature that they all need to be 100% correct to be useful. Traditional Genetic Programming problems have mainly been optimizationor approximation problems. The list results are good but do highlight theproblem of scalability in that more complex functions lead to a dramaticincrease in the required evolution time. Finally, the evolution of graphical user interfaces is addressed. The representationfor the user interfaces is based on the new representation forprograms. In this case each gene block represents a component of the userinterface. The fitness of the interface is determined by comparing it to a seriesof constraints, which specify the layout, style and functionality requirements. A selection of web-based and desktop-based user interfaces were evolved. With these new approaches to Genetic Programming, the evolution ofcomplete software systems is now a realistic goal.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

An improved representation for evolving programs

A representation has been developed that addresses some of the issues with other Genetic Program representations while maintaining their advantages. This combines the easy reproduction of the linear representation with the inherita- ble characteristics of the tree representation by using fixed-length blocks of genes representing single program statements. This means that each block of genes will always map to the same statement in the parent and child unless it is mutated, irrespective of changes to the surrounding blocks. This method is compared to the variable length gene blocks used by other representations with a clear improvement in the similarity between parent and child. In addition, a set of list evaluation and manipulation functions was evolved as an application of the new Genetic Program components. These functions have the common feature that they all need to be 100% correct to be useful. Traditional Genetic Programming problems have mainly been optimization or approximation problems. The list results are good but do highlight the problem of scalability in that more complex functions lead to a dramatic increase in the required evolution time

Comparing content-filter techniques for stopping spam

There are many new theoretical techniques for detecting spam e-mail based upon the message contents. Although Bayesian methods are the most wellknown, there are other approaches for classifying information. This paper establishes some criteria for measuring spam filter effectiveness and compares the Boosting and Support Vector Machine approaches with some well-known existing filter software. It also examines ways of transforming e-mail messages into a form which is more readily processable by such algorithms

Evolving readable Perl

A program is informally deemed readable, for the purpose of this experiment, if it is easy for a person to follow the steps that the program takes to solve the problem. In this experiment, readability is achieved by constraining the available syntax for generating solutions. The Genetic Programming (GP) system created uses the target language Perl because it is an interpreted, untyped, robust procedural language which has good error handling and recovery

Evolving the user interface

A method is presented for evolving Graphical User Interfaces using Genetic Algorithms. The fitness evaluation is based on a series of constraints, which must be met by the user interface. Examples are used to demonstrate the use of positional, style and functionality constraints and the final example shows the evolution of a complete (although simple) software application

Evolving Perl

A list of requirements for a genetic programming representation is put forward and a representation separating the genotype and phenotype with a linear genome is presented. The target language for the genetic program is Perl. The mapping process, between the genotype and phenotype, converts blocks of four genes into program statements. This process is context-free and therefore provides inheritable characteristics. The representation is tested by evolving a selection of list evaluation and manipulation functions which are all evolved from the same language subset, with good results

Single- and double-scattering production of four muons in ultraperipheral PbPb collisions at the Large Hadron Collider

We discuss production of two $\mu^+\mu^-$ pairs in ultraperipheral ultrarelativistic heavy ion collisions at the LHC. We take into account electromagnetic (two-photon) double-scattering production and for a first time direct $\gamma\gamma$ production of four muons in one scattering. We study the unexplored process $\gamma \gamma \to \mu^+\mu^-\mu^+\mu^-$. We present predictions for total and differential cross sections. Measurable nuclear cross sections are obtained and corresponding differential distributions and counting rates are presented.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures, 1 tabl