The sadism of the author or the masochism of the reader?

The symposium giving rise to this collection and the thriving of the B.S. Johnson Society both indicate that there is something exceptional going on with the literary and academic community’s relationship with this author, something we (collectively) still haven’t quite fathomed. In order to attempt to identify the source of Johnson’s fascination, I want to discuss the author-reader relationship as it comes into focus in his novels since, implicitly and explicitly, this is a recurring issue in academic studies of Johnson’s work (see White 2011)

Heterotic strings on G_2 orbifolds

We study compactification of heterotic strings to three dimensions on orbifolds of G_2 holonomy. We consider the standard embedding and show that the gauge group is broken from E_8 x E_8 or SO(32) to F_4 x E_8 or SO(25) respectively. We also compute the spectrum of massless states and compare with the results obtained from reduction of the 10-dimensional fields. Non-standard embeddings are discussed briefly. For type II compactifications we verify that IIB and IIA have equal massless spectrum.Comment: LaTex, 21 page

Effects of gender differences on the subjective perceived intensity of steering wheel rotational vibration based on a multivariate regression model

This is the post-print version of the Article. The official published version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2009 ElsevierThe aims of this study were to determine equal sensation curves for hand-arm steering wheel rotational vibration and to investigate the effect of gender on the subjective perceived intensity of steering wheel hand-arm vibration. Psychophysical response tests of 40 participants (20 mates and 20 females) were performed using a steering wheel rotational vibration simulator using the category-ratio Borg CR10 scale procedure for direct estimation of perceived intensity. The test stimuli were sinusoidal vibrations at 22 third octave band centre frequencies in the range from 3 to 400 Hz, with acceleration amplitudes in the range from 0.04 to 27 m/s(2) r.m.s. Multivariate regression procedures were applied to the experimentally acquired data in order to establish a regression model expressing the Borg CR10 perceived intensity values as a function of the two independent parameters of the frequency and amplitude of vibration. The equal sensation curves suggested a non-linear dependency of the subjective perceived intensity on both frequency and amplitude. Females were found to provide higher Borg CR10 perceived intensity values than males (p < 0.05), particularly at the higher intensity levels above approximately 1.0 m/s(2) r.m.s and at the higher frequencies above approximately 20 Hz.Relevance to industry: For the manufacturers of steering systems and of other automobile components this study provides vibration perception curves and identifies the possible importance of gender towards the perception of vibration which arrives at the steering wheel. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

How much contextuality?

The amount of contextuality is quantified in terms of the probability of the necessary violations of noncontextual assignments to counterfactual elements of physical reality.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

A protective role for the Lectin CD169/Siglec-1 against a pathogenic murine retrovirus

Lymph- and blood-borne retroviruses exploit CD169/Siglec-1-mediated capture by subcapsular sinus and marginal zone metallophilic macrophages for trans-infection of permissive lymphocytes. However, the impact of CD169-mediated virus capture on retrovirus dissemination and pathogenesis in vivo is unknown. In a murine model of the splenomegaly-inducing retrovirus Friend virus complex (FVC) infection, we find that while CD169 promoted draining lymph node infection, it limited systemic spread to the spleen. At the spleen, CD169-expressing macrophages captured incoming blood-borne retroviruses and limited their spread to the erythroblasts in the red pulp where FVC manifests its pathogenesis. CD169-mediated retroviral capture activated conventional dendritic cells 1 (cDC1s) and promoted cytotoxic CD8+ T cell responses, resulting in efficient clearing of FVC-infected cells. Accordingly, CD169 blockade led to higher viral loads and accelerated death in susceptible mouse strains. Thus, CD169 plays a protective role during FVC pathogenesis by reducing viral dissemination to erythroblasts and eliciting an effective cytotoxic T lymphocyte response via cDC1s

Immunosuppression and the Risk of Post-Transplant Malignancy Among Cadaveric First Kidney Transplant Recipients

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73619/1/j.1600-6135.2003.00274.x.pd

Bell Correlations and the Common Future

Reichenbach's principle states that in a causal structure, correlations of classical information can stem from a common cause in the common past or a direct influence from one of the events in correlation to the other. The difficulty of explaining Bell correlations through a mechanism in that spirit can be read as questioning either the principle or even its basis: causality. In the former case, the principle can be replaced by its quantum version, accepting as a common cause an entangled state, leaving the phenomenon as mysterious as ever on the classical level (on which, after all, it occurs). If, more radically, the causal structure is questioned in principle, closed space-time curves may become possible that, as is argued in the present note, can give rise to non-local correlations if to-be-correlated pieces of classical information meet in the common future --- which they need to if the correlation is to be detected in the first place. The result is a view resembling Brassard and Raymond-Robichaud's parallel-lives variant of Hermann's and Everett's relative-state formalism, avoiding "multiple realities."Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Nipple- and areola-sparing mastectomy for the treatment of breast cancer

$\textbf{Background}$ The efficacy and safety of nipple-sparing mastectomy and areola-sparing mastectomy for the treatment of breast cancer are still questionable. It is estimated that the local recurrence rates following nipple-sparing mastectomy are very similar to breast-conserving surgery followed by radiotherapy. $\textbf{Objectives}$ To assess the efficacy and safety of nipple-sparing mastectomy and areola-sparing mastectomy for the treatment of ductal carcinoma in situ and invasive breast cancer in women. $\textbf{Search methods}$ We searched the Cochrane Breast Cancer Group's Specialized Register, the Cochrane Center Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE (via PubMed), Embase (via OVID) and LILACS (via Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde [BVS]) using the search terms “nipple sparing mastectomy” and “areola-sparing mastectomy”. Also, we searched the World Health Organization's International Clinical Trials Registry Platform and ClinicalTrials.gov. All searches were conducted on 30th September 2014 and we did not apply any language restrictions. $\textbf{Selection criteria}$ Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) however if there were no RCTs, we expanded our criteria to include non-randomised comparative studies (cohort and case-control studies). Studies evaluated nipple-sparing and areola-sparing mastectomy compared to modified radical mastectomy or skin-sparing mastectomy for the treatment of ductal carcinoma in situ or invasive breast cancer. $\textbf{Data collection and analysis}$ Two review authors (BS and RR) performed data extraction and resolved disagreements. We performed descriptive analyses and meta-analyses of the data using Review Manager software. We used Cochrane's risk of bias tool to assess studies, and adapted it for non-randomised studies, and we evaluated the quality of the evidence using GRADE criteria. $\textbf{Main results}$ We included 11 cohort studies, evaluating a total of 6502 participants undergoing 7018 procedures: 2529 underwent a nipple-sparing mastectomy (NSM), 818 underwent skin-sparing mastectomy (SSM) and 3671 underwent traditional mastectomy, also known as modified radical mastectomy (MRM). No participants underwent areola-sparing mastectomy. There was a high risk of confounding for all reported outcomes. For overall survival, the hazard ratio (HR) for NSM compared to SSM was 0.70 (95% CI 0.28 to 1.73; 2 studies; 781 participants) and the HR for NSM compared to MRM was 0.72 (95% CI 0.46 to 1.13; 2 studies, 1202 participants). Local recurrence was evaluated in two studies, the HR for NSM compared to MRM was 0.28 (95% CI 0.12 to 0.68; 2 studies, 1303 participants). The overall risk of complications was different in NSM when compared to other types of mastectomy in general (RR 0.10, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.82, 2 studies, P = 0.03; 1067 participants). With respect to skin necrosis, there was no evidence of a difference with NSM compared to other types of mastectomy, but the confidence interval was wide (RR 4.22, 95% CI 0.59 to 30.03, P = 0.15; 4 studies, 1948 participants). We observed no difference among the three types of mastectomy with respect to the risk of local infection (RR 0.95, 95% CI 0.44 to 2.09, P = 0.91, 2 studies; 496 participants). Meta-analysis was not possible when assessing cosmetic outcomes and quality of life, but in general the NSM studies reported a favourable aesthetic result and a gain in quality of life compared with the other types of mastectomy. The quality of evidence was considered very low for all outcomes due to the high risk of selection bias and wide confidence intervals. $\textbf{Authors' conclusions}$ The findings from these observational studies of very low-quality evidence were inconclusive for all outcomes due to the high risk of selection bias

Paleobiogeography: The relevance of fossils to biogeography

Paleobiogeography has advanced as a discipline owing to the increasing utilization of a phylogenetic approach to the study of biogeographic patterns. Coupled with this, there has been an increasing interdigitation of paleontology with molecular systematics because of the development of techniques to analyze ancient DNA and because of the use of sophisticated methods to utilize molecules to date evolutionary divergence events. One pervasive pattern emerging from several paleontological and molecular analyses of paleobiogeographic patterns is the recognition that repeated episodes of range expansion or geo-dispersal occur congruently in several different lineages, just as congruent patterns of vicariance also occur in independent lineages. The development of new analytical methods based on a modified version of Brooks Parsimony Analysis makes it possible to analyze both geo-dispersal and vicariance in a phylogenetic context, suggesting that biogeography as a discipline should focus on the analysis of a variety of congruent phenomena, not just vicariance. The important role that extinction plays in influencing apparent biogeographic patterns among modern and fossil groups suggests that this is another area ripe for new methodological developments

Benznidazole biotransformation and multiple targets in <i>Trypanosoma</i> cruzi revealed by metabolomics

&lt;b&gt;Background&lt;/b&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; The first line treatment for Chagas disease, a neglected tropical disease caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, involves administration of benznidazole (Bzn). Bzn is a 2-nitroimidazole pro-drug which requires nitroreduction to become active, although its mode of action is not fully understood. In the present work we used a non-targeted MS-based metabolomics approach to study the metabolic response of T. cruzi to Bzn.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Methodology/Principal findings&lt;/b&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Parasites treated with Bzn were minimally altered compared to untreated trypanosomes, although the redox active thiols trypanothione, homotrypanothione and cysteine were significantly diminished in abundance post-treatment. In addition, multiple Bzn-derived metabolites were detected after treatment. These metabolites included reduction products, fragments and covalent adducts of reduced Bzn linked to each of the major low molecular weight thiols: trypanothione, glutathione, γ-glutamylcysteine, glutathionylspermidine, cysteine and ovothiol A. Bzn products known to be generated in vitro by the unusual trypanosomal nitroreductase, TcNTRI, were found within the parasites, but low molecular weight adducts of glyoxal, a proposed toxic end-product of NTRI Bzn metabolism, were not detected.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Conclusions/significance&lt;/b&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Our data is indicative of a major role of the thiol binding capacity of Bzn reduction products in the mechanism of Bzn toxicity against T. cruzi