Quantum Enhanced Magnetometer with Low-Frequency Squeezing

We report the demonstration of a magnetometer with noise-floor reduction below the shot-noise level. This magnetometer, based on a nonlinear magneto-optical rotation effect, is enhanced by the injection of a squeezed vacuum state into its input. The noise spectrum shows squeezed noise reduction of about 2 dB spanning from close to 100 Hz to several megahertz. We also report on the observation of two different regimes of operation of such a magnetometer: one in which the detection noise is limited by the quantum noise of the light probe only, and one in which we see additional noise originating from laser noise which is rotated into the vacuum polarization

RELATIONSHIP OF THROWING ARM MECHANICS AND INTERVAL THORWING DISTANCE IN HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL PLAYERS

Ninety-five high school baseball players (16 ± 1 years; 75 ± 13 kg; and 178 ± 20 cm) threw from flat-ground at distances of 9 m, 18 m, 27 m, 37 m, and 46 m while wearing a motusBASEBALLTM sensor (Motus Global, Massapequa, NY USA). Linear mixed-effects models and likelihood ratio tests were utilized to estimate the within-subject relationship between throwing distance and arm slot, arm speed, shoulder rotation, and elbow varus torque. Increases in throwing distance were accompanied by significant increases in varus torque (��2 = 3509, p\u3c0.01), arm speed (��2 = 5144, p\u3c0.01), and shoulder external rotation (��2 = 3277, p\u3c0.01) and significant decreases in arm slot (��2 = 952, p\u3c0.01). The use of longer distances for training and conditioning are shown to be beneficial in increasing shoulder rotation and arm speed; however, precaution needs to be taken when reaching maximum distances as there is a subsequent increase in elbow varus torque

Hybridization in natural sympatric populations of Dermacentor ticks in northwestern North America.

Hybridization in ticks has been described in a handful of species and mostly as a result of laboratory experiments. We used 148 AFLP loci to describe putative hybridization events between D. andersoni and D. variabilis in sympatric populations from northwestern North America. Recently, D. variabilis has expanded its range westward into the natural range of D. andersoni. Using a sample of 235 D. andersoni and 62 D. variabilis, we identified 31 individuals as putative hybrids: four F2 individuals and 27 backcrosses to D. andersoni (as defined by NewHybrids). We found no evidence of hybrids backcrossing into D. variabilis. Furthermore, all hybrids presented 16S mtDNA signatures characteristic of D. andersoni, which indicates the directionality of the hybrid crosses: female D. andersoni × male D. variabilis. We also discovered 13 species-specific AFLP fragments for D. andersoni. These loci were found to have a decreased occurrence in the putative hybrids and were absent altogether in D. variabilis samples. AFLP profiles were also used to determine the levels of genetic population structure and gene flow among nine populations of D. andersoni and three of D. variabilis. Genetic structure exists in both species (D. andersoni, ΦST = 0.110; D. variabilis, ΦST = 0.304) as well as significant estimates of isolation by distance (D. andersoni, ρ = 0.066, P = 0.001; D. variabilis, ρ = 0.729, P = 0.001)

Influence of anthropogenic sulfate and black carbon on upper tropospheric clouds in the NCAR CAM3 model coupled to the IMPACT global aerosol model

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/95099/1/jgrd14985.pd

Cathelicidin-like Helminth Defence Molecules (HDMs) Absence of Cytotoxic, Anti-microbial and Anti-protozoan Activities Imply a Specific Adaptation to Immune Modulation

Host defence peptides (HDPs) are expressed throughout the animal and plant kingdoms. They have multifunctional roles in the defence against infectious agents of mammals, possessing both bactericidal and immune-modulatory activities. We have identified a novel family of molecules secreted by helminth parasites (helminth defence molecules; HDMs) that exhibit similar structural and biochemical characteristics to the HDPs. Here, we have analyzed the functional activities of four HDMs derived from Schistosoma mansoni and Fasciola hepatica and compared them to human, mouse, bovine and sheep HDPs. Unlike the mammalian HDPs the helminth-derived HDMs show no antimicrobial activity and are non-cytotoxic to mammalian cells (macrophages and red blood cells). However, both the mammalian- and helminth-derived peptides suppress the activation of macrophages by microbial stimuli and alter the response of B cells to cytokine stimulation. Therefore, we hypothesise that HDMs represent a novel family of HDPs that evolved to regulate the immune responses of their mammalian hosts by retaining potent immune modulatory properties without causing deleterious cytotoxic effects. © 2013 Thivierge et al

VeriStrat (R) has prognostic value in advanced stage NSCLC patients treated with erlotinib and sorafenib

BACKGROUND: The serum proteomic test VeriStrat has been shown to be able to classify advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients for overall survival (OS) after treatment with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). In this study, VeriStrat was evaluated as a pre-treatment stratification tool in patients with advanced stage NSCLC for treatment with the combination of erlotinib and sorafenib, considering both OS and progression-free survival (PFS) as end points. METHODS: Serum samples from 50 patients treated within the context of a phase II trial of first-line erlotinib and sorafenib were analysed with VeriStrat, a fully locked mass spectrometry-based test that identifies patients likely to have good or poor outcome on EGFR therapy based on eight distinct features in mass spectra. Analysis was performed fully blinded to all clinical data, and then the outcome data were analysed with respect to the obtained serum classifications. RESULTS: VeriStrat classified pre-treatment samples into two groups, VeriStrat Good and VeriStrat Poor, which were significantly different in OS (hazard ratio (HR) 0.30, log-rank P = 0.009) and in PFS (HR 0.40, log-rank P = 0.035). CONCLUSION: VeriStrat has shown its potential for stratification of unselected, advanced stage NSCLC patients treated in first line with a combination of erlotinib and sorafenib. British Journal of Cancer (2012) 107, 1820-1825. doi:10.1038/bjc.2012.470 www.bjcancer.com Published online 18 October 2012 (C) 2012 Cancer Research U