Photoconductivity of biased graphene

Graphene is a promising candidate for optoelectronic applications such as photodetectors, terahertz imagers, and plasmonic devices. The origin of photoresponse in graphene junctions has been studied extensively and is attributed to either thermoelectric or photovoltaic effects. In addition, hot carrier transport and carrier multiplication are thought to play an important role. Here we report the intrinsic photoresponse in biased but otherwise homogeneous graphene. In this classic photoconductivity experiment, the thermoelectric effects are insignificant. Instead, the photovoltaic and a photo-induced bolometric effect dominate the photoresponse due to hot photocarrier generation and subsequent lattice heating through electron-phonon cooling channels respectively. The measured photocurrent displays polarity reversal as it alternates between these two mechanisms in a backgate voltage sweep. Our analysis yields elevated electron and phonon temperatures, with the former an order higher than the latter, confirming that hot electrons drive the photovoltaic response of homogeneous graphene near the Dirac point

The relationship between facial skeletal class and expert-rated interpersonal skill: an epidemiological survey on young Italian adults

BACKGROUND: The facial region plays a major role in determining physical attractiveness, so we assessed the hypothesis that the capability of successfully managing interpersonal relationships in young adults might be related to the facial skeletal class. METHODS: 1,014 young subjects applying to the Military Academy of Pozzuoli, Italy, were enrolled and the cephalometric evaluation was performed by calculating the angular relationships between skeletal points localized by the lateral cephalogram of the face, sorting the subjects in three groups corresponding to each major facial skeletal class. Concurrently, the subjects were evaluated by a team of psychiatrists administering the MMPI-2 test followed by a brief colloquium with each candidate, in order to identify those subjects characterized by low skills for managing interpersonal relationships. RESULTS: According to the psychiatric evaluation about 20% of the subjects were considered potentially unable to manage successfully interpersonal relationships (NS). Males displayed an about two-fold increased risk of being NS. No differences were shown in the distribution of the NS male subjects among the three different facial skeletal classes. On the other hand, NS females displayed a different distribution among the three facial skeletal classes, with a trend of about two-fold and four-fold, respectively, for those subjects belonging to classes II and III, respect to those belonging to class I. CONCLUSION: Females may be more sensitive to physical factors determining beauty, such as the facial morphology certainly is. This finding appears to be interesting especially when thinking about possible orthodontic interventions, although further study is certainly needed to confirm these results

A common missense variant in BRCA2 predisposes to early onset breast cancer

INTRODUCTION: Mutations in the BRCA2 gene are one of the two major causes of hereditary breast cancer. Protein-truncating mutations of BRCA2 are usually deleterious and increase the risk of breast cancer up to 80% over a lifetime. A few missense mutations in BRCA2 are believed to have a similarly high penetrance, apart from more common neutral polymorphisms. It is often difficult to classify a particular sequence variant as a mutation or a polymorphism. For a deleterious variant, one would expect a greater allele frequency in breast cancer cases than in ethnic-matched controls. In contrast, neutral polymorphic variants should be equally frequent in the two groups. METHODS: We genotyped 3,241 cases of breast cancer diagnosed at under 51 years of age, unselected for family history, from 18 hospitals throughout Poland and 2,791 ethnic-matched controls for a single BRCA2 C5972T variant. RESULTS: The variant was present in approximately 6% of the Polish population. In the study, 13 women (11 cases and two controls (OR = 4.7; p = 0.02)) were homozygous for the variant allele. The overall odds ratio for breast cancer in women with a single copy of the BRCA2 C5972T variant was 1.1 (p = 0.7); however, the effect was significant for patients diagnosed at or before age 40 (OR = 1.4; p = 0.04). We reviewed the association between the BRCA2 variant in different histologic subgroups and found the effect most pronounced in women who had ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) with micro-invasion (OR = 2.8; p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: The BRCA2 C5972T allele is a common variant in Poland that increases the risk of DCIS with micro-invasion. The homozygous state is rare but increases the risk of breast cancer five-fold

Financial crises and the attainment of the SDGs: an adjusted multidimensional poverty approach

This paper analyses the impact of financial crises on the Sustainable Development Goal of eradicating poverty. To do so, we develop an adjusted Multidimensional Poverty Framework (MPF) that includes 15 indicators that span across key poverty aspects related to income, basic needs, health, education and the environment. We then use an econometric model that allows us to examine the impact of financial crises on these indicators in 150 countries over the period 1980–2015. Our analysis produces new estimates on the impact of financial crises on poverty’s multiple social, economic and environmental aspects and equally important captures dynamic linkages between these aspects. Thus, we offer a better understanding of the potential impact of current debt dynamics on Multidimensional Poverty and demonstrate the need to move beyond the boundaries of SDG1, if we are to meet the target of eradicating poverty. Our results indicate that the current financial distress experienced by many low-income countries may reverse the progress that has been made hitherto in reducing poverty. We find that financial crises are associated with an approximately 10% increase of extreme poor in low-income countries. The impact is even stronger in some other poverty aspects. For instance, crises are associated with an average decrease of government spending in education by 17.72% in low-income countries. The dynamic linkages between most of the Multidimensional Poverty indicators, warn of a negative domino effect on a number of SDGs related to poverty, if there is a financial crisis shock. To pre-empt such a domino effect, the specific SDG target 17.4 on attaining long-term debt sustainability through coordinated policies plays a key role and requires urgent attention by the international community

A novel malaria vaccine candidate antigen expressed in Tetrahymena thermophila

Development of effective malaria vaccines is hampered by the problem of producing correctly folded Plasmodium proteins for use as vaccine components. We have investigated the use of a novel ciliate expression system, Tetrahymena thermophila, as a P. falciparum vaccine antigen platform. A synthetic vaccine antigen composed of N-terminal and C-terminal regions of merozoite surface protein-1 (MSP-1) was expressed in Tetrahymena thermophila. The recombinant antigen was secreted into the culture medium and purified by monoclonal antibody (mAb) affinity chromatography. The vaccine was immunogenic in MF1 mice, eliciting high antibody titers against both N- and C-terminal components. Sera from immunized animals reacted strongly with P. falciparum parasites from three antigenically different strains by immunofluorescence assays, confirming that the antibodies produced are able to recognize parasite antigens in their native form. Epitope mapping of serum reactivity with a peptide library derived from all three MSP-1 Block 2 serotypes confirmed that the MSP-1 Block 2 hybrid component of the vaccine had effectively targeted all three serotypes of this polymorphic region of MSP-1. This study has successfully demonstrated the use of Tetrahymena thermophila as a recombinant protein expression platform for the production of malaria vaccine antigens

Selection Bias in a Study of Implantable Defibrillator Patients: The Role of Type D Personality

# The Author(s) 2010. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com Background Selection bias constitutes a major issue in research using volunteers as study participants. Purpose We examined whether research in partners may affect participation rates of implantable cardioverterdefibrillator (ICD) patients with a Type D personality (joint presence of negative affectivity and social inhibition). Method Patients who underwent ICD implantation between May 2003 and November 2007, and who had a partner, were included (n=440). In September 2005, a substudy on partners of ICD patients was added (n=276 patients). Results The proportion Type D patients after the start of the partner substudy was significantly lower as compared to the proportion before this substudy (17.5 % versus 28.8%; p= 0.006). Patients who participated following the start of the partner substudy were less likely to have a Type D personality (OR=0.44; p=0.002), adjusting for possible confounders. In the partner substudy, nonparticipation was more prevalent among partners of Type D patients as compared to partners of non-Type D patients (20.4 % versus 10.1%; p=0.044). Partner nonparticipation was marginally significantly associated with Type D personality of the patient (OR=2.13; p=0.083), adjusting for confounders. Conclusions The addition of a partner substudy may be related to a decreased proportion of participants with a Type D personality. Nonparticipation was more prevalent among partners of Type D patients. These observations may influence results of studies, as Type Ds tend to be less healthy

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) For Health Anxiety (Hypochondriasis): Rationale, Implementation and Case Illustration.

Recent research has shown that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) could be a useful alternative approach to the treatment of health anxiety and deserves further investigation. In this paper, we outline the rationale for using MBCT in the treatment of this condition, namely its hypothesised impact on the underlying mechanisms which maintain health anxiety, such as rumination and avoidance, hypervigilance to body sensations and misinterpretation of such sensations. We also describe some of the adaptations which were made to the MBCT protocol for recurrent depression in this trial and discuss the rationale for these adaptations. We use a case example from the trial to illustrate how MBCT was implemented and outline the experience of one of the participants who took part in an 8-week MBCT course. Finally, we detail some of the more general experiences of participants and discuss the advantages and possible limitations of this approach for this population, as well as considering what might be useful avenues to explore in future research

Pothead or pot smoker? a taxometric investigation of cannabis dependence

BACKGROUND: Taxometric methods were used to discern the latent structure of cannabis dependence. Such methods help determine if a construct is categorical or dimensional. Taxometric analyses (MAXEIG and MAMBAC) were conducted on data from 1,474 cannabis-using respondents to the 2001–2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). Respondents answered questions assessing DSM-IV criteria for cannabis dependence. RESULTS: Both taxometric methods provided support for a dimensional structure of cannabis dependence. CONCLUSION: Although the MAMBAC results were not entirely unequivocal, the majority of evidence favored a dimensional structure of cannabis dependence

Histone deacetylases as new therapy targets for platinum-resistant epithelial ovarian cancer

Introduction: In developed countries, ovarian cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women. Due to the nonspecific symptomatology associated with the disease many patients with ovarian cancer are diagnosed late, which leads to significantly poorer prognosis. Apart from surgery and radiotherapy, a substantial number of ovarian cancer patients will undergo chemotherapy and platinum based agents are the mainstream first-line therapy for this disease. Despite the initial efficacy of these therapies, many women relapse; therefore, strategies for second-line therapies are required. Regulation of DNA transcription is crucial for tumour progression, metastasis and chemoresistance which offers potential for novel drug targets. Methods: We have reviewed the existing literature on the role of histone deacetylases, nuclear enzymes regulating gene transcription. Results and conclusion: Analysis of available data suggests that a signifant proportion of drug resistance stems from abberant gene expression, therefore HDAC inhibitors are amongst the most promising therapeutic targets for cancer treatment. Together with genetic testing, they may have a potential to serve as base for patient-adapted therapies