Quantum anti-Zeno effect without wave function reduction

We study the measurement-induced enhancement of the spontaneous decay (called quantum anti-Zeno effect) for a two-level subsystem, where measurements are treated as couplings between the excited state and an auxiliary state rather than the von Neumann's wave function reduction. The photon radiated in a fast decay of the atom, from the auxiliary state to the excited state, triggers a quasi-measurement, as opposed to a projection measurement. Our use of the term "quasi-measurement" refers to a "coupling-based measurement". Such frequent quasi-measurements result in an exponential decay of the survival probability of atomic initial state with a photon emission following each quasi-measurement. Our calculations show that the effective decay rate is of the same form as the one based on projection measurements. What is more important, the survival probability of the atomic initial state which is obtained by tracing over all the photon states is equivalent to the survival probability of the atomic initial state with a photon emission following each quasi-measurement to the order under consideration. That is because the contributions from those states with photon number less than the number of quasi-measurements originate from higher-order processes.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure

Wine and other alcohol consumption and risk of ovarian cancer in the California Teachers Study cohort

OBJECTIVE: Whether alcohol consumption influences ovarian cancer risk is unclear. Therefore, we investigated the association between alcohol intake at various ages and risk of ovarian cancer. METHODS: Among 90,371 eligible members of the California Teachers Study cohort who completed a baseline alcohol assessment in 1995–1996, 253 women were diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer by the end of 2003. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was performed to estimate relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: Consumption of total alcohol, beer, or liquor in the year prior to baseline, at ages 30–35 years, or at ages 18–22 years was not associated with risk of ovarian cancer. Consumption of at least one glass per day of wine, compared to no wine, in the year before baseline was associated with increased risk of developing ovarian cancer: RR = 1.57 (95% CI 1.11–2.22), P(trend) = 0.01. The association with wine intake at baseline was particularly strong among peri-/post-menopausal women who used estrogen-only hormone therapy and women of high socioeconomic status. CONCLUSIONS: Alcohol intake does not appear to affect ovarian cancer risk. Constituents of wine other than alcohol or, more likely, unmeasured determinants of wine drinking were associated with increased risk of ovarian cancer

Reflections on the entrepreneurial state, innovation and social justice

The state and its role in technological innovation and social justice have become, once again, fashionable topics of political and economic debate. A number of innovation theorists argue that never more than today, it is necessary to rethink the state’s entrepreneurial role in society and welfare. Their argument provides justification for the existence of the state, going beyond classical political theory and especially contractarian accounts of legitimacy and obligation. It emphasises the ability and willingness of the state to take risks and reduce uncertainty of economic agents for the sake of innovation that can make everyone better off. This paper insists that although the risk-taking argument of innovation theorists deserves further attention and analysis, it should not be abstracted from a holistic politico-theoretical approach to the state. Such an approach is necessary for a critical understanding of the complex set of predominantly political institutions which compose the state and which have been historically developed to guarantee social evolution. Any risk-taking for innovative enterprise and mission-oriented investment ought to be justified and legitimised on the grounds of principled democratic procedures. This implies that innovation itself is a value-laden political process, requiring participation in the decision-making and standards of fairness

A histomorphometric meta-analysis of sinus elevation with various grafting materials

Several grafting materials have been used in sinus augmentation procedures including autogenous bone, demineralized freeze-dried bone (DFDBA), hydroxyapatite, β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP), anorganic deproteinized bovine bone and combination of these and others. Up to now a subject of controversy in maxillofacial surgery and dentistry is, what is the most appropriate graft material for sinus floor augmentation

Quantitative genetics of immunity and life history under different photoperiods

Insects with complex life-cycles should optimize age and size at maturity during larval development. When inhabiting seasonal environments, organisms have limited reproductive periods and face fundamental decisions: individuals that reach maturity late in season have to either reproduce at a small size or increase their growth rates. Increasing growth rates is costly in insects because of higher juvenile mortality, decreased adult survival or increased susceptibility to parasitism by bacteria and viruses via compromised immune function. Environmental changes such as seasonality can also alter the quantitative genetic architecture. Here, we explore the quantitative genetics of life history and immunity traits under two experimentally induced seasonal environments in the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus. Seasonality affected the life history but not the immune phenotypes. Individuals under decreasing day length developed slower and grew to a bigger size. We found ample additive genetic variance and heritability for components of immunity (haemocyte densities, proPhenoloxidase activity, resistance against Serratia marcescens), and for the life history traits, age and size at maturity. Despite genetic covariance among traits, the structure of G was inconsistent with genetically based trade-off between life history and immune traits (for example, a strong positive genetic correlation between growth rate and haemocyte density was estimated). However, conditional evolvabilities support the idea that genetic covariance structure limits the capacity of individual traits to evolve independently. We found no evidence for G × E interactions arising from the experimentally induced seasonality

Metabolic and endocrine profiles and reproductive parameters in dairy cows under grazing conditions: effect of polymorphisms in somatotropic axis genes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The present study hypothesized that GH-AluI and IGF-I-SnabI polymorphisms do change the metabolic/endocrine profiles in Holstein cows during the transition period, which in turn are associated with productive and reproductive parameters.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Holstein cows (Farm 1, primiparous cows, n = 110, and Farm 2, multiparous cows, n = 76) under grazing conditions were selected and GH and IGF-I genotypes were determined. Blood samples for metabolic/endocrine determinations were taken during the transition period and early lactation in both farms. Data was analyzed by farm using a repeated measures analyses including GH and IGF-I genotypes, days and interactions as fixed effects, sire and cow as random effects and calving date as covariate.</p> <p>Results and Discussion</p> <p>Frequencies of GH and IGF-I alleles were L:0.84, V:0.16 and A:0.60, B:0.40, respectively. The GH genotype was not associated with productive or reproductive variables, but interaction with days affected FCM yield in multiparous (farm 2) cows (LL yielded more than LV cows) in early lactation. The GH genotype affected NEFA and IGF-I concentrations in farm 1 (LV had higher NEFA and lower IGF-I than LL cows) suggesting a better energy status of LL cows.</p> <p>There was no effect of IGF-I genotype on productive variables, but a trend was found for FCM in farm 2 (AB cows yielded more than AA cows). IGF-I genotype affected calving first service interval in farm 1, and the interaction with days tended to affect FCM yield (AB cows had a shorter interval and yielded more FCM than BB cows). IGF-I genotype affected BHB, NEFA, and insulin concentrations in farm 1: primiparous BB cows had lower NEFA and BHB and higher insulin concentrations. In farm 2, there was no effect of IGF-I genotype, but there was an interaction with days on IGF-I concentration, suggesting a greater uncoupling somatropic axis in AB and BB than AA cows, being in accordance with greater FCM yield in AB cows.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The GH and IGF-I genotypes had no substantial effect on productive parameters, although IGF-I genotype affected calving-first service interval in primiparous cows. Besides, these genotypes may modify the endocrine/metabolic profiles of the transition dairy cow under grazing conditions.</p

Temperature Influences Selective Mortality during the Early Life Stages of a Coral Reef Fish

For organisms with complex life cycles, processes occurring at the interface between life stages can disproportionately impact survival and population dynamics. Temperature is an important factor influencing growth in poikilotherms, and growth-related processes are frequently correlated with survival. We examined the influence of water temperature on growth-related early life history traits (ELHTs) and differential mortality during the transition from larval to early juvenile stage in sixteen monthly cohorts of bicolor damselfish Stegastes partitus, sampled on reefs of the upper Florida Keys, USA over 6 years. Otolith analysis of settlers and juveniles coupled with environmental data revealed that mean near-reef water temperature explained a significant proportion of variation in pelagic larval duration (PLD), early larval growth, size-at-settlement, and growth during early juvenile life. Among all cohorts, surviving juveniles were consistently larger at settlement, but grew more slowly during the first 6 d post-settlement. For the other ELHTs, selective mortality varied seasonally: during winter and spring months, survivors exhibited faster larval growth and shorter PLDs, whereas during warmer summer months, selection on PLD reversed and selection on larval growth became non-linear. Our results demonstrate that temperature not only shapes growth-related traits, but can also influence the direction and intensity of selective mortality

Respiratory Virus Infection and Risk of Invasive Meningococcal Disease in Central Ontario, Canada

BACKGROUND: In temperate climates, invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) incidence tends to coincide with or closely follow peak incidence of influenza virus infection; at a seasonal level, increased influenza activity frequently correlates with increased seasonal risk of IMD. METHODS: We evaluated 240 cases of IMD reported in central Ontario, Canada, from 2000 to 2006. Associations between environmental and virological (influenza A, influenza B and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)) exposures and IMD incidence were evaluated using negative binomial regression models controlling for seasonal oscillation. Acute effects of weekly respiratory virus activity on IMD risk were evaluated using a matched-period case-crossover design with random directionality of control selection. Effects were estimated using conditional logistic regression. RESULTS: Multivariable negative binomial regression identified elevated IMD risk with increasing influenza A activity (per 100 case increase, incidence rate ratio = 1.18, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06, 1.31). In case-crossover models, increasing weekly influenza A activity was associated with an acute increase in the risk of IMD (per 100 case increase, odds ratio (OR)  = 2.03, 95% CI: 1.28 to 3.23). Increasing weekly RSV activity was associated with increased risk of IMD after adjusting for RSV activity in the previous 3 weeks (per 100 case increase, OR = 4.31, 95% CI: 1.14, 16.32). No change in disease risk was seen with increasing influenza B activity. CONCLUSIONS: We have identified an acute effect of influenza A and RSV activity on IMD risk. If confirmed, these finding suggest that influenza vaccination may have the indirect benefit of reducing IMD risk

Expert opinion on detecting and treating depression in palliative care: A Delphi study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is a dearth of data regarding the optimal method of detecting and treating depression in palliative care. This study applied the Delphi method to evaluate expert opinion on choice of screening tool, choice of antidepressant and choice of psychological therapy. The aim was to inform the development of best practice recommendations for the European Palliative Care Research Collaborative clinical practice guideline on managing depression in palliative care.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>18 members of an international, multi-professional expert group completed a structured questionnaire in two rounds, rating their agreement with proposed items on a scale from 0-10 and annotating with additional comments. The median and range were calculated to give a statistical average of the experts' ratings.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There was contention regarding the benefits of screening, with 'routine informal asking' (median 8.5 (0-10)) rated more highly than formal screening tools such as the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (median 7.0 (1-10). Mirtazapine (median 9 (7-10) and citalopram (median 9 (5-10) were the considered the best choice of antidepressant and cognitive behavioural therapy (median 9.0 (3-10) the best choice of psychological therapy.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The range of expert ratings was broad, indicating discordance in the views of experts. Direct comparative data from randomised controlled trials are needed to strengthen the evidence-base and achieve clarity on how best to detect and treat depression in this setting.</p