Global analysis of muon decay measurements

We have performed a global analysis of muon decay measurements to establish model-independent limits on the space-time structure of the muon decay matrix element. We find limits on the scalar, vector and tensor coupling of right- and left-handed muons to right- and left-handed electrons. The limits on those terms that involve the decay of right-handed muons to left-handed electrons are more restrictive than in previous global analyses, while the limits on the other non-standard model interactions are comparable. The value of the Michel parameter eta found in the global analysis is -0.0036 \pm 0.0069, slightly more precise than the value found in a more restrictive analysis of a recent measurement. This has implications for the Fermi coupling constant G_F.Comment: 5 pages, 3 table

Single-shot optical conductivity measurement of dense aluminum plasmas

The optical conductivity of a dense femtosecond laser-heated aluminum plasma heated to 0.1-1.5 eV was measured using frequency-domain interferometry with chirped pulses, permitting simultaneous observation of optical probe reflectivity and probe pulse phase shift. Coupled with published models of bound-electron contributions to the conductivity, these two independent experimental data yielded a direct measurement of both real and imaginary components of the plasma conductivity.DOE National Nuclear Security Administration DE-FC52-03NA00156Physic

The prevalence of medical reasons for non-participation in the Scottish breast and bowel cancer screening programmes

Objective: Increasing uptake of cancer screening is a priority for health systems internationally, however, some patients may not attend because they are undergoing active treatment for the cancer of interest or have other medical reasons that mean participation would be inappropriate. This study aims to quantify the proportion of non-participants who have a medical reason for not attending cancer screening.<p></p> Methods: Medical reasons for not participating in breast and bowel screening were defined a priori on the basis of a literature review and expert opinion. The notes of 700 patients at two GP practices in Scotland were reviewed, to ascertain the prevalence of medical reasons amongst non-participants. Simple proportions and confidence intervals were calculated.<p></p> Results: 17.4% of breast and 2.3% of bowel screening non-participants had a medical reason to not participate. The two most common reasons were previous breast cancer follow up (8.86%) and recent mammogram (6.57%).<p></p> Conclusion: These patients may not benefit from screening while also being distressed by receiving an invitation. This issue also makes accurate monitoring and target-setting for improving uptake difficult. Further work is needed to estimate robustly the extent to which medical reasons account for screening non-participation in a larger population.<p></p&gt

MYCN Silencing by RNA Interference Induces Neurogenesis and Suppresses Proliferation in Models of Neuroblastoma with Resistance to Retinoic Acid

Neuroblastoma (NB) is the most common solid tumor in childhood. Twenty percent of patients display MYCN amplification, which indicates a very poor prognosis. MYCN is a highly specific target for an NB tumor therapy as MYCN expression is absent or very low in most normal cells, while, as a transcription factor, it regulates many essential cell activities in tumor cells. We aim to develop a therapy for NB based on MYCN silencing by short interfering RNA (siRNA) molecules, which can silence target genes by RNA interference (RNAi), a naturally occurring method of gene silencing. It has been shown previously that MYCN silencing can induce apoptosis and differentiation in MYCN amplified NB. In this article, we have demonstrated that siRNA-mediated silencing of MYCN in MYCN-amplified NB cells induced neurogenesis in NB cells, whereas retinoic acid (RA) treatment did not. RA can differentiate NB cells and is used for treatment of residual disease after surgery or chemotherapy, but resistance can develop. In addition, MYCN siRNA treatment suppressed growth in a MYCN-amplified NB cell line more than that by RA. Our result suggests that gene therapy using RNAi targeting MYCN can be a novel therapy toward MYCN-amplified NB that have complete or partial resistance toward RA

Differentiating c8-t1 radiculopathy from ulnar neuropathy: A survey of 24 spine surgeons

Study Design Questionnaire. Objective To evaluate the ability of spine surgeons to distinguish C8–T1 radiculopathies from ulnar neuropathy. Methods Twenty-four self-rated “experienced” cervical spine surgeons completed a questionnaire with the following items. (1) If the ulnar nerve is cut at the elbow, which of the following would be numb: ulnar forearm, small and ring fingers; only the ulnar forearm; only the small and ring fingers; or none of the above? (2) Which of the following muscles are weak with C8–T1 radiculopathies but intact with ulnar neuropathy at the elbow: flexor digiti minimi brevis, flexor pollicis brevis, abductor digiti minimi, abductor pollicis brevis, adductor pollicis, opponens digiti minimi, opponens pollicis, medial lumbricals, lateral lumbricals, dorsal interossei, palmar interossei? Results Fifteen of 24 surgeons (63%) correctly answered the first question—that severing the ulnar nerve results in numbness of the fifth and fourth fingers. None correctly identified all four nonulnar, C8–T1-innervated options in the second question without naming additional muscles. Conclusion The ulnar nerve provides sensation to the fourth and fifth fingers and medial border of the hand. The medial antebrachial cutaneous nerve provides sensation to the medial forearm. The ulnar nerve innervates all intrinsic hand muscles, except the abductor and flexor pollicis brevis, opponens pollicis, and lateral two lumbricals, which are innervated by C8 and T1 via the median nerve. By examining these five muscles, one can clinically differentiate cubital tunnel syndrome from C8–T1 radiculopathies. Although all participants considered themselves to be experienced cervical spine surgeons, this study reveals inadequate knowledge regarding the clinical manifestations of C8–T1 radiculopathies and cubital tunnel syndrome

Properties of Subsurface Soil Cores from Four Geologic Provinces Surrounding Mars Desert Research Station, Utah: Characterizing Analog Martian Soil in a Human Exploration Scenario

The DOMEX program is a NASA-MMAMA funded project featuring simulations of human crews on Mars focused on science activities that involve collecting samples from the subsurface using both manual and robotic equipment methods and analyzing them in the field and post mission. A crew simulating a human mission to Mars performed activities focused on subsurface science for 2 weeks in November 2009 at Mars Desert Research Station near Hanksville, Utah --an important chemical and morphological Mars analog site. Activities performed included 1) survey of the area to identify geologic provinces, 2) obtaining soil and rock samples from each province and characterizing their mineralogy, chemistry, and biology; 3) site selection and reconnaissance for a future drilling mission; 4) deployment and testing of Mars Underground Mole, a percussive robotic soil sampling device; and 5) recording and analyzing how crew time was used to accomplish these tasks. This paper summarizes results from analysis of soil core

Magnetic relaxation in the Bianchi-I universe

Extended Einstein-Maxwell model and its application to the problem of evolution of magnetized Bianchi-I Universe are considered. The evolution of medium magnetization is governed by a relaxation type extended constitutive equation. The series of exact solutions to the extended master equations is obtained and discussed. The anisotropic expansion of the Bianchi-I Universe is shown to become non-monotonic (accelerated/decelerated) in both principal directions (along the magnetic field and orthogonal to it). A specific type of expansion, the so-called evolution with hidden magnetic field, is shown to appear when the magnetization effectively screens the magnetic field and the latter disappears from the equations for gravitational field.Comment: 32 page

Liposomal delivery of hydrophobic RAMBAs provides good bioavailability and significant enhancement of retinoic acid signalling in neuroblastoma tumour cells

Retinoid treatment is employed during residual disease treatment in neuroblastoma, where the aim is to induce neural differentiation or death in tumour cells. However, although therapeutically effective, retinoids have only modest benefits and suffer from poor pharmacokinetic properties. In vivo, retinoids induce CYP26 enzyme production in the liver, enhancing their own rapid metabolic clearance, while retinoid resistance in tumour cells themselves is considered to be due in part to increased CYP26 production. Retinoic acid metabolism blocking agents (RAMBAs), which inhibit CYP26 enzymes, can improve retinoic acid pharmacokinetics in pre-clinical neuroblastoma models. Here we demonstrate that in cultured neuroblastoma tumour cells, RAMBAs enhance retinoic acid action as seen by morphological differentiation, AKT signalling and suppression of MYCN protein. Although active as retinoid enhancers, these RAMBAs are highly hydrophobic and their effective delivery in humans will be very challenging. Here we demonstrate that such RAMBAs can be loaded efficiently into cationic liposomal particles, where the RAMBAs achieve good bioavailability and activity in cultured tumour cells. This demonstrates the efficacy of RAMBAs in enhancing retinoid signaling in neuroblastoma cells and shows for the first time that liposomal delivery of hydrophobic RAMBAs is a viable approach, providing novel opportunities for their delivery and application in humans