2,359 research outputs found
RPGR mutation associated with retinitis pigmentosa, impaired hearing, and sinorespiratory infections
Factors associated with failed treatment : an analysis of 121,744 women embarking on their first IVF cycles
Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Design, fabrication and performance evaluation of a 22-channel direct reading atomic emission spectrometer using inductively coupled plasma as a source of excitation
The indigenous design, fabrication and performance evaluation of a polychromator, using inductively coupled plasma (ICP) as a source of excitation, are described. A concave holographic grating is used as the dispersing element and a Paschen-Runge mount is chosen to focus the spectra over a wide range along the Rowland circle. Twenty-two exit slits, mounted along the circle, precisely correspond to the wavelengths used for determination of up to twenty elements present in the plasma. Radiations emerging from the exit slits are detected by photomultiplier tubes placed behind them. The photomultiplier signal is recorded by an electronic system consisting of an integrator and a PC-based data acquisition system. The performance of the spectrometer has been evaluated with an ICP excitation source. Synthetic standards in deionized water containing a mixture of twenty impurities have been analysed. Typical determination limits observed for elements range from sub-ppm to ppm levels. All the elements present as impurities can be detected simultaneously. It is also observed that each element has a different emitting region in the ICP flame for which the maximum signal to the background is obtained. The determination limits obtained corresponding to these zones are the lowest. A study of the sensitive emitting zones for several elements has been carried out and the results are demonstrated by photographs of the ICP flame. The study will help in achieving the minimum value of determination limit for an impurity element
Increase of universality in human brain during mental imagery from visual perception
BACKGROUND: Different complex systems behave in a similar way near their critical points of phase transitions which leads to an emergence of a universal scaling behaviour. Universality indirectly implies a long-range correlation between constituent subsystems. As the distributed correlated processing is a hallmark of higher complex cognition, I investigated a measure of universality in human brain during perception and mental imagery of complex real-life visual object like visual art. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A new method was presented to estimate the strength of hidden universal structure in a multivariate data set. In this study, I investigated this method in the electrical activities (electroencephalogram signals) of human brain during complex cognition. Two broad groups--artists and non-artists--were studied during the encoding (perception) and retrieval (mental imagery) phases of actual paintings. Universal structure was found to be stronger in visual imagery than in visual perception, and this difference was stronger in artists than in non-artists. Further, this effect was found to be largest in the theta band oscillations and over the prefrontal regions bilaterally. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Phase transition like dynamics was observed in the electrical activities of human brain during complex cognitive processing, and closeness to phase transition was higher in mental imagery than in real perception. Further, the effect of long-term training on the universal scaling was also demonstrated
Radio pulsar populations
The goal of this article is to summarize the current state of play in the
field of radio pulsar statistics. Simply put, from the observed sample of
objects from a variety of surveys with different telescopes, we wish to infer
the properties of the underlying sample and to connect these with other
astrophysical populations (for example supernova remnants or X-ray binaries).
The main problem we need to tackle is the fact that, like many areas of
science, the observed populations are often heavily biased by a variety of
selection effects. After a review of the main effects relevant to radio
pulsars, I discuss techniques to correct for them and summarize some of the
most recent results. Perhaps the main point I would like to make in this
article is that current models to describe the population are far from complete
and often suffer from strong covariances between input parameters. That said,
there are a number of very interesting conclusions that can be made concerning
the evolution of neutron stars based on current data. While the focus of this
review will be on the population of isolated Galactic pulsars, I will also
briefly comment on millisecond and binary pulsars as well as the pulsar content
of globular clusters and the Magellanic Clouds.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures, to appear in Proceedings of ICREA Workshop on
The High-Energy Emission from Pulsars and their Systems, Sant Cugat, Spain,
2010 April 12-16 (Springer
Charming CP Violation and Dipole Operators from RS Flavor Anarchy
Recently the LHCb collaboration reported evidence for direct CP violation in
charm decays. The value is sufficiently large that either substantially
enhanced Standard Model contributions or non-Standard Model physics is required
to explain it. In the latter case only a limited number of possibilities would
be consistent with other existing flavor-changing constraints. We show that
warped extra dimensional models that explain the quark spectrum through flavor
anarchy can naturally give rise to contributions of the size required to
explain the the LHCb result. The D meson asymmetry arises through a sizable
CP-violating contribution to a chromomagnetic dipole operator. This happens
naturally without introducing inconsistencies with existing constraints in the
up quark sector. We discuss some subtleties in the loop calculation that are
similar to those in Higgs to \gamma\gamma. Loop-induced dipole operators in
warped scenarios and their composite analogs exhibit non-trivial dependence on
the Higgs profile, with the contributions monotonically decreasing when the
Higgs is pushed away from the IR brane. We show that the size of the dipole
operator quickly saturates as the Higgs profile approaches the IR brane,
implying small dependence on the precise details of the Higgs profile when it
is quasi IR localized. We also explain why the calculation of the coefficient
of the lowest dimension 5D operator is guaranteed to be finite. This is true
not only in the charm sector but also with other radiative processes such as
electric dipole moments, b to s\gamma, \epsilon'/\epsilon_K and \mu\ to
e\gamma. We furthermore discuss the interpretation of this contribution within
the framework of partial compositeness in four dimensions and highlight some
qualitative differences between the generic result of composite models and that
obtained for dynamics that reproduces the warped scenario.Comment: 14 page
General Gauge and Anomaly Mediated Supersymmetry Breaking in Grand Unified Theories with Vector-Like Particles
In Grand Unified Theories (GUTs) from orbifold and various string
constructions the generic vector-like particles do not need to form complete
SU(5) or SO(10) representations. To realize them concretely, we present
orbifold SU(5) models, orbifold SO(10) models where the gauge symmetry can be
broken down to flipped SU(5) X U(1)_X or Pati-Salam SU(4)_C X SU(2)_L X SU(2)_R
gauge symmetries, and F-theory SU(5) models. Interestingly, these vector-like
particles can be at the TeV-scale so that the lightest CP-even Higgs boson mass
can be lifted, or play the messenger fields in the Gauge Mediated Supersymmetry
Breaking (GMSB). Considering GMSB, ultraviolet insensitive Anomaly Mediated
Supersymmetry Breaking (AMSB), and the deflected AMSB, we study the general
gaugino mass relations and their indices, which are valid from the GUT scale to
the electroweak scale at one loop, in the SU(5) models, the flipped SU(5) X
U(1)_X models, and the Pati-Salam SU(4)_C X SU(2)_L X SU(2)_R models. In the
deflected AMSB, we also define the new indices for the gaugino mass relations,
and calculate them as well. Using these gaugino mass relations and their
indices, we may probe the messenger fields at intermediate scale in the GMSB
and deflected AMSB, determine the supersymmetry breaking mediation mechanisms,
and distinguish the four-dimensional GUTs, orbifold GUTs, and F-theory GUTs.Comment: RevTex4, 45 pages, 15 tables, version to appear in JHE
Realistic Standard Model Fermion Mass Relations in Generalized Minimal Supergravity (GmSUGRA)
Grand Unified Theories (GUTs) usually predict wrong Standard Model (SM)
fermion mass relation m_e/m_{\mu} = m_d/m_s toward low energies. To solve this
problem, we consider the Generalized Minimal Supergravity (GmSUGRA) models,
which are GUTs with gravity mediated supersymmetry breaking and higher
dimensional operators. Introducing non-renormalizable terms in the super- and
K\"ahler potentials, we can obtain the correct SM fermion mass relations in the
SU(5) model with GUT Higgs fields in the {\bf 24} and {\bf 75} representations,
and in the SO(10) model. In the latter case the gauge symmetry is broken down
to SU(3)_C X SU(2)_L X SU(2)_R X U(1)_{B-L}, to flipped SU(5)X U(1)_X, or to
SU(3)_C X SU(2)_L X U(1)_1 X U(1)_2. Especially, for the first time we generate
the realistic SM fermion mass relation in GUTs by considering the
high-dimensional operators in the K\"ahler potential.Comment: JHEP style, 29 pages, no figure,references adde
Gabapentin for the Management of Chronic Pelvic Pain in Women (GaPP1): A Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial
Chronic pelvic pain (CPP) affects 2.1β24% of women. Frequently, no underlying pathology is identified, and the pain is difficult to manage. Gabapentin is prescribed for CPP despite no robust evidence of efficacy. We performed a pilot trial in two UK centres to inform the planning of a future multicentre RCT to evaluate gabapentin in CPP management. Our primary objective was to determine levels of participant recruitment and retention. Secondary objectives included estimating potential effectiveness, acceptability to participants of trial methodology, and cost-effectiveness of gabapentin. Women with CPP and no obvious pelvic pathology were assigned to an increasing regimen of gabapentin (300-2700mg daily) or placebo. We calculated the proportion of eligible women randomised, and of randomised participants who were followed up to six months. The analyses by treatment group were by intention-to-treat. Interviews were conducted to evaluate womenβs experiences of the trial. A probabilistic decision analytical model was used to estimate cost-effectiveness. Between September 2012β2013, 47 women (34% of those eligible) were randomised (22 to gabapentin, 25 to placebo), and 25 (53%) completed six-month follow-up. Participants on gabapentin had less pain (BPI difference 1.72 points, 95% CI:0.07β3.36), and an improvement in mood (HADS difference 4.35 points, 95% CI:1.97β6.73) at six months than those allocated placebo. The majority of participants described their trial experience favorably. At the UK threshold for willingness-to-pay, the probabilities of gabapentin or no treatment being cost-effective are similar. A pilot trial assessing gabapentin for CPP was feasible, but uncertainty remains, highlighting the need for a large definitive trial
MicroRNAs targeting oncogenes are down-regulated in pancreatic malignant transformation from benign tumors
BACKGROUND
MicroRNA (miRNA) expression profiles have been described in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), but these have not been compared with pre-malignant pancreatic tumors. We wished to compare the miRNA expression signatures in pancreatic benign cystic tumors (BCT) of low and high malignant potential with PDAC, in order to identify miRNAs deregulated during PDAC development. The mechanistic consequences of miRNA dysregulation were further evaluated.
METHODS
Tissue samples were obtained at a tertiary pancreatic unit from individuals with BCT and PDAC. MiRNA profiling was performed using a custom microarray and results were validated using RT-qPCR prior to evaluation of miRNA targets.
RESULTS
Widespread miRNA down-regulation was observed in PDAC compared to low malignant potential BCT. We show that amongst those miRNAs down-regulated, miR-16, miR-126 and let-7d regulate known PDAC oncogenes (targeting BCL2, CRK and KRAS respectively). Notably, miR-126 also directly targets the KRAS transcript at a "seedless" binding site within its 3'UTR. In clinical specimens, miR-126 was strongly down-regulated in PDAC tissues, with an associated elevation in KRAS and CRK proteins. Furthermore, miR-21, a known oncogenic miRNA in pancreatic and other cancers, was not elevated in PDAC compared to serous microcystic adenoma (SMCA), but in both groups it was up-regulated compared to normal pancreas, implicating early up-regulation during malignant change.
CONCLUSIONS
Expression profiling revealed 21 miRNAs down-regulated in PDAC compared to SMCA, the most benign lesion that rarely progresses to invasive carcinoma. It appears that miR-21 up-regulation is an early event in the transformation from normal pancreatic tissue. MiRNA expression has the potential to distinguish PDAC from normal pancreas and BCT. Mechanistically the down-regulation of miR-16, miR-126 and let-7d promotes PDAC transformation by post-transcriptional up-regulation of crucial PDAC oncogenes. We show that miR-126 is able to directly target KRAS; re-expression has the potential as a therapeutic strategy against PDAC and other KRAS-driven cancers
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