Consistent histories and relativistic invariance in the modal interpretation of quantum mechanics

Modal interpretations of quantum mechanics assign definite properties to physical systems and specify single-time joint probabilities of these properties. We show that a natural extension, applying to properties at several times, can be given if a decoherence condition is satisfied. This extension defines "consistent histories" of modal properties. We suggest a new form of the modal scheme, that offers prospects of a more general applicability of the histories concept. Finally, we discuss a possible way of applying these ideas to relativistic quantum field theory.Comment: 13 pages, no figure

Indicators of delay between recommendation for community outpatient treatment and release into a conditional release program

The mentally ill who have been found not guilty of a crime by reason of insanity (NGRI), appear to be at risk in several areas when confronted with the judicial system. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the factors which predict recidivism of NGRI patients in Community Out-patient Treatment (COT) also inhibit a patient\u27s release into a conditional release program (CONREP)

Severe impact of the 1918-19 pandemic influenza in a national military force

The impact of pandemic influenza on the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) in 1918-19 has never been studied using modern epidemiological methods. Therefore we analysed mortality and descriptive data from various sources for these military personnel. An estimated 930 NZEF personnel deaths from pandemic influenza occurred in 1918-19, making it the main cause of disease deaths, and representing 5.1% of all NZEF deaths from World War One (WW1). The epidemic curve was much more drawn out in the Northern Hemisphere compared with the Southern Hemisphere. Mortality rates varied markedly by setting (e.g. in military camps, by country and by hemisphere). Significantly higher mortality rates were found amongst NZEF personnel: aged 30-34 years, those of Māori ethnicity, those with a rural background, and those who left New Zealand for Europe in 1918. In conclusion, this work documents the heavy mortality burden from pandemic influenza amongst this national military force and highlights the large variations in mortality rates through host and environmental factors

The Unruh-deWitt Detector and the Vacuum in the General Boundary formalism

We discuss how to formulate a condition for choosing the vacuum state of a quantum scalar field on a timelike hyperplane in the general boundary formulation (GBF) using the coupling to an Unruh-DeWitt detector. We explicitly study the response of an Unruh-DeWitt detector for evanescent modes which occur naturally in quantum field theory in the presence of the equivalent of a dielectric boundary. We find that the physically correct vacuum state has to depend on the physical situation outside of the boundaries of the spacetime region considered. Thus it cannot be determined by general principles pertaining only to a subset of spacetime.Comment: Version as published in CQ

The Versatile Molecular Complex Component LC8 Promotes Several Distinct Steps of Flagellar Assembly

LC8 is present in various molecular complexes. However, its role in these complexes remains unclear. We discovered that although LC8 is a subunit of the radial spoke (RS) complex in Chlamydomonas flagella, it was undetectable in the RS precursor that is converted into the mature RS at the tip of elongating axonemes. Interestingly, LC8 dimers bound in tandem to the N-terminal region of a spoke phosphoprotein, RS protein 3 (RSP3), that docks RSs to axonemes. LC8 enhanced the binding of RSP3 N-terminal fragments to purified axonemes. Likewise, the N-terminal fragments extracted from axonemes contained LC8 and putative spoke-docking proteins. Lastly, perturbations of RSP3’s LC8-binding sites resulted in asynchronous flagella with hypophosphorylated RSP3 and defective associations between LC8, RSs, and axonemes. We propose that at the tip of flagella, an array of LC8 dimers binds to RSP3 in RS precursors, triggering phosphorylation, stalk base formation, and axoneme targeting. These multiple effects shed new light on fundamental questions about LC8-containing complexes and axoneme assembly

Calcium Supplementation Increases Blood Creatinine Concentration in a Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Calcium supplements are widely used among older adults for osteoporosis prevention and treatment. However, their effect on creatinine levels and kidney function has not been well studied. Methods: We investigated the effect of calcium supplementation on blood creatinine concentration in a randomized controlled trial of colorectal adenoma chemoprevention conducted between 2004–2013 at 11 clinical centers in the United States. Healthy participants (N=1,675) aged 45–75 with a history of colorectal adenoma were assigned to daily supplementation with calcium (1200 mg, as carbonate), vitamin D3 (1000 IU), both, or placebo for three or five years. Changes in blood creatinine and total calcium concentration were measured after one year of treatment and multiple linear regression was used to estimate effects on creatinine concentrations. Results: After one year of treatment, blood creatinine was 0.01360.006 mg/dL higher on average among participants randomized to calcium compared to placebo after adjustment for other determinants of creatinine (P = 0.03). However, the effect of calcium treatment appeared to be larger among participants who consumed the most alcohol (2–6 drinks/day) or whose estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was less than 60 ml/min/1.73 m2 at baseline. The effect of calcium treatment on creatinine was only partially mediated by a concomitant increase in blood total calcium concentration and was independent of randomized vitamin D treatment. There did not appear to be further increases in creatinine after the first year of calcium treatment. Conclusions: Among healthy adults participating in a randomized clinical trial, daily supplementation with 1200 mg of elemental calcium caused a small increase in blood creatinine. If confirmed, this finding may have implications for clinical and public health recommendations for calcium supplementation

Financing of International Collective Action for Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness.

The global pandemic response has typically followed cycles of panic followed by neglect. We are now, once again, in a phase of neglect, leaving the world highly vulnerable to massive loss of life and economic shocks from natural or human-made epidemics and pandemics. Quantifying the size of the losses caused by large-scale outbreaks is challenging because the epidemiological and economic research in this field is still at an early stage. Research on the 1918 influenza H1N1 pandemic and recent epidemics and pandemics has shown a range of estimated losses (panel).1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6 ; 7 A limitation in assessing the economic costs of outbreaks is that they only capture the impact on income. Fan and colleagues8 recently addressed this limitation by estimating the “inclusive” cost of pandemics: the sum of the cost in lost income and a dollar valuation of the cost of early death. They found that for Ebola and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the true (“inclusive”) costs are two to three times the income loss. For extremely serious pandemics such as that of influenza in 1918, the inclusive costs are over five times income loss. The inclusive costs of the next severe influenza pandemic could be US$570 billion each year or 0·7$1 billion over 5 years, is developing vaccines against known emerging infectious diseases as well as platforms for rapid development of vaccines against outbreaks of unknown origin. The WHO R&D Blueprint for Action to Prevent Epidemics12 is a new mechanism for coordinating and prioritising the development of drugs and diagnostics for emerging infectious diseases. Consolidating and enhancing donor support for these new initiatives would be an efficient way to channel resources aimed at improving global outbreak preparedness and response. Crucial components of the global and regional system for outbreak control include surge capacity (eg, the ability to urgently deploy human resources); providing technical guidance to countries in the event of an outbreak; and establishing a coordinated, interlinked global, regional, and national surveillance system. These activities are the remit of several essential WHO financing envelopes that all face major funding shortfalls. The Contingency Fund for Emergencies finances surge outbreak response for up to 3 months. The fund has a capitalisation target of $100 million of flexible voluntary contributions, which needs to be replenished with about$25–50 million annually, depending on the extent of the outbreak in any given year. However, as of April 30, 2017, only $37·65 million had been contributed, with an additional$4 million in pledges.13 The WHO Health Emergencies and Health Systems Preparedness Programmes face an annual shortfall of $225 million in funding their epidemic and pandemic prevention and control activities.14 Previous health emergencies have shown that it can take time to organise global collective action and provide financing to the national and local level. In such situations, a global mechanism should offer a rapid injection of liquidity to affected countries. The World Bank\u27s Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility (PEF) is a proposed global insurance mechanism for pandemic emergencies.15 It aims to provide surge funding for response efforts to help respond to rare, high-burden disease outbreaks, preventing them from becoming more deadly and costly pandemics. The PEF currently proposes a coverage of$500 million for the insurance window; increasing the current coverage will require additional donor commitments. In addition, the PEF has a $50–100 million replenishable cash window. As the world\u27s health ministers meet this month for the World Health Assembly, we propose five key ways to help prevent mortality and economic shocks from disease outbreaks. First, to accelerate development of new technologies to control outbreaks, donors should expand their financing for CEPI and support the WHO R&D Blueprint for Action to Prevent Epidemics. Second, funding gaps in the WHO Contingency Fund for Emergencies and the WHO Health Emergencies Programme should be urgently filled and the PEF should be fully financed. Third, all nations should support their own and other countries\u27 national preparedness efforts, including committing to the JEE process. Fourth, we believe it would be valuable to create and maintain a regional and country-level pandemic risk and preparedness index. This index could potentially be used as a way to review preparedness in International Monetary Fund article IV consultations (regular country reports by staff to its Board). Finally, we call for a new global effort to develop long-term national, regional, and global investment plans to create a world secure from the threat of devastation from outbreaks. This article summarises the recommendations of a workshop held at the National Academy of Medicine, Washington, DC, USA, co-hosted by the Center for Policy Impact in Global Health at Duke University, Durham, NC, USA and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, Oslo, Norway. Participants\u27 travel and accommodation were supported by the Center for Policy Impact in Global Health. BO is a consultant to Metabiota, a private company engaged in infectious disease risk modelling and analytical services. In this capacity, he has led the development of an index measuring national capacity to respond to epidemic and pandemic disease outbreaks

A Deletion in the Canine POMC Gene Is Associated with Weight and Appetite in Obesity-Prone Labrador Retriever Dogs.

Sequencing of candidate genes for obesity in Labrador retriever dogs identified a 14 bp deletion in pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) with an allele frequency of 12%. The deletion disrupts the β-MSH and β-endorphin coding sequences and is associated with body weight (per allele effect of 0.33 SD), adiposity, and greater food motivation. Among other dog breeds, the deletion was only found in the closely related flat-coat retriever (FCR), where it is similarly associated with body weight and food motivation. The mutation is significantly more common in Labrador retrievers selected to become assistance dogs than pets. In conclusion, the deletion in POMC is a significant modifier of weight and appetite in Labrador retrievers and FCRs and may influence other behavioral traits.We are grateful to Rachel Moxon of Guide Dogs UK for collecting the assistance dog samples; Stephen J Sharp of the MRC Epidemiology Unit for his statistical advice; Jens Häggström, Karin Hultin Jäderlund and Berndt Klingeborn for the Swedish dog samples; Anne White for efforts to develop a canine beta MSH assay and adaptation of her original for figure 1b; and the Dogslife Consortium for samples from British Labrador retrievers (supported by an Institute Core Strategic Grant from the BBSRC to the Roslin Institute). A full list of the investigators who contributed to the Dogslife project is available from www.dogslife.ac.uk/who-runs-dogslife. AJG's academic post at the University of Liverpool is financially supported by Royal Canin. The work was primarily supported by the Wellcome Trust (Senior Investigator Award 095515/Z/11/Z and Strategic Award 100574/Z/12/Z), MRC (MRC Metabolic Diseases Unit, award 4050281695 and MRC_MC_UU_12012/5), and Dogs Trust. The authors would like to thank all the veterinary surgeons and nurses, owners and dogs who contributed samples.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Elsevier via https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2016.04.01

On the X-ray emission from massive star clusters and their evolving superbubbles II. Detailed analytics and observational effects

In this work, we present a comprehensive X-ray picture of the interaction between a super star cluster and the ISM. In order to do that, we compare and combine the X-ray emission from the superwind driven by the cluster with the emission from the wind-blown bubble. Detailed analytical models for the hydrodynamics and X-ray luminosity of fast polytropic superwinds are presented. The superwind X-ray luminosity models are an extension of the results obtained in Paper I of this series. Here, the superwind polytropic character allows to parameterize a wide variety of effects, for instance, radiative cooling. Additionally, X-ray properties that are valid for all bubble models taking thermal evaporation into account are derived. The final X-ray picture is obtained by calculating analytically the expected surface brightness and weighted temperature of each component. All of our X-ray models have an explicit dependence on metallicity and admit general emissivities as functions of the hydrodynamical variables. We consider a realistic X-ray emissivity that separates the contributions from hydrogen and metals. The paper ends with a comparison of the models with observational data.Comment: 30 pages, 15 figures. Accepted by MNRA

Colorectal Adenomas in a Randomized Folate Trial: The Role of Baseline Dietary and Circulating Folate Levels

The Aspirin/Folate Polyp Prevention Study is a randomized, placebo-controlled trial of aspirin use and folic acid supplementation and incidence of colorectal adenomas in individuals with a history of these lesions. The trial showed that folic acid supplementation does not prevent the occurrence of new adenomas and may increase risk. We extend these results by investigating whether the effect of folic acid treatment differed by baseline dietary and circulating folate levels. Diet and supplement use were ascertained at baseline through a food-frequency questionnaire; a blood sample was used to determine plasma and red blood cell (RBC) folate levels. Individuals were followed for 3 years (1st follow up) and subsequently for an additional 3-5 years (2nd follow up). We used generalized linear regression to estimate risk ratios and 95% confidence limits as measures of association. There was little evidence that baseline dietary and total folate intake, and plasma and RBC folate modified the association between folic acid treatment and risk of any adenomas or advanced lesions. However, there was a protective association of the highest tertile of dietary and total intake as well as circulating folate with risk of any adenomas among those in the placebo group, but no association among individuals in the folic acid group. Our findings support the idea that while moderate doses of folate may be protective compared to deficiency, at some point of sufficiency supplementation provides no additional benefit