High-Resolution Spectroscopy of FUors

High-resolution spectroscopy was obtained of the FUors FU Ori and V1057 Cyg between 1995 and 2002 with SOFIN at NOT and with HIRES at Keck I. During those years FU Ori remained about 1 mag. (in B) below its 1938-39 maximum brightness, but V1057 Cyg (B ~ 10.5 at peak in 1970-71) faded from about 13.5 to 14.9 and then recovered slightly. Their photospheric spectra resemble a rotating G0 Ib supergiant, with v_eq sin i = 70 km/s for FU Ori and 55 km/s for V1057 Cyg. As V1057 Cyg faded, P Cyg structure in Halpha and the IR CaII lines strengthened and a complex shortward-displaced shell spectrum increased in strength, disappeared in 1999, and reappeared in 2001. Night-to-night changes in the wind structure of FU Ori show evidence of sporadic infall. The strength of P Cyg absorption varied cyclically with a period of 14.8 days, with phase stability maintained over 3 seasons, and is believed to be the rotation period. The structure of the photospheric lines also varies cyclically, but with a period of 3.54 days. A similar variation may be present in V1057 Cyg. As V1057 Cyg has faded, the emission lines of a pre-existing low-excitation chromosphere have emerged, so we believe the `line doubling' in V1057 Cyg is produced by these central emission cores in the absorption lines, not by orbital motion in an inclined Keplerian disk. No dependence of v_eq sin i on wavelength or excitation potential was detected in either star, again contrary to expectation for a self-luminous accretion disk. Nor are critical lines in the near infrared accounted for by synthetic disk spectra. A rapidly rotating star near the edge of stability (Larson 1980), can better explain these observations. FUor eruptions may not be a property of ordinary TTS, but may be confined to a special subspecies of rapid rotators having powerful quasi-permanent winds.Comment: 41 pages (including 32 figures and 9 tables); ApJ, in press; author affiliation, figs. 3 and 9 correcte

Tractable Pathfinding for the Stochastic On-Time Arrival Problem

We present a new and more efficient technique for computing the route that maximizes the probability of on-time arrival in stochastic networks, also known as the path-based stochastic on-time arrival (SOTA) problem. Our primary contribution is a pathfinding algorithm that uses the solution to the policy-based SOTA problem---which is of pseudo-polynomial-time complexity in the time budget of the journey---as a search heuristic for the optimal path. In particular, we show that this heuristic can be exceptionally efficient in practice, effectively making it possible to solve the path-based SOTA problem as quickly as the policy-based SOTA problem. Our secondary contribution is the extension of policy-based preprocessing to path-based preprocessing for the SOTA problem. In the process, we also introduce Arc-Potentials, a more efficient generalization of Stochastic Arc-Flags that can be used for both policy- and path-based SOTA. After developing the pathfinding and preprocessing algorithms, we evaluate their performance on two different real-world networks. To the best of our knowledge, these techniques provide the most efficient computation strategy for the path-based SOTA problem for general probability distributions, both with and without preprocessing.Comment: Submission accepted by the International Symposium on Experimental Algorithms 2016 and published by Springer in the Lecture Notes in Computer Science series on June 1, 2016. Includes typographical corrections and modifications to pre-processing made after the initial submission to SODA'15 (July 7, 2014

Development and testing of a new instrument to measure self-care in patients with osteoporosis: the self-care of osteoporosis scale

Purpose: The aim of this study was to develop and test the Self-Care of Osteoporosis Scale (SCOS), a new instrument to measure self-care in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted. The SCOS was developed by a panel of experts and it was theory-driven. Confirmatory factor analysis (N = 544) was used to test the instrument’s factorial validity; Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega were used to derive the measure’s internal consistency reliability; an intraclass correlation coefficient was used to evaluate test-retest reliability. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis resulted in supportive fit indices for the hypothesized three-factor structure of the SCOS (RMSEA = 0.065; CFI = 0.99). The SCOS was demonstrated to have content validity, internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Conclusions: The SCOS demonstrated excellent psychometric characteristics in terms of validity and reliability. It may be used by healthcare providers to identify if patients show lower self-care and require educational interventions

Centrosome amplification mediates small extracellular vesicles secretion via lysosome disruption

PreprintSummary Bidirectional communication between cells and their surrounding environment is critical in both normal and pathological settings. Extracellular vesicles (EVs), which facilitate the horizontal transfer of molecules between cells, are recognized as an important constituent of cell-cell communication. In cancer, alterations in EV secretion contribute to the growth and metastasis of tumor cells. However, the mechanisms underlying these changes remain largely unknown. Here, we show that centrosome amplification is associated with and sufficient to promote small extracellular vesicle ( S EV) secretion in pancreatic cancer cells. This is a direct result due of lysosomal dysfunction, caused by increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) downstream of extra centrosomes. Defects in lysosome function promotes multivesicular body fusion with the plasma membrane, thereby enhancing S EV secretion. Furthermore, we find that S EVs secreted in response to amplified centrosomes are functionally distinct and activate pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs). These activated PSCs promote the invasion of pancreatic cancer cells in heterotypic 3-D cultures. We propose that S EVs secreted by cancer cells with amplified centrosomes influence the bidirectional communication between the tumor cells and the surrounding stroma to promote malignancy

Transitions between care settings after enrolment in a palliative care service in Italy: a retrospective analysis

This study was a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data that aimed to map patients' care transitions following admission to a specialist palliative care service in Italy called Antea Centre. Patients' data was extracted from the Antea local database from 2007 to 2011. External transitions were defined as a change in the setting of care, with the patient no longer being cared for by Antea staff. Internal transitions were defined as a change in the setting of care, with the care still being provided by Antea staff. A total of 1123 patients out of 5313 admitted to the palliative service (21%) experienced transitions. Patients who experienced no transitions after their admission to the palliative care service were more likely to have a Karnofsky Performance Scale Index <30, to have been referred by a hospital physician, to have a shorter survival time, and to have home as their place of death (P<0.001). Although the patients with no transitions had worse clinical conditions, organisations should pay attention to reducing the possible negative effects of transitions, such as discontinuity of care and poor coordination

Unsuspected Involvement of Spinal Cord in Alzheimer Disease

OBJECTIVE: Brain atrophy is an established biomarker for dementia, yet spinal cord involvement has not been investigated to date. As the spinal cord is relaying sensorimotor control signals from the cortex to the peripheral nervous system and vice-versa, it is indeed a very interesting question to assess whether it is affected by atrophy due to a disease that is known for its involvement of cognitive domains first and foremost, with motor symptoms being clinically assessed too. We, therefore, hypothesize that in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), severe atrophy can affect the spinal cord too and that spinal cord atrophy is indeed an important in vivo imaging biomarker contributing to understanding neurodegeneration associated with dementia. METHODS: 3DT1 images of 31 AD and 35 healthy control (HC) subjects were processed to calculate volume of brain structures and cross-sectional area (CSA) and volume (CSV) of the cervical cord [per vertebra as well as the C2-C3 pair (CSA23 and CSV23)]. Correlated features (ρ > 0.7) were removed, and the best subset identified for patients’ classification with the Random Forest algorithm. General linear model regression was used to find significant differences between groups (p ≤ 0.05). Linear regression was implemented to assess the explained variance of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score as a dependent variable with the best features as predictors. RESULTS: Spinal cord features were significantly reduced in AD, independently of brain volumes. Patients classification reached 76% accuracy when including CSA23 together with volumes of hippocampi, left amygdala, white and gray matter, with 74% sensitivity and 78% specificity. CSA23 alone explained 13% of MMSE variance. DISCUSSION: Our findings reveal that C2-C3 spinal cord atrophy contributes to discriminate AD from HC, together with more established features. The results show that CSA23, calculated from the same 3DT1 scan as all other brain volumes (including right and left hippocampi), has a considerable weight in classification tasks warranting further investigations. Together with recent studies revealing that AD atrophy is spread beyond the temporal lobes, our result adds the spinal cord to a number of unsuspected regions involved in the disease. Interestingly, spinal cord atrophy explains also cognitive scores, which could significantly impact how we model sensorimotor control in degenerative diseases with a primary cognitive domain involvement. Prospective studies should be purposely designed to understand the mechanisms of atrophy and the role of the spinal cord in AD

Numerical Computations with H(div)-Finite Elements for the Brinkman Problem

The H(div)-conforming approach for the Brinkman equation is studied numerically, verifying the theoretical a priori and a posteriori analysis in previous work of the authors. Furthermore, the results are extended to cover a non-constant permeability. A hybridization technique for the problem is presented, complete with a convergence analysis and numerical verification. Finally, the numerical convergence studies are complemented with numerical examples of applications to domain decomposition and adaptive mesh refinement.Comment: Minor clarifications, added references. Reordering of some figures. To appear in Computational Geosciences, final article available at http://www.springerlink.co

Creation of maximally entangled photon-number states using optical fiber multiports

We theoretically demonstrate a method for producing the maximally path-entangled state (1/Sqrt[2]) (|N,0> + exp[iN phi] |0,N>) using intensity-symmetric multiport beamsplitters, single photon inputs, and either photon-counting postselection or conditional measurement. The use of postselection enables successful implementation with non-unit efficiency detectors. We also demonstrate how to make the same state more conveniently by replacing one of the single photon inputs by a coherent state.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure. REVTeX4. Replaced with published versio

Characterization of the radiation tolerance of cryogenic diodes for the High Luminosity LHC inner triplet circuit

Cryogenic bypass diodes are part of the baseline powering layout for the circuits of the new Nb3Sn based final focus magnets of the high luminosity Large Hadron Collider. They will protect the magnets against excessive transient voltages during a nonuniform quenching process. The diodes are located inside an extension to the magnet cryostat, operated in superfluid helium and exposed to ionizing radiation. Therefore, the radiation tolerance of different types of diodes has been tested at cryogenic temperatures in CERN’s CHARM irradiation test facility during its 2018 run. The forward bias characteristics, the turn-on voltage and the reverse blocking voltage of each diode were measured weekly at 4.2 K and 77 K, as a function of the accumulated radiation dose. The diodes were submitted to a total dose close to 12 kGy and a 1 MeV neutron equivalent fluence of 2.2×1014  cm−2. After the end of the irradiation program the annealing behavior of the diodes was tested by increasing the temperature slowly to 293 K. This paper describes the experimental setup, the measurement procedure and the analysis of the measurements performed during the irradiation program as well as the results of the annealing study

Distinct Clinical Course of EGFR-Mutant Resected Lung Cancers: Results of Testing of 1118 Surgical Specimens and Effects of Adjuvant Gefitinib and Erlotinib

Background:EGFR and KRAS mutations are mutually exclusive and predict outcomes with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) treatment in patients with stage IV lung cancers. The clinical significance of these mutations in patients with resected stage I–III lung cancers is unclear.Methods:At our institution, resection specimens from patients with stage I–III lung adenocarcinomas are tested for the presence of EGFR or KRAS mutations during routine pathology analysis such that the results are available before consideration of adjuvant therapy. In a cohort of 1118 patients tested over 8 years, overall survival was analyzed using multivariate analysis to control for potential confounders, including age, sex, stage, and smoking history. The impact of adjuvant erlotinib or gefitinib was examined in an independent data set of patients exclusively with EGFR mutation, in which date of recurrence was recorded.Results:In the overall population, we identified 227 KRAS (25%) and 222 EGFR (20%) mutations. Patients with EGFR-mutant lung cancers had a lower risk of death compared with those without EGFR mutations, overall survival (OS) HR 0.51 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.34–0.76, p < 0.001). Patients with KRAS-mutant lung cancers had similar outcomes compared with individuals with KRAS wild-type tumors, OS HR 1.17 (95% CI: 0.87–1.57, p = 0.30). A separate data set includes only patients with EGFR-mutant lung cancers identified over 10 years (n = 286). In patients with resected lung cancers and EGFR mutation, treatment with adjuvant erlotinib or gefitinib was associated with a lower risk of recurrence or death, disease-free survival HR 0.43 (95% CI: 0.26–0.72, p = 0.001), and a trend toward improved OS.Conclusions:Patients with resected stage I–III lung cancers and EGFR mutation have a lower risk of death compared with patients without EGFR mutation. This may be because of treatment with EGFR TKIs. Patients with, and without KRAS mutation have similar OS. These data support reflex testing of resected lung adenocarcinomas for EGFR mutation to provide prognostic information and identify patients for enrollment on prospective clinical trials of adjuvant EGFR TKIs