The First Total Synthesis of Dragmacidin D

The first total synthesis of the biologically significant bis-indole alkaloid dragmacidin D (5) has been achieved. Thermal and electronic modulation provides the key for a series of palladium-catalyzed Suzuki cross-coupling reactions that furnished the core structure of the complex guanidine- and aminoimidazole-containing dragmacidins. Following this crucial sequence, a succession of meticulously controlled final events was developed leading to the completion of the natural product

Fermi-Dirac statistics and the number theory

We relate the Fermi-Dirac statistics of an ideal Fermi gas in a harmonic trap to partitions of given integers into distinct parts, studied in number theory. Using methods of quantum statistical physics we derive analytic expressions for cumulants of the probability distribution of the number of different partitions.Comment: 7pages, 2 figures, epl.cls, revised versio

Casimir force between designed materials: what is possible and what not

We establish strict upper limits for the Casimir interaction between multilayered structures of arbitrary dielectric or diamagnetic materials. We discuss the appearance of different power laws due to frequency-dependent material constants. Simple analytical expressions are in good agreement with numerical calculations based on Lifshitz theory. We discuss the improvements required for current (meta) materials to achieve a repulsive Casimir force.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, graphicx, v4: Europhysics Letters, in pres

An attempt to observe economy globalization: the cross correlation distance evolution of the top 19 GDP's

Economy correlations between the 19 richest countries are investigated through their Gross Domestic Product increments. A distance is defined between increment correlation matrix elements and their evolution studied as a function of time and time window size. Unidirectional and Bidirectional Minimal Length Paths are generated and analyzed for different time windows. A sort of critical correlation time window is found indicating a transition for best observations. The mean length path decreases with time, indicating stronger correlations. A new method for estimating a realistic minimal time window to observe correlations and deduce macroeconomy conclusions from such features is thus suggested.Comment: to be published in the Dyses05 proceedings, in Int. J. Mod Phys C 15 pages, 5 figures, 1 tabl

Protocol for Pertussis Immunisation and Food Allergy (PIFA): A case-control study of the association between pertussis vaccination in infancy and the risk of IgE-mediated food allergy among Australian children

© Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted. Introduction Atopic diseases, including food allergy, have become a predominant cause of chronic illness among children in developed countries. In Australia, a rise in hospitalisations among infants coded as anaphylaxis to foods coincided with the replacement of whole-cell pertussis (wP) vaccine with subunit acellular pertussis (aP) vaccine on the national immunisation schedule in the late 1990s. Atopy is characterised by a tendency to mount T helper type 2 (Th2) responses to otherwise innocuous environmental antigens. Compared with infants who receive aP as their first pertussis vaccine, those who receive wP appear less likely to mount Th2 immune responses to either vaccine or extraneous antigens. We therefore speculate that removal of wP from the vaccine schedule contributed to the observed rise in IgE-mediated food allergy among Australian infants. Methods and analysis This is a retrospective individually matched case-control study among a cohort of Australian children born from 1997 to 1999, the period of transition from wP to aP vaccines; we include in the cohort children listed on Australia's comprehensive population-based immunisation register as having received a first dose of either pertussis vaccine by 16 weeks old. 500 cohort children diagnosed as having IgE-mediated food allergy at specialist allergy clinics will be included as cases. Controls matched to each case by date and jurisdiction of birth and regional socioeconomic index will be sampled from the immunisation register. Conditional logistic regression will be used to estimate OR (±95% CI) of receipt of wP (vs aP) as the first vaccine dose among cases compared with controls. Ethics and dissemination The study is approved by all relevant human research ethics committees: Western Australia Child and Adolescent Health Services (2015052EP), Women's and Children's Hospital (HREC/15/WCHN/162), Royal Children's Hospital (35230A) and Sydney Children's Hospital Network (HREC/15/SCHN/405). Outcomes will be disseminated through publication and scientific presentation. Trial registration number NCT02490007

M2-Branes and Background Fields

We discuss the coupling of multiple M2-branes to the background 3-form and 6-form gauge fields of eleven-dimensional supergravity, including the coupling of the Fermions. In particular we show in detail how a natural generalization of the Myers flux-terms, along with the resulting curvature of the background metric, leads to mass terms in the effective field theory.Comment: 19 page

Translating Ultrasound into Clinical Practice for the Assessment of Swallowing and Laryngeal Function: A Speech and Language Pathology-Led Consensus Study

Ultrasound (US) has an emerging evidence base for the assessment of swallowing and laryngeal function. Accessibility and technological advances support the use of US as a clinical assessment tool; however, there is insufficient evidence to support its translation into clinical practice. This study aimed to establish consensus on the priorities for translation of US into clinical practice for the assessment of swallowing and laryngeal function. Nominal Group Technique (NGT) was used as a formal method of consensus development. Clinicians and academics, all members of an international US working group, were invited to participate in the study. Two NGT meetings were held, where participants silently generated and then shared ideas. Participants anonymously ranked items. Rankings were aggregated before participants re-ranked items in order of priority. Discussions regarding rankings were recorded and transcribed to inform analysis. Member-checking with participants informed the final analysis. Participants (n = 15) were speech and language pathologists, physiotherapists and sonographers representing six countries. Fifteen items were identified and prioritised 1–13 (including two equally ranked items). Reliability, validity and normative data emerged as key areas for research while development of training protocols and engagement with stakeholders were considered vital to progressing US into practice. Analysis revealed common themes that might be addressed together in research, in addition to the ranked priority. A measured approach to the translation of US into clinical practice will enable effective implementation of this tool. Priorities may evolve as clinical and professional contexts shift, but this study provides a framework to advance research and clinical practice in this field

Achieving Cardiovascular Health in Young Adulthood—Which Adolescent Factors Matter?

AbstractPurposeTo examine associations of adolescent body mass index (BMI), tobacco use, and physical activity with optimal physiologic cardiovascular health (CVH) in adulthood.MethodsData were from 12,139 participants in Waves I (1995–1996) and IV (2007–2008) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. We defined optimal CVH as normal blood pressure, glucose, and cholesterol without diabetes or cardiovascular disease. We used logistic regression to estimate odds of having optimal CVH at ages 24–32 years (Wave IV) according to BMI category, smoking status, and physical activity at ages 11–19 years (Wave I).ResultsFew young adults (16%) had optimal CVH. Adolescents with normal BMI were more than twice as likely to have optimal young adult CVH compared to those who were obese (adjusted odds ratio, 2.77; 95% confidence interval, 1.97–3.89). Adolescent smoking and physical activity did not predict young adult CVH.ConclusionsLower adolescent BMI is associated with young adult CVH