Origin of Long Lived Coherences in Light-Harvesting Complexes

A vibronic exciton model is developed to investigate the origin of long lived coherences in light-harvesting complexes. Using experimentally determined parameters and uncorrelated site energy fluctuations, the model predicts oscillations in the nonlinear spectra of the Fenna-Matthews-Olson (FMO) complex with a dephasing time of 1.3 ps at 77 K. These oscillations correspond to the coherent superposition of vibronic exciton states with dominant contributions from vibrational excitations on the same pigment. Purely electronic coherences are found to decay on a 200 fs timescale.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Contemporary Management of Locally Advanced and Recurrent Rectal Cancer: Views from the PelvEx Collaborative

Pelvic exenteration is a complex operation performed for locally advanced and recurrent pelvic cancers. The goal of surgery is to achieve clear margins, therefore identifying adjacent or involved organs, bone, muscle, nerves and/or vascular structures that may need resection. While these extensive resections are potentially curative, they can be associated with substantial morbidity. Recently, there has been a move to centralize care to specialized units, as this facilitates better multi-disciplinary care input. Advancements in pelvic oncology and surgical innovation have redefined the boundaries of pelvic exenterative surgery. Combined with improved neoadjuvant therapies, advances in diagnostics, and better reconstructive techniques have provided quicker recovery and better quality of life outcomes, with improved survival This article provides highlights of the current management of advanced pelvic cancers in terms of surgical strategy and potential future developments

Marine Biodiversity in the Caribbean: Regional Estimates and Distribution Patterns

This paper provides an analysis of the distribution patterns of marine biodiversity and summarizes the major activities of the Census of Marine Life program in the Caribbean region. The coastal Caribbean region is a large marine ecosystem (LME) characterized by coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrasses, but including other environments, such as sandy beaches and rocky shores. These tropical ecosystems incorporate a high diversity of associated flora and fauna, and the nations that border the Caribbean collectively encompass a major global marine biodiversity hot spot. We analyze the state of knowledge of marine biodiversity based on the geographic distribution of georeferenced species records and regional taxonomic lists. A total of 12,046 marine species are reported in this paper for the Caribbean region. These include representatives from 31 animal phyla, two plant phyla, one group of Chromista, and three groups of Protoctista. Sampling effort has been greatest in shallow, nearshore waters, where there is relatively good coverage of species records; offshore and deep environments have been less studied. Additionally, we found that the currently accepted classification of marine ecoregions of the Caribbean did not apply for the benthic distributions of five relatively well known taxonomic groups. Coastal species richness tends to concentrate along the Antillean arc (Cuba to the southernmost Antilles) and the northern coast of South America (Venezuela – Colombia), while no pattern can be observed in the deep sea with the available data. Several factors make it impossible to determine the extent to which these distribution patterns accurately reflect the true situation for marine biodiversity in general: (1) highly localized concentrations of collecting effort and a lack of collecting in many areas and ecosystems, (2) high variability among collecting methods, (3) limited taxonomic expertise for many groups, and (4) differing levels of activity in the study of different taxa

Induction chemotherapy followed by chemoradiotherapy versus chemoradiotherapy alone as neoadjuvant treatment for locally recurrent rectal cancer: study protocol of a multicentre, open-label, parallel-arms, randomized controlled study (PelvEx II)

Background A resection with clear margins (R0 resection) is the most important prognostic factor in patients with locally recurrent rectal cancer (LRRC). However, this is achieved in only 60 per cent of patients. The aim of this study is to investigate whether the addition of induction chemotherapy to neoadjuvant chemo(re)irradiation improves the R0 resection rate in LRRC. Methods This multicentre, international, open-label, phase III, parallel-arms study will enrol 364 patients with resectable LRRC after previous partial or total mesorectal resection without synchronous distant metastases or recent chemo- and/or radiotherapy treatment. Patients will be randomized to receive either induction chemotherapy (three 3-week cycles of CAPOX (capecitabine, oxaliplatin), four 2-week cycles of FOLFOX (5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin) or FOLFORI (5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, irinotecan)) followed by neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and surgery (experimental arm) or neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and surgery alone (control arm). Tumours will be restaged using MRI and, in the experimental arm, a further cycle of CAPOX or two cycles of FOLFOX/FOLFIRI will be administered before chemoradiotherapy in case of stable or responsive disease. The radiotherapy dose will be 25 × 2.0 Gy or 28 × 1.8 Gy in radiotherapy-naive patients, and 15 × 2.0 Gy in previously irradiated patients. The concomitant chemotherapy agent will be capecitabine administered twice daily at a dose of 825 mg/m2 on radiotherapy days. The primary endpoint of the study is the R0 resection rate. Secondary endpoints are long-term oncological outcomes, radiological and pathological response, toxicity, postoperative complications, costs, and quality of life. Discussion This trial protocol describes the PelvEx II study. PelvEx II, designed as a multicentre, open-label, phase III, parallel-arms study, is the first randomized study to compare induction chemotherapy followed by neoadjuvant chemo(re)irradiation and surgery with neoadjuvant chemo(re)irradiation and surgery alone in patients with locally recurrent rectal cancer, with the aim of improving the number of R0 resections

Reception of Colombian Weather Images with a Double Cross Antenna

El objetivo del artículo es presentar el diseño, simulación y construcción de una antena de dipolos cruzados para recibir imágenes APT procedentes de satélites NOAA15 en un ambiente semiurbano. Para lograr mejor desempeño de la antena se manejó la altura sobre el plano de tierra, la longitud y diámetro de los elementos, el ángulo de inclinación de estos respecto del eje de coordenadas de la antena y el acople con un puerto de conexión tipo SMA de 50Ω. La antena construida permitió recibir imágenes APT en tiempo real, con una resolución máxima de 120dpi, ganancia de 4.8dBi y desviación de frecuencia de ±17KHz. La portadora modulada arribó a una frecuencia de 137MHz y fue procesada mediante dispositivos y herramientas: RTL-SDR, SDR Sharp, audio piping y el software WXtoimg para la decodificación de imágenes. Se concluye que en entornos semiurbanos la antena de dipolos cruzados recibe bien imágenes APT. Sin embargo, es susceptible al efecto doppler y al ruido por la presencia de nulos de bajo orden.The aim of the article is to present the design, simulation and construction of a double cross antenna to receive APT images from NOAA15 satellites (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) in a semi-urban environment. To achieve better performance of the antenna, its height above ground, the length and diameter of the elements, their angle of inclination with respect to the axis of the antenna coordinates and the coupling with a 50Ω SMA type connection port were adjusted. The built antenna allowed to receive APT images in real time, with a maximum resolution of 120dpi, gain of 4.8dBi and frequency deviation of ±17 KHz. The modulated carrier arrived at a frequency of 137 MHz and was processed by devices and tools: RTL-SDR, Sharp SDR, audio piping and WXtoimg software for decoding images. It is concluded that in semi-urban environments the double cross antenna receives well APT images. However, it is susceptible to the Doppler Effect and noise due to the presence of low order nulls.1 Escuela Colombiana de Ingeniería Julio Garavito, Programa de Ingeniería Electrónica, grupo de investigación: Ecitrónica. Ak. 45 No. 205-59 (Autopista Norte), Bogotá, Colombia (e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Correction of Three Prominent Mutations in Mouse and Human Models of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy by Single-Cut Genome Editing

Olson and colleagues generated new mouse and human iPSC models of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), harboring common exon deletions found in DMD patients. A CRISPR-Cas9 single-cut genome editing approach enabled exon skipping and exon reframing to efficiently restore dystrophin expression in the DMD models