Localised states in an extended Swift-Hohenberg equation

Recent work on the behaviour of localised states in pattern forming partial differential equations has focused on the traditional model Swift-Hohenberg equation which, as a result of its simplicity, has additional structure --- it is variational in time and conservative in space. In this paper we investigate an extended Swift-Hohenberg equation in which non-variational and non-conservative effects play a key role. Our work concentrates on aspects of this much more complicated problem. Firstly we carry out the normal form analysis of the initial pattern forming instability that leads to small-amplitude localised states. Next we examine the bifurcation structure of the large-amplitude localised states. Finally we investigate the temporal stability of one-peak localised states. Throughout, we compare the localised states in the extended Swift-Hohenberg equation with the analogous solutions to the usual Swift-Hohenberg equation

Representation in Westminster in the 1990s : The ghost of Edmund Burke

Why are 'trustee' notions of representation still invoked in the UK House of Commons in the 1990s? In answering this question this article analyses the premises of Burkean theory and the arguments that these premises are of little relevance in the late twentieth century. Despite these dismissals of trusteeship, Burkean ideas are still articulated in the Commons some 200 years after they were first voiced. The idea of trusteeship can prove extremely useful to justify the actions of representatives when those actions conflict with constituency 'opinion', party policy or the wishes of interest groups. Examples of the occasions when Burkean notions have been invoked in the 1990s are provided

Ionization potentials in the limit of large atomic number

By extrapolating the energies of non-relativistic atoms and their ions with up to 3000 electrons within Kohn-Sham density functional theory, we find that the ionization potential remains finite and increases across a row, even as $Z\rightarrow\infty$. The local density approximation becomes chemically accurate (and possibly exact) in some cases. Extended Thomas-Fermi theory matches the shell-average of both the ionization potential and density change. Exact results are given in the limit of weak electron-electron repulsion.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Patent Landscape of Helminth Vaccines and Related Technologies

Executive Summary This report focuses on patent landscape analysis of technologies related to vaccines targeting parasitic worms, also known as helminths. These technologies include methods of formulating vaccines, methods of producing of subunits, the composition of complete vaccines, and other technologies that have the potential to aid in a global response to this pathogen. The purpose of this patent landscape study was to search, identify, and categorize patent documents that are relevant to the development of vaccines that can efficiently promote the development of protective immunity against helminths. The search strategy used keywords which the team felt would be general enough to capture (or “recall”) the majority of patent documents which were directed toward vaccines against helminths. After extensive searching of patent literature databases, approximately 2847 publications were identified and collapsed to about 446 INPADOC families. Relevant patent families, almost half of the total relevant families (210 being total number of relevant families), were then identified and sorted into the categories of trematodes, cestodes, nematodes or nonspecific helminth. The 210 patent families that were divided into these four major categories were then further divided into sub categories relating to common fields of technology (e.g. DNA vaccine, vaccine formulations, methods to produce subunits) This sorting process increased the precision of the result set. The four major categories (cestodes, nematodes, trematodes, and non specific applications) as well as the overall data set of the 210 relevant family members were subjected to a range of analytics in order to extract as much information as possible from the dataset. First, patent landscape maps were generated to assess the accuracy of the sorting procedure and to reveal the relationships between the various technologies that are involved in creating an effective vaccine. Then, filings trends are analyzed for the overall dataset of the 210 relevant families as well as by the categories of trematodes, cestodes, and nematodes. The country of origin each member of the 210 relevant families was determined, and the range of distribution to other jurisdictions was assessed. Filings were also analyzed by year, by assignee. Finally, the various patent classification systems were mapped to find which particular classes tend to hold helminth vaccine-related technologies. Besides the keywords developed during the searches and the landscape map generation, the classifications represent an alternate way for further researchers to identify emerging helminth vaccine technologies. The analysis included creation of a map of keywords describing the relationship of the various technologies involved in the development of helminth vaccines. The map has regions corresponding to plasmids and other gene based technologies used in DNA vaccines for Japonicum Schistosoma. Important technologies listed on the map include the use of reverse genetics to create reassorted viruses targeted for the use in veterinary applications. Additionally, the map suggests that numerous subunits exist for use in vaccines targeting cestodes, trematodes, and nematodes. Another major finding was that the number of patent documents related to helminths being published has been steadily increasing in the last decade, as shown in the figure below. Until the early-1990s, there were only a few helminth vaccine related patent documents being published each year. The number of publications increased noticeably when TRIPS took effect, resulting in publication of patent applications. However, since 2006 the number of vaccine publications has exploded. In the years 2011 and 2012, about 23 references disclosing parasitic worm vaccine technologies were published each year. Thus, interest in developing new and more efficacious helminth vaccines has been growing in recent years. The origin of the vaccine-related inventions was also analyzed. The team determined the country in which the priority application was filed, which was taken as an indication of the country where the invention was made or where the inventors intended to practice the invention. By far, most of the relevant families originated with patent applications filed in the United States and China. Other prominent priority countries were the United Kingdom, Japan, Brazil, Australia and France. Countries with the most filings were also analyzed. Countries that were heavily targeted for patent filings included the United States, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. Top assignees for these families were mostly large pharmaceutical companies, with the majority of patent families coming from Heska, followed by Merck & Co., Institute Pasteur, AusBiotech Biotechnology, and Biological Sciences Research Council. Lastly, the jurisdictions were inventors have sought protection for their vaccine technologies were determined, and the number of patent families filing in a given country is plotted on the world map shown (Fig. 25). The United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and France have the highest level of filings, followed by Germany, Brazil, India, United Kingdom and Spain. However, although there are a significant number of filings in Brazil, the remainder of Central and South America has only sparse filings. Of concern, with the exception of South Africa, few other African nations have a significant number of filings. In summary, the goal of this report is to provide a knowledge resource for making informed policy decisions and for creating strategic plans concerning the assembly of vaccines targeting highly prevalent helminth infections. The ITTI team has defined the current state of the art of technologies involved in the manufacture of helminth vaccines, and the important assignees, inventors, and countries have been identified. This document should aid in evaluating the current state of vaccines technologies targeting helminths and the potential outgrows of these technological fields. Furthermore, as this report illustrates, the steady increase in helminth patenting, expanded diversity of assignees and greater global filings, indicates that intellectual property protection does not inhibit the development of crucial innovations for this class of neglected diseases, but, on the contrary, appears to be a driver of accelerated research and development

The decline of laparoscopic sterilisation

Female sterilisation is an extensively used method of contraception all over the world but there appears to be a decline in the performance of this procedure in Ireland. There also appears to be an increased uptake of safe, long-acting contraceptive alternatives. We set out to establish the extent of the decline of laparoscopic sterilisation and to explore possible explanations. Data for female sterilisation from Ireland was obtained from the Hospital In-Patient Enquiry Scheme (HIPE) section of the Economic and Social Research Institute for the years 1999 to 2004. Recent sales figures for long acting reversible contraceptives, specifically the levo-norgestrel-loaded intrauterine system (LNG-IUS) (Mirena) and the etonogestrel implant (Implanon) were also obtained. Laparoscopic tubal ligations reduced from 2,566(1999) to 910 (2004). In the corresponding period the use of Mirena coils increased from 4,840 (1999) to 17,077 (2004)

Exact condition on the Kohn-Sham kinetic energy, and modern parametrization of the Thomas-Fermi density

We study the asymptotic expansion of the neutral-atom energy as the atomic number Z goes to infinity, presenting a new method to extract the coefficients from oscillating numerical data. We find that recovery of the correct expansion is an exact condition on the Kohn-Sham kinetic energy that is important for the accuracy of approximate kinetic energy functionals for atoms, molecules and solids, when evaluated on a Kohn-Sham density. For example, this determines the small gradient limit of any generalized gradient approximation, and conflicts somewhat with the standard gradient expansion. Tests are performed on atoms, molecules, and jellium clusters. We also give a modern, highly accurate parametrization of the Thomas-Fermi density of neutral atoms.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, submitted at JC

Generalized gradient approximation for solids and their surfaces

Successful modern generalized gradient approximations (GGA) are biased toward atomic energies. Restoration of the first-principles gradient expansion for the exchange energy over a wide range of density gradients eliminates this bias. We introduce PBEsol, a revised Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof GGA that improves equilibrium properties for many densely-packed solids and their surfaces.Comment: 4pages, 2figures,2table

An Experimental Study of Turbidite Channel Deposits: Implications for Channel Evolution and Sandstone Deposits

Gaining a detailed understanding of turbidite bed sequences is important for the characterization of sandstone reservoir properties, correlation of well cores, and geological interpretation. Many factors influence the internal structure of sandstone reservoirs: source material, source location in time, transport processes, basin geometry, fan channel development and evolution to name a few. Sandstone deposits associated with channel complexes are easy to find but difficult to develop. Here, we conduct tank experiments of scaled sediment-laden turbidity currents traversing a submerged channel to: (1) establish a state-of-the-art data collection and data processing system that has the potential to gain a unique understanding of the processes and deposits that build submarine fan environments; and (2) to use the facility to demonstrate how the interaction of a depositive turbidity current with a sinuous channel may influence the geometry, spatial relationships and grain size sorting of sandstone deposits. Our data shows the construction of prominent levees, asymmetric levee growth, continuous channel overspill, enhanced channel overspill downstream of bend corners, and lobate-shaped lobe deposits. Our preliminary results are qualitative, but indicate that channel wavelength, bend curvature, and bend peak-to-peak amplitude may have strong controls on down-channel and cross-channel depositional patterns, deposit thickness and grain size sorting.ChevronTexaco (Firm