Transverse Spin Structure of the Nucleon through Target Single Spin Asymmetry in Semi-Inclusive Deep-Inelastic (e,e′π±)(e,e^\prime \pi^\pm) Reaction at Jefferson Lab

Jefferson Lab (JLab) 12 GeV energy upgrade provides a golden opportunity to perform precision studies of the transverse spin and transverse-momentum-dependent structure in the valence quark region for both the proton and the neutron. In this paper, we focus our discussion on a recently approved experiment on the neutron as an example of the precision studies planned at JLab. The new experiment will perform precision measurements of target Single Spin Asymmetries (SSA) from semi-inclusive electro-production of charged pions from a 40-cm long transversely polarized $^3$He target in Deep-Inelastic-Scattering kinematics using 11 and 8.8 GeV electron beams. This new coincidence experiment in Hall A will employ a newly proposed solenoid spectrometer (SoLID). The large acceptance spectrometer and the high polarized luminosity will provide precise 4-D ($x$, $z$, $P_T$ and $Q^2$) data on the Collins, Sivers, and pretzelocity asymmetries for the neutron through the azimuthal angular dependence. The full 2$\pi$ azimuthal angular coverage in the lab is essential in controlling the systematic uncertainties. The results from this experiment, when combined with the proton Collins asymmetry measurement and the Collins fragmentation function determined from the e$^+$e$^-$ collision data, will allow for a quark flavor separation in order to achieve a determination of the tensor charge of the d quark to a 10% accuracy. The extracted Sivers and pretzelocity asymmetries will provide important information to understand the correlations between the quark orbital angular momentum and the nucleon spin and between the quark spin and nucleon spin.Comment: 23 pages, 13 figures, minor corrections, matches published versio

Aggravation de l’anémie et polymorphisme de l’haptoglobine au cours de la drépanocytose au Sénégal

La drépanocytose homozygote s’accompagne d’une augmentation de l’hémoglobine (Hb) plasmatique, susceptible d’exposer les hématies à un stress oxydant. L’haptoglobine présente trois phénotypes majeurs (Hp1-1, Hp 2-1 et Hp 2-2) susceptibles de fixer l’hémoglobine extracellulaire avec une efficacité différente. L’objectif de ce travail est de voir si la connaissance du phénotype d’Hp pouvait constituer un élément prédictifde l’anémie sévère. Pour cela, il a été recruté 68 drépanocytaires  homozygotes, âgés de 5 à 31 ans. Pour chaque patient, un témoin de même sexe et de même âge ± 2 ans a été recruté. Le phénotypage de l’Hp a été réalisé par électrophorèse sur gel de polyacrylamide. Les résultats du dosage de l’Hb font ressortir que les taux d’Hb sont significativement différentes chez les patients comparées à celles des témoins (p = 0,001). Lorsque la répartition a été faite en fonction du phénotype d’Hp, une différence statistiquement significative a étéretrouvée entre le phénotype Hp1-1 et le phénotype Hp2-2 (p < 0,001) chez les patients et non chez les témoins. Les résultats de cette étude préliminaire suggéreraient que la connaissance du phénotype d’Hp seraitun facteur prédictif de l’anémie sévère au cours de la drépanocytose.Mots clés : Drépanocytose, anémie, phénotypes d’haptoglobine

One-dimensional Topological Edge States of Bismuth Bilayers

The hallmark of a time-reversal symmetry protected topologically insulating state of matter in two-dimensions (2D) is the existence of chiral edge modes propagating along the perimeter of the system. To date, evidence for such electronic modes has come from experiments on semiconducting heterostructures in the topological phase which showed approximately quantized values of the overall conductance as well as edge-dominated current flow. However, there have not been any spectroscopic measurements to demonstrate the one-dimensional (1D) nature of the edge modes. Among the first systems predicted to be a 2D topological insulator are bilayers of bismuth (Bi) and there have been recent experimental indications of possible topological boundary states at their edges. However, the experiments on such bilayers suffered from irregular structure of their edges or the coupling of the edge states to substrate's bulk states. Here we report scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) experiments which show that a subset of the predicted Bi-bilayers' edge states are decoupled from states of Bi substrate and provide direct spectroscopic evidence of their 1D nature. Moreover, by visualizing the quantum interference of edge mode quasi-particles in confined geometries, we demonstrate their remarkable coherent propagation along the edge with scattering properties that are consistent with strong suppression of backscattering as predicted for the propagating topological edge states.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, and supplementary materia

Unintended Consequences of Incentive Provision for Behaviour Change and Maintenance around Childbirth

Financial (positive or negative) and non-financial incentives or rewards are increasingly used in attempts to influence health behaviours. While unintended consequences of incentive provision are discussed in the literature, evidence syntheses did not identify any primary research with the aim of investigating unintended consequences of incentive interventions for lifestyle behaviour change. Our objective was to investigate perceived positive and negative unintended consequences of incentive provision for a shortlist of seven promising incentive strategies for smoking cessation in pregnancy and breastfeeding. A multi-disciplinary, mixed-methods approach included involving two service-user mother and baby groups from disadvantaged areas with experience of the target behaviours as study co-investigators. Systematic reviews informed the shortlist of incentive strategies. Qualitative semi-structured interviews and a web-based survey of health professionals asked open questions on positive and negative consequences of incentives. The participants from three UK regions were a diverse sample with and without direct experience of incentive interventions: 88 pregnant women/recent mothers/partners/family members; 53 service providers; 24 experts/decision makers and interactive discussions with 63 conference attendees. Maternity and early years health professionals (n = 497) including doctors, midwives, health visitors, public health and related staff participated in the survey. Qualitative analysis identified ethical, political, cultural, social and psychological implications of incentive delivery at population and individual levels. Four key themes emerged: how incentives can address or create inequalities; enhance or diminish intrinsic motivation and wellbeing; have a positive or negative effect on relationships with others within personal networks or health providers; and can impact on health systems and resources by raising awareness and directing service delivery, but may be detrimental to other health care areas. Financial incentives are controversial and generated emotive and oppositional responses. The planning, design and delivery of future incentive interventions should evaluate unexpected consequences to inform the evidence for effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and future implementation

Ancillary Orders of Compulsory Licensing and Their Compatibility with the TRIPS Agreement

None

HUWE1 E3 ligase promotes PINK1/PARKINindependent mitophagy by regulating AMBRA1 activation via IKKa

The selective removal of undesired or damaged mitochondria by autophagy, known as mitophagy, is crucial for cellular homoeostasis, and prevents tumour diffusion, neurodegeneration and ageing. The pro-autophagic molecule AMBRA1 (autophagy/beclin-1 regulator-1) has been defined as a novel regulator of mitophagy in both PINK1/PARKIN-dependent and -independent systems. Here, we identified the E3 ubiquitin ligase HUWE1 as a key inducing factor in AMBRA1-mediated mitophagy, a process that takes place independently of the main mitophagy receptors. Furthermore, we show that mitophagy function of AMBRA1 is post-translationally controlled, upon HUWE1 activity, by a positive phosphorylation on its serine 1014. This modification is mediated by the IKKα kinase and induces structural changes in AMBRA1, thus promoting its interaction with LC3/GABARAP (mATG8) proteins and its mitophagic activity. Altogether, these results demonstrate that AMBRA1 regulates mitophagy through a novel pathway, in which HUWE1 and IKKα are key factors, shedding new lights on the regulation of mitochondrial quality control and homoeostasis in mammalian cells

Working memory capacity modulates habituation rate: Evidence from a cross-modal auditory distraction paradigm

Habituation of the orienting response is a pivotal part of selective attention, and previous research has related working memory capacity (WMC) to attention control. Against this background, the purpose of this study was to investigate whether individual differences in WMC contribute to habituation rate. The participants categorized visual targets across six blocks of trials. Each target was preceded either by a standard sound or, on rare trials, by a deviant. The magnitude of the deviation effect (i.e., prolonged response time when the deviant was presented) was relatively large in the beginning but attenuated toward the end. There was no relationship between WMC and the deviation effect at the beginning, but there was at the end, and greater WMC was associated with greater habituation. These results indicate that high memory ability increases habituation rate, and they support theories proposing a role for cognitive control in habituation and in some forms of auditory distraction

Bestrophin1: A Gene that Causes Many Diseases

Bestrophinopathies are a group of clinically distinct inherited retinal dystrophies that lead to the gradual loss of vision in and around the macular area. There are no treatments for patients suffering from bestrophinopathies, and no measures can be taken to prevent visual deterioration in those who have inherited disease-causing mutations. Bestrophinopathies are caused by mutations in the Bestrophin1 gene (BEST1), a protein found exclusively in the retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells of the eye. Mutations in BEST1 affect the function of the RPE leading to the death of overlying retinal cells and subsequent vision loss. The pathogenic mechanisms arising from BEST1 mutations are still not fully understood, and it is not clear how mutations in BEST1 lead to diseases with distinct clinical features. This chapter discusses BEST1, the use of model systems to investigate the effects of mutations and the potential to investigate individual bestrophinopathies using induced pluripotent stem cells

Environmental Factors in the Relapse and Recurrence of Inflammatory Bowel Disease:A Review of the Literature

The causes of relapse in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are largely unknown. This paper reviews the epidemiological and clinical data on how medications (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, estrogens and antibiotics), lifestyle factors (smoking, psychological stress, diet and air pollution) may precipitate clinical relapses and recurrence. Potential biological mechanisms include: increasing thrombotic tendency, imbalances in prostaglandin synthesis, alterations in the composition of gut microbiota, and mucosal damage causing increased permeability

A foundation for runtime monitoring

Runtime Verification is a lightweight technique that complements other verification methods in an effort to ensure software correctness. The technique poses novel questions to software engineers: it is not easy to identify which specifications are amenable to runtime monitor-ing, nor is it clear which monitors effect the required runtime analysis correctly. This exposition targets a foundational understanding of these questions. Particularly, it considers an expressive specification logic (a syntactic variant of the modal μ-calculus) that is agnostic of the verification method used, together with an elemental framework providing an operational semantics for the runtime analysis performed by monitors. The correspondence between the property satisfactions in the logic on the one hand, and the verdicts reached by the monitors performing the analysis on the other, is a central theme of the study. Such a correspondence underpins the concept of monitorability, used to identify the subsets of the logic that can be adequately monitored for by RV. Another theme of the study is that of understanding what should be expected of a monitor in order for the verification process to be correct. We show how the monitor framework considered can constitute a basis whereby various notions of monitor correctness may be defined and investigated.peer-reviewe