The Vitamin B Complex and Fasting Blood-Sugar Levels: An Investigation into the Changes in Fasting Blood-Sugar Levels of Diabetic and Non-diabetic Patients Following the Intravenous Injection of Aneurin, Riboflavin and Nicotinamide, with a Review of Relevant Literature, and a Note on Diabetic Neuritis

In the writer's own investigations, aneurin, riboflavin and nicotinamide were administered separately and together to diabetic and non-diabetic patients. No significant changes occurred in the blood-sugar levels during the three hours following administration. Many of the previous, more favourable reports were based on inadequately controlled experiments with too small numbers of cases. In some reports, the accuracy of the biochemical work was questionable. The main drawback of the present investigations is that the number of diabetics tested is still too small. Precautions were taken to verify any marked changes in the blood-sugar levels, to exclude the possibility that they were due to inaccuracies in the biochemical estimations. It is now becoming fairly clear that while various factors in the vitamin B complex play important parts in the metabolism of carbohydrates, it is not likely that any of them could take the place of, or increase the effect of insulin. There is also no definite evidence that an increased need of the vitamins exists in uncomplicated diabetes. Vitamin B therapy is therefore not necessary in the routine treatment of diabetes. But it is also now becoming more generally recognised that vitamin B supplements are useful in many complications of diabetes, such as infections, parenteral feeding and old age. Opinions are now more prevalent that very few, if any, cases of diabetic neuritis are due to aneurin deficiency. In the absence of any other definite cause, however, it seems that intensive and prolonged aneurin therapy is still worthy of trial in diabetic neuritis

The Milky Way bar/bulge in proper motions: a 3D view from VIRAC & Gaia

© 2019 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society.We have derived absolute proper motions of the entire Galactic bulge region from VIRAC and Gaia. We present these as both integrated on-sky maps and, after isolating standard candle red clump (RC) stars, as a function of distance using RC magnitude as a proxy. These data provide a new global, 3-dimensional view of the Milky Way barred bulge kinematics. We find a gradient in the mean longitudinal proper motion, $\mu_l$, between the different sides of the bar, which is sensitive to the bar pattern speed. The split RC has distinct proper motions and is colder than other stars at similar distance. The proper motion correlation map has a quadrupole pattern in all magnitude slices showing no evidence for a separate, more axisymmetric inner bulge component. The line-of-sight integrated kinematic maps show a high central velocity dispersion surrounded by a more asymmetric dispersion profile. $\sigma_{\mu_l} / \sigma_{\mu_b}$ is smallest, $\sim1.1$, near the minor axis and reaches $\sim1.4$ near the disc plane. The integrated $$ pattern signals a superposition of bar rotation and internal streaming motion, with the near part shrinking in latitude and the far part expanding. To understand and interpret these remarkable data, we compare to a made-to-measure barred dynamical model, folding in the VIRAC selection function to construct mock maps. We find that our model of the barred bulge, with a pattern speed of 37.5 $\mathrm{km \, s^{-1} \, kpc^{-1}}$, is able to reproduce all observed features impressively well. Dynamical models like this will be key to unlocking the full potential of these data.Peer reviewe

Intercomparison of standard resolution and high resolution TOVS soundings with radiosonde, lidar, and surface temperature/humidity data

One objective of the FIRE Cirrus IFO is to characterize relationships between cloud properties inferred from satellite observations at various scales to those obtained directly or inferred from very high resolution measurements. Satellite derived NOAA-9 high and standard resolution Tiros Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS) soundings are compared with directly measured lidar, surface temperature, humidity, and vertical radiosonde profiles associated with the Ft. McCoy site. The results of this intercomparison should be useful in planning future cloud experiments

Using atomic interference to probe atom-surface interaction

We show that atomic interference in the reflection from two suitably polarized evanescent waves is sensitive to retardation effects in the atom-surface interaction for specific experimental parameters. We study the limit of short and long atomic de Broglie wavelength. The former case is analyzed in the semiclassical approximation (Landau-Zener model). The latter represents a quantum regime and is analyzed by solving numerically the associated coupled Schroedinger equations. We consider a specific experimental scheme and show the results for rubidium (short wavelength) and the much lighter meta-stable helium atom (long wavelength). The merits of each case are then discussed.Comment: 11 pages, including 6 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. A, RevTeX sourc

Who I Am: The Meaning of Early Adolescents’ Most Valued Activities and Relationships, and Implications for Self-Concept Research

Self-concept research in early adolescence typically measures young people’s self-perceptions of competence in specific, adult-defined domains. However, studies have rarely explored young people’s own views of valued self-concept factors and their meanings. For two major self domains, the active and the social self, this mixed-methods study identified factors valued most by 526 young people from socioeconomically diverse backgrounds in Ireland (10-12 years), and explored the meanings associated with these in a stratified subsample (n = 99). Findings indicate that self-concept scales for early adolescence omit active and social self factors and meanings valued by young people, raising questions about content validity of scales in these domains. Findings also suggest scales may under-represent girls’ active and social selves; focus too much on some school-based competencies; and, in omitting intrinsically salient self domains and meanings, may focus more on contingent (extrinsic) rather than true (intrinsic) self-esteem

Pretectal projections to the oculomotor cerebellum in hummingbirds ( Calypte anna ), zebra finches ( Taeniopygia guttata ), and pigeons ( Columba livia )

In birds, optic flow is processed by a retinal‐recipient nucleus in the pretectum, the nucleus lentiformis mesencephali (LM), which then projects to the cerebellum, a key site for sensorimotor integration. Previous studies have shown that the LM is hypertrophied in hummingbirds, and that LM cell response properties differ between hummingbirds and other birds. Given these differences in anatomy and physiology, we ask here if there are also species differences in the connectivity of the LM. The LM is separated into lateral and medial subdivisions, which project to the oculomotor cerebellum and the vestibulocerebellum. In pigeons, the projection to the vestibulocerebellum largely arises from the lateral LM; the projection to the oculomotor cerebellum largely arises from the medial LM. Here, using retrograde tracing, we demonstrate differences in the distribution of projections in these pathways between Anna's hummingbirds (Calypte anna ), zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata ), and pigeons (Columba livia ). In all three species, the projections to the vestibulocerebellum were largely from lateral LM. In contrast, projections to the oculomotor cerebellum in hummingbirds and zebra finches do not originate in the medial LM (as in pigeons) but instead largely arise from pretectal structures just medial, the nucleus laminaris precommissuralis and nucleus principalis precommissuralis. These species differences in projection patterns provide further evidence that optic flow circuits differ among bird species with distinct modes of fligh

Spontaneous emission of an atom in front of a mirror

Motivated by a recent experiment [J. Eschner {\it et al.}, Nature {\bf 413}, 495 (2001)], we now present a theoretical study on the fluorescence of an atom in front of a mirror. On the assumption that the presence of the distant mirror and a lens imposes boundary conditions on the electric field in a plane close to the atom, we derive the intensities of the emitted light as a function of an effective atom-mirror distance. The results obtained are in good agreement with the experimental findings.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, revised version, references adde

The transcriptional profile of coronary arteritis in Kawasaki disease

BackgroundKawasaki Disease (KD) can cause potentially life-threatening coronary arteritis in young children, and has a likely infectious etiology. Transcriptome profiling is a powerful approach to investigate gene expression in diseased tissues. RNA sequencing of KD coronary arteries could elucidate the etiology and the host response, with the potential to improve KD diagnosis and/or treatment.MethodsDeep RNA sequencing was performed on KD (n = 8) and childhood control (n = 7) coronary artery tissues, revealing 1074 differentially expressed mRNAs. Non-human RNA sequences were subjected to a microbial discovery bioinformatics platform, and microbial sequences were analyzed by Metastats for association with KD.ResultsT lymphocyte activation, antigen presentation, immunoglobulin production, and type I interferon response were significantly upregulated in KD arteritis, while the tumor necrosis factor α pathway was not differentially expressed. Transcripts from known infectious agents were not specifically associated with KD coronary arteritis.ConclusionsThe immune transcriptional profile in KD coronary artery tissues has features of an antiviral immune response such as activated cytotoxic T lymphocyte and type I interferon-induced gene upregulation. These results provide new insights into the pathogenesis of KD arteritis that can guide selection of new immunomodulatory therapies for high-risk KD patients, and provide direction for future etiologic studies