Kinetic Signatures and Intermittent Turbulence in the Solar Wind Plasma

A connection between kinetic processes and intermittent turbulence is observed in the solar wind plasma using measurements from the Wind spacecraft at 1 AU. In particular, kinetic effects such as temperature anisotropy and plasma heating are concentrated near coherent structures, such as current sheets, which are non-uniformly distributed in space. Furthermore, these coherent structures are preferentially found in plasma unstable to the mirror and firehose instabilities. The inhomogeneous heating in these regions, which is present in both the magnetic field parallel and perpendicular temperature components, results in protons at least 3-4 times hotter than under typical stable plasma conditions. These results offer a new understanding of kinetic processes in a turbulent regime, where linear Vlasov theory is not sufficient to explain the inhomogeneous plasma dynamics operating near non-Gaussian structures.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letter

Association Between Lipid Profile and Glyceamic Control in Sudanese Children with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus at Gezira State, Sudan

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus describes a metabolic disorder of multiple aetiology characterized by chronic hyperglycemia with disturbances of carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism resulting from defects in insulin secretion, insulin action, or both. Objectives This study aimed to assess the metabolic control of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) in Sudanese children. Methods: One hundred and seventy four children with type 1 diabetes mellitus were enrolled in this study; 56 healthy non-diabetic children served as a control group. Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), total cholesterol (TC), triacylglycerol (TG), low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) were measured, very low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (VLDL), and LDL-C/HDL-C ratio were calculated. Results: HbA1c,TC, LDL-C LDL-C/HDL-C ratio and TG were significantly higher among diabetic group compared to non-diabetic group (P<0.001 and P<0.05 for TG).In the diabetic group, there was a positive significant correlation of: HbA1c with TC, TG, HDL- C, LDL-C, VLDL and LDL/HDL ratio; TC with TG, HDL- C, LDL-C, VLDL and LDL/HDL; TG with LDL- C, VLDL and LDL/HDL ratio; HDL-C with LDL-C;LDL-C with VLDL and LDL/ HDL;VLDL-C with LDL/HDL ratio. A significant negative correlation was observed between HDL- C and LDL/HDL ratio. Diabetic group with poor metabolic control (HbA1c level >8).had significantly higher levels of TC and LDL-C (P<0.001),TG and VLDL (P<0.01), HDL-C and LDL-C/ HDL-C ratio (P<0.05) compared with diabetic group with good metabolic control (HbA1c <8%). Conclusion: 85.63% of diabetic patients were found to have poor metabolic control (HbA1c level >8). يوصف مرض السكري بأنه من المسببات المرضية المتعددة التي تتميز بفرط  سكر الدم المزمن واضطراب في التمثيل الغذائي ( اضطرابات من الكربوهيدرات والدهون واستقلاب البروتين) الناتج عن نقص في إفراز الأنسولين، عمل الانسولين أو كليهما.هدفت هذه الدراسة لاستخدام التقييم الكيموحيوي لمعرفة مدي التحكم لضبط السكر عند مرضي السكري النوع الاول. إشتملت هذه الدراسه علي 174طفل مصابين مرض السكري و56 أصحاء من نفس العمر.تضمنت هذه الدراسة  القياسات الكيموحيويه الأتيه: خضاب الدم المسكر، الكوليستيرول ، ثلاثي أسيل الجليسرول و الكوليستيرول المرتبط  بالبروتينات الشحميه منخفضة وعاليه الكثافة والبروتينات الشحميه المنخفضة جدا ونسبة البروتينات الشحميه منخفضة الكثافة الي البروتينات الشحميه عالية الكثافة. وجد أن تركيز كل من خضاب الدم المسكر، الكوليستيرول ، الكوليستيرول المرتبط  بالبروتينات الشحميه منخفضة الكثافة ونسبة البروتينات الشحميه منخفضة الكثافة الي البروتينات الشحميه عالية الكثافة وثلاثي أسيل الجليسرول يرتفع إرتفاعا ذا معني عند مجموعة مرضي السكري.مستوي خضاب الدم المسكر يرتبط إرتباطا موجبا ذا معني مع كل من الكوليستيرول ، ثلاثي أسيل الجليسرول والبروتينات الشحميه عالية ومنخفضة الكثافة والبروتينات الشحميه المنخفضة جدا ونسبة البروتينات الشحميه منخفضة الكثافة الي البروتينات الشحميه عالية الكثافة، الكوليستيرول مع كل من ثلاثي أسيل الجليسرول والبروتينات الشحميه عالية و منخفضة الكثافة والبروتينات الشحميه المنخفضة جدا ونسبة البروتينات الشحميه منخفضة الكثافة الي البروتينات الشحميه عالية الكثافة ، يرتبط ثلاثي أسيل الجليسرول مع كل من البروتينات الشحميه منخفضة الكثافة والبروتينات الشحميه المنخفضة جدا ونسبة البروتينات الشحميه منخفضة الكثافة الي البروتينات الشحميه عالية الكثافة . كما أن  مستوي البروتينات الشحميه عالية الكثافة يرتبط إرتباطا ذا معني مع نسبة البروتينات الشحميه منخفضة الكثافة الي البروتينات الشحميه عالية الكثافة.طبقا لتقسيم مجموعة الدارسين لمرض السكري العالميه الأمريكيه أظهرت هذه الدراسه أن نسبة (85.63)  من المرضي يبلغ معدل خضاب الدم المسكر عندهم أكثر من  8% (ضبط غير مقبول) بينما  (%14.37) يبلغ معدل خضاب الدم المسكر عندهم أقل من  8% (ضبط مقبول).  وجدت هذه الدراسة ان مرضي السكري والذين لديهم ضبط غير مقبول لخضاب الدم المسكر ترتفع عندهم مستويات الكوليستيرول ، ثلاثي أسيل الجليسرول و الكوليستيرول المرتبط  بالبروتينات الشحميه منخفضة وعاليه الكثافة والبروتينات الشحميه المنخفضة جدا ونسبة البروتينات الشحميه منخفضة الكثافة الي البروتينات الشحميه عالية الكثافة ارتفاعا ذا معني مقارنة مرضي السكري والذين لديهم ضبط مقبول لخضاب الدم المسكر

Antenatal care and skilled delivery service utilisation in Somali pastoral communities of Eastern Ethiopia

To assess maternal health care service utilisation and associated factors in Somali pastoral communities of eastern Ethiopia.; Community-based cross-sectional study complemented by qualitative assessments in Adadle district, Somali region, eastern Ethiopia, among 450 women in six kebeles from August to September 2016. Logistic regression was used to assess factors associated with antenatal care use and skilled delivery care use, controlling for confounders.; About 27% [95%CI 22.8-31.2%] of women used antenatal care, and 22.6% [95%CI 18.7-26.5%] received skilled delivery service. None of the respondents reported post-natal care. About 43% reported that they had no knowledge of antenatal care, and 46% did not perceive delivery at a health facility as important. Pastoral lifestyle, husband's educational status, women's attitude towards health care service and financial support from the husband were significantly associated with antenatal care utilisation. Health professionals' attitudes, perceptions of institutional delivery, antenatal care utilisation and information about exemptions from maternal health care fees were associated with skilled delivery service utilisation.; Improving community awareness of antenatal care, employing female health professionals and culturally adapted guidelines could improve skilled delivery utilisation. In a patriarchal society, involving male partners in all maternal health issues is essential to increase use of maternal health services and to decrease maternal mortality

The Cdk8 kinase module regulates interaction of the mediator complex with RNA polymerase II

The Cdk8 kinase module (CKM) is a dissociable part of the coactivator complex mediator, which regulates gene transcription by RNA polymerase II. The CKM has both negative and positive functions in gene transcription that remain poorly understood at the mechanistic level. In order to reconstitute the role of the CKM in transcription initiation, we prepared recombinant CKM from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We showed that CKM bound to the core mediator (cMed) complex, sterically inhibiting cMed from binding to the polymerase II preinitiation complex (PIC) in vitro. We further showed that the Cdk8 kinase activity of the CKM weakened CKM–cMed interaction, thereby facilitating dissociation of the CKM and enabling mediator to bind the PIC in order to stimulate transcription initiation. Finally, we report that the kinase activity of Cdk8 is required for gene activation during the stressful condition of heat shock in vivo but not under steady-state growth conditions. Based on these results, we propose a model in which the CKM negatively regulates mediator function at upstream-activating sequences by preventing mediator binding to the PIC at the gene promoter. However, during gene activation in response to stress, the Cdk8 kinase activity of the CKM may release mediator and allow its binding to the PIC, thereby accounting for the positive function of CKM. This may impart improved adaptability to stress by allowing a rapid transcriptional response to environmental changes, and we speculate that a similar mechanism in metazoans may allow the precise timing of developmental transcription programs

THE THREE-DIMENSIONAL EVOLUTION OF ION-SCALE CURRENT SHEETS: TEARING AND DRIFT-KINK INSTABILITIES IN THE PRESENCE OF PROTON TEMPERATURE ANISOTROPY

We present the first three-dimensional hybrid simulations of the evolution of ion-scale current sheets, with an investigation of the role of temperature anisotropy and associated kinetic instabilities on the growth of the tearing instability and particle heating. We confirm the ability of the ion cyclotron and firehose instabilities to enhance or suppress reconnection, respectively. The simulations demonstrate the emergence of persistent three-dimensional structures, including patchy reconnection sites and the fast growth of a narrow-band drift-kink instability, which suppresses reconnection for thin current sheets with weak guide fields. Potential observational signatures of the three-dimensional evolution of solar wind current sheets are also discussed. We conclude that kinetic instabilities, arising from non-Maxwellian ion populations, are significant to the evolution of three-dimensional current sheets, and two-dimensional studies of heating rates by reconnection may therefore over-estimate the ability of thin, ion-scale current sheets to heat the solar wind by reconnection

Thermal transport measurements of individual multiwalled nanotubes

The thermal conductivity and thermoelectric power of a single carbon nanotube were measured using a microfabricated suspended device. The observed thermal conductivity is more than 3000 W/K m at room temperature, which is two orders of magnitude higher than the estimation from previous experiments that used macroscopic mat samples. The temperature dependence of the thermal conductivity of nanotubes exhibits a peak at 320 K due to the onset of Umklapp phonon scattering. The measured thermoelectric power shows linear temperature dependence with a value of 80 $\mu$V/K at room temperature.Comment: 4 pages, figures include

Quantum magnetism in the stripe phase: bond- versus site order

It is argued that the spin dynamics in the charge-ordered stripe phase might be revealing with regards to the nature of the anomalous spin dynamics in cuprate superconductors. Specifically, if the stripes are bond ordered much of the spin fluctuation will originate in the spin sector itself, while site ordered stripes require the charge sector as the driving force for the strong quantum spin fluctuations.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, LaTe

Significantly lower anti-Leishmania IgG responses in Sudanese versus Indian visceral leishmaniasis.

BACKGROUND: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), a widely distributed systemic disease caused by infection with the Leishmania donovani complex (L. donovani and L. infantum), is almost always fatal if symptomatic and untreated. A rapid point-of-care diagnostic test for anti-Leishmania antibodies, the rK39-immunochromatographic test (rK39-ICT), has high sensitivity and specificity in South Asia but is less sensitive in East Africa. One of the underlying reasons may be continent-specific molecular diversity in the rK39 antigen within the L. donovani complex. However, a second reason may be differences in specific IgG anti-Leishmania levels in patients from different geographical regions, either due to variable antigenicity or immunological response. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We determined IgG titres of Indian and Sudanese VL patients against whole cell lysates of Indian and Sudanese L. donovani strains. Indian VL patients had significantly higher IgG titres against both L. donovani strains compared to Sudanese VL patients (p<0.0001). Mean reciprocal log10 50% end-point titres (1/log10t50) were i) 3.80 and 3.88 for Indian plasma and ii) 2.13 and 2.09 for Sudanese plasma against Indian and Sudanese antigen respectively (p<0.0001). Overall, the Indian VL patients therefore showed a 46.8-61.7 -fold higher mean ELISA titre than the Sudanese VL patients. The higher IgG titres occurred in children (<16 years old) and adults of either sex from India (mean 1/log10t50: 3.60-4.15) versus Sudan (mean 1/log10t50: 1.88-2.54). The greatest difference in IgG responses was between male Indian and Sudanese VL patients of ≥ 16 years old (mean 1/log10t50: 4.15 versus 1.99 = 144-fold (p<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Anti-Leishmania IgG responses among VL patients in Sudan were significantly lower than in India; this may be due to chronic malnutrition with Zn(2+) deficiency, or variable antigenicity and capacity to generate IgG responses to Leishmania antigens. Such differential anti-Leishmania IgG levels may contribute to lower sensitivity of the rK39-ICT in East Africa