Normal values of sudomotor function assessed by electrochemical skin conductance in African population.

BACKGROUND: Dysfunction of small nerve fibers remains a major public health concern. Subjects suspected of having small nerve fiber damage need to undergo reliable tests to confirm the diagnosis. Sudomotor function test is a reliable noninvasive exploration for detecting peripheral neuropathies. Nevertheless, the normal reference values derived from the sudomotor function test are not known in the African population. The objective of this study was therefore to describe the normal values of Electrochemical Skin Conductance (ESC) measured by the sudomotor function test in healthy African subjects. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between December 1st, 2021 and May 31st, 2022, ESC was measured in 475 healthy subjects (median age: 42 [31-53] years, 46% men) using a sudomotor function test, in the hands and feet. Investigators proposed the examination and received participants' consent; demographic, anthropometric, biological, and clinical data were obtained before the test. Data on 475 healthy study participants who underwent sudomotor function testing was collected and analyzed. The sociodemographic (age, sex), anthropometric (weight, height, waist circumference, body mass index), diastolic blood pressure, systolic blood pressure, heart rate, and electrochemical skin conductances of the hands and feet were assessed. RESULTS: ESC values were statistically higher in men compared to women (right hand ESC: 70 [60-78] versus 63 [53-72], left hand ESC: 72 [61-80] versus 68 [57-75], right foot ESC: 77 [82-99] versus 72 [64-79], ESC left foot: 76 [68-82] versus 72 [62-78] respectively). ESC values were significantly inversely correlated with age (right hand ESC: r=-0.12, P=0.006; left hand ESC: r=-0.11, P=0.01; right foot ESC: r=-0.37, P<0.0001; ESC left foot: r=-0.38, P<0.0001). ESC values measured in feet were significantly inversely correlated with body mass index (right foot r=-0.22, P<0.0001; left foot r=-0.21, P<0.0001). CONCLUSION: This study reports normal reference values for ESCs according to age and gender in the healthy African population. Progressive decrease in ESC with aging is confirmed by our data. The value of ESC seems lower in the African population than in other reported ethnicities. This finding needs to be further explored in additional studies.

Impacts of production conditions on goat milk vitamin, carotenoid contents and colour indices.

The content, composition and variation of vitamin compounds in goat milk have been little studied. An experimental design was based on 28 commercial farms, selected considering the main feeding system (based on main forage and especially pasture access), goat breed (Alpine vs Saanen) and reproductive management (seasonal reproduction), in the main French goat milk production area. Each farm received two visits (spring and autumn) that included a survey on milk production conditions and bulk milk sampling. Milk vitamins (A, E, B2, B6, B9, B12) and carotenoid concentrations plus colour indices were evaluated. A stepwise approach determined the variables of milk production conditions that significantly altered milk indicators. The main forage in the diet was the major factor altering goat milk vitamin and carotenoid concentrations and colour indices. Bulk milk from goats eating fresh grass as forage was richer in α-tocopherol (+64%), pyridoxal (+35%) and total vitamin B6 (+31%), and b* index (characterising milk yellowness in the CIELAB colour space) was also higher (+12%) than in milk from goats eating conserved forages. In milk from goats eating fresh grass, concentrations of pyridoxamine, lutein and total carotenoids were higher than in milk of goats fed corn silage (+24, +118 and +101%, respectively), and retinol and α-tocopherol concentrations were higher than in milk of goats fed partially dehydrated grass (+45 and +55%). Vitamin B2 concentration was higher in milk of goats eating fresh grass than in milk of goats fed hay or corn silage as forage (+10%). However, bulk milk when goats had access to fresh grass was significantly poorer in vitamin B12 than when fed corn silage (-46%) and in γ-tocopherol (-31%) than when fed conserved forage. Alpine goats produced milk with higher vitamin B2 and folate concentrations than Saanen goats (+18 and +14%, respectively). Additionally, the milk colour index that discriminates milks based on their yellow pigment contents was 7% higher in milk from Alpine than Saanen herds, but milk from Saanen goats was richer in lutein (+46%). Goat milks were richer in vitamins B2 and B12 and folates, but poorer in vitamin B6 in autumn than in spring (+12, +133, +15 and -13%, respectively). This work highlights that goat milk vitamin and carotenoid concentrations and colour indices vary mainly according to the main forage of the diet and secondly according to the breed and season.

Tau deposition patterns are associated with functional connectivity in primary tauopathies.

Tau pathology is the main driver of neuronal dysfunction in 4-repeat tauopathies, including cortico-basal degeneration and progressive supranuclear palsy. Tau is assumed to spread prion-like across connected neurons, but the mechanisms of tau propagation are largely elusive in 4-repeat tauopathies, characterized not only by neuronal but also by astroglial and oligodendroglial tau accumulation. Here, we assess whether connectivity is associated with 4R-tau deposition patterns by combining resting-state fMRI connectomics with both 2nd generation 18F-PI-2620 tau-PET in 46 patients with clinically diagnosed 4-repeat tauopathies and post-mortem cell-type-specific regional tau assessments from two independent progressive supranuclear palsy patient samples (n = 97 and n = 96). We find that inter-regional connectivity is associated with higher inter-regional correlation of both tau-PET and post-mortem tau levels in 4-repeat tauopathies. In regional cell-type specific post-mortem tau assessments, this association is stronger for neuronal than for astroglial or oligodendroglial tau, suggesting that connectivity is primarily associated with neuronal tau accumulation. Using tau-PET we find further that patient-level tau patterns are associated with the connectivity of subcortical tau epicenters. Together, the current study provides combined in vivo tau-PET and histopathological evidence that brain connectivity is associated with tau deposition patterns in 4-repeat tauopathies.

Herbst-multibracket appliance treatment: is there an association between lower incisor position changes and the development of labial gingival recessions?

PURPOSE: To assess a potential association between lower incisor (LI) position changes during Herbst-multibracket appliance (Herbst-MBA) treatment and the development of labial gingival recessions (LGR). METHODS: All class II patients (Department of Orthodontics, University of Giessen, Giessen, Germany) who had undergone Herbst-MBA treatment until 2015 with study models and lateral cephalograms available from before (T0) and after treatment plus ≥24 months of retention (T3) were included (n = 259). Lateral cephalograms were evaluated regarding LI position changes: iiL/ML (angle between LI long axis and mandibular plane [MP]), ii-MLPg (distance between LI incisal edge and a line perpendicular to MP through pogonion), apex-MLPg (distance between LI apex and a line perpendicular to MP through pogonion), ii-MLii (distance between LI incisal edge and MP on a line perpendicular to MP through incisal edge). Using study models the distance between the cementoenamel junction and the deepest point of the gingival margin was defined as LGR. RESULTS: The following cephalometric mean changes were recorded (T0-T3): iiL/ML +5.9 ± 5.76° (p = 0.929), ii-MLPg -0.2 ± 0.25 mm (p = 0.430), apex-MLPg +0.1 ± 0.32 mm (p = 0.363), ii-MLii +0.1 ± 0.36 mm (p = 0.206). The mean increase of LGR magnitude measured on the study models was 0.1 ± 0.35 mm. However, no association with the cephalometric LI position changes was found (|R| ≤ 0.2). CONCLUSION: There is no association between the amount of LI position changes and the development of LGR during Herbst-MBA treatment plus retention. Nevertheless, individual predisposition or excessive treatment changes and extraordinary treatment approaches, respectively, might still lead to development of LGR.

Highly efficient coupling of crystalline microresonators to integrated photonic waveguides.

Crystalline optical whispering gallery mode resonators made from alkaline earth fluorides can achieve exceptionally large optical finesse, and are used in a variety of applications, from frequency stabilization and narrow linewidth lasers, to low-noise microwave generation or soliton Kerr frequency combs. Here we demonstrate an efficient coupling method to resonators of these materials, which employs photonic integrated waveguides on a chip based on silicon nitride. By converting a mode from silicon nitride to a free-hanging silica waveguide on a silicon chip, coupling to a crystalline resonator is achieved with a high extinction, while preserving a quality factor exceeding 200 million. This compact, heterogeneous integration of ultra-high Q-factor crystalline resonators with photonic waveguides provides a proof of concept for wafer scale integration and robust, compact packaging for a wide range of applications.

Percutaneous screw fixation of the iliosacral joint: A case-based preoperative planning approach reduces operating time and radiation exposure.

INTRODUCTION: A preoperative planning approach for percutaneous screw fixation of the iliosacral joint provides specific entry points (EPs) and aiming points (APs) of intraosseous screw pathways (as defined by CT scans) for lateral fluoroscopic projections used intraoperatively. The potential to achieve the recommended EPs and APs, to obtain an ideal screw position (perpendicular to the iliosacral joint), to avoid occurrence of extraosseous screw misplacement, to reduce the operating time and the radiation exposure by utilizing this planning approach have not been described yet. METHODS: On preoperative CT scans of eight human cadaveric specimen individual EPs and APs were identified and transferred to the lateral fluoroscopic projection using a coordinate system with the zero-point in the center of the posterior cortex of the S1 vertebral body (x-axis parallel to upper S1 endplate). Distances were expressed in relation to the anteroposterior distance of the S1 upper endplate (in%). In each specimen on one side a screw was placed with provided EP and AP (New Technique) whereas at the contralateral side a screw was placed without given EP and AP (Conventional Technique). Both techniques were compared using postoperative CT scans to assess distances between predefined EPs and APs and the actually obtained EPs and APs, screw angulations in relation to the iliosacral joint in coronal and axial planes and the occurrence of any extraosseous screw misplacement. The "operating time (OT)" and the "time under fluoroscopy (TUF)" were recorded. Statistical analysis was performed by the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. RESULTS: EPs were realized significantly more accurate using the new technique in vertical direction. The screw positions in relation to the iliosacral joint showed no significant difference between both techniques. Both techniques had one aberrantly placed screw outside the safe corridor. The (mean±SD) "OT" and the (mean±SD) "TUF" were significantly decreased using the new technique compared to the conventional technique (OT: 7.6±2min versus 13.1±5.8min, p=0.012; TUF: 1.5±0.8min versus 2.2±1.1min). CONCLUSION: The presented preoperative planning approach increases the accuracy in percutaneous screw fixation of the iliosacral joint, reduces operating time and minimizes radiation exposure to patient and staff.

Rapid body mass loss affects erythropoiesis and hemolysis but does not impair aerobic performance in combat athletes.

Rapid body mass loss (RBML) before competition was found to decrease hemoglobin mass (Hbmass ) in elite boxers. This study aimed to investigate the underlying mechanisms of this observation. Fourteen well-trained combat athletes who reduced body mass before competitions (weight loss group, WLG) and 14 combat athletes who did not practice RBML (control group, CON) were tested during an ordinary training period (t-1), 1-2 days before an official competition (after 5-7 days RBML in WLG, t-2), and after a post-competition period (t-3). In WLG, body mass (-5.5%, range: 2.9-6.8 kg) and Hbmass (-4.1%) were significantly (P < 0.001) reduced after RBML and were still decreased by 1.6% (P < 0.05) and 2.6% (P < 0.001) at t-3 compared with t-1. After RBML, erythropoietin, reticulocytes, haptoglobin, triiodothyronine (FT3 ), and free androgen index (FAI) were decreased compared with t-1 and t-3. An increase occurred in ferritin and bilirubin. Peak treadmill-running performance and VO2peak did not change significantly, but performance at 4-mmol lactate threshold was higher after RBML (P < 0.05). In CON, no significant changes were found in any parameter. Apparently, the significant decrease in Hbmass after RBML in combat athletes was caused by impaired erythropoiesis and increased hemolysis without significant impact on aerobic performance capacity.

All-optical stabilization of a soliton frequency comb in a crystalline microresonator.

We demonstrate the all-optical stabilization of a low-noise temporal soliton based microresonator based optical frequency comb in a crystalline resonator via a new technique to control the repetition rate. This is accomplished by thermally heating the microresonator with an additional probe laser coupled to an auxiliary optical resonator mode. The carrier-envelope offset frequency is controlled by stabilizing the pump laser frequency to a reference optical frequency comb. We analyze the stabilization by performing an out-of-loop comparison and measure the overlapping Allan deviation. This all-optical stabilization technique can prove useful as an actuator for self-referenced microresonator frequency combs.

Percutaneous screw fixation of the iliosacral joint: optimal screw pathways are frequently not completely intraosseous.

INTRODUCTION: In iliosacral screw fixation, the dimensions of solely intraosseous (secure) pathways, perpendicular to the ilio-sacral articulation (optimal) with corresponding entry (EP) and aiming points (AP) on lateral fluoroscopic projections, and the factors (demographic, anatomic) influencing these have not yet been described. METHODS: In 100 CTs of normal pelvises, the height and width of the secure and optimal pathways were measured on axial and coronal views bilaterally (total measurements: n=200). Corresponding EP and AP were defined as either the location of the screw head or tip at the crossing of lateral innominate bones' cortices (EP) and sacral midlines (AP) within the centre of the pathway, respectively. EP and AP were transferred to the sagittal pelvic view using a coordinate system with the zero-point in the centre of the posterior cortex of the S1 vertebral body (x-axis parallel to upper S1 endplate). Distances are expressed in relation to the anteroposterior distance of the S1 upper endplate (in %). The influence of demographic (age, gender, side) and/or anatomic (PIA=pelvic incidence angle; TCA=transversal curvature angle, PID-Index=pelvic incidence distance-index; USW=unilateral sacral width-index) parameters on pathway dimensions and positions of EP and AP were assessed (multivariate analysis). RESULTS: The width, height or both factors of the pathways were at least 7mm or more in 32% and 53% or 20%, respectively. The EP was on average 14±24% behind the centre of the posterior S1 cortex and 41±14% below it. The AP was on average 53±7% in the front of the centre of the posterior S1 cortex and 11±7% above it. PIA influenced the width, TCA, PID-Index the height of the pathways. PIA, PID-Index, and USW-Index significantly influenced EP and AP. Age, gender, and TCA significantly influenced EP. CONCLUSION: Secure and optimal placement of screws of at least 7mm in diameter will be unfeasible in the majority of patients. Thoughtful preoperative planning of screw placement on CT scans is advisable to identify secure pathways with an optimal direction. For this purpose, the presented methodology of determining and transferring EPs and APs of corresponding pathways to the sagittal pelvic view using a coordinate system may be useful.

Mode spectrum and temporal soliton formation in optical microresonators.

The formation of temporal dissipative solitons in optical microresonators enables compact, high-repetition rate sources of ultrashort pulses as well as low noise, broadband optical frequency combs with smooth spectral envelopes. Here we study the influence of the microresonator mode spectrum on temporal soliton formation in a crystalline MgF2 microresonator. While an overall anomalous group velocity dispersion is required, it is found that higher order dispersion can be tolerated as long as it does not dominate the resonator's mode structure. Avoided mode crossings induced by linear mode coupling in the resonator mode spectrum are found to prevent soliton formation when affecting resonator modes close to the pump laser frequency. The experimental observations are in excellent agreement with numerical simulations based on the nonlinear coupled mode equations. The presented results provide for the first time design criteria for the generation of temporal solitons in optical microresonators.

Demonstration of a dressed-state phase gate for trapped ions.

We demonstrate a trapped-ion entangling-gate scheme proposed by Bermudez et al. [Phys. Rev. A 85, 040302 (2012)]. Simultaneous excitation of a strong carrier and a single-sideband transition enables deterministic creation of entangled states. The method works for magnetic field-insensitive states, is robust against thermal excitations, includes dynamical decoupling from qubit dephasing errors, and provides simplifications in experimental implementation compared to some other entangling gates with trapped ions. We achieve a Bell state fidelity of 0.974(4) and identify the main sources of error.

Sympathetic electromagnetically-induced-transparency laser cooling of motional modes in an ion chain.

We use electromagnetically-induced-transparency laser cooling to cool motional modes of a linear ion chain. As a demonstration, we apply electromagnetically-induced-transparency cooling on 24Mg+ ions to cool the axial modes of a 9Be+-24Mg+ ion pair and a 9Be+-24Mg+-24Mg+-9Be+ ion chain, thereby sympathetically cooling the 9Be+ ions. Compared to previous implementations of conventional Raman sideband cooling, we achieve approximately an order-of-magnitude reduction in the duration required to cool the modes to near the ground state and significant reduction in required laser intensity.

100-fold reduction of electric-field noise in an ion trap cleaned with in situ argon-ion-beam bombardment.

Motional heating of trapped atomic ions is a major obstacle to their use as quantum bits in a scalable quantum computer. The detailed physical origin of this heating is not well understood, but experimental evidence suggests that it is caused by electric-field noise emanating from the surface of the trap electrodes. In this study, we have investigated the role of adsorbates on the electrodes by identifying contaminant overlayers, implementing an in situ argon-ion-beam cleaning treatment, and measuring ion heating rates before and after treating the trap electrodes' surfaces. We find a 100-fold reduction in heating rate after treatment. The experiments described here are sensitive to low levels of electric-field noise in the MHz frequency range. Therefore, this approach could become a useful tool in surface science that complements established techniques.

Coherent diabatic ion transport and separation in a multizone trap array.

We investigate the dynamics of single and multiple ions during transport between and separation into spatially distinct locations in a multizone linear Paul trap. A single 9Be+ ion in a ~2 MHz harmonic well was transported 370 µm in 8 µs, corresponding to 16 periods of oscillation, with a gain of 0.1 motional quanta. Similar results were achieved for the transport of two ions. We also separated chains of up to 9 ions from one potential well to two distinct potential wells. With two ions this was accomplished in 55 µs, with excitations of approximately two quanta for each ion. Fast transport and separation can significantly reduce the time overhead in certain architectures for scalable quantum information processing with trapped ions.

Randomized benchmarking of multiqubit gates.

We describe an extension of single-qubit gate randomized benchmarking that measures the error of multiqubit gates in a quantum information processor. This platform-independent protocol evaluates the performance of Clifford unitaries, which form a basis of fault-tolerant quantum computing. We implemented the benchmarking protocol with trapped ions and found an error per random two-qubit Clifford unitary of 0.162±0.008, thus setting the first benchmark for such unitaries. By implementing a second set of sequences with an extra two-qubit phase gate inserted after each step, we extracted an error per phase gate of 0.069±0.017. We conducted these experiments with transported, sympathetically cooled ions in a multizone Paul trap-a system that can in principle be scaled to larger numbers of ions.

Impact of chronically street homeless tenants in congregate supportive housing.

New initiatives to house chronically street homeless (CSH) adults have led to increasing proportions of this population living in congregate supportive housing, but little is known about the impact of this shift on supportive housing programs. The present multisite, mixed-methods study examined service utilization and lease compliance among 52 chronically street homeless and 46 long-term shelter stayer (LTSS) adults during their first 12 months in congregate supportive housing. Quantitative analysis of administrative data revealed that CSH tenants used significantly more service resources than LTSS tenants, including more advocacy, escorting, and psychiatric treatment and more assistance with financial, housing, and mental and physical health issues. The 2 groups did not differ significantly on measures of lease compliance. Qualitative focus groups with CSH tenants, service provider staff, and property management staff all indicated that existing supportive housing services are suitable for this population, although some adjustments, additional resources, or both, may be indicated.

Multilinear models of single cell responses in the medial nucleus of the trapezoid body.

The representation of acoustic stimuli in the brainstem forms the basis for higher auditory processing. While some characteristics of this representation (e.g. tuning curve) are widely accepted, it remains a challenge to predict the firing rate at high temporal resolution in response to complex stimuli. In this study we explore models for in vivo, single cell responses in the medial nucleus of the trapezoid body (MNTB) under complex sound stimulation. We estimate a family of models, the multilinear models, encompassing the classical spectrotemporal receptive field and allowing arbitrary input-nonlinearities and certain multiplicative interactions between sound energy and its short-term auditory context. We compare these to models of more traditional type, and also evaluate their performance under various stimulus representations. Using the context model, 75% of the explainable variance could be predicted based on a cochlear-like, gamma-tone stimulus representation. The presence of multiplicative contextual interactions strongly reduces certain inhibitory/suppressive regions of the linear kernels, suggesting an underlying nonlinear mechanism, e.g. cochlear or synaptic suppression, as the source of the suppression in MNTB neuronal responses. In conclusion, the context model provides a rich and still interpretable extension over many previous phenomenological models for modeling responses in the auditory brainstem at submillisecond resolution.

Entangled mechanical oscillators.

Hallmarks of quantum mechanics include superposition and entanglement. In the context of large complex systems, these features should lead to situations as envisaged in the 'Schrödinger's cat' thought experiment (where the cat exists in a superposition of alive and dead states entangled with a radioactive nucleus). Such situations are not observed in nature. This may be simply due to our inability to sufficiently isolate the system of interest from the surrounding environment-a technical limitation. Another possibility is some as-yet-undiscovered mechanism that prevents the formation of macroscopic entangled states. Such a limitation might depend on the number of elementary constituents in the system or on the types of degrees of freedom that are entangled. Tests of the latter possibility have been made with photons, atoms and condensed matter devices. One system ubiquitous to nature where entanglement has not been previously demonstrated consists of distinct mechanical oscillators. Here we demonstrate deterministic entanglement of separated mechanical oscillators, consisting of the vibrational states of two pairs of atomic ions held in different locations. We also demonstrate entanglement of the internal states of an atomic ion with a distant mechanical oscillator. These results show quantum entanglement in a degree of freedom that pervades the classical world. Such experiments may lead to the generation of entangled states of larger-scale mechanical oscillators, and offer possibilities for testing non-locality with mesoscopic systems. In addition, the control developed here is an important ingredient for scaling-up quantum information processing with trapped atomic ions.

Complexity measures from interaction structures.

We evaluate information-theoretic quantities that quantify complexity in terms of kth-order statistical dependences that cannot be reduced to interactions among k-1 random variables. Using symbolic dynamics of coupled maps and cellular automata as model systems, we demonstrate that these measures are able to identify complex dynamical regimes.

Mortality and ocular diseases: the Beijing Eye Study.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between mortality and major ocular diseases. DESIGN: Population-based study. PARTICIPANTS: At baseline in 2001, the Beijing Eye Study examined 4439 subjects with an age of 40 years or more. The mean age was 56.2+/-10.6 years (range, 40-101 years). In 2006, all study participants were invited for a follow-up examination. METHODS: The participants underwent a detailed ophthalmic examination and answered questions regarding their socioeconomic background. Rate of mortality was determined in the follow-up survey of 2006. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Factors associated with mortality. RESULTS: Of the 4439 subjects examined in the 2001, 3251 (73.2%) subjects returned for the follow-up examination, whereas 143 (3.2%) subjects had died and 1045 (23.5%) subjects were alive but did not agree to be reexamined. In binary logistic regression analysis, mortality was significantly associated with the systemic parameters of higher age (P<0.001; odds ratio [OR], 1.07), male gender (P = 0.01; OR, 0.55), lower level of education (P<0.001; OR, 0.65), smoking status (P = 0.023; OR, 1.25), and with the ocular parameters of level of diabetic-like retinopathy (P = 0.036; OR, 1.02), presence of angle-closure glaucoma (P = 0.013; OR, 3.74), and presence of nonglaucomatous optic nerve damage (P = 0.027; OR, 3.41). Presence of retinal vein occlusions was associated marginally with mortality (P = 0.059; OR, 2.59). Mortality was not significantly associated with best-corrected visual acuity (P = 0.14) in multivariate analysis, nor with age-related macular degeneration, open-angle glaucoma, trachoma, any type of cataract, visual field defects, intraocular pressure, or refractive error. CONCLUSIONS: If socioeconomic parameters, age, gender, and smoking status were taken into account, ocular parameters associated with an increased mortality were diabetic-like retinopathy, angle-closure glaucoma, and nonglaucomatous optic nerve damage. Retinal vein occlusions were marginally associated. Other major ocular disorders such as any form of cataract, open-angle glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, trachoma, pterygia, and high myopia or high hyperopia were not significantly related to mortality.