191 research outputs found
The bacterial biome of ticks and their wildlife hosts at the urbanâwildland interface
Advances in sequencing technologies have revealed the complex and diverse microbial communities present in ticks (Ixodida). As obligate blood-feeding arthropods, ticks are responsible for a number of infectious diseases that can affect humans, livestock, domestic animals and wildlife. While cases of human tick-borne diseases continue to increase in the northern hemisphere, there has been relatively little recognition of zoonotic tick-borne pathogens in Australia. Over the past 5 years, studies using high-throughput sequencing technologies have shown that Australian ticks harbour unique and diverse bacterial communities. In the present study, free-ranging wildlife (n=203), representing ten mammal species, were sampled from urban and peri-urban areas in New South Wales (NSW), Queensland (QLD) and Western Australia (WA). Bacterial metabarcoding targeting the 16S rRNA locus was used to characterize the microbiomes of three sample types collected from wildlife: blood, ticks and tissue samples. Further sequence information was obtained for selected taxa of interest. Six tick species were identified from wildlife: Amblyomma triguttatum, Ixodes antechini, Ixodes australiensis, Ixodes holocyclus, Ixodes tasmani and Ixodes trichosuri. Bacterial 16S rRNA metabarcoding was performed on 536 samples and 65 controls, generating over 100 million sequences. Alpha diversity was significantly different between the three sample types, with tissue samples displaying the highest alpha diversity (P<0.001). Proteobacteria was the most abundant taxon identified across all sample types (37.3â%). Beta diversity analysis and ordination revealed little overlap between the three sample types (P<0.001). Taxa of interest included Anaplasmataceae, Bartonella, Borrelia, Coxiellaceae, Francisella, Midichloria, Mycoplasma and Rickettsia. Anaplasmataceae bacteria were detected in 17.7% (95/536) of samples and included Anaplasma, Ehrlichia and Neoehrlichia species. In samples from NSW, âCa. Neoehrlichia australisâ, âCa. Neoehrlichia arcanaâ, Neoehrlichia sp. and Ehrlichia sp. were identified. A putative novel Ehrlichia sp. was identified from WA and Anaplasma platys was identified from QLD. Nine rodent tissue samples were positive for a novel Borrelia sp. that formed a phylogenetically distinct clade separate from the Lyme Borrelia and relapsing fever groups. This novel clade included recently identified rodent-associated Borrelia genotypes, which were described from Spain and North America. Bartonella was identified in 12.9% (69/536) of samples. Over half of these positive samples were obtained from black rats (Rattus rattus), and the dominant bacterial species identified were Bartonella coopersplainsensis and Bartonella queenslandensis. The results from the present study show the value of using unbiased high-throughput sequencing applied to samples collected from wildlife. In addition to understanding the sylvatic cycle of known vector-associated pathogens, surveillance work is important to ensure preparedness for potential zoonotic spillover events
On Two-Current Realization of KP Hierarchy
A simple description of the KP hierarchy and its multi-hamiltonian structure
is given in terms of two Bose currents. A deformation scheme connecting various
W-infinity algebras and relation between two fundamental nonlinear structures
are discussed. Properties of Fa\'a di Bruno polynomials are extensively
explored in this construction. Applications of our method are given for the
Conformal Affine Toda model, WZNW models and discrete KP approach to Toda
lattice chain.Comment: 28 pages, IFT-P/020/92-SAO-PAULO, Late
SUSY vertex algebras and supercurves
This article is a continuation of math.QA/0603633 Given a strongly conformal
SUSY vertex algebra V and a supercurve X we construct a vector bundle V_X on X,
the fiber of which, is isomorphic to V. Moreover, the state-field
correspondence of V canonically gives rise to (local) sections of these vector
bundles. We also define chiral algebras on any supercurve X, and show that the
vector bundle V_X, corresponding to a SUSY vertex algebra, carries the
structure of a chiral algebra.Comment: 50 page
Initial Conditions for Inflation
Free scalar fields in de Sitter space have a one-parameter family of states
invariant under the de Sitter group, including the standard thermal vacuum. We
show that, except for the thermal vacuum, these states are unphysical when
gravitational interactions are included. We apply these observations to the
quantum state of the inflaton, and find that, at best, dramatic fine tuning is
required for states other than the thermal vacuum to lead to observable
features in the CMBR anisotropy.Comment: 31 pages, 4 figure
Potential-driven Galileon inflation
For the models of inflation driven by the potential energy of an inflaton
field , the covariant Galileon Lagrangian
generally works to slow down the evolution of the field. On the other hand, if
the Galileon self-interaction is dominant relative to the standard kinetic
term, we show that there is no oscillatory regime of inflaton after the end of
inflation. This is typically accompanied by the appearance of the negative
propagation speed squared of a scalar mode, which leads to the
instability of small-scale perturbations. For chaotic inflation and natural
inflation we clarify the parameter space in which inflaton oscillates
coherently during reheating. Using the WMAP constraints of the scalar spectral
index and the tensor-to-scalar ratio as well, we find that the self coupling
of the potential is constrained to be very
much smaller than 1 and that the symmetry breaking scale of natural
inflation cannot be less than the reduced Planck mass . We also
show that, in the presence of other covariant Galileon Lagrangians, there are
some cases in which inflaton oscillates coherently even for the self coupling
of the order of 0.1, but still the instability associated with
negative is generally present.Comment: 22 pages, 15 figure
Stationarity of Inflation and Predictions of Quantum Cosmology
We describe several different regimes which are possible in inflationary
cosmology. The simplest one is inflation without self-reproduction of the
universe. In this scenario the universe is not stationary. The second regime,
which exists in a broad class of inflationary models, is eternal inflation with
the self-reproduction of inflationary domains. In this regime local properties
of domains with a given density and given values of fields do not depend on the
time when these domains were produced. The probability distribution to find a
domain with given properties in a self-reproducing universe may or may not be
stationary, depending on the choice of an inflationary model. We give examples
of models where each of these possibilities can be realized, and discuss some
implications of our results for quantum cosmology. In particular, we propose a
new mechanism which may help solving the cosmological constant problem.Comment: 30 pages, Stanford preprint SU-ITP-94-24, LaTe
Abaloparatide-SC improves trabecular microarchitecture as assessed by trabecular bone score (TBS): a 24-week randomized clinical trial.
In a phase 2 trial of 222 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis aged 55 to 85Â years randomized to one of three different doses of abaloparatide-SC, subcutaneous teriparatide, or placebo for 24Â weeks, abaloparatide-SC resulted in improvements in skeletal microarchitecture as measured by the trabecular bone score.
Subcutaneous abaloparatide (abaloparatide-SC) increases total hip and lumbar spine bone mineral density and reduces vertebral and non-vertebral fractures. In this study, we analyzed the extent to which abaloparatide-SC improves skeletal microarchitecture, assessed indirectly by trabecular bone score (TBS).
This is a post hoc analysis of a phase 2 trial of 222 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis aged 55 to 85Â years randomized to abaloparatide-SC (20, 40, or 80Â ÎŒg), subcutaneous teriparatide (20Â ÎŒg), or placebo for 24Â weeks. TBS was measured from lumbar spine dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) images in 138 women for whom the DXA device was TBS software compatible. Assessments were made at baseline, 12 and 24Â weeks. Between-group differences were assessed by generalized estimating equations adjusted for relevant baseline characteristics, and a pre-determined least significant change analysis was performed.
After 24Â weeks, TBS increased significantly by 2.27, 3.14, and 4.21% versus baseline in participants on 20, 40, and 80Â ÎŒg abaloparatide-SC daily, respectively, and by 2.21% in those on teriparatide (pâ<â0.05 for each). The TBS in the placebo group declined by 1.08%. The TBS increase in each treatment group was significantly higher than placebo at 24Â weeks (pâ<â0.0001 for each) after adjustment for age, BMI, and baseline TBS. A dose-response was observed at 24Â weeks across the three doses of abaloparatide-SC and placebo (pâ=â0.02). The increase in TBS in the abaloparatide-SC 80Â ÎŒg group was significantly greater than TPTD (pâ<â0.03).
These results are consistent with an effect of abaloparatide-SC to improve lumbar spine skeletal microarchitecture, as assessed by TBS
Second and Third Order Observables of the Two-Matrix Model
In this paper we complement our recent result on the explicit formula for the
planar limit of the free energy of the two-matrix model by computing the second
and third order observables of the model in terms of canonical structures of
the underlying genus g spectral curve. In particular we provide explicit
formulas for any three-loop correlator of the model. Some explicit examples are
worked out.Comment: 22 pages, v2 with added references and minor correction
The Landau Pole and decays in the 331 bilepton model
We calculate the decay widths and branching ratios of the extra neutral boson
predicted by the 331 bilepton model in the framework of two
different particle contents. These calculations are performed taken into
account oblique radiative corrections, and Flavor Changing Neutral Currents
(FCNC) under the ansatz of Matsuda as a texture for the quark mass matrices.
Contributions of the order of are obtained in the branching
ratios, and partial widths about one order of magnitude bigger in relation with
other non- and bilepton models are also obtained. A Landau-like pole arise at
3.5 TeV considering the full particle content of the minimal model (MM), where
the exotic sector is considered as a degenerated spectrum at 3 TeV scale. The
Landau pole problem can be avoid at the TeV scales if a new leptonic content
running below the threshold at TeV is implemented as suggested by other
authors.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures, LaTeX2
Quantum Creation of an Open Inflationary Universe
We discuss a dramatic difference between the description of the quantum
creation of an open universe using the Hartle-Hawking wave function and the
tunneling wave function. Recently Hawking and Turok have found that the
Hartle-Hawking wave function leads to a universe with Omega = 0.01, which is
much smaller that the observed value of Omega > 0.3. Galaxies in such a
universe would be about light years away from each other, so the
universe would be practically structureless. We will argue that the
Hartle-Hawking wave function does not describe the probability of the universe
creation. If one uses the tunneling wave function for the description of
creation of the universe, then in most inflationary models the universe should
have Omega = 1, which agrees with the standard expectation that inflation makes
the universe flat. The same result can be obtained in the theory of a
self-reproducing inflationary universe, independently of the issue of initial
conditions. However, there exist two classes of models where Omega may take any
value, from Omega > 1 to Omega << 1.Comment: 23 pages, 4 figures. New materials are added. In particular, we show
that boundary terms do not help to solve the problem of unacceptably small
Omega in the new model proposed by Hawking and Turok in hep-th/9803156. A
possibility to solve the cosmological constant problem in this model using
the tunneling wave function is discusse
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