Determination of the UV cut-off from the observed value of the Universe acceleration

It is shown that using of the equation of motion of the Universe scale factor allows calculation of the contribution of the vacuum fluctuations to the acceleration of the Universe expansion. Renormalization of the equation is needed only in the case of massive particles. Under a known number of the different kinds of fundamental fields, this provides determination of momentum of the ultraviolet cut-off from the observed value of acceleration.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figur

A Survey of UK Public Interest in Internet-Based Personal Genome Testing

Background:In view of the increasing availability of commercial internet-based Personal Genome Testing (PGT), this study aimed to explore the reasons why people would consider taking such a test and how they would use the genetic risk information provided. Methodology/Principal Findings: A self-completion questionnaire assessing public awareness and interest in PGT and motivational reasons for undergoing PGT was completed by 4,050 unselected adult volunteers from the UK-based TwinsUK register, aged 17 to 91 (response rate 62%). Only 13% of respondents were aware of the existence of PGT. After reading a brief summary about PGT, one in twenty participants (5%) were potentially interested at current prices (£250), however this proportion rose to half (50%) if the test was free of charge. Nearly all respondents who were interested in free PGT reported they would take the test to encourage them to adopt a healthier lifestyle if found to be at high genetic risk of a disease (93%). Around 4 in 5 respondents would have the test to convey genetic risk information to their children and a similar proportion felt that having a PGT would enable their doctor to monitor their health more closely. A TwinsUK research focus group also indicated that consumers would consult their GP to help interpret results of PGT. Conclusions/Significance: This hypothetical study suggests that increasing publicity and decreasing costs of PGT may lead to increased uptake, driven in part by the general public's desire to monitor and improve their health. Although the future extent of the clinical utility of PGT is currently unknown, it is crucial that consumers are well informed about the current limitations of PGT. Our results suggest that health professionals will inevitably be required to respond to individuals who have undergone PGT. This has implications for health service providers regarding both cost and time

Laser in the axial electric field as a tool to search for P-, T- invariance violation

We consider rotation of polarization plane of the laser light when a gas laser is placed in a longitudinal electric field (10~kV/cm). It is shown that residual anisotropy of the laser cavity 10^{-6} and the sensitivity to the angle of polarization plane rotation about 10^{-11} -10^{-12} rad allows one to measure an electron EDM with the sensitivity about 10^{-30} e cm.Comment: 12 page

Testing of CP, CPT and causality violation with the light propagation in vacuum in presence of the uniform electric and magnetic fields

We have considered the structure of the fundamental symmetry violating part of the photon refractive index in vacuum in the presence of constant electric and magnetic fields. This part of the refractive index can, in principle, contain CPT symmetry breaking terms. Some of the terms violate Lorentz invariance, whereas the others violate locality and causality. Estimates of these effects, using laser experiments are considered.Comment: 12 page

Renormalization group and isochronous oscillations

We show how the condition of isochronicity can be studied for two dimensional systems in the renormalization group (RG) context. We find a necessary condition for the isochronicity of the Cherkas and another class of cubic systems. Our conditions are satisfied by all the cases studied recently by Bardet et al \cite{bard} and Ghose Choudhury and Guh

Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Organisational Propensity to Innovate in a Public Sector Context

The importance of innovation, in both private and public entrepreneurial fields, is the basis of all companies’ strategic choices. This study examines entrepreneurship and innovation, as well as their dynamic interface in value creation, in the public sector. It explores entrepreneurial determinants for public sector innovation, as collected from managers and employees involved in the water supply and sewage industries in Ukraine. The data, related to a sample of firms, were obtained from a twofold self-administered survey. Adopting an ordered logistic regression model to analyse the data obtained from a survey, it is discovered that the entrepreneurial determinants of self-awareness, knowledge-enabling and entrepreneurial orientation positively correlate with fostering innovation process. The findings reveal that entrepreneurial leadership and intrapreneurial self-efficacy are mediating determinants. Finally, the results demonstrate that intrapreneurial self-efficacy has more potential than entrepreneurial leadership to stimulate innovation at the individual level, which has both theoretical and practical implications

Measurement of intracellular concentration of fluorescently-labeled targets in living cells

Estimations of intracellular concentrations of fluorescently-labeled molecules within living cells are very important for guidance of biological experiments and interpretation of their results. Here we propose a simple and universal approach for such estimations. The approach is based upon common knowledge that the dye fluorescence is directly proportional to its quantum yield and the number of its molecules and that a coefficient of proportionality is determined by spectral properties of the dye and optical equipment used to record fluorescent signals. If two fluorescent dyes are present in the same volume, then a ratio of their concentrations is equal to a ratio of their fluorescence multiplied by some dye- and equipment-dependent coefficient. Thus, if the coefficient and concentration of one dye is known then the concentration of another dye can be determined. Here we have demonstrated how to calculate this coefficient (called a ratio factor) and how to use it for concentration measurements of fluorescently tagged molecules. As an example of how this approach can be used, we estimated a concentration of exogenously expressed neuronal Ca2+ sensor protein, hippocalcin, tagged by a fluorescent protein in a dendritic tree of rat hippocampal neurons loaded via a patch pipette with Alexa Fluor dye of known concentration. The new approach should allow performing a fast, inexpensive and reliable quantitative analysis of fluorescently-labeled targets in different parts of living cells

Is socioeconomic status associated with biological aging as measured by telomere length?

It has been hypothesized that one way in which lower socioeconomic status (SES) affects health is by increasing the rate of biological aging. A widely used marker of biological aging is telomere length. Telomeres are structures at the ends of chromosomes that erode with increasing cell proliferation and genetic damage. We aimed to identify, through systematic review and meta-analysis, whether lower SES (greater deprivation) is associated with shorter telomeres. Thirty-one articles, including 29 study populations, were identified. We conducted 3 meta-analyses to compare the telomere lengths of persons of high and low SES with regard to contemporaneous SES (12 study populations from 10 individual articles), education (15 study populations from 14 articles), and childhood SES (2 study populations from 2 articles). For education, there was a significant difference in telomere length between persons of high and low SES in a random-effects model (standardized mean difference (SMD) = 0.060, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.002, 0.118; P = 0.042), although a range of sensitivity analyses weakened this association. There was no evidence for an association between telomere length and contemporaneous SES (SMD = 0.104, 95% CI: −0.027, 0.236; P = 0.119) or childhood SES (SMD = −0.037, 95% CI: −0.143, 0.069; P = 0.491). These results suggest weak evidence for an association between SES (as measured by education) and biological aging (as measured by telomere length), although there was a lack of consistent findings across the SES measures investigated here

Is telomere length socially patterned? Evidence from the West of Scotland Twenty-07 study

Lower socioeconomic status (SES) is strongly associated with an increased risk of morbidity and premature mortality, but it is not known if the same is true for telomere length, a marker often used to assess biological ageing. The West of Scotland Twenty-07 Study was used to investigate this and consists of three cohorts aged approximately 35 (N = 775), 55 (N = 866) and 75 years (N = 544) at the time of telomere length measurement. Four sets of measurements of SES were investigated: those collected contemporaneously with telomere length assessment, educational markers, SES in childhood and SES over the preceding twenty years. We found mixed evidence for an association between SES and telomere length. In 35-year-olds, many of the education and childhood SES measures were associated with telomere length, i.e. those in poorer circumstances had shorter telomeres, as was intergenerational social mobility, but not accumulated disadvantage. A crude estimate showed that, at the same chronological age, social renters, for example, were nine years (biologically) older than home owners. No consistent associations were apparent in those aged 55 or 75. There is evidence of an association between SES and telomere length, but only in younger adults and most strongly using education and childhood SES measures. These results may reflect that childhood is a sensitive period for telomere attrition. The cohort differences are possibly the result of survival bias suppressing the SES-telomere association; cohort effects with regard different experiences of SES; or telomere possibly being a less effective marker of biological ageing at older ages

Genome-wide linkage scan for athlete status in 700 British female DZ twin pairs

Association studies, comparing elite athletes with sedentary controls, have reported a number of genes that may be related to athlete status. The present study reports the first genome wide linkage scan for athlete status. Subjects were 4488 adult female twins from the TwinsUK Adult Twin Registry (793 monozygotic [MZ] and 1000 dizygotic [DZ] complete twin pairs, and single twins). Athlete status was measured by asking the twins whether they had ever competed in sports and what was the highest level obtained. Twins who had competed at the county or national level were considered elite athletes. Using structural equation modeling in Mx, the heritability of athlete status was estimated at 66%. Seven hundred DZ twin pairs that were successfully genotyped for 1946 markers (736 microsatellites and 1210 SNPs) were included in the linkage analysis. Identical-by-descent probabilities were estimated in Merlin for a 1 cM grid, taking into account the linkage disequilibrium of correlated SNPs. The linkage scan was carried out in Mx using the π-approach. Suggestive linkages were found on chromosomes 3q22-q24 and 4q31-q34. Both areas converge with findings from previous studies using exercise phenotypes. The peak on 3q22-q24 was found at the SLC9A9 gene. The region 4q31-q34 overlaps with the region for which suggestive linkages were found in two previous linkage studies for physical fitness (FABP2 gene; Bouchard et al., 2000) and physical activity (UCP1 gene; Simonen et al., 2003). Future association studies should further clarify the possible role of these genes in athlete status