Assessing somatization in urologic chronic pelvic pain syndrome

BACKGROUND: This study examined the prevalence of somatization disorder in Urological Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (UCPPS) and the utility of two self-report symptom screening tools for assessment of somatization in patients with UCPPS. METHODS: The study sample included 65 patients with UCPPS who enrolled in the Multidisciplinary Approach to the Study of Chronic Pelvic Pain (MAPP) Study at Washington University. Patients completed the PolySymptomatic PolySyndromic Questionnaire (PSPS-Q) (n = 64) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-15 Somatic Symptom Severity Scale (PHQ-15) (n = 50). Review of patient medical records found that only 47% (n = 30) contained sufficient documentation to assess Perley-Guze criteria for somatization disorder. RESULTS: Few (only 6.5%) of the UCPPS sample met Perley-Guze criteria for definite somatization disorder. Perley-Guze somatization disorder was predicted by definite PSPS-Q somatization with at least 75% sensitivity and specificity. Perley-Guze somatization disorder was predicted by severe (\u3e 15) PHQ-15 threshold that had \u3e 90% sensitivity and specificity but was met by only 16% of patients. The moderate (\u3e 10) PHQ-15 threshold had higher sensitivity (100%) but lower specificity (52%) and was met by 52% of the sample. CONCLUSIONS: The PHQ-15 is brief, but it measures symptoms constituting only one dimension of somatization. The PSPS-Q uniquely captures two conceptual dimensions inherent in the definition of somatization disorder, both number of symptoms and symptom distribution across multiple organ systems, with relevance for UCPPS as a syndrome that is not just a collection of urological symptoms but a broader syndrome with symptoms extending beyond the urological system

Sheath ionization model of beam emissions from large spacecraft

An analytical model of the charging of a spacecraft emitting electron and ion beams has been applied to the case of large spacecraft. In this model, ionization occurs in the sheath due to the return current. Charge neutralization of spherical space charge flow is examined by solving analytical equations numerically. Parametric studies of potential large spacecraft are performed. As in the case of small spacecraft, the ions created in the sheath by the returning current play a large role in determining spacecraft potential

Orbital and valley state spectra of a few-electron silicon quantum dot

Understanding interactions between orbital and valley quantum states in silicon nanodevices is crucial in assessing the prospects of spin-based qubits. We study the energy spectra of a few-electron silicon metal-oxide-semiconductor quantum dot using dynamic charge sensing and pulsed-voltage spectroscopy. The occupancy of the quantum dot is probed down to the single-electron level using a nearby single-electron transistor as a charge sensor. The energy of the first orbital excited state is found to decrease rapidly as the electron occupancy increases from N=1 to 4. By monitoring the sequential spin filling of the dot we extract a valley splitting of ~230 {\mu}eV, irrespective of electron number. This indicates that favorable conditions for qubit operation are in place in the few-electron regime.Comment: 4 figure

H3++H_3^{++} molecular ions can exist in strong magnetic fields

Using the variational method it is shown that for magnetic fields $B\geq 10^{11}$ G there can exist a molecular ion $H_3^{++}$.Comment: LaTeX, 7 pp, 1 table, 4 figures. Title modified. Consideration of the longitudinal size of the system was adde

Determining the strange and antistrange quark distributions of the nucleon

The difference between the strange and antistrange quark distributions, \delta s(x)=s(x)-\sbar(x), and the combination of light quark sea and strange quark sea, \Delta (x)=\dbar(x)+\ubar(x)-s(x)-\sbar(x), are originated from non-perturbative processes, and can be calculated using non-perturbative models of the nucleon. We report calculations of $\delta s(x)$ and $\Delta(x)$ using the meson cloud model. Combining our calculations of $\Delta(x)$ with relatively well known light antiquark distributions obtained from global analysis of available experimental data, we estimate the total strange sea distributions of the nucleon.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures; talk given by F.-G. at QNP0

TagF-mediated repression of bacterial type VI secretion systems involves a direct interaction with the cytoplasmic protein Fha

The bacterial type VI secretion system (T6SS) delivers effectors into eukaryotic host cells or toxins into bacterial competitor for survival and fitness. The T6SS is positively regulated by the threonine phosphorylation pathway (TPP) and negatively by the T6SS-accessory protein TagF. Here, we studied the mechanisms underlying TagF-mediated T6SS repression in two distinct bacterial pathogens, Agrobacterium tumefaciens and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We found that in A. tumefaciens, T6SS toxin secretion and T6SS-dependent antibacterial activity are suppressed by a two-domain chimeric protein consisting of TagF and PppA, a putative phosphatase. Remarkably, this TagF domain is sufficient to post-translationally repress the T6SS, and this inhibition is independent of TPP. This repression requires interaction with a cytoplasmic protein, Fha, critical for activating T6SS assembly. In P. aeruginosa, PppA and TagF are two distinct proteins that repress T6SS in a TPP-dependent and -independent pathways, respectively. P. aeruginosa TagF interacts with Fha1, suggesting that formation of this complex represents a conserved TagF-mediated regulatory mechanism. Using TagF variants with substitutions of conserved amino acid residues at predicted protein-protein interaction interfaces, we uncovered evidence that the TagF-Fha interaction is critical for TagF-mediated T6SS repression in both bacteria. TagF inhibits T6SS without affecting T6SS protein abundance in A. tumefaciens, but TagF overexpression reduces the protein levels of all analyzed T6SS components in P. aeruginosa. Our results indicate that TagF interacts with Fha, which in turn could impact different stages of T6SS assembly in different bacteria, possibly reflecting an evolutionary divergence in T6SS control

Nonlinear robust controller design for multi-robot systems with unknown payloads

This work is concerned with the control problem of a multi-robot system handling a payload with unknown mass properties. Force constraints at the grasp points are considered. Robust control schemes are proposed that cope with the model uncertainty and achieve asymptotic path tracking. To deal with the force constraints, a strategy for optimally sharing the task is suggested. This strategy basically consists of two steps. The first detects the robots that need help and the second arranges that help. It is shown that the overall system is not only robust to uncertain payload parameters, but also satisfies the force constraints

Particle phenomenology on noncommutative spacetime

We introduce particle phenomenology on the noncommutative spacetime called the Groenewold-Moyal plane. The length scale of spcetime noncommutativity is constrained from the CPT violation measurements in $K^{0}-\bar{K}^{0}$ system and $g-2$ difference of $\mu^+ - \mu^-$. The $K^{0}-\bar{K}^{0}$ system provides an upper bound on the length scale of spacetime noncommutativity of the order of $10^{-32} \textrm{m}$, corresponding to a lower energy bound $E$ of the order of $E \gtrsim 10^{16}\textrm{GeV}$. The $g-2$ difference of $\mu^+ - \mu^-$ constrains the noncommutativity length scale to be of the order of $10^{-20} \textrm{m}$, corresponding to a lower energy bound $E$ of the order of $E \gtrsim 10^{3}\textrm{GeV}$. We also present the phenomenology of the electromagnetic interaction of electrons and nucleons at the tree level in the noncommutative spacetime. We show that the distributions of charge and magnetization of nucleons are affected by spacetime noncommutativity. The analytic properties of electromagnetic form factors are also changed and it may give rise to interesting experimental signals.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures. Published versio