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A wavelike scalar-Einstein solution is found and indicating vectors constructed from the Bel-Robinson tensor are used to study which objects co-move with the wave and whether gravitational energy transfer is null. It is found that this Bel-Robinson energy criteria gives null energy transfer for both the vacuum plane wave and the scalar plane wave. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In June 2014, Singapore seized 29,434 rosewood logs worth US$50 million that were illegally exported from Madagascar, marking one of the largest-ever seizures of CITES-protected species. Rosewood, highly prized for its unique properties and coloration, is obtained from genera in several families, including Fabaceae (in particular I Dalbergia i ), Meliaceae, and Proteaceae, and ebony comes primarily from species of I Diospyros i and I Euclea i (Ebenaceae); the taxonomy of most of these remains inadequate (Waeber et al. [8]). [Extracted from the article]

The form and application of the Lanczos potential for Bianchi spacetime are studied. The Lanczos potential is found in some specific cases, then the general case is studied. It leads to two coupled first order partial differential equations which, although they so far have not been solved in general, can be solved for many configurations. The application is to cosmic energetics: in other words to the study of the energy of the gravitational and other fields in the Universe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Diagnosing the idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs) can be challenging as several conditions, including genetic myopathies such as limb girdle muscular dystrophy type R12 (LGMD 2 l, anoctaminopathy) mimic the presentation. Here we describe learning points identified from review of four patients with LGMD 2 l who were initially incorrectly diagnosed with IIM. Our aim is to provide clinicians working in adult rheumatology services with a toolkit to help identify non-inflammatory presentations of myopathy. Methods We performed retrospective review of medical notes, laboratory results, muscle imaging and histological findings of four patients with LGMD 2 l who were previously misdiagnosed with IIM. We focussed on clinical presentation and progression, therapeutic agents used and events leading to revision of the diagnosis. Results Three male patients and one female patient with a mean age of 51 years at presentation were reviewed. In each case, treatment with immunosuppressants, in one case for >15 years, was observed without a clear therapeutic response. All patients were negative for anti-nuclear antibodies and available myositis-associated/specific autoantibodies and associated connective tissue disease features were absent. Prominent fatty infiltration and selective muscle involvement on thigh MRI was found in common. Conclusions Adult-onset genetic myopathies, particularly LGMD R12, can mimic IIM. Accurate diagnosis is crucial to avoid the use of potentially harmful immunosuppressive therapies, to allow appropriate genetic counselling and to facilitate involvement in research studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objective: Spontaneous pneumothorax is a common pathology but optimal initial treatment regime is not well defined. Treatment options including conservative management, needle aspiration (NA) or insertion of a small-bore chest drain. Recent large randomised controlled trials may change the treatment paradigm: comparing conservative and ambulatory management to standard care, but current guidelines need to be updated. The aim of this study was to assess the current "state of play" in the management of pneumothorax in the UK.Methods: Physicians and respiratory healthcare staff were invited to complete an online survey on the initial and subsequent management of pneumothorax.Results: This study is the first survey of pneumothorax practice across the UK, which highlights variation in practice: 50% would manage a large primary pneumothorax with minimal symptoms conservatively, compared to only 3% if there were significant symptoms; 64% use suction if the pneumothorax had not resolved after > 2 days, 15% always clamp the chest drain prior to removal; whereas 30% never do. NICE guidance recommends the use of digital suction but this has not translated into widespread usage: only 23% use digital suction to check for resolution of air leak).Conclusion: Whilst there has always been allowance for individual clinician preference in guidelines, there needs to be consensus on the optimum management strategy. The challenge the new guidelines face is to design a simple and pragmatic approach, using this new evidence base. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pompe disease is a rare disorder characterised by progressive loss of muscle and respiratory function due to acid α-glucosidase deficiency. Enzyme replacement therapy with recombinant human acid α-glucosidase, alglucosidase alfa, is the first approved treatment for the disease, but some patients do not respond, and many do not show a sustained benefit. We aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of an investigational two-component therapy (cipaglucosidase alfa, a novel recombinant human acid α-glucosidase, plus miglustat, an enzyme stabiliser) for late-onset Pompe disease.Methods: We did a randomised, double-blind, parallel-group, phase 3 trial at 62 neuromuscular and metabolic medical centres in 24 countries in the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe. Eligible participants were aged 18 years or older with late-onset Pompe disease, and had either been receiving alglucosidase alfa for at least 2 years or were enzyme replacement therapy-naive. Participants were randomly assigned (2:1) using interactive response technology software, stratified by 6-min walk distance and previous enzyme replacement therapy status, to intravenous cipaglucosidase alfa (20 mg/kg) plus oral miglustat or to intravenous alglucosidase alfa (20 mg/kg) plus oral placebo once every 2 weeks for 52 weeks. Patients, investigators, and outcome assessors were masked to treatment assignment. The primary endpoint was change from baseline to week 52 in 6-min walk distance, assessed using a mixed-effect model for repeated measures analysis for comparison of superiority in the intention-to-treat population (all patients who received at least one dose of study drug). This study is now complete and is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03729362.Findings: Between Dec 3, 2018, and Nov 26, 2019, 130 patients were screened for eligibility and 125 were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive cipaglucosidase alfa plus miglustat (n=85) or alglucosidase alfa plus placebo (n=40). Two patients in the alglucosidase alfa plus placebo group did not receive any dose due to absence of genotype confirmation of late-onset Pompe disease and were excluded from analysis. Six patients discontinued (one in the alglucosidase alfa plus placebo group, five in the cipaglucosidase alfa plus miglustat group), and 117 completed the study. At week 52, mean change from baseline in 6-min walk distance was 20·8 m (SE 4·6) in the cipaglucosidase alfa plus miglustat group versus 7·2 m (6·6) in the alglucosidase alfa plus placebo group using last observation carried forward (between-group difference 13·6 m [95% CI -2·8 to 29·9]). 118 (96%) of 123 patients experienced at least one treatment-emergent adverse event during the study; the incidence was similar between the cipaglucosidase alfa plus miglustat group (n=81 [95%]) and the alglucosidase alfa plus placebo group (n=37 [97%]). The most frequently reported treatment-emergent adverse events were fall (25 [29%] patients in the cipaglucosidase alfa plus miglustat group vs 15 [39%] in the alglucosidase alfa plus placebo group), headache (20 [24%] vs 9 [24%]), nasopharyngitis (19 [22%] vs 3 [8%]), myalgia (14 [16%] vs 5 [13%]), and arthralgia (13 [15%]) vs 5 [13%]). 12 serious adverse events occurred in eight patients in the cipaglucosidase alfa plus miglustat group; only one event (anaphylaxis) was deemed related to study drug. One serious adverse event (stroke) occurred in the alglucosidase alfa plus placebo group, which was deemed unrelated to study drug. There were no deaths.Interpretation: Cipaglucosidase alfa plus miglustat did not achieve statistical superiority to alglucosidase alfa plus placebo for improving 6-min walk distance in our overall population of patients with late-onset Pompe disease. Further studies should investigate the longer-term safety and efficacy of cipaglucosidase alfa plus miglustat and whether this investigational two-component therapy might provide benefits, particularly in respiratory function and in patients who have been receiving enzyme replacement therapy for more than 2 years, as suggested by our secondary and subgroup analyses.Funding: Amicus Therapeutics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thalamic medial geniculate body (MGB) is uniquely positioned within the neural tinnitus networks. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the MGB has been proposed as a possible novel treatment for tinnitus, yet mechanisms remain elusive. The aim of this study was to characterize neurophysiologic hallmarks in the MGB after noise exposure and to assess the neurophysiological effects of electrical stimulation of the MGB. Fourteen male Sprague-Dawley rats were included. Nine subjects were unilaterally exposed to a 16-kHz octave-band noise at 115 dB for 90 min, five received sham exposure. Single units were recorded from the contralateral MGB where spontaneous firing, coefficient of variation, response type, rate-level functions, and thresholds were determined. Local field potentials and electroencephalographical (EEG) recordings were performed before and after high-frequency DBS of the MGB. Thalamocortical synchronization and power were analyzed. In total, 214 single units were identified (n = 145 in noise-exposed group, n = 69 in control group). After noise exposure, fast-responding neurons become less responsive or nonresponsive without change to their spontaneous rate, whereas sustained- and suppressed-type neurons exhibit enhanced spontaneous activity without change to their stimulus-driven activity. MGB DBS suppressed thalamocortical synchronization in the β and γ bands, supporting suppression of thalamocortical synchronization as an underlying mechanism of tinnitus suppression by high frequency DBS. These findings contribute to our understanding of the neurophysiologic consequences of noise exposure and the mechanism of potential DBS therapy for tinnitus. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Separate functional classes of MGB neurons might have distinct roles in tinnitus pathophysiology. After noise exposure, fast-responding neurons become less responsive or nonresponsive without change to their spontaneous firing, whereas sustained and suppressed neurons exhibit enhanced spontaneous activity without change to their stimulus-driven activity. Furthermore, results suggest desynchronization of thalamocortical β and γ oscillations as a mechanism of tinnitus suppression by MGB DBS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study used event‐related potentials (ERPs) to elucidate how the human visual system processes three‐dimensional (3‐D) object shape structure. In particular, we examined whether the perceptual mechanisms that support the analysis of 3‐D shape are differentially sensitive to higher order surface and volumetric part structure. Observers performed a whole‐part novel object matching task in which part stimuli comprised sub‐regions of closed edge contour, surfaces or volumetric parts. Behavioural response latency data showed an advantage in matching surfaces and volumetric parts to whole objects over contours, but no difference between surfaces and volumes. ERPs were analysed using a convergence of approaches based on stimulus dependent amplitude modulations of evoked potentials, topographic segmentation, and spatial frequency oscillations. The results showed early differential perceptual processing of contours, surfaces, and volumetric part stimuli. This was first reliably observed over occipitoparietal electrodes during the N1 (140–200 ms) with a mean peak latency of 170 ms, and continued on subsequent P2 (220–260 ms) and N2 (260–320 ms) components. The differential sensitivity in perceptual processing during the N1 was accompanied by distinct microstate patterns that distinguished among contours, surfaces and volumes, and predominant theta band activity around 4–7 Hz over right occipitoparietal and orbitofrontal sites. These results provide the first evidence of early differential perceptual processing of higher order surface and volumetric shape structure within the first 200 ms of stimulus processing. The findings challenge theoretical models of object recognition that do not attribute functional significance to surface and volumetric object structure during visual perception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parent-collected home observations on Behavior Record Cards (BRCs) have yielded accurate and reliable frequencies of child noncompliance. In addition, prior cross-sectional clinic analog measurements have revealed dramatic improvement in child compliance probabilities after age 4.0 in normal children. The current project sought to extend the developmental transition in compliance probability to reductions in noncompliance frequency in the home. Four age groups (2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old cohorts) of normal children participated. Parents were trained to detect and record noncompliance in the home for a two-week period on BRCs. Unlike the laboratory measurement of compliance probability, the transition point for reduced noncompliance frequency in the home for normal children was found to be age 5, rather than age 4, replicating prior observations of noncompliance frequency in the home. Several methodological differences may account for the inconsistent transition points, including sample size, coding accuracy, setting, and instruction quality. Since noncompliance is one symptom of Oppositional Defiance Disorder (DSM-5), data were transformed into daily occurrence percentages to determine if 5-year olds met the DSM-5 criterion of "at least once per week" and younger children met the DSM-5 criterion of "most days". Virtually all these normal children (37 of 40) met DSM-5 criterion for symptomatic levels of noncompliance. Diagnostic implications are discussed and the lack of normative data based on observational measurements is lamented. It is recommended that both home noncompliance frequencies and clinic compliance probabilities be obtained to evaluate 2- to 6-year-old children referred for externalizing disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Loss of wetlands throughout the southeastern United States threatens the persistence of the region's highly diverse freshwater fauna. Losses are especially concerning for rare species that maintain small or fragmented ranges, zoogeographies that characterize many of the region's numerous freshwater endemics. We assayed nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequence data from the Pine Barrens Treefrog (Hyla andersonii), a rare species distributed across the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains. We hypothesized that the species' evolutionary history has been associated with changes in wetlands during Quaternary interglacials and that the contemporaneous extent of wetlands is positively correlated with population genetic diversity. Genetic variation was highest in North Carolina and South Carolina and lowest in New Jersey and Florida. Mean times to common ancestry ranged from 132,486 to 1,290,605 yr before present, and effective sizes ranged from 4,241 individuals in New Jersey to 403,718 individuals in North Carolina. Population migration rates were generally very low (<0.01), although higher rates were found between North Carolina and South Carolina. Total area of wetlands varied from 2,482 km2 in South Carolina to 7,384 km2 in North Carolina and has declined between 2001 and 2016. Genetic diversity was positively, although nonsignificantly, correlated to total amount of wetland habitat. Pine Barrens Treefrog is comprised of four relictual populations associated with ecological changes driven by climatic progressions of Quaternary interglacials, and collectively these populations conform to an abundant center model of evolution. All populations are conservatively designated management units, although evolutionarily significant unit status cannot be discounted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transport corridors can generate both wider economic benefits (WEBs) and costs through their effects on diverse development outcomes. To advance understanding of how corridors could generate WEBs, this paper undertakes a quantitative review and meta‐analysis of the literature that estimates the impacts of large transport infrastructure projects. The analysis finds that characteristics of individual studies and the design of the transport infrastructure influence estimated benefits. It also shows that, on average, while corridor interventions tend to benefit economic welfare and equity, they often detrimentally impact the environment. To mitigate trade‐offs, policymakers can consider using complementary interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In electromagnetism, the Faraday tensor F a b can be constructed from the vector potential A a , it is possible to add term to the Lagrangian depending on A a but not its derivatives called Chern–Simons terms. In gravitation, the Weyl tensor C a b c d can be constructed from the Lanczos potential H a b c , I pursue the analogy to see if terms of Chern–Simons form can be added to the Lagrangian. A new tensor D is introduced which is constructed from the Lanczos potential and is of the same form as that of the Weyl tensor C expressed in terms of the Lanczos potential except that covariant differentiation is replaced by transvection with a vector v. The new tensor has associated invariants C ⋅ D and D 2 , the first of these can be interpreted as a Chern–Simons term for Weyl C 2 gravity. Both invariants allow various tensors to be constructed and some of their properties are investigated by using exact examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Molecular tests (MT) using gene expression and/or mutational analysis have been developed to reduce the need for diagnostic surgery for indeterminate (Bethesda III/IV) thyroid nodules. Prior cost-effectiveness studies have shown mixed results but none has included the recent and more comprehensive versions of the two commonly utilized MT. The aim of this study is to compare the cost-effectiveness of diagnostic lobectomy (DL), the Afirma Gene Sequencing Classifier (GSC), and ThyroSeq version 3 (TSv3). Methods: A decision tree from the payer perspective was created using a base case of a 40-year-old euthyroid woman with a solitary 2 cm Bethesda III or IV thyroid nodule. In this model, all patients in the DL arm had lobectomy, which was also performed for patients with positive MT, while those with negative MT underwent 20 years of surveillance. The outcome was a correct diagnosis, defined as malignant histology after DL or 20 years of nodule stability after negative MT. Costs were obtained from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) data and existing literature, and probabilities were obtained from the literature. Sensitivity analysis was performed for costs, pretest probability of malignancy, and performance parameters. Results: The cost per correct diagnosis was $14,277 for TSv3, $17,873 for GSC, and $38,408 for DL. TSv3 was preferred over both GSC and DL. One-way sensitivity analysis between TSv3 and GSC demonstrated that the results were robust to variations in cost, cancer prevalence, and length of surveillance. In the two-way sensitivity analysis, TSv3 was preferred over GSC at all considered test costs, and in probabilistic sensitivity analysis, TSv3 was the preferred management strategy in 68.5% of cases. Conclusions: In hypothetical modeling to determine whether surgery versus MT is optimal for indeterminate (Bethesda III/IV) nodules, either of the major MT was considerably more cost-effective than DL, although TSv3 was more likely to be cost-effective than GSC. Use of either MT adjunct should be strongly considered in the absence of other indications for thyroidectomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A solution to the massless scalar cosmological constant field equations is presented. The solution has imploding scalar and parts of anti-deSitter or deSitter spacetime as limiting cases. Some of the solutions properties are discussed however not much can be said because of the contrasting properties of imploding scalar and deSitter spacetimes. What can be said is that the self-similar homeothetic Killing vector is not qualitatively changed by the cosmological constant, in other words self-similarity and the presence of a cosmological constant are separate properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To develop knowledge of routes by which patients are admitted to Pantang hospital via the courts or police and to explore the factors that prevent discharge, rehabilitation or transfer to prison of these patients. Setting: Pantang Psychiatric Hospital, Accra, Ghana, West Africa Design: A cross-sectional exploratory qualitative study. Participants: Adult patients with a psychiatric diagnosis who had been admitted to hospital following involvement with the criminal justice system and their families; and stakeholders (participants who had experience working with mentally disordered offenders). Methods: A descriptive and ethnographic survey of patients plus interviews with key stakeholders in mental health and criminal justice. Data were analysed using hybrid thematic analysis. Results: Patients arrived at Pantang Psychiatric Hospital following referral by the arresting police authorities, through court referral, or directly from prisons. All participants reported lack of understanding of the mental health and criminal justice systems, and interface between the two. Most patients and family members reported they feared the stigma of mental illness and patients' criminal charges would interrupt the patients' successful reintegration into the community. Conclusion: This study revealed that forensic mental health patients in the Pantang Hospital entered through one of three ways; direct entry through the community-based policing system; on order through the court system; and referrals directly from the prison system. Inadequate staffing and other resources resulted in delays in completing the necessary psychiatric assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unique spherically symmetric metric which has vanishing Weyl tensor, is asymptotically de-Sitter, and can model constant galactic rotation curves is presented. Two types of field equations are shown to have this metric as an exact solution. The first is Palatini varied scalar-tensor theory. The second is the low energy limit of string theory modified by inclusion of a contrived potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major cause of morbidity and deaths worldwide. HCV treating teams are working toward the goal of eliminating HCV by 2030. People who inject drugs (PWIDs) are at high risk of HCV but contact tracing is not routine practice. Here, we present the outcomes of a HCV 'test, trace and treat' pilot using peer workers to test contacts of individuals with HCV. PWIDs with HCV were invited to participate when they presented for treatment. For those agreeing to participate, a peer approached them to invite potential contacts for HCV testing. Data were collected on uptake, HCV test results, treatment rates and reasons for declining. Overall, 295 individuals (162 recent HCV [<1 year], 69 reinfections, 64 known chronic HCV) were invited to participate, of whom 147 (50%) agreed and 30 (20% of those agreeing) brought forward 120 contacts for testing. Of these, 44 (37%) were HCV RNA positive, including 23 who were not known to services. 34 (77%) started antiviral treatment. HCV RNA positivity was highest in contacts of reinfections (45%) compared with recent HCV (33%) and known chronic HCV (25%). The most common reason for index individuals declining participation was that they reported no longer being in contact with individuals from their injecting network (65%). In conclusion, half of PWIDs with HCV agreed to participate in the pilot, but only 20% of these brought contacts forward. The frequency of active HCV was high in the contacts and the majority started antiviral treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients with neuromuscular diseases (NMD) can present to the neurologist with symptoms and signs of respiratory failure, either acutely or as an insidious process in the outpatient setting. Since the advent of non-invasive ventilation, the outcomes of patients with ventilatory failure due to NMD have dramatically improved. However, the natural history of different NMDs requires a nuanced approach to respiratory investigation and management. Respiratory failure dictates the prognosis of many NMDs and timing the most appropriate investigation and referral to ventilation services is crucial in optimising care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses high‐frequency nighttime lights data and a variety of empirical methods to analyze the impacts of the Covid‐19 crisis on economic activity during the period January 2020–March 2021 for a global sample of 2841 cities. Particular attention is paid to the role of a city's population density in shaping these impacts. While economic activity in cities is found to be negatively affected by both the spread of the virus and the imposition of nonpharmaceutical interventions, population density is found to amplify the negative impacts of the spread of the virus and attenuate those of nonpharmaceutical interventions. These results are driven by cities in low‐ and middle‐income countries, where overall economic activity is found to have been more strongly hit by the pandemic and the strength of those impacts was stronger for less densely populated cities. The role of population density in shaping the economic impacts of the Covid‐19 crisis across cities is confirmed by an event‐study analysis. Taken together, the findings suggest that the Covid‐19 crisis gave rise to divergent urban economic trajectories, both between high‐ and lower‐income countries and between cities with different population densities in lower‐income countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In October 2016, parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer unanimously agreed to amend the Protocol to allow for the phase-down of the super greenhouse gases hydrofluorocarbons ( HFCs). The Kigali Amendment is expected to mitigate 70-100 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents by 2050, and prevent up to 0.5 degrees Celsius increase in the Earth's temperature by 2100. Prioritizing energy-efficient technologies in the refrigeration and air conditioning sector could potentially double these mitigation gains. By phasing down HFCs, the Montreal Protocol will be able to restore the ozone layer without exacerbating global climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gamma-band synchronization coordinates brief periods of excitability in oscillating neuronal populations to optimize information transmission during sensation and cognition. Commonly, a stable, shared frequency over time is considered a condition for functional neural synchronization. Here, we demonstrate the opposite: instantaneous frequency modulations are critical to regulate phase relations and synchronization. In monkey visual area V1, nearby local populations driven by different visual stimulation showed different gamma frequencies. When similar enough, these frequencies continually attracted and repulsed each other, which enabled preferred phase relations to be maintained in periods of minimized frequency difference. Crucially, the precise dynamics of frequencies and phases across a wide range of stimulus conditions was predicted from a physics theory that describes how weakly coupled oscillators influence each other's phase relations. Hence, the fundamental mathematical principle of synchronization through instantaneous frequency modulations applies to gamma in V1 and is likely generalizable to other brain regions and rhythms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel resource recovery technologies are required for metals-bearing hazardous wastes in order to achieve circular economy outcomes and industrial symbiosis. Iron oxide and co-occurring hydroxysulphate-bearing wastes are globally abundant and often contain other elements of value. This work addresses the biostimulation of indigenous microbial communities within an iron oxide/ hydroxysulphate-bearing waste and its effect on the subsequent recoverability of metals by hydrochloric, sulphuric, citric acids, and EDTA. Laboratory-scale flow-through column reactors were used to examine the effect of using glycerol (10% w/w) to stimulate the in situ microbial community in an iron oxide/ hydroxysulphate-bearing mine waste. The effects on the evolution of leachate chemistry, changes in microbiological community, and subsequent hydrometallurgical extractability of metals were studied. Results demonstrated increased leachability and selectivity of Pb, Cu, and Zn relative to iron after biostimulation with a total of 0.027 kg of glycerol per kg of waste. Biostimulation, which can be readily applied in situ , potentially opens new routes to metal recovery from globally abundant waste streams that contain jarosite and iron oxides. [Display omitted] • Enhanced recovery of metal post-biostimulation of iron oxide/hydroxysulphate waste. • Simple flow through reactors used for the study. • Increase in relative abundance of iron/sulphate reducers in presence of glycerol. • Glycerol fed waste exhibited higher extractability of metals. • Chelation extraction with EDTA shows notable selectivity of metals over iron. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Clebsch potential approach to fluid lagrangians is developed in order to establish contact with other approaches to fluids. Three variants of the perfect fluid approach are looked at. The first is an explicit linear lagrangian constructed directly from the Clebsch potentials, this has fixed equation of state and explicit expression for the pressure but is less general than a perfect fluid. The second is lagrangians more general than that of a perfect fluid which are constructed from higher powers of the comoving vector. The third is lagrangians depending on two vector fields which can represent both density flow and entropy flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here we investigated the time course underlying differential processing of local and global shape information during the perception of complex three-dimensional (3D) objects. Observers made shape matching judgments about pairs of sequentially presented multi­part novel objects. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were used to measure perceptual sensitivity to 3D shape differences in terms of local part structure and global shape configuration – based on predictions derived from hierarchical structural description models of object recognition. There were three types of different object trials in which stimulus pairs (1) shared local parts but differed in global shape configuration; (2) contained different local parts but shared global configuration or (3) shared neither local parts nor global configuration. Analyses of the ERP data showed differential amplitude modulation as a function of shape similarity as early as the N1 component between 146–215 ms post-stimulus onset. These negative amplitude deflections were more similar between objects sharing global shape configuration than local part structure. Differentiation among all stimulus types was reflected in N2 amplitude modulations between 276–330 ms. sLORETA inverse solutions showed stronger involvement of left occipitotemporal areas during the N1 for object discrimination weighted towards local part structure. The results suggest that the perception of 3D object shape involves parallel processing of information at local and global scales. This processing is characterised by relatively slow derivation of ‘fine-grained’ local shape structure, and fast derivation of ‘coarse-grained’ global shape configuration. We propose that the rapid early derivation of global shape attributes underlies the observed patterns of N1 amplitude modulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In patients with Late-Onset Pompe Disease (LOPD), progressive respiratory muscle involvement leads to reduced pulmonary function, with respiratory failure the most common cause of mortality. Early disease manifestations include sleep-disordered breathing, which can be treated with non-invasive ventilation; however, progressive diurnal deficits can require invasive ventilation. To determine if pulmonary function tests (PFTs) predict the thresholds for ventilation and wheelchair use, a systematic literature review identified cross-sectional clinical patient data (N = 174) that was classified into ventilation and wheelchair cohorts. PFTs included maximum inspiratory pressure (MIP), maximum expiratory pressure (MEP), forced vital capacity (FVC), and vital capacity (VC), with vital capacities measured in the upright (-U) and supine (-S) positions. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to calculate cut-points (CP) and area under the curve (AUC). For all ventilation and mobility thresholds tested, ROC analyses demonstrated AUC values from 86–89% for MIP, 72–96% for MEP, and 74–96% for all vital capacity metrics. Thus, PFTs are useful in predicting the thresholds for nighttime ventilation, daytime ventilation, and wheelchair use, with MIP and VC-U having both high AUC values and consistency. The PFT mobility CPs were low (MIP CP = 0.9 kPa, MEP, CP = 2.6 kPa, VC-U CP = 19% predicted), suggesting an endurance component associated with wheelchair use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synchronization or phase-locking between oscillating neuronal groups is considered to be important for coordination of information among cortical networks. Spectral coherence is a commonly used approach to quantify phase locking between neural signals. We systematically explored the validity of spectral coherence measures for quantifying synchronization among neural oscillators. To that aim, we simulated coupled oscillatory signals that exhibited synchronization dynamics using an abstract phase-oscillator model as well as interacting gamma-generating spiking neural networks. We found that, within a large parameter range, the spectral coherence measure deviated substantially from the expected phase-locking. Moreover, spectral coherence did not converge to the expected value with increasing signal-to-noise ratio. We found that spectral coherence particularly failed when oscillators were in the partially (intermittent) synchronized state, which we expect to be the most likely state for neural synchronization. The failure was due to the fast frequency and amplitude changes induced by synchronization forces. We then investigated whether spectral coherence reflected the information flow among networks measured by transfer entropy (TE) of spike trains. We found that spectral coherence failed to robustly reflect changes in synchrony-mediated information flow between neural networks in many instances. As an alternative approach we explored a phase-locking value (PLV) method based on the reconstruction of the instantaneous phase. As one approach for reconstructing instantaneous phase, we used the Hilbert Transform (HT) preceded by Singular Spectrum Decomposition (SSD) of the signal. PLV estimates have broad applicability as they do not rely on stationarity, and, unlike spectral coherence, they enable more accurate estimations of oscillatory synchronization across a wide range of different synchronization regimes, and better tracking of synchronization-mediated information flow among networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is argued that there are characteristic intervals associated with any particle that can be derived without reference to the speed of light c. Such intervals are inferred from zeros of wavefunctions which are solutions to the Schrödinger equation. The characteristic length is ℓ=β²ℏ²/(8Gm³), where β=3.8...; this length might lead to observational effects on objects the size of a virus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gaze direction perception triggers rapid visuospatial orienting to the location observed by others. When this is congruent with the location of a target, reaction times are faster than when incongruent. Functional magnetic resonance imaging studies suggest that the non-joint attention induced by incongruent cues are experienced as more emotionally negative and this could relate to less favorable trust judgments of the faces when gaze-cues are contingent with identity. Here, we provide further support for these findings using time-resolved event-related potentials. In addition to replicating the effects of identity-contingent gaze-cues on reaction times and trust judgments, we discovered that the emotion-related late positive potential increased across blocks to incongruent compared to congruent faces before, during and after the gaze-cue, suggesting both learning and retrieval of emotion states associated with the face. We also discovered that the face-recognition-related N250 component appeared to localize to sources in anterior temporal areas. Our findings provide unique electrophysiological evidence for the role of emotion in learning trust from gaze-cues, suggesting that the retrieval of face evaluations during interaction may take around 1000 ms and that the N250 originates from anterior temporal face patches. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Solutions are found to field equations constructed from the Pauli, Bach and Gauss-Bonnet quadratic tensors to the Kasner and Kasner brane spacetimes in up to five dimensions. A double Kasner space is shown to have a vacuum solution. Brane solutions in which the bulk components of the Einstein tensor vanish are also looked at and for four-branes a solution similar to radiation Robertson-Walker spacetime is found. Matter trapping of a test scalar field and a test perfect fluid are investigated using energy conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unlike demand studies in other industries, models of provider demand in health care often must omit a price, or any other factor that equilibrates the market such as a waiting time. Estimates of the consumer response to quality may consequently be attenuated, if the limited capacity of individual physicians prevents some consumers from obtaining higher quality. We propose a tractable method to address this problem by adding a congestion effect to standard discrete-choice models. We show analytically how this can improve forecasts of the consumer response to quality. We then apply this method to the market for heart surgery, and find that the attenuation bias in estimated quality effects can be important empirically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ooids are small, spherical to ellipsoidal grains composed of concentric layers of CaCO 3 that could potentially serve as biogeochemical records of the environments in which they grew. Such records, however, must be placed in the proper temporal context. Therefore, we developed a novel acidification system and employed an accelerator mass spectrometer (AMS) with a gas accepting ion source to obtain radiocarbon ( 14 C) chronologies extending radially through ooids within one 8-h workday. The method was applied to ooids from Highborne Cay, Bahamas and Shark Bay, Australia, yielding reproducible 14 C chronologies, as well as constraints on the rates and durations of ooid growth and independent estimates of local 14 C reservoir ages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A behavioral family therapy (BFT) protocol was implemented with 19 2- to 7-year-olds and their families in Shanghai, China to reduce disruptive behavior. The protocol was based on Helping the Noncompliant Child, condensed into five sessions, and reframed as an individual parenting class to engage Chinese families. Alternative room timeout backup procedures were offered to families concerned about the standard procedures. Pre- and post-treatment comparisons indicated that misbehavior on the Aggressive Behavior Subscale of the Child Behavior Checklist was significantly reduced. At post-treatment primary caregivers increased positive behaviors and decreased intrusive behaviors during a Free Play Analog with their child. Child compliance increased, as well as caregiver contingent attention for child compliance during a Clean-up Task Analog. In the home setting, children showed a significant reduction in the ratio of room timeout backups to chair timeouts. Chinese caregivers were satisfied with the BFT protocol. Although qualified by several specific limitations, the results suggested that a condensed and reframed BFT is feasible in China and potentially an effective and socially valid treatment for disruptive behavior among Chinese preschoolers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fine-scale temporal organization of cortical activity in the gamma range (∼25–80Hz) may play a significant role in information processing, for example by neural grouping (‘binding’) and phase coding. Recent experimental studies have shown that the precise frequency of gamma oscillations varies with input drive (e.g. visual contrast) and that it can differ among nearby cortical locations. This has challenged theories assuming widespread gamma synchronization at a fixed common frequency. In the present study, we investigated which principles govern gamma synchronization in the presence of input-dependent frequency modulations and whether they are detrimental for meaningful input-dependent gamma-mediated temporal organization. To this aim, we constructed a biophysically realistic excitatory-inhibitory network able to express different oscillation frequencies at nearby spatial locations. Similarly to cortical networks, the model was topographically organized with spatially local connectivity and spatially-varying input drive. We analyzed gamma synchronization with respect to phase-locking, phase-relations and frequency differences, and quantified the stimulus-related information represented by gamma phase and frequency. By stepwise simplification of our models, we found that the gamma-mediated temporal organization could be reduced to basic synchronization principles of weakly coupled oscillators, where input drive determines the intrinsic (natural) frequency of oscillators. The gamma phase-locking, the precise phase relation and the emergent (measurable) frequencies were determined by two principal factors: the detuning (intrinsic frequency difference, i.e. local input difference) and the coupling strength. In addition to frequency coding, gamma phase contained complementary stimulus information. Crucially, the phase code reflected input differences, but not the absolute input level. This property of relative input-to-phase conversion, contrasting with latency codes or slower oscillation phase codes, may resolve conflicting experimental observations on gamma phase coding. Our modeling results offer clear testable experimental predictions. We conclude that input-dependency of gamma frequencies could be essential rather than detrimental for meaningful gamma-mediated temporal organization of cortical activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background This survey provides data on the Mental Health System in Ghana for the year 2011. It supplies essential planning information for the implementation of Ghana?s new Mental Health Act 846 of 2012, a renewal of the Ghana 5 year plan for mental health and it contributes to international knowledge base on mental health. It provides a baseline from which to measure future progress in Ghana and comparison data for use in other countries. In addition to reporting our findings we describe and analyse deficiencies and strengths of the Ghana mental health system. Methods We used the World Health Organization?s Assessment Instrument for Mental Health Systems (WHO-AIMS) to collect, analyse, and report data on the mental health system and services for all districts of the ten regions of Ghana. Data was collected in 2012, based on the year 2011. Results In 2011, Ghana was a lower middle income country with a population of approximately 25 million. A mental health policy, plan and legislation were in place. Mental health legislation was outdated and no longer in line with best practice standards. Services were significantly underfunded with only 1.4 % of the health expenditure going to mental health, and spending very much skewed towards urban areas. There were 123 mental health outpatient facilities, 3 psychiatric hospitals, 7 community based psychiatric inpatient units, 4 community residential facilities and 1 day treatment centre, which is well below what would be expected for Ghana?s economic status. The majority of patients were treated in outpatient facilities and psychiatric hospitals and most of the inpatient beds were provided by the latter. There were an estimated 2.4 million people with mental health problems of which 67,780 (ie 2.8 %) received treatment in 2011. The were 18 psychiatrists, 1,068 Registered Mental Nurses, 19 psychologists, 72 Community Mental Health Officers and 21 social workers working in mental health which is unbalanced with an unbalanced emphasis on nurses compared to what would be expected. Conclusions The main strength of the mental health system was the presence of a long established service with staff working across the country in outpatients departments and hospitals. The main weakness was that government spending on mental health was very low and the bulk of services, albeit very sparse, were centred around the capital city leaving much of the rest of the country with almost no provision. Service provision was dominated by nurses with few other professions groups present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing demands for high energy/highpower energy storage systemshave driven research efforts toward devices such as supercapacitorsthat bridge the gap between high power capacitors and high energybatteries. Supercapacitors have experienced commercial success withhigh surface area activated carbon electrodes; however, these systemsare limited by the surface area and physical charge storage throughthe electrical double layer mechanism. Redox materials, such as metaloxides and conductive polymers, have attracted interest because ofthe increase in energy density obtained through faradaic charge storageprocesses. One of the main drawbacks of conducting polymers, whichare far more abundant and cost-effective relative to oxides, is theirrelatively low theoretical charge capacity. In this work, we reportthe use of a high-charge capacity redox molecule, 1,4-benzoquinone,to increase the energy density of polypyrrole electrodes. The electrodesynthesis conditions are shown to have a significant influence onthe composition and electrochemical properties of the mixed redoxmaterial films. Polypyrrole electrodes doped with 1,4-benzoquinoneexhibit specific capacitances as high as 550 F g–1and charge capacities of 104 mA h g–1comparedto 236 F g–1and 50 mA h g–1forreference polypyrrole electrodes. Importantly, these results demonstratethat materials with diverse redox behaviors and potentials can becombined in an electrochemical system to develop organic electrodeswith high specific charge capacities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key content Mifepristone, a progesterone receptor antagonist, was initially discovered in the 1980s and has been licensed for use in medical termination since 1991. Subsequently, selective progesterone receptor modulators (SPRM), which have both agonist and antagonist properties, have been developed and have therapeutic advantages over alternative therapies., Ulipristal acetate, a SPRM, was licensed as emergency contraception in 2009 and, in May 2012, as a preoperative treatment for fibroids. There is ongoing research on its use for the long-term management of uterine fibroids., Learning objectives History of the development of SPRM., Mechanism of action of SPRM., Summary of research on ulipristal acetate for the management of fibroids., Potential advantages of SPRM over the current medical treatments for uterine fibroids., Current licensed uses for ulipristal acetate., Potential uses of SPRM in other gynaecological conditions., Risks and side effects of SPRM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacterial chemotaxis depends on signalling through large protein complexes. Each cell must inherit a complex on division, suggesting some co-ordination with cell division. In Escherichia coli the membrane-spanning chemosensory complexes are polar and new static complexes form at pre-cytokinetic sites, ensuring positioning at the new pole after division and suggesting a role for the bacterial cytoskeleton. Rhodobacter sphaeroides has both membrane-associated and cytoplasmic, chromosome-associated chemosensory complexes. We followed the relative positions of the two chemosensory complexes, FtsZ and MreB in aerobic and in photoheterotrophic R. sphaeroides cells using fluorescence microscopy. FtsZ forms polar spots after cytokinesis, which redistribute to the midcell forming nodes from which FtsZ extends circumferentially to form the Z-ring. Membrane-associated chemosensory proteins form a number of dynamic unit-clusters with mature clusters containing about 1000 CheW3 proteins. Individual clusters diffuse randomly within the membrane, accumulating at new poles after division but not colocalizing with either FtsZ or MreB. The cytoplasmic complex colocalizes with FtsZ at midcells in new-born cells. Before cytokinesis one complex moves to a daughter cell, followed by the second moving to the other cell. These data indicate that two homologous complexes use different mechanisms to ensure partitioning, and neither complex utilizes FtsZ or MreB for positioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Microscopy image segmentation lays the foundation for shape analysis, motion tracking, and classification of biological objects. Despite its importance, automated segmentation remains challenging for several widely used non-fluorescence, interference-based microscopy imaging modalities. For example in differential interference contrast microscopy which plays an important role in modern bacterial cell biology. Therefore, new revolutions in the field require the development of tools, technologies and work-flows to extract and exploit information from interference-based imaging data so as to achieve new fundamental biological insights and understanding. Results: We have developed and evaluated a high-throughput image analysis and processing approach to detect and characterize bacterial cells and chemotaxis proteins. Its performance was evaluated using differential interference contrast and fluorescence microscopy images of Rhodobacter sphaeroides. Conclusions: Results demonstrate that the proposed approach provides a fast and robust method for detection and analysis of spatial relationship between bacterial cells and their chemotaxis proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Current theories propose that coherence of oscillatory brain activity in the gamma band (30–80 Hz) constitutes an avenue for communication among remote neural populations. However, reports documenting stimulus dependency and time variability of gamma frequency suggest that distant neuronal populations may, at any one time, operate at different frequencies precluding synchronization. To test this idea, we recorded from macaque V1 and V2 simultaneously while presenting gratings of varying contrast. Although gamma frequency increased with stimulus contrast in V1 and V2 (by ∼25 Hz), V1-V2 gamma coherence was maintained for all contrasts. Moreover, while gamma frequency fluctuated by ∼15 Hz during constant contrast stimulation, this fluctuation was highly correlated between V1 and V2. The strongest coherence connections showed a layer-specific pattern, matching feedforward anatomical connectivity. Hence, gamma coherence among remote populations can occur despite large stimulus-induced and time-dependent changes in gamma frequency, allowing communication through coherence to operate without a stimulus independent, fixed-frequency gamma channel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]