Selective Deuterium Ion Acceleration Using the Vulcan PW Laser

We report on the successful demonstration of selective acceleration of deuterium ions by target-normal sheath acceleration (TNSA) with a high-energy petawatt laser. TNSA typically produces a multi-species ion beam that originates from the intrinsic hydrocarbon and water vapor contaminants on the target surface. Using the method first developed by Morrison, et al.,$^{1}$ an ion beam with $>$99$\%$ deuterium ions and peak energy 14 MeV/nucleon is produced with a 200 J, 700 fs, $>10^{20} W/cm^{2}$ laser pulse by cryogenically freezing heavy water (D$_{2}$O) vapor onto the rear surface of the target prior to the shot. Within the range of our detectors (0-8.5$^{\circ}$), we find laser-to-deuterium-ion energy conversion efficiency of 4.3$\%$ above 0.7 MeV/nucleon while a conservative estimate of the total beam gives a conversion efficiency of 9.4$\%$.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Application of Cryopreserved Human Hepatocytes in Trichloroethylene Risk Assessment: Relative Disposition of Chloral Hydrate to Trichloroacetate and Trichloroethanol

BACKGROUND: Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a suspected human carcinogen and a common ground-water contaminant. Chloral hydrate (CH) is the major metabolite of TCE formed in the liver by cytochrome P450 2E1. CH is metabolized to the hepatocarcinogen trichloroacetate (TCA) by aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) and to the noncarcinogenic metabolite trichloroethanol (TCOH) by alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH). ALDH and ADH are polymorphic in humans, and these polymorphisms are known to affect the elimination of ethanol. It is therefore possible that polymorphisms in CH metabolism will yield subpopulations with greater than expected TCA formation with associated enhanced risk of liver tumors after TCE exposure. METHODS: The present studies were undertaken to determine the feasibility of using commercially available, cryogenically preserved human hepatocytes to determine simultaneously the kinetics of CH metabolism and ALDH/ADH genotype. Thirteen human hepatocyte samples were examined. Linear reciprocal plots were obtained for 11 ADH and 12 ALDH determinations. RESULTS: There was large interindividual variation in the V(max) values for both TCOH and TCA formation. Within this limited sample size, no correlation with ADH/ALDH genotype was apparent. Despite the large variation in V(max) values among individuals, disposition of CH into the two competing pathways was relatively constant. CONCLUSIONS: These data support the use of cryopreserved human hepatocytes as an experimental system to generate metabolic and genomic information for incorporation into TCE cancer risk assessment models. The data are discussed with regard to cellular factors, other than genotype, that may contribute to the observed variability in metabolism of CH in human liver

A model of Bˉ0→D∗+ωπ−\bar{B}^0\to D^{*+}\omega\pi^- decay

We suggest a parameterization of the matrix element for $\bar{B}^0\to D^{*+}\omega\pi^-$ decay using kinematic variables convenient for experimental analysis. The contributions of intermediate $\omega\pi$- and $D^{**}$-states up to spin 3 have been taken into account. The angular distributions for each discussed hypothesis have been obtained and analysed using Monte-Carlo simulation.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figures, 1 table; V2: text in some places improved and acknowledgments adde

Risk factors for recurrent injurious falls that require hospitalization for older adults with dementia: a population based study

Background: Older adults with dementia are at an increased risk of falls, however, little is known about risk factors for recurrent injurious falls (a subsequent fall after the first fall has occurred) among this group. This study aimed to identify risk factors for recurrent injurious falls requiring hospitalization among adults aged 60+ years with dementia. Methods: This retrospective, whole-population cohort study was conducted using the Western Australian Hospital Morbidity Data System and Western Australian Death Registrations from 2001 to 2013. Survival analysis using a stratified conditional Cox model (type 1) was undertaken to identify risk factors for recurrent injurious falls requiring hospitalization. Results: There were 32,519 participants with an index hospital admission with dementia during the study period. Over 27 % (n = 8970) of the cohort experienced a total of 11,073 injurious falls requiring hospitalization during follow up with 7297 individuals experiencing a single fall, 1330 experiencing two falls and 343 experiencing three or more falls. The median follow-up time for each individual was 2.49 years. Females were at a significantly increased risk of 7 % for recurrent injurious falls resulting in hospitalization (adjusted hazard ratio 1.07, 95 % CI 1.01–1.12), compared to males. Increasing age, living in rural areas, and having an injurious fall in the year prior to the index hospital admission with dementia also increased the risk of recurrent injurious falls resulting in hospitalization. Conclusions: Screening those with dementia for injurious falls history could help to identify those most at risk of recurrent injurious falls. Improvement of heath care an

Modulated Instability in Five-Dimensional U(1) Charged AdS Black Hole with R**2-term

We study the effect of R**2 term to the modulated instability in the U(1) charged black hole in five-dimensional Anti-de Sitter space-time. We consider the first-order corrections of R**2 term to the background and the linear order perturbations in the equations of motion. From the analysis, we clarify the effect of R**2 term in the modulated instability, and conclude that fluctuations are stable in the whole bulk in the range of values the coefficient of R**2 term can take.Comment: 19 pages, 1 figures; (v4) Published version in JHE

Filamin-A Regulates Neutrophil Uropod Retraction through RhoA during Chemotaxis

Filamin-A (FLNa) has been shown to be a key cross-linker of actin filaments in the leading edge of a motile melanoma cell line, however its role in neutrophils undergoing chemotaxis is unknown. Using a murine transgenic model in which FLNa is selectively deleted in granulocytes, we report that, while neutrophils lacking FLNa show normal polarization and pseudopod extension, they exhibit obvious defects in uropod retraction. This uropod retraction defect was found to be a direct result of reduced FLNa mediated activation of the small GTPase RhoA and myosin mediated actin contraction in the FLNa null cells. This results in a neutrophil recruitment defect in FLNa null mice. The compensatory increase in FLNb levels that was observed in the FLNa null neutrophils may be sufficient to compensate for the lack of FLNa at the leading edge allowing for normal polarization, however this compensation is unable to regulate RhoA activated tail retraction at the rear of the cell

Composite structural motifs of binding sites for delineating biological functions of proteins

Most biological processes are described as a series of interactions between proteins and other molecules, and interactions are in turn described in terms of atomic structures. To annotate protein functions as sets of interaction states at atomic resolution, and thereby to better understand the relation between protein interactions and biological functions, we conducted exhaustive all-against-all atomic structure comparisons of all known binding sites for ligands including small molecules, proteins and nucleic acids, and identified recurring elementary motifs. By integrating the elementary motifs associated with each subunit, we defined composite motifs which represent context-dependent combinations of elementary motifs. It is demonstrated that function similarity can be better inferred from composite motif similarity compared to the similarity of protein sequences or of individual binding sites. By integrating the composite motifs associated with each protein function, we define meta-composite motifs each of which is regarded as a time-independent diagrammatic representation of a biological process. It is shown that meta-composite motifs provide richer annotations of biological processes than sequence clusters. The present results serve as a basis for bridging atomic structures to higher-order biological phenomena by classification and integration of binding site structures.Comment: 34 pages, 7 figure

Bayesian Fit of Exclusive b→sℓˉℓb \to s \bar\ell\ell Decays: The Standard Model Operator Basis

We perform a model-independent fit of the short-distance couplings $C_{7,9,10}$ within the Standard Model set of $b\to s\gamma$ and $b\to s\bar\ell\ell$ operators. Our analysis of $B \to K^* \gamma$, $B \to K^{(*)} \bar\ell\ell$ and $B_s \to \bar\mu\mu$ decays is the first to harness the full power of the Bayesian approach: all major sources of theory uncertainty explicitly enter as nuisance parameters. Exploiting the latest measurements, the fit reveals a flipped-sign solution in addition to a Standard-Model-like solution for the couplings $C_i$. Each solution contains about half of the posterior probability, and both have nearly equal goodness of fit. The Standard Model prediction is close to the best-fit point. No New Physics contributions are necessary to describe the current data. Benefitting from the improved posterior knowledge of the nuisance parameters, we predict ranges for currently unmeasured, optimized observables in the angular distributions of $B\to K^*(\to K\pi)\,\bar\ell\ell$.Comment: 42 pages, 8 figures; v2: Using new lattice input for f_Bs, considering Bs-mixing effects in BR[B_s->ll]. Main results and conclusion unchanged, matches journal versio

The clinical features of the piriformis syndrome: a systematic review

Piriformis syndrome, sciatica caused by compression of the sciatic nerve by the piriformis muscle, has been described for over 70 years; yet, it remains controversial. The literature consists mainly of case series and narrative reviews. The objectives of the study were: first, to make the best use of existing evidence to estimate the frequencies of clinical features in patients reported to have PS; second, to identify future research questions. A systematic review was conducted of any study type that reported extractable data relevant to diagnosis. The search included all studies up to 1 March 2008 in four databases: AMED, CINAHL, Embase and Medline. Screening, data extraction and analysis were all performed independently by two reviewers. A total of 55 studies were included: 51 individual and 3 aggregated data studies, and 1 combined study. The most common features found were: buttock pain, external tenderness over the greater sciatic notch, aggravation of the pain through sitting and augmentation of the pain with manoeuvres that increase piriformis muscle tension. Future research could start with comparing the frequencies of these features in sciatica patients with and without disc herniation or spinal stenosis

Age-related delay in information accrual for faces: Evidence from a parametric, single-trial EEG approach

Background: In this study, we quantified age-related changes in the time-course of face processing by means of an innovative single-trial ERP approach. Unlike analyses used in previous studies, our approach does not rely on peak measurements and can provide a more sensitive measure of processing delays. Young and old adults (mean ages 22 and 70 years) performed a non-speeded discrimination task between two faces. The phase spectrum of these faces was manipulated parametrically to create pictures that ranged between pure noise (0% phase information) and the undistorted signal (100% phase information), with five intermediate steps. Results: Behavioural 75% correct thresholds were on average lower, and maximum accuracy was higher, in younger than older observers. ERPs from each subject were entered into a single-trial general linear regression model to identify variations in neural activity statistically associated with changes in image structure. The earliest age-related ERP differences occurred in the time window of the N170. Older observers had a significantly stronger N170 in response to noise, but this age difference decreased with increasing phase information. Overall, manipulating image phase information had a greater effect on ERPs from younger observers, which was quantified using a hierarchical modelling approach. Importantly, visual activity was modulated by the same stimulus parameters in younger and older subjects. The fit of the model, indexed by R2, was computed at multiple post-stimulus time points. The time-course of the R2 function showed a significantly slower processing in older observers starting around 120 ms after stimulus onset. This age-related delay increased over time to reach a maximum around 190 ms, at which latency younger observers had around 50 ms time lead over older observers. Conclusion: Using a component-free ERP analysis that provides a precise timing of the visual system sensitivity to image structure, the current study demonstrates that older observers accumulate face information more slowly than younger subjects. Additionally, the N170 appears to be less face-sensitive in older observers