743 research outputs found
Preclinical detection of infectivity and disease-specific PrP in blood throughout the incubation period of prion disease
Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder characterised by accumulation of pathological isoforms of the prion protein, PrP. Although cases of clinical vCJD are rare, there is evidence there may be tens of thousands of infectious carriers in the United Kingdom alone. This raises concern about the potential for perpetuation of infection via medical procedures, in particular transfusion of contaminated blood products. Accurate biochemical detection of prion infection is crucial to mitigate risk and we have previously reported a blood assay for vCJD. This assay is sensitive for abnormal PrP conformers at the earliest stages of preclinical prion disease in mice and precedes the maximum infectious titre in blood. Not only does this support the possibility of screening asymptomatic individuals, it will also facilitate the elucidation of the complex relationship that exists between the ensemble of abnormal PrP conformers present in blood and the relationship to infectivity
Minimal Riesz energy on the sphere for axis-supported external fields
We investigate the minimal Riesz s-energy problem for positive measures on
the d-dimensional unit sphere S^d in the presence of an external field induced
by a point charge, and more generally by a line charge. The model interaction
is that of Riesz potentials |x-y|^(-s) with d-2 <= s < d. For a given
axis-supported external field, the support and the density of the corresponding
extremal measure on S^d is determined. The special case s = d-2 yields
interesting phenomena, which we investigate in detail. A weak* asymptotic
analysis is provided as s goes to (d-2)^+.Comment: 42 pages, 2 figure
Modeling the dynamics of banana Xanthomonas wilt transmission incorporating infectious force in both asymptomatic and symptomatic stages
Despite massive efforts by regional governments and partners in the East and Central African region towards fighting Xanthomonas Wilt of banana, the disease is reported to continue to spread to new areas and resurge in others it had been contained. The use of asymptomatic but infectious plants is hypothesized to play a leading role in the persistence of the disease and it's introduction to new areas. A model for the transmission of BXW by symptomless plants is proposed and analyzed. It incorporates both horizontal and vertical transmission modes and a dual source of inoculum in the force of infection. The basic reproduction number, R0, is obtained and it is found to completely determine the global dynamics of the model. By construction of a suitable Lyapunov function for the second additive compound system, the global stability of the endemic equilibrium is established.
Numerical simulation and sensitivity analysis of the basic reproduction number indicate that the disease is mainly driven by parameters involving asymptomatic plants rather than symptomatic ones
Diffusion and Innovation Theory: Past, Present, and Future Contributions to Academia and Practice
Part 4: PanelInternational audienceThe field of information systems (IS) has throughout its history experienced extensive changes in technology, research, and education. These renewals will continue into the foreseeable future [10]. It is recognized that IS is a key force in the ongoing societal and organizational renewal and change [2, 8, 14]. For example, in the US business sector, IS continues yearly to consume about 30% of total investments made [5]. Recent research document that IS supports the creation of business value, with particular emphasis on an organizationâs innovation and change capabilities [1, 3]. Traditionally, research in IS has been interdisciplinary in nature - since it draws on innovation theory, models of value creation, actorsâ roles and behaviors, the creation and running of task oriented groups, and how these relate to organizational structures and mechanisms [24]. Throughout its history the question of benefits from investing in IS has been lively discussed
Inertial and fluctuational effects on the motion of a Bose superfluid vortex
We study the motion of a vortex under the influence of a harmonic force in an
approximately two dimensional trapped Bose-condensed gas. The
Hall-Vinen-Iordanskii equations, modified to include a fluctuational force and
an inertial mass term, are solved for the vortex motion. The mass of the vortex
has a strong influence on the time it takes the vortex to escape the trap.
Since the vortex mass also depends on the trap size we have an additional
dependence on the trap size in the escape time which we compare to the massless
case.Comment: Submitted to J. Low. Temp. Phy
Covariant derivative expansion of fermionic effective action at high temperatures
We derive the fermionic contribution to the 1-loop effective action for A_4
and A_i fields at high temperatures, assuming that gluon fields are slowly
varying but allowing for an arbitrary amplitude of A_4.Comment: RevTex 4, 11 pages, 3 figures. Version 2: Typos corrected; magnetic
fields restricted to parallel sector. Version accepted for publication in PR
Covariant derivative expansion of Yang-Mills effective action at high temperatures
Integrating out fast varying quantum fluctuations about Yang--Mills fields
A_i and A_4, we arrive at the effective action for those fields at high
temperatures. Assuming that the fields A_i and A_4 are slowly varying but that
the amplitude of A_4 is arbitrary, we find a non-trivial effective gauge
invariant action both in the electric and magnetic sectors. Our results can be
used for studying correlation functions at high temperatures beyond the
dimensional reduction approximation, as well as for estimating quantum weights
of classical static configurations such as dyons.Comment: Minor changes. References added. Paper accepted for publication in
Phys.Rev.
ThermoElectric Transport Properties of a Chain of Quantum Dots with Self-Consistent Reservoirs
We introduce a model for charge and heat transport based on the
Landauer-Buttiker scattering approach. The system consists of a chain of
quantum dots, each of them being coupled to a particle reservoir. Additionally,
the left and right ends of the chain are coupled to two particle reservoirs.
All these reservoirs are independent and can be described by any of the
standard physical distributions: Maxwell-Boltzmann, Fermi-Dirac and
Bose-Einstein. In the linear response regime, and under some assumptions, we
first describe the general transport properties of the system. Then we impose
the self-consistency condition, i.e. we fix the boundary values (T_L,\mu_L) and
(T_R,mu_R), and adjust the parameters (T_i,mu_i), for i = 1,...,N, so that the
net average electric and heat currents into all the intermediate reservoirs
vanish. This condition leads to expressions for the temperature and chemical
potential profiles along the system, which turn out to be independent of the
distribution describing the reservoirs. We also determine the average electric
and heat currents flowing through the system and present some numerical
results, using random matrix theory, showing that these currents are typically
governed by Ohm and Fourier laws.Comment: Minor changes (45 pages
Effect of Polydispersity and Anisotropy in Colloidal and Protein Solutions: an Integral Equation Approach
Application of integral equation theory to complex fluids is reviewed, with
particular emphasis to the effects of polydispersity and anisotropy on their
structural and thermodynamic properties. Both analytical and numerical
solutions of integral equations are discussed within the context of a set of
minimal potential models that have been widely used in the literature. While
other popular theoretical tools, such as numerical simulations and density
functional theory, are superior for quantitative and accurate predictions, we
argue that integral equation theory still provides, as in simple fluids, an
invaluable technique that is able to capture the main essential features of a
complex system, at a much lower computational cost. In addition, it can provide
a detailed description of the angular dependence in arbitrary frame, unlike
numerical simulations where this information is frequently hampered by
insufficient statistics. Applications to colloidal mixtures, globular proteins
and patchy colloids are discussed, within a unified framework.Comment: 17 pages, 7 figures, to appear in Interdiscip. Sci. Comput. Life Sci.
(2011), special issue dedicated to Prof. Lesser Blu
- âŠ