2,601 research outputs found
Comparison and Uniqueness Results for the Periodic Boundary Value Problem for Linear First-Order Differential Equations Subject to a Functional Perturbation
This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of a chapter published in Area I. et al. (eds) Nonlinear Analysis and Boundary Value Problems. NABVP 2018. Springer Proceedings in Mathematics & Statistics, vol 292. Springer, Cham. The final authenticated version is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26987-6_14We improve some comparison results for the periodic boundary value problem related to a first-order differential equation perturbed by a functional term. The comparison results presented cover many cases as differential equations with delay, differential equations with maxima and integro-differential equations. The interesting case of functional perturbation with piecewise constant arguments is also analyzed
Religious perspectives on the use of psychopharmaceuticals as an enhancement technology
The use of psychopharmaceuticals as an enhancement technology has been the focus of attention in the bioethics literature. However, there has been little examination of the challenges that this practice creates for religious traditions that place importance on questions of being, authenticity and identity. We asked expert commentators from six major world religions to consider the issues raised by psychopharmaceuticals as an enhancement technology. These commentaries reveal that in assessing the appropriate place of medical therapies, religious traditions, like secular perspectives, rely upon ideas about health and disease and about normal human behavior. But unlike secular perspectives, faith traditions explicitly concern themselves with ways in which medicine should or should not be used to live a ‘good life’. KEYWORDS: Enhancement; bioethics, psychopharmacology, religio
Radiocarbon dating of methane and carbon dioxide evaded from a temperate peatland stream
Streams draining peatlands export large quantities of carbon in different chemical forms and
are an important part of the carbon cycle. Radiocarbon (14C) analysis/dating provides unique
information on the source and rate that carbon is cycled through ecosystems, as has recently
been demonstrated at the air-water interface through analysis of carbon dioxide (CO2) lost
from peatland streams by evasion (degassing). Peatland streams also have the potential to
release large amounts of methane (CH4) and, though 14C analysis of CH4 emitted by ebullition
(bubbling) has been previously reported, diffusive emissions have not. We describe methods
that enable the 14C analysis of CH4 evaded from peatland streams. Using these methods, we
investigated the 14C age and stable carbon isotope composition of both CH4 and CO2 evaded
from a small peatland stream draining a temperate raised mire. Methane was aged between
1617-1987 years BP, and was much older than CO2 which had an age range of 303-521 years
BP. Isotope mass balance modelling of the results indicated that the CO2 and CH4 evaded
from the stream were derived from different source areas, with most evaded CO2 originating
from younger layers located nearer the peat surface compared to CH4. The study demonstrates
the insight that can be gained into peatland carbon cycling from a methodological
development which enables dual isotope (14C and 13C) analysis of both CH4 and CO2 collected
at the same time and in the same way
Skyrmion fluctuations at a first-order phase transition boundary
Magnetic skyrmions are topologically protected spin textures with promising prospects for applications in data storage. They can form a lattice state due to competing magnetic interactions and are commonly found in a small region of the temperature - magnetic field phase diagram. Recent work has demonstrated that these magnetic quasi-particles fluctuate at the μeV energy scale. Here, we use a coherent x-ray correlation method at an x-ray free-electron laser to investigate these fluctuations in a magnetic phase coexistence region near a first-order transition boundary where fluctuations are not expected to play a major role. Surprisingly, we find that the relaxation of the intermediate scattering function at this transition differs significantly compared to that deep in the skyrmion lattice phase. The observation of a compressed exponential behavior suggests solid-like dynamics, often associated with jamming. We assign this behavior to disorder and the phase coexistence observed in a narrow field-window near the transition, which can cause fluctuations that lead to glassy behavior
Uterine selection of human embryos at implantation
Human embryos frequently harbor large-scale complex chromosomal errors that impede normal development. Affected embryos may fail to implant although many first breach the endometrial epithelium and embed in the decidualizing stroma before being rejected via mechanisms that are poorly understood. Here we show that developmentally impaired human embryos elicit an endoplasmic stress response in human decidual cells. A stress response was also evident upon in vivo exposure of mouse uteri to culture medium conditioned by low-quality human embryos. By contrast, signals emanating from developmentally competent embryos activated a focused gene network enriched in metabolic enzymes and implantation factors. We further show that trypsin, a serine protease released by pre-implantation embryos, elicits Ca2+ signaling in endometrial epithelial cells. Competent human embryos triggered short-lived oscillatory Ca2+ fluxes whereas low-quality embryos caused a heightened and prolonged Ca2+ response. Thus, distinct positive and negative mechanisms contribute to active selection of human embryos at implantation
Meta-research metrics matter: letter regarding article “indirect tolerability comparison of Deutetrabenazine and Tetrabenazine for Huntington disease”
Macroscopic effects of the spectral structure in turbulent flows
Two aspects of turbulent flows have been the subject of extensive, split
research efforts: macroscopic properties, such as the frictional drag
experienced by a flow past a wall, and the turbulent spectrum. The turbulent
spectrum may be said to represent the fabric of a turbulent state; in practice
it is a power law of exponent \alpha (the "spectral exponent") that gives the
revolving velocity of a turbulent fluctuation (or "eddy") of size s as a
function of s. The link, if any, between macroscopic properties and the
turbulent spectrum remains missing. Might it be found by contrasting the
frictional drag in flows with differing types of spectra? Here we perform
unprecedented measurements of the frictional drag in soap-film flows, where the
spectral exponent \alpha = 3 and compare the results with the frictional drag
in pipe flows, where the spectral exponent \alpha = 5/3. For moderate values of
the Reynolds number Re (a measure of the strength of the turbulence), we find
that in soap-film flows the frictional drag scales as Re^{-1/2}, whereas in
pipe flows the frictional drag scales as Re^{-1/4} . Each of these scalings may
be predicted from the attendant value of \alpha by using a new theory, in which
the frictional drag is explicitly linked to the turbulent spectrum. Our work
indicates that in turbulence, as in continuous phase transitions, macroscopic
properties are governed by the spectral structure of the fluctuations.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure
Injury rates and injury risk factors among federal bureau of investigation new agent trainees
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A one-year prospective examination of injury rates and injury risk factors was conducted in Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) new agent training.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Injury incidents were obtained from medical records and injury compensation forms. Potential injury risk factors were acquired from a lifestyle questionnaire and existing data at the FBI Academy.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 426 men and 105 women participated in the project. Thirty-five percent of men and 42% of women experienced one or more injuries during training. The injury incidence rate was 2.5 and 3.2 injuries/1,000 person-days for men and women, respectively (risk ratio (women/men) = 1.3, 95% confidence interval = 0.9-1.7). The activities most commonly associated with injuries (% of total) were defensive tactics training (58%), physical fitness training (20%), physical fitness testing (5%), and firearms training (3%). Among the men, higher injury risk was associated with older age, slower 300-meter sprint time, slower 1.5-mile run time, lower total points on the physical fitness test (PFT), lower self-rated physical activity, lower frequency of aerobic exercise, a prior upper or lower limb injury, and prior foot or knee pain that limited activity. Among the women higher injury risk was associated with slower 300-meter sprint time, slower 1.5-mile run time, lower total points on the PFT, and prior back pain that limited activity.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results of this investigation supported those of a previous retrospective investigation emphasizing that lower fitness and self-reported pain limiting activity were associated with higher injury risk among FBI new agents.</p
A spectro-polarimetric study of the planet-hosting G dwarf, HD 147513
© ESO, 2015. Reproduced with permission from Astronomy & Astrophysics, © ESO. This is the final published version of the work, which was originally published at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201526595The results from a spectro-polarimetric study of the planet-hosting Sun-like star, HD 147513 (G5V), are presented here. Robust detections of Zeeman signatures at all observed epochs indicate a surface magnetic field, with longitudinal magnetic field strengths varying between 1.0-3.2 G. Radial velocity variations from night to night modulate on a similar timescale to the longitudinal magnetic field measurements. These variations are therefore likely due to the rotational modulation of stellar active regions rather than the much longer timescale of the planetary orbit (Porb = 528 d). Both the longitudinal magnetic field measurements and radial velocity variations are consistent with a rotation period of 10 ± 2 days, which are also consistent with the measured chromospheric activity level of the star (′log R′HK = -4.64). Together, these quantities indicate a low inclination angle, i ∼ 18°. We present preliminary magnetic field maps of the star based on the above period and find a simple poloidal large-scale field. Chemical analyses of the star have revealed that it is likely to have undergone a barium-enrichment phase in its evolution because of a higher mass companion. Despite this, our study reveals that the star has a fairly typical activity level for its rotation period and spectral type. Future studies will enable us to explore the long-term evolution of the field, as well as to measure the stellar rotation period, with greater accuracy
A Small Conductance Calcium-Activated K<sup>+</sup> Channel in C. elegans, KCNL-2, Plays a Role in the Regulation of the Rate of Egg-Laying
In the nervous system of mice, small conductance calcium-activated potassium (SK) channels function to regulate neuronal excitability through the generation of a component of the medium afterhyperpolarization that follows action potentials. In humans, irregular action potential firing frequency underlies diseases such as ataxia, epilepsy, schizophrenia and Parkinson's disease. Due to the complexity of studying protein function in the mammalian nervous system, we sought to characterize an SK channel homologue, KCNL-2, in C. elegans, a genetically tractable system in which the lineage of individual neurons was mapped from their early developmental stages. Sequence analysis of the KCNL-2 protein reveals that the six transmembrane domains, the potassium-selective pore and the calmodulin binding domain are highly conserved with the mammalian homologues. We used widefield and confocal fluorescent imaging to show that a fusion construct of KCNL-2 with GFP in transgenic lines is expressed in the nervous system of C. elegans. We also show that a KCNL-2 null strain, kcnl-2(tm1885), demonstrates a mild egg-laying defective phenotype, a phenotype that is rescued in a KCNL-2-dependent manner. Conversely, we show that transgenic lines that overexpress KCNL-2 demonstrate a hyperactive egg-laying phenotype. In this study, we show that the vulva of transgenic hermaphrodites is highly innervated by neuronal processes and by the VC4 and VC5 neurons that express GFP-tagged KCNL-2. We propose that KCNL-2 functions in the nervous system of C. elegans to regulate the rate of egg-laying. © 2013 Chotoo et al
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