Recent Progress in Shearlet Theory: Systematic Construction of Shearlet Dilation Groups, Characterization of Wavefront Sets, and New Embeddings

The class of generalized shearlet dilation groups has recently been developed to allow the unified treatment of various shearlet groups and associated shearlet transforms that had previously been studied on a case-by-case basis. We consider several aspects of these groups: First, their systematic construction from associative algebras, secondly, their suitability for the characterization of wavefront sets, and finally, the question of constructing embeddings into the symplectic group in a way that intertwines the quasi-regular representation with the metaplectic one. For all questions, it is possible to treat the full class of generalized shearlet groups in a comprehensive and unified way, thus generalizing known results to an infinity of new cases. Our presentation emphasizes the interplay between the algebraic structure underlying the construction of the shearlet dilation groups, the geometric properties of the dual action, and the analytic properties of the associated shearlet transforms.Comment: 28 page

Value and Use of Artificial Insemination by Beef Producers

Artificial insemination and estrous synchronization remain underutilized by U.S. beef producers. The most recent National Animal Health Monitoring Survey (NAHMS 2007–08) reported that 7.6% of producers used artificial insemination and 7.9% used estrous synchronization. The most common reason cited for not using these reproductive technologies was time and labor, followed by cost and difficulty. Little information is available on actual management practices used by producers who do use these technologies and their value to such operations

A Guide to Localized Frames and Applications to Galerkin-like Representations of Operators

This chapter offers a detailed survey on intrinsically localized frames and the corresponding matrix representation of operators. We re-investigate the properties of localized frames and the associated Banach spaces in full detail. We investigate the representation of operators using localized frames in a Galerkin-type scheme. We show how the boundedness and the invertibility of matrices and operators are linked and give some sufficient and necessary conditions for the boundedness of operators between the associated Banach spaces.Comment: 32 page

The Effectiveness of a Cholesterol Reduction Intervention Program Among Female Employees in a Corporate Setting

Three cholesterol interventions were evaluated in a work-site setting to determine which was most effective in modifying physiological, behavioral, and knowledge measures related to total serum cholesterol. Of the 246 employees initially screened, 135 (55%) were identified as having elevated total serum cholesterol levels (>200 mg/dl) and were eligible for the study. Treatment consisted of either a six-session cholesterol reduction course requiring 30 days dietary monitoring, a six-session course without dietary monitoring, or an incentive only approach. Significant increases in cholesterol knowledge and dietary fiber consumption was found in both the education intervention with logging and intervention without logging groups. The results indicate that positive learning effects can take place in work-site settings and that such learning can lead to dietary changes that reduce the effects of high serum cholesterol

The effect of interferon beta-1b treatment on MRI measures of cerebral atrophy in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis.

The recently completed European trial of interferon beta-1b (IFN beta -1b) in patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SP multiple sclerosis) has given an opportunity to assess the impact of treatment on cerebral atrophy using serial MRI. Unenhanced T-1-weighted brain imaging was acquired in a subgroup of 95 patients from five of the European centres; imaging was performed at 6-month intervals from month 0 to month 36. A blinded observer measured cerebral volume on four contiguous 5 mm cerebral hemisphere slices at each time point, using an algorithm with a high level of reproducibility and automation. There was a significant and progressive reduction in cerebral volume in both placebo and treated groups, with a mean reduction of 3.9 and 2.9%, respectively, by month 36 (P = 0.34 between groups). Exploratory subgroup analyses indicated that patients without gadolinium (Gd) enhancement at the baseline had a greater reduction of cerebral volume in the placebo group (mean reduction at month 36: placebo 5.1%, IFN beta -1b 1.8%, P < 0.05) whereas those with Gd-enhancing lesions showed a trend to greater reduction of cerebral volume if the patient was on IFN<beta>-1b (placebo 2.6%, IFN beta -1b, 3.7%; P > 0.05). These results are consistent with ongoing tissue loss in both arms of this study of secondary progressive multiple sclerosis. This finding is concordant with previous observations that disease progression, although delayed, is not halted by IFN beta. The different pattern seen in patients with and without baseline gadolinium enhancement suggests that part of the cerebral volume reduction observed in IFN beta -treated patients may be due to the anti-inflammatory/antioedematous effect of the drug. Longer periods of observation and larger groups of patients may be needed to detect the effects of treatment on cerebral atrophy in this population of patients with advanced disease

Induced Crystallization of Polyelectrolyte-Surfactant Complexes at the Gas-Water Interface

Synchrotron-X-ray and surface tension studies of a strong polyelectrolyte (PE) in the semi-dilute regime (~ 0.1M monomer-charges) with varying surfactant concentrations show that minute surfactant concentrations induce the formation of a PE-surfactant complex at the gas/solution interface. X-ray reflectivity and grazing angle X-ray diffraction (GIXD) provide detailed information of the top most layer, where it is found that the surfactant forms a two-dimensional liquid-like monolayer, with a noticeable disruption of the structure of water at the interface. With the addition of salt (NaCl) columnar-crystals with distorted-hexagonal symmetry are formed.Comment: 4 pages, 5 eps figure

Rapid response to pandemic threats: immunogenic epitope detection of pandemic pathogens for diagnostics and vaccine development using peptide microarrays

Emergence and re-emergence of pathogens bearing the risk of becoming a pandemic threat are on the rise. Increased travel and trade, growing population density, changes in urbanization, and climate have a critical impact on infectious disease spread. Currently, the world is confronted with the emergence of a novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-$_{2}$, responsible for yet more than 800 000 deaths globally. Outbreaks caused by viruses, such as SARS-CoV-$_{2}$, HIV, Ebola, influenza, and Zika, have increased over the past decade, underlining the need for a rapid development of diagnostics and vaccines. Hence, the rational identification of biomarkers for diagnostic measures on the one hand, and antigenic targets for vaccine development on the other, are of utmost importance. Peptide microarrays can display large numbers of putative target proteins translated into overlapping linear (and cyclic) peptides for a multiplexed, high-throughput antibody analysis. This enabled for example the identification of discriminant/diagnostic epitopes in Zika or influenza and mapping epitope evolution in natural infections versus vaccinations. In this review, we highlight synthesis platforms that facilitate fast and flexible generation of high-density peptide microarrays. We further outline the multifaceted applications of these peptide array platforms for the development of serological tests and vaccines to quickly encounter pandemic threats

Rapid Influenza Antigen Test for Diagnosis of Pandemic (H1N1) 2009

We compared the QuickVue Influenza test with PCR for diagnosing pandemic (H1N1) 2009 in 404 persons with influenza-like illness. Overall sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were 66%, 84%, 84%, and 64%, respectively. Rapid test results should be interpreted cautiously when pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus is suspected

GNSS-based water vapor estimation and validation during the MOSAiC expedition

Within the transpolar drifting expedition MOSAiC (Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate), the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) was used among other techniques to monitor variations in atmospheric water vapor. Based on 15 months of continuously tracked GNSS data including GPS, GLONASS and Galileo, epoch-wise coordinates and hourly zenith total delays (ZTDs) were determined using a kinematic precise point positioning (PPP) approach. The derived ZTD values agree to 1.1 ± 0.2 mm (root mean square (rms) of the differences 10.2 mm) with the numerical weather data of ECMWF's latest reanalysis, ERA5, computed for the derived ship's locations. This level of agreement is also confirmed by comparing the on-board estimates with ZTDs derived for terrestrial GNSS stations in Bremerhaven and Ny-Ålesund and for the radio telescopes observing very long baseline interferometry in Ny-Ålesund. Preliminary estimates of integrated water vapor derived from frequently launched radiosondes are used to assess the GNSS-derived integrated water vapor estimates. The overall difference of 0.08 ± 0.04 kg m−2 (rms of the differences 1.47 kg m−2) demonstrates a good agreement between GNSS and radiosonde data. Finally, the water vapor variations associated with two warm-air intrusion events in April 2020 are assessed