1,112 research outputs found
Reply to ``Comment on `Magnetic field effects on neutron diffraction in the antiferromagnetic phase of '''
Fak, van Dijk and Wills (FDW) question our interpretation of elastic
neutron-scattering experiments in the antiferromagnetic phase of UPt_3. They
state that our analysis is incorrect because we average over magnetic
structures that are disallowed by symmetry. We disagree with FDW and reply to
their criticism. FDW also point out that we have mistaken the magnetic field
direction in the experiment reported by N. H. van Dijk et al. [Phys. Rev. B 58,
3186 (1998)]. We correct this error and note that our previous conclusion is
also valid for the correct field orientation.Comment: 3 page
Self-Organized Criticality in a Fibre-Bundle type model
The dynamics of a fibre-bundle type model with equal load sharing rule is
numerically studied. The system, formed by N elements, is driven by a slow
increase of the load upon it which is removed in a novel way through internal
transfers to the elements broken during avalanches. When an avalanche ends,
failed elements are regenerated with strengths taken from a probability
distribution. For a large enough N and certain restrictions on the distribution
of individual strengths, the system reaches a self-organized critical state
where the spectrum of avalanche sizes is a power law with an exponent
.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures. To be published in Physica
Semejanzas y diferencias entre dos estaciones aerobiológicas
XV lnternational A.P.L.E. Symposium of Palynolog
Small Animals Gut Microbiome and Its Relationship with Cancer
This chapter aims to discuss recent developments in understanding the small animal gut microbiome’s relationship with cancer, focusing on animals as well as a model for studying humans. Based on multidirectional interactions between the microbiome, the environment and the epigenetically/genetically vulnerable host, it intends to address the mechanisms by which microorganisms can contribute to carcinogenesis describing the roles of the microbiome directly in the pathogenesis of the disease through complex interactions between the microbiome and the host’s metabolic and immune systems. The feasibility for developing new cancer diagnostic and prognostic methodologies plus treatments based on small animals’ microbiome profiles are reviewed
Cross-over behaviour in a communication network
We address the problem of message transfer in a communication network. The
network consists of nodes and links, with the nodes lying on a two dimensional
lattice. Each node has connections with its nearest neighbours, whereas some
special nodes, which are designated as hubs, have connections to all the sites
within a certain area of influence. The degree distribution for this network is
bimodal in nature and has finite variance. The distribution of travel times
between two sites situated at a fixed distance on this lattice shows fat
fractal behaviour as a function of hub-density. If extra assortative
connections are now introduced between the hubs so that each hub is connected
to two or three other hubs, the distribution crosses over to power-law
behaviour. Cross-over behaviour is also seen if end-to-end short cuts are
introduced between hubs whose areas of influence overlap, but this is much
milder in nature. In yet another information transmission process, namely, the
spread of infection on the network with assortative connections, we again
observed cross-over behaviour of another type, viz. from one power-law to
another for the threshold values of disease transmission probability. Our
results are relevant for the understanding of the role of network topology in
information spread processes.Comment: 12 figure
Controlled clinical trial comparing the effectiveness of a mindfulness and self-compassion 4-session programme versus an 8-session programme to reduce work stress and burnout in family and community medicine physicians and nurses: MINDUUDD study protocol
Background: Health personnel are susceptible to high levels of work stress and burnout due to the psychological and emotional demands of their work, as well as to other aspects related to the organisation of that work. This paper describes the rationale and design of the MINDUUDD study, the aim of which is to evaluate the effectiveness of a mindfulness and self-compassion 4-session programme versus the standard 8-session programme to reduce work stress and burnout in Family and Community Medicine and Nursing tutors and residents.
Methods: The MINDUDD study is a multicentre cluster randomised controlled trial with three parallel arms. Six Teaching Units will be randomised to one of the three study groups: 1) Experimental Group-8 (EG8); 2) Experimental Group-4 (EG4) Control group (CG). At least 132 subjects will participate (66 tutors/66 residents), 44 in the EG8, 44 in the EG4, and 44 in the CG. Interventions will be based on the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program, including some self-compassion practices of the Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) programme. The EG8 intervention will be implemented during 8 weekly face-to-face sessions of 2.5 h each, while the EG4 intervention will consist of 4 sessions of 2.5 h each. The participants will have to practice at home for 30 min/day in the EG8 and 15 min/day in the EG4. The Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), Self-Compassion Scale (SCS), Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ), Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (JSPE), and Goldberg Anxiety-Depression Scale (GADS) will be administered. Measurements will be taken at baseline, at the end of the programs, and at three months after completion. The effect of the interventions will be evaluated by bivariate and multivariate analyses (Multiple Linear Regression).
Discussion: If the abbreviated mindfulness programme is at least as effective as the standard program, its incorporation into the curriculum and training plans will be easier and more appropriate. It will also be more easily applied and accepted by primary care professionals because of the reduced resources and means required for its implementation, and it may also extend beyond care settings to academic and teaching environments as well
GenSeed-HMM: A tool for progressive assembly using profile HMMs as seeds and its application in Alpavirinae viral discovery from metagenomic data
This work reports the development of GenSeed-HMM, a program that implements seed-driven progressive assembly, an approach to reconstruct specific sequences from unassembled data, starting from short nucleotide or protein seed sequences or profile Hidden Markov Models (HMM). The program can use any one of a number of sequence assemblers. Assembly is performed in multiple steps and relatively few reads are used in each cycle, consequently the program demands low computational resources. As a proof-of-concept and to demonstrate the power of HMM-driven progressive assemblies, GenSeed-HMM was applied to metagenomic datasets in the search for diverse ssDNA bacteriophages from the recently described Alpavirinae subfamily. Profile HMMs were built using Alpavirinae-specific regions from multiple sequence alignments using either the viral protein 1 (VP1) (major capsid protein) or VP4 (genome replication initiation protein). These profile HMMs were used by GenSeed-HMM (running Newbler assembler) as seeds to reconstruct viral genomes from sequencing datasets of human fecal samples. All contigs obtained were annotated and taxonomically classified using similarity searches and phylogenetic analyses. The most specific profile HMM seed enabled the reconstruction of 45 partial or complete Alpavirinae genomic sequences. A comparison with conventional (global) assembly of the same original dataset, using Newbler in a standalone execution, revealed that GenSeed-HMM outperformed global genomic assembly in several metrics employed. This approach is capable of detecting organisms that have not been used in the construction of the profile HMM, which opens up the possibility of diagnosing novel viruses, without previous specific information, constituting a de novo diagnosis. Additional applications include, but are not limited to, the specific assembly of extrachromosomal elements such as plastid and mitochondrial genomes from metagenomic data. Profile HMM seeds can also be used to reconstruct specific protein coding genes for gene diversity studies, and to determine all possible gene variants present in a metagenomic sample. Such surveys could be useful to detect the emergence of drug-resistance variants in sensitive environments such as hospitals and animal production facilities, where antibiotics are regularly used. Finally, GenSeed-HMM can be used as an adjunct for gap closure on assembly finishing projects, by using multiple contig ends as anchored seeds
Magnetic Field Effects on Neutron Diffraction in the Antiferromagnetic Phase of
We discuss possible magnetic structures in UPt based on our analysis of
elastic neutron-scattering experiments in high magnetic fields at temperatures
. The existing experimental data can be explained by a single-{\bf q}
antiferromagnetic structure with three independent domains. For modest in-plane
spin-orbit interactions, the Zeeman coupling between the antiferromagnetic
order parameter and the magnetic field induces a rotation of the magnetic
moments, but not an adjustment of the propagation vector of the magnetic order.
A triple-{\bf q} magnetic structure is also consistent with neutron
experiments, but in general leads to a non-uniform magnetization in the
crystal. New experiments could decide between these structures.Comment: 5 figures included in the tex
The effects of cobalt protoporphyrin IX and tricarbonyldichlororuthenium (II) dimer treatments and its interaction with nitric oxide in the locus coeruleus of mice with peripheral inflammation
Funding: This work was supported by Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain and FondoEuropeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER), Unión Europea [Grants: PS0900968 and PI1400927], and CAPES/PROEX, CNPq,Brasil [401472/2014-0].Heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) and carbon monoxide were shown to normalize oxidative stress and inflammatory reactions induced by neuropathic pain in the central nervous system, but their effects in the locus coeruleus (LC) of animals with peripheral inflammation and their interaction with nitric oxide are unknown. In wild-type (WT) and knockout mice for neuronal (NOS1-KO) or inducible (NOS2-KO) nitric oxide synthases with inflammatory pain induced by complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA), we assessed: 1) antinociceptive actions of cobalt protoporphyrin IX (CoPP), an HO-1 inducer; 2) effects of CoPP and tricarbonyldichlororuthenium(II)dimer (CORM-2), a carbon monoxide-liberating compound, on the expression of HO-1, NOS1, NOS2, CD11b/c, GFAP,and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK)in the LC. CoPP reduced inflammatory pain in different time-dependent manners in WT and KO mice. Peripheral inflammation activated astroglia in the LC of all genotypes and increased the levels of NOS1 and phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (p-ERK 1/2) in WT mice. CoPP and CORM-2 enhanced HO-1 and inhibited astroglial activationin all genotypes. Both treatments blocked NOS1 overexpression,and CoPP normalized ERK 1/2 activation. This study reveals an interaction between HO-1 and NOS1/NOS2 during peripheral inflammation andshows that CoPP and CORM-2 improved HO-1 expression and modulated the inflammatory and/or plasticity changes caused by peripheral inflammation in the LC
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