Delayed reception of live blowfly (Calliphora vicina and Chrysomya rufifacies) larval samples: implications for minimum postmortem interval estimates.

Forensic entomology evidence collected by police and mortuary staff may be delayed in getting to the entomologist. Live samples may continue developing and alter minimum postmortem interval (PMImin) estimates. This study investigated development of simulated evidential samples of Calliphora vicina Robineau-Desvoidy and Chrysomya rufifacies (Macquart) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) maggots. Maggots of each species were studied in three developmental classes: "small" (late second/early third instar), "mid" (mid third instar) and "large" (late third instar). Seven replicates of 11 maggots in each class were assigned without food to four treatments: (1) 24 h at 20 °C; (2) 24 h at 4 °C; (3) 48 h at 20 °C and (4) 48 h at 4 °C. There was a significant difference in absolute length change across treatments, reflecting size for C. vicina, and interaction between size, time and temperature for Ch. rufifacies. Calliphora vicina maggots showed minimal mortality, and most second instar larvae moulted by the experiment's end. Chrysomya rufifacies showed heavy mortality and minimal moulting from the second to third instar. Only "large" Ch. rufifacies maggots kept at room temperature for 48 h pupariated. Since these results confirm that development can continue in live unfed maggot samples after their collection, it is not advisable to delay their preservation

Ontogenesis versus Morphogenesis towards an Anti-realist Model of the Constitution of Society

This article firstly criticizes Margaret Archer’s Morphogenetic Approach for being indecisive about the realist notion of emergence it proposes as well as for her inadequate account of structural conditioning. It is argued that critical realists’ conceptualizations of emergence cannot but lead to inconsistencies about the adequate placement of agents as parts of emergent entities. The inconsistencies to which these conceptualizations lead necessitate an anti-realist model of the constitution of societies which takes into account that social structures are existentially dependent upon ideational elaboration. This alternative anti-realist theoretical perspective is provided by Ontogenesis, within the framework of which the realists’ idea of the ‘necessary and internal relations’ give their place to the ontological pervasiveness of the culturally shared imaginary schemata. Archer’s denial of a collective synchronic impact to social forms is implied in her analysis of morphogenetic cycles, according to which, structural elaboration post-dates social interaction; and this denial is also expressed in this very idea of emergent structures. Instead, for Ontogenesis, social forms are synchronically dependent on the collective impact of the differently socially placed agents, who have different interests and material resources, and whose interaction only becomes meaningful when drawing on these culturally shared imaginary schemata

Reducing Constraints in a Higher Dimensional Extension of the Randall and Sundrum Model

In order to investigate the phenomenological implications of warped spaces in more than five dimensions, we consider a $4+1+\delta$ dimensional extension to the Randall and Sundrum model in which the space is warped with respect to a single direction by the presence of an anisotropic bulk cosmological constant. The Einstein equations are solved, giving rise to a range of possible spaces in which the $\delta$ additional spaces are warped. Here we consider models in which the gauge fields are free to propagate into such spaces. After carrying out the Kaluza Klein (KK) decomposition of such fields it is found that the KK mass spectrum changes significantly depending on how the $\delta$ additional dimensions are warped. We proceed to compute the lower bound on the KK mass scale from electroweak observables for models with a bulk $SU(2)\times U(1)$ gauge symmetry and models with a bulk $SU(2)_R\times SU(2)_L\times U(1)$ gauge symmetry. It is found that in both cases the most favourable bounds are approximately $M_{KK}\gtrsim 2$ TeV, corresponding to a mass of the first gauge boson excitation of about 4-6 TeV. Hence additional warped dimensions offer a new way of reducing the constraints on the KK scale.Comment: 27 pages, 15 figures, v3: Additional comments in sections 1, 2 and 4. New appendix added. Five additional figures. References adde

The Effective Lagrangian for Bulk Fermions in Models with Extra Dimensions

We compute the dimension 6 effective Lagrangian arising from the tree level integration of an arbitrary number of bulk fermions in models with warped extra dimensions. The coefficients of the effective operators are written in terms of simple integrals of the metric and are valid for arbitrary warp factors, with or without an infrared brane, and for a general Higgs profile. All relevant tree level fermion effects in electroweak and flavor observables can be computed using this effective Lagrangian.Comment: 22 pages. V2: typos corrected, matches published versio

Clinical and echocardiographic features of aorto-atrial fistulas

Aorto-atrial fistulas (AAF) are rare but important pathophysiologic conditions of the aorta and have varied presentations such as acute pulmonary edema, chronic heart failure and incidental detection of the fistula. A variety of mechanisms such as aortic dissection, endocarditis with pseudoaneurysm formation, post surgical scenarios or trauma may precipitate the fistula formation. With increasing survival of patients, particularly following complex aortic reconstructive surgeries and redo valve surgeries, recognition of this complication, its clinical features and echocardiographic diagnosis is important. Since physical exam in this condition may be misleading, echocardiography serves as the cornerstone for diagnosis. The case below illustrates aorto-left atrial fistula formation following redo aortic valve surgery with slowly progressive symptoms of heart failure. A brief review of the existing literature of this entity is presented including emphasis on echocardiographic diagnosis and treatment

“…the point is to change it”: Critical realism and human geography

This paper picks up themes discussed in Cox’s (2013) ‘Notes on a brief encounter: critical realism, historical materialism and human geography’. I argue that perhaps the encounter was more complex than Cox allows. At core Cox underplays, or marginalises, the discussion of causality and dismisses the significance of ontology stressing instead epistemology. The paper makes a case for another reading of the debate, one that has continuing significance

Electroweak Constraints on Warped Geometry in Five Dimensions and Beyond

Here we consider the tree level corrections to electroweak (EW) observables from standard model (SM) particles propagating in generic warped extra dimensions. The scale of these corrections is found to be dominated by three parameters, the Kaluza-Klein (KK) mass scale, the relative coupling of the KK gauge fields to the Higgs and the relative coupling of the KK gauge fields to fermion zero modes. It is found that 5D spaces that resolve the hierarchy problem through warping typically have large gauge-Higgs coupling. It is also found in $D>5$ where the additional dimensions are warped the relative gauge-Higgs coupling scales as a function of the warp factor. If the warp factor of the additional spaces is contracting towards the IR brane, both the relative gauge-Higgs coupling and resulting EW corrections will be large. Conversely EW constraints could be reduced by finding a space where the additional dimension's warp factor is increasing towards the IR brane. We demonstrate that the Klebanov Strassler solution belongs to the former of these possibilities.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figures (references added) version to appear in JHE

Research productivity and academics’ conceptions of research

This paper asks the question: do people with different levels of research productivity and identification as a researcher think of research differently? It discusses a study that differentiated levels of research productivity among English and Australian academics working in research-intensive environments in three broad discipline areas: science, engineering and technology; social science and humanities; and medicine and health sciences. The paper explores the different conceptions of research held by these academics in terms of their levels of research productivity, their levels of research training, whether they considered themselves an active researcher and a member of a research team, and their disciplinary differences

Enhancer of Zeste Homolog 2 Induces Pulmonary Artery Smooth Muscle Cell Proliferation

Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) is a progressively devastating disease characterized by excessive proliferation of the Pulmonary Arterial Smooth Muscle Cells (PASMCs). Studies suggest that PAH and cancers share an apoptosis-resistant state featuring excessive cell proliferation. The proliferation of cancer cells is mediated by increased expression of Enhancer of Zeste Homolog 2 (EZH2), a mammalian histone methyltransferase that contributes to the epigenetic silencing of target genes. However, the role of EZH2 in PAH has not been studied. In this study, it is hypothesized that EZH2 could play a role in the proliferation of PASMCs.In the present study, the expression patterns of EZH2 were investigated in normal and hypertensive mouse PASMCs. The effects of EZH2 overexpression on the proliferation of human PASMCs were tested. PASMCs were transfected with EZH2 or GFP using nucleofector system. After transfection, the cells were incubated for 48 hours at 37°C. Proliferation and cell cycle analysis were performed using flow cytometry. Apoptosis of PASMCs was determined using annexin V staining and cell migration was tested by wound healing assay.EZH2 protein expression in mouse PASMCs were correlated with an increase in right ventricular systolic pressure and Right Ventricular Hypertrophy (RVH). The overexpression of EZH2 in human PASMCs enhances proliferation, migration, and decrease in the rate of apoptosis when compared to GFP-transfected cells. In the G2/M phase of the EZH2 transfected cells, there was a 3.5 fold increase in proliferation, while there was a significant decrease in the rate of apoptosis of PASMCs, when compared to control.These findings suggest that EZH2 plays a role in the migration and proliferation of PASMCs, which is a major hallmark in PAH. It also suggests that EZH2 could play a role in the development of PAH and can serve as a potential target for new therapies for PAH

Suppressing Electroweak Precision Observables in 5D Warped Models

We elaborate on a recently proposed mechanism to suppress large contributions to the electroweak precision observables in five dimensional (5D) warped models, without the need for an extended 5D gauge sector. The main ingredient is a modification of the AdS metric in the vicinity of the infrared (IR) brane corresponding to a strong deviation from conformality in the IR of the 4D holographic dual. We compute the general low energy effective theory of the 5D warped Standard Model, emphasizing additional IR contributions to the wave function renormalization of the light Higgs mode. We also derive expressions for the S and T parameters as a function of a generic 5D metric and zero-mode wave functions. We give an approximate formula for the mass of the radion that works even for strong deviation from the AdS background. We proceed to work out the details of an explicit model and derive bounds for the first KK masses of the various bulk fields. The radion is the lightest new particle although its mass is already at about 1/3 of the mass of the lightest resonances, the KK states of the gauge bosons. We examine carefully various issues that can arise for extreme choices of parameters such as the possible reintroduction of the hierarchy problem, the onset of nonperturbative physics due to strong IR curvature or the creation of new hierarchies near the Planck scale. We conclude that a KK scale of 1 TeV is compatible with all these constraints.Comment: 44 pages, 11 figures, references adde