Defect configurations and dynamical behavior in a Gay-Berne nematic emulsion

To model a nematic emulsion consisting of a surfactant-coated water droplet dispersed in a nematic host, we performed a molecular dynamics simulation of a droplet immersed in a system of 2048 Gay-Berne ellipsoids in a nematic phase. Strong radial anchoring at the surface of the droplet induced a Saturn ring defect configuration, consistent with theoretical predictions for very small droplets. A surface ring configuration was observed for lower radial anchoring strengths, and a pair of point defects was found near the poles of the droplet for tangential anchoring. We also simulated the falling ball experiment and measured the drag force anisotropy, in the presence of strong radial anchoring as well as zero anchoring strength.Comment: 17 pages, 15 figure

Common Polymorphisms Influencing Serum Uric Acid Levels Contribute to Susceptibility to Gout, but Not to Coronary Artery Disease

BACKGROUND:Recently, a large meta-analysis including over 28,000 participants identified nine different loci with association to serum uric acid (UA) levels. Since elevated serum UA levels potentially cause gout and are a possible risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD) and myocardial infarction (MI), we performed two large case-control association analyses with participants from the German MI Family Study. In the first study, we assessed the association of the qualitative trait gout and ten single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) markers that showed association to UA serum levels. In the second study, the same genetic polymorphisms were analyzed for association with CAD. METHODS AND FINDINGS:A total of 683 patients suffering from gout and 1,563 healthy controls from the German MI Family Study were genotyped. Nine SNPs were identified from a recently performed genome-wide meta-analysis on serum UA levels (rs12129861, rs780094, rs734553, rs2231142, rs742132, rs1183201, rs12356193, rs17300741 and rs505802). Additionally, the marker rs6855911 was included which has been associated with gout in our cohort in a previous study. SNPs rs734553 and rs6855911, located in SLC2A9, and SNP rs2231142, known to be a missense polymorphism in ABCG2, were associated with gout (p=5.6*10(-7), p=1.1*10(-7), and p=1.3*10(-3), respectively). Other SNPs in the genes PDZK1, GCKR, LRRC16A, SLC17A1-SLC17A3, SLC16A9, SLC22A11 and SLC22A12 failed the significance level. None of the ten markers were associated with risk to CAD in our study sample of 1,473 CAD cases and 1,241 CAD-free controls. CONCLUSION:SNP markers in SLC2A9 and ABCG2 genes were found to be strongly associated with the phenotype gout. However, not all SNP markers influencing serum UA levels were also directly associated with the clinical manifestation of gout in our study sample. In addition, none of these SNPs showed association with the risk to CAD in the German MI Family Study

Pathological role of interleukin 17 in mice subjected to repeated BCG vaccination after infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Infection usually leads to the development of acquired immune responses associated with clearance or control of the infecting organism. However, if not adequately regulated, immune-mediated pathology can result. Tuberculosis is a worldwide threat, and development of an effective vaccine requires that the protective immune response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) be dissected from the pathological immune response. This distinction is particularly important if new vaccines are to be delivered to Mtb-exposed individuals, as repeated antigenic exposure can lead to pathological complications. Using a model wherein mice are vaccinated with bacille Calmette-Guérin after Mtb infection, we show that repeated vaccination results in increased IL-17, tumor necrosis factor, IL-6, and MIP-2 expression, influx of granulocytes/neutrophils, and lung tissue damage. This pathological response is abrogated in mice deficient in the gene encoding IL-23p19 or in the presence of IL-17–blocking antibody. This finding that repeated exposure to mycobacterial antigen promotes enhanced IL-17–dependent pathological consequences has important implications for the design of effective vaccines against Mtb

Achieving a quantum smart workforce

Interest in building dedicated Quantum Information Science and Engineering (QISE) education programs has greatly expanded in recent years. These programs are inherently convergent, complex, often resource intensive and likely require collaboration with a broad variety of stakeholders. In order to address this combination of challenges, we have captured ideas from many members in the community. This manuscript not only addresses policy makers and funding agencies (both public and private and from the regional to the international level) but also contains needs identified by industry leaders and discusses the difficulties inherent in creating an inclusive QISE curriculum. We report on the status of eighteen post-secondary education programs in QISE and provide guidance for building new programs. Lastly, we encourage the development of a comprehensive strategic plan for quantum education and workforce development as a means to make the most of the ongoing substantial investments being made in QISE.Comment: 18 pages, 2 figures, 1 tabl

The Fourteenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey and from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment

The fourth generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) has been in operation since July 2014. This paper describes the second data release from this phase, and the fourteenth from SDSS overall (making this, Data Release Fourteen or DR14). This release makes public data taken by SDSS-IV in its first two years of operation (July 2014-2016). Like all previous SDSS releases, DR14 is cumulative, including the most recent reductions and calibrations of all data taken by SDSS since the first phase began operations in 2000. New in DR14 is the first public release of data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS); the first data from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory (APO) Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE-2), including stellar parameter estimates from an innovative data driven machine learning algorithm known as "The Cannon"; and almost twice as many data cubes from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) survey as were in the previous release (N = 2812 in total). This paper describes the location and format of the publicly available data from SDSS-IV surveys. We provide references to the important technical papers describing how these data have been taken (both targeting and observation details) and processed for scientific use. The SDSS website (www.sdss.org) has been updated for this release, and provides links to data downloads, as well as tutorials and examples of data use. SDSS-IV is planning to continue to collect astronomical data until 2020, and will be followed by SDSS-V.Comment: SDSS-IV collaboration alphabetical author data release paper. DR14 happened on 31st July 2017. 19 pages, 5 figures. Accepted by ApJS on 28th Nov 2017 (this is the "post-print" and "post-proofs" version; minor corrections only from v1, and most of errors found in proofs corrected

Digital Signal Processing Research Program

Contains table of contents for Section 2, an introduction, reports on twenty-two research projects and a list of publications.Sanders, a Lockheed-Martin Corporation Contract BZ4962U.S. Army Research Laboratory Contract DAAL01-96-2-0001U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Grant N00014-93-1-0686National Science Foundation Grant MIP 95-02885U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Grant N00014-96-1-0930National Defense Science and Engineering FellowshipU.S. Air Force - Office of Scientific Research Grant F49620-96-1-0072U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Grant N00014-95-1-0362National Science Foundation Graduate Research FellowshipAT&T Bell Laboratories Graduate Research FellowshipU.S. Army Research Laboratory Contract DAAL01-96-2-0002National Science Foundation Graduate FellowshipU.S. Army Research Laboratory/Advanced Sensors Federated Lab Program Contract DAAL01-96-2-000

Low Adiponectin Levels Are an Independent Predictor of Mixed and Non-Calcified Coronary Atherosclerotic Plaques

Atherosclerosis is the primary cause of coronary artery disease (CAD). There is increasing recognition that lesion composition rather than size determines the acute complications of atherosclerotic disease. Low serum adiponectin levels were reported to be associated with coronary artery disease and future incidence of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). The impact of adiponectin on lesion composition still remains to be determined. We measured serum adiponectin levels in 303 patients with stable typical or atypical chest pain, who underwent dual-source multi-slice CT-angiography to exclude coronary artery stenosis. Atherosclerotic plaques were classified as calcified, mixed or non-calcified. In bivariate analysis adiponectin levels were inversely correlated with total coronary plaque burden (r = -0.21, p = 0.0004), mixed (r = -0.20, p = 0.0007) and non-calcified plaques (r = -0.18, p = 0.003). No correlation was seen with calcified plaques (r = -0.05, p = 0.39). In a fully adjusted multivariate model adiponectin levels remained predictive of total plaque burden (estimate: -0.036, 95%CI: -0.052 to -0.020, p<0.0001), mixed (estimate: -0.087, 95%CI: -0.132 to -0.042, p = 0.0001) and non-calcified plaques (estimate: -0.076, 95%CI: -0.115 to -0.038, p = 0.0001). Adiponectin levels were not associated with calcified plaques (estimate: -0.021, 95% CI: -0.043 to -0.001, p = 0.06). Since the majority of coronary plaques was calcified, adiponectin levels account for only 3% of the variability in total plaque number. In contrast, adiponectin accounts for approximately 20% of the variability in mixed and non-calcified plaque burden. Adiponectin levels predict mixed and non-calcified coronary atherosclerotic plaque burden. Low adiponectin levels may contribute to coronary plaque vulnerability and may thus play a role in the pathophysiology of ACS

Migrant remittances and the web of family obligations: Ongoing support among spatially extended kin in North-east Thailand, 1984–94

Exchanges of money, goods, and assistance among family/kin members are influenced by the intertwined lives of individuals and their family/kin. As people pass through the young adulthood years, acquiring obligations as spouses and parents, and migrating in search of economic opportunities, tensions can arise over existing obligations. Using rich longitudinal data from Northeast Thailand, we examined the role of family networks (origin and destination) on migrants’ exchanges with family/kin. Our approach overcame many shortcomings of earlier studies, allowing us to 'see' the family social network arrayed in a broader network. We show that intra-family exchanges are influenced by marital status, the presence of children, having parents in the origin household, and having siblings depart from it. The results are stable across sensitivity tests that systematically include or exclude various familial links. And reports provided by origin households on migrant remittances are consistent with reports from migrants themselves

Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV: Mapping the Milky Way, Nearby Galaxies, and the Distant Universe

We describe the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV), a project encompassing three major spectroscopic programs. The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 (APOGEE-2) is observing hundreds of thousands of Milky Way stars at high resolution and high signal-to-noise ratios in the near-infrared. The Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey is obtaining spatially resolved spectroscopy for thousands of nearby galaxies (median $z\sim 0.03$). The extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) is mapping the galaxy, quasar, and neutral gas distributions between $z\sim 0.6$ and 3.5 to constrain cosmology using baryon acoustic oscillations, redshift space distortions, and the shape of the power spectrum. Within eBOSS, we are conducting two major subprograms: the SPectroscopic IDentification of eROSITA Sources (SPIDERS), investigating X-ray AGNs and galaxies in X-ray clusters, and the Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS), obtaining spectra of variable sources. All programs use the 2.5 m Sloan Foundation Telescope at the Apache Point Observatory; observations there began in Summer 2014. APOGEE-2 also operates a second near-infrared spectrograph at the 2.5 m du Pont Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, with observations beginning in early 2017. Observations at both facilities are scheduled to continue through 2020. In keeping with previous SDSS policy, SDSS-IV provides regularly scheduled public data releases; the first one, Data Release 13, was made available in 2016 July