Surface tension of the isotropic-nematic interface

We present the first calculations of the pressure tensor profile in the vicinity of the planar interface between isotropic liquid and nematic liquid crystal, using Onsager's density functional theory and computer simulation. When the liquid crystal director is aligned parallel to the interface, the situation of lowest free energy, there is a large tension on the nematic side of the interface and a small compressive region on the isotropic side. By contrast, for perpendicular alignment, the tension is on the isotropic side. There is excellent agreement between theory and simulation both in the forms of the pressure tensor profiles, and the values of the surface tension.Comment: Minor changes; to appear in Phys. Rev.

Analysis of recent eta photoproduction data

Recent data on eta-meson photoproduction off a proton target in the energy range 2 < sqrt{s} < 3 GeV are analyzed with regard to their overall consistency. Results from the ELSA and CLAS measurements are compared with predictions of a Regge model whose reaction amplitude was fixed via a global fit to pre-2000 measurements of differential cross sections and polarization observables for gamma p -> eta p at higher energies. We find that all recent experimental results on differential cross sections for eta-meson photoproduction are in good agreement with each other, except for the CLAS data from 2009. However, the latter can be made consistent with the other data at the expense of introducing an energy-dependent renormalization factor. We point out that there indications in the data for a possible excitation of baryon resonances with masses around 2.1 and 2.4 GeV.Comment: 13 pages, 13 figures; small modifications in the text, some figures are improved, accepted for publication by Eur. Phys. J.

Effect of a medical food on body mass index and activities of daily living in patients with Alzheimer's disease: secondary analyses from a randomized, controlled trial

Contains fulltext : 97852.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effect of a medical food (Souvenaid) on body mass index (BMI) and functional abilities in patients with mild Alzheimer's disease (AD). DESIGN/SETTING/PARTICIPANTS/INTERVENTION /MEASUREMENTS: These analyses were performed on data from a 12-week, double-blind, randomized, controlled, multicenter, proof-of-concept study with a similarly designed and exploratory 12-week extension period. Patients with mild AD (Mini-Mental State Examination score of 20-26) were randomized to receive either the active product or an iso-caloric control product. While primary outcomes included measures of cognition, the 23-item Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study-Activities of Daily Living (ADCS-ADL) scale was included as a secondary outcome. Both ADCS-ADL and BMI were assessed at baseline and Weeks 6, 12 and 24. Data were analyzed using a repeated-measures mixed model. RESULTS: Overall, data suggested an increased BMI in the active versus the control group at Week 24 (ITT: p = 0.07; PP: p = 0.03), but no treatment effect on ADCS-ADL was observed. However, baseline BMI was found to be a significant treatment effect modifier (ITT: p = 0.04; PP: p = 0.05), and an increase in ADCS-ADL was observed at Week 12 in patients with a 'low' baseline BMI (ITT: p = 0.02; PP: p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that baseline BMI significantly impacts the effect of Souvenaid on functional abilities. In addition, there was a suggestion that Souvenaid increased BMI

First record of Rhabdoceras suessi (Ammonoidea, Late Triassic) from the Transylvanian Triassic Series of the Eastern Carpathians (Romania) and a review of its biochronology, paleobiogeography and paleoecology

Abstract The occurrence of the heteromorphic ammonoid Rhabdoceras suessi Hauer, 1860, is recorded for the first time in the Upper Triassic limestone of the Timon-Ciungi olistolith in the Rarău Syncline, Eastern Carpathians. A single specimen of Rhabdoceras suessi co-occurs with Monotis (Monotis) salinaria that constrains its occurrence here to the Upper Norian (Sevatian 1). It is the only known heteromorphic ammonoid in the Upper Triassic of the Romanian Carpathians. Rhabdoceras suessi is a cosmopolitan species widely recorded in low and mid-paleolatitude faunas. It ranges from the Late Norian to the Rhaetian and is suitable for high-resolution worldwide correlations only when it co-occurs with shorter-ranging choristoceratids, monotid bivalves, or the hydrozoan Heterastridium. Formerly considered as the index fossil for the Upper Norian (Sevatian) Suessi Zone, by the latest 1970s this species lost its key biochronologic status among Late Triassic ammonoids, and it generated a controversy in the 1980s concerning the status of the Rhaetian stage. New stratigraphic data from North America and Europe in the subsequent decades resulted in a revised ammonoid biostratigraphy for the uppermost Triassic, the Rhaetian being reinstalled as the topmost stage in the current standard timescale of the Triassic. The geographic distribution of Rhabdoceras is compiled from published worldwide records, and its paleobiogeography and paleoecology are discussed

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

The 1H NMR visibility of intracellular lactate in Streptococcus faecalis

H NMR studies of glycolysis in washed cell suspensions of Streptococcus faecalis indicated that intracellular lactate is not H NMR visible. Evidence for this was gained from time course studies of glycolysis at increasing concentrations of glucose. A close correlation existed between the relative increase in the lactate integral and the enzymatically determined extracellular lactate concentration [Lo]. When ionophores which cause the collapse of the positive intracellular/extracellular lactate gradient were added to cell suspensions following fermentation of 5, 10 and 50 mM glucose, the increase in the lactate integral was proportional to the respective increase in [Lo]. A more direct method for determining the origin of the lactate signal involved centrifugation of a cell suspension after fermentation of 50 mM glucose and measurement of lactate in the extracellular and intracellular fluid. H spectra of the cell suspension, supernatant and sonicated pellet revealed that the lactate observed in the cell suspension was equivalent to the lactate in the supernatant alone. The intracellular lactate contained in the pellet represented 42% of the total lactate, indicating that only 58% of lactate is detected by in vivo H MRS of S. faecalis. This result is in contrast with the high percentage (70–90%) of in vitro lactate which is detected by in vivo H MRS of mammalian brain tissue (Williams S. R. et al. Magn. Res. Med. 7, 425–431, 1988). This may be due to a higher proportion of extracellular lactate in mammalian tissue or differences in the intracellular environments of bacterial and mammalian cells

DECAY MODES OF HIGH SPIN STATES IN LIGHT NUCLEI

The excitation energy in 42Ca populated in the reaction 28Si (16O, 2pγ) for a beam energy of 40 MeV has been measured by detecting both protons from the reaction. The average γ-multiplicity and de-excitation pattern of Yrast states was measured as a function of total excitation energy. The data suggest that for states of high angular momentum (J > 10) α-particle emission is the dominant mode of decay

Cluster analysis of patients suffering from addictions

International audienceWe investigate the contribution of unsupervised learning to identify patient's profiles suffering from addictions. We propose a new clustering approach based on coupling b-coloring of graph and Bregman hard clustering algorithm in order to automatically find the number of categories or groups of patients and the "best" representative patients' profile of each group. The study was carried out in close collaboration with the French co-operative health organization called the "Centre Mutualiste d'Addictologie", an aftercare centre for addictions. The quantitative data arises from a cohort of seven different aftercare centres for addiction located in France. The study concerns 301 patients suffering from dependence (addictions with psychoactive substances and/or behaviour addictions)

Saving lives The NHS accident and emergency service and how to improve it

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