Non-Gaussian Dynamics in Smectic Liquid Crystals of Parallel Hard Rods

Using computer simulations, we studied the diffusion and structural relaxation in equilibrium smectic liquid crystal bulk phases of parallel hard spherocylinders. These systems exhibit a non-Gaussian layer-to-layer diffusion due to the presence of periodic barriers and transient cages, and show remarkable similarities with the behavior of out-of-equilibrium supercooled liquids. We detect a very slow inter-layer relaxation dynamics over the whole density range of the stable smectic phase which spans a time interval of four time decades. The intrinsic nature of the layered structure yields a hopping-type diffusion which becomes more heterogeneous for higher packing fractions. In contrast, the in-layer dynamics is typical of a dense fluid with a relatively fast decay. Our results on the dynamic behavior agree well with that observed in systems of freely rotating hard rods, but differ quantitavely, as the height of the periodic barriers reduces to zero at the nematic-smectic transition for aligned rods, while it remains finite for freely rotating rods.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figure

Hydroclimatic Controls over Global Variations in Phenology and Carbon Flux

The connection between phenological and hydroclimatological variations are quantified through joint analyses of global NDVI, LAI, and precipitation datasets. The global distributions of both NDVI and LAI in the warm season are strongly controlled by three quantities: mean annual precipitation, the standard deviation of annual precipitation, and Budyko's index of dryness. Upon demonstrating that these same basic (if biased) relationships are produced by a dynamic vegetation model (the dynamic vegetation and carbon storage components of the NCAR Community Land Model version 4 combined with the water and energy balance framework of the Catchment Land Surface Model of the NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office), we use the model to perform a sensitivity study focusing on how phenology and carbon flux might respond to climatic change. The offline (decoupled from the atmosphere) simulations show us, for example, where on the globe a given small increment in precipitation mean or variability would have the greatest impact on carbon uptake. The analysis framework allows us in addition to quantify the degree to which climatic biases in a free-running GCM are manifested as biases in simulated phenology

Bar coding MS2 spectra for metabolite identification

[Image: see text] Metabolite identifications are most frequently achieved in untargeted metabolomics by matching precursor mass and full, high-resolution MS(2) spectra to metabolite databases and standards. Here we considered an alternative approach for establishing metabolite identifications that does not rely on full, high-resolution MS(2) spectra. First, we select mass-to-charge regions containing the most informative metabolite fragments and designate them as bins. We then translate each metabolite fragmentation pattern into a binary code by assigning 1’s to bins containing fragments and 0’s to bins without fragments. With 20 bins, this binary-code system is capable of distinguishing 96% of the compounds in the METLIN MS(2) library. A major advantage of the approach is that it extends untargeted metabolomics to low-resolution triple quadrupole (QqQ) instruments, which are typically less expensive and more robust than other types of mass spectrometers. We demonstrate a method of acquiring MS(2) data in which the third quadrupole of a QqQ instrument cycles over 20 wide isolation windows (coinciding with the location and width of our bins) for each precursor mass selected by the first quadrupole. Operating the QqQ instrument in this mode yields diagnostic bar codes for each precursor mass that can be matched to the bar codes of metabolite standards. Furthermore, our data suggest that using low-resolution bar codes enables QqQ instruments to make MS(2)-based identifications in untargeted metabolomics with a specificity and sensitivity that is competitive to high-resolution time-of-flight technologies

Stochastic Turing patterns in the Brusselator model

A stochastic version of the Brusselator model is proposed and studied via the system size expansion. The mean-field equations are derived and shown to yield to organized Turing patterns within a specific parameters region. When determining the Turing condition for instability, we pay particular attention to the role of cross diffusive terms, often neglected in the heuristic derivation of reaction diffusion schemes. Stochastic fluctuations are shown to give rise to spatially ordered solutions, sharing the same quantitative characteristic of the mean-field based Turing scenario, in term of excited wavelengths. Interestingly, the region of parameter yielding to the stochastic self-organization is wider than that determined via the conventional Turing approach, suggesting that the condition for spatial order to appear can be less stringent than customarily believed.Comment: modified version submitted to Phys Rev. E. 5. 3 Figures (5 panels) adde

Academic Law Library Director Status Since the Great Recession: Strengthened, Maintained, or Degraded?

The status of the academic law library director is central to the educational mission of the law library. We collected data from 2006 to 2016 showing a 25 percent decrease in tenure-track directorships. We also found one in four changes in directorships since 2013 resulted in the new director having a degraded status compared to her predecessor

Evidence that 2-hydroxyglutarate is not readily metabolized in colorectal carcinoma cells

BACKGROUND: Two-hydroxyglutarate (2HG) is present at low concentrations in healthy mammalian cells as both an L and D enantiomer. Both the L and D enantiomers have been implicated in regulating cellular physiology by mechanisms that are only partially characterized. In multiple human cancers, the D enantiomer accumulates due to gain-of-function mutations in the enzyme isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) and has been hypothesized to drive malignancy through mechanisms that remain incompletely understood. While much attention has been dedicated to identifying the route of 2HG synthesis, the metabolic fate of 2HG has not been studied in detail. Yet the metabolism of 2HG may have important mechanistic consequences influencing cell function and cancer pathogenesis, such as modulating redox potential or producing unknown products with unique modes of action. RESULTS: By applying our isotope-based metabolomic platform, we unbiasedly and comprehensively screened for products of L- and D-2HG in HCT116 colorectal carcinoma cells harboring a mutation in IDH1. After incubating HCT116 cells in uniformly (13)C-labeled 2HG for 24 h, we used liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry to track the labeled carbons in small molecules. Strikingly, we did not identify any products of 2HG metabolism from the thousands of metabolomic features that we screened. Consistent with these results, we did not detect any significant changes in the labeling patterns of tricarboxylic acid cycle metabolites from wild type or IDH1 mutant cells cultured in (13)C-labeled glucose upon the addition of L, D, or racemic mixtures of 2HG. A more sensitive, targeted analysis revealed trace levels of isotopic enrichment (<1 %) in some central carbon metabolites from (13)C-labeled 2HG. However, we found that cells do not deplete 2HG from the media at levels above our detection limit over a 48 h time period. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, we conclude that 2HG carbon is not readily transformed in the HCT116 cell line. These data indicate that the phenotypic alterations induced by 2HG are not a result of its metabolic products

A Novel Device for the Measurement of the Mechanical and Magnetic Axes of Superconducting Magnet Assemblies for Accelerators

In the context of the LHC superconducting magnet production, especially for dipoles and quadrupoles due to their complexity, it is foreseen to perform acceptance tests, at an early production stage, to detect possible significant deviations from the design values. The knowledge of the magnetic field geometry is very important, especially for the main magnets. In order to get this information a new device has been conceived that measures the magnets at room temperature during different stages of construction. This device incorporates a sensitive measuring probe and an efficient data acquisition system because the coils are only powered at about 10-5 of the nominal D.C. current. It is dedicated to Quadrupole and Dipole (by using Quadrupole-Configured Dipole (QCD) transformation) magnets, but is also easily adaptable to higher order magnets (n = 3, 4 and 5) by specific orientation of the search coils. It is equipped with magnetic sensors (4 fixed tangential coils and AC excitation current for the magnet) and position sensors (3D-laser tracker and light reflector) that allow the simultaneous detection of the magnetic field axis and the cold bore axis. It is equipped as well with a set of 4 LEDs and associated with a CCD camera that allows both the measurement of the cold bore diameter and its position with respect to the mole. This paper describes the system and reports the first results measured on the pre-series magnets recently assembled

Excellent outcomes of laparoscopic esophagomyotomy for achalasia in patients older than 60 years of age

The effectiveness of an esophagomyotomy for dysphagia in elderly patients with achalasia has been questioned. This study was designed to provide an answer. A total of 162 consecutive patients with achalasia who had a laparoscopic myotomy and Dor fundoplication and who were available for follow-up interview were divided by age: &lt;60 years (range, 14–59; 118 patients), and ≥60 years (range, 60–93; 44 patients). Primary outcome measures were severity of dysphagia, regurgitation, heartburn, and chest pain before and after the operation as assessed on a four-point Likert scale, and the need for postoperative dilatation or revisional surgery. Follow-up averaged 64 months. Older patients had less dysphagia (mean score 3.6 vs. 3.9; P &lt; 0.01) and less chest pain (1.0 vs. 1.8; P &lt; 0.01). Regurgitation (3.0 vs. 3.2; P = not significant (NS)) and heartburn (1.6 vs. 2.0, P = NS) were similar. Older patients were no different in degree of esophageal dilation, manometric findings, number of previous pneumatic dilatations, or previous botulinum toxin therapy. None of the older patients had previously had an esophagomyotomy, whereas 14% of younger patients had (P &lt; 0.01). After laparoscopic myotomy, older patients had better relief of dysphagia (mean score 1.0 vs 1.6; P &lt; 0.01), less heartburn (0.8 vs. 1.1; P = 0.03), and less chest pain (0.2 vs. 0.8, P &lt; 0.01). Complication rates were similar. Older patients did not require more postoperative dilatations (22 patients vs. 10 patients; P = 0.7) or revisional surgery for recurrent or persistent symptoms (3 vs. 1 patients; P = 0.6). Satisfaction scores did not differ, and more than 90% of patients in both groups said in retrospect they would have undergone the procedure if they had known beforehand how it would turn out. This retrospective review with long follow-up supports laparoscopic esophagomyotomy as first-line therapy in older patients with achalasia. They appeared to benefit even more than younger patients

Effectiveness of a 5-week virtual reality versus traditional training on balance and flexibility in healthy adult females

Purpose This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a 5-week virtual reality training protocol on static and dynamic balance and flexibility compared to a traditional training protocol in healthy adult females. Methods Twenty-one healthy female adults (age, 49.81 +/- 2.99 years) were randomly assigned into three groups: Virtual Reality (VR; n = 7) that performed a 5-week exergame training protocol; Traditional Training (TR; n = 7) that performed a specific training protocol on balance, and lower limbs and abdominal strength; and waitlist control group (CG; n = 7) that continued their daily activities without any type of structured physical activity. Static balance was assessed by the ellipse area and statokinesigram parameters (Romberg test, in the open-eye (OE) and closed-eye (CE)), dynamic balance by the star excursion balance test on the right and left leg, and flexibility by the sit and reach test. Results After the intervention, VR and TR groups showed a significant improvement in static and dynamic balance and flexibility (all p &lt; 0.001) compared to the CG. Compared to TR, the VR training protocol showed greater effect sizes and was more effective in percentage terms on all measured variables, particularly for Sit and Reach (82% vs. 35%), except the OE Area (42% vs. 49%). Conclusions Findings suggest that both a 5-week VR training protocol and a 5-week TR protocol may significantly improve static and dynamic balance and flexibility in healthy female adults. The VR training protocol showed a greater effect size compared to the TR training protocol, although it was not statistically significant. Future randomized controlled studies with a larger sample size and longer training protocols are needed to confirm this finding