Between-days intra-rater reliability with a hand held myotonometer to quantify muscle tone in the acute stroke population

A myotonometer can objectively quantify changes in muscle tone. The between-days intra-rater reliability in a ward setting for the acute stroke population remains unknown. This study aimed to investigate the device’s between-days intra-rater reliability when used in a ward setting for acute stroke participants. Muscle tone of biceps brachii, brachioradialis, rectus femoris, and tibialis anterior was recorded in the ward at bedside by one physiotherapist on two consecutive days. This study included participants who were within 1 month of their first stroke occurrence. Participants who were medically unstable or who suffered from brain stem injury were excluded. Reliability was assessed by the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), standard error of measurement (SEM), smallest real difference (SRD), and the Bland-Altman limits of agreement. The results indicated excellent between-days intra-rater reliability (ICC > 0.75). SEM and SRD show small differences between measurements. The Bland-Altman analysis indicated a tendency of overestimation of the rectus femoris. MyotonPRO demonstrated acceptable reliability when used in a ward setting in those patients with acute stroke. However, results should be interpreted with caution, due to the limitations of the study and the varying level of consistency observed between different muscles

Coralline Sr/Ca and Mg/Ca thermometer for the northern South China Sea: calibration and primary application high resolution on high-resolution SST reconstructing

利用全谱直读等离子体光谱(ICP2AES) 的分析方法精确分析了南海珊瑚的SrPCa 和MgPCa 比值,结合实测表层海水温度(SST),标定了海南岛南部三亚海域和西沙海域两个滨珊瑚的SrPCa 和MgPCa 温度计。在此基础上,尝试对两个南海北部全新世时期的珊瑚进行SST记录重建。结果显示约540aB.P. (小冰期) 西沙海域夏季月均SST 较现代低约1℃,而约6 500aB.P. (大暖期) 海南岛三亚海域夏季月均SST则高出现代1.0～1.5℃。The method for precisely and simultaneously measuring the coralline Sr/Ca and Mg/Ca ratios was established using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). Using this method, the high-resolution Sr/Ca and Mg/Ca ratios of two Porites lutea from Sanya, South Hainan Island and Xisha Islands were measured. By comparing to the instrumentally measured sea surface temperatures in these two areas, the coralline Sr/Ca thermometer and the Mg/Ca thermometer were calibrated. These two thermometers can provide SST records with an error bar < 0.2℃, and they are suitable for high-resolution SST reconstructions in these areas. Based on these two thermometers, two short SST records were reconstructed from two Holocene Porites corals of the northern South China Sea. The results indicated that the monthly summer SSTs in Xisha Islands at about 540 years ago (the Little Ice Age) were 1℃ lower than that at present, and the monthly summer SSTs in Sanya, southern Hainan Island at 6 500 years ago (the Megathermal) were about 1℃ to 1 5℃ higher than that at present.published_or_final_versio

Promoter-sharing by different genes in human genome – CPNE1 and RBM12 gene pair as an example

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Regulation of gene expression plays important role in cellular functions. Co-regulation of different genes may indicate functional connection or even physical interaction between gene products. Thus analysis on genomic structures that may affect gene expression regulation could shed light on the functions of genes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In a whole genome analysis of alternative splicing events, we found that two distinct genes, <it>copine I </it>(<it>CPNE1</it>) and <it>RNA binding motif protein 12 </it>(<it>RBM12</it>), share the most 5' exons and therefore the promoter region in human. Further analysis identified many gene pairs in human genome that share the same promoters and 5' exons but have totally different coding sequences. Analysis of genomic and expressed sequences, either cDNAs or expressed sequence tags (ESTs) for <it>CPNE1 </it>and <it>RBM12</it>, confirmed the conservation of this phenomenon during evolutionary courses. The co-expression of the two genes initiated from the same promoter is confirmed by Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) in different tissues in both human and mouse. High degrees of sequence conservation among multiple species in the 5'UTR region common to <it>CPNE1 </it>and <it>RBM12 </it>were also identified.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Promoter and 5'UTR sharing between <it>CPNE1 </it>and <it>RBM12 </it>is observed in human, mouse and zebrafish. Conservation of this genomic structure in evolutionary courses indicates potential functional interaction between the two genes. More than 20 other gene pairs in human genome were found to have the similar genomic structure in a genome-wide analysis, and it may represent a unique pattern of genomic arrangement that may affect expression regulation of the corresponding genes.</p

Imaging the lithosphere beneath NE Tibet: Teleseismic P and S body wave tomography incorporating surface wave starting models

The northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, which includes the Qiangtang and Songpan-Ganzi terranes as well as the Kunlun Shan and the Qaidam Basin, continues to deform in response to the ongoing India–Eurasia collision. To test competing hypotheses concerning the mechanisms for this deformation, we assembled a high-quality data set of approximately 14 000 P- and 4000 S-wave arrival times from earthquakes at teleseismic distances from the International Deep Profiling of Tibet and the Himalaya, Phase IV broad-band seismometer deployments. We analyse these arrival times to determine tomographic images of P- and S-wave velocities in the upper mantle beneath this part of the plateau. To account for the effects of major heterogeneity in crustal and uppermost mantle wave velocities in Tibet, we use recent surface wave models to construct a starting model for our teleseismic body wave inversion. We compare the results from our model with those from simpler starting models, and find that while the reduction in residuals and results for deep structure are similar between models, the results for shallow structure are different. Checkerboard tests indicate that features of ~125km length scale are reliably imaged throughout the study region. Using synthetic tests, we show that the best recovery is below ~300km, and that broad variations in shallow structure can also be recovered. We also find that significant smearing can occur, especially at the edges of the model. We observe a shallow dipping seismically fast structure at depths of ~140–240km, which dies out gradually between 33°N and 35°N. Based on the lateral continuity of this structure (from the surface waves) we interpret it as Indian lithosphere. Alternatively, the entire area could be thickened by pure shear, or the northern part could be an underthrust Lhasa Terrane lithospheric slab with only the southern part from India. We see a deep fast wave velocity anomaly (below 300?km), that is consistent with receiver function observations of a thickened transition zone and could be a fragment of oceanic lithosphere. In NE Tibet, it appears to be disconnected from faster wave velocities above (i.e. it is not downwelling or subducting here). Our models corroborate results of previous work which imaged a relatively slow wave velocity region below the Kunlun Shan and northern Songpan-Ganzi Terrane, which is difficult to reconcile with the hypothesis of southward-directed continental subduction at the northern margin. Wave velocities in the shallow mantle beneath the Qaidam Basin are faster than normal, and more so in the east than the west.This work was supported by a Natural Environment Research Council studentship (grant NE/H52449X/1)This version of record of this article can be found in Geophysical Journal International (March, 2014) 196 (3): 1724-1741. doi: 10.1093/gji/ggt47

Electrically Tunable Excitonic Light Emitting Diodes based on Monolayer WSe2 p-n Junctions

Light-emitting diodes are of importance for lighting, displays, optical interconnects, logic and sensors. Hence the development of new systems that allow improvements in their efficiency, spectral properties, compactness and integrability could have significant ramifications. Monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides have recently emerged as interesting candidates for optoelectronic applications due to their unique optical properties. Electroluminescence has already been observed from monolayer MoS2 devices. However, the electroluminescence efficiency was low and the linewidth broad due both to the poor optical quality of MoS2 and to ineffective contacts. Here, we report electroluminescence from lateral p-n junctions in monolayer WSe2 induced electrostatically using a thin boron nitride support as a dielectric layer with multiple metal gates beneath. This structure allows effective injection of electrons and holes, and combined with the high optical quality of WSe2 it yields bright electroluminescence with 1000 times smaller injection current and 10 times smaller linewidth than in MoS2. Furthermore, by increasing the injection bias we can tune the electroluminescence between regimes of impurity-bound, charged, and neutral excitons. This system has the required ingredients for new kinds of optoelectronic devices such as spin- and valley-polarized light-emitting diodes, on-chip lasers, and two-dimensional electro-optic modulators.Comment: 13 pages main text with 4 figures + 4 pages upplemental material

Optoelectronics with electrically tunable PN diodes in a monolayer dichalcogenide

One of the most fundamental devices for electronics and optoelectronics is the PN junction, which provides the functional element of diodes, bipolar transistors, photodetectors, LEDs, and solar cells, among many other devices. In conventional PN junctions, the adjacent p- and n-type regions of a semiconductor are formed by chemical doping. Materials with ambipolar conductance, however, allow for PN junctions to be configured and modified by electrostatic gating. This electrical control enables a single device to have multiple functionalities. Here we report ambipolar monolayer WSe2 devices in which two local gates are used to define a PN junction exclusively within the sheet of WSe2. With these electrically tunable PN junctions, we demonstrate both PN and NP diodes with ideality factors better than 2. Under excitation with light, the diodes show photodetection responsivity of 210 mA/W and photovoltaic power generation with a peak external quantum efficiency of 0.2%, promising numbers for a nearly transparent monolayer sheet in a lateral device geometry. Finally, we demonstrate a light-emitting diode based on monolayer WSe2. These devices provide a fundamental building block for ubiquitous, ultra-thin, flexible, and nearly transparent optoelectronic and electronic applications based on ambipolar dichalcogenide materials.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure

Histone Acetylation-Mediated Regulation of the Hippo Pathway

The Hippo pathway is a signaling cascade recently found to play a key role in tumorigenesis therefore understanding the mechanisms that regulate it should open new opportunities for cancer treatment. Available data indicate that this pathway is controlled by signals from cell-cell junctions however the potential role of nuclear regulation has not yet been described. Here we set out to verify this possibility and define putative mechanism(s) by which it might occur. By using a luciferase reporter of the Hippo pathway, we measured the effects of different nuclear targeting drugs and found that chromatin-modifying agents, and to a lesser extent certain DNA damaging drugs, strongly induced activity of the reporter. This effect was not mediated by upstream core components (i.e. Mst, Lats) of the Hippo pathway, but through enhanced levels of the Hippo transducer TAZ. Investigation of the underlying mechanism led to the finding that cancer cell exposure to histone deacetylase inhibitors induced secretion of growth factors and cytokines, which in turn activate Akt and inhibit the GSK3 beta associated protein degradation complex in drug-affected as well as in their neighboring cells. Consequently, expression of EMT genes, cell migration and resistance to therapy were induced. These processes were suppressed by using pyrvinium, a recently described small molecule activator of the GSK 3 beta associated degradation complex. Overall, these findings shed light on a previously unrecognized phenomenon by which certain anti-cancer agents may paradoxically promote tumor progression by facilitating stabilization of the Hippo transducer TAZ and inducing cancer cell migration and resistance to therapy. Pharmacological targeting of the GSK3 beta associated degradation complex may thus represent a unique approach to treat cancer. © 2013 Basu et al

Overexpression of Forkhead Box Protein M1 (FOXM1) in Ovarian Cancer Correlates with Poor Patient Survival and Contributes to Paclitaxel Resistance

published_or_final_versio

A retinoraphe projection regulates serotonergic activity and looming-evoked defensive behaviour

published_or_final_versio

Realization of a Tunable Artificial Atom at a Supercritically Charged Vacancy in Graphene

The remarkable electronic properties of graphene have fueled the vision of a graphene-based platform for lighter, faster and smarter electronics and computing applications. One of the challenges is to devise ways to tailor its electronic properties and to control its charge carriers. Here we show that a single atom vacancy in graphene can stably host a local charge and that this charge can be gradually built up by applying voltage pulses with the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope (STM). The response of the conduction electrons in graphene to the local charge is monitored with scanning tunneling and Landau level spectroscopy, and compared to numerical simulations. As the charge is increased, its interaction with the conduction electrons undergoes a transition into a supercritical regime 6-11 where itinerant electrons are trapped in a sequence of quasi-bound states which resemble an artificial atom. The quasi-bound electron states are detected by a strong enhancement of the density of states (DOS) within a disc centered on the vacancy site which is surrounded by halo of hole states. We further show that the quasi-bound states at the vacancy site are gate tunable and that the trapping mechanism can be turned on and off, providing a new mechanism to control and guide electrons in grapheneComment: 18 pages and 5 figures plus 14 pages and 15 figures of supplementary information. Nature Physics advance online publication, Feb 22 (2016