Line versus Flux Statistics -- Considerations for the Low Redshift Lyman-alpha Forest

The flux/transmission power spectrum has become a popular statistical tool in studies of the high redshift ($z > 2$) Lyman-alpha forest. At low redshifts, where the forest has thinned out into a series of well-isolated absorption lines, the motivation for flux statistics is less obvious. Here, we study the relative merits of flux versus line correlations, and derive a simple condition under which one is favored over the other on purely statistical grounds. Systematic errors probably play an important role in this discussion, and they are outlined as well.Comment: 6 pages, to appear in "The IGM/Galaxy Connection: The Distribution of Baryons at z=0", eds. J. L. Rosenberg and M. E. Putma

Extracting the rho meson wavefunction from HERA data

We extract the light-cone wavefunctions of the rho meson using the HERA data on diffractive rho photoproduction. We find good agreement with predictions for the distribution amplitude based on QCD sum rules and from the lattice. We also find that the data prefer a transverse wavefunction with enhanced end-point contributions.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, significant improvements over the original version with a new section on distribution amplitudes adde

Staurosporine and NEM mainly impair WNK-SPAK/OSR1 mediated phosphorylation of KCC2 and NKCC1

This is the final version. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.The pivotal role of KCC2 and NKCC1 in development and maintenance of fast inhibitory neurotransmission and their implication in severe human diseases arouse interest in posttranscriptional regulatory mechanisms such as (de)phosphorylation. Staurosporine (broad kinase inhibitor) and N-ethylmalemide (NEM) that modulate kinase and phosphatase activities enhance KCC2 and decrease NKCC1 activity. Here, we investigated the regulatory mechanism for this reciprocal regulation by mass spectrometry and immunoblot analyses using phospho-specific antibodies. Our analyses revealed that application of staurosporine or NEM dephosphorylates Thr1007 of KCC2, and Thr203, Thr207 and Thr212 of NKCC1. Dephosphorylation of Thr1007 of KCC2, and Thr207 and Thr212 of NKCC1 were previously demonstrated to activate KCC2 and to inactivate NKCC1. In addition, application of the two agents resulted in dephosphorylation of the T-loop and S-loop phosphorylation sites Thr233 and Ser373 of SPAK, a critical kinase in the WNK-SPAK/OSR1 signaling module mediating phosphorylation of KCC2 and NKCC1. Taken together, these results suggest that reciprocal regulation of KCC2 and NKCC1 via staurosporine and NEM is based on WNK-SPAK/OSR1 signaling. The key regulatory phospho-site Ser940 of KCC2 is not critically involved in the enhanced activation of KCC2 upon staurosporine and NEM treatment, as both agents have opposite effects on its phosphorylation status. Finally, NEM acts in a tissue-specific manner on Ser940, as shown by comparative analysis in HEK293 cells and immature cultured hippocampal neurons. In summary, our analyses identified phospho-sites that are responsive to staurosporine or NEM application. This provides important information towards a better understanding of the cooperative interactions of different phospho-sitesNational Natural Science Foundation of Chin

Growth and dislocation studies of β-HMX

Background: The defect structure of organic materials is important as it plays a major role in their crystal growth properties. It also can play a subcritical role in “hot-spot” detonation processes of energetics and one such energetic is cyclotetramethylene-tetranitramine, in the commonly used beta form (β-HMX). Results: The as-grown crystals grown by evaporation from acetone show prismatic, tabular and columnar habits, all with {011}, {110}, (010) and (101) faces. Etching on (010) surfaces revealed three different types of etch pits, two of which could be identified with either pure screw or pure edge dislocations, the third is shown to be an artifact of the twinning process that this material undergoes. Examination of the {011} and {110} surfaces show only one type of etch pit on each surface; however their natural asymmetry precludes the easy identification of their Burgers vector or dislocation type. Etching of cleaved {011} surfaces demonstrates that the etch pits can be associated with line dislocations. All dislocations appear randomly on the crystal surfaces and do not form alignments characteristic of mechanical deformation by dislocation slip. Conclusions: Crystals of β-HMX grown from acetone show good morphological agreement with that predicted by modelling, with three distinct crystal habits observed depending upon the supersaturation of the growth solution. Prismatic habit was favoured at low supersaturation, while tabular and columnar crystals were predominant at higher super saturations. The twin plane in β-HMX was identified as a (101) reflection plane. The low plasticity of β-HMX is shown by the lack of etch pit alignments corresponding to mechanically induced dislocation arrays. On untwinned {010} faces, two types of dislocations exist, pure edge dislocations with b = [010] and pure screw dislocations with b = [010]. On twinned (010) faces, a third dislocation type exists and it is proposed that these pits are associated with pure screw dislocations with b = [010]

Orofacial Injuries in Children and Adolescents (2009-2013): A 5-Year Study In Porto, Portugal

The aim of this study was to verify the prevalence of acts of aggression to the head, face and neck towards victims of Physical Violence against Children and Adolescents (PVCA) who were examined at the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences Delegation North (INMLCF-DN) in Porto, Portugal. A study was carried out on 2,148 complaints of physical aggression against children and adolescents (0 to less than 18 years old) occurred between 2009 and 2013 and which were retrieved from information about violence held on INMLCF-DN data files. Continuous variables were described and the association between them was verified by Chi-square or Fischer’s Exact tests with 5% significance level. Within the 5-year timespan, 1,380 cases were identified with clinical relation with physical aggression. Most subjects evaluated were male adolescents and the most affected body region was the face, to which 747 injuries (24.7%) were recorded, with statistically significant association between sex and region (head and face). Victims in 15-17-year-old age group are more susceptible to violence than those in the 0-14-year-old age range. Dentists routinely examine the face, neck and skull, which make them the most appropriate health professionals to identify cases of aggression early.The authors thank the INMLCF-DN (Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal e Ciências Forenses - Delegação do Norte, Portugal) for technical support and CAPES(Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Brazil) for scholarship

Compliance of a cobalt chromium coronary stent alloy – the COVIS trial

BACKGROUND: Cobalt chromium coronary stents are increasingly being used in percutaneous coronary interventions. There are, however, no reliable data about the characteristics of unfolding and visibility of this stent alloy in vivo. The aim of this study is to compare cobalt chromium coronary stents with conventional stainless steel stents using intracoronary ultrasound. METHODS: Twenty de novo native coronary stenoses ≤ 20 mm in length (target vessel reference diameter ≥ 2.5 and ≤ 4.0 mm) received under sequential intracoronary ultrasound either a cobalt chromium stent (Multi-Link Vision(®); n = 10) or a stainless steel stent (Multi-Link Zeta(®); n = 10). RESULTS: For optimal unfolding, the cobalt chromium stent requires a higher balloon deployment pressure (13.90 ± 2.03 atm) than the stainless steel stent (11.50 ± 2.12 atm). Furthermore, the achieved target vessel diameter of the cobalt chromium stent (Visibility-Index QCA/IVUS Multi-Link Vision(®)1.13 / Multi-Link Zeta(® )1.04) is more easily overrated by Quantitative Coronary Analysis. CONCLUSION: These data indicate that stent material-specific recommendations for optimal implantation pressure and different stent material with an equal design should both be considered in interpreting QCA-analysis

Prospective memory functioning among ecstasy/polydrug users: evidence from the Cambridge Prospective Memory Test (CAMPROMPT)

Rationale: Prospective memory (PM) deficits in recreational drug users have been documented in recent years. However, the assessment of PM has largely been restricted to self-reported measures that fail to capture the distinction between event-based and time-based PM. The aim of the present study is to address this limitation. Objectives: Extending our previous research, we augmented the range laboratory measures of PM by employing the CAMPROMPT test battery to investigate the impact of illicit drug use on prospective remembering in a sample of cannabis only, ecstasy/polydrug and non-users of illicit drugs, separating event and time-based PM performance. We also administered measures of executive function and retrospective memory in order to establish whether ecstasy/polydrug deficits in PM were mediated by group differences in these processes. Results: Ecstasy/polydrug users performed significantly worse on both event and time-based prospective memory tasks in comparison to both cannabis only and non-user groups. Furthermore, it was found that across the whole sample, better retrospective memory and executive functioning was associated with superior PM performance. Nevertheless, this association did not mediate the drug-related effects that were observed. Consistent with our previous study, recreational use of cocaine was linked to PM deficits. Conclusions: PM deficits have again been found among ecstasy/polydrug users, which appear to be unrelated to group differences in executive function and retrospective memory. However, the possibility that these are attributable to cocaine use cannot be excluded

A canine model of Cohen syndrome: Trapped Neutrophil Syndrome

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Trapped Neutrophil Syndrome (TNS) is a common autosomal recessive neutropenia in Border collie dogs.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We used a candidate gene approach and linkage analysis to show that the causative gene for TNS is <it>VPS13B</it>. We chose <it>VPS13B </it>as a candidate because of similarities in clinical signs between TNS and Cohen syndrome, in human, such as neutropenia and a typical facial dysmorphism. Linkage analysis using microsatellites close to <it>VPS13B </it>showed positive linkage of the region to TNS. We sequenced each of the 63 exons of <it>VPS13B </it>in affected and control dogs and found that the causative mutation in Border collies is a 4 bp deletion in exon 19 of the largest transcript that results in premature truncation of the protein. Cohen syndrome patients present with mental retardation in 99% of cases, but learning disabilities featured in less than half of TNS affected dogs. It has been implied that loss of the alternate transcript of <it>VPS13B </it>in the human brain utilising an alternate exon, 28, may cause mental retardation. Mice cannot be used to test this hypothesis as they do not express the alternate exon. We show that dogs do express alternate transcripts in the brain utilising an alternate exon homologous to human exon 28.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Dogs can be used as a model organism to explore the function of the alternately spliced transcript of VPS13B in the brain. TNS in Border collies is the first animal model for Cohen syndrome and can be used to study the disease aetiology.</p