Anomaly mediated neutrino-photon interactions at finite baryon density

We propose new physical processes based on the axial vector anomaly and described by the Wess-Zumino-Witten term that couples the photon, Z-boson, and the omega-meson. The interaction takes the form of a pseudo-Chern-Simons term, $\sim \epsilon_{\mu\nu\rho\sigma}\omega^\mu Z^\nu F^{\rho\sigma}$. This term induces neutrino-photon interactions at finite baryon density via the coupling of the Z-boson to neutrinos. These interactions may be detectable in various laboratory and astrophysical arenas. The new interactions may account for the MiniBooNE excess. They also produce a competitive contribution to neutron star cooling at temperatures >10^9 K. These processes and related axion--photon interactions at finite baryon density appear to be relevant in many astrophysical regimes.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures; references adde

Effects of diamagnetic levitation on bacterial growth in liquid

Diamagnetic levitation is a technique that uses a strong, spatially-varying magnetic field to levitate diamagnetic materials, such as water and biological cells. This technique has the potential to simulate aspects of weightlessness, on the Earth. In common with all ground-based techniques to simulate weightlessness, however, there are effects introduced by diamagnetic levitation that are not present in space. Since there have been few studies that systematically investigate these differences, diamagnetic levitation is not yet being fully exploited. For the first time, we critically assess the effect of diamagnetic levitation on a bacterial culture in liquid. We used a superconducting magnet to levitate growing bacterial cultures for up to 18 hours, in a series of experiments to determine the effect of diamagnetic levitation on all phases of the bacterial growth cycle. We find that diamagnetic levitation increases the rate of population growth in a liquid culture. The speed of sedimentation of the bacterial cells to the bottom of the container is considerably reduced. Further experiments and microarray gene analysis show that the growth enhancement is due to greater oxygen availability in the magnetically levitated sample. We demonstrate that the magnetic field that levitates the cells also induces convective stirring in the liquid, an effect not present in microgravity. We present a simple theoretical model, showing how the paramagnetic force on dissolved oxygen can cause the liquid to become unstable to convection when the consumption of oxygen by the bacteria generates an oxygen concentration gradient. We propose that this convection enhances oxygen availability by transporting oxygen around the sample. Since convection is absent in space, these results are of significant importance and timeliness to researchers considering using diamagnetic levitation to explore weightless effects on living organisms and a broad range of other topics in the physical and life sciences

Correlates of Not Using Antiretroviral Therapy Among Transwomen Living with HIV: The Unique Role of Personal Competence

Purpose: This study tested three psychosocial measures for their potential to serve as counseling goals for promoting ART to transgender women living with HIV (TWLH). Methods: Among 69 TWLH, 17.4% were not taking ART; these volunteers were compared to the remainder using multivariate regression analyses. Results: Only one psychosocial measure achieved significance: Personal Competence (Adjusted Odds Ratio = 0.80, 95% CI = 0.67–0.97, P = 0.02). Because this was a continuous measure, assessed on a 7-point scale, the protective adjusted odds ratio of 0.80 represents a 20% reduction in the odds of not taking ART for each unit of increase in this construct. Conclusion: Findings suggest a potential counseling goal for TWLH not taking ART

Salinity investment framework : agricultural land and infrastructure

Greater awareness of the potential impact of salinity has led to increased public and private expenditure. The Salinity Investment Framework was developed to insert rigour and accountability into decision-making processes and guide future development. This report focusses on the economic impact of salinity on private and public land and the infrastructure of areas in Western Australia, including towns, railway systems, roads and the like

Perceptions of Grief Education in Accredited Counseling Programs: Recommendations for Counselor Education

As grief can be considered a critical life event, unresolved grief can interfere with quality of life, affecting lifestyle, behavior, emotional strength, and cognitive function. Unresolved grief can even result in suicidal ideation. Counselors can and often do work with grief issues in clients and can promote positive outcomes for grieving clients by addressing personal loss and helping clients process grief related issues. This study was based on an analysis of students within counseling programs accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs based on earlier research conducted by one of the authors. Self-perception of competency in counseling clients who are having grief-related issues from loss was assessed using the Grief Counseling Competency Scale. By analyzing results of the Grief Counseling Competency Scale, participants showed a need for further training in grief counseling skills and theory. Results and implications of the quantitative analysis as well as suggestions for further study are discussed

RNAi reveals proteins for metabolism and protein processing associated with Langat virus infection in Ixodes scapularis (black-legged tick) ISE6 cells

Tick-borne flaviviruses (TBFs) cause thousands of human cases of encephalitis worldwide each year, with some TBF infections progressing to hemorrhagic fever. TBFs are of medical and veterinary importance and strategies to reduce flavivirus transmission by the tick vector may have significant application. Analyses of the proteome of ISE6 cells derived from the black legged tick, Ixodes scapularis infected with the TBF, Langat virus (LGTV), have provided insights into proteins and cellular processes involved with LGTV infection. Methods: RNA interference (RNAi)-induced knockdown of transcripts was used to investigate the role of ten tick proteins in the LGTV infection cycle in ISE6 cells. LGTV-infected cells were separately transfected with dsRNA corresponding to each gene of interest and the effect on LGTV genome replication and release of infectious virus was assessed by RT-qPCR and plaque assays, respectively. Results: RNAi-induced knockdown of transcripts for two enzymes that likely function in amino acid, carbohydrate, lipid, terpenoid/polykeytide and vitamin metabolism, and a transcript for one protein of unknown function were associated with decreased replication of the LGTV genome and release of infectious virus from cells. The knockdown of transcripts for five enzymes predicted to function in metabolism, a protein likely associated with folding, sorting and degradation, and a protein of unknown function was associated with a decrease only in the amount of infectious LGTV released from cells. Conclusions: These data suggest tick proteins potentially associated with metabolism and protein processing may be involved in LGTV infection of ISE6 cells. Our study provides information to begin to elucidate the function of these proteins and identify targets for the development of new interventions aimed at controlling the transmission of TBFs

Preventive measures in infancy to reduce under-five mortality: a case-control study in The Gambia.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between child mortality and common preventive interventions: vaccination, trained birthing attendants, tetanus toxoid during pregnancy, breastfeeding and vitamin A supplementation. METHODS: Case-control study in a population under demographic surveillance. Cases (n = 141) were children under five who died. Each was age and sex-matched to five controls (n = 705). Information was gathered by interviewing primary caregivers. RESULTS: All but one of the interventions - whether the mother had received tetanus toxoid during pregnancy - were protective against child mortality after multivariate analysis. Having a trained person assisting at child birth (OR 0.2 95% CI 0.1-0.4), receiving all vaccinations by 9 months of age (OR 0.1; 95% CI 0.01-0.3), being breastfed for more than 12 months (Children breastfed between 13 and 24 months OR 0.1 95% CI 0.03-0.3, more than 25 months OR 0.1 95% CI 0.01-0.5) and receiving vitamin A supplementation at or after 6 months of age (OR 0.05; 95% CI 0.01-0.2) were protective against child death. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms the value of at least four available interventions in the prevention of under-five death in The Gambia. It is now important to identify those who are not receiving them and why, and to intervene to improve coverage across the population

Evolutionary innovation and diversification of carotenoid-based pigmentation in finches

© 2016 The Author(s). Evolution © 2016 The Society for the Study of Evolution. The ornaments used by animals to mediate social interactions are diverse, and by reconstructing their evolutionary pathways we can gain new insights into the mechanisms underlying ornamental innovation and variability. Here, we examine variation in plumage carotenoids among the true finches (Aves: Fringillidae) using biochemical and comparative phylogenetic analyses to reconstruct the evolutionary history of carotenoid states and evaluate competing models of carotenoid evolution. Our comparative analyses reveal that the most likely ancestor of finches used dietary carotenoids as yellow plumage colorants, and that the ability to metabolically modify dietary carotenoids into more complex pigments arose secondarily once finches began to use modified carotenoids to create red plumage. Following the evolutionary “innovation” that enabled modified red carotenoid pigments to be deposited as plumage colorants, many finch species subsequently modified carotenoid biochemical pathways to create yellow plumage. However, no reversions to dietary carotenoids were observed. The finding that ornaments and their underlying mechanisms may be operating under different selection regimes—where ornamental trait colors undergo frequent reversions (e.g., between red and yellow plumage) while carotenoid metabolization mechanisms are more conserved—supports a growing empirical framework suggesting different evolutionary patterns for ornaments and the mechanistic innovations that facilitate their diversification

Redshifts and Optical Properties for a Statistically Complete Sample of Poor Galaxy Clusters

From the poor cluster catalog of White et al. (1996), we define a sample of 71 optically-selected poor galaxy clusters. The surface-density enhance- ment we require for our clusters falls between that of the loose associations of Turner and Gott (1976) and the Hickson compact groups (Hickson, 1982). We review the selection biases and determine the statistical comleteness of the sample. For this sample, we report new velocity measurements made with the ARC 3.5-m Dual-Imaging spectrograph and the 2.3-m Steward Observatory MX fiber spectrograph. Combining our own measurements with those from the literature, we examine the velocity distributions, velocity dispersions, and 1-d velocity substructure for our poor cluster sample, and compare our results to other poor cluster samples. We find that approximately half of the sample may have significant 1-d velocity substructure. The optical morphology, large-scale environment, and velocity field of many of these clusters is indicative of young, dynamically evolving systems. In future papers, we will use this sample to derive the poor cluster X-ray luminosity function and gas mass function (see astro-ph/9606120), and will examine the optical/X-ray properties of the clusters in more detail.Comment: 15 pages LaTeX, 3 tables, 5 postscript figures. To appear in the August 1996 Astronomical Journa