Can LHCb Study Three Body Decays with Neutrals?

We present the first attempt to use a new method to measure CP violation in Dalitz plots. This method is unbinned, model independent and has a greater sensitivity to CP violating effects than binned methods. Preliminary studies have been made using the three-body decays $D^0 \rightarrow K_\mathrm{S}^0 h^+ h^-$ and $D^0 \rightarrow h^+ h^- \pi^0$, which are especially challenging since there is one neutral particle in each of the final states. An attempt to visualise where CP violation occurs in Dalitz plots is also presented.Comment: to appear in the proceedings of The 6th International Workshop on Charm Physics (CHARM 2013

Spinach Carbonic Anhydrase: Primary Sequence, Transport Into Chloroplasts and Expression in Escherichia Coli.

Carbonic anhydrase (CA) catalyzes the reversible hydration of CO\sb2. Plant carbonic anhydrases are structurally distinct from those found in animals. In C\sb3 plants, the enzyme is located in chloroplasts. To date, little structural information on the enzyme from plants has been available. In this study the full-length cDNA for the spinach chloroplast CA was sequenced. The cDNA contained 1,156 base pairs. The open reading frame encoded a protein of 34,569 daltons. Comparison of the N-terminal sequence of this protein with that of other chloroplast precursors indicated that CA is synthesized as a precursor. The transit peptide likely contains about 60 amino acids. Indirect immunoprecipitation of translation products synthesized using pea poly A RNA indicated that the pea precursor is approximately 36,000 daltons. Incubation of either the pea or spinach precursor with isolated intact chloroplasts resulted in import of the precursor and cleavage to a polypeptide of about 30,000 daltons. Various spinach CAs containing deletions ranging from 34 to 78 amino acids were expressed in E. coli, under the control of the trc promotor. Each of the CAs assembled to yield the enzymatically active hexameric enzyme. Immunological techniques performed in E. coli expressed spinach CA as well as total plant extracts demonstrated the susceptibility of CA towards proteolysis at the N-terminal end. Furthermore, a cross-reacting protein, which is distinct from the well characterized periplasmic CA, was demonstrated to be present in extracts of Chlamydomonas reinhardti. Western blotting of CA extracts from leaves, chloroplasts or E. coli expressing CA indicated that CA is susceptible to proteolysis. N-terminal sequencing data obtained by others suggests that the degradation is from the N-terminus. Also, extracts from pea stems and leaves contained a polypeptide which cross-reacted with antibodies raised against spinach CA. Root extracts contained no cross-reacting polypeptides. These results suggest that, like other chloroplast proteins, expression of CA is regulated in a tissue specific manner

Athenian Taxation from the Pisistratids to Lycurgus 550 325 ВС

In this thesis I respond to calls by historians for a study of ancient Athenian taxation. The thesis is in four parts. In Part One I identify sixteen or so taxes. The most important are an import/export tax and a wealth tax, but I argue that recent evidence suggests that there may have been a sales tax. I believe that I may have identified four new fragments of inscriptions relating to one of the sixteen or so taxes. I discuss in some detail two of the most important inscriptions discovered in recent years, the Grain-Tax Law and the Law on the Little Panathenaea. In Part Two I look at the administration of Athenian taxes and at the extent of the black economy (I believe that some coin hoards could be evidence of tax evasion). In Part Three, I identify, for comparative purposes, taxes in some other states and also examine tax agreements Athens and other states made with each other. Part Four looks at a number of central themes. First, the nature of Athenian taxes, where I argue that there is no real evidence that at least direct taxes were regarded by the Greeks as a form of tyranny or that this was the reason that there was no income tax. Second, Athenian taxation in a wider context, where I argue that it is not impossible that there were some taxes in the earlier part of the fifth century, and track the development of taxes during the fifth and fourth centuries. Third, coinage and the payment of taxes, where I argue that recent research on fractional coinage suggests that the payment of taxes was one of the reasons for the development of coinage in Athens. Fourth, the relationship of taxes with income from Empire/Confederacy where I argue that the two varied inversely with each other. Fifth, the contribution of taxes to the Athenian economy, where I argue that this could have amounted to between a quarter and a third of Athenian state income by the time of Lycurgus

Stress-Energy Tensor for the Massless Spin 1/2 Field in Static Black Hole Spacetimes

The stress-energy tensor for the massless spin 1/2 field is numerically computed outside and on the event horizons of both charged and uncharged static non-rotating black holes, corresponding to the Schwarzschild, Reissner-Nordstrom and extreme Reissner-Nordstr\"om solutions of Einstein's equations. The field is assumed to be in a thermal state at the black hole temperature. Comparison is made between the numerical results and previous analytic approximations for the stress-energy tensor in these spacetimes. For the Schwarzschild (charge zero) solution, it is shown that the stress-energy differs even in sign from the analytic approximation. For the Reissner-Nordstrom and extreme Reissner-Nordstrom solutions, divergences predicted by the analytic approximations are shown not to exist.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, additional discussio

Geographies of hope: reflections on the creation of the Museum of Climate Hope

Amid growing concerns about climate anxiety in young people, researchers and practitioners in climate change education (CCE) have called for pedagogies of hope. The Museum of Climate Hope emerged from interdisciplinary conversations at the University of Oxford about creative approaches to CCE in both formal and informal educational settings. This article explores the geographical aspects of this initiative, from the physical experience of walking a museum trail across Oxford to the digital experience of ArcGIS StoryMaps linking stories of climate resilience, innovation and transformation across time and space

Opioid stewardship: a need for opioid discharge guidance: comment on Br J Anaesth 2018 Dec 28

We read with interest the special and insightful article by Soffin and colleagues1 on the prescription opioid crisis. They carefully examine many of the drivers for subsequent opioid dependence after surgery and provide suggestions on how practice can and should be improved. As proponents of enhanced recovery programmes, we acknowledge that with reduced postoperative length of stay, and with the increased utilisation of ambulatory/day surgery, patients are no longer being fully weaned off their analgesics by the time of hospital discharge

Perioperative Opioids - Reclaiming Lost Ground

Opium (poppy tears) has been in use since 3400 BCE, with historical writings recording its sedative, euphoric, and analgesic properties, but it was not until the 19th century that morphine was isolated, paving the way for its therapeutic use. The 20th century witnessed advances in pharmacology and molecular biology, leading to the development of many different types of opioids and the recognition and classification of opioid receptors.Analgesia is fundamental to recovery from surgery, and while opioids continue to be the cornerstone of perioperative analgesia, overreliance on these agents and their many adverse effects has led to a reevaluation of their role in modern perioperative practice. Persistent postoperative opioid use (with disordered substance use at the extreme end of the spectrum) and opioid-induced ventilatory impairment have led to a global opioid crisis that has resulted in more than 100 000 deaths per annum worldwide, a number that rises yearly.1 Persistent postoperative opioid use and opioid-induced ventilatory impairment are exacerbated by other factors, such as nonmedical opioid use and opioid diversion. While the numbers of deaths are clearly not on the scale of the current COVID-19 pandemic, regrettably, there are few signs of measures that will force mortality to recede in the near future. In addition, the financial costs for increased health care and substance use disorder treatment, lost productivity, and criminal justice interventions ran to $150 billion in the US alone in 2015.1 While the opioid epidemic may have originated in the US, it has spread to other areas of the world, with Europe having more than 1.3 million individuals with high-risk opioid use.1 Besides the modifiable risk factors (Box),2 indiscriminate use of opioids has also been fueled by aggressive marketing strategies by pharmaceutical companies and the erroneous impression that consumption of opioids for pain does not lead to substance use disorders

Physical Activity Mobile App (CareFit) for Informal Carers of People With Dementia: Protocol for a Feasibility and Adaptation Study

Physical activity is a critical component of both well-being and preventative health, reducing the risk of both chronic mental and physical conditions and early death. Yet, there are numerous groups in society who are not able to undertake as much physical activity as they would like to. This includes informal (unpaid) carers, with the United Kingdom national survey data suggesting that 81% would like to do more physical activity on a regular basis. There is a clear need to develop innovations, including digital interventions that hold implementation potential to support regular physical activity in groups such as carers. This study aims to expand and personalize a cross-platform digital health app designed to support regular physical activity in carers of people with dementia for a period of 8 weeks and evaluate the potential for implementation. The CareFit for dementia carers study was a mixed methods co-design, development, and evaluation of a novel motivational smartphone app to support home-based regular physical activity for unpaid dementia carers. The study was planned to take place across 16 months in total (September 1, 2022, to December 31, 2023). The first phase included iterative design sprints to redesign an initial prototype for widespread use, supported through a bespoke content management system. The second phase included the release of the "CareFit" app across Scotland through invitations on the Apple and Google stores where we aimed to recruit 50 carers and up to 20 professionals to support the delivery in total. Partnerships for the work included a range of stakeholders across charities, health and social care partnerships, physical activity groups, and carers' organizations. We explored the implementation of CareFit, guided by both Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) and the Complex Intervention Frameworks. Project processes and outcomes were evaluated using mixed methods. The barriers and enablers for professional staff to signpost and use CareFit with clients were assessed through interviews or focus groups and round stakeholder meetings. The usability of CareFit was explored through qualitative interviews with carers and a system usability scale. We examined how CareFit could add value to carers by examining "in-app" data, pre-post questionnaire responses, and qualitative work, including interviews and focus groups. We also explored how CareFit could add value to the landscape of other online resources for dementia carers. Results from this study will contribute new knowledge including identifying (1) suitable pathways to identify and support carers through digital innovations; (2) future design of definitive studies in carer populations; and (3) an improved understanding of the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance across a range of key stakeholders. DERR1-10.2196/53727. [Abstract copyright: ©Kieren Egan, Bradley Macdonald, William Hodgson, Alison Kirk, Barbara Fawcett, Mark D Dunlop, Roma Maguire, Greg Flynn, Joshua Stott, Gill Windle. Originally published in JMIR Research Protocols (https://www.researchprotocols.org), 12.09.2024.

Variation in the nutritional composition of farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) fillets with emphasis on EPA and DHA contents

The increase in the global popularity and production of farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) has led to compositional changes in their feeds that can potentially diminish their nutritive value. Thus, the aim of the study was to compare the lipid, protein, fatty acid (omega-3) and mineral contents of salmon fillet portions available in the UK and estimate their contribution towards consumer dietary intake levels. Twenty pre-packaged fresh salmon fillets, encompassing all ranges (value, standard, premium and organic) and farmed origins (Scotland and Norway) were purchased from 10 main UK-wide retailers and analysed for their nutritional compositions. Lipid contents were between 11.2-16.3% wet weight (ww), except the Retailer 10 value product which was significantly lower due to a high proportion of tail pieces. No difference in protein contents (17.5-20.2% ww) were observed between fillets. However, fatty acid profiles showed marked variations between samples with marker fatty acids 18:1n-9 (24.3-42.0%), 18:2n-6 (8.3-15.1%) and 18:3n-3 (2.6-8.1%) reflecting the differing levels of vegetable oil inclusion and eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids (EPA+DHA, 5.6-16.6%) indicating the level of marine oils included within salmon feeds. Consequently, EPA+DHA contents varied from 0.88 to 2.36 g EPA+DHA.130 g-1 flesh ww, equivalent to supplying 26 to 67% of the recommended 3.5 g EPA+DHA weekly intake suggested for optimal cardiac health in adults. Similarly, selenium contents differed significantly between samples delivering between 13.9-55.5% and 17.3-69.3% of the 75 and 60 μg.day-1 UK intake for males and females, respectively. Additionally, EPA+DHA and selenium contents were both affected by farmed origin, reflecting differences in production strategies of the two salmon producing nations. Overall, the study highlights the contrasting nutritional profiles of farmed salmon fillets available to consumers based on retailer requirements (healthy versus sustainable product) and how this can affect the recommended dietary intakes from a human nutrition perspective

A review of treatment methods for insensitive high explosive contaminated wastewater

Insensitive high explosive materials (IHE) such as 3-nitro-1,2,4-triazol-5-one (NTO) and 2,4-dinitroanisole (DNAN) are increasingly being used in formulations of insensitive munitions alongside 1,3,5-trinitroperhydro1,3,5-triazine (RDX). Load, assembly and packing (LAP) facilities that process munitions produce wastewater contaminated with IHE which must be treated before discharge. Some facilities can produce as much as 90,000 L of contaminated wastewater per day. In this review, methods of wastewater treatment are assessed in terms of their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for their use in production of IHE munitions including their limitations and how they could be applied to industrial scale LAP facilities. Adsorption is identified as a suitable treatment method, however the high solubility of NTO, up to 16.6 g.L which is 180 times higher that of TNT, has the potential to exceed the adsorptive capacity of carbon adsorption systems. The key properties of the adsorptive materials along the selection of adsorption models are highlighted and recommendations on how the limitations of carbon adsorption systems for IHE wastewater can be overcome are offered, including the modification of carbons to increase adsorptive capacity or reduce costs