Spin-orbit coupling and the conservation of angular momentum

In nonrelativistic quantum mechanics, the total (i.e. orbital plus spin) angular momentum of a charged particle with spin that moves in a Coulomb plus spin-orbit-coupling potential is conserved. In a classical nonrelativistic treatment of this problem, in which the Lagrange equations determine the orbital motion and the Thomas equation yields the rate of change of the spin, the particle's total angular momentum in which the orbital angular momentum is defined in terms of the kinetic momentum is generally not conserved. However, a generalized total angular momentum, in which the orbital part is defined in terms of the canonical momentum, is conserved. This illustrates the fact that the quantum-mechanical operator of momentum corresponds to the canonical momentum of classical mechanics.Comment: 10 pages, as published by Eur. J. Phy

The CRESST Dark Matter Search

The current status of CRESST (Cryogenic Rare Event Search using Superconducting Thermometers) and new results concerning the detector development are presented. The basic technique of CRESST is to search for particle Dark Matter (WIMPS, Weakly Interacting Massive particles) by the measurement of non-thermal phonons as created by WIMP-induced nuclear recoils. Combined with the newly developed method of simultaneous measurement of scintillation light, strong background discrimination is possible, resulting in a substantial increase in WIMP detection sensitivity. The short and long term perspectives of CRESST are discussed.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figure

genenames.org: the HGNC resources in 2011

The HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC) aims to assign a unique gene symbol and name to every human gene. The HGNC database currently contains almost 30 000 approved gene symbols, over 19 000 of which represent protein-coding genes. The public website, www.genenames.org, displays all approved nomenclature within Symbol Reports that contain data curated by HGNC editors and links to related genomic, phenotypic and proteomic information. Here we describe improvements to our resources, including a new Quick Gene Search, a new List Search, an integrated HGNC BioMart and a new Statistics and Downloads facility

The Influence of Individuality, Age, and Season Upon the Weights of Fleeces Produced by Angora Goats Under Range Conditions.

54 p

The Inheritance of Cryptorchidism in Goats.

23 p

Assessing sedation need and managing referred dentally anxious patients:is there a role for the Index of Sedation Need?

Aim: To conduct an exploratory investigation of public dental service (PDS) practitioners' planned sedation modality using a structural equation modelling approach, in order to identify the explanatory value of using the Index of Sedation Need (IOSN), or its component parts, to predict sedation modality in patients referred with dental anxiety. Methods: A convenience sample of patients referred to the PDS for dental anxiety management was invited to take part. The IOSN was completed for each patient (patient dental anxiety, medical and behavioural indicators and dental treatment complexity) as well as the American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status Classification System and the Case Mix Tool. The practitioners completed details of their planned sedation modality and identified normative dental treatment need. The data were entered onto an SPSS v21 database and subjected to frequency distributions, t-tests, correlation analysis and exploratory partial structural equation modelling (SEM). Results: Ninety-five percent of patients were ranked as MDAS 3 or 4, indicating high dental anxiety; 69% had a medical condition, which might impact on dental treatment and 82% had a dental treatment need, which was classified as intermediate/complex according to the IOSN. Eighty-eight percent of the patients in accordance with the IOSN required sedation: 62% of patients were assessed as requiring intravenous sedation. The IOSN discriminated between patients who were assessed as requiring more complex sedation modalities and had a greater normative treatment need. The SEM showed that the patient dental anxiety (P <0.02) and dental treatment complexity (P <0.02) predicted planned sedation modality. Functional morbidity was less strong, as a predictor, and was significant at the ten percent level. Conclusions: The IOSN is a useful and valid assessment of sedation need and predicted sedation modality for patients referred with high dental anxiety states and secondly, that component parts of the IOSN add explanatory value in practitioners' choice of planned sedation modality

Karakul Sheep.

20 p

Degeneracija aksona i esteraza povezana s neuropatskim djelovanjem organofosfornih spojeva - pregled

This brief review summarises recent observations which suggest a possible mechanism for organophosphateinduced delayed neuropathy (OPIDN). Neuropathy target esterase (NTE) has been shown to deacylate endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane phosphatidylcholine (PtdCho). Raised levels of PtdCho are present in the brains of swiss cheese/NTE mutant Drosophila together with abnormal membrane structures, axonal and dendritic degeneration and neural cell loss. Similar vacuolated pathology is found in the brains of mice with brain-specific deletion of the NTE gene and, in old age, these mice show clinical and histopathological features of neuropathy resembling those in wild-type mice chronically dosed with tri-ortho-cresylphosphate. It is suggested that OPIDN results from the loss of NTE’s phospholipase activity which in turn causes ER malfunction and perturbation of axonal transport and glial-axonal interactions.Ovim se kratkim pregledom razmatraju nedavna opažanja koja upućuju na mogući mehanizam odgođene neuropatije uzrokovane organofosfatima (engl. organophosphate-induced delayed neuropathy, krat. OPIDN). Za esterazu povezanu s neuropatskim djelovanjem organofosfornih spojeva (engl. neuropathy target esterase, krat. NTE) dokazano je da deacilira fosfatidilkolin (PtdCho) membrane endoplazmatskog retikuluma (ER). Povišene razine PtdCho prisutne su u mozgu swiss cheese/NTE mutanta mušice Drosophila uz abnormalne membranske strukture, degeneraciju aksona i dendrita te gubitak neurona. Slična je vakuolarna patologija zamijećena u mozgu miševa u kojih je obrisan NTE gen u mozgu te koji u starijoj dobi pokazuju kliničke i histopatološke znakove neuropatije koja je slična onoj u običnih miševa kronično tretiranih tri-ortho-krezilfosfatom. Odgođena neuropatija uzrokovana organofosfatima mogla bi biti posljedicom prestanka djelovanja fosfolipaze NTE, što potom uzrokuje zatajenje endoplazmatskog retikuluma i smetnje u prijenosu signala putem aksona te interakcije između glija i aksona

Time perception and the experience of agency in meditation and hypnosis

Mindfulness meditation and hypnosis are related in opposing ways to awareness of intentions. The cold control theory of hypnosis proposes that hypnotic responding involves the experience of involuntariness while performing an actually intentional action. Hypnosis therefore relies upon inaccurate metacognition about intentional actions and experiences. Mindfulness meditation centrally involves awareness of intentions and is associated with improved metacognitive access to intentions. Therefore, mindfulness meditators and highly hypnotizable people may lie at opposite ends of a spectrum with regard to metacognitive access to intention‐related information. Here we review the theoretical background and evidence for differences in the metacognition of intentions in these groups, as revealed by chronometric measures of the awareness of voluntary action: the timing of an intention to move (Libet's “W” judgments) and the compressed perception of time between an intentional action and its outcome (“intentional binding”). We review these measures and critically evaluate their proposed connection to the experience of volition and sense of agency

CanRisk-Prostate: A Comprehensive, Externally Validated Risk Model for the Prediction of Future Prostate Cancer.

PURPOSE: Prostate cancer (PCa) is highly heritable. No validated PCa risk model currently exists. We therefore sought to develop a genetic risk model that can provide personalized predicted PCa risks on the basis of known moderate- to high-risk pathogenic variants, low-risk common genetic variants, and explicit cancer family history, and to externally validate the model in an independent prospective cohort. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We developed a risk model using a kin-cohort comprising individuals from 16,633 PCa families ascertained in the United Kingdom from 1993 to 2017 from the UK Genetic Prostate Cancer Study, and complex segregation analysis adjusting for ascertainment. The model was externally validated in 170,850 unaffected men (7,624 incident PCas) recruited from 2006 to 2010 to the independent UK Biobank prospective cohort study. RESULTS: The most parsimonious model included the effects of pathogenic variants in BRCA2, HOXB13, and BRCA1, and a polygenic score on the basis of 268 common low-risk variants. Residual familial risk was modeled by a hypothetical recessively inherited variant and a polygenic component whose standard deviation decreased log-linearly with age. The model predicted familial risks that were consistent with those reported in previous observational studies. In the validation cohort, the model discriminated well between unaffected men and men with incident PCas within 5 years (C-index, 0.790; 95% CI, 0.783 to 0.797) and 10 years (C-index, 0.772; 95% CI, 0.768 to 0.777). The 50% of men with highest predicted risks captured 86.3% of PCa cases within 10 years. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is the first validated risk model offering personalized PCa risks. The model will assist in counseling men concerned about their risk and can facilitate future risk-stratified population screening approaches