Regularizing cosmological singularities by varying physical constants

Varying physical constant cosmologies were claimed to solve standard cosmological problems such as the horizon, the flatness and the $\Lambda$-problem. In this paper, we suggest yet another possible application of these theories: solving the singularity problem. By specifying some examples we show that various cosmological singularities may be regularized provided the physical constants evolve in time in an appropriate way.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, Revtex4-1, an improved version to appear in JCA

Integrative molecular characterization of malignant pleural mesothelioma

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a highly lethal cancer of the lining of the chest cavity. To expand our understanding of MPM, we conducted a comprehensive integrated genomic study, including the most detailed analysis of BAP1 alterations to date. We identified histology-independent molecular prognostic subsets, and defined a novel genomic subtype with TP53 and SETDB1 mutations and extensive loss of heterozygosity. We also report strong expression of the immune-checkpoint gene VISTA in epithelioid MPM, strikingly higher than in other solid cancers, with implications for the immune response to MPM and for its immunotherapy. Our findings highlight new avenues for further investigation of MPM biology and novel therapeutic options. SIGNIFICANCE: Through a comprehensive integrated genomic study of 74 MPMs, we provide a deeper understanding of histology-independent determinants of aggressive behavior, define a novel genomic subtype with TP53 and SETDB1 mutations and extensive loss of heterozygosity, and discovered strong expresssion of the immune-checkpoint gene VISTA in epithelioid MPM

Para-infectious brain injury in COVID-19 persists at follow-up despite attenuated cytokine and autoantibody responses

To understand neurological complications of COVID-19 better both acutely and for recovery, we measured markers of brain injury, inflammatory mediators, and autoantibodies in 203 hospitalised participants; 111 with acute sera (1–11 days post-admission) and 92 convalescent sera (56 with COVID-19-associated neurological diagnoses). Here we show that compared to 60 uninfected controls, tTau, GFAP, NfL, and UCH-L1 are increased with COVID-19 infection at acute timepoints and NfL and GFAP are significantly higher in participants with neurological complications. Inflammatory mediators (IL-6, IL-12p40, HGF, M-CSF, CCL2, and IL-1RA) are associated with both altered consciousness and markers of brain injury. Autoantibodies are more common in COVID-19 than controls and some (including against MYL7, UCH-L1, and GRIN3B) are more frequent with altered consciousness. Additionally, convalescent participants with neurological complications show elevated GFAP and NfL, unrelated to attenuated systemic inflammatory mediators and to autoantibody responses. Overall, neurological complications of COVID-19 are associated with evidence of neuroglial injury in both acute and late disease and these correlate with dysregulated innate and adaptive immune responses acutely

A baseline survey on the availability of Black Bengal breeding bucks in different districts of Bangladesh

The present study was conducted to assess the availability of Black Bengal breeding bucks in five districts from the Northern part (Lalmonirhat and Rangpur), Central part (Tangail and Mymensingh) and Southern part (Khulna) of Bangladesh and also to explore the relationship between distance of does from these breeding bucks and type of scarcity. The data were collected using a pre-tested questionnaire from 100 goat rearers of 100 villages in five districts. In this study, the selected characteristics of the respondents and other factors on the availability of Black Bengal breeding bucks were considered as independent variable whereas type of scarcity was considered as dependent variable. The buck and doe ratios were 1:164, 1:138, 1:114, 1:127 and 1:96 in Lalmonirhat, Rangpur, Tangail, Khulna and Mymensingh district, respectively. The pooled buck and doe ratio was 1:128. More than 70% farmers faced severe shortage of breeding bucks for serving their does in the above districts which ultimately represent the overall situation of the country. Almost all farmers (100%) had to depend on natural mating to serve their does except the farmers of Mymensingh where 12% farmers depended on artificial insemination in goat. It was observed that type of scarcity had significantly positively correlated (0.933) with distance of does from breeding bucks. This also indicated that type of scarcity gradually reached to severe level which may create the inbreeding depression in goat breeding

Integrated tidal marine turbine for power generation with coastal erosion breakwater

Malaysia experiences predictable tides year round. Areas with the greatest potential are Terengganu and Sarawak waters with average annual power generation between 2.8kW/m to 8.6kW/m. This condition gives excellent opportunity to explore power generation using tidal energy converters by utilization of stand-alone marine facilities such as breakwater with the tidal stream energy. The tidal energy converter is a device that converts the energy in a flow of fluid into mechanical energy by passing the stream through a system of fixed and moving fan like blades. The power output is dependent on its design characteristics, which covers the turbine specification and the met-ocean environmental condition. Hence, this paper focused on the conceptual design of the integrated marine turbine mounted on wave breakwater known as WABCORE. The proposed marine turbine was installed in the breakwater and the generated energy was estimated based on the performance analysis through Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and ANSYS Fluent Computational Fluid Dynamics (Fluent CFD) simulations. It was found that a maximum power output of 30 Watts could be generated by horizontal-axis axial-flow marine turbine with excellent venturi-effect of piping design that provided significant contribution on power generation

Oral nitrate supplementation to enhance pulmonary rehabilitation in COPD: ON-EPIC a multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised parallel group study

Rationale: dietary nitrate supplementation has been proposed as a strategy to improve exercise performance, both in healthy individuals and in people with COPD. We aimed to assess whether it could enhance the effect of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) in COPD.Methods: this double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group, randomised controlled study performed at four UK centres, enrolled adults with Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease grade II–IV COPD and Medical Research Council dyspnoea score 3–5 or functional limitation to undertake a twice weekly 8-week PR programme. They were randomly assigned (1:1) to either 140 mL of nitrate-rich beetroot juice (BRJ) (12.9 mmol nitrate), or placebo nitrate-deplete BRJ, consumed 3 hours prior to undertaking each PR session. Allocation used computer-generated block randomisation.Measurements: the primary outcome was change in incremental shuttle walk test (ISWT) distance. Secondary outcomes included quality of life, physical activity level, endothelial function via flow-mediated dilatation, fat-free mass index and blood pressure parameters.Results: 165 participants were recruited, 78 randomised to nitrate-rich BRJ and 87 randomised to placebo. Exercise capacity increased more with active treatment (n=57) than placebo (n=65); median (IQR) change in ISWT distance +60 m (10, 85) vs +30 m (0, 70), estimated treatment effect 30 m (95% CI 10 to 40); p=0.027. Active treatment also impacted on systolic blood pressure: treatment group −5.0 mm Hg (−5.0, –3.0) versus control +6.0 mm Hg (−1.0, 15.5), estimated treatment effect −7 mm Hg (95% CI 7 to −20) (p<0.0005). No significant serious adverse events or side effects were reported.Conclusions: dietary nitrate supplementation appears to be a well-tolerated and effective strategy to augment the benefits of PR in COPD