[Cyrus] H. Nero to Mr. Meredith (3 October 1962)

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/mercorr_pro/1206/thumbnail.jp

On The Possibility of Enrichment and Differentiation in Gas Giants During Birth by Disk Instability

We investigate the coupling between rock-size solids and gas during the formation of gas giant planets by disk fragmentation in the outer regions of massive disks. In this study, we use three-dimensional radiative hydrodynamics simulations and model solids as a spatial distribution of particles. We assume that half of the total solid fraction is in small grains and half in large solids. The former are perfectly entrained with the gas and set the opacity in the disk, while the latter are allowed to respond to gas drag forces, with the back reaction on the gas taken into account. To explore the maximum effects of gas-solid interactions, we first consider 10cm-size particles. We then compare these results to a simulation with 1 km-size particles, which explores the low-drag regime. We show that (1) disk instability planets have the potential to form large cores due to aerodynamic capturing of rock-size solids in spiral arms before fragmentation; (2) that temporary clumps can concentrate tens of $M_{\oplus}$ of solids in very localized regions before clump disruption; (3) that the formation of permanent clumps, even in the outer disk, is dependent on the grain-size distribution, i.e., the opacity; (4) that nonaxisymmetric structure in the disk can create disk regions that have a solids-to-gas ratio greater than unity; (5) that the solid distribution may affect the fragmentation process; (6) that proto-gas giants and proto-brown dwarfs can start as differentiated objects prior to the H$_2$ collapse phase; (7) that spiral arms in a gravitationally unstable disk are able to stop the inward drift of rock-size solids, even redistributing them to larger radii; and, (8) that large solids can form spiral arms that are offset from the gaseous spiral arms. We conclude that planet embryo formation can be strongly affected by the growth of solids during the earliest stages of disk accretion.Comment: Accepted by ApJ. 55 pages including 24 figures. In response to comments from the referee, we have included a new simulation with km-size objects and have revised some discussions and interpretations. Major conclusions remain unchanged, and new conclusions have been added in response to the new ru

Vulvar myiasis during pregnancy.

Myiasis is a parasitic infestation caused by the larvae of several fly species. Diagnosis and treatment are simple. The location of this infestation at the vulvar area is, however, an extremely rare occurrence. The authors present two cases of vulvar myiasis affecting pregnant women. The first case is a 19-year-old pregnant girl with vulvar myiasis and concomitant syphilis, vaginal trichomoniasis and genital candidiasis. The patient was also HIV-positive. The second case is a 17-year-old pregnant girl with vulvar myiasis associated with extensive vulvar condyloma acuminatum lesions

First-forbidden beta decay of 17N and 17Ne

It is shown that differences, due to charge-dependent effects, in the 17N and 17Ne ground-state wave functions account for the fact that the experimentally measured branch for the beta+ decay of 17Ne to the first excited state of 17F is roughly a factor of two larger than expected on the basis of nuclear matrix elements which reproduce the corresponding beta- branch in the decay of 17N.Comment: 10 pages, no figures, to appear in Physical Review

Predictors of response to TNF blockers in patients with polyarticular psoriatic arthritis

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic inflammatory rheumatic disease with a broad clinical spectrum. PsA can affect the axialskeleton, peripheral joints, entheses, synovial sheaths of tendons, skin, nails and extra-articular organs. Tumour necrosis factor alpha blockers (TNF blockers) were a breakthrough development in the treatment of PsA. Identifying predictors of response to biological therapiesin patients with PsA is of utmost importance, especially in view of the costs and potential side effects of these agents. The aims of the present study were to determine baseline predictive factors of response to biological therapies, at 3 and 6 months, in PsA patients with polyarticular involvement (with or without axial involvement). Data were collected from the RheumaticDiseases Portuguese Register(Reuma.pt). Eligible patients had to be anti-TNF-naive at baseline and to have at least 3 months of follow-up after the beginning of TNF blocker therapy. Only patients with information on at least one of the response measures (at 3 or 6 months of follow-up) were included in the analysis. Univariable logistic regression analysis of potential baseline predictors of European League Against Rheu-matism (EULAR) good clinical response, EULAR good/ /moderate response, 28-joint Disease Activity Score with three variables including the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (DAS28-3V-ESR) remission and Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) response were performed. Multivariable logistic regression using a forward selection procedure was used until the best-fit model was obtained, taking confounding effects into account. A total of 180 patients were eligible for the study (mean age 52 years, 54% women). In multivariable analysis at 3 months, females were less likely to attain a good EULAR response [OR=0.082 (95% CI=0.024, 0.278)], a DAS28-3V-ESR remission [OR=0.083 (95% CI=0.017, 0.416)], a moderate or good EULAR response [OR=0.091 (95% CI=0.011, 0.091)] and a HAQ response [OR=0.074 (95% CI=0.009, 0.608)]. At 6 months, female gender was also less likely to achieve a good EULAR response [OR=0.060 (95% CI=0.011, 0.325)], DAS28-3V-ESR remission [OR=0.060 (95% CI=0.012, 0.297)], and a HAQ response [OR=0.138 (95% CI= 0.029, 0.654)]. In this study we found that gender was the most consistent predictor of response to TNF blocker therapy in patients with polyarticular PsA, with females having a lower probability ofresponse compared to males. These findings suggest that gender-related biochemical, hormonal and psychological factors could play an importantrole in the response to TNF blockertherapy in PsA

Nonlinear thermoelectric response of quantum dots: renormalized dual fermions out of equilibrium

The thermoelectric transport properties of nanostructured devices continue to attract attention from theorists and experimentalist alike as the spatial confinement allows for a controlled approach to transport properties of correlated matter. Most of the existing work, however, focuses on thermoelectric transport in the linear regime despite the fact that the nonlinear conductance of correlated quantum dots has been studied in some detail throughout the last decade. Here, we review our recent work on the effect of particle-hole asymmetry on the nonlinear transport properties in the vicinity of the strong coupling limit of Kondo-correlated quantum dots and extend the underlying method, a renormalized superperturbation theory on the Keldysh contour, to the thermal conductance in the nonlinear regime. We determine the charge, energy, and heat current through the nanostructure and study the nonlinear transport coefficients, the entropy production, and the fate of the Wiedemann-Franz law in the non-thermal steady-state. Our approach is based on a renormalized perturbation theory in terms of dual fermions around the particle-hole symmetric strong-coupling limit.Comment: chapter contributed to 'New Materials for Thermoelectric Applications: Theory and Experiment' Springer Series: NATO Science for Peace and Security Series - B: Physics and Biophysics, Veljko Zlatic (Editor), Alex Hewson (Editor). ISBN: 978-9400749863 (2012

HUMAN DISEASE FROM RADON EXPOSURES: THE IMPACT OF ENERGY CONSERVATION IN RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS

The level of radon and its daughters inside conventional buildings is often higher than the ambient background level. Interest in conserving energy is motivating homeowners and builers to reduce ventilation and hence to increase the concentration of indoor generated air contaminants, including radon. It is unliekly that the current radiation levels in conventional homes and buildings from radon daughters could account for a significant portion of the lung cancer rate in non-smokers. However, it is likely that some increased lung cancer risk would result from increased radon exposures; hence, it is prudent not to allow radon concentrations to rise significantly. There are several ways to implement energy conservation measures without increasing risks

EPO does not promote interaction between the erythropoietin and beta-common receptors

A direct interaction between the erythropoietin (EPOR) and the beta-common (βc) receptors to form an Innate Repair Receptor (IRR) is controversial. On one hand, studies have shown a functional link between EPOR and βc receptor in tissue protection while others have shown no involvement of the βc receptor in tissue repair. To date there is no biophysical evidence to confirm a direct association of the two receptors either in vitro or in vivo. We investigated the existence of an interaction between the extracellular regions of EPOR and the βc receptor in silico and in vitro (either in the presence or absence of EPO or EPO-derived peptide ARA290). Although a possible interaction between EPOR and βc was suggested by our computational and genomic studies, our in vitro biophysical analysis demonstrates that the extracellular regions of the two receptors do not specifically associate. We also explored the involvement of the βc receptor gene (Csf2rb) under anaemic stress conditions and found no requirement for the βc receptor in mice. In light of these studies, we conclude that the extracellular regions of the EPOR and the βc receptor do not directly interact and that the IRR is not involved in anaemic stress.Karen S. Cheung Tung Shing, Sophie E. Broughton, Tracy L. Nero, Kevin Gillinder, Melissa D. Ilsley, Hayley Ramshaw, Angel F. Lopez, Michael D. W. Griffin, Michael W. Parker, Andrew C. Perkins, Urmi Dhaga