String Memory Effect

In systems with local gauge symmetries, the memory effect corresponds to traces inscribed on a suitable probe when a pure gauge configuration at infinite past dynamically evolves to another pure gauge configuration at infinite future. In this work, we study the memory effect of 2-form gauge fields which is probed by strings. We discuss the "string memory effect" for closed and open strings at classical and quantum levels. The closed string memory is encoded in the internal excited modes of the string, and in the open string case, it is encoded in the relative position of the two endpoints and the noncommutativity parameter associated with the D-brane where the open string endpoints are attached. We also discuss 2-form memory with D-brane probes using boundary state formulation and, the relation between string memory and 2-form soft charges analyzed in [1]

The Economics of Conflicts of Interest in Financial Institutions

A conflict of interest exists when a party to a transaction could potentially make a gain from taking actions that are detrimental to the other party in the transaction. This paper examines the economics of conflicts of interest in financial institutions and reviews the growing empirical literature (mostly focused on analysts) on the economic implications of these conflicts. Economic analysis shows that, although conflicts of interest are omnipresent when contracting is costly and parties are imperfectly informed, there are important factors that mitigate their impact and, strikingly, it is possible for customers of financial institutions to benefit from the existence of such conflicts. The empirical literature reaches conclusions that differ across types of conflicts of interest, but overall these conclusions are more ambivalent and certainly more benign than the conclusions drawn by journalists and politicians from mostly anecdotal evidence. Though much has been made of conflicts of interest arising from investment banking activities, there is no consensus in the empirical literature supporting the view that conflicts resulting from these activities had a systematic adverse impact on customers of financial institutions.

Soil salinity-sodicity and land use suitability in the Fordwah Eastern Sadiqia (South) irrigated area

Soil salinity / Sodic soils / Soil classification / Soil surveys / Soil analysis / Groundwater development / Water table / Water quality / Land use / Irrigation canals / Farmer participation / Surface drainage / Subsurface drainage / Soil reclamation / Waterlogging / Pakistan / Fordwah Eastern Sadiqia / Bahawalnagar District

Medical errors : Healthcare professionals’ perspective at a tertiary hospital in Kuwait

Medical errors are of economic importance and can contribute to serious adverse events for patients. Medical errors refer to preventable events resulting from healthcare interactions, whether these events harm the patient or not. In Kuwait, there is a paucity literature detailing the causes, forms, and risks of medical errors in their state-funded healthcare facilities. This study aimed to explore medical errors, their causes and preventive strategies in a Kuwait tertiary hospital based on the perceptions and experience of a cross-section of healthcare professionals using a questionnaire with 27 open (n = 10) and closed (n = 17) questions. The recruited healthcare professionals in this study included pharmacists, nurses, physicians, dentists, radiographers, hospital administrators, surgeons, nutritionists, and physiotherapists. The collected data were analysed quantitatively using descriptive statistics. A total of 203 participants filled and completed the survey questionnaire. The frequency of medical errors in Kuwait was found to be high at 60.3% ranging from incidences of prolonged hospital stays (32.9%), adverse events and life-threatening complications (32.3%), and fatalities (20.9%). The common medical errors result from incomplete instructions, incorrect dosage, and incorrect route of administration, diagnosis errors, and labelling errors. The perceived causes of these medical errors include high workload, lack of support systems, stress, medical negligence, inadequate training, miscommunication, poor collaboration, and non-adherence to safety guidelines among the healthcare professionals.Peer reviewe

An Evaluation of Distinct Volumetric and Functional MRI Contributions Toward Understanding Age and Task Performance: A Study in the Basal Ganglia

Prior work by our group and others has implicated the basal ganglia as important in age-related differences in tasks involving motor response control. The present study used structural and functional MRI approaches to analyze this region of interest (ROI) toward better understanding the contributions of structural and functional MRI measures to understanding age-related and task performance-related cognitive differences. Eleven healthy elders were compared with 11 healthy younger adults while they completed the “go” portion of a complex Go/No-go task. Separate ROI\u27s in the bilateral caudate (C) and putamen/globus pallidus (PGp) were studied based upon previous findings of age-related functional MRI differences in basal ganglia for this portion of the task. Structural volumes and functional activation (in percent area under the curve during correct responses) were independently extracted for these ROI\u27s. Results showed that age correlated with ROI volume in bilateral PGp and C, while multiple task performance measures correlated with functional activation in the left PGp. The Go/No-go task measures were also significantly correlated with traditional attention and executive functioning measures. Importantly, fMRI activation and volumes from each ROI were not significantly inter-correlated. These findings suggest that structural and functional MRI make unique contributions to the study of performance changes in aging

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli infection inhibits colonic thiamin pyrophosphate uptake via transcriptional mechanism.

Colonocytes possess a specific carrier-mediated uptake process for the microbiota-generated thiamin (vitamin B1) pyrophosphate (TPP) that involves the TPP transporter (TPPT; product of the SLC44A4 gene). Little is known about the effect of exogenous factors (including enteric pathogens) on the colonic TPP uptake process. Our aim in this study was to investigate the effect of Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) infection on colonic uptake of TPP. We used human-derived colonic epithelial NCM460 cells and mice in our investigation. The results showed that infecting NCM460 cells with live EHEC (but not with heat-killed EHEC, EHEC culture supernatant, or with non-pathogenic E. Coli) to lead to a significant inhibition in carrier-mediated TPP uptake, as well as in level of expression of the TPPT protein and mRNA. Similarly, infecting mice with EHEC led to a significant inhibition in colonic TPP uptake and in level of expression of TPPT protein and mRNA. The inhibitory effect of EHEC on TPP uptake by NCM460 was found to be associated with reduction in the rate of transcription of the SLC44A4 gene as indicated by the significant reduction in the activity of the SLC44A4 promoter transfected into EHEC infected cells. The latter was also associated with a marked reduction in the level of expression of the transcription factors CREB-1 and ELF3, which are known to drive the activity of the SLC44A4 promoter. Finally, blocking the ERK1/2 and NF-kB signaling pathways in NCM460 cells significantly reversed the level of EHEC inhibition in TPP uptake and TPPT expression. Collectively, these findings show, for the first time, that EHEC infection significantly inhibit colonic uptake of TPP, and that this effect appears to be exerted at the level of SLC44A4 transcription and involves the ERK1/2 and NF-kB signaling pathways