Searches for Gravitational Waves from Binary Neutron Stars: A Review

A new generation of observatories is looking for gravitational waves. These waves, emitted by highly relativistic systems, will open a new window for ob- servation of the cosmos when they are detected. Among the most promising sources of gravitational waves for these observatories are compact binaries in the final min- utes before coalescence. In this article, we review in brief interferometric searches for gravitational waves emitted by neutron star binaries, including the theory, instru- mentation and methods. No detections have been made to date. However, the best direct observational limits on coalescence rates have been set, and instrumentation and analysis methods continue to be refined toward the ultimate goal of defining the new field of gravitational wave astronomy.Comment: 30 pages, 5 Figures, to appear in "Short-Period Binary Stars: Observations, Analyses, and Results", Ed.s Eugene F. Milone, Denis A. Leahy, David W. Hobil

Electrospun nanosized cellulose fibers using ionic liquids at room temperature

Aiming at replacing the noxious solvents commonly employed, ionic-liquid-based solvents have been recently explored as novel non-volatile and non-flammable media for the electrospinning of polymers. In this work, nanosized and biodegradable cellulose fibers were obtained by electrospinning at room temperature using a pure ionic liquid or a binary mixture of two selected ionic liquids. The electrospinning of 8 wt% cellulose in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate medium (a low viscosity and room temperature ionic liquid capable of efficiently dissolving cellulose) showed to produce electrospun fibers with average diameters within (470 ± 110) nm. With the goal of tailoring the surface tension of the spinning dope, a surface active ionic liquid was further added in a 0.10 : 0.90 mole fraction ratio. Electrospun cellulose fibers from the binary mixture composed of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate and 1-decyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ionic liquids presented average diameters within (120 ± 55) nm. Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric assays were used as core methods to evaluate the structural integrity, morphology and crystallinity of the raw, electrospun, and regenerated samples of cellulose. Moreover, the photoluminescence spectra of both raw and electrospun fibers were acquired, and compared, indicating that the cellulose emitting centers are not affected by the dissolution of cellulose in ionic liquids. Finally, the use of non-volatile solvents in electrospinning coupled to a water coagulation bath allows the recovery of the ionic fluid, and represents a step forward into the search of environmentally friendly alternatives to the conventional approaches

Effectiveness of pharmacist home visits for individuals at risk of medication-related problems: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

This is the final version. Available on open access from BMC via the DOI in this recordAvailability of data and materials: Not applicable, as this research article reviewed the published literature. The data published may be found in the original manuscripts cited in the references list.Background: Medication mismanagement is a major cause of both hospital admission and nursing home placement of frail older adults. Medication reviews by community pharmacists aim to maximise therapeutic benefit but also minimise harm. Pharmacist-led medication reviews have been the focus of several systematic reviews, but none have focussed on the home setting. Review methods: To determine the effectiveness of pharmacist home visits for individuals at risk of medication-related problems we undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Thirteen databases were searched from inception to December 2018. Forward and backward citation of included studies was also performed. Articles were screened for inclusion independently by two reviewers. Randomised controlled studies of home visits by pharmacists for individuals at risk of medication-related problems were eligible for inclusion. Data extraction and quality appraisal were performed by one reviewer and checked by a second. Random-effects meta-analyses were performed where sufficient data allowed and narrative synthesis summarised all remaining data. Results: Twelve RCTs (reported in 15 articles), involving 3410 participants, were included in the review. The frequency, content and purpose of the home visit varied considerably. The data from eight trials were suitable for meta-analysis of the effects on hospital admissions and mortality, and from three trials for the effects on quality of life. Overall there was no evidence of reduction in hospital admissions (risk ratio (RR) of 1.01 (95%CI 0.86 to 1.20, I2 = 69.0%, p = 0.89; 8 studies, 2314 participants)), or mortality (RR of 1.01 (95%CI 0.81 to 1.26, I2 = 0%, p = 0.94; 8 studies, 2314 participants)). There was no consistent evidence of an effect on quality of life, medication adherence or knowledge. Conclusion: A systematic review of twelve RCTs assessing the impact of pharmacist home visits for individuals at risk of medication related problems found no evidence of effect on hospital admission or mortality rates, and limited evidence of effect on quality of life. Future studies should focus on using more robust methods to assess relevant outcomes.National Institute for Health Research (NIHR

Long-term disease interactions amongst surgical patients: a population cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The average age of the surgical population continues to increase, as does prevalence of long-term diseases. However, outcomes amongst multi-morbid surgical patients are not well described. METHODS: We included adults undergoing non-obstetric surgical procedures in the English National Health Service between January 2010 and December 2015. Patients could be included multiple times in sequential 90-day procedure spells. Multi-morbidity was defined as presence of two or more long-term diseases identified using a modified Charlson comorbidity index. The primary outcome was 90-day postoperative death. Secondary outcomes included emergency hospital readmission within 90 days. We calculated age- and sex-adjusted odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) using logistic regression. We compared the outcomes associated with different disease combinations. RESULTS: We identified 20 193 659 procedure spells among 13 062 715 individuals aged 57 (standard deviation 19) yr. Multi-morbidity was present among 2 577 049 (12.8%) spells with 195 965 deaths (7.6%), compared with 17 616 610 (88.2%) spells without multi-morbidity with 163 529 deaths (0.9%). Multi-morbidity was present in 1 902 859/16 946 808 (11.2%) elective spells, with 57 663 deaths (2.7%, OR 4.9 [95% CI: 4.9-4.9]), and 674 190/3 246 851 (20.7%) non-elective spells, with 138 302 deaths (20.5%, OR 3.0 [95% CI: 3.0-3.1]). Emergency readmission followed 547 399 (22.0%) spells with multi-morbidity compared with 1 255 526 (7.2%) without. Multi-morbid patients accounted for 57 663/114 783 (50.2%) deaths after elective spells, and 138 302/244 711 (56.5%) after non-elective spells. The rate of death varied five-fold from lowest to highest risk disease pairs. CONCLUSION: One in eight patients undergoing surgery have multi-morbidity, accounting for more than half of all postoperative deaths. Disease interactions amongst multi-morbid patients is an important determinant of patient outcome

SpikingLab: modelling agents controlled by Spiking Neural Networks in Netlogo

The scientific interest attracted by Spiking Neural Networks (SNN) has lead to the development of tools for the simulation and study of neuronal dynamics ranging from phenomenological models to the more sophisticated and biologically accurate Hodgkin-and-Huxley-based and multi-compartmental models. However, despite the multiple features offered by neural modelling tools, their integration with environments for the simulation of robots and agents can be challenging and time consuming. The implementation of artificial neural circuits to control robots generally involves the following tasks: (1) understanding the simulation tools, (2) creating the neural circuit in the neural simulator, (3) linking the simulated neural circuit with the environment of the agent and (4) programming the appropriate interface in the robot or agent to use the neural controller. The accomplishment of the above-mentioned tasks can be challenging, especially for undergraduate students or novice researchers. This paper presents an alternative tool which facilitates the simulation of simple SNN circuits using the multi-agent simulation and the programming environment Netlogo (educational software that simplifies the study and experimentation of complex systems). The engine proposed and implemented in Netlogo for the simulation of a functional model of SNN is a simplification of integrate and fire (I&F) models. The characteristics of the engine (including neuronal dynamics, STDP learning and synaptic delay) are demonstrated through the implementation of an agent representing an artificial insect controlled by a simple neural circuit. The setup of the experiment and its outcomes are described in this work

A Note on Thermodynamics of Black Holes in Lovelock Gravity

The Lovelock gravity consists of the dimensionally extended Euler densities. The geometry and horizon structure of black hole solutions could be quite complicated in this gravity, however, we find that some thermodynamic quantities of the black holes like the mass, Hawking temperature and entropy, have simple forms expressed in terms of horizon radius. The case with black hole horizon being a Ricci flat hypersurface is particularly simple. In that case the black holes are always thermodynamically stable with a positive heat capacity and their entropy still obeys the area formula, which is no longer valid for black holes with positive or negative constant curvature horizon hypersurface. In addition, for black holes in the gravity theory of Ricci scalar plus a $2n$-dimensional Euler density with a positive coefficient, thermodynamically stable small black holes always exist in $D=2n+1$ dimensions, which are absent in the case without the Euler density term, while the thermodynamic properties of the black hole solutions with the Euler density term are qualitatively similar to those of black holes without the Euler density term as $D>2n+1$.Comment: Latex, 10 pages, v2: typos corrected, references added, to appear in PL

The complete mitochondrial genome of the foodborne parasitic pathogen Cyclospora cayetanensis

Cyclospora cayetanensis is a human-specific coccidian parasite responsible for several food and water-related outbreaks around the world, including the most recent ones involving over 900 persons in 2013 and 2014 outbreaks in the USA. Multicopy organellar DNA such as mitochondrion genomes have been particularly informative for detection and genetic traceback analysis in other parasites. We sequenced the C. cayetanensis genomic DNA obtained from stool samples from patients infected with Cyclospora in Nepal using the Illumina MiSeq platform. By bioinformatically filtering out the metagenomic reads of non-coccidian origin sequences and concentrating the reads by targeted alignment, we were able to obtain contigs containing Eimeria-like mitochondrial, apicoplastic and some chromosomal genomic fragments. A mitochondrial genomic sequence was assembled and confirmed by cloning and sequencing targeted PCR products amplified from Cyclospora DNA using primers based on our draft assembly sequence. The results show that the C. cayetanensis mitochondrion genome is 6274 bp in length, with 33% GC content, and likely exists in concatemeric arrays as in Eimeria mitochondrial genomes. Phylogenetic analysis of the C. cayetanensis mitochondrial genome places this organism in a tight cluster with Eimeria species. The mitochondrial genome of C. cayetanensis contains three protein coding genes, cytochrome (cytb), cytochrome C oxidase subunit 1 (cox1), and cytochrome C oxidase subunit 3 (cox3), in addition to 14 large subunit (LSU) and nine small subunit (SSU) fragmented rRNA genes

The cyclic GMP modulators YC-1 and zaprinast reduce vessel remodeling through anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects

Guanosine-specific cyclic nucleotide signaling is suggested to serve protective actions in the vasculature; however, the influence of selective pharmacologic modulation of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (GMP)-synthesizing soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) or cyclic GMP-degrading phosphodiesterase (PDE) on vessel remodeling has not been thoroughly examined. In this study, rat carotid artery balloon injury was performed and the growth-modulating effects of the sGC stimulator YC-1 or the cGMP-dependent PDE-V inhibitor zaprinast were examined. YC-1 or zaprinast elevated vessel cyclic GMP content, reduced medial wall and neointimal cell proliferation, stimulated medial and neointimal cellular apoptosis, and markedly attenuated neointimal remodeling in comparable fashion. Interestingly, sGC inhibition by ODQ failed to noticeably alter neointimal growth, and concomitant zaprinast with YC-1 did not modify any parameter compared to individual treatments. These results provide novel in vivo evidence that YC-1 and zaprinast inhibit injury-induced vascular remodeling through anti-mitogenic and pro-apoptotic actions and may offer promising therapeutic approaches against vasoproliferative disorders. Originally published J Cardiovasc Pharmacol Ther, Vol. 14, No. 2, June 200

Extremal Black Holes and Holographic C-Theorem

We found Bogomol'nyi type of the first order differential equations in three dimensional Einstein gravity and the effective second order ones in new massive gravity when an interacting scalar field is minimally coupled. Using these equations in Einstein gravity, we obtain analytic solutions corresponding to extremally rotating hairy black holes. We also obtain perturbatively extremal black hole solutions in new massive gravity using these lower order differential equations. All these solutions have the anti de-Sitter spaces as their asymptotic geometries and as the near horizon ones. This feature of solutions interpolating two anti de-Sitter spaces leads to the construction of holographic c-theorem in these cases. Since our lower order equations reduce naturally to the well-known equations for domain walls, our results can be regarded as the natural extension of domain walls to more generic cases.Comment: 1+31 pages, no figure, v2: some improvements, accepted for publication in Nucl. Phys.