Cortical imbalance following delayed restoration of bilateral hearing in deaf adolescents

Unilateral auditory deprivation in early childhood can lead to cortical strengthening of inputs from the stimulated side, yet the impact of this on bilateral processing when inputs are later restored beyond an early sensitive period is unknown. To address this, we conducted a longitudinal study with 13 bilaterally profoundly deaf adolescents who received unilateral access to sound via a cochlear implant (CI) in their right ear in early childhood before receiving bilateral access to sound a decade later via a second CI in their left ear. Auditory-evoked cortical responses to unilateral and bilateral stimulation were measured repeatedly using electroencephalogram from 1 week to 14 months after activation of their second CI. Early cortical responses from the newly implanted ear and bilateral stimulation were atypically lateralized to the left ipsilateral auditory cortex. Duration of unilateral deafness predicted an unexpectedly stronger representation of inputs from the newly implanted, compared to the first implanted ear, in left auditory cortex. Significant initial reductions in responses were observed, yet a left-hemisphere bias and unequal weighting of inputs favoring the long-term deaf ear did not converge to a balanced state observed in the binaurally developed system. Bilateral response enhancement was significantly reduced in left auditory cortex suggesting deficits in ipsilateral response inhibition of new, dominant, inputs during bilateral processing. These findings paradoxically demonstrate the adaptive capacity of the adolescent auditory system beyond an early sensitive period for bilateral input, as well as restrictions on its potential to fully reverse cortical imbalances driven by long-term unilateral deafness

A novel targeted/untargeted GC-Orbitrap metabolomics methodology applied to Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus biofilms

Introduction: Combined infections from Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus are a leading cause of death in the developed world. Evidence suggests that Candida enhances the virulence of Staphylococcus—hyphae penetrate through tissue barriers, while S. aureus tightly associates with the hyphae to obtain entry to the host organism. Indeed, in a biofilm state, C. albicans enhances the antimicrobial resistance characteristics of S. aureus. The association of these microorganisms is also associated with significantly increased morbidity and mortality. Due to this tight association we hypothesised that metabolic effects were also in evidence. Objectives: To explore the interaction, we used a novel GC-Orbitrap-based mass spectrometer, the Q Exactive GC, which combines the high peak capacity and chromatographic resolution of gas chromatography with the sub-ppm mass accuracy of an Orbitrap system. This allows the capability to leverage the widely available electron ionisation libraries for untargeted applications, along with expanding accurate mass libraries and targeted matches based around authentic standards. Methods: Optimised C. albicans and S. aureus mono- and co-cultured biofilms were analysed using the new instrument in addition to the fresh and spent bacterial growth media. Results: The targeted analysis experiment was based around 36 sugars and sugar phosphates, 22 amino acids and five organic acids. Untargeted analysis resulted in the detection of 465 features from fresh and spent medium and 405 from biofilm samples. Three significantly changing compounds that matched to high scoring library fragment patterns were chosen for validation. Conclusion: Evaluation of the results demonstrates that the Q Exactive GC is suitable for metabolomics analysis using a targeted/untargeted methodology. Many of the results were as expected: e.g. rapid consumption of glucose and fructose from the medium regardless of the cell type. Modulation of sugar-phosphate levels also suggest that the pentose phosphate pathway could be enhanced in the cells from co-cultured biofilms. Untargeted metabolomics results suggested significant production of cell-wall biosynthesis components and the consumption of non-proteinaceous amino-acids

Formation and Propagation of Matter Wave Soliton Trains

Attraction between atoms in a Bose-Einstein-Condensate renders the condensate unstable to collapse. Confinement in an atom trap, however, can stabilize the condensate for a limited number of atoms, as was observed with 7Li, but beyond this number, the condensate collapses. Attractive condensates constrained to one-dimensional motion are predicted to form stable solitons for which the attractive interactions exactly compensate for the wave packet dispersion. Here we report the formation or bright solitons of 7Li atoms created in a quasi-1D optical trap. The solitons are created from a stable Bose-Einstein condensate by magnetically tuning the interactions from repulsive to attractive. We observe a soliton train, containing many solitons. The solitons are set in motion by offsetting the optical potential and are observed to propagate in the potential for many oscillatory cycles without spreading. Repulsive interactions between neighboring solitons are inferred from their motion

Robust kidney perfusion mapping in pediatric chronic kidney disease using single-shot 3D-GRASE ASL with optimized retrospective motion correction

PURPOSE: To develop a robust renal arterial spin labeling (ASL) acquisition and processing strategy for mapping renal blood flow (RBF) in a pediatric cohort with severe kidney disease. METHODS: A single-shot background-suppressed 3D gradient and spin-echo (GRASE) flow-sensitive alternating inversion recovery (FAIR) ASL acquisition method was used to perform 2 studies. First, an evaluation of the feasibility of single-shot 3D-GRASE and retrospective noise reduction methods was performed in healthy volunteers. Second, a pediatric cohort with severe chronic kidney disease underwent single-shot 3D-GRASE FAIR ASL and RBF was quantified following several retrospective motion correction pipelines, including image registration and threshold-free weighted averaging. The effect of motion correction on the fit errors of saturation recovery (SR) images (required for RBF quantification) and on the perfusion-weighted image (PWI) temporal signal-to-noise ratio (tSNR) was evaluated, as well as the intra- and inter-session repeatability of renal longitudinal relaxation time (T1 ) and RBF. RESULTS: The mean cortical and/or functional renal parenchyma RBF in healthy volunteers and CKD patients was 295 ± 97 and 95 ± 47 mL/100 g/min, respectively. Motion-correction reduced image artefacts in both T1 and RBF maps, significantly reduced SR fit errors, significantly increased the PWI tSNR and improved the improved the repeatability of T1 and RBF in the pediatric patient cohort. CONCLUSION: Single-shot 3D-GRASE ASL combined with retrospective motion correction enabled repeatable non-invasive RBF mapping in the first pediatric cohort with severe kidney disease undergoing ASL scans

Repeatability of renal arterial spin labelling MRI in healthy subjects

Arterial spin labelling (ASL) can be used to measure renal perfusion non-invasively. The aim of this study was to determine the repeatability of this technique in healthy kidneys to vindicate its use in clinic

Mexican World Heritage information on the web: Institutional presence and visibility

This study offers a global overview of the presence and visibility of web information on UNESCO World Heritage located in Mexico, via the analysis of official websites and Web 2.0 information. Cultural heritage is a determining factor in linking people to their history, and contributes to increasing cultural tourism and economic development. The study starts from the hypothesis that the design of these has an influence on the dissemination and popularity of the aforementioned heritage. The relationships between the administrative organization of the country and Internet protocols are compared. A webometric study of the official Mexican websites was carried out. An evaluation sheet was designed to allow the assessment of aspects relating to identification, presence, accessibility and content. The multilingual nature of this information and its presence on social networks and Wikipedia was analysed. The analysis of URLs confirms that the domain .mx is used in 84% of cases. The results indicate a noticeable use of Web 2.0 dissemination of the heritage assets on YouTube (51%) and Facebook (40%), followed by 23% on Twitter. The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) guidelines are not yet frequently applied. Finally, the results obtained make it possible to identify variables that can contribute to improvements in the visibility and dissemination of official web information.This paper was supported by the RD & I Project, HAR2012-38562 (Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness)

Does the aldosterone: renin ratio predict the efficacy of spironolactone over bendroflumethiazide in hypertension? A clinical trial protocol for RENALDO (RENin-ALDOsterone) study

<p>Background: High blood pressure is an important determinant of cardiovascular disease risk. Treated hypertensives do not attain a risk level equivalent to normotensives. This may be a consequence of suboptimal blood pressure control to which indiscriminate use of antihypertensive drugs may contribute. Indeed the recent ALLHAT[1]study suggests that thiazides should be given first to virtually all hypertensives. Whether this is correct or whether different antihypertensive therapies should be targeted towards different patients is a major unresolved issue, which we address in this study.</p> <p>The measurement of the ratio of aldosterone: renin is used to identify hypertensive subjects who may respond well to treatment with the aldosterone antagonist spironolactone. It is not known if subjects with a high ratio have aldosteronism or aldosterone-sensitive hypertension is debated but it is important to know whether spironolactone is superior to other diuretics such as bendroflumethiazide in this setting.</p> <p>Methods/design: The study is a double-blind, randomised, crossover, controlled trial that will randomise 120 hypertensive subjects to 12 weeks treatment with spironolactone 50 mg once daily and 12 weeks treatment with bendroflumethiazide 2.5 mg once daily. The 2 treatment periods are separated by a 2-week washout period. Randomisation is stratified by aldosterone: renin ratio to include equal numbers of subjects with high and low aldosterone: renin ratios.</p> <p>Primary Objective – To test the hypothesis that the aldosterone: renin ratio predicts the antihypertensive response to spironolactone, specifically that the effect of spironolactone 50 mg is greater than that of bendroflumethiazide 2.5 mg in hypertensive subjects with high aldosterone: renin ratios.</p> <p>Secondary Objectives – To determine whether bendroflumethiazide induces adverse metabolic abnormalities, especially in subjects with high aldosterone: renin ratios and if baseline renin measurement predicts the antihypertensive response to spironolactone and/or bendrofluazide.</p> <p>Discussion: The numerous deleterious effects of hypertension dictate the need for a systematic approach for its treatment. In spite of various therapies, resistant hypertension is widely prevalent. Among various factors, primary aldosteronism is an important cause of resistant hypertension and is now more commonly recognised. More significantly, hypertensives with primary aldosteronism are also exposed to various other deleterious effects of excess aldosterone. Hence treating hypertension with specific aldosterone antagonists may be a better approach in this group of patients. It may lead on to better blood pressures with fewer medications.</p&gt

Protocol for the Foot in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis trial (FiJIA): a randomised controlled trial of an integrated foot care programme for foot problems in JIA

<b>Background</b>: Foot and ankle problems are a common but relatively neglected manifestation of juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Studies of medical and non-medical interventions have shown that clinical outcome measures can be improved. However existing data has been drawn from small non-randomised clinical studies of single interventions that appear to under-represent the adult population suffering from juvenile idiopathic arthritis. To date, no evidence of combined therapies or integrated care for juvenile idiopathic arthritis patients with foot and ankle problems exists. <b>Methods/design</b>: An exploratory phase II non-pharmacological randomised controlled trial where patients including young children, adolescents and adults with juvenile idiopathic arthritis and associated foot/ankle problems will be randomised to receive integrated podiatric care via a new foot care programme, or to receive standard podiatry care. Sixty patients (30 in each arm) including children, adolescents and adults diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis who satisfy the inclusion and exclusion criteria will be recruited from 2 outpatient centres of paediatric and adult rheumatology respectively. Participants will be randomised by process of minimisation using the Minim software package. The primary outcome measure is the foot related impairment measured by the Juvenile Arthritis Disability Index questionnaire's impairment domain at 6 and 12 months, with secondary outcomes including disease activity score, foot deformity score, active/limited foot joint counts, spatio-temporal and plantar-pressure gait parameters, health related quality of life and semi-quantitative ultrasonography score for inflammatory foot lesions. The new foot care programme will comprise rapid assessment and investigation, targeted treatment, with detailed outcome assessment and follow-up at minimum intervals of 3 months. Data will be collected at baseline, 6 months and 12 months from baseline. Intention to treat data analysis will be conducted. A full health economic evaluation will be conducted alongside the trial and will evaluate the cost effectiveness of the intervention. This will consider the cost per improvement in Juvenile Arthritis Disability Index, and cost per quality adjusted life year gained. In addition, a discrete choice experiment will elicit willingness to pay values and a cost benefit analysis will also be undertaken

Theory of Multidimensional Solitons

We review a number of topics germane to higher-dimensional solitons in Bose-Einstein condensates. For dark solitons, we discuss dark band and planar solitons; ring dark solitons and spherical shell solitons; solitary waves in restricted geometries; vortex rings and rarefaction pulses; and multi-component Bose-Einstein condensates. For bright solitons, we discuss instability, stability, and metastability; bright soliton engineering, including pulsed atom lasers; solitons in a thermal bath; soliton-soliton interactions; and bright ring solitons and quantum vortices. A thorough reference list is included.Comment: review paper, to appear as Chapter 5a in "Emergent Nonlinear Phenomena in Bose-Einstein Condensates: Theory and Experiment," edited by P. G. Kevrekidis, D. J. Frantzeskakis, and R. Carretero-Gonzalez (Springer-Verlag