Bernoulli potential at a superconductor surface

The electrostatic Bernoulli potential measured at the surface of a superconductor via Kelvin capacitive coupling is shown to be independent of the pairing mechanism. This contrasts with the Bernoulli potential in the bulk where contributions due to pairing dominate close to $T_c$.Comment: 2 page

Uncoupled material model of ductile fracture with directional plasticity

Proposed paper deals with the application of plastic response with directional distortional hardening (DDH) in uncoupled ductile fracture model and comparison of the results with the same ductile fracture model based on isotropic J2 plasticity. The results of simulations have proven not negligible role of model of plasticity and the response of the model with DDH plasticity is closer to reality then the one of the model with isotropic plasticity

Framework Proposal for a US Upstream Greenhouse Gas Tax with WTO-Compliant Border Adjustments

Discussions regarding policies to limit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have been ongoing for decades, and GHG policies of various types have been implemented for years in many countries. In practice, countries that adopt GHG policies utilize a portfolio that typically includes a mix of standards, subsidies, mandates and price-based policies, each directed at particular economic sectors. In view of obvious inefficiencies and lack of synergies resulting from the portfolio approach, economists and many others have convincingly argued that setting a price on carbon—and other GHG emissions—using an economy-wide, upstream GHG tax would be the most effective and efficient policy to address GHG emissions. Its effectiveness stems from being able to cover all emissions from production and use of fossil fuels by applying the tax on producers of coal, oil, and gas resources at the mine mouth and wellhead before they are combusted, rather than dealing with actual emissions from millions of individual sources and actors throughout the economy. Its efficiency stems from allowing markets, rather than the political process, to identify and implement the most cost-effective steps to reduce emissions through decisions that affect current operations and purchases, and through decisions now about investment, research and development to invent and deploy more effective solutions to reduce future GHG emissions. Myriad issues must be addressed to design and approve legislation to implement an upstream, economy-wide GHG tax. This report does not address that galaxy of challenges and opportunities. Rather, assuming that an upstream GHG tax could be implemented, the report addresses the challenge of border adjustments for exports and imports in the context of a domestic upstream GHG tax, as described below. The domestic GHG tax could cause energy-intensive industries to shift production to countries without comparable pricing, resulting in “leakage” of GHG emissions that the domestic tax aims to prevent. By shifting production from the United States, the tax would also disadvantage domestic manufacturers, their employees, and the communities where they operate. Hence, the call by many to introduce border adjustments: through the imposition of equivalent GHG pricing on imported products from energy-intensive, trade-exposed (EITE) industries, and by providing rebates from the impact of the upstream tax on the cost of products exported by domestic producers. However, doing this has raised concerns about consistency with rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Here we propose a Framework for a US climate policy with border adjustments that are compatible with US obligations under WTO agreements. It is based on an upstream tax on GHG emissions with rebates for exports and charges on imports for products from EITE industries. A companion Compendium (forthcoming) provides additional details on implementing border adjustments with specific recommendations for 35 EITE industries. Proposed border measures are designed in a non-discriminatory fashion, with the intent and effect of reducing global GHG emissions. Therefore, the border adjustments proposed as part of the Framework will not give rise to any valid claims of WTO violations. Even if such claims should be raised, a strong defense could be made under the exceptions to the WTO rules

Early urinary biomarkers of diabetic nephropathy in type 1 diabetes mellitus show involvement of kallikrein-kinin system

Abstract Background Additional urinary biomarkers for diabetic nephropathy (DN) are needed, providing early and reliable diagnosis and new insights into its mechanisms. Rigorous selection criteria and homogeneous study population may improve reproducibility of the proteomic approach. Methods Long-term type 1 diabetes patients without metabolic comorbidities were included, 11 with sustained microalbuminuria (MA) and 14 without MA (nMA). Morning urine proteins were precipitated and resolved by 2D electrophoresis. Principal component analysis (PCA) and Projection to latent structures discriminatory analysis (PLS-DA) were adopted to assess general data validity, to pick protein fractions for identification with mass spectrometry (MS), and to test predictive value of the resulting model. Results Proteins (n = 113) detected in more than 90% patients were considered representative. Unsupervised PCA showed excellent natural data clustering without outliers. Protein spots reaching Variable Importance in Projection score above 1 in PLS (n = 42) were subjected to MS, yielding 33 positive identifications. The PLS model rebuilt with these proteins achieved accurate classification of all patients (R2X = 0.553, R2Y = 0.953, Q2 = 0.947). Thus, multiple earlier recognized biomarkers of DN were confirmed and several putative new biomarkers suggested. Among them, the highest significance was met in kininogen-1. Its activation products detected in nMA patients exceeded by an order of magnitude the amount found in MA patients. Conclusions Reducing metabolic complexity of the diseased and control groups by meticulous patients’ selection allows to focus the biomarker search in DN. Suggested new biomarkers, particularly kininogen fragments, exhibit the highest degree of correlation with MA and substantiate validation in larger and more varied cohorts

Highly divergent 16S rRNA sequences in ribosomal operons of Scytonema hyalinum (Cyanobacteria)

A highly divergent 16S rRNA gene was found in one of the five ribosomal operons present in a species complex currently circumscribed as Scytonema hyalinum (Nostocales, Cyanobacteria) using clone libraries. If 16S rRNA sequence macroheterogeneity among ribosomal operons due to insertions, deletions or truncation is excluded, the sequence heterogeneity observed in S. hyalinum was the highest observed in any prokaryotic species thus far (7.3± 9.0%). The secondary structure of the 16S rRNA molecules encoded by the two divergent operons was nearly identical, indicating possible functionality. The 23S rRNA gene was examined for a few strains in this complex, and it was also found to be highly divergent from the gene in Type 2 operons (8.7%), and likewise had nearly identical secondary structure between the Type 1 and Type 2 operons. Furthermore, the 16S-23S ITS showed marked differences consistent between operons among numerous strains. Both operons have promoter sequences that satisfy consensus requirements for functional prokaryotic transcription initiation. Horizontal gene transfer from another unknown heterocytous cyanobacterium is considered the most likely explanation for the origin of this molecule, but does not explain the ultimate origin of this sequence, which is very divergent from all 16S rRNA sequences found thus far in cyanobacteria. The divergent sequence is highly conserved among numerous strains of S. hyalinum, suggesting adaptive advantage and selective constraint of the divergent sequence

Endoscopic pyloromyotomy for the treatment of severe and refractory gastroparesis: a pilot, randomised, sham-controlled trial

OBJECTIVE Endoscopic pyloromyotomy (G-POEM) is a minimally invasive treatment option with promising uncontrolled outcome results in patients with gastroparesis. DESIGN In this prospective randomised trial, we compared G-POEM with a sham procedure in patients with severe gastroparesis. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients with treatment success (defined as a decrease in the Gastroparesis Cardinal Symptom Index (GCSI) by at least 50%) at 6 months. Patients randomised to the sham group with persistent symptoms were offered cross-over G-POEM. RESULTS The enrolment was stopped after the interim analysis by the Data and Safety Monitoring Board prior to reaching the planned sample of 86 patients. A total of 41 patients (17 diabetic, 13 postsurgical, 11 idiopathic; 46% male) were randomised (21 G-POEM, 20-sham). Treatment success rate was 71% (95% CI 50 to 86) after G-POEM versus 22% (8-47) after sham (p=0.005). Treatment success in patients with diabetic, postsurgical and idiopathic gastroparesis was 89% (95% CI 56 to 98), 50% (18-82) and 67% (30-90) after G-POEM; the corresponding rates in the sham group were 17% (3-57), 29% (7-67) and 20% (3-67).Median gastric retention at 4 hours decreased from 22% (95% CI 17 to 31) to 12% (5-22) after G-POEM and did not change after sham: 26% (18-39) versus 24% (11-35). Twelve patients crossed over to G-POEM with 9 of them (75%) achieving treatment success. CONCLUSION In severe gastroparesis, G-POEM is superior to a sham procedure for improving both symptoms and gastric emptying 6 months after the procedure. These results are not entirely conclusive in patients with idiopathic and postsurgical aetiologies. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER NCT03356067; ClinicalTrials.gov

Robot-Based Image Analysis for Evaluating Rehabilitation after Brain Surgery

After certain types of brain surgery, patients are often affected by changes in both their dynamic balance and facial disorder. Because rehabilitation takes several months, it is important that both doctors and patients are able to monitor progress quantitatively. At present, such quantification is subjective and highly dependent on the doctor’s opinion. Thus, we here investigate the use of robot-based image analysis for measuring rehabilitation. To evaluate a patient’s dynamic balance, we developed a mobile robotic platform that uses a stereovision camera (MS Kinect) to capture a video of the subject walking along a hospital corridor. To evaluate a patient’s facial disorders, the same camera is used in a static mode to detect and capture precise facial movements that the subject is asked to perform. From these videos, specific patterns can be extracted for rehabilitation process description

Comparison of diagnostic methods for Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae detection in salmonid fish.

Diagnostic accuracy of pathogen detection depends upon the selection of suitable tests. Problems can arise when the selected diagnostic test gives false-positive or false-negative results, which can affect control measures, with consequences for the population health. The aim of this study was to compare sensitivity of different diagnostic methods IHC, PCR and qPCR detecting Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae, the causative agent of proliferative kidney disease in salmonid fish and as a consequence differences in disease prevalence. We analysed tissue from 388 salmonid specimens sampled from a recirculating system and rivers in the Czech Republic. Overall prevalence of T. bryosalmonae was extremely high at 92.0%, based on positive results of at least one of the above-mentioned screening methods. IHC resulted in a much lower detection rate (30.2%) than both PCR methods (qPCR32: 65.4%, PCR: 81.9%). While qPCR32 produced a good match with IHC (60.8%), all other methods differed significantly (p < .001) in the proportion of samples determined positive. Both PCR methods showed similar sensitivity, though specificity (i.e., the proportion of non-diseased fish classified correctly) differed significantly (p < .05). Sample preservation method significantly (p < .05) influenced the results of PCR, with a much lower DNA yield extracted from paraffin-embedded samples. Use of different methods that differ in diagnostic sensitivity and specificity resulted in random and systematic diagnosis errors, illustrating the importance of interpreting the results of each method carefully