A New Characterization of Fine Scale Diffusion on the Cell Membrane

We use a large single particle tracking data set to analyze the short time and small spatial scale motion of quantum dots labeling proteins in cell membranes. Our analysis focuses on the jumps which are the changes in the position of the quantum dots between frames in a movie of their motion. Previously we have shown that the directions of the jumps are uniformly distributed and the jump lengths can be characterized by a double power law distribution. Here we show that the jumps over a small number of time steps can be described by scalings of a {\em single} double power law distribution. This provides additional strong evidence that the double power law provides an accurate description of the fine scale motion. This more extensive analysis provides strong evidence that the double power law is a novel stable distribution for the motion. This analysis provides strong evidence that an earlier result that the motion can be modeled as diffusion in a space of fractional dimension roughly 3/2 is correct. The form of the power law distribution quantifies the excess of short jumps in the data and provides an accurate characterization of the fine scale diffusion and, in fact, this distribution gives an accurate description of the jump lengths up to a few hundred nanometers. Our results complement of the usual mean squared displacement analysis used to study diffusion at larger scales where the proteins are more likely to strongly interact with larger membrane structures.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figure

A comparative study of Curcuma zedoaria and Zingiber zerumbet plantlet production using different micropropagation systems

Curcuma zedoaria and Zingiber zerumbet plantlets could be micropropagated via induction of multiple shoots from in vitro shoot explants using different culture systems such as the agar-gelled medium cultures, shake flask system and temporary immersion system (TIS). The immersion period in TIS did not influence shoot multiplication rates of both species. However, proliferation medium (MS plus 0.5mg/L BA and 0.5 mg/L IBA) supplemented with different sucrose concentration affected the production of multiple shoots but did not affect the fresh and dried shoot biomass for both species when using TIS. The TIS was able to eliminate hyperhydricity problem encountered when using the shake flask system. However, all the in vitro plantlets of both species produced by the three culture systems survived and grew normally with no morphological changes after acclimatization. This study indicated that TIS was the best choice of in vitro propagation technique for production of normal C. zedoaria and Z. zerumbet plantlets

Adoption of hand hygiene practices among health care providers

Background: Hand hygiene is the most important measure to avoid the transmission of harmful germs and prevent health care-associated infections. Hand washing with plain soap removes loose transient flora even though it does not remove pathogens from the hands of healthcare workers. Proper hand hygiene is cheap, most effective, easiest and foremost method of reducing health care associated infections. This study was carried out to know the present status of hand hygiene practices and the barriers to adherence. The objective of the study was to assess the adoption of appropriate hand hygiene practices among health care providers and to find out the reasons for non-adoption.Methods: A cross sectional study was done to assess the adoption of appropriate hand hygiene among health care providers (Doctors, nurses, lab technicians) in upgraded/ block PHCs of Thiruvallur district... The data was analysed by SPSS-16. Proportion & chi square test was used to assess the statistical significance at 5% α.Results: In PHC’s there were 32 doctors, 61 nurses and 17 lab technicians which constitute to 110 heath care providers. Hand hygiene practices were satisfactory among 40 (36%) Z = 9 and the difference is statistically significant p<0.05. Conclusions: Hand hygiene protocols will reduce the nosocomial infections. Hand hygiene is the most important measure to avoid the transmission of harmful germs.

Evolution of the magnetic phase transition in MnO confined to channel type matrices. Neutron diffraction study

Neutron diffraction studies of antiferromagnetic MnO confined to MCM-41 type matrices with channel diameters 24-87 A demonstrate a continuous magnetic phase transition in contrast to a discontinuous first order transition in the bulk. The character of the magnetic transition transforms with decreasing channel diameter, showing the decreasing critical exponent and transition temperature, however the latter turns out to be above the N\'eel temperature for the bulk. This enhancement is explained within the framework of Landau theory taking into consideration the ternary interaction of the magnetic and associated structural order parameters.Comment: 6 pages pdf file, including 4 figures, uses revtex4.cl

Hotspot analysis: a first prototype Python plugin enabling exploratory spatial data analysis into QGIS

ABSTRACT The growing popularity of Free and Open Source (FOSS) GIS software is -without doubts-due to the possibility to build and customize geospatial applications to meet specific requirements for any users. From this point of view, QGIS is one of the most flexible as well as fashionable GIS software environment which enables users to develop powerful geospatial applications using Python. Exploiting this feature, we present here a first prototype plugin for QGIS dedicated to Hotspot analysis, one of the techniques included in the Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA). These statistics aim to perform analysis of geospatial data when spatial autocorrelation is not neglectable and they are available inside different Python libraries, but still not integrated within the QGIS core functionalities. The main plugin features, including installation requirements and computational procedures, are described together with an example of the possible applications of the Hotspot analysis

Analytic Methods in Nonperturbative QCD

Recently developed analytic methods in the framework of the Field Correlator Method are reviewed in this series of four lectures and results of calculations are compared to lattice data and experiment. Recent lattice data demonstrating the Casimir scaling of static quark interaction strongly support the FCM and leave very little space for all other theoretical models, e.g. instanton gas/liquid model. Results of calculations for mesons, baryons, quark-gluon plasma and phase transition temperature demonstrate that new analytic methods are a powerful tool of nonperturbative QCD along with lattice simulations.Comment: LaTeX, 34 pages; Lectures given at the 13th Indian-Summer School "Understanding the Structure of Hadrons", August 28 - September 1, 2000, Prague, Czech Republi

LEPIDOPTERA ASSOCIATED WITH GREENLEAF MANZANITA, ARCTOSTAPHYLOS PATULA E. GREENE (ERICACEAE), IN SHASTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

Volume: 97Start Page: 872End Page: 87