Manufacture of DPFC-DMS polymer in the SKG range

BPFC-DMS block copolymers were synthesized on a pre-pilot scale (i.e., to 5 Kg lots) and subsequently fabricated into clear, colorless films. Details of the synthesis procedures, property determinations, and film casting techniques are presented. Solubility, viscosity and molecular weight characteristics of the resulting product are reported

Identification of Elg1 interaction partners and effects on post-replication chromatin re-formation

We thank members of the Donaldson, Kubota, and Lorenz labs for helpful discussion, Sophie Shaw at the University of Aberdeen for data upload to Array Express and Shin-ichiro Hiraga for help with Bioinformatic analysis. This work was supported by BBSRC Grant BB/K006304/1 and Cancer Research UK Programme Award A19059 to ADD, and Wellcome Trust Grant 095062 to TOH. KS was supported by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Priority Areas (15H05970 and 15K21761) from Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan All raw-data files for MNase-Seq and ChIP-Seq data are uploaded to Array Express under accession number: E-MTAB-6985.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Quasars in the MAMBO blank field survey

Our MAMBO 1.2 mm blank field imaging survey of ~0.75 sqd has uncovered four unusually bright sources, with flux densities between 10 and 90 mJy, all located in the Abell 2125 field. The three brightest are flat spectrum radio sources with bright optical and X-ray counterparts. Their mm and radio flux densities are variable on timescales of months. Their X-ray luminosities classify them as quasars. The faintest of the four mm bright sources appears to be a bright, radio-quiet starburst at z~3, similar to the sources seen at lower flux densities in the MAMBO and SCUBA surveys. It may also host a mildly obscured AGN of quasar-like X-ray luminosity. The three non-thermal mm sources imply an areal density of flat spectrum radio sources higher by at least 7 compared with that expected from an extrapolation of the lower frequency radio number counts.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures. Accepted for publication by A&

Neural responses to a modified Stroop paradigm in patients with complex chronic musculoskeletal pain compared to matched controls: an experimental functional magnetic resonance imaging study

Background: Chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMSKP) is attentionally demanding, complex and multi-factorial; neuroimaging research in the population seen in pain clinics is sparse. A better understanding of the neural activity underlying attentional processes to pain related information compared to healthy controls may help inform diagnosis and management in the future. Methods: Blood oxygenation level dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD fMRI) compared brain responses in patients with CMSKP (n=15) and healthy controls (n=14) while completing a modified Stroop task using pain-related, positive-emotional, and neutral control words. Results: Response times in the Stroop task were no different for CMSKP patients compared with controls, but patients were less accurate in their responses to all word types. BOLD fMRI responses during presentation of pain-related words suggested increases in neural activation in patients compared to controls in regions previously reported as being involved in pain perception and emotion: the anterior cingulate cortex, insula and primary and secondary somatosensory cortex. No fMRI differences were seen between groups in response to positive or control words. Conclusions: Using this modified Stroop tasks, specific differences were identified in brain activity between CMSKP patients and controls in response to pain-related information using fMRI. This provided evidence of differences in the way that pain-related information is processed in those with chronic complex musculoskeletal pain that were not detectable using the behavioural measures of speed and accuracy. The study may be helpful in gaining new insights into the impact of attention in those living with chronic pai

The relationship of isometric strength to peak dynamic hand forces during submaximal weight lifting

Reports have indicated that approximately one third of the US workforce is presently required to exert significant strength as part of their jobs. In addressing the prevention of these types of injuries, the assessment of muscular strength can provide a method of predicting whether a person is capable of performing the job without incurring injury. Currently, isometric strength assessments are often used to assist in predicting the capability to safely perform a lifting task. However, given the dynamic nature of work activities, isometric values may be limited, particularly if the load is well below a person's strength capability. Thus, it is of interest to evaluate the relationship between isometric strength values and peak dynamic hand forces under varied submaximal loading. It is shown in this study that the peak hand forces, exhibited while dynamically lifting different submaximal loads, are not highly correlated with a person's isometric lifting strength in similar postures. It is also shown that for very light load lifting, the peak accelerations approached 2.5 g's, further supporting the need to limit such lifting from floor level by using ergonomic interventions.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/30255/1/0000651.pd

A proposal for using benefit-risk methods to improve the prominence of adverse event results when reporting trials

Adverse events suffer from poor reporting within randomised controlled trials, despite them being crucial to the evaluation of a treatment. A recent update to the CONSORT harms checklist aims to improve reporting by providing structure and consistency to the information presented. We propose an extension wherein harms would be reported in conjunction with effectiveness outcome(s) rather than in silo to provide a more complete picture of the evidence acquired within a trial. Benefit-risk methods are designed to simultaneously consider both benefits and risks, and therefore, we believe these methods could be implemented to improve the prominence of adverse events when reporting trials. The aim of this article is to use case studies to demonstrate the practical utility of benefit-risk methods to present adverse events results alongside effectiveness results. Two randomised controlled trials have been selected as case studies, the Option-DM trial and the SANAD II trial. Using a previous review, a shortlist of 17 benefit-risk methods which could potentially be used for reporting RCTs was created. From this shortlist, three benefit-risk methods are applied across the two case studies. We selected these methods for their usefulness to achieve the aim of this paper and which are commonly used in the literature. The methods selected were the Benefit-Risk Action Team (BRAT) Framework, net clinical benefit (NCB), and the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) 3 × 3 table. Results using the benefit-risk method added further context and detail to the clinical summaries made from the trials. In the case of the SANAD II trial, the clinicians concluded that despite the primary outcome being improved by the treatment, the increase in adverse events negated the improvement and the treatment was therefore not recommended. The benefit-risk methods applied to this case study outlined the data that this decision was based on in a clear and transparent way. Using benefit-risk methods to report the results of trials can increase the prominence of adverse event results by presenting them alongside the primary efficacy/effectiveness outcomes. This ensures that all the factors which would be used to determine whether a treatment would be recommended are transparent to the reader

Observational Limit on Gravitational Waves from Binary Neutron Stars in the Galaxy

Using optimal matched filtering, we search 25 hours of data from the LIGO 40-meter prototype laser interferometric gravitational-wave detector for gravitational-wave chirps emitted by coalescing binary systems within our Galaxy. This is the first test of this filtering technique on real interferometric data. An upper limit on the rate R of neutron star binary inspirals in our Galaxy is obtained: with 90% confidence, R< 0.5/hour. Similar experiments with LIGO interferometers will provide constraints on the population of tight binary neutron star systems in the Universe.Comment: RevTeX, minor revisions, exactly as published in PRL 83 (1999) p1498, 4 pages, 2 figures include

XMMU J0541.8-6659, a new supernova remnant in the Large Magellanic Cloud

The high sensitivity of the XMM-Newton instrumentation offers the opportunity to study faint and extended sources in the Milky Way and nearby galaxies such as the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) in detail. The ROSAT PSPC survey of the LMC has revealed more than 700 X-ray sources, among which there are 46 supernova remnants (SNRs) and candidates. We have observed the field around one of the most promising SNR candidates in the ROSAT PSPC catalogue, labelled [HP99] 456 with XMM-Newton, to determine its nature. We investigated the XMM-Newton data along with new radio-continuum, near infrared and optical data. In particular, spectral and morphological studies of the X-ray and radio data were performed. The X-ray images obtained in different energy bands reveal two different structures. Below 1.0 keV the X-ray emission shows the shell-like morphology of an SNR with a diameter of ~73 pc, one of the largest known in the LMC. For its thermal spectrum we estimate an electron temperature of (0.49 +/- 0.12)keV assuming non-equilibrium ionisation. The X-ray images above 1.0 keV reveal a less extended source within the SNR emission, located ~1' west of the centre of the SNR and coincident with bright point sources detected in radio-continuum. This hard component has an extent of 0.9' (i.e. ~13 pc at a distance of ~50 kpc) and a non-thermal spectrum. The hard source coincides in position with the ROSAT source [HP99] 456 and shows an indication for substructure. We firmly identify a new SNR in the LMC with a shell-like morphology and a thermal spectrum. Assuming the SNR to be in the Sedov phase yields an age of ~23 kyr. We explore possible associations of the hard non-thermal emitting component with a pulsar wind nebula (PWN) or background active galactic nuclei (AGN).Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

The Photoevaporative Wind from the Disk of TW Hya

Photoevaporation driven by the central star is expected to be a ubiquitous and important mechanism to disperse the circumstellar dust and gas from which planets form. Here, we present a detailed study of the circumstellar disk surrounding the nearby star TW Hya and provide observational constraints to its photoevaporative wind. Our new high-resolution (R ~ 30,000) mid-infrared spectroscopy in the [Ne II] 12.81 {\mu}m line confirms that this gas diagnostic traces the unbound wind component within 10AU from the star. From the blueshift and asymmetry in the line profile, we estimate that most (>80%) of the [Ne II] emission arises from disk radii where the midplane is optically thick to the redshifted outflowing gas, meaning beyond the 1 or 4AU dust rim inferred from other observations. We re-analyze high-resolution (R ~ 48, 000) archival optical spectra searching for additional transitions that may trace the photoevaporative flow. Unlike the [Ne II] line, optical forbidden lines from OI, SII, and MgI are centered at the stellar velocity and have symmetric profiles. The only way these lines could trace the photoevaporative flow is if they arise from a disk region physically distinct from that traced by the [Ne II] line, specifically from within the optically thin dust gap. However, the small (~10 km/s) FWHM of these lines suggest that most of the emitting gas traced at optical wavelengths is bound to the system rather than unbound. We discuss the implications of our results for a planet-induced versus a photoevaporation-induced gap.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap