Rotation and Spin in Physics

We delineate the role of rotation and spin in physics, discussing in order Newtonian classical physics, special relativity, quantum mechanics, quantum electrodynamics and general relativity. In the latter case, we discuss the generalization of the Kepler formula to post-Newtonian order $(c^{-2}$) including spin effects and two-body effects. Experiments which verify the theoretical results for general relativistic spin-orbit effects are discussed as well as efforts being made to verify the spin-spin effects

Inter-rater reliability of the Dysexecutive Questionnaire (DEX): comparative data from non-clinician respondents – all raters are not equal

Primary objective: The Dysexecutive Questionnaire (DEX) is used to obtain information about executive and emotional problems after neuropathology. The DEX is self-completed by the patient (DEX-S) and an independent rater such as a family member (DEX-I). This study examined the level of inter-rater agreement between either two or three non-clinician raters on the DEX-I in order to establish the reliability of DEX-I ratings. Methods and procedures: Family members and/or carers of 60 people with mixed neuropathology completed the DEX-I. For each patient, DEX-I ratings were obtained from either two or three raters who knew the person well prior to brain injury. Main outcomes and results: We obtained two independent-ratings for 60 patients and three independent-ratings for 36 patients. Intra-class correlations revealed that there was only a modest level of agreement for items, subscale and total DEX scores between raters for their particular family member. Several individual DEX items had low reliability and ratings for the emotion sub-scale had the lowest level of agreement. Conclusions: Independent DEX ratings completed by two or more non-clinician raters show only moderate correlation. Suggestions are made for improving the reliability of DEX-I ratings.</p

Acceptability of the 6-PACK falls prevention program: A pre-implementation study in hospitals participating in a cluster randomized controlled trial

There is limited evidence to support the effectiveness of falls prevention interventions in the acute hospital setting. The 6-PACK falls prevention program includes a fall-risk tool; 'falls alert' signs; supervision of patients in the bathroom; ensuring patients' walking AIDS are within reach; toileting regimes; low-low beds; and bed/chair alarms. This study explored the acceptability of the 6-PACK program from the perspective of nurses and senior staff prior to its implementation in a randomised controlled trial. A mixed-methods approach was applied involving 24 acute wards from six Australian hospitals. Participants were nurses working on participating wards and senior hospital staff including: Nurse Unit Managers; senior physicians; Directors of Nursing; and senior personnel involved in quality and safety or falls prevention. Information on program acceptability (suitability, practicality and benefits) was obtained by surveys, focus groups and interviews. Survey data were analysed descriptively, and focus group and interview data thematically. The survey response rate was 60%. Twelve focus groups (n = 96 nurses) and 24 interviews with senior staff were conducted. Falls were identified as a priority patient safety issue and nurses as key players in falls prevention. The 6-PACK program was perceived to offer practical benefits compared to current practice. Nurses agreed fall-risk tools, low-low beds and alert signs were useful for preventing falls (&gt;70%). Views were mixed regarding positioning patients' walking aid within reach. Practical issues raised included access to equipment; and risk of staff injury with low-low bed use. Bathroom supervision was seen to be beneficial, however not always practical. Views on the program appropriateness and benefits were consistent across nurses and senior staff. Staff perceived the 6-PACK program as suitable, practical and beneficial, and were open to adopting the program. Some practical concerns were raised highlighting issues to be addressed by the implementation plan

Microbial dynamics in a High Arctic glacier forefield: A combined field, laboratory, and modelling approach

Modelling the development of soils in glacier forefields is necessary in order to assess how microbial and geochemical processes interact and shape soil development in response to glacier retreat. Furthermore, such models can help us predict microbial growth and the fate of Arctic soils in an increasingly ice-free future. Here, for the first time, we combined field sampling with laboratory analyses and numerical modelling to investigate microbial community dynamics in oligotrophic proglacial soils in Svalbard. We measured low bacterial growth rates and growth efficiencies (relative to estimates from Alpine glacier forefields) and high sensitivity of bacterial growth rates to soil temperature (relative to temperate soils). We used these laboratory measurements to inform parameter values in a new numerical model and significantly refined predictions of microbial and biogeochemical dynamics of soil development over a period of roughly 120 years. The model predicted the observed accumulation of autotrophic and heterotrophic biomass. Genomic data indicated that initial microbial communities were dominated by bacteria derived from the glacial environment, whereas older soils hosted a mixed community of autotrophic and heterotrophic bacteria. This finding was simulated by the numerical model, which showed that active microbial communities play key roles in fixing and recycling carbon and nutrients. We also demonstrated the role of allochthonous carbon and microbial necromass in sustaining a pool of organic material, despite high heterotrophic activity in older soils. This combined field, laboratory, and modelling approach demonstrates the value of integrated model-data studies to understand and quantify the functioning of the microbial community in an emerging High Arctic soil ecosystem

Radiative Transfer for Exoplanet Atmospheres

Remote sensing of the atmospheres of distant worlds motivates a firm understanding of radiative transfer. In this review, we provide a pedagogical cookbook that describes the principal ingredients needed to perform a radiative transfer calculation and predict the spectrum of an exoplanet atmosphere, including solving the radiative transfer equation, calculating opacities (and chemistry), iterating for radiative equilibrium (or not), and adapting the output of the calculations to the astronomical observations. A review of the state of the art is performed, focusing on selected milestone papers. Outstanding issues, including the need to understand aerosols or clouds and elucidating the assumptions and caveats behind inversion methods, are discussed. A checklist is provided to assist referees/reviewers in their scrutiny of works involving radiative transfer. A table summarizing the methodology employed by past studies is provided.Comment: 7 pages, no figures, 1 table. Filled in missing information in references, main text unchange

Pregnancy-induced hypertension and infant growth at 28 and 42 days postpartum

BACKGROUND: No previous studies have examined the effect of pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) on early infant growth. The objective was to study infant growth patterns of babies born to mothers with PIH at 28 and 42 days postpartum. METHODS: DESIGN: We conducted a population-based retrospective cohort study of 16,936 pregnancies delivered between January 1, 1989 through December 31, 1990 in Suzhou, China. PIH was classified as gestational hypertension, preeclampsia and severe preeclampsia. Infant Growth Percentage (IGP) was calculated as the weight gain from birth to infant weight at 28 or 42 days postpartum divided by the birth weight. Univariate analysis and multivariate linear regression were performed to compare the infant weight as well as IGP at 28 and 42 days postpartum between various types of PIH and the normotensive group. RESULTS: Infant weights at 28 and 42 days postpartum were significantly lower in severe preeclampsia (e.g., 4679.9 g at 42 days) and preeclampsia (e.g., 4763.8 g at 42 days) groups than in the normotensive group (e.g., 4869.1 g at 42 days, p < 0.01). However, there were no differences in IGP between groups. After stratifying by intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) status, if babies were not intrauterine growth restricted, none of the PIH types showed a significantly lower weight at 28 and 42 days postpartum and their IGPs were similar to those of the reference group. When babies were growth restricted, all PIH groups showed significantly lower weights but higher IGP at 28 and 42 days postpartum as compared to the normotensive group. CONCLUSION: Infants born to mothers with PIH but without IUGR have normal early infant growth. IUGR secondary to PIH is associated with significant catch-up growth at 28 and 42 days postpartum

Electric-field-induced coherent coupling of the exciton states in a single quantum dot

The signature of coherent coupling between two quantum states is an anticrossing in their energies as one is swept through the other. In single semiconductor quantum dots containing an electron-hole pair the eigenstates form a two-level system that can be used to demonstrate quantum effects in the solid state, but in all previous work these states were independent. Here we describe a technique to control the energetic splitting of these states using a vertical electric field, facilitating the observation of coherent coupling between them. Near the minimum splitting the eigenstates rotate in the plane of the sample, being orientated at 45{\deg} when the splitting is smallest. Using this system we show direct control over the exciton states in one quantum dot, leading to the generation of entangled photon pairs

Robust Detection of Hierarchical Communities from Escherichia coli Gene Expression Data

Determining the functional structure of biological networks is a central goal of systems biology. One approach is to analyze gene expression data to infer a network of gene interactions on the basis of their correlated responses to environmental and genetic perturbations. The inferred network can then be analyzed to identify functional communities. However, commonly used algorithms can yield unreliable results due to experimental noise, algorithmic stochasticity, and the influence of arbitrarily chosen parameter values. Furthermore, the results obtained typically provide only a simplistic view of the network partitioned into disjoint communities and provide no information of the relationship between communities. Here, we present methods to robustly detect coregulated and functionally enriched gene communities and demonstrate their application and validity for Escherichia coli gene expression data. Applying a recently developed community detection algorithm to the network of interactions identified with the context likelihood of relatedness (CLR) method, we show that a hierarchy of network communities can be identified. These communities significantly enrich for gene ontology (GO) terms, consistent with them representing biologically meaningful groups. Further, analysis of the most significantly enriched communities identified several candidate new regulatory interactions. The robustness of our methods is demonstrated by showing that a core set of functional communities is reliably found when artificial noise, modeling experimental noise, is added to the data. We find that noise mainly acts conservatively, increasing the relatedness required for a network link to be reliably assigned and decreasing the size of the core communities, rather than causing association of genes into new communities.Comment: Due to appear in PLoS Computational Biology. Supplementary Figure S1 was not uploaded but is available by contacting the author. 27 pages, 5 figures, 15 supplementary file

Transcriptomic profiling reveals a pronociceptive role for angiotensin II in inflammatory bowel disease.

Visceral pain is a leading cause of morbidity in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), contributing significantly to reduced quality of life. Currently available analgesics often lack efficacy or have intolerable side effects, driving the need for a more complete understanding of the mechanisms causing pain. Whole transcriptome gene expression analysis was performed by bulk RNA sequencing of colonic biopsies from patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) reporting abdominal pain and compared with noninflamed control biopsies. Potential pronociceptive mediators were identified based on gene upregulation in IBD biopsy tissue and cognate receptor expression in murine colonic sensory neurons. Pronociceptive activity of identified mediators was assessed in assays of sensory neuron and colonic afferent activity. RNA sequencing analysis highlighted a 7.6-fold increase in the expression of angiotensinogen transcripts, Agt , which encode the precursor to angiotensin II (Ang II), in samples from UC patients ( P = 3.2 × 10 -8 ). Consistent with the marked expression of the angiotensin AT 1 receptor in colonic sensory neurons, Ang II elicited an increase in intracellular Ca 2+ in capsaicin-sensitive, voltage-gated sodium channel subtype Na V 1.8-positive sensory neurons. Ang II also evoked action potential discharge in high-threshold colonic nociceptors. These effects were inhibited by the AT 1 receptor antagonist valsartan. Findings from our study identify AT 1 receptor-mediated colonic nociceptor activation as a novel pathway of visceral nociception in patients with UC. This work highlights the potential utility of angiotensin receptor blockers, such as valsartan, as treatments for pain in IBD

The effects of socioeconomic status and indices of physical environment on reduced birth weight and preterm births in Eastern Massachusetts

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Background: Air pollution and social characteristics have been shown to affect indicators of health. While use of spatial methods to estimate exposure to air pollution has increased the power to detect effects, questions have been raised about potential for confounding by social factors.Methods: A study of singleton births in Eastern Massachusetts was conducted between 1996 and 2002 to examine the association between indicators of traffic, land use, individual and area-based socioeconomic measures (SEM), and birth outcomes ( birth weight, small for gestational age and preterm births), in a two-level hierarchical model.Results: We found effects of both individual ( education, race, prenatal care index) and area-based ( median household income) SEM with all birth outcomes. The associations for traffic and land use variables were mainly seen with birth weight, with an exception for an effect of cumulative traffic density on small for gestational age. Race/ethnicity of mother was an important predictor of birth outcomes and a strong confounder for both area-based SEM and indices of physical environment. The effects of traffic and land use differed by level of education and median household income.Conclusion: Overall, the findings of the study suggested greater likelihood of reduced birth weight and preterm births among the more socially disadvantaged, and a greater risk of reduced birth weight associated with traffic exposures. Results revealed the importance of controlling simultaneously for SEM and environmental exposures as the way to better understand determinants of health.This work is supported by the Harvard Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Center, Grants R827353 and R-832416, and National Institute for Environmental Health Science (NIEHS) ES-0002