2,383 research outputs found
Philosophers of Catastrophe: Early 20th Century Jewish Proponents and Opponents of Objectivity in Science
The Second World War ended with the exposure of the Nazi death camps and the threat of global nuclear annihilation. The former disclosed the depths of human depravity and the latter warned us about the severity of the consequences that could await us as a result. The grimness of each, much less both, had the effect of shielding from our collective consciousness the equally dire warnings from the First World War that had occurred only a couple of decades earlier. [excerpt
Schrijver graphs and projective quadrangulations
In a recent paper [J. Combin. Theory Ser. B}, 113 (2015), pp. 1-17], the
authors have extended the concept of quadrangulation of a surface to higher
dimension, and showed that every quadrangulation of the -dimensional
projective space is at least -chromatic, unless it is bipartite.
They conjectured that for any integers and , the
Schrijver graph contains a spanning subgraph which is a
quadrangulation of . The purpose of this paper is to prove the
conjecture
Randomized Trial of Pacemaker and Lead System for Safe Scanning at 1.5 Tesla
BackgroundMagnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of pacemakers is a relative contraindication because of the risks to the patient from potentially hazardous interactions between the MRI and the pacemaker system. Chest scans (ie, cardiac magnetic resonance scans) are of particular importance and higher risk. The previously Food and Drug Administration-approved magnetic resonance conditional system includes positioning restrictions, limiting the powerful utility of MRI.ObjectiveTo confirm the safety and effectiveness of a pacemaker system designed for safe whole body MRI without MRI scan positioning restrictions.MethodsPrimary eligibility criteria included standard dual-chamber pacing indications. Patients (n = 263) were randomized in a 2:1 ratio to undergo 16 chest and head scans at 1.5 T between 9 and 12 weeks postimplant (n = 177) or to not undergo MRI (n = 86) post-implant. Evaluation of the pacemaker system occurred immediately before, during (monitoring), and after MRI, 1-week post-MRI, and 1-month post-MRI, and similarly for controls. Primary end points measured the MRI-related complication-free rate for safety and compared pacing capture threshold between MRI and control subjects for effectiveness.ResultsThere were no MRI-related complications during or after MRI in subjects undergoing MRI (n = 148). Differences in pacing capture threshold values from pre-MRI to 1-month post-MRI were minimal and similar between the MRI and control groups.ConclusionsThis randomized trial demonstrates that the Advisa MRI pulse generator and CapSureFix MRI 5086MRI lead system is safe and effective in the 1.5 T MRI environment without positioning restrictions for MRI scans or limitations of body parts scanned
On Symbolic Ultrametrics, Cotree Representations, and Cograph Edge Decompositions and Partitions
Symbolic ultrametrics define edge-colored complete graphs K_n and yield a
simple tree representation of K_n. We discuss, under which conditions this idea
can be generalized to find a symbolic ultrametric that, in addition,
distinguishes between edges and non-edges of arbitrary graphs G=(V,E) and thus,
yielding a simple tree representation of G. We prove that such a symbolic
ultrametric can only be defined for G if and only if G is a so-called cograph.
A cograph is uniquely determined by a so-called cotree. As not all graphs are
cographs, we ask, furthermore, what is the minimum number of cotrees needed to
represent the topology of G. The latter problem is equivalent to find an
optimal cograph edge k-decomposition {E_1,...,E_k} of E so that each subgraph
(V,E_i) of G is a cograph. An upper bound for the integer k is derived and it
is shown that determining whether a graph has a cograph 2-decomposition, resp.,
2-partition is NP-complete
Pregabalin for the treatment of postoperative pain: Results from three controlled trials using different surgical models
Conclusion: There were no significant differences between pregabalin and placebo with respect to the primary pain intensity measure in each of the three clinical trials. These studies encompass a large dataset (1,233 patients in total), and their results should be considered when assessing pregabalin’s effectiveness in postoperative pain. Further studies are required to determine the potential pain-reducing benefit of pregabalin in the postoperative setting
Testing the black disk limit in collisions at very high energy
We use geometric scaling invariant quantities to measure the approach, or
not, of the imaginary and real parts of the elastic scattering amplitude, to
the black disk limit, in collisions at very high energy.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure
Physical activity is reduced prior to ventricular arrhythmiasin patients with a wearable cardioverter defibrillator
The utility of accelerometer�based activity data to identify patients at risk of sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT) or ventricular fibrillation (VF) has not previously been investigated. The aim of the current study was to determine whether physical activity is associated with manifesting spontaneous sustained VT/VF requiring emergent defibrillation in patients with an ejection fraction of ≤35%
Prion protein interacts with bace1 and differentially regulates its activity towards wild type and swedish mutant amyloid precursor protein
In Alzheimer disease amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides derived from the amyloid precursor protein (APP) accumulate in the brain. Cleavage of APP by the β-secretase BACE1 is the rate-limiting step in the production of Aβ. We have reported previously that the cellular prion protein (PrP(C)) inhibited the action of BACE1 toward human wild type APP (APP(WT)) in cellular models and that the levels of endogenous murine Aβ were significantly increased in PrP(C)-null mouse brain. Here we investigated the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying this observation. PrP(C) interacted directly with the prodomain of the immature Golgi-localized form of BACE1. This interaction decreased BACE1 at the cell surface and in endosomes where it preferentially cleaves APP(WT) but increased it in the Golgi where it preferentially cleaves APP with the Swedish mutation (APP(Swe)). In transgenic mice expressing human APP with the Swedish and Indiana familial mutations (APP(Swe,Ind)), PrP(C) deletion had no influence on APP proteolytic processing, Aβ plaque deposition, or levels of soluble Aβ or Aβ oligomers. In cells, although PrP(C) inhibited the action of BACE1 on APP(WT), it did not inhibit BACE1 activity toward APP(Swe). The differential subcellular location of the BACE1 cleavage of APP(Swe) relative to APP(WT) provides an explanation for the failure of PrP(C) deletion to affect Aβ accumulation in APP(Swe,Ind) mice. Thus, although PrP(C) exerts no control on cleavage of APP(Swe) by BACE1, it has a profound influence on the cleavage of APP(WT), suggesting that PrP(C) may be a key protective player against sporadic Alzheimer disease
The imprints of superstatistics in multiparticle production processes
We provide an update of the overview of imprints of Tsallis nonextensive
statistics seen in a multiparticle production processes. They reveal an
ubiquitous presence of power law distributions of different variables
characterized by the nonextensivity parameter q > 1. In nuclear collisions one
additionally observes a q-dependence of the multiplicity fluctuations
reflecting the finiteness of the hadronizing source. We present sum rules
connecting parameters q obtained from an analysis of different observables,
which allows us to combine different kinds of fluctuations seen in the data and
analyze an ensemble in which the energy (E), temperature (T) and multiplicity
(N) can all fluctuate. This results in a generalization of the so called
Lindhard's thermodynamic uncertainty relation. Finally, based on the example of
nucleus-nucleus collisions (treated as a quasi-superposition of nucleon-nucleon
collisions) we demonstrate that, for the standard Tsallis entropy with degree
of nonextensivity q < 1, the corresponding standard Tsallis distribution is
described by q' = 2 - q > 1.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures. Based on invited talk given by Z.Wlodarczyk at
SigmaPhi2011 conference, Larnaka, Cyprus, 11-15 July 2011. To be published in
Cent. Eur. J. Phys. (2011
Estimating the inelasticity with the information theory approach
Using the information theory approach, in both its extensive and nonextensive
versions, we estimate the inelasticity parameter of hadronic reactions
together with its distribution and energy dependence from and
data. We find that the inelasticity remains essentially constant in energy
except for a variation around , as was originally expected.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures. Misprints correcte
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