Characterization of Myodegeneration Syndrome in Porcine Muscle

Food Scienc

Immunomodulation with romiplostim as a second-line strategy in primary immune thrombocytopenia: The iROM study.

Thrombopoietin receptor agonists (TPO-RAs) stimulate platelet production, which might restore immunological tolerance in primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). The iROM study investigated romiplostim's immunomodulatory effects. Thirteen patients (median age, 31 years) who previously received first-line treatment received romiplostim for 22 weeks, followed by monitoring until week 52. In addition to immunological data, secondary end-points included the sustained remission off-treatment (SROT) rate at 1 year, romiplostim dose, platelet count and bleedings. Scheduled discontinuation of romiplostim and SROT were achieved in six patients with newly diagnosed ITP, whereas the remaining seven patients relapsed. Romiplostim dose titration was lower and platelet count response was stronger in patients with SROT than in relapsed patients. In all patients, regulatory T lymphocyte (Treg) counts increased until study completion and the counts were higher in patients with SROT. Interleukin (IL)-4, IL-9 and IL-17F levels decreased significantly in all patients. FOXP3 (Treg), GATA3 (Th2) mRNA expression and transforming growth factor-β levels increased in patients with SROT. Treatment with romiplostim modulates the immune system and possibly influences ITP prognosis. A rapid increase in platelet counts is likely important for inducing immune tolerance. Better outcomes might be achieved at an early stage of autoimmunity, but clinical studies are needed for confirmation

Flux Tube Zero-Point Motion, Hadronic Charge Radii, and Hybrid Meson Production Cross Sections

Flux tube zero-point motion produces quark displacements transverse to the flux tube which make significant contributions to hadronic charge radii. In heavy quark systems, these contributions can be related by Bjorken's sum rule to the rates for semileptonic decay to hybrid mesons. This connection can be generalized to other leptoproduction processes, where transverse contributions to elastic form factor slopes are related to the cross sections for the production of the associated hybrid states. I identify the flux tube overlap integral responsible for these effects as the strong QCD analogue of the Sudakov form factor of perturbative QCD.Comment: 16 pages, revised to clarify some points and to improve and correct the notation for the flux tube wave function

Numerical models of collisions between core-collapse supernovae and circumstellar shells

Recent observations of luminous Type IIn supernovae (SNe) provide compelling evidence that massive circumstellar shells surround their progenitors. In this paper we investigate how the properties of such shells influence the SN lightcurve by conducting numerical simulations of the interaction between an expanding SN and a circumstellar shell ejected a few years prior to core collapse. Our parameter study explores how the emergent luminosity depends on a range of circumstellar shell masses, velocities, geometries, and wind mass-loss rates, as well as variations in the SN mass and energy. We find that the shell mass is the most important parameter, in the sense that higher shell masses (or higher ratios of M_shell/M_SN) lead to higher peak luminosities and higher efficiencies in converting shock energy into visual light. Lower mass shells can also cause high peak luminosities if the shell is slow or if the SN ejecta are very fast, but only for a short time. Sustaining a high luminosity for durations of more than 100 days requires massive circumstellar shells of order 10 M_sun or more. This reaffirms previous comparisons between pre-SN shells and shells produced by giant eruptions of luminous blue variables (LBVs), although the physical mechanism responsible for these outbursts remains uncertain. The lightcurve shape and observed shell velocity can help diagnose the approximate size and density of the circumstellar shell, and it may be possible to distinguish between spherical and bipolar shells with multi-wavelength lightcurves. These models are merely illustrative. One can, of course, achieve even higher luminosities and longer duration light curves from interaction by increasing the explosion energy and shell mass beyond values adopted here.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Tables of numerical results (SN lightcurves and velocities) to be published online. (Updated to fix figures

Women’s livelihoods, global markets and citizenship

The underlying assumption of the economic integration epitomised by globalisation was that it would lead to greater economic participation and an enhancement of livelihood opportunities, which in turn would have positive impacts on citizens and their practice of citizenship. This integration would open new spaces and create new mechanisms for interaction between various actors in governance processes. Economic participation in the global economy manifests in two principal ways: the export of local products for global marketing through multinational corporations (MNCs), or the local marketing of goods that are globally produced by MNCs. Both models have the potential to increase livelihood opportunities for the poor and those hitherto excluded from the market. If the second model is followed, what avenues for market integration might create more sustainable livelihoods for rural women? Can this model provide a sustainable source of income for such women? As rural women are integrated into global markets, what are the implications for their identities? Do they see themselves as an integral part of the global marketplace, with important links to the global economy? Or do they continue to maintain local, regional or maybe national identities? When these women claim rights, to whom do they turn? Do they ask governments to mediate on their behalf? Do they consider the medium of their integration, the MNCs, as their obligator? What kinds of organising efforts evolve for such claim making purposes? This paper attempts to answer these questions through an analysis of Project Shakti, an initiative of Hindustan Unilever Limited, promoted by the Indian government

Nonresonant Semileptonic Heavy Quark Decay

In both the large N_c limit and the valence quark model, semileptonic decays are dominated by resonant final states. Using Bjorken's sum rule in an "unquenched" version of the quark model, I demonstrate that in the heavy quark limit nonresonant final states should also be produced at a significant rate. By calculating the individual strengths of a large number of exclusive two-body nonresonant channels, I show that the total rate for such processes is highly fragmented. I also describe some very substantial duality-violating suppression factors which reduce the inclusive nonresonant rate to a few percent of the total semileptonic rate for the finite quark masses of B decay, and comment on the importance of nonresonant decays as testing grounds for very basic ideas on the structure, strength, and significance of the quark-antiquark sea and on quark-hadron duality in QCD.Comment: 51 pages, 2 Postscript figure

The role of FAIR nanosafety data and nanoinformatics in achieving the UN sustainable development goals: the NanoCommons experience†

The increasing focus on open and FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-useable) data is driving a step-change in how research communities and governments think about data and knowledge, and the potential for re-use of data. It has long been recognised that international data sharing is essential for regulatory harmonisation and commercialisation, via the Mutual Acceptance of Data (MAD) principle of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for example. However, it is interesting to note that despite the power of data and data-driven software to support the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), there appears to be limited awareness of how nanomaterials environmental health and safety (nano EHS) data can drive progress towards many of the SDGs. The goal of the NanoCommons research infrastructure project was to increase FAIRness and impact of nanoEHS data through development of services, including data shepherding to support researchers across the data life cycle and tools such as user-friendly nanoinformatics predictive models. We surveyed both service providers and service users on their ideas regarding how nanoEHS data might support the SDGs, and discovered a significant lack of awareness of the SDGs in general, and the potential for impact from NanoCommons tools and services. To address this gap, a workshop on the SDGs was prepared and delivered to support the NanoCommons service providers to understand the SDGs and how nanosafety data and nanoinformatics can support their achievement. Following the workshop, providers were invited to update their questionnaire responses. The results from the workshop discussions are presented, along with a summary of the 12 SDGs identified where increasingly accessible nanoEHS data will have a significant impact, and the 5 that are indirectly benefited along with some recommendations for EU-funded projects on how they can maximise and monitor their contributions to the SDGs

Decay constants, semi-leptonic and non-leptonic decays in a Bethe-Salpeter Model

We evaluate the decay constants for the B and $D$ mesons and the form factors for the semileptonic decays of the B meson to $D$ and $D^*$ mesons in a Bethe-Salpeter model. From data we extract $V_{cb}=0.039 \pm 0.002$ from ${\bar B} \to D^* l {\bar{\nu}}$ and $V_{cb}=0.037 \pm 0.004$ from ${\bar B} \to D l {\bar{\nu}}$ decays. The form factors are then used to obtain non-leptonic decay partial widths for $B\to D \pi (K)$ and $B \to D D (D_s)$ in the factorization approximation.Comment: 15 Pages, 3 Postscript figures (available also from [email protected]

Caldera resurgence during the 2018 eruption of Sierra Negra volcano, Galápagos Islands.

Recent large basaltic eruptions began after only minor surface uplift and seismicity, and resulted in caldera subsidence. In contrast, some eruptions at Galápagos Island volcanoes are preceded by prolonged, large amplitude uplift and elevated seismicity. These systems also display long-term intra-caldera uplift, or resurgence. However, a scarcity of observations has obscured the mechanisms underpinning such behaviour. Here we combine a unique multiparametric dataset to show how the 2018 eruption of Sierra Negra contributed to caldera resurgence. Magma supply to a shallow reservoir drove 6.5 m of pre-eruptive uplift and seismicity over thirteen years, including an Mw5.4 earthquake that triggered the eruption. Although co-eruptive magma withdrawal resulted in 8.5 m of subsidence, net uplift of the inner-caldera on a trapdoor fault resulted in 1.5 m of permanent resurgence. These observations reveal the importance of intra-caldera faulting in affecting resurgence, and the mechanisms of eruption in the absence of well-developed rift systems