The discrimination of geoforensic trace material from close proximity locations by organic profiling using HPLC and plant wax marker analysis by GC

There is a need to develop a wider empirical research base to expand the scope for utilising the organic fraction of soil in forensic geoscience, and to demonstrate the capability of the analytical techniques used in forensic geoscience to discriminate samples at close proximity locations. The determination of wax markers from soil samples by GC analysis has been used extensively in court and is known to be effective in discriminating samples from different land use types. A new HPLC method for the analysis of the organic fraction of forensic sediment samples has also been shown recently to add value in conjunction with existing inorganic techniques for the discrimination of samples derived from close proximity locations. This study compares the ability of these two organic techniques to discriminate samples derived from close proximity locations and finds the GC technique to provide good discrimination at this scale, providing quantification of known compounds, whilst the HPLC technique offered a shorter and simpler sample preparation method and provided very good discrimination between groups of samples of different provenance in most cases. The use of both data sets together gave further improved accuracy rates in some cases, suggesting that a combined organic approach can provide added benefits in certain case scenarios and crime reconstruction contexts

b-Initiated processes at the LHC: a reappraisal

Several key processes at the LHC in the standard model and beyond that involve $b$ quarks, such as single-top, Higgs, and weak vector boson associated production, can be described in QCD either in a 4-flavor or 5-flavor scheme. In the former, $b$ quarks appear only in the final state and are typically considered massive. In 5-flavor schemes, calculations include $b$ quarks in the initial state, are simpler and allow the resummation of possibly large initial state logarithms of the type $\log \frac{{\cal Q}^2}{m_b^2}$ into the $b$ parton distribution function (PDF), ${\cal Q}$ being the typical scale of the hard process. In this work we critically reconsider the rationale for using 5-flavor improved schemes at the LHC. Our motivation stems from the observation that the effects of initial state logs are rarely very large in hadron collisions: 4-flavor computations are pertubatively well behaved and a substantial agreement between predictions in the two schemes is found. We identify two distinct reasons that explain this behaviour, i.e., the resummation of the initial state logarithms into the $b$-PDF is relevant only at large Bjorken $x$ and the possibly large ratios ${\cal Q}^2/m_b^2$'s are always accompanied by universal phase space suppression factors. Our study paves the way to using both schemes for the same process so to exploit their complementary advantages for different observables, such as employing a 5-flavor scheme to accurately predict the total cross section at NNLO and the corresponding 4-flavor computation at NLO for fully exclusive studies.Comment: Fixed typo in Eq. (A.10) and few typos in Eq. (C.2) and (C.3

t \bar{t} W production and decay at NLO

We present results for the production of a top pair in association with a W-boson at next-to-leading order. We have implemented this process into the parton-level integrator MCFM including the decays of both the top quarks and the W-bosons with full spin correlations. Although the cross section for this process is small, it is a Standard Model source of same-sign lepton events that must be accounted for in many new physics searches. For a particular analysis of same-sign lepton events in which b-quarks are also present, we investigate the effect of the NLO corrections as a function of the signal region cuts.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure

Colliding stellar winds structure and X-ray emission

We investigate the structure and X-ray emission from the colliding stellar winds in massive star binaries. We find that the opening angle of the contact discontinuity (CD) is overestimated by several formulae in the literature at very small values of the wind momentum ratio, η. We find also that the shocks in the primary (dominant) and secondary winds flare by ≈20° compared to the CD, and that the entire secondary wind is shocked when η ≲ 0.02. Analytical expressions for the opening angles of the shocks, and the fraction of each wind that is shocked, are provided. We find that the X-ray luminosity Lₓ ∝ η, and that the spectrum softens slightly as η decreases

Locally processed roasted-maize-based weaning foods fortified with legumes: factors affecting their availability and competitiveness in accra, ghana

Tom Brown (roasted-maize porridge) is one of the traditional weaning foods in Ghana. As an effort by the Ministry of Health to enhance the nutrient content of this lownutrient- density weaning food, a product called weanimix, which is Tom Brown fortified with legumes (cowpeas or soybeans and groundnuts), was introduced more than two decades ago. Cowpeas are an indigenous African legume, popularly used by Ghanaians for various traditional dishes. While soybeans are not traditionally used, they can easily be incorporated into local diets. Commercial weanimix-type products in ready-to-cook flour form are currently available mainly at supermarkets, which target higher-income consumers. This paper examined: (1) the competitiveness between cowpeas and soybeans as an ingredient in weanimix; and (2) constraints to making weanimix more widely available to lower-income families. Local food processors, weaning mothers, commercial custom millers, and retailers were interviewed for both qualitative and quantitative data. Secondary price data were collected from different sources including the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. Descriptive analysis was carried out to address non-price factors of the issues, andenterprise budgeting and sensitivity analyses were conducted to address price factors. The study found that the higher price of cowpeas, compared to soybeans, is a minor factor in local processors’ choice between cowpeas and soybeans. Rather, the current overwhelmingly popular use of soybeans in the weanimix-type products among the respondents was attributed to non-price factors such as the perception that soybeans are more nutritious. A main reason for the lack of availability of weanimix for mothers from lower-income families appeared to be low awareness of the product among consumers. The results of sensitivity analysis showed that typical differences in prices currently observed between weanimix-type products and Tom Brown seems to be larger than the difference in the cost of production between these products. It was also shown that the level of processing and retail margins greatly affect the retail prices of weanimix. Weanimix could be made more available to lower-income consumers if local companies expanded their outlet for the product from supermarkets to small shops or if grain and flour-type product vendors in the local markets (who currently prepare and sell Tom Brown) produced and sold weanimix. However, actions would need to be taken to help assure consumers of the quality of the product sold through market vendors.Key words: weaning food, cowpeas, soybeans, Ghan

Jet-veto in bottom-quark induced Higgs production at next-to-next-to-leading order

We present results for associated Higgs+n-jet production in bottom quark annihilation, for n=0 and n>=1 at NNLO and NLO accuracy, respectively. We consider both the cases with and without b-tagging. Numerical results are presented for parameters relevant for experiments at the LHC.Comment: 27 pages, 13 figures, 8 table

The Test Your Memory for Mild Cognitive Impairment (TYM-MCI)

BACKGROUND: To validate a short cognitive test: the Test Your Memory for Mild Cognitive Impairment (TYM-MCI) in the diagnosis of patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment or mild Alzheimer’s disease (aMCI/AD). METHODS: Two hundred and two patients with mild memory problems were recruited. All had ‘passed’ the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Patients completed the TYM-MCI, the Test Your Memory test (TYM), MMSE and revised Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination (ACE-R), had a neurological examination, clinical diagnostics and multidisciplinary team review. RESULTS: As a single test, the TYM-MCI performed as well as the ACE-R in the distinction of patients with aMCI/AD from patients with subjective memory impairment with a sensitivity of 0.79 and specificity of 0.91. Used in combination with the ACE-R, it provided additional value and identified almost all cases of aMCI/AD. The TYM-MCI correctly classified most patients who had equivocal ACE-R scores. Integrated discriminant improvement analysis showed that the TYM-MCI added value to the conventional memory assessment. Patients initially diagnosed as unknown or with subjective memory impairment who were later rediagnosed with aMCI/AD scored poorly on their original TYM-MCI. CONCLUSION: The TYM-MCI is a powerful short cognitive test that examines verbal and visual recall and is a valuable addition to the assessment of patients with aMCI/AD. It is simple and cheap to administer and requires minimal staff time and training.JBR was supported by the Wellcome Trust (103838)

GaN micro-light-emitting diode arrays with monolithically integrated sapphire microlenses

A microdisk light emitting diode (micro-LED) with a monolithically integrated microlens array was demonstrated. The capability of the lenses in concentrating light emitted from microdisk LEDs was also demonstrated. The focal lengths of the microlenses were determined to be around 44 νm. The emission pattern of the LED emitters was found to be altered by the optical properties of the microlenses. The light emitted by the hybrid device was also found to be less divergent than a broad-area device.published_or_final_versio

The role of SQSTM1 (p62) in mitochondrial function and clearance in human cortical neurons.

Sequestosome-1 (SQSTM1/p62) is involved in cellular processes such as autophagy and metabolic reprogramming. Mutations resulting in the loss of function of SQSTM1 lead to neurodegenerative diseases including frontotemporal dementia. The pathogenic mechanism that contributes to SQSTM1-related neurodegeneration has been linked to its role as an autophagy adaptor, but this is poorly understood, and its precise role in mitochondrial function and clearance remains to be clarified. Here, we assessed the importance of SQSTM1 in human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cortical neurons through the knockout of SQSTM1. We show that SQSTM1 depletion causes altered mitochondrial gene expression and functionality, as well as autophagy flux, in iPSC-derived neurons. However, SQSTM1 is not essential for mitophagy despite having a significant impact on early PINK1-dependent mitophagy processes including PINK1 recruitment and phosphorylation of ubiquitin on depolarized mitochondria. These findings suggest that SQSTM1 is important for mitochondrial function rather than clearance

Subanesthetic ketamine treatment promotes abnormal interactions between neural subsystems and alters the properties of functional brain networks

Acute treatment with subanesthetic ketamine, a non-competitive N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptor antagonist, is widely utilized as a translational model for schizophrenia. However, how acute NMDA receptor blockade impacts on brain functioning at a systems level, to elicit translationally relevant symptomatology and behavioral deficits, has not yet been determined. Here, for the first time, we apply established and recently validated topological measures from network science to brain imaging data gained from ketamine-treated mice to elucidate how acute NMDA receptor blockade impacts on the properties of functional brain networks. We show that the effects of acute ketamine treatment on the global properties of these networks are divergent from those widely reported in schizophrenia. Where acute NMDA receptor blockade promotes hyperconnectivity in functional brain networks, pronounced dysconnectivity is found in schizophrenia. We also show that acute ketamine treatment increases the connectivity and importance of prefrontal and thalamic brain regions in brain networks, a finding also divergent to alterations seen in schizophrenia. In addition, we characterize how ketamine impacts on bipartite functional interactions between neural subsystems. A key feature includes the enhancement of prefrontal cortex (PFC)-neuromodulatory subsystem connectivity in ketamine-treated animals, a finding consistent with the known effects of ketamine on PFC neurotransmitter levels. Overall, our data suggest that, at a systems level, acute ketamine-induced alterations in brain network connectivity do not parallel those seen in chronic schizophrenia. Hence, the mechanisms through which acute ketamine treatment induces translationally relevant symptomatology may differ from those in chronic schizophrenia. Future effort should therefore be dedicated to resolve the conflicting observations between this putative translational model and schizophrenia