Enhancing Perception of Complex Sculptural Forms using Interactive Real-time Ray tracing

This paper looks at experiments into using real-time ray tracing to significantly enhance shape perception of complex three-dimensional digitally created structures. The author is a computational artist whose artistic practice explores the creation of intricate organic three-dimensional forms using simulation of morphogenesis. The generated forms are often extremely detailed, comprising tens of millions of cellular primitives. This often makes depth perception of the resulting structures difficult. His practice has explored various techniques to create presentable artefacts from the data, including high resolution prints, animated videos, stereoscopic installations, 3D printing and virtual reality. The author uses ray tracing techniques to turn the 3D data created from his morphogenetic simulations into visible artefacts. This is typically a time-consuming process, taking from seconds to minutes to create a single frame. The latest generation of graphics processing units offer dedicated hardware to accelerate ray tracing calculations. This potentially allows the generation of ray traced images, including self-shadowed complex structures and multiple levels of transparency, from new viewpoints at frame rates capable of real-time interaction. The author presents the results of his experiments using this technology with the aim of providing significantly enhanced perception of his generated three-dimensional structures by allowing user-initiated interaction to generate novel views, and utilizing depth cues such as stereopsis, depth from motion and defocus blurring. The intention is for these techniques to be usable to present new exhibitable works in a gallery context

Observation of confined current ribbon in JET plasmas

we report the identification of a localised current structure inside the JET plasma. It is a field aligned closed helical ribbon, carrying current in the same direction as the background current profile (co-current), rotating toroidally with the ion velocity (co-rotating). It appears to be located at a flat spot in the plasma pressure profile, at the top of the pedestal. The structure appears spontaneously in low density, high rotation plasmas, and can last up to 1.4 s, a time comparable to a local resistive time. It considerably delays the appearance of the first ELM.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure

Inherited and de novo biallelic pathogenic variants in COL11A1 result in type 2 Stickler syndrome with severe hearing loss.

BACKGROUND: Type 2 Stickler syndrome is usually a dominant disorder resulting from pathogenic variants in COL11A1 encoding the alpha 1 chain of type XI collagen. Typical molecular changes result in either substitution of an obligate glycine within the Gly-Xaa-Yaa amino acid sequence repeat region of the molecule, mRNA missplicing or deletions/duplications that typically leaves the message in-frame. Clinical features include myopia, retinal detachment, craniofacial, joint, and hearing problems. Fibrochondrogenesis is also a COL11A1 related disorder, but here disease-associated variants are recessive and may be either null alleles or substitutions of glycine, and the condition is usually lethal in infancy. METHODS: The patient was assessed in the NHS England Stickler syndrome diagnostic service. DNA from the patient and family were analyzed with Next Generation Sequencing on a panel of genes known to cause Stickler Syndrome. The effect of sequence variants was assessed using minigene analysis. Allele-specific RT-PCR was performed. RESULTS: This patient had clinical type 2 Stickler syndrome but with severe hearing loss and severe ocular features including retinal atrophy and retinal tears in childhood. We identified a de novo in frame deletion of COL11A1 (c.4109_4126del) consistent with dominantly inherited Stickler syndrome but also a second inherited variant (c.1245+2T>C), on the other allele, affecting normal splicing of COL11A1 exon 9. CONCLUSION: Exon 9 of COL11A1 is alternatively expressed and disease causing changes affecting only this exon modify the phenotype resulting from biallelic COL11A1 disease-associated variants and, instead of fibrochondrogenesis, produce a form of Stickler syndrome with severe hearing loss. Disease phenotypes from de novo pathogenic variants can be modified by inherited recessive variants on the other allele. This highlights the need for functional and family analysis to confirm the mode of inheritance in COL11A1-related disorders, particularly for those variants that may alter normal pre-mRNA splicing

Heme metabolism genes Downregulated in COPD Cachexia.

IntroductionCachexia contributes to increased mortality and reduced quality of life in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and may be associated with underlying gene expression changes. Our goal was to identify differential gene expression signatures associated with COPD cachexia in current and former smokers.MethodsWe analyzed whole-blood gene expression data from participants with COPD in a discovery cohort (COPDGene, N = 400) and assessed replication (ECLIPSE, N = 114). To approximate the consensus definition using available criteria, cachexia was defined as weight-loss > 5% in the past 12 months or low body mass index (BMI) (< 20 kg/m2) and 1/3 criteria: decreased muscle strength (six-minute walk distance < 350 m), anemia (hemoglobin < 12 g/dl), and low fat-free mass index (FFMI) (< 15 kg/m2 among women and < 17 kg/m2 among men) in COPDGene. In ECLIPSE, cachexia was defined as weight-loss > 5% in the past 12 months or low BMI and 3/5 criteria: decreased muscle strength, anorexia, abnormal biochemistry (anemia or high c-reactive protein (> 5 mg/l)), fatigue, and low FFMI. Differential gene expression was assessed between cachectic and non-cachectic subjects, adjusting for age, sex, white blood cell counts, and technical covariates. Gene set enrichment analysis was performed using MSigDB.ResultsThe prevalence of COPD cachexia was 13.7% in COPDGene and 7.9% in ECLIPSE. Fourteen genes were differentially downregulated in cachectic versus non-cachectic COPD patients in COPDGene (FDR < 0.05) and ECLIPSE (FDR < 0.05).DiscussionSeveral replicated genes regulating heme metabolism were downregulated among participants with COPD cachexia. Impaired heme biosynthesis may contribute to cachexia development through free-iron buildup and oxidative tissue damage

Light intensity regulation of cab gene transcription is signaled by the redox state of the plastoquinone pool.

The eukaryotic green alga Dunaliella tertiolecta acclimates to decreased growth irradiance by increasing cellular levels of light-harvesting chlorophyll protein complex apoproteins associated with photosystem II (LHCIIs), whereas increased growth irradiance elicits the opposite response. Nuclear run-on transcription assays and measurements of cab mRNA stability established that light intensity-dependent changes in LHCII are controlled at the level of transcription. cab gene transcription in high-intensity light was partially enhanced by reducing plastoquinone with 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethyl urea (DCMU), whereas it was repressed in low-intensity light by partially inhibiting the oxidation of plastoquinol with 2,5-dibromo-3-methyl-6-isopropyl-p-benzoquinone (DBMIB). Uncouplers of photosynthetic electron transport and inhibition of water splitting had no effect on LHCII levels. These results strongly implicate the redox state of the plastoquinone pool in the chloroplast as a photon-sensing system that is coupled to the light-intensity regulation of nuclear-encoded cab gene transcription. The accumulation of cellular chlorophyll at low-intensity light can be blocked with cytoplasmically directed phosphatase inhibitors, such as okadaic acid, microcystin L-R, and tautomycin. Gel mobility-shift assays revealed that cells grown in high-intensity light contained proteins that bind to the promoter region of a cab gene carrying sequences homologous to higher plant light-responsive elements. On the basis of these experimental results, we propose a model for a light intensity signaling system where cab gene expression is reversibly repressed by a phosphorylated factor coupled to the redox status of plastoquinone through a chloroplast protein kinase

Is the involvement of opinion leaders in the implementation of research findings a feasible strategy?

BACKGROUND: There is only limited empirical evidence about the effectiveness of opinion leaders as health care change agents. AIM: To test the feasibility of identifying, and the characteristics of, opinion leaders using a sociometric instrument and a self-designating instrument in different professional groups within the UK National Health Service. DESIGN: Postal questionnaire survey. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: All general practitioners, practice nurses and practice managers in two regions of Scotland. All physicians and surgeons (junior hospital doctors and consultants) and medical and surgical nursing staff in two district general hospitals and one teaching hospital in Scotland, as well as all Scottish obstetric and gynaecology, and oncology consultants. RESULTS: Using the sociometric instrument, the extent of social networks and potential coverage of the study population in primary and secondary care was highly idiosyncratic. In contrast, relatively complex networks with good coverage rates were observed in both national specialty groups. Identified opinion leaders were more likely to have the expected characteristics of opinion leaders identified from diffusion and social influence theories. Moreover, opinion leaders appeared to be condition-specific. The self-designating instrument identified more opinion leaders, but it was not possible to estimate the extent and structure of social networks or likely coverage by opinion leaders. There was poor agreement in the responses to the sociometric and self-designating instruments. CONCLUSION: The feasibility of identifying opinion leaders using an off-the-shelf sociometric instrument is variable across different professional groups and settings within the NHS. Whilst it is possible to identify opinion leaders using a self-designating instrument, the effectiveness of such opinion leaders has not been rigorously tested in health care settings. Opinion leaders appear to be monomorphic (different leaders for different issues). Recruitment of opinion leaders is unlikely to be an effective general strategy across all settings and professional groups; the more specialised the group, the more opinion leaders may be a useful strategy

Uterine artery pulsatility and resistivity indices in pregnancy: Comparison of MRI and Doppler US.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this work was to evaluate whether the uterine arteries (UtA) could be identified and their flow profiles measured during a fetal MRI examination. A comparison was performed against same day sonographic Doppler assessment. METHODS: 35 normal, healthy, singleton pregnancies at 28-32 weeks gestation underwent routine Doppler examination, followed by MRI examination. The resistivity index (RI) and pulsatility index (PI) of the left and right UtA were measured using phase contrast MRI. Bland Altman statistics were used to compare MRI and ultrasound results. RESULTS: Sixty-nine comparable vessels were analysed. Six vessels were excluded due to artefact or technical error. Bland-Altman analysis demonstrated the ultrasound indices were comparable, although systematically lower than the MRI indices; Right UtA RI bias -0.03 (95% limits of agreement (LOA) -0.27 to +0.20), and left UtA RI bias -0.06 (95% LOA -0.26 to +0.14); Right UtA PI bias -0.06 (95% LOA -0.50 to +0.38), Left UtA PI bias -0.11 (95% LOA -0.54 to +0.32). The inter-rater agreement for the MRI derived PI and RI analysis was good. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that in the majority of early third trimester pregnancies, the uterine arteries can be identified, and their flow profiles measured using MRI, and that the derived PI and RI values are comparable with Doppler ultrasound values.This study was supported by The National Institute for Health Research, Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre. We are grateful for support from the Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust and the help of the Rosie Ultrasound Department and MRI Radiographers.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.placenta.2016.04.00

Diagnostic change 10 years after a first episode of psychosis

Background. A lack of an aetiologically based nosology classification has contributed to instability in psychiatric diag-noses over time. This study aimed to examine the diagnostic stability of psychosis diagnoses using data from an inci-dence sample of psychosis cases, followed up after 10 years and to examine those baseline variables which were associated with diagnostic change. Method. Data were examined from the ÆSOP and ÆSOP-10 studies, an incidence and follow-up study, respectively, of a population-based cohort of first-episode psychosis cases from two sites. Diagnosis was assigned using ICD-10 and DSM-IV-TR. Diagnostic change was examined using prospective and retrospective consistency. Baseline variables asso-ciated with change were examined using logistic regression and likelihood ratio tests. Results. Slightly more (59.6%) cases had the same baseline and lifetime ICD-10 diagnosis compared with DSM-IV-TR (55.3%), but prospective and retrospective consistency was similar. Schizophrenia, psychotic bipolar disorder and drug-induced psychosis were more prospectively consistent than other diagnoses. A substantial number of cases with other diagnoses at baseline (ICD-10, n = 61; DSM-IV-TR, n = 76) were classified as having schizophrenia at 10 years