Reply to "comment on 'High-pressure phases of group-II difluorides: Polymorphism and superionicity' "

Cazorla et al. (preceding Comment) criticize our recent results on the high-PT phase diagram of CaF2 [Phys. Rev. B 95, 054118 (2017)]. According to our analysis, Cazorla et al. have not converged their calculations with respect to simulation cell size, undermining the Comment's conclusions about both the high-T behavior of the P62m-CaF2 polymorph, and the use of the QHA in our work. As such, we take this opportunity to emphasize the importance of correctly converging molecular-dynamics simulations to avoid finite-size errors. We compare our quasiharmonic phase diagram for CaF2 with currently available experimental data, and we find it to be entirely consistent and in qualitative agreement with such data. Our prediction of a superionic phase transition in P62m-CaF2 (made on the basis of the QHA) is shown to be accurate, and we argue that simple descriptors, such as phonon frequencies, can offer valuable insight and predictive power concerning superionic behavior.Non

Properties of Ellerman Bombs and Implications About Formation Mechanisms

Ellerman bombs and surges are studied in this thesis in order that inferences about the formation mechanism of these features can be made. General introductions to the solar atmosphere and relevant observational techniques will be presented in Chapters 1 and 2, respectively. Chapter 3 discusses the properties of small-scale brightenings in the Hα line wings. An automated detection algorithm identifies and tracks bright regions, before a null set of confidently identified Ellerman bombs is isolated and compared to the results of previous researches and the smaller features identified by the algorithm. Chapter 4 then compares numerical simulations of magnetic reconnection to the signatures of 7 Ellerman bombs. Each Ellerman bomb occurs co-spatial to a magnetic bi-pole, six of which exhibit flux cancellation or emergence offering potential evidence that magnetic reconnection is the driver of these features. The properties of 22 Ellerman bombs at the solar limb are inferred in Chapter 5. Two in-depth case studies are presented which highlight the dynamical nature of individual features, including their morphological properties and potential links to the magnetic field. Chapter 6 discusses the physical properties of Moving Magnetic Features, the cancellation rates of which are measured, and how such properties fit into the hypothesised theory of magnetic reconnection as the driver of Ellerman bombs. An algebraic model of magnetic reconnection is employed such that upflow velocities, extension lengths, and local number densities can be derived. The outputs from this model agree well with measurements of Ellerman bombs returned in previous Chapters. Finally, an isolated surge is studied in Chapter 7. The temporal evolution of the line-of-sight magnetic field shows no evidence of magnetic reconnection co-spatial to this surge; however, a blinker forms co-spatially with this feature. This offers compelling evidence that blinkers may be linked to photospheric mass supply

Medical Help-Seeking for Sexual Concerns in Prostate Cancer Survivors.

INTRODUCTION: Although sexual dysfunction is common after prostate cancer, men's decisions to seek help for sexual concerns are not well understood. AIM: Describe predictors of actual prior help-seeking and intended future medical help-seeking for sexual dysfunction in prostate cancer survivors. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of 510 prostate cancer survivors assessed masculine beliefs, attitudes, support/approval from partner/peer networks (subjective norm), and perceived control as predictors of medical help-seeking for sexual concerns. A theory of planned behavior (TPB) perspective was used to examine actual prior and planned future behavior and contributing factors. Statistical analyses included multiple and logistic regressions. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Intention to see a doctor for sexual advice or help in the next 6 months was measured using the intention subscale adapted from the Attitudes to Seeking Help after Cancer Scale. Prior help-seeking was measured with a dichotomous yes/no scale created for the study. RESULTS: Men were Mage 71.69 years (SD = 7.71); 7.54 years (SD = 4.68) post-diagnosis; received treatment(s) (58.1% radical prostatectomy; 47.1% radiation therapy; 29.4% hormonal ablation); 81.4% reported severe ED (IIED 0-6) and 18.6% moderate-mild ED (IIED 7-24). Overall, 30% had sought sexual help in the past 6 months, and 24% intended to seek help in the following 6 months. Prior help-seeking was less frequent among men with severe ED. Sexual help-seeking intentions were associated with lower education, prior sexual help-seeking, sexual importance/ priority, emotional self-reliance, positive attitude, and subjective norm (R(2) = 0.56). CONCLUSION: The TPB has utility as a theoretical framework to understand prostate cancer survivors' sexual help-seeking decisions and may inform development of more effective interventions. Masculine beliefs were highly salient. Men who were more emotionally self-reliant and attributed greater importance to sex formed stronger help-seeking intentions. Subjective norm contributed most strongly to help-seeking intentions suggesting that health professionals/partners/peers have a key role as support mechanisms and components of psycho-sexual interventions

High-pressure CaF2 revisited: A new high-temperature phase and the role of phonons in the search for superionic conductivity

© 2018 American Physical Society. We recently proposed a high-pressure and high-temperature P62m-symmetry polymorph for CaF2 on the basis of ab initio random structure searching and density-functional theory calculations [J. R. Nelson et al., Phys. Rev. B 95, 054118 (2017)2469-995010.1103/PhysRevB.95.054118]. We revisit this polymorph using both ab initio and classical molecular dynamics simulations. The structure undergoes a phase transition to a superionic phase in which calcium ions lie on a bcc-symmetry lattice (space group Im3m), a phase not previously discussed for the group-II difluorides. We demonstrate that modeling this phase transition is surprisingly difficult and requires very large simulation cells (at least 864 atoms) in order to observe correct qualitative and quantitative behavior. The prediction of superionic behavior in P62m CaF2 was originally made through the observation of a lattice instability at the harmonic level in DFT calculations. Using superionic α-CaF2, CeO2, β-PbF2, and Li2O as examples, we examine the potential of using phonons as a means to search for superionic materials and propose that this offers an affordable way to do so.Calculations in this paper were carried out using the ARCHER facility of the United Kingdom’s national high-performance computing service, for which access was obtained via the UKCP consortium (Grant No. EP/P022596/1)

Evolution of strigolactone receptors by gradual neofunctionalization of KAI2 paralogues

Background: Strigolactones (SLs) are a class of plant hormones that control many aspects of plant growth. The SL signalling mechanism is homologous to that of karrikins (KARs), smoke-derived compounds that stimulate seed germination. In angiosperms, the SL receptor is an a/p hydrolase known as DWARF14 (D14); its close homologue, KARRIKIN INSENSITIVE2 (KAI2), functions as a KAR receptor, and likely recognizes an uncharacterized, endogenous signal (‘KL’). Previous phylogenetic analyses have suggested that the KAI2 lineage is ancestral in land plants, and that canonical D14-type SL receptors only arose in seed plants; this is paradoxical, however, as nonvascular plants synthesize and respond to SLs. Results: We have used a combination of phylogenetic and structural approaches to re-assess the evolution of the D14/KAI2 family in land plants. We analyzed 339 members of the D14/KAI2 family from land plants and charophyte algae. Our phylogenetic analyses show that the divergence between the eu-KAI2 lineage and the DDK (D14/DLK2/KAI2) lineage that includes D14 occurred very early in land plant evolution. We show that eu-KAI2 proteins are highly conserved, and have unique features not found in DDK proteins. Conversely, we show that DDK proteins show considerable sequence and structural variation to each other, and lack clearly definable characteristics. We use homology modelling to show that the earliest members of the DDK lineage structurally resemble KAI2, and that SL receptors in non-seed plants likely do not have D14-like structure. We also show that certain groups of DDK proteins lack the otherwise conserved MAX2-interface, and may thus function independently of MAX2, which we show is highly conserved throughout land plant evolution. Conclusions: Our results suggest D14-like structure is not required for SL perception, and that SL perception has relatively relaxed structural requirements compared to KAI2-mediated signalling. We suggest that SL perception gradually evolved by neo-functionalization within the DDK lineage, and that the transition from KAI2-like to D14-like protein may have been driven by interactions with protein partners, rather than being required for SL perception per se

Gut microbiota of Type 1 diabetes patients with good glycaemic control and high physical fitness is similar to people without diabetes: an observational study

Type 1 diabetes is the product of a complex interplay between genetic susceptibility and exposure to environmental factors. Existing bacterial profiling studies focus on people who are most at risk at the time of diagnosis; there are limited data on the gut microbiota of people with long-standing Type 1 diabetes. This study compared the gut microbiota of patients with Type 1 diabetes and good glycaemic control and high levels of physical-fitness with that of matched controls without diabetes.Ten males with Type 1 diabetes and ten matched controls without diabetes were recruited; groups were matched for gender, age, BMI, peak oxygen uptake (VO2max ), and exercise habits. Stool samples were analysed using next-generation sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene to obtain bacterial profiles from each individual. Phylogenetic investigation of communities by reconstruction of unobserved states (PICRUSt) was implemented to predict the functional content of the bacterial operational taxonomic units.Faecalibacterium sp., Roseburia sp. and Bacteroides sp. were typically the most abundant members of the community in both patients with Type 1 diabetes and controls, and were present in every sample in the cohort. Each bacterial profile was relatively individual and no significant difference was reported between the bacterial profiles or the Shannon diversity indices of Type 1 diabetes compared with controls. The functional profiles were more conserved and the Type 1 diabetes group were comparable with the control group.We show that both gut microbiota and resulting functional bacterial profiles from patients with long-standing Type 1 diabetes in good glycaemic control and high physical fitness levels are comparable with those of matched people without diabetes. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Episodic Source Memory over Distribution by Quantum-Like Dynamics – A Model Exploration

In source memory studies, a decision-maker is concerned with identifying the context in which a given episodic experience occurred. A common paradigm for studying source memory is the ‘three-list’ experimental paradigm, where a subject studies three lists of words and is later asked whether a given word appeared on one or more of the studied lists. Surprisingly, the sum total of the acceptance probabilities generated by asking for the source of a word separately for each list (‘list 1?’, ‘list 2?’, ‘list 3?’) exceeds the acceptance probability generated by asking whether that word occurred on the union of the lists (‘list 1 or 2 or 3?’). The episodic memory for a given word therefore appears over distributed on the disjoint contexts of the lists. A quantum episodic memory model [QEM] was proposed by Brainerd, Wang and Reyna [8] to explain this type of result. In this paper, we apply a Hamiltonian dynamical extension of QEM for over distribution of source memory. The Hamiltonian operators are simultaneously driven by parameters for re-allocation of gist-based and verbatim-based acceptance support as subjects are exposed to the cue word in the first temporal stage, and are attenuated for description-dependence by the querying probe in the second temporal stage. Overall, the model predicts well the choice proportions in both separate list and union list queries and the over distribution effect, suggesting that a Hamiltonian dynamics for QEM can provide a good account of the acceptance processes involved in episodic memory tasks

The core phageome and its interrelationship with preterm human milk lipids

\ua9 2023 The AuthorsPhages and lipids in human milk (HM) may benefit preterm infant health by preventing gastrointestinal pathobiont overgrowth and microbiome modulation. Lipid association may promote vertical transmission of phages to the infant. Despite this, interrelationships between lipids and phages are poorly characterized in preterm HM. Shotgun metagenomics and untargeted lipidomics of phage and lipid profiles from 99 preterm HM samples reveals that phages are abundant and prevalent from the first week and throughout the first 100 days of lactation. Phage-host richness of preterm HM increases longitudinally. Core phage communities characterized by Staphylococcus- and Propionibacterium-infecting phages are significantly correlated with long-chain fatty acid abundances over lactational age. We report here a phage-lipid interaction in preterm HM, highlighting the potential importance of phage carriage in preterm HM. These results reveal possible strategies for phage carriage in HM and their importance in early-life microbiota development