On Size and Shape of the Average Meson Fields in the Semibosonized Nambu & Jona-Lasinio Model

We consider a two-flavor Nambu \& Jona-Lasinio model in Hartree approximation involving scalar-isoscalar and pseudoscalar-isovector quark-quark interactions. Average meson fields are defined by minimizing the effective Euklidean action. The fermionic part of the action, which contains the full Dirac sea, is regularized within Schwinger's proper-time scheme. The meson fields are restricted to the chiral circle and to hedgehog configurations. The only parameter of the model is the constituent quark mass $M$ which simultaneously controls the regularization. We evaluate meson and quark fields self-consistently in dependence on the constituent quark mass. It is shown that the self-consistent fields do practically not depend on the constituent quark mass. This allows us to define a properly parameterized reference field which for physically relevant constituent masses can be used as a good approximation to the exactly calculated one. The reference field is chosen to have correct behaviour for small and large radii. To test the agreement between self-consistent and reference fields we calculate several observables like nucleon energy, mean square radius, axial-vector constant and delta-nucleon mass splitting in dependence on the constituent quark mass. The agreement is found to be very well. Figures available on request.Comment: 12 pages (LATEX), 3 figures available on request, report FZR 93-1

Safety and immunogenicity of a new tuberculosis vaccine, MVA85A, in mycobacterium tuberculosis–infected individuals

Copyright © 2009 by the American Thoracic Society.Rationale: An effective new tuberculosis (TB) vaccine regimen must be safe in individuals with latent TB infection (LTBI) and is a priority for global health care. Objectives: To evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of a leading new TB vaccine, recombinant Modified Vaccinia Ankara expressing Antigen 85A (MVA85A) in individuals with LTBI. Methods: An open-label, phase I trial of MVA85A was performed in 12 subjects with LTBI recruited from TB contact clinics in Oxford and London or by poster advertisements in Oxford hospitals. Patients were assessed clinically and had blood samples drawn for immunological analysis over a 52-week period after vaccination with MVA85A. Thoracic computed tomography scans were performed at baseline and at 10 weeks after vaccination. Safety of MVA85A was assessed by clinical, radiological, and inflammatory markers. The immunogenicity of MVA85A was assessed by IFNγ and IL-2 ELISpot assays and FACS. Measurements and Main Results: MVA85A was safe in subjects with LTBI, with comparable adverse events to previous trials of MVA85A. There were no clinically significant changes in inflammatory markers or thoracic computed tomography scans after vaccination. MVA85A induced a strong antigen-specific IFN-γ and IL-2 response that was durable for 52 weeks. The magnitude of IFN-γ response was comparable to previous trials of MVA85A in bacillus Calmette-Guérin–vaccinated individuals. Antigen 85A–specific polyfunctional CD4+ T cells were detectable prior to vaccination with statistically significant increases in cell numbers after vaccination. Conclusions: MVA85A is safe and highly immunogenic in individuals with LTBI. These results will facilitate further trials in TB-endemic areas.Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, Wellcome Trust, and AFTBVAC

Ground State Structure and Low Temperature Behaviour of an Integrable Chain with Alternating Spins

In this paper we continue the investigation of an anisotropic integrable spin chain, consisting of spins $s=1$ and $s=\frac{1}{2}$, started in our paper \cite{meissner}. The thermodynamic Bethe ansatz is analysed especially for the case, when the signs of the two couplings $\bar{c}$ and $\tilde{c}$ differ. For the conformally invariant model ($\bar{c}=\tilde{c}$) we have calculated heat capacity and magnetic susceptibility at low temperature. In the isotropic limit our analysis is carried out further and susceptibilities are calculated near phase transition lines (at $T=0$).Comment: 22 pages, LaTeX, uses ioplppt.sty and PicTeX macro

Ground state and low excitations of an integrable chain with alternating spins

An anisotropic integrable spin chain, consisting of spins $s=1$ and $s=\frac{1}{2}$, is investigated \cite{devega}. It is characterized by two real parameters $\bar{c}$ and $\tilde{c}$, the coupling constants of the spin interactions. For the case $\bar{c}<0$ and $\tilde{c}<0$ the ground state configuration is obtained by means of thermodynamic Bethe ansatz. Furthermore the low excitations are calculated. It turns out, that apart from free magnon states being the holes in the ground state rapidity distribution, there exist bound states given by special string solutions of Bethe ansatz equations (BAE) in analogy to \cite{babelon}. The dispersion law of these excitations is calculated numerically.Comment: 16 pages, LaTeX, uses ioplppt.sty and PicTeX macro

Scaling laws and simulation results for the self--organized critical forest--fire model

We discuss the properties of a self--organized critical forest--fire model which has been introduced recently. We derive scaling laws and define critical exponents. The values of these critical exponents are determined by computer simulations in 1 to 8 dimensions. The simulations suggest a critical dimension $d_c=6$ above which the critical exponents assume their mean--field values. Changing the lattice symmetry and allowing trees to be immune against fire, we show that the critical exponents are universal.Comment: 12 pages, postscript uuencoded, figures included, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Enter exitrons

Staiger D, Simpson GG. Enter exitrons. Genome Biology. 2015;16(1): 136.Exitrons are exon-like introns located within protein-coding exons. Removal or retention of exitrons through alternative splicing increases proteome complexity and thus adds to phenotypic diversity

Why Social Enterprises Are Asking to Be Multi-stakeholder and Deliberative: An Explanation around the Costs of Exclusion.

The study of multi-stakeholdership (and multi-stakeholder social enterprises in particular) is only at the start. Entrepreneurial choices which have emerged spontaneously, as well as the first legal frameworks approved in this direction, lack an adequate theoretical support. The debate itself is underdeveloped, as the existing understanding of organisations and their aims resist an inclusive, public interest view of enterprise. Our contribution aims at enriching the thin theoretical reflections on multi-stakeholdership, in a context where they are already established, i.e. that of social and personal services. The aim is to provide an economic justification on why the governance structure and decision-making praxis of the firm needs to account for multiple stakeholders. In particular with our analysis we want: a) to consider production and the role of firms in the context of the “public interest” which may or may not coincide with the non-profit objective; b) to ground the explanation of firm governance and processes upon the nature of production and the interconnections between demand and supply side; c) to explain that the costs associated with multi-stakeholder governance and deliberation in decision-making can increase internal efficiency and be “productive” since they lower internal costs and utilise resources that otherwise would go astray. The key insight of this work is that, differently from major interpretations, property costs should be compared with a more comprehensive range of costs, such as the social costs that emerge when the supply of social and personal services is insufficient or when the identification of aims and means is not shared amongst stakeholders. Our model highlights that when social costs derived from exclusion are high, even an enterprise with costly decisional processes, such as the multistakeholder, can be the most efficient solution amongst other possible alternatives

Fine Mapping of Posttranslational Modifications of the Linker Histone H1 from Drosophila melanogaster

The linker histone H1 binds to the DNA in between adjacent nucleosomes and contributes to chromatin organization and transcriptional control. It is known that H1 carries diverse posttranslational modifications (PTMs), including phosphorylation, lysine methylation and ADP-ribosylation. Their biological functions, however, remain largely unclear. This is in part due to the fact that most of the studies have been performed in organisms that have several H1 variants, which complicates the analyses. We have chosen Drosophila melanogaster, a model organism, which has a single H1 variant, to approach the study of the role of H1 PTMs during embryonic development. Mass spectrometry mapping of the entire sequence of the protein showed phosphorylation only in the ten N-terminal amino acids, mostly at S10. For the first time, changes in the PTMs of a linker H1 during the development of a multicellular organism are reported. The abundance of H1 monophosphorylated at S10 decreases as the embryos age, which suggests that this PTM is related to cell cycle progression and/or cell differentiation. Additionally, we have found a polymorphism in the protein sequence that can be mistaken with lysine methylation if the analysis is not rigorous

Trust in financial services: Retrospect and prospect

Fostering and maintaining high levels of trust in the financial services sector is seen as crucial because of the characteristics of many financial service and in order to promote consumer engagement in the sector. In this article, we report evidence from a body of work and other commentary to provide an insight into trends in consumer trust in the sector as a whole, in comparison with other organisations and how different types of financial services provider have performed relative to each other. We show that the financial services sector as a whole is trusted more than some comparator institutions, and that aggregate levels of trust in the sector have fluctuated a relatively small amount subsequent to the financial crisis. However, important differences between provider types are apparent and these differences have become more profound in the recent past. We provide suggestions as to how trust in the sector may be improved and provider an analysis of current initiatives to improve trust levels in the sector in general and in banking in particular