260 research outputs found
Detection of Gravitational Lensing in the Cosmic Microwave Background
Gravitational lensing of the cosmic microwave background (CMB), a
long-standing prediction of the standard cosmolgical model, is ultimately
expected to be an important source of cosmological information, but first
detection has not been achieved to date. We report a 3.4 sigma detection, by
applying quadratic estimator techniques to all sky maps from the Wilkinson
Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) satellite, and correlating the result with
radio galaxy counts from the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS). We present our
methodology including a detailed discussion of potential contaminants. Our
error estimates include systematic uncertainties from density gradients in
NVSS, beam effects in WMAP, Galactic microwave foregrounds, resolved and
unresolved CMB point sources, and the thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect.Comment: 27 pages, 20 figure
Hemolytic Activity of pH-Responsive Polymer-Streptavidin Bioconjugates
Drug delivery systems that increase the rate and/or quantity of drug release to the cytoplasm are needed to enhance cytosolic delivery and to circumvent nonproductive cell trafficking routes. We have previously demonstrated that poly(2-ethylacrylic acid) (PEAAc) has pH-dependent hemolytic properties, and more recently, we have found that poly(2-propylacrylic acid) (PPAAc) displays even greater pH-responsive hemolytic activity than PEAAc at the acidic pHs of the early endosome. Thus, these polymers could potentially serve as endosomal releasing agents in immunotoxin therapies. In this paper, we have investigated whether the pH-dependent membrane disruptive activity of PPAAc is retained after binding to a protein. We did this by measuring the hemolytic activity of PPAAcâstreptavidin model complexes with different protein to polymer stoichiometries. Biotin was conjugated to amine-terminated PPAAc, which was subsequently bound to streptavidin by biotin complexation. The ability of these samples to disrupt red blood cell membranes was investigated for a range of polymer concentrations, a range of pH values, and two polymer-to-streptavidin ratios of 3:1 and 1:1. The results demonstrate that (a) the PPAAcâstreptavidin complex retains the ability to lyse the RBC lipid bilayers at low pHs, such as those existing in endosomes, and (b) the hemolytic ability of the PPAAcâstreptavidin complex is similar to that of the free PPAAc
An axisymmetric evolution code for the Einstein equations on hyperboloidal slices
We present the first stable dynamical numerical evolutions of the Einstein
equations in terms of a conformally rescaled metric on hyperboloidal
hypersurfaces extending to future null infinity. Axisymmetry is imposed in
order to reduce the computational cost. The formulation is based on an earlier
axisymmetric evolution scheme, adapted to time slices of constant mean
curvature. Ideas from a previous study by Moncrief and the author are applied
in order to regularize the formally singular evolution equations at future null
infinity. Long-term stable and convergent evolutions of Schwarzschild spacetime
are obtained, including a gravitational perturbation. The Bondi news function
is evaluated at future null infinity.Comment: 21 pages, 4 figures. Minor additions, updated to agree with journal
versio
Simulated Annealing for Topological Solitons
The search for solutions of field theories allowing for topological solitons
requires that we find the field configuration with the lowest energy in a given
sector of topological charge. The standard approach is based on the numerical
solution of the static Euler-Lagrange differential equation following from the
field energy. As an alternative, we propose to use a simulated annealing
algorithm to minimize the energy functional directly. We have applied simulated
annealing to several nonlinear classical field theories: the sine-Gordon model
in one dimension, the baby Skyrme model in two dimensions and the nuclear
Skyrme model in three dimensions. We describe in detail the implementation of
the simulated annealing algorithm, present our results and get independent
confirmation of the studies which have used standard minimization techniques.Comment: 31 pages, LaTeX, better quality pics at
http://www.phy.umist.ac.uk/~weidig/Simulated_Annealing/, updated for
publicatio
Effect of remission status and induction chemotherapy regimen on outcome of autologous stem cell transplantation for mantle cell lymphoma.
We analysed the outcomes of autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) following high-dose therapy with respect to remission status at the time of transplantation and induction regimen used in 56 consecutive patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). Twenty-one patients received induction chemotherapy with HyperCVAD with or without rituximab (+/-R) followed by ASCT in first complete or partial remission (CR1/PR1), 15 received CHOP (+/-R) followed by ASCT in CR1/PR1 and 20 received ASCT following disease progression. Estimates of overall and progression-free survival (PFS) at 3 years among patients transplanted in CR1/PR1 were 93% and 63% compared with 46% and 36% for patients transplanted with relapsed/refractory disease, respectively. The hazard of mortality among patients transplanted with relapsed/refractory disease was 6.09 times that of patients transplanted in CR1/PR1 (P = 0.006). Patients in the CHOP (+/-R) group had a higher risk of failure for PFS compared with patients in the HyperCVAD (+/-R) group, though the difference did not reach statistical significance (hazard ratio 3.67, P = 0.11). These results suggest that ASCT in CR1/PR1 leads to improved survival outcomes for patients with MCL compared to ASCT with relapsed/refractory disease, and a HyperCVAD (+/-R) induction regimen may be associated with an improved PFS among patients transplanted in CR1/PR1
Results of a phase I-II study of fenretinide and rituximab for patients with indolent B-cell lymphoma and mantle cell lymphoma.
Fenretinide, a synthetic retinoid, induces apoptotic cell death in B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL) and acts synergistically with rituximab in preclinical models. We report results from a phase I-II study of fenretinide with rituximab for B-NHLs. Eligible diagnoses included indolent B-NHL or mantle cell lymphoma. The phase I design de-escalated from fenretinide at 900 mg/
The Extragalactic IR Background
Current limits on the intensity of the extragalactic infrared background are
consistent with the expected contribution from evolving galaxies. Depending on
the behaviour of the star formation rate and of the initial mass function, we
can expect that dust extinction during early evolutionary phases ranges from
moderate to strong. An example of the latter case may be the ultraluminous
galaxy IRAS F. The remarkable lack of high redshift galaxies in
faint optically selected samples may be indirect evidence that strong
extinction is common during early phases. Testable implications of different
scenarios are discussed; ISO can play a key role in this context. Estimates of
possible contributions of galaxies to the background under different
assumptions are presented. The COBE/FIRAS limits on deviations from a blackbody
spectrum at sub-mm wavelengths already set important constraints on the
evolution of the far-IR emission of galaxies and on the density of obscured
(``Type 2'') AGNs. A major progress in the field is expected at the completion
of the analysis of COBE/DIRBE data.Comment: 1994, invited review to be published in the Proc. of the Internatinal
Conf. "Dust, Molecules and Backgrounds: from Laboratory to Space", Capri
(NA), Italy, 12--15 September, 1994, in press. Tex file, 16 pages, 6 figures
not included. ASTRPD-94-10-0
Testing Lorentz Invariance and CPT Conservation with NuMI Neutrinos in the MINOS Near Detector
A search for a sidereal modulation in the MINOS near detector neutrino data
was performed. If present, this signature could be a consequence of Lorentz and
CPT violation as predicted by a class of extensions to the Standard Model. No
evidence for a sidereal signal in the data set was found, implying that there
is no significant change in neutrino propagation that depends on the direction
of the neutrino beam in a sun-centered inertial frame. Upper limits on the
magnitudes of the Lorentz and CPT violating terms in these extensions to the
Standard Model lie between 0.01-1% of the maximum expected, assuming a
suppression of these signatures by factor of .
Ageing Simulation in Health and Social Care Education: A mixed methods systematic review
Abstract
Aim: To identify, evaluate and summarise evidence from qualitative, quantitative and mixed method studies conducted utilising age-suits or other age simulation equipment, with health and social care students.
Design: Convergent segregated mixed method review design as outlined by the Johanna Briggs Institute
Data Sources: CINAHL (+ with Full Text), MEDLINE, PsycINFO, PubMed, SocINDEX, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Emerald Insight, Proquest nursing, Science Direct, Wiley Online and BioMed Central (January 2000 â January 2020)
Review methods: Convergent segregated synthesis was used to synthesise evidence from the studies, and the MERSQI checklist used to appraise quality.
Results: A total of 23 studies were reviewed: one randomised control, two post-test only randomised control, three quasi-experimental, 15 one-group pre / post studies and two qualitative studies. Of the seventeen studies carrying out inferential statistics on attitude scores post intervention, 11 reported an improvement, three indicated no significant change and three reported worsening scores. Key themes included use of appropriate scales, type of equipment utilised, location and length of interactions, debriefing, and contextualisation of interventions in broader teaching.
Conclusion: The impact of ageing simulation interventions on health and social care studentâs attitudes to older people was predominantly positive. However, further high-quality research is warranted to understand the optimal use of such interventions within the context of healthcare for a growing ageing population.
Impact: It is important health and social care staff have appropriate knowledge and training to enable them to provide high quality care to older people, and challenge potential ageism in the system. This review adds to the body of work around the use of simulation and experiential learning to educate health and social care students regarding ageing and ageism. It also offers recommendations for using ageing simulations effectively to inform attitudes of prospective professionals who will influence future health and social care.
Keywords: Simulation, Ageing, Age-suit, Nursing, Health and social care, Education, Attitudes, Empathy, Experiential learning, Systematic revie
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