An investigation of supervector regression for forensic voice comparison on small data

International audienceThe present paper deals with an observer design for a nonlinear lateral vehicle model. The nonlinear model is represented by an exact Takagi-Sugeno (TS) model via the sector nonlinearity transformation. A proportional multiple integral observer (PMIO) based on the TS model is designed to estimate simultaneously the state vector and the unknown input (road curvature). The convergence conditions of the estimation error are expressed under LMI formulation using the Lyapunov theory which guaranties bounded error. Simulations are carried out and experimental results are provided to illustrate the proposed observer

Spectral evolution of bright NS LMXBs with INTEGRAL: an application of the thermal plus bulk Comptonization model

The aim of this work is to investigate in a physical and quantitative way the spectral evolution of bright Neutron Star Low-Mass X-ray Binaries (NS LMXBs), with special regard to the transient hard X-ray tails. We analyzed INTEGRAL data for five sources (GX 5-1, GX 349+2, GX 13+1, GX 3+1, GX 9+1) and built broad-band X-ray spectra from JEM-X1 and IBIS/ISGRI data. For each source, X-ray spectra from different states were fitted with the recently proposed model compTB. The spectra have been fit with a two-compTB model. In all cases the first compTB describes the dominant part of the spectrum that we interpret as thermal Comptonization of soft seed photons (< 1 keV), likely from the accretion disk, by a 3-5 keV corona. In all cases, this component does not evolve much in terms of Comptonization efficiency, with the system converging to thermal equilibrium for increasing accretion rate. The second compTB varies more dramatically spanning from bulk plus thermal Comptonization of blackbody seed photons to the blackbody emission alone. These seed photons (R < 12 km, kT_s > 1 keV), likely from the neutron star and the innermost part of the system, the Transition Layer, are Comptonized by matter in a converging flow. The presence and nature of this second compTB component (be it a pure blackbody or Comptonized) are related to the inner local accretion rate which can influence the transient behaviour of the hard tail: high values of accretion rates correspond to an efficient Bulk Comptonization process (bulk parameter delta > 0) while even higher values of accretion rates suppress the Comptonization, resulting in simple blackbody emission (delta=0).Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in A&

Coffee consumption and prostate cancer risk: further evidence for inverse relationship

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Higher consumption of coffee intake has recently been linked with reduced risk of aggressive prostate cancer (PC) incidence, although meta-analysis of other studies that examine the association between coffee consumption and overall PC risk remains inconclusive. Only one recent study investigated the association between coffee intake and grade-specific incidence of PC, further evidence is required to understand the aetiology of aggressive PCs. Therefore, we conducted a prospective study to examine the relationship between coffee intake and overall as well as grade-specific PC risk.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted a prospective cohort study of 6017 men who were enrolled in the Collaborative cohort study in the UK between 1970 and 1973 and followed up to 31st December 2007. Cox Proportional Hazards Models were used to evaluate the association between coffee consumption and overall, as well as Gleason grade-specific, PC incidence.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Higher coffee consumption was inversely associated with risk of high grade but not with overall risk of PC. Men consuming 3 or more cups of coffee per day experienced 55% lower risk of high Gleason grade disease compared with non-coffee drinkers in analysis adjusted for age and social class (HR 0.45, 95% CI 0.23-0.90, p value for trend 0.01). This association changed a little after additional adjustment for Body Mass Index, smoking, cholesterol level, systolic blood pressure, tea intake and alcohol consumption.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Coffee consumption reduces the risk of aggressive PC but not the overall risk.</p

MTBVAC vaccination protects rhesus macaques against aerosol challenge with M. tuberculosis and induces immune signatures analogous to those observed in clinical studies

A single intradermal vaccination with MTBVAC given to adult rhesus macaques was well tolerated and conferred a significant improvement in outcome following aerosol exposure to M. tuberculosis compared to that provided by a single BCG vaccination. Vaccination with MTBVAC resulted in a significant reduction in M. tuberculosis infection-induced disease pathology measured using in vivo medical imaging, in gross pathology lesion counts and pathology scores recorded at necropsy, the frequency and severity of pulmonary granulomas and the frequency of recovery of viable M. tuberculosis from extrapulmonary tissues following challenge. The immune profiles induced following immunisation with MTBVAC reflect those identified in human clinical trials of MTBVAC. Evaluation of MTBVAC- and TB peptide-pool-specific T-cell cytokine production revealed a predominantly Th1 response from poly- (IFN-¿+TNF-a+IL2+) and multi-(IFN-¿+TNF-a+) functional CD4 T cells, while only low levels of Th22, Th17 and cytokine-producing CD8 T-cell populations were detected together with low-level, but significant, increases in CFP10-specific IFN-¿ secreting cells. In this report, we describe concordance between immune profiles measured in clinical trials and a macaque pre-clinical study demonstrating significantly improved outcome after M. tuberculosis challenge as evidence to support the continued development of MTBVAC as an effective prophylactic vaccine for TB vaccination campaigns

Reflection in Seyfert Galaxies and the Unified Model of AGN

We present a deep study of the average hard X-ray spectra of Seyfert galaxies. We analyzed all public INTEGRAL IBIS/ISGRI data available on all the 165 Seyfert galaxies detected at z<0.2. Our final sample consists of 44 Seyfert 1's, 29 Seyfert 1.5's, 78 Seyfert 2's, and 14 Narrow Line Seyfert 1's. We derived the average hard X-ray spectrum of each subsample in the 17-250keV energy range. All classes of Seyfert galaxies show on average the same nuclear continuum, as foreseen by the zeroth order unified model, with a cut-off energy of Ec>200keV, and a photon index of Gamma ~1.8. Compton-thin Seyfert 2's show a reflection component stronger than Seyfert 1's and Seyfert 1.5's. Most of this reflection is due to mildly obscured (10^23 cm^-2 < NH < 10^24 cm^-2) Seyfert 2's, which have a significantly stronger reflection component (R=2.2^{+4.5}_{-1.1}) than Seyfert 1's (R<=0.4), Seyfert 1.5's (R<= 0.4) and lightly obscured (NH < 10^23 cm^-2) Seyfert 2's (R<=0.5). This cannot be explained easily by the unified model. The absorber/reflector in mildly obscured Seyfert 2's might cover a large fraction of the X-ray source, and have clumps of Compton-thick material. The large reflection found in the spectrum of mildly obscured Seyfert 2's reduces the amount of Compton-thick objects needed to explain the peak of the cosmic X-ray background. Our results are consistent with the fraction of Compton-thick sources being ~10%. The spectra of Seyfert 2's with and without polarized broad lines do not show significant differences, the only difference between the two samples being the higher hard X-ray and bolometric luminosity of Seyfert 2's with polarized broad lines. The average hard X-ray spectrum of Narrow line Seyfert 1's is steeper than those of Seyfert 1's and Seyfert 1.5's, probably due to a lower energy of the cutoff.Comment: 19 pages, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics, final versio

The first microbial colonizers of the human gut: composition, activities, and health implications of the infant gut microbiota

The human gut microbiota is engaged in multiple interactions affecting host health during the host's entire life span. Microbes colonize the neonatal gut immediately following birth. The establishment and interactive development of this early gut microbiota are believed to be (at least partially) driven and modulated by specific compounds present in human milk. It has been shown that certain genomes of infant gut commensals, in particular those of bifidobacterial species, are genetically adapted to utilize specific glycans of this human secretory fluid, thus representing a very intriguing example of host-microbe coevolution, where both partners are believed to benefit. In recent years, various metagenomic studies have tried to dissect the composition and functionality of the infant gut microbiome and to explore the distribution across the different ecological niches of the infant gut biogeography of the corresponding microbial consortia, including those corresponding to bacteria and viruses, in healthy and ill subjects. Such analyses have linked certain features of the microbiota/microbiome, such as reduced diversity or aberrant composition, to intestinal illnesses in infants or disease states that are manifested at later stages of life, including asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, and metabolic disorders. Thus, a growing number of studies have reported on how the early human gut microbiota composition/development may affect risk factors related to adult health conditions. This concept has fueled the development of strategies to shape the infant microbiota composition based on various functional food products. In this review, we describe the infant microbiota, the mechanisms that drive its establishment and composition, and how microbial consortia may be molded by natural or artificial interventions. Finally, we discuss the relevance of key microbial players of the infant gut microbiota, in particular bifidobacteria, with respect to their role in health and disease

Development and evaluation of performance characteristics of timolol-loaded composite ocular films as potential delivery platform for treatment of glaucoma

Thin and erodible polymeric films were developed as potential ocular drug delivery systems to increase drug retention on the eye with the aim of improving bioavailability and achieving controlled drug release. Two biocompatible film forming polymers, hyaluronic acid (HA) and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), which are currently used as thickening agents in eye drops were employed. Two different films were prepared (i) as single polymer and (ii) as composite formulations by solvent casting method, incorporating glycerol (GLY) as plasticizer and timolol maleate (TM) as model glaucoma drug. After preliminary optimization of transparency and ease of handling, the formulations were further characterized for their physicochemical properties. No indication of significant drug-polymer or polymer-polymer (in composite films) interaction was observed from FTIR results while evaluation by IR mapping revealed uniform distribution of drug throughout the films. Amorphization of TM in the film matrix was confirmed by both DSC and XRD. Swelling studies illustrated remarkable swelling capacity of HA in comparison with HPMC which directly affected the drug release profiles, making HA a suitable polymer for controlled ocular drug delivery. Tensile and mucoadhesion properties confirmed higher elasticity and adhesiveness of HA while HPMC produced stronger films. The effect of sterilization by UV radiation on mechanical properties was also evaluated and showed no significant difference between the sterilized and non-sterilized films. The SEM results confirmed smoothness and homogeneity of film surfaces for all the formulations studied. The in vitro drug dissolution studies showed more extended release profiles of formulations containing HA. Cytotoxicity study (cell viability) using MTT assay on HeLa cells, confirmed that the single polymer and composite films are generally safe for ocular administration. The present work shows excellent film forming ability of HA and HPMC which can be used as single polymer or combined in composite formulations as potential topical ocular drug delivery platform to enhance drug retention on the ocular surface and therefore potential improved bioavailability

Combined In Silico, In Vivo, and In Vitro Studies Shed Insights into the Acute Inflammatory Response in Middle-Aged Mice

We combined in silico, in vivo, and in vitro studies to gain insights into age-dependent changes in acute inflammation in response to bacterial endotoxin (LPS). Time-course cytokine, chemokine, and NO2-/NO3- data from "middle-aged" (6-8 months old) C57BL/6 mice were used to re-parameterize a mechanistic mathematical model of acute inflammation originally calibrated for "young" (2-3 months old) mice. These studies suggested that macrophages from middle-aged mice are more susceptible to cell death, as well as producing higher levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, vs. macrophages from young mice. In support of the in silico-derived hypotheses, resident peritoneal cells from endotoxemic middle-aged mice exhibited reduced viability and produced elevated levels of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-10, and KC/CXCL1 as compared to cells from young mice. Our studies demonstrate the utility of a combined in silico, in vivo, and in vitro approach to the study of acute inflammation in shock states, and suggest hypotheses with regard to the changes in the cytokine milieu that accompany aging. © 2013 Namas et al

Search for the Decay τ−→4pi−3π+(π0)ντ\tau^{-}\to 4pi^{-}3\pi^{+}(\pi^{0})\nu_{\tau}

We have searched for the decay of the tau lepton into seven charged particles and zero or one pi0. The data used in the search were collected with the CLEO II detector at the Cornell Electron Storage Ring (CESR) and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.61 fb^(-1). No evidence for a signal is found. Assuming all the charged particles are pions, we set an upper limit on the branching fraction, B(tau- -> 4pi- 3pi+ (pi0) nu_tau) < 2.4 x 10^(-6) at the 90% confidence level. This limit represents a significant improvement over the previous limit.Comment: 9 page postscript file, postscript file also available through http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLN

Further Search for the Two-Photon Production of the Glueball Candidate fJ(2220)f_{J}(2220)

The CLEOII detector at the Cornell e+ e- storage ring CESR has been used to search for the two-photon production of the $f_J(2220)$ decaying into pi+ pi-. No evidence for a signal is found in data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.77/fb and a 95% CL upper limit on $\Gamma_{two-photon} * BR{pi+ pi-}$ of 2.5 eV is set. If this result is combined with the BES Collaboration's measurement of $f_J(2220) -> pi+ pi-$ in radiative $J/\psi$ decay, a 95% CL lower limit on the stickiness of the $f_J(2220)$ of 73 is obtained. If the recent CLEO result for \Gamma_{two-photon} * BR{\K_S K_S} is combined with the present result, the stickiness of the $f_J(2220)$ is found to be larger than 102 at the 95% CL. These results for the stickiness (the ratio of the probabilities for two-gluon coupling and two-photon coupling) provide further support for a substantial neutral parton content in the $f_J(2220)$.Comment: 8 pages, postscript file also available through http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLN