Microbiome: The impact of the microbiota–gut–brain axis on endometriosis-associated symptoms:mechanisms and opportunities for personalised management strategies

Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory condition affecting one in ten women and those assigned female at birth, defined by the presence of endometrial-like tissue outside the uterus. It is commonly associated with pain, infertility, and mood disorders, and is often comorbid with other chronic pain conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome. Recent research has identified a key role for the microbiota–gut–brain axis in health and a range of inflammatory and neurological disorders, prompting an exploration of its potential mechanistic role in endometriosis. Increased awareness of the impact of the gut microbiota within the patient community, combined with the often-detrimental side effects of current therapies, has motivated many to utilise self-management strategies, such as dietary modification and supplements, despite a lack of robust clinical evidence. Current research has characterised the gut microbiota in endometriosis patients and animal models. However, small cohorts and differing methodology have resulted in little consensus on the data. In this narrative review, we summarise research studies that have investigated the role of gut microbiota and their metabolic products in the development and progression of endometriosis lesions, before summarising insights from research into co-morbid conditions and discussing the reported impact of self-management strategies on symptoms of endometriosis. Finally, we suggest ways in which this promising field of research could be expanded to explore the role of specific bacteria, improve access to ‘microbial’ phenotyping, and develop personalised patient advice for reduction of symptoms such as chronic pain and bloating

New Complexity Results and Algorithms for the Minimum Tollbooth Problem

The inefficiency of the Wardrop equilibrium of nonatomic routing games can be eliminated by placing tolls on the edges of a network so that the socially optimal flow is induced as an equilibrium flow. A solution where the minimum number of edges are tolled may be preferable over others due to its ease of implementation in real networks. In this paper we consider the minimum tollbooth (MINTB) problem, which seeks social optimum inducing tolls with minimum support. We prove for single commodity networks with linear latencies that the problem is NP-hard to approximate within a factor of $1.1377$ through a reduction from the minimum vertex cover problem. Insights from network design motivate us to formulate a new variation of the problem where, in addition to placing tolls, it is allowed to remove unused edges by the social optimum. We prove that this new problem remains NP-hard even for single commodity networks with linear latencies, using a reduction from the partition problem. On the positive side, we give the first exact polynomial solution to the MINTB problem in an important class of graphs---series-parallel graphs. Our algorithm solves MINTB by first tabulating the candidate solutions for subgraphs of the series-parallel network and then combining them optimally

Integrable System Constructed out of Two Interacting Superconformal Fields

We describe how it is possible to introduce the interaction between superconformal fields of the same conformal dimensions. In the classical case such construction can be used to the construction of the Hirota - Satsuma equation. We construct supersymmetric Poisson tensor for such fields, which generates a new class of Hamiltonin systems. We found Lax representation for one of equation in this class by supersymmetrization Lax operator responsible for Hirota - Satsuma equation. Interestingly our supersymmetric equation is not reducible to classical Hirota - Satsuma equation. We show that our generalized system is reduced to the one of the supersymmetric KDV equation (a=4) but in this limit integrals of motion are not reduced to integrals of motion of the supersymmetric KdV equation.Comment: 15 pages,late

Poincare gauge theory of gravity: Friedman cosmology with even and odd parity modes. Analytic part

We propose a cosmological model in the framework of the Poincar\'e gauge theory of gravity (PG). The gravitational Lagrangian is quadratic in curvature and torsion. In our specific model, the Lagrangian contains (i) the curvature scalar $R$ and the curvature pseudo-scalar $X$ linearly and quadratically (including an $RX$ term) and (ii) pieces quadratic in the torsion {\it vector} $\cal V$ and the torsion {\it axial} vector $\cal A$ (including a ${\cal V}{\cal A}$ term). We show generally that in quadratic PG models we have nearly the same number of parity conserving terms (`world') and of parity violating terms (`shadow world'). This offers new perspectives in cosmology for the coupling of gravity to matter and antimatter. Our specific model generalizes the fairly realistic `torsion cosmologies' of Shie-Nester-Yo (2008) and Chen et al.\ (2009). With a Friedman type ansatz for an orthonormal coframe and a Lorentz connection, we derive the two field equations of PG in an explicit form and discuss their general structure in detail. In particular, the second field equation can be reduced to first order ordinary differential equations for the curvature pieces $R(t)$ and $X(t)$. Including these along with certain relations obtained from the first field equation and curvature definitions, we present a first order system of equations suitable for numerical evaluation. This is deferred to the second, numerical part of this paper.Comment: Latex computerscript, 25 pages; mistakes corrected, references added, notation and title slightly changed; accepted by Phys. Rev.

An axisymmetric evolution code for the Einstein equations on hyperboloidal slices

We present the first stable dynamical numerical evolutions of the Einstein equations in terms of a conformally rescaled metric on hyperboloidal hypersurfaces extending to future null infinity. Axisymmetry is imposed in order to reduce the computational cost. The formulation is based on an earlier axisymmetric evolution scheme, adapted to time slices of constant mean curvature. Ideas from a previous study by Moncrief and the author are applied in order to regularize the formally singular evolution equations at future null infinity. Long-term stable and convergent evolutions of Schwarzschild spacetime are obtained, including a gravitational perturbation. The Bondi news function is evaluated at future null infinity.Comment: 21 pages, 4 figures. Minor additions, updated to agree with journal versio

Pleba\'nski-Demia\'nski-like solutions in metric-affine gravity

We consider a (non--Riemannian) metric--affine gravity theory, in particular its nonmetricity--torsion sector ``isomorphic'' to the Einstein--Maxwell theory. We map certain Einstein--Maxwell electrovacuum solutions to it, namely the Pleba\'nski--Demia\'nski class of Petrov type D metrics.Comment: 12 pages of a LaTeX-fil

Binding Behavior of Crystalline and Noncrystalline Phases: Evaluation of the Enthalpic and Entropic Contributions to the Separation Selectivity of Nonpolar Solutes with a Novel Chromatographic Sorbent

In this paper, we describe studies of the retention characteristics of nonpolar molecules with a novel liquidcrystalline, silica-supported, comb-shaped polymer chromatographic phase, Sil-ODA 18 . These results extend and amplify previous reports of the roles of enthalpic-and entropic-driven processes in the modulation of the selectivity of nonpolar and polar compounds in reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). The investigations reveal that phase reorganization is the most important factor controlling selectivity enhancement with silica-supported, comb-shaped polymer phases as the temperature, T, of the system is varied. Moreover, these studies demonstrate that contributions from the stationary and the mobile phases can be independently fine-tuned to achieve enhanced selectivity via partition and/or adsorption binding processes. The relevant thermodynamic parameters, namely, the changes in enthalpy, entropy, and heat capacity for various nonpolar solutes with this comb-shaped polymeric sorbent, have also been determined using recently developed analytical procedures for the evaluation of nonlinear van't Hoff plots. These investigations into the thermodynamic properties of the comb-shaped polymeric sorbent in its ordered crystalline and noncrystalline states clearly delineate the differences in binding behavior compared to conventional types of monolayer n-alkylsilica sorbents and thus should facilitate wider application of this new class of reversed-phase sorbents in the separation sciences. Introduction Reversed-phase chromatography (RPC) is currently the most widely used of all of the high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) modes of separations. The evaluation of the physicochemical basis of the retention mechanisms of different classes of solutes in RPC has received extensive attention, with the experimental results often interpreted in terms of the solvophobic model proposed by Horvath et al. 1,2 A central question pertaining to all RPC separations is, What drives the retention process? This question has been the subject of considerable debate and investigation since the concept of RPC was first used in 1950 as an analytical separation method by Howard and Martin. 3 Two primary RPC mechanisms can be considered, namely, the solvation/desolvation model, 1,2 whereby expulsion of solutes from a polar mobile phase dominates the free energy of transfer with nonpolar sorbents acting as receptive but passive surfaces, and the partitioning model, 4-6 where the stationary phase contributes in a much more significant way to the overall distribution process. On the basis of solvophobic considerations that encompass the solvation/desolvation model, Horvath and co-workers 1 have proposed that the interaction between the solute and the mobile phase provides the primary driving force. According to this model, retention in the high-performance modes of RPC can then be attributed to adsorption rather than partitioning processes between the solutes and the nonpolar sorbent. 1,2 In the solvation/desolvation model, the contributio

Coordinated X-ray optical and radio observations of YZ Canis Minoris

Coordinated X ray, optical, and radio observations of the flare star YZ CMi are reported. Twenty-two minor optical flares and twelve radio events were recorded. No major optical flares, greater than 3 magnitudes, were observed. Although no flare related X ray emission was observed, the measured upper limits in this band enable meaningful comparisons with published flare star models. Three of the five models predicting the relative X ray to optical or radio flare luminosities are in serious disagreement with the observations. For the largest optical flare with coincident X ray coverage, the 3 sigma upper limit on X ray emission in the 0.15 to 0.8 keV band is 8.7 x 10 to the 28th power erg/s, corresponding to a ratio of X ray to B-band luminosity of less than 0.3. Based on the present results, the contribution of the flares UV Ceti flare stars to the galactic component of the diffuse soft X ray background is less than 0.2 percent

Adsorption behavior of multicomponent protein mixtures containing α1-proteinase inhibitor with the anion exchanger, 2-(diethylamino)ethyl-Spherodex

The equilibrium binding behavior of α1-proteinase inhibitor (α1-PI) in the presence of human serum albumin (HSA) has been determined in packed bed systems with the anion exchanger, 2-(diethylamino)ethyl (DEAE)-Spherodex. Experimental data derived for the individual proteins were compared with the corresponding data obtained from batch adsorption studies as well as studies in which mixtures of these two proteins were loaded at different concentration ratios onto columns of the same anion exchange adsorbent. The results confirm that α1-PI has a greater affinity for the anion exchanger, although competitive adsorption was observed as the inlet concentration of HSA was increased. Under these conditions, decreased binding capacities and lower dynamic adsorption rates were observed for α-PI with the DEAE-Spherodex anion exchange adsorbent. The results are discussed in terms of the influence which various contaminants that occur in multicomponent mixtures of proteins from human plasma can have on the equilibrium binding characteristics of a target protein with weak or strong ion exchange adsorbents under conditions approaching concentration overload in preparative chromatographic systems. These investigations have also addressed, as the first part of an iterative approach for the simulation of the adsorption behavior of multicomponent mixtures of human plasma proteins with ion exchange and affinity chromatographic adsorbents, the ability of noncompetitive and competitive Langmuirean models to simulate the adsorption of α1-PI in the presence of different concentrations of HSA to DEAE-Spherodex

Beyond Einstein-Cartan gravity: Quadratic torsion and curvature invariants with even and odd parity including all boundary terms

Recently, gravitational gauge theories with torsion have been discussed by an increasing number of authors from a classical as well as from a quantum field theoretical point of view. The Einstein-Cartan(-Sciama-Kibble) Lagrangian has been enriched by the parity odd pseudoscalar curvature (Hojman, Mukku, and Sayed) and by torsion square and curvature square pieces, likewise of even and odd parity. (i) We show that the inverse of the so-called Barbero-Immirzi parameter multiplying the pseudoscalar curvature, because of the topological Nieh-Yan form, can only be appropriately discussed if torsion square pieces are included. (ii) The quadratic gauge Lagrangian with both parities, proposed by Obukhov et al. and Baekler et al., emerges also in the framework of Diakonov et al.(2011). We establish the exact relations between both approaches by applying the topological Euler and Pontryagin forms in a Riemann-Cartan space expressed for the first time in terms of irreducible pieces of the curvature tensor. (iii) Only in a Riemann-Cartan spacetime, that is, in a spacetime with torsion, parity violating terms can be brought into the gravitational Lagrangian in a straightforward and natural way. Accordingly, Riemann-Cartan spacetime is a natural habitat for chiral fermionic matter fields.Comment: 12 page latex, as version 2 an old file was submitted by mistake, this is now the real corrected fil