Classification of Higher Dimensional Spacetimes

We algebraically classify some higher dimensional spacetimes, including a number of vacuum solutions of the Einstein field equations which can represent higher dimensional black holes. We discuss some consequences of this work.Comment: 16 pages, 1 Tabl

ENCENTRUM ESSEXIS SP. N. (MONOGONONTA: DICRANOPHORIDAE), A NEW ROTIFER INHABITING STREAM BENTHOS FROM EAST ENGLAND

A new species of Rotifera belonging to the genus Encentrum (Monogononta, Dicranophoridae) is described from benthos of the Blackwater River, East Anglia, Essex, England, UK. Encentrum essexis sp. n. is characterised by the in dorsal view more or less conical toes having three elongate drop-shaped, light-refracting bodies leading to the tip of the toe. Trophi of Isoencentrum-type; outline of rami hexagonal; intramallei extended towards trophi axis into long spiniform process; inner margin of basal rami chambers with short tooth

γ-H2AX foci as in vivo effect biomarker in children emphasize the importance to minimize x-ray doses in paediatric CT imaging

Objectives: Investigation of DNA damage induced by CT x-rays in paediatric patients versus patient dose in a multicentre setting. Methods: From 51 paediatric patients (median age, 3.8 years) who underwent an abdomen or chest CT examination in one of the five participating radiology departments, blood samples were taken before and shortly after the examination. DNA damage was estimated by scoring gamma-H2AX foci in peripheral blood T lymphocytes. Patient-specific organ and tissue doses were calculated with a validated Monte Carlo program. Individual lifetime attributable risks (LAR) for cancer incidence and mortality were estimated according to the BEIR VII risk models. Results: Despite the low CT doses, a median increase of 0.13 gamma-H2AX foci/cell was observed. Plotting the induced gamma-H2AX foci versus blood dose indicated a low-dose hypersensitivity, supported also by an in vitro dose-response study. Differences in dose levels between radiology centres were reflected in differences in DNA damage. LAR of cancer mortality for the paediatric chest CT and abdomen CT cohort was 0.08 and 0.13% respectively. Conclusion: CT x-rays induce DNA damage in paediatric patients even at low doses and the level of DNA damage is reduced by application of more effective CT dose reduction techniques and paediatric protocols

Inference of the genetic network regulating lateral root initiation in Arabidopsis thaliana

Regulation of gene expression is crucial for organism growth, and it is one of the challenges in Systems Biology to reconstruct the underlying regulatory biological networks from transcriptomic data. The formation of lateral roots in Arabidopsis thaliana is stimulated by a cascade of regulators of which only the interactions of its initial elements have been identified. Using simulated gene expression data with known network topology, we compare the performance of inference algorithms, based on different approaches, for which ready-to-use software is available. We show that their performance improves with the network size and the inclusion of mutants. We then analyse two sets of genes, whose activity is likely to be relevant to lateral root initiation in Arabidopsis, by integrating sequence analysis with the intersection of the results of the best performing methods on time series and mutants to infer their regulatory network. The methods applied capture known interactions between genes that are candidate regulators at early stages of development. The network inferred from genes significantly expressed during lateral root formation exhibits distinct scale-free, small world and hierarchical properties and the nodes with a high out-degree may warrant further investigation

Organic layers on silicon result in a unique hybrid fet

A Field-Effect Transistor (FET) is presented that combines the conventional lay-out of the silicon substrate (channel and source and drain connections) with a Si-C linked organic gate insulator contacted via an organic, conducting polymer. It is shown that this hybrid device combines the excellent electrical behavior of the silicon substrate and the ease of use and good properties of organic insulators and contacting materials.\ud Keywords: organic monolayer, FET, conducting polyme

On a New Species of Euglyphid Testate Amoeba, Scutiglypha cabrolae, from the Licancabur Caldera Lake, Central Andes

A new testate amoeba Scutiglypha cabrolae sp. n. is described from a small lake located in the caldera of Licancabur volcano, central Andes, at 5916 m above sea level. Its morphology was investigated using light and scanning electron microscopy. The main characteristics of the new species are: thick-set ovate test, length/width ratio 1.4; relatively small size, mean length × width: 69 × 48 μm; 3–4 rows of apertural plates, apertural plates of first row lozenge-shaped, oral margin with median tooth and (5)–6 lateral toothlets; body-plates scutiform, broad, with weakly crenulated oral and aboral margin