Cryptographic properties of Boolean functions defining elementary cellular automata

In this work, the algebraic properties of the local transition functions of elementary cellular automata (ECA) were analysed. Specifically, a classification of such cellular automata was done according to their algebraic degree, the balancedness, the resiliency, nonlinearity, the propagation criterion and the existence of non-zero linear structures. It is shown that there is not any ECA satisfying all properties at the same time

Influence of Sex on Stroke Prognosis: A Demographic, Clinical, and Molecular Analysis

Identifying the complexities of the effect of sex on stroke risk, etiology, and lesion progression may lead to advances in the treatment and care of ischemic stroke (IS) and non-traumatic intracerebral hemorrhage patients (ICH). We studied the sex-related discrepancies on the clinical course of patients with IS and ICH, and we also evaluated possible molecular mechanisms involved. The study's main variable was the patient's functional outcome at 3-months. Logistic regression models were used in order to study the influence of sex on different inflammatory, endothelial and atrial dysfunction markers. We recruited 5,021 patients; 4,060 IS (54.8% male, 45.2% female) and 961 ICH (57.1% male, 42.9% female). Women were on average 5.7 years older than men (6.4 years in IS, 5.1 years in ICH), and more likely to have previous poor functional status, to suffer atrial fibrillation and to be on anticoagulants. IS patients showed sex-related differences at 3-months regarding poorer outcome (55.6% women, 43.6% men, p < 0.0001), but this relationship was not found in ICH (56.8% vs. 61.9%, p = 0.127). In IS, women had higher levels of NT-proBNP and 3-months worse outcome in both cardioembolic and non-cardioembolic stroke patients. Stroke patients showed sex-related differences in pre-hospital data, clinical variables and molecular markers, but only IS patients presented independent sex-related differences in 3-months poor outcome and mortality. There was a relationship between the molecular marker of atrial dysfunction NT-proBNP and worse functional outcome in women, resulting in a possible indicator of increased dysfunction

Regulatory T cells participate in the recovery of ischemic stroke patients

BACKGROUND: Recent preclinical studies have shown that regulatory T cells (Treg) play a key role in the immune response after ischemic stroke (IS). However, the role of Treg in human acute IS has been poorly investigated. Our aim was to study the relationship between circulating Treg and outcome in human IS patients. METHODS: A total of 204 IS patients and 22 control subjects were recruited. The main study variable was good functional outcome at 3 months (modified Rankin scale </=2) considering infarct volume, Early Neurological Deterioration (END) and risk of infections as secondary variables. The percentage of circulating Treg was measured at admission, 48, 72 h and at day 7 after stroke onset. RESULTS: Circulating Treg levels were higher in IS patients compared to control subjects. Treg at 48 h were independently associated with good functional outcome (OR, 3.5; CI: 1.9-7.8) after adjusting by confounding factors. Patients with lower Treg at 48 h showed higher frequency of END and risk of infections. In addition, a negative correlation was found between circulating Treg at 48 h (r = - 0.414) and 72 h (r = - 0.418) and infarct volume. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that Treg may participate in the recovery of IS patients. Therefore, Treg may be considered a potential therapeutic target in acute ischemic stroke

Sustained blood glutamate scavenging enhances protection in ischemic stroke

Stroke is a major cause of morbidity, mortality, and disability. During ischemic stroke, a marked and prolonged rise of glutamate concentration in the brain causes neuronal cell death. This study explores the protective effect of a bioconjugate form of glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (hrGOT), which catalyzes the depletion of blood glutamate in the bloodstream for ~6 days following a single administration. When treated with this bioconjugate, a significant reduction of the infarct volume and a better retention of sensorimotor function was observed for ischemic rats compared to those treated with saline. Moreover, the equivalent dose of native hrGOT yielded similar results to the saline treated group for some tests. Targeting the bioconjugate to the blood-brain-barrier did not improve its performance. The data suggest that the bioconjugates draw glutamate out of the brain by displacing homeostasis between the different glutamate pools of the body

Efficiency of evolutionary algorithms in water network pipe sizing

The pipe sizing of water networks via evolutionary algorithms is of great interest because it allows the selection of alternative economical solutions that meet a set of design requirements. However, available evolutionary methods are numerous, and methodologies to compare the performance of these methods beyond obtaining a minimal solution for a given problem are currently lacking. A methodology to compare algorithms based on an efficiency rate (E) is presented here and applied to the pipe-sizing problem of four medium-sized benchmark networks (Hanoi, New York Tunnel, GoYang and R-9 Joao Pessoa). E numerically determines the performance of a given algorithm while also considering the quality of the obtained solution and the required computational effort. From the wide range of available evolutionary algorithms, four algorithms were selected to implement the methodology: a PseudoGenetic Algorithm (PGA), Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), a Harmony Search and a modified Shuffled Frog Leaping Algorithm (SFLA). After more than 500,000 simulations, a statistical analysis was performed based on the specific parameters each algorithm requires to operate, and finally, E was analyzed for each network and algorithm. The efficiency measure indicated that PGA is the most efficient algorithm for problems of greater complexity and that HS is the most efficient algorithm for less complex problems. However, the main contribution of this work is that the proposed efficiency ratio provides a neutral strategy to compare optimization algorithms and may be useful in the future to select the most appropriate algorithm for different types of optimization problems

Intra- and extra-hospital improvement in ischemic stroke patients: influence of reperfusion therapy and molecular mechanisms

Neuroprotective treatments in ischemic stroke are focused to reduce the pernicious effect of excitotoxicity, oxidative stress and inflammation. However, those cellular and molecular mechanisms may also have beneficial effects, especially during the late stages of the ischemic stroke. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between the clinical improvement of ischemic stroke patients and the time-dependent excitotoxicity and inflammation. We included 4295 ischemic stroke patients in a retrospective study. The main outcomes were intra and extra-hospital improvement. High glutamate and IL-6 levels at 24 hours were associated with a worse intra-hospital improvement (OR:0.993, 95%CI: 0.990-0.996 and OR:0.990, 95%CI: 0.985-0.995). High glutamate and IL-6 levels at 24 hours were associated with better extra-hospital improvement (OR:1.13 95%CI, 1.07-1.12 and OR:1.14, 95%CI, 1.09-1.18). Effective reperfusion after recanalization showed the best clinical outcome. However, the long term recovery is less marked in patients with an effective reperfusion. The variations of glutamate and IL6 levels in the first 24 hours clearly showed a relationship between the molecular components of the ischemic cascade and the clinical outcome of patients. Our findings suggest that the rapid reperfusion after recanalization treatment blocks the molecular response to ischemia that is associated with restorative processes

Antihyperthermic treatment decreases perihematomal hypodensity

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect on perihematomal hypodensity and outcome of a decrease in body temperature in the first 24 hours in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). METHODS: In this retrospective study on a prospectively registered database, among the 1,100 patients, 795 met all the inclusion criteria. Temperature variations in the first 24 hours and perihematomal hypodensity (PHHD) were recorded. Patients >/=37.5 degrees C were treated with antihyperthermic drugs for at least 48 hours. The main objective was to determine the association among temperature variation, PHHD, and outcome at 3 months. RESULTS: The decrease in temperature in the first 24 hours increased the possibility of good outcome 11-fold. Temperature decrease, lower PHHD volume, and a good outcome were observed in 31.8% of the patients who received antihyperthermic treatment. CONCLUSION: The administration of early antihyperthermic treatment in patients with spontaneous ICH with a basal axillary temperature >/=37.5 degrees C resulted in good outcome in a third of the treated patients

BRAIN & SPINAL CORD DAMAGE & REHABILITATION

Stroke and traumatic injury in brain or spinal cord are often life-threating conditions and major causes of death or permanent disability with high impact in the health care system. There are several stages of intervention to improve the neurological outcome. Acutely, fast interventions aiming to reestablish cerebral blood flow in ischemic stroke, to stop bleeding after brain hemorrhage, and to reduce edema after contusions are amongst mandatory actions. Current studies aim to develop accompanying strategies for brain cell protection based on enhancing endogenous protective mechanism, blocking cell death pathways, or through immunomodulation. After the acute phase, interventions are intended to promote recovery of function using rehabilitation with state-of-the-art technologies enabled by robotics. Other advanced strategies include cell, gene, and immune therapies, and brain function modulation with the aid of smart nanotechnologies. There is great expectation in the fast evolving novel approaches for improvement of neurological deficits in these unpredictable and devastating conditionPeer reviewe

Validation of Calprotectin As a Novel Biomarker For The Diagnosis of Pleural Effusion: a Multicentre Trial

Discriminating between malignant pleural effusion (MPE) and benign pleural effusion (BPE) remains difficult. Thus, novel and efficient biomarkers are required for the diagnosis of pleural effusion (PE). The aim of this study was to validate calprotectin as a diagnostic biomarker of PE in clinical settings. A total of 425 patients were recruited, and the pleural fluid samples collected had BPE in 223 cases (53.7%) or MPE in 137 patients (33%). The samples were all analysed following the same previously validated clinical laboratory protocols and methodology. Calprotectin levels ranged from 772.48 to 3,163.8 ng/mL (median: 1,939 ng/mL) in MPE, and 3,216-24,000 ng/mL in BPE (median: 9,209 ng/mL; p < 0.01), with an area under the curve of 0.848 [95% CI: 0.810-0.886]. For a cut-off value of </= 6,233.2 ng/mL, we found 96% sensitivity and 60% specificity, with a negative and positive predictive value, and negative and positive likelihood ratios of 96%, 57%, 0.06, and 2.4, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that low calprotectin levels was a better discriminator of PE than any other variable [OR 28.76 (p < 0.0001)]. Our results confirm that calprotectin is a new and useful diagnostic biomarker in patients with PE of uncertain aetiology which has potential applications in clinical practice because it may be a good complement to cytological methods

LipoDDx: a mobile application for identification of rare lipodystrophy syndromes

BACKGROUND: Lipodystrophy syndromes are a group of disorders characterized by a loss of adipose tissue once other situations of nutritional deprivation or exacerbated catabolism have been ruled out. With the exception of the HIV-associated lipodystrophy, they have a very low prevalence, which together with their large phenotypic heterogeneity makes their identification difficult, even for endocrinologists and pediatricians. This leads to significant delays in diagnosis or even to misdiagnosis. Our group has developed an algorithm that identifies the more than 40 rare lipodystrophy subtypes described to date. This algorithm has been implemented in a free mobile application, LipoDDx(R). Our aim was to establish the effectiveness of LipoDDx(R). Forty clinical records of patients with a diagnosis of certainty of most lipodystrophy subtypes were analyzed, including subjects without lipodystrophy. The medical records, blinded for diagnosis, were evaluated by 13 physicians, 1 biochemist and 1 dentist. Each evaluator first gave his/her results based on his/her own criteria. Then, a second diagnosis was given using LipoDDx(R). The results were analysed based on a score table according to the complexity of each case and the prevalence of the disease. RESULTS: LipoDDx(R) provides a user-friendly environment, based on usually dichotomous questions or choice of clinical signs from drop-down menus. The final result provided by this app for a particular case can be a low/high probability of suffering a particular lipodystrophy subtype. Without using LipoDDx(R) the success rate was 17 +/- 20%, while with LipoDDx(R) the success rate was 79 +/- 20% (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: LipoDDx(R) is a free app that enables the identification of subtypes of rare lipodystrophies, which in this small cohort has around 80% effectiveness, which will be of help to doctors who are not experts in this field. However, it will be necessary to analyze more cases in order to obtain a more accurate efficiency value