M Dwarf Planet Habitability

The habitability of M dwarf planets has been debated greatly, as their parent stars possess both beneficial and detrimental qualities for the development of life. Initially, the astrobiological community questioned their habitability (Dole 1964), but as research and modeling techniques have improved, astrobiologists have become more accepting of the idea of life on M dwarf planets (Shields et al. 2016). The question of these planets’ habitability has great significance, because their long lifespans and commonality in the universe make them legitimate candidates for a plethora of extrasolar spacecraft missions, and potentially for the first discovery of life in other systems

Predictors And Potential Mechanisms Of Improvement In Asthma Control In Children Following Adenotonsillectomy

Recent small observational studies suggest that asthmatic children receive clinical benefit in asthma control following adenotonsillectomy (TA), but little is known about which clinical and biological characteristics impact improvement. We enrolled 213 children undergoing TA, including 136 children with asthma and 78 controls, in a longitudinal observational cohort study (YCAAD). An asthma questionnaire, Asthma Control Test (ACT) scores, and serum asthma biomarkers levels were obtained at baseline and at six-months. Interim analysis compared patient characteristics to a historical cohort (CT-Kids) of 49 children with asthma who underwent TA. Urgent care visits (P \u3c 0.001), oral steroid courses (P \u3c 0.001), and ACT scores (P \u3c 0.001) all improved in children with asthma following TA. Serum Th2 inflammatory markers, including IL-4 (P = 0.022) and IL-5 (P = 0.002), decreased following TA. Decreased IL-5 levels following surgery correlated with improvement in urgent care visits (P = 0.021), decreases in oral steroids (P = 0.02), and overall improvement in asthma control (P = 0.008). Children who were low or healthy weight, younger, female, had a history of sinusitis, and/or had a history of persistent asthma were more likely have improvement in their asthma following surgery. Elevations of serum IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, IFN-γ, TNF-α, and GM-CSF levels were found in children whose asthma improved after TA. These clinical characteristics and biomarkers may help predict which children will receive maximum benefit in asthma control following TA

Proposal : Organokatalysatoren für die fluorige biphasische Katalyse ; Möglichkeiten der homogenen Katalyse mit anschließendem Katalysator‐Recycling

Übertragung des Konzeptes der fluorigen biphasischen Systeme bzw. Übergangsmetallkatalyse auf die fluorige biphasische Organokatalyse. Entwicklung neuer Organokatalysatoren für dieses neuartige Katalysekonzept auf der Basis bereits bekannter Taddol, Thioharnstoff und Binolphosphat-Katalysatoren. Synthese der vorgestellten fluorigen Organokatalysatoren. Einsatzgebiete, Katalysatorrecycling.A new Concept in Organocatalysis is presented. Fluorous biphasic Organocatalysis, derived from fluorous biphasic systems, is based on commonly used organocatalysts, such as taddol, thiourea, binol-phosphate.synthesis and design of catalysts as well as potential applications and recycling methods are presented

Economic decision-making in psychopathy: A comparison with ventromedial prefrontal lesion patients

Psychopathy, which is characterized by a constellation of antisocial behavioral traits, may be subdivided on the basis of etiology: “primary” (low-anxious) psychopathy is viewed as a direct consequence of some core intrinsic deficit, whereas “secondary” (high-anxious) psychopathy is viewed as an indirect consequence of environmental factors or other psychopathology. Theories on the neurobiology of psychopathy have targeted dysfunction within ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) as a putative mechanism, yet the relationship between vmPFC function and psychopathy subtype has not been fully explored. In this study, we administered two laboratory decision-making tasks (the Ultimatum Game and the Dictator Game) to a group of prisoners (n=47) to determine whether the different subtypes of psychopathy (primary vs. secondary) are associated with characteristic patterns of economic decision-making, and furthermore, whether either subtype exhibits similar performance to patients with vmPFC lesions. Comparing primary psychopaths (n=6) to secondary psychopaths (n=6) and non-psychopaths (n=22), we found that primary psychopathy was associated with significantly lower acceptance rates of unfair Ultimatum offers and lower offer amounts in the Dictator Game. Moreover, primary psychopaths were quantitatively similar to vmPFC lesion patients in their response patterns. These results support the purported connection between psychopathy and vmPFC dysfunction, bolster the distinction between primary and secondary psychopathy, and demonstrate the utility of laboratory economic decision-making tests in differentiating clinical subgroups

Spacetime Encodings II - Pictures of Integrability

I visually explore the features of geodesic orbits in arbitrary stationary axisymmetric vacuum (SAV) spacetimes that are constructed from a complex Ernst potential. Some of the geometric features of integrable and chaotic orbits are highlighted. The geodesic problem for these SAV spacetimes is rewritten as a two degree of freedom problem and the connection between current ideas in dynamical systems and the study of two manifolds sought. The relationship between the Hamilton-Jacobi equations, canonical transformations, constants of motion and Killing tensors are commented on. Wherever possible I illustrate the concepts by means of examples from general relativity. This investigation is designed to build the readers' intuition about how integrability arises, and to summarize some of the known facts about two degree of freedom systems. Evidence is given, in the form of orbit-crossing structure, that geodesics in SAV spacetimes might admit, a fourth constant of motion that is quartic in momentum (by contrast with Kerr spacetime, where Carter's fourth constant is quadratic).Comment: 11 pages, 10 figure

2024-06: Disability Wage Justice: Ending Subminimum Wages and Advancing Equality for People with Disabilities

Subminimum wages are being paid to people with disabilities in Minnesota at a rate of almost 4 times higher than the rest of the nation, with some individuals making as little as .07 cents per hour. The subminimum wage is a discriminatory practice that violates peoples civil rights and contributes to disabled people being disproportionately poor. It is time for Minnesota to join the other 13 states that already ended paying people with disabilities a subminimum wage