Complete Equivalence Between Gluon Tree Amplitudes in Twistor String Theory and in Gauge Theory

The gluon tree amplitudes of open twistor string theory, defined as contour integrals over the ACCK link variables, are shown to satisfy the BCFW relations, thus confirming that they coincide with the corresponding amplitudes in gauge field theory. In this approach, the integration contours are specified as encircling the zeros of certain constraint functions that force the appropriate relation between the link variables and the twistor string world-sheet variables. To do this, methods for calculating the tree amplitudes using link variables are developed further including diagrammatic methods for organizing and performing the calculations.Comment: 38 page

Differences in parental attitudes and tolerance of child exposure to and participation in gambling, alcohol and nicotine use

This study investigated parental attitudes toward child exposure to alcohol, nicotine (smoking tobacco) and gambling, via a questionnaire that examined parental tolerance with regard to hypothetical scenarios of exposure and participation, alongside perceptions of the importance of associated health promotion for each activity. It was hypothesised that parents would indicate significantly less tolerance of, and rate health promotion activity of greater importance for, nicotine and alcohol in comparison to gambling. Results from a sample of 500 UK based parents, showed significantly less tolerance for nicotine versus alcohol and gambling in all hypothetical scenarios of exposure and direct participation. Parents also reported significantly less tolerance surrounding child consumption of alcohol than gambling. Health promotion activity surrounding nicotine was rated significantly more important than that of alcohol and gambling. It is argued that greater parental concern surrounding nicotine was attributable to increased availability of knowledge surrounding associated risks of smoking behaviour within existing regulation and health promotion activity. Arguments are made for increased public awareness of the potential harms that may be associated with gambling behaviour, which may assist parents in making informed decisions regarding their children’s exposure to and participation in gambling-related activities

In Vivo Comparison of Two Human Norovirus Surrogates for Testing Ethanol-Based Handrubs: The Mouse Chasing the Cat!

Human noroviruses (HuNoV), a major cause of acute gastroenteritis worldwide, cannot be readily cultured in the lab. Therefore, a feline calicivirus (FCV) is often used as its surrogate to, among other things, test alcohol-based handrubs (ABHR). The more recent laboratory culture of a mouse norovirus (MNV) provides an alternative. While MNV is closer to HuNoV in several respects, to date, no comparative testing of FCV and MNV survival and inactivation on human hands has been performed. This study was designed to address the knowledge gap. The rates of loss in viability during drying on hands were −1.91 and −1.65% per minute for FCV and MNV, respectively. When the contaminated skin was exposed for 20 s to either a commercial ABHR with 62% (v/v) ethanol or to 75% (v/v) ethanol in water, FCV infectivity was reduced by <1 log10 while that of MNV by nearly 2.8 log10. Extending the contact time to 30 s reduced the FCV titer by almost 2 log10 by both test substances and that of MNV by >3.5 log10 by the commercial ABHR while 75% ethanol did not show any noticeable improvement in activity as compared to the 20 s contact. An 80% (v/v) aqueous solution of ethanol gave only a 1.75 log10 reduction in MNV activity after 20 s. The results show significant differences in the ethanol susceptibility of FCV and MNV in contact times relevant to field use of ABHR and also that 62% ethanol was a more effective virucide than either 75% or 80% ethanol. These findings indicate the need for a review of the continuing use of FCV as a surrogate for HuNoV

Unique Roles of Mothering and Fathering in Child Anxiety; Moderation by Child’s Age and Gender

We examined the associations between the parenting dimensions autonomy granting, over control, and rejection and children’s anxiety, in relation to parent and child gender and child age. Elementary school-aged children (n = 179, Mage = 10.27, SD = 1.30), adolescents (n = 127, Mage = 15.02, SD = 1.54) and both their parents completed questionnaires on parenting and children’s anxiety. Parenting was more strongly related to child anxiety in elementary school children than in adolescents. Maternal over control was uniquely related to elementary school-aged children’s anxiety whereas paternal over control was more important during adolescence. Opposite to our expectations, we found higher levels of parental autonomy granting to be related to higher levels of anxiety for younger elementary school-aged children (age < 10). For adolescents, the association between paternal over control and anxiety was stronger for older adolescents (age > 15), with higher levels of over control related to higher levels of anxiety. For both elementary school-aged children and adolescents, the associations between parenting and child anxiety did not differ as a function of the child’s gender. If we are to understand the associations between parenting and children’s anxiety, it is important to distinguish parental autonomy granting from parental over control and to consider the role of parent gender and the age of the child

Comparison of sapwood invasion by three Phytophthora spp.in different hosts

Many Phytophthora spp. have recently been isolated from native vegetation in Western Australia. As their pathogenicity is often unknown, it is not possible to provide advice to land managers on the impact of site infestation on native plants and how these infestations should be managed. We describe a rapid screening method based on sapwood invasion that has been used to compare the pathogenicity of Phytophthora arenaria, P. cinnamomi and P. multivora. Radial invasion into the xylem of six banksias and three eucalypts was assessed in an excised branch assay in summer and winter. Branches were wound inoculated and invasion was assessed by plating from a strip of tissue cut across the stem at the inoculation point and at 40 mm above and below. A symptomless infection had established in both the bark and sapwood within 6 days. P. arenaria was only isolated from the strip of tissue at the inoculation point. P. cinnamomi was isolated from the sapwood of Banksia attenuata, B. burdettii, B. menziesii and B. speciosa 40 mm above or below the inoculation point in some experiments. P. multivora was isolated from B. speciosa 40 mm below the inoculation point in one experiment. Hyphae of both species were seen in both ray parenchyma cells and xylem vessels. The invasiveness of the Phytophthora spp. was compared on the two groups of hosts using scores for sapwood invasion at the inoculation point. For banksias, P. cinnamomi and P. multivora had significantly higher invasion scores on banksias than P. arenaria but were not significantly different to one another. There was no significant difference between the three Phytophthora spp. on the eucalypt hosts. Assessing sapwood invasion provides a rapid, inexpensive and biologically meaningful way of screening the many Phytophthora spp. that have been isolated from native vegetation

Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of Tualang honey in alkali injury on the eyes of rabbits: Experimental animal study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Alkali injury is one of the most devastating injuries to the eye. It results in permanent unilateral or bilateral visual impairment. Chemical eye injury is accompanied by an increase in the oxidative stress. Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant agents play a major role in the treatment of chemical eye injuries. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the anti-inflammatory (clinical and histopathological) and antioxidant effects of Tualang honey versus conventional treatment in alkali injury on the eyes of rabbits.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A preliminary study was carried out prior to the actual study to establish the alkali chemical injury on rabbit's cornea and we found that alkali chemical injury with 2 N NaOH showed severe clinical inflammatory features. In actual study, alkali injury with 2 N NaOH was induced in the right eye of 10 New Zealand White rabbits' cornea. The rabbits were divided into two groups, Group A was given conventional treatment and Group B was treated with both topical and oral Tualang honey. Clinical inflammatory features of the right eye were recorded at 12 hours, 24 hours, 72 hours, 5^thday and 7^thday post induction of alkali burn on the cornea. The histopathological inflammatory features of the right corneas of all rabbits were also evaluated on day-7. The level of total antioxidant status and lipid peroxidation products in the aqueous humour, vitreous humour and serum at day-7 were estimated biochemically. Fisher's Exact, Chi-Square and Mann-Whitney test were used to analyse the data.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There was no statistically significant difference in clinical inflammatory features (p > 0.05) between honey treated and the conventional treated group at different times of examination. Histopathological examination of the cornea showed the number of polymorphonuclear leucocytes was below 50 for both groups (mild grade). There was also no significant difference in the level of total antioxidant status as well as lipid peroxidation products in aqueous humour (p = 0.117, p = 0.382 respectively), vitreous humour (p = 0.917, p = 0.248 respectively) and serum (p = 0.917, p = 0.332 respectively) between honey treated and the conventional treated group.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Tualang honey has almost the equal effects when compared with the conventional treatment in treating alkali injury on rabbit's eye. Future research with more number of rabbits and control group is warranted to explore the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of Tualang honey.</p

Growth Response of Drought-Stressed Pinus sylvestris Seedlings to Single- and Multi-Species Inoculation with Ectomycorrhizal Fungi

Many trees species form symbiotic associations with ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi, which improve nutrient and water acquisition of their host. Until now it is unclear whether the species richness of ECM fungi is beneficial for tree seedling performance, be it during moist conditions or drought. We performed a pot experiment using Pinus sylvestris seedlings inoculated with four selected ECM fungi (Cenococcum geophilum, Paxillus involutus, Rhizopogon roseolus and Suillus granulatus) to investigate (i) whether these four ECM fungi, in monoculture or in species mixtures, affect growth of P. sylvestris seedlings, and (ii) whether this effect can be attributed to species number per se or to species identity. Two different watering regimes (moist vs. dry) were applied to examine the context-dependency of the results. Additionally, we assessed the activity of eight extracellular enzymes in the root tips. Shoot growth was enhanced in the presence of S. granulatus, but not by any other ECM fungal species. The positive effect of S. granulatus on shoot growth was more pronounced under moist (threefold increase) than under dry conditions (twofold increase), indicating that the investigated ECM fungi did not provide additional support during drought stress. The activity of secreted extracellular enzymes was higher in S. granulatus than in any other species. In conclusion, our findings suggest that ECM fungal species composition may affect seedling performance in terms of aboveground biomass

Pain in elderly people with severe dementia: A systematic review of behavioural pain assessment tools

BACKGROUND: Pain is a common and major problem among nursing home residents. The prevalence of pain in elderly nursing home people is 40–80%, showing that they are at great risk of experiencing pain. Since assessment of pain is an important step towards the treatment of pain, there is a need for manageable, valid and reliable tools to assess pain in elderly people with dementia. METHODS: This systematic review identifies pain assessment scales for elderly people with severe dementia and evaluates the psychometric properties and clinical utility of these instruments. Relevant publications in English, German, French or Dutch, from 1988 to 2005, were identified by means of an extensive search strategy in Medline, Psychinfo and CINAHL, supplemented by screening citations and references. Quality judgement criteria were formulated and used to evaluate the psychometric aspects of the scales. RESULTS: Twenty-nine publications reporting on behavioural pain assessment instruments were selected for this review. Twelve observational pain assessment scales (DOLOPLUS2; ECPA; ECS; Observational Pain Behavior Tool; CNPI; PACSLAC; PAINAD; PADE; RaPID; Abbey Pain Scale; NOPPAIN; Pain assessment scale for use with cognitively impaired adults) were identified. Findings indicate that most observational scales are under development and show moderate psychometric qualities. CONCLUSION: Based on the psychometric qualities and criteria regarding sensitivity and clinical utility, we conclude that PACSLAC and DOLOPLUS2 are the most appropriate scales currently available. Further research should focus on improving these scales by further testing their validity, reliability and clinical utility

Does Father Know Best? A Formal Model of the Paternal Influence on Childhood Social Anxiety

We explore paternal social anxiety as a specific risk factor for childhood social anxiety in a rational optimization model. In the course of human evolution, fathers specialized in external protection (e.g., confronting the external world) while mothers specialized in internal protection (e.g., providing comfort and food). Thus, children may instinctively be more influenced by the information signaled by paternal versus maternal behavior with respect to potential external threats. As a result, if fathers exhibit social anxiety, children interpret it as a strong negative signal about the external social world and rationally adjust their beliefs, thus becoming stressed. Under the assumption that paternal signals on social threats are more influential, a rational cognitive inference leads children of socially anxious fathers to develop social anxiety, unlike children of socially anxious mothers. We show in the model that mothers cannot easily compensate for anxious paternal behavior, but choose to increase maternal care to maintain the child’s wellbeing. We discuss research directions to test the proposed model as well as implications for the prevention and treatment of child social anxiety