On the uniqueness of the non-minimal matter coupling in massive gravity and bigravity

In de Rham-Gabadadze-Tolley (dRGT) massive gravity and bigravity, a non-minimal matter coupling involving both metrics generically re-introduces the Boulware--Deser (BD) ghost. A non-minimal matter coupling via a simple, yet specific composite metric has been proposed, which eliminates the BD ghost below the strong coupling scale. Working explicitly in the metric formulation and for arbitrary spacetime dimensions, we show that this composite metric is the unique consistent non-minimal matter coupling below the strong coupling scale, which emerges out of two diagnostics, namely, absence of Ostrogradski ghosts in the decoupling limit and absence of the BD ghost from matter quantum loop corrections.Comment: v2: references added, matches accepted version in Physics Letters B v1: 6 pages, two-colum

A New Regularized Matrix Discriminant Analysis (R-MDA) Enabled Human-Centered EEG Monitoring Systems

The wider use of wearable devices for electroencephalogram (EEG) data capturing providesa very useful way for the monitoring and self-management of human health. However, the large volumesof data with high dimensions cause computational complexity in EEG data processing and pose a greatchallenge to the use of wearable EEG devices in healthcare. This paper proposes a new approach to extract thestructural information of EEG data and tackle the curse of dimensionality of the EEG data. A set of methodsfor dimensionality reduction (DR)-like linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and their improved methodshave been developed for EEG processing in the literature. However, the existing LDA-related methodssuffer from the singularity problem or expensive computational cost, and none of existing methods takeinto consideration the structure of the projection matrix, which is crucial for the extraction of the structuralinformation of the EEG data. In this paper, a new method called a regularized matrix discriminant analysis(R-MDA) is proposed for EEG feature representation and DR. In the R-MDA, the EEG data are representedas a data matrix, and projection vectors are reshaped to be a set of projection matrices stacking together. Byreformulating the LDA as a least-square formulation and imposing specified constraint on each projectionmatrix, the new R-MDA has been constructed to effectively reduce EEG dimensions and capturing thestructural information of the EEG data. Experimental results demonstrate that this new R-MDA outperformsthe existing LDA-related methods, including achieving improved accuracy with significant DR of the EEGdata. This offers an effective way to enable wearable EEG devices be applicable in human-centered healthmonitorin

Bis(μ-naphthalene-1,8-dicarboxyl­ato-κ2 O 1:O 8)bis­[aqua­bis­(N,N′-dimethyl­formamide-κO)copper(II)]

In the centrosymmetric dinuclear title complex, [Cu2(C12H6O4)2(C3H7NO)4(H2O)2], the coordination environment of each Cu(II) atom displays a distorted CuO5 square-pyramidal geometry, which is formed by two carboxyl­ate O atoms of two μ-1,8-nap ligands (1,8-nap is naphthalene-1,8-dicarboxyl­ate), two O atoms of two DMF (DMF is N,N′-dimethyl­formamide) and one coordinated water mol­ecule. The Cu—O distances involving the four O atoms in the square plane are in the range 1.9501 (11)–1.9677 (11) Å, with the Cu atom lying nearly in the plane [deviation = 0.0726 (2) Å]. The axial O atom occupies the peak position with a Cu—O distance of 2.885 (12) Å, which is significantly longer than the rest of the Cu—O distances. Each 1,8-nap ligand acts as bridge, linking two CuII atoms into a dinuclear structure. Inter­molecular O—H⋯O and C—H⋯O hydrogen-bonding inter­actions consolidate the structure

The monoclonal antibody Zt/f2 targeting RON receptor tyrosine kinase as potential therapeutics against tumor growth-mediated by colon cancer cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Overexpression of the RON receptor tyrosine kinase contributes to epithelial cell transformation, malignant progression, and acquired drug resistance. RON also has been considered as a potential target for therapeutic intervention. This study determines biochemical features and inhibitory activity of a mouse monoclonal antibody (mAb) Zt/f2 in experimental cancer therapy.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Zt/f2 is a mouse IgG2a mAb that is highly specific and sensitive to human RON and its oncogenic variants such as RON160 (ED₅₀= 2.3 nmol/L). Receptor binding studies revealed that Zt/f2 interacts with an epitope(s) located in a 49 amino acid sequence coded by exon 11 in the RON β-chain extracellular sequences. This sequence is critical in regulating RON maturation and phosphorylation. Zt/f2 did not compete with ligand macrophage-stimulating protein for binding to RON; however, its engagement effectively induced RON internalization, which diminishes RON expression and impairs downstream signaling activation. These biochemical features provide the cellular basis for the use of Zt/f2 to inhibit tumor growth in animal model. Repeated administration of Zt/f2 as a single agent into Balb/c mice results in partial inhibition of tumor growth caused by transformed NIH-3T3 cells expressing oncogenic RON160. Colon cancer HT-29 cell-mediated tumor growth in athymic nude mice also was attenuated following Zt/f2 treatment. In both cases, ~50% inhibition of tumor growth as measured by tumor volume was achieved. Moreover, Zt/f2 in combination with 5-fluorouracil showed an enhanced inhibition effect of ~80% on HT-29 cell-mediated tumor growth <it>in vivo</it>.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Zt/f2 is a potential therapeutic mAb capable of inhibiting RON-mediated oncogenesis by colon cancer cells in animal models. The inhibitory effect of Zt/f2 <it>in vivo </it>in combination with chemoagent 5-fluorouracil could represent a novel strategy for future colon cancer therapy.</p

DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF A HEAD-NECK FINITE ELEMENT MODEL FOR INJURY ANALYSIS

In this study, the digitized geometrical data of the embalmed skull and vertebrae (C1-C7) of a 68 year-old male cadaver were processed to develop a comprehensive, geometrically accurate, nonlinear CO-C7 FE model. The biomechanical response of human neck under near vertex drop impact conditions were investigated and compared with the published experimental data. The results show that the predicted resultant head impact force history and corresponding motions of each motion segment all agree well with pUblished data. The stress variation histories in the neck were found to be consistent with the rotational motions of the motion segments under dynamic loading. The current model may offer potential to effectively reflect the behavior of human cervical spine suitable for further biomechanics and traumatic studies

Risk factors for high-altitude headache upon acute high-altitude exposure at 3700 m in young Chinese men: a cohort study.

BackgroundThis prospective and observational study aimed to identify demographic, physiological and psychological risk factors associated with high-altitude headache (HAH) upon acute high-altitude exposure.MethodsEight hundred fifty subjects ascended by plane to 3700 m above Chengdu (500 m) over a period of two hours. Structured Case Report Form (CRF) questionnaires were used to record demographic information, physiological examinations, psychological scale, and symptoms including headache and insomnia a week before ascending and within 24 hours after arrival at 3700 m. Binary logistic regression models were used to analyze the risk factors for HAH.ResultsThe incidence of HAH was 73.3%. Age (p =0.011), physical labor intensity (PLI) (p =0.044), primary headache history (p &lt;0.001), insomnia (p &lt;0.001), arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) (p =0.001), heart rate (HR) (p =0.002), the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) (p &lt;0.001), and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) (p &lt;0.001) were significantly different between HAH and non-HAH groups. Logistic regression models identified primary headache history, insomnia, low SaO2, high HR and SAS as independent risk factors for HAH.ConclusionsInsomnia, primary headache history, low SaO2, high HR, and high SAS score are the risk factors for HAH. Our findings will provide novel avenues for the study, prevention and treatment of HAH

Fatty Acid and Associated Gene Expression Analyses of Three Tree Peony Species Reveal Key Genes for α-Linolenic Acid Synthesis in Seeds

The increasing demand for healthy edible oil has generated the need to identify promising oil crops. Tree peony (Paeonia section Moutan DC.) is a woody oil crop with α-linolenic acid contributing for 45% of the total fatty acid (FA) content in seeds. Molecular and genetic differences that contribute to varied FA content and composition among the wild peony species are however, poorly understood. Analyses of FA content and composition during seed development in three tree peony species (P. rockii, P. potaninii, and P. lutea) showed varied FA content in the three species with highest in P. rockii, followed by P. potaninii, and P. lutea. Total FA content increased with seed development and reached its maximum in its final stage. Seed FA composition analysis of the three species also revealed that α-linolenic acid (C18:3) was the most abundant, followed by oleic (C18:1) and linoleic (C18:2) acids. Additionally, quantitative real-time RT-PCR analyses of 10 key seed oil synthesis genes in the three tree peony species revealed that FAD3, FAD2, β-PDHC, LPAAT and Oleosin gene expression levels positively correlate with total FA content and rate of accumulation. Specifically, the abundance of FAD3 transcripts in P. rockii compared with P. potaninii, and P. lutea suggests that FAD3 might play in an important role in synthesis of α-linolenic acid via phosphatidylcholine-derived pathway. Overall, comparative analyses of FA content and composition in three different peony species revealed correlation between efficient lipid accumulation and lipid gene expression during seed development. Further characterization and manipulation of these key genes from peonies will allow for subsequent improvement of tree peony oil quality and production