War at the Speed of Light describes the revolutionary and
ever-increasing role of directed-energy weapons (such as laser,
microwave, electromagnetic pulse, and cyberspace weapons) in
warfare. Louis ...A. Del Monte delineates the threat that such weapons
pose to disrupting the doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction,
which has kept the major powers of the world from engaging in
nuclear warfare. Potential U.S. adversaries, such as China and
Russia, are developing hypersonic missiles and using swarming
tactics as a means to defeat the U.S. military. In response, the
U.S. Department of Defense established the 2018 National Security
Strategy, emphasizing directed-energy weapons, which project
devastation at the speed of light and are capable of destroying
hypersonic missiles and enemy drones and missile swarms. Del Monte
analyzes how modern warfare is changing in three fundamental ways:
the pace of war is quickening, the rate at which weapons project
devastation is reaching the speed of light, and cyberspace is now
officially a battlefield. In this acceleration of combat called
"hyperwar," Del Monte shows how disturbingly close the world is to
losing any deterrence to nuclear warfare.
This paper extends the correspondence between discrete Cluster Integrable Systems and BPS spectra of five-dimensional
N
=
1
QFTs on
R
4
×
S
1
by proving that algebraic solutions of the integrable ...systems are exact solutions for the system of TBA equations arising from the BPS spectral problem. This statement is exemplified in the case of
M
-theory compactifications on local del Pezzo Calabi–Yau threefolds, corresponding to q-Painlevé equations and
SU
(2) gauge theories with matter. A degeneration scheme is introduced, allowing to obtain closed-form expression for the BPS spectrum also in systems without algebraic solutions. By studying the example of local del Pezzo 3, it is shown that when the region in moduli space associated to an algebraic solution is a “wall of marginal stability”, the BPS spectrum contains states of arbitrarily high spin, and corresponds to a 5d uplift of a four-dimensional nonlagrangian theory.
Full RNA-Seq is a fundamental research tool for whole transcriptome analysis. However, it is too costly and time consuming to be used in routine clinical practice. We evaluated the transcript ...quantification agreement between RNA-Seq and a digital multiplexed gene expression platform, and the subtype call after running the PAM50 assay in a series of breast cancer patients classified as triple negative by IHC/FISH. The goal of this study is to analyze the concordance between both expression platforms overall, and for calling PAM50 triple negative breast cancer intrinsic subtypes in particular.
The analyses were performed in paraffin-embedded tissues from 96 patients recruited in a multicenter, prospective, non-randomized neoadjuvant triple negative breast cancer trial (NCT01560663). Pre-treatment core biopsies were obtained following clinical practice guidelines and conserved as FFPE for further RNA extraction. PAM50 was performed on both digital multiplexed gene expression and RNA-Seq platforms. Subtype assignment was based on the nearest centroid classification following this procedure for both platforms and it was concordant on 96% of the cases (N = 96). In four cases, digital multiplexed gene expression analysis and RNA-Seq were discordant. The Spearman correlation to each of the centroids and the risk of recurrence were above 0.89 in both platforms while the agreement on Proliferation Score reached up to 0.97. In addition, 82% of the individual PAM50 genes showed a correlation coefficient > 0.80.
In our analysis, the subtype calling in most of the samples was concordant in both platforms and the potential discordances had reduced clinical implications in terms of prognosis. If speed and cost are the main driving forces then the preferred technique is the digital multiplexed platform, while if whole genome patterns and subtype are the driving forces, then RNA-Seq is the preferred method.
Carbon nanotubes and graphene are some of the most intensively explored carbon allotropes in materials science. This interest mainly resides in their unique properties with electrical conductivities ...as high as 10(4) S cm(-1), thermal conductivities as high as 5000 W m(-1) K and superior mechanical properties with elastic moduli on the order of 1 TPa for both of them. The possibility to translate the individual properties of these monodimensional (e.g. carbon nanotubes) and bidimensional (e.g. graphene) building units into two-dimensional free-standing thick and thin films has paved the way for using these allotropes in a number of applications (including photocatalysis, electrochemistry, electronics and optoelectronics, among others) as well as for the preparation of biological and chemical sensors. More recently and while recognizing the tremendous interest of these two-dimensional structures, researchers are noticing that the performance of certain devices can experience a significant enhancement by the use of three-dimensional architectures and/or aerogels because of the increase of active material per projected area. This is obviously the case as long as the nanometre-sized building units remain accessible so that the concept of hierarchical three-dimensional organization is critical to guarantee the mass transport and, as consequence, performance enhancement. Thus, this review aims to describe the different synthetic processes used for preparation of these three-dimensional architectures and/or aerogels containing either any or both allotropes, and the different fields of application in which the particular structure of these materials provided a significant enhancement in the efficacy as compared to their two-dimensional analogues or even opened the path to novel applications. The unprecedented compilation of information from both CNT- and graphene-based three-dimensional architectures and/or aerogels in a single revision is also of interest because it allows a straightforward comparison between the particular features provided by each allotrope.
We study the BPS particle spectrum of five-dimensional superconformal field theories on
R
4
×
S
1
with one-dimensional Coulomb branch, by means of their associated BPS quivers. By viewing these ...theories as arising from the geometric engineering within M-theory, the quivers are naturally associated to the corresponding local Calabi–Yau threefold. We show that the symmetries of the quiver, descending from the symmetries of the Calabi–Yau geometry, together with the affine root lattice structure of the flavor charges, provide equations for the Kontsevich–Soibelman wall-crossing invariant. We solve these equations iteratively: the pattern arising from the solution is naturally extended to an exact conjectural expression, that we provide for the local Hirzebruch
F
0
, and local del Pezzo
d
P
3
and
d
P
5
geometries. Remarkably, the BPS spectrum consists of two copies of suitable 4
d
N
=
2
spectra, augmented by Kaluza-Klein towers.
The causes of major depressive disorder (MDD), as one of the most common psychiatric disorders, still remain unclear. Neuroimaging has substantially contributed to understanding the putative neuronal ...mechanisms underlying depressed mood and motivational as well as cognitive impairments in depressed individuals. In particular, analyses addressing changes in interregional connectivity seem to be a promising approach to capture the effects of MDD at a systems level. However, a plethora of different, sometimes contradicting results have been published so far, making general conclusions difficult. Here we provide a systematic overview about connectivity studies published in the field over the last decade considering different methodological as well as clinical issues.
A systematic review was conducted extracting neuronal connectivity results from studies published between 2002 and 2015. The findings were summarized in tables and were graphically visualized.
The review supports and summarizes the notion of an altered frontolimbic mood regulation circuitry in MDD patients, but also stresses the heterogeneity of the findings. The brain regions that are most consistently affected across studies are the orbitomedial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, amygdala, hippocampus, cerebellum and the basal ganglia.
The results on connectivity in MDD are very heterogeneous, partly due to different methods and study designs, but also due to the temporal dynamics of connectivity. While connectivity research is an important step toward a complex systems approach to brain functioning, future research should focus on the dynamics of functional and effective connectivity.
Alzheimer disease (AD), characterized by deterioration of cognitive capabilities, is prevalent among 44 million people worldwide. Beyond memory deficits, the most common AD co-morbidities include ...swallowing defects (muscle), fractures (bone, muscle), and heart failure. The underlying causes of these co-morbidities and their role in AD pathophysiology are currently unknown. This review is the first to summarize the emerging picture of the cardiac and musculoskeletal deficits in human AD. We present the involvement of the heart, characterized by diastolic heart failure, the presence of amyloid deposits, and electrophysiological changes compared to age-matched controls. The characteristic musculoskeletal defects in AD come from recent clinical studies and include potential underlying mechanisms (bone) in animal models. These studies detail a primary muscle weakness (without a loss of muscle mass) in patients with mild cognitive impairment, with progression of cognitive impairment to AD associating with ongoing muscle weakness AND the onset of muscle atrophy. We conclude by reviewing the loss of bone density in AD patients, paralleling their increase in fracture and fall risk is specific populations. These studies paint broad AD as a systemic disease in broad strokes, which may help elucidate AD pathophysiology and to allow new ways to think about therapeutic intervention, diagnostic biomarkers, and the pathogenesis of this multi-disciplinary disease.
Oxidoreductases are enzymes with distinctive characteristics that favor their use in different areas, such as agriculture, environmental management, medicine, and analytical chemistry. Among these ...enzymes, oxidases, dehydrogenases, peroxidases, and oxygenases are very interesting. Because their substrate diversity, they can be used in different biocatalytic processes by homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis. Immobilization of these enzymes has favored their use in the solution of different biotechnological problems, with a notable increase in the study and optimization of this technology in the last years. In this review, the main structural and catalytical features of oxidoreductases, their substrate specificity, immobilization, and usage in biocatalytic processes, such as bioconversion, bioremediation, and biosensors obtainment, are presented.
To report the results of contralateral recession-resection of the horizontal muscles in oculomotor nerve palsy with aberrant regeneration to correct both the strabismus and the ptosis in one ...procedure.
Retrospective case series.
This is an institutional study on patients with oculomotor nerve palsy with aberrant innervation who had contralateral eye muscle surgery in 2 different centers. Patients were included if they have both exotropia and aberrant regeneration with a ptosis that improved on adduction. All patients had contralateral lateral rectus recession and medial rectus resection. Ductions, versions, angle of misalignment, and degree of ptosis were evaluated before surgery and at last follow-up.
Eleven patients were identified. The mean age at surgery was 15.0 ± 9.2 years. Five patients were male (45%). Trauma was the cause in 8 (72%) cases. The mean angle of exotropia was 42 ± 14 prism diopters. The mean degree of ptosis was 3.9 ± 1.6 mm. The mean lateral rectus recession was 8.2 ± 1.1 mm, and the mean medial rectus muscle resection was 6.7 ± 0.9 mm. The mean follow-up was 6.4 ± 2.5 months. After surgery, none of the patients had residual exotropia >10 prism diopters. The mean degree of ptosis after surgery was 0.9 ± 0.8 mm. None of the patients required further surgery for ptosis or strabismus.
Contralateral eye muscle in third nerve palsy with aberrant innervation offers the advantage of simultaneous correction of both strabismus and ptosis through a single procedure.
•Contralateral surgery can be done in third nerve palsy with aberrant innervation.•This allows simultaneous correction of both the exotropia and ptosis in one step.•Contralateral surgery avoids the complications related to ptosis surgery.
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