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Introduction. Genetic factors play an important role in Parkinson's disease (PD) risk. However, the genetic contribution to progression in Chinese PD patients has rarely been studied. This study investigated genetic associations with progression based on 30 PD risk loci common in a longitudinal cohort of Chinese PD patients and the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) cohort. Methods. PD patients from the true world (TW) Chinese PD longitudinal cohort and the PPMI cohort with demographic information and assessment scales were assessed. A panel containing 30 PD risk single nucleotide polymorphisms was tested. Progression rates of each scale were derived from random-effect slope values of mixed-effects regression models. Progression rates of multiple assessments were combined by using principal component analysis (PCA) to derive scores for composite, motor, and nonmotor progression. The association of genetic polymorphism and separate scales or PCA progression was analysed via linear regression. Results. In the Chinese PD cohort, MAOB rs1799836 was associated with progression based on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, the top 3 principal components (PCs) of nonmotor PCA and PC1 of the composite PCA. In the PPMI cohort, both MDS-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale II and motor PC1 progression were associated with RIT2 rs12456492. The PARK16 haplotype was associated with Geriatric Depression Scale and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Adults progression, and the SNCA haplotype was associated with the Hoehn-Yahr staging progression and motor PC1 progression. Ethnicity-stratified analysis showed that the association between MAOB rs1799836 and PD progression may be specific to Asian or Chinese patients. Conclusion. MAOB rs1799836 was associated with the progression of nonmotor symptoms, especially cognitive impairment, and the composite progression of motor and nonmotor symptoms within our Chinese PD cohort. The RIT2 rs12456492 and SNCA haplotypes were associated with motor function decline, and the PARK16 haplotype was associated with progression in mood in the PPMI cohort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is relatively difficult to diagnose bacterial sepsis in nephrolithiasis patients. The aim of the study is to evaluate the diagnostic ability of presepsin in the differential diagnosis including SIRS, infection, or sepsis and to compare its diagnostic value with other markers, mainly as CRP, procalcitonin (PCT), and white blood cell (WBC) in patients of nephrolithiasis presenting with SIRS. 39 patients of nephrolithiasis who were diagnosed as SIRS were prospectively investigated. Plasma presepsin was detected by Pathfast presepsin assay system; CRP and PCT were measured as well. Additionally, 25 nephrolithiasis patients without SIRS were included. At all timing samples, patients were classified as SIRS or non-SIRS group. Median plasma presepsin levels were significantly increased in the SIRS group compared with non-SIRS group (452 pg/mL versus 178 ng/mL, P<0.001), and presepsin was markedly elevated even in the early stage of SIRS (584 pg/mL 6 h, 660 pg/mL 24 h versus 452 pg/mL, P<0.001). According to the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, presepsin demonstrated a high diagnostic value compared with either PCT or CRP. In the early stage of SIRS, presepsin remained a highly sensitive (74.7%) and specific (88.4%) diagnostic marker compared with either PCT, CRP, or WBC. Moreover, the areas under the curve (AUCs) of presepsin (84.6%) were also superior to those seen in either PCT (79.6%) or CRP (71.8%). Thus plasma presepsin levels have comparable performance in SIRS for patients with nephrolithiasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the nonlocal imaging of an object by conditional averaging of the random exposure frames of a reference detector, which only sees the freely propagating field from a thermal light source. A bucket detector, synchronized with the reference detector, records the intensity fluctuations of an identical beam passing through the object mask. These fluctuations are sorted according to their values relative to the mean, then the reference data in the corresponding time-bins for a given fluctuation range are averaged, to produce either positive or negative images. Since no correlation calculations are involved, this correspondence imaging technique challenges our former interpretations of "ghost" imaging. Compared with conventional correlation imaging or compressed sensing schemes, both the number of exposures and computation time are greatly reduced, while the visibility is much improved. A simple statistical model is presented to explain the phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper studies the relationship between homicide rate and socioeconomic factors at community area level in Chicago from 1960 to 1995. Most of prior studies of social disorganization theory are based on cross-sectional spatial regression or longitudinal studies. This research integrates space and time in testing social disorganization theory. First, exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) is used to examine dynamic spatial patterns of these indicators. This investigation justifies the estimation of homicide rates across community areas through panel-data models that extend to include spatial lag and spatial error autocorrelation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]