First Order Phase Transition in Intermediate Energy Heavy Ion Collisions

We model the disassembly of an excited nuclear system formed as a result of a heavy ion collision. We find that, as the beam energy in central collisions in varied, the dissociating system crosses a liquid-gas coexistence curve, resulting in a first-order phase transition. Accessible experimental signatures are identified: a peak in specific heat, a power-law yield for composites, and a maximum in the second moment of the yield distribution

Thermodynamic Geometry: Evolution, Correlation and Phase Transition

Under the fluctuation of the electric charge and atomic mass, this paper considers the theory of the thin film depletion layer formation of an ensemble of finitely excited, non-empty $d/f$-orbital heavy materials, from the thermodynamic geometric perspective. At each state of the local adiabatic evolutions, we examine the nature of the thermodynamic parameters, \textit{viz.}, electric charge and mass, changing at each respective embeddings. The definition of the intrinsic Riemannian geometry and differential topology offers the properties of (i) local heat capacities, (ii) global stability criterion and (iv) global correlation length. Under the Gaussian fluctuations, such an intrinsic geometric consideration is anticipated to be useful in the statistical coating of the thin film layer of a desired quality-fine high cost material on a low cost durable coatant. From the perspective of the daily-life applications, the thermodynamic geometry is thus intrinsically self-consistent with the theory of the local and global economic optimizations. Following the above procedure, the quality of the thin layer depletion could self-consistently be examined to produce an economic, quality products at a desired economic value.Comment: 22 pages, 5 figures, Keywords: Thermodynamic Geometry, Metal Depletion, Nano-science, Thin Film Technology, Quality Economic Characterization; added 1 figure and 1 section (n.10), and edited bibliograph

Mutagens affect food and water biodeteriorating fungi

Many areas of food mycology could be affected detrimentally by mutation of wild type fungi. Some of these will contact mutagens from pre-isolation to experimentation and the effect on fungi isolated from mycotoxin-contaminated food is assessed for the first time in this review. However, this mutagen issue is not considered by other authors in primary research papers, which is relevant to molecular biology techniques for gene sequencing, phylogenetics, diagnostics and mycotoxin production. The presence of mutagens is anathema to methods for DNA analysis at the experimental design level and concepts such as cryptic species and correlating anamorphs with teleomorphs are affected. Strains held in culture collections may be artifacts. Methods to ameliorate the problem are provided herein.FCT Strategic Project of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit, the project RECI/BBB-EBI/0179/2012 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027462) and the project ‘‘BioInd - Biotechnology and Bioengineering for improved Industrial and Agro-Food processes’’, REF. NORTE-07-0124-FEDER- 000028 Co-funded by the Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON.2 – O Novo Norte), QREN, FEDER

Gender differences in HIV knowledge among adolescents and young people in low-and middle-income countries: a systematic review

ObjectivesThis review seeks to critically analyze studies assessing gender differences in HIV-related knowledge among adolescents and young people in low- and middle-income countries.MethodsUsing PRISMA guidelines and searching Pubmed and Scopus online databases, the search strategy combined search keywords with Boolean operators: (HIV OR AIDS) AND (knowledge) AND (gender) AND (adolescents). AC and EG conducted the search and independently reviewed all articles in Covidence software; conflicts were resolved by GC. Articles were included if they evaluated differences in HIV knowledge in at least two groups ages 10–24 and were implemented in a low or middle-income country.ResultsThe search resulted in 4,901 articles, of which fifteen studies, implemented in 15 countries, met selection criteria. Twelve evaluated differences in HIV knowledge in school settings; three evaluated participants in clinic settings. Adolescent males consistently scored higher in composite knowledge scores, as well as knowledge of HIV transmission, prevention, attitudes and sexual decision-making.ConclusionWe found gender-based discrepancies between knowledge, perception of risk and HIV prevalence among youth globally, with boys consistently scoring higher in HIV knowledge. However, there is significant evidence that social and cultural contexts render girls at high risk of HIV infection, and the gaps in girls' knowledge and boys' roles in HIV risk must be addressed urgently. Future research should consider interventions that facilitate discussion and HIV knowledge building across genders

The role of informal dimensions of safety in high-volume organisational routines:an ethnographic study of test results handling in UK general practice

Abstract Background The handling of laboratory, imaging and other test results in UK general practice is a high-volume organisational routine that is both complex and high risk. Previous research in this area has focused on errors and harm, but a complementary approach is to better understand how safety is achieved in everyday practice. This paper ethnographically examines the role of informal dimensions of test results handling routines in the achievement of safety in UK general practice and how these findings can best be developed for wider application by policymakers and practitioners. Methods Non-participant observation was conducted of high-volume organisational routines across eight UK general practices with diverse organisational characteristics. Sixty-two semi-structured interviews were also conducted with the key practice staff alongside the analysis of relevant documents. Results While formal results handling routines were described similarly across the eight study practices, the everyday structure of how the routine should be enacted in practice was informally understood. Results handling safety took a range of local forms depending on how different aspects of safety were prioritised, with practices varying in terms of how they balanced thoroughness (i.e. ensuring the high-quality management of results by the most appropriate clinician) and efficiency (i.e. timely management of results) depending on a range of factors (e.g. practice history, team composition). Each approach adopted created its own potential risks, with demands for thoroughness reducing productivity and demands for efficiency reducing handling quality. Irrespective of the practice-level approach adopted, staff also regularly varied what they did for individual patients depending on the specific context (e.g. type of result, patient circumstances). Conclusions General practices variably prioritised a legitimate range of results handling safety processes and outcomes, each with differing strengths and trade-offs. Future safety improvement interventions should focus on how to maximise practice-level knowledge and understanding of the range of context-specific approaches available and the safeties and risks inherent in each within the context of wider complex system conditions and interactions. This in turn has the potential to inform new kinds of proactive, contextually appropriate approaches to intervention development and implementation focusing on the enhanced deliberation of the safety of existing high-volume routines

Ribosome-associated vesicles: A dynamic subcompartment of the endoplasmic reticulum in secretory cells

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a highly dynamic network of membranes. Here, we combine live-cell microscopy with in situ cryo–electron tomography to directly visualize ER dynamics in several secretory cell types including pancreatic β-cells and neurons under near-native conditions. Using these imaging approaches, we identify a novel, mobile form of ER, ribosome-associated vesicles (RAVs), found primarily in the cell periphery, which is conserved across different cell types and species. We show that RAVs exist as distinct, highly dynamic structures separate from the intact ER reticular architecture that interact with mitochondria via direct intermembrane contacts. These findings describe a new ER subcompartment within cells

AD51B in Familial Breast Cancer

Common variation on 14q24.1, close to RAD51B, has been associated with breast cancer: rs999737 and rs2588809 with the risk of female breast cancer and rs1314913 with the risk of male breast cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of RAD51B variants in breast cancer predisposition, particularly in the context of familial breast cancer in Finland. We sequenced the coding region of RAD51B in 168 Finnish breast cancer patients from the Helsinki region for identification of possible recurrent founder mutations. In addition, we studied the known rs999737, rs2588809, and rs1314913 SNPs and RAD51B haplotypes in 44,791 breast cancer cases and 43,583 controls from 40 studies participating in the Breast Cancer Association Consortium (BCAC) that were genotyped on a custom chip (iCOGS). We identified one putatively pathogenic missense mutation c.541C>T among the Finnish cancer patients and subsequently genotyped the mutation in additional breast cancer cases (n = 5259) and population controls (n = 3586) from Finland and Belarus. No significant association with breast cancer risk was seen in the meta-analysis of the Finnish datasets or in the large BCAC dataset. The association with previously identified risk variants rs999737, rs2588809, and rs1314913 was replicated among all breast cancer cases and also among familial cases in the BCAC dataset. The most significant association was observed for the haplotype carrying the risk-alleles of all the three SNPs both among all cases (odds ratio (OR): 1.15, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.11–1.19, P = 8.88 x 10−16) and among familial cases (OR: 1.24, 95% CI: 1.16–1.32, P = 6.19 x 10−11), compared to the haplotype with the respective protective alleles. Our results suggest that loss-of-function mutations in RAD51B are rare, but common variation at the RAD51B region is significantly associated with familial breast cancer risk

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead