Autoxidation of lipids in parchment

Historic parchment is a macromolecular material, which is complex due to its natural origin, inhomogeneity of the skin structure, unknown environmental history and potential localised degradation. Most research into its stability has so far focussed on thermal and structural methods of analyses. Using gas chromatographic analysis of the atmosphere surrounding parchment during oxidation, we provide the experimental evidence on the production of volatile aldehydes, which can be the products of lipid autoxidation. Oxidation of parchment with different aldehyde emissions was additionally followed in situ using chemiluminometry and the same techniques were used to evaluate the oxidation of differently delipidised parchment. It was shown that the production of peroxides and the emission of aldehydes from the material decrease with lower lipid content. Building on this evidence, we can conclude that the presence of lipids (either initially present in the skin or resulting from conservation intervention) leads to oxidative degradation of collagen and that the non-destructive analysis of the emission of volatiles could be used as a quick tool for evaluation of parchment stability

Seiberg-Witten-type Maps for Currents and Energy-Momentum Tensors in Noncommutative Gauge Theories

We derive maps relating the currents and energy-momentum tensors in noncommutative (NC) gauge theories with their commutative equivalents. Some uses of these maps are discussed. Especially, in NC electrodynamics, we obtain a generalization of the Lorentz force law. Also, the same map for anomalous currents relates the Adler-Bell-Jackiw type NC covariant anomaly with the standard commutative-theory anomaly. For the particular case of two dimensions, we discuss the implications of these maps for the Sugawara-type energy-momentum tensor.Comment: 14 pages, JHEP styl

Comparative Statics by Adaptive Dynamics and the Correspondence Principle

N/

Model-based meta-analysis of salbutamol pharmacokinetics and practical implications for doping control.

Salbutamol was included in the prohibited list of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in 2004. Although systemic intake is banned, inhalation for asthma is permitted but with dosage restrictions. The WADA established a urinary concentration threshold to distinguish accordingly prohibited systemic self-administration from therapeutic prescription by inhalation. This study aimed at evaluating the ability of the WADA threshold to differentiate salbutamol therapeutic use from violation of antidoping rules. Concentration-time profile of salbutamol in plasma and its excretion in urine was characterized through a model-based meta-analysis of individual and aggregate data collected after administration of a large range of doses following different modes of administration and under a variety of conditions. The developed model adequately fitted salbutamol plasma and urine concentration-time profiles of the 13 selected studies. Model-based simulations confirmed that a wide range of salbutamol urine concentrations might be measured after drug intake. Although violation of the WADA Code can be strongly suspected in individuals showing very high salbutamol urine concentrations, uncertainty remains for values close to the WADA threshold as they can be compatible with both permitted therapeutic use and violation. Although not entirely discriminant, the current WADA rule is globally supported by our appraisal. It could be further improved by a slight and reasonable adjustment of inhaled daily dosages allowed for therapeutic use. Our model might help antidoping experts in the evaluation of suspected doping cases through confronting the athlete's urine measurements with their allegations about salbutamol treatment

Dual Projection and Selfduality in Three Dimensions

We discuss the notion of duality and selfduality in the context of the dual projection operation that creates an internal space of potentials. Contrary to the prevailing algebraic or group theoretical methods, this technique is applicable to both even and odd dimensions. The role of parity in the kernel of the Gauss law to determine the dimensional dependence is clarified. We derive the appropriate invariant actions, discuss the symmetry groups and their proper generators. In particular, the novel concept of duality symmetry and selfduality in Maxwell theory in (2+1) dimensions is analysed in details. The corresponding action is a 3D version of the familiar duality symmetric electromagnetic theory in 4D. Finally, the duality symmetric actions in the different dimensions constructed here manifest both the SO(2) and $Z_2$ symmetries, contrary to conventional results.Comment: 20 pages, late

Adaptation, linguistic and clinimetric validation of the Bangla version of Zarit Burden Interview

The aim of this study was to develop a culturally adapted and validated Bangla version of Zarit Burden Interview  (ZBI-B) questionnaire for use in Bangla speaking caregiver of patient with dementia. This study was conducted on 100 caregivers related to consecutively attending outpatients with a previously established primary diagnosis of dementia, according to DSM-IV criteria. Validity and reliability were evaluated by comparing with the caregiver burden inventory (CBI). An exploratory factor analysis with the principle component with varimax rotation was used to detect the factorial structure in observed measurements. To attain the best-fitting structure and the correct number of factors, the following criteria were used: Eigen values >1.0, factor loadings >0.30. The Cronbachs alpha value was 0.847 for test and 0.839 retest. The intra-class correlation for the test-retest reliability was 0.89. The ZBI score was highly correlated with the CBI score (Pearsons correlation coefficient, r=0.909, P=.001). From the exploratory factor analysis six factors comprising 20 items were extracted with Eigen values higher than 1.00 accounting for 69% of the total item variance. In conclusion, ZBI-B is valid, reliable and useful for use in clinical contexts and in future studies that could lead to a better understanding of caregiver burden in dementia

Note on Dirac--K\"ahler massless fields

We obtain the canonical and symmetrical Belinfante energy-momentum tensors of Dirac--K\"{a}hler's fields. It is shown that the traces of the energy-momentum tensors are not equal to zero. We find the canonical and Belinfante dilatation currents which are not conserved, but a new conserved dilatation current is obtained. It is pointed out that the conformal symmetry is broken. The canonical quantization is performed and the propagator of the massless fields in the first-order formalism is found.Comment: 16 pages, minor corrections in the text, published versio

Old and New Fields on Super Riemann Surfaces

The ``new fields" or ``superconformal functions" on $N=1$ super Riemann surfaces introduced recently by Rogers and Langer are shown to coincide with the Abelian differentials (plus constants), viewed as a subset of the functions on the associated $N=2$ super Riemann surface. We confirm that, as originally defined, they do not form a super vector space.Comment: 9 pages, LaTex. Published version: minor changes for clarity, two new reference