First Measurement of Collectivity of Coexisting Shapes based on Type II Shell Evolution: The Case of 96^{96}Zr

Background: Type II shell evolution has recently been identified as a microscopic cause for nuclear shape coexistence. Purpose: Establish a low-lying rotational band in 96-Zr. Methods: High-resolution inelastic electron scattering and a relative analysis of transition strengths are used. Results: The B(E2; 0_1^+ -> 2_2^+) value is measured and electromagnetic decay strengths of the secdond 2^+ state are deduced. Conclusions: Shape coexistence is established for 96-Zr. Type II shell evolution provides a systematic and quantitative mechanism to understand deformation at low excitation energies.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Frequency of educational computer use as a longitudinal predictor of educational outcomes in young people with specific language impairment

Computer use draws on linguistic abilities. Using this medium thus presents challenges for young people with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) and raises questions of whether computer-based tasks are appropriate for them. We consider theoretical arguments predicting impaired performance and negative outcomes relative to peers without SLI versus the possibility of positive gains. We examine the relationship between frequency of computer use (for leisure and educational purposes) and educational achievement; in particular examination performance at the end of compulsory education and level of educational progress two years later. Participants were 49 young people with SLI and 56 typically developing (TD) young people. At around age 17, the two groups did not differ in frequency of educational computer use or leisure computer use. There were no associations between computer use and educational outcomes in the TD group. In the SLI group, after PIQ was controlled for, educational computer use at around 17 years of age contributed substantially to the prediction of educational progress at 19 years. The findings suggest that educational uses of computers are conducive to educational progress in young people with SLI

Trait Emotional Intelligence Profiles of Parents With Drug Addiction and of Their Offspring

This study examines the relationship between trait emotional intelligence (trait EI) and general health (General Health; GHQ-28) in two samples of Greek parents with (n = 52; Mage = 39.78; SDage = 6.68; 41 men and 11 women) and without (n = 51; Mage = 43.53; SDage = 4.61; 40 men and 11 women) addiction problems. In addition, it compares the trait EI scores of their offspring (N = 81; Mage = 11.71; SDage = 2.15; 51 boys and 30 girls). Results showed that parents with drug addiction exhibited lower levels of trait EI and poorer general health than peers. In addition, global trait EI and two of its subscales, Well-being and Emotionality, had stronger correlations with depression in the addiction than in the comparison group. Well-being was a significant predictor of general health and its subscales (Somatic symptoms, Anxiety/insomnia, Social dysfunction, and severe depression) in both groups. No differences were found between the offspring of the two groups

Fatal Blastoschizomyces capitatus sepsis in a neutropenic patient with acute myeloid leukemia: first documented case from Greece

Blastoschizomyces capitatus (formerly known as Geotrichum capitatum and Trichosporon capitatum) is a rare, yet an emerging, cause of invasive infections in immunosuppressed patients. Profound and prolonged neutropenia is the crucial predisposing factor for this yeast infection. Blastoschizomyces capitatus was isolated from peripheral blood cultures of a profoundly neutropenic patient with acute myeloid leukemia (M2 FAB). Despite administration of antifungal chemotherapy with liposomal amphotericin B at 4.5 mg kg(-1) daily, the patient succumbed 4 days after initiation of treatment. Infections attributed to B. capitatus have generally a poor prognosis, although the yeast shows in vitro susceptibility to antifungal agents. Low flucytosine, caspofungin acetate, voriconazole and amphotericin B minimum inhibitory concentration values were also recorded with our isolate. The clinical relevance of the in vitro susceptibility testing against the isolate and the current antifungal chemotherapy regimens against B. capitatus systemic infections are discussed

A new experimental facility to investigate combustor–turbine interactions in gas turbines with multiple can combustors

This paper describes a new modular experimental facility that was purpose-built to investigate flow interactions between the combustor and first stage nozzle guide vanes (NGVs) of heavy duty power generation gas turbines with multiple can combustors. The first stage turbine NGV is subjected to the highest thermal loads of all turbine components and therefore consumes a proportionally large amount of cooling air that contributes detrimentally to the stage and cycle efficiency. It has become necessary to devise novel cooling concepts that can substantially reduce the coolant air requirement but still allow the turbine to maintain its aerothermal performance. The present work aims to aid this objective by the design and commissioning of a high-speed linear cascade, which consists of two can combustor transition ducts and four first stage NGVs. This is a modular nonreactive air test platform with engine realistic geometries (gas path and near gas path), cooling system, and boundary conditions (inlet swirl, turbulence level, and boundary layer). The paper presents the various design aspects of the high pressure (HP) blow down type facility, and the initial results from a wide range of aerodynamic and heat transfer measurements under highly engine realistic conditions

Winter is coming: cold hardiness attributes of a field population of the potato tuberworm Phthorimaea operculella

The potato tuberworm, Phthorimaea operculella (Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), is a worldwide pest of solanaceous crops especially devastating to potatoes. In the present study we investigated the cold hardiness profile of short-term acclimated and nonacclimated immature and adult stages of a field population of P. operculella. Late instars displayed the lowest mean supercooling point, for both short-term acclimated and nonacclimated individuals, however, no significant differences were observed among developmental stages. Unlike supercooling capacity, acclimation at 5 o C for 5 days enhanced the ability to survive at subzero temperatures after a 2 h exposure. Mean lethal temperature (LTemp 50 ) of all developmental stages (egg, late instar, pupa and adult) decreased after short-term acclimation, however only adults displayed a significant difference among acclimated and non-acclimated individuals concerning their LTemp 50 (-11.1 and -8.3 o C, respectively). Generally, pupae were the most cold tolerant developmental stage followed in decreasing order by the eggs and adults, while interestingly late instars were the least ones. Non-freezing injury above the supercooling point was well documented for all developmental stages indicating a pre-freeze mortality and suggesting that P. operculella is considered to be chill tolerant rather than freeze intolerant. Nevertheless, given its high degree of cold hardiness, winter mortality of P. operculella due to low temperatures is not likely to occur and potential pest outbreak can take place following a mild winter. PeerJ PrePrints | https://d

Isolated internal iliac artery aneurysm: treatment with proximal ligation only

Isolated aneurysms of the internal iliac artery are very rare and occur usually in male patients older than 60 years. The deep pelvic location of these lesions makes the clinical diagnosis with physical examination alone difficult. The greater availability and advanced sensitivity of the performed abdominal imaging techniques, probably for the investigation of other pelvic diseases, increases the possibility of «early» detection of these aneurysms. Surgical repair is recommended for aneurysms greater than 3 cm in diameter, since the reported incidence of rupture varies between 14 and 70% and the associated mortality is more than 50%.We report a case of isolated hypogastric artery’s aneurysm, which was treated successfully with proximal ligation only

Unraveling Drug Response from Pharmacogenomic Data to Advance Systems Pharmacology Decisions in Tumor Therapeutics

The availability of systematic drug response registries for hundreds cell lines, coupled with the comprehensive profiling of their genomes/transcriptomes enabled the development of computational methods that investigate the molecular basis of drug responsiveness. Herein, we propose an automated, multi-omics systems pharmacology method that identifies genomic markers of anti-cancer drug response. Given a cancer type and a therapeutic compound, the method builds two cell line groups on the antipodes of the drug response spectrum, based on the outer quartiles of the maximum micromolar screening concentration. The method intersects cell lines that share common features in their mutation status, gene expression levels or copy number variants, and a pool of drug response biomarkers (core genes) is built, using genes with mutually exclusive alterations in the two cell line groups. The relevance with the drug target pathways is then quantified, using the combined interaction score of the core genes and an accessory protein network having strong, physical/functional interactions. We demonstrate the applicability and effectiveness of our methodology in three use cases that end up in known drug-gene interactions. The method steps into explainable bioinformatics approaches for novel anticancer drug-gene interactions, offering high accuracy and increased interpretability of the analysis results. Availability: https://github.com/PGxAUTH/PGxGDSC