Not so private lives

Not So Private Lives is the first national study to examine same-sex attracted Australians’ preferences for various forms of relationship recognition since the introduction of de facto status for same-sex couples at a federal level. It is also the first major study to investigate preferences for relationship recognition while taking into account the current legal status (in Australia or overseas) of an individual’s same-sex relationship. Findings from the relationship recognition measures of this survey demonstrate that same-sex attracted individuals, like other Australians, differ in the way they prefer their relationships to be formally recognised. However, the results show that the majority of same-sex attracted participants in this survey selected marriage as their personal choice. A federally recognised relationship documented at a registry other than marriage was the second most popular option, and de facto status was the third. The preference for a relationship without any legal status was selected by only 3% of the overall sample. Interestingly, marriage was still the majority choice irrespective of the current legal status of participants’ same-sex relationships (including no legal status). For example, of those currently in a de facto relationship, 55.4% stated they preferred marriage for themselves, 25.6% stated that they preferred a federally recognised relationship other than marriage, 17.7% selected de facto and 1.3% chose no legal status. Participants were also given the opportunity to select which forms of legal relationship recognition they would like to see remain and/or become available in this country for same-sex couples in general. Responses to this measure (which allowed for multiple selections) show that 77.4% would like to see marriage become available as an option, 59.9% would like to see a federally recognised relationship other than marriage be made available and 48% would like to see de facto recognition remain. These numbers indicate that many participants selected multiple options, suggesting that simply having a choice was an important factor. Although the data from this survey indicate that marriage is not for everyone, the majority of same- sex attracted participants in this national survey selected this type of relationship recognition as their personal choice and as a choice to be made available for their fellow same-sex attracted Australians

Impact of phenylpropanoid compounds on heat stress tolerance in carrot cell cultures

The phenylpropanoid and flavonoid families include thousands of specialized metabolites that influence a wide range of processes in plants, including seed dispersal, auxin transport, photoprotection, mechanical support and protection against insect herbivory. Such metabolites play a key role in the protection of plants against abiotic stress, in many cases through their well-known ability to inhibit the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). However, the precise role of specific phenylpropanoid and flavonoid molecules is unclear. We therefore investigated the role of specific anthocyanins (ACs) and other phenylpropanoids that accumulate in carrot cells cultivated in vitro, focusing on their supposed ability to protect cells from heat stress. First we characterized the effects of heat stress to identify quantifiable morphological traits as markers of heat stress susceptibility. We then fed the cultures with precursors to induce the targeted accumulation of specific compounds, and compared the impact of heat stress in these cultures and unfed controls. Data modeling based on Projection to Latent Structures (PLS) regression revealed that metabolites containing coumaric or caffeic acid, including ACs, correlate with less heat damage. Further experiments suggested that one of the cellular targets damaged by heat stress and protected by these metabolites is the actin microfilament cytoskeleton

Clinical relevance of circulating tumour cells in the bone marrow of patients with SCCHN

Background: Clinical outcome of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (SCCHN) depends on several risk factors like the presence of locoregional lymph node or distant metastases, stage, localisation and histologic differentiation of the tumour. Circulating tumour cells in the bone marrow indicate a poor prognosis for patients with various kinds of malignoma. The present study examines the clinical relevance of occult tumour cells in patients suffering from SCCHN. Patients and Methods: Bone marrow aspirates of 176 patients suffering from SCCHN were obtained prior to surgery and stained for the presence of disseminated tumour cells. Antibodies for cytokeratin 19 were used for immunohistochemical detection with APAAP on cytospin slides. Within a clinical follow-up protocol over a period of 60 months, the prognostic relevance of several clinicopathological parameters and occult tumour cells was evaluated. Results: Single CK19-expressing tumour cells could be detected in the bone marrow of 30.7% of the patients. There is a significant correlation between occult tumour cells in the bone marrow and relapse. Uni- and multivariate analysis of all clinical data showed the metastases in the locoregional lymph system and detection of disseminated tumour cells in the bone marrow to be statistically highly significant for clinical prognosis. Conclusion: The detection of minimal residual disease underlines the understanding of SCCHN as a systemic disease. Further examination of such cells will lead to a better understanding of the tumour biology, as well as to improvement of diagnostic and therapeutic strategies

From Majorana Fermions to Topological Order

We consider a system consisting of a 2D network of links between Majorana fermions on superconducting islands. We show that the fermionic Hamiltonian modeling this system is topologically-ordered in a region of parameter space. In particular we show that Kitaev's toric code emerges in fourth-order perturbation theory. By using a Jordan-Wigner transformation we can map the model onto a family of signed 2D Ising models in a transverse field where the signs (FM or AFM) are determined by additional gauge bits. Our mapping allows an understanding of the non-perturbative regime and the phase transition to a non-topological phase. We discuss the physics behind a possible implementation of this model and argue how it can be used for topological quantum computation by adiabatic changes in the Hamiltonian.Comment: 4+4 pages, 5 figures. v2 has a new reference and a few new comments. In v3: yet another new reference and Supplementary Material is renamed Appendix. In v4: several typos are corrected, to appear in Phys. Rev. Let

Proposal for an interference experiment to test the applicability of quantum theory to event-based processes

We analyze a single-particle Mach-Zehnder interferometer experiment in which the path length of one arm may change (randomly or systematically) according to the value of an external two-valued variable $x$, for each passage of a particle through the interferometer. Quantum theory predicts an interference pattern that is independent of the sequence of the values of $x$. On the other hand, corpuscular models that reproduce the results of quantum optics experiments carried out up to this date show a reduced visibility and a shift of the interference pattern depending on the details of the sequence of the values of $x$. The proposed experiment will show that: (1) it can be described by quantum theory, and thus not by the current corpuscular models, or (2) it cannot be described by quantum theory but can be described by the corpuscular models or variations thereof, or (3) it can neither be described by quantum theory nor by corpuscular models. Therefore, the proposed experiment can be used to determine to what extent quantum theory provides a description of observed events beyond the usual statistical level.Comment: Accepted for publication in J. Phys. Soc. Jp

Correlation and prediction of dynamic human isolated joint strength from lean body mass

A relationship between a person's lean body mass and the amount of maximum torque that can be produced with each isolated joint of the upper extremity was investigated. The maximum dynamic isolated joint torque (upper extremity) on 14 subjects was collected using a dynamometer multi-joint testing unit. These data were reduced to a table of coefficients of second degree polynomials, computed using a least squares regression method. All the coefficients were then organized into look-up tables, a compact and convenient storage/retrieval mechanism for the data set. Data from each joint, direction and velocity, were normalized with respect to that joint's average and merged into files (one for each curve for a particular joint). Regression was performed on each one of these files to derive a table of normalized population curve coefficients for each joint axis, direction, and velocity. In addition, a regression table which included all upper extremity joints was built which related average torque to lean body mass for an individual. These two tables are the basis of the regression model which allows the prediction of dynamic isolated joint torques from an individual's lean body mass

Scholarly communications program: force for change

The changing landscape of scholarly publication and increasing journal costs have resulted in a need for proactive behavior in libraries. At Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, a group of librarians joined forces to bring these issues to the attention of faculty and to begin a dialog leading to change. This commentary describes a comprehensive program undertaken to raise faculty awareness of scholarly communications issues. In addition to raising faculty interest in the issues at hand, the endeavor also highlights an area where library liaisons can increase their communication with the units they serve

An Interprofessional Consensus of Core Competencies for Prelicensure Education in Pain Management: Curriculum Application for Physical Therapy

Core competencies in pain management for prelicensure health professional education were recently established. These competencies represent the expectation of minimal capabilities for graduating health care students for pain management and include 4 domains: multidimensional nature of pain, pain assessment and measurement, management of pain, and context of pain (Appendix 1). The purpose of this article is to advocate for and identify how core competencies for pain can be applied to the professional (entry-level) physical therapist curriculum. By ensuring that core competencies in pain management are embedded within the foundation of physical therapist education, physical therapists will have the core knowledge necessary for offering best care for patients, and the profession of physical therapy will continue to stand with all health professions engaged in comprehensive pain management