Curvaton Scenario with Affleck-Dine Baryogenesis

We discuss the curvaton scenario with the Affleck-Dine baryogenesis. In this scenario, non-vanishing baryonic entropy fluctuation may be generated even without primordial fluctuation of the Affleck-Dine field. Too large entropy fluctuation is inconsistent with the observations and hence constraints on the curvaton scenario with the Affleck-Dine baryogenesis are obtained. We calculate the baryonic entropy fluctuation (as well as other cosmological density fluctuations) in this case and derive constraints. Implications to some of the models of the curvaton are also discussed.Comment: 16 pages,2 figure

Clinical pharmacy services for tuberculosis management:a systematic review

Objective: This study aims to systematically review the content and potential effects of clinical pharmacy services in tuberculosis (TB) care management.Methods: Searches were performed in PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, Scopus, and Web of Science databases following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Study characteristics and outcomes were extracted, and clinical pharmacy service components were characterized using the Descriptive Elements of Pharmacist Intervention Characterization Tool.Results: Twenty articles were included for full-text assessment, of which 10 fulfilled inclusion criteria, comprising 1,168 patients (N = 39 to 258 per study). These articles included five prospective cohort studies, two case–control studies, two quasi-experimental studies, and one cross-sectional study. Intervention foci within clinical pharmacy services were medication adherence (50%), medication safety (40%), education to patients/caregivers regarding needs/beliefs (30%), optimizing medication/therapy effectiveness (30%), emphasizing HRQoL (10%), and drug selections (10%). The three most frequently applied interventions were drug information/patient counseling (80%), adverse drug reaction monitoring (50%), and drug use evaluation (20%). Based on the World Health Organization (WHO) outcome classification, treatment success ranged from 72% to 93%, with higher cure outcomes (53%–86%) than treatment completion (7%–19%). Other outcomes, including isoniazid metabolites, medication counts, sputum conversion, adherence/compliance, knowledge, and quality of life, were better in the intervention group than those in comparator groups, and/or they improved over time. Risk of bias analysis indicated that the included studies were not comparable to a randomized clinical trial.Conclusion: Clinical pharmacy services as single or composite interventions potentially improve TB outcomes, but its evidence is still inconsistent and limited due to the lack of randomized controlled studies using the WHO outcome classification.Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=199028, identifier CRD42020199028.</p

Hooge's Constant of Carbon Nanotube Field Effect Transistors

The 1/f noise in individual semiconducting carbon nanotubes (s-CNT) in a field effect transistor configuration has been measured in ultra-high vacuum and following exposure to air. The amplitude of the normalized current spectral noise density is independent of source-drain current, indicating the noise is due to mobility rather than number fluctuations. Hooge's constant for s-CNT is found to be 9.3 plus minus 0.4x10^-3. The magnitude of the 1/f noise is substantially degreased by exposing the devices to air

The treatment of primary tumors of the femur with chemotherapy (if indicated), resection and reconstruction with an endoprosthesis

The treatment protocol of 15 patients with a primary tumor of the femur, including osteosarcoma, malignant fibrous histiocytoma and chondrosar-coma is presented. All patients had been selected for resection and reconstruction with an endoprosthesis. An endoprothesis was implanted in 12 patients. \ud The results of this type of treatment appear to be satisfactory. In eight osteosarcoma cases resection and reconstruction with an endoprosthesis combined with preoperative and postoperative chemotherapy, according to Rosen, were performed. Follow-up in all 15 patients, varying from 1.4 to 6.0 years, showed no evidence of disease in 12 patients. Three patients had died. Function of the involved leg was satisfactory in most cases. \ud The advantage and disadvantages of the use of an endoprosthesis are discussed as well as complications in this series of patients

Exploratory Analysis of the Economically Justifiable Price of a Hypothetical RSV Vaccine for Older Adults in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom

BACKGROUND: In older adults, the burden of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) resembles that of influenza and may even be considered worse due to the lack of preventive interventions. This study was performed to identify the available literature on RSV infection in older adults, and to provide updated exploratory results of the cost-effectiveness of a hypothetical RSV vaccine in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. METHODS: A literature search was performed in Medline and EMBASE on 11 November 2019, which served as input for a static decision-tree model that was used to estimate the EJP, for an RSV vaccine applying different willingness-to-pay (WTP) thresholds. WTP thresholds applied were €20 000 and €50 000 per quality-adjusted life-year for the Netherlands, and £20 000 and £30 000 per quality-adjusted life-year for the United Kingdom. Analyses were—in line with country-specific guidelines—conducted from a societal perspective for the Netherlands and a third-party payer perspective for the United Kingdom. The robustness of the cost-effectiveness results was tested in sensitivity analysis. RESULTS: After screening the literature, 3 studies for the Netherlands and 6 for the United Kingdom remained to populate the country-specific models. In the base case analysis for the Netherlands (mean RSV incidence, 3.32%), justifiable vaccine prices of €16.38 and €50.03 were found, based on applying the lower and higher WTP thresholds, respectively. Similarly, for the United Kingdom (mean incidence, 7.13%), vaccine prices of £72.29 and £109.74 were found, respectively. CONCLUSION: RSV vaccination may well be cost-effective in both the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, depending on the exact RSV incidence, vaccine effectiveness and price. However, sensitivity analysis showed that the results were robust based on varying the different parameter estimates and assumptions. With RSV vaccines reaching the final stages of development, a strong need exists for cost-effectiveness studies to understand economically justifiable pricing of the vaccine

Molecular dynamics with coupling to an external bath

In molecular dynamics (MD) simulations the need often arises to maintain such parameters as temperature or pressure rather than energy and volume, or to impose gradients for studying transport properties in nonequilibrium MD. A method is described to realize coupling to an external bath with constant temperature or pressure with adjustable time constants for the coupling. The method is easily extendable to other variables and to gradients, and can be applied also to polyatomic molecules involving internal constraints. The influence of coupling time constants on dynamical variables is evaluated. A leap‐frog algorithm is presented for the general case involving constraints with coupling to both a constant temperature and a constant pressure bath

A peptide mimic of the chemotaxis inhibitory protein of Staphylococcus aureus: towards the development of novel anti-inflammatory compounds

Complement factor C5a is one of the most powerful pro-inflammatory agents involved in recruitment of leukocytes, activation of phagocytes and other inflammatory responses. C5a triggers inflammatory responses by binding to its G-protein-coupled C5a-receptor (C5aR). Excessive or erroneous activation of the C5aR has been implicated in numerous inflammatory diseases. The C5aR is therefore a key target in the development of specific anti-inflammatory compounds. A very potent natural inhibitor of the C5aR is the 121-residue chemotaxis inhibitory protein of Staphylococcus aureus (CHIPS). Although CHIPS effectively blocks C5aR activation by binding tightly to its extra-cellular N terminus, it is not suitable as a potential anti-inflammatory drug due to its immunogenic properties. As a first step in the development of an improved CHIPS mimic, we designed and synthesized a substantially shorter 50-residue adapted peptide, designated CHOPS. This peptide included all residues important for receptor binding as based on the recent structure of CHIPS in complex with the C5aR N terminus. Using isothermal titration calorimetry we demonstrate that CHOPS has micromolar affinity for a model peptide comprising residues 7–28 of the C5aR N terminus including two O-sulfated tyrosine residues at positions 11 and 14. CD and NMR spectroscopy showed that CHOPS is unstructured free in solution. Upon addition of the doubly sulfated model peptide, however, the NMR and CD spectra reveal the formation of structural elements in CHOPS reminiscent of native CHIPS

Indigenous Populations of Three Closely Related Lysobacter spp. in Agricultural Soils Using Real-Time PCR

Previous research had shown that three closely related species of Lysobacter, i.e., Lysobacter antibioticus, Lysobacter capsici, and Lysobacter gummosus, were present in different Rhizoctonia-suppressive soils. However, the population dynamics of these three Lysobacter spp. in different habitats remains unknown. Therefore, a specific primer–probe combination was designed for the combined quantification of these three Lysobacter spp. using TaqMan. Strains of the three target species were efficiently detected with TaqMan, whereas related non-target strains of Lysobacter enzymogenes and Xanthomonas campestris were not or only weakly amplified. Indigenous Lysobacter populations were analyzed in soils of 10 organic farms in the Netherlands during three subsequent years with TaqMan. These soils differed in soil characteristics and crop rotation. Additionally, Lysobacter populations in rhizosphere and bulk soil of different crops on one of these farms were studied. In acid sandy soils low Lysobacter populations were present, whereas pH neutral clay soils contained high populations (respectively, <4.0–5.87 and 6.22–6.95 log gene copy numbers g−1 soil). Clay content, pH and C/N ratio, but not organic matter content in soil, correlated with higher Lysobacter populations. Unexpectedly, different crops did not significantly influence population size of the three Lysobacter spp. and their populations were barely higher in rhizosphere than in bulk soil