Observation of the Holstein shift in high TcT_c superconductors with thermal modulation reflectometry

We use the experimental technique of thermal modulation reflectometry to study the relatively small temperature dependence of the optical conductivity of superconductors. Due to a large cancellation of systematic errors, this technique is shown to a be very sensitive probe of small changes in reflectivity. We analyze thermal modulation reflection spectra of single crystals and epitaxially grown thin films of YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-\delta}$ and obtain the ${\alpha_tr}^2F(\omega)$ function in the normal state, as well as the superconductivity induced changes in reflectivity. We present detailed model calculations, based on the Eliashberg-Migdal extension of the BCS model, which show good qualitative and quantitative agreement with the experimental spectra. VSGD.93.12.thComment: 6 pages, figures on request. Revtex, version 2, Materials Science Center Internal Report Number VSGD.93.12.t

DNA haplotypes of the complement C6 and C7 genes associated with deficiencies of the seventh component; And a new DNA polymorphism in C7 exon 13

Eight common DNA polymorphisms have been described for the linked C6 and C7 genes. We now describe a ninth polymorphism in C7 exon 13 which is located in a tight cluster with two previously reported markers. We have used all these markers to investigate the heterogeneity of C7 deficiency. Five of the nine C7 deficient probands (resident in Ireland, South Africa, Russia and Israel) are heterozygous for C6/C7 haplotypes. Seven different C7 deficient haplotypes were found for C7 markers alone, but all the four Israelis share one and three out of four Irish haplotypes share another. The markers appear to be a good guide to the heterogeneity of C7 deficiency and have been useful in choosing homozygous subjects for the investigation of molecular defects.Articl

Canakinumab for the treatment of acute flares in difficult-to-treat gouty arthritis: Results of a multicenter, phase II, dose-ranging study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy and tolerability of canakinumab, a fully human anti-interleukin-1β monoclonal antibody, for the treatment of acute gouty arthritis. METHODS: In this 8-week, single-blind, double-dummy, dose-ranging study, patients with acute gouty arthritis whose disease was refractory to or who had contraindications to nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs and/or colchicine were randomized to receive a single subcutaneous dose of canakinumab (10, 25, 50, 90, or 150 mg; n = 143) or an intramuscular dose of triamcinolone acetonide (40 mg; n = 57). Patients assessed pain using a 100-mm visual analog scale. RESULTS: Seventy-two hours after treatment, a statistically significant dose response was observed for canakinumab. All canakinumab doses were associated with numerically less pain than triamcinolone acetonide; thus, a dose with equivalent efficacy to triamcinolone acetonide 72 hours after treatment could not be determined. The reduction from baseline in pain intensity with canakinumab 150 mg was greater than with triamcinolone acetonide 24, 48, and 72 hours after treatment (differences of -11.5 mm [P = 0.04], -18.2 mm [P = 0.002], and -19.2 mm [P < 0.001], respectively), and 4, 5, and 7 days after treatment (all P < 0.05). Canakinumab significantly reduced the risk of recurrent flares versus triamcinolone acetonide (P ≤ 0.01 for all doses) (relative risk reduction 94% for canakinumab 150 mg versus triamcinolone acetonide). The overall incidence of adverse events was similar for canakinumab (41%) and triamcinolone acetonide (42%); most were mild or moderate in severity. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that canakinumab 150 mg provides rapid and sustained pain relief in patients with acute gouty arthritis, and significantly reduces the risk of recurrent flares compared with triamcinolone acetonide

Impacts of cumulus convection parameterization on aqua-planet AGCM Simulations of tropical intraseasonal variability

Using an aqua-planet version of an atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM), the dependence of the tropical intraseasonal oscillation (ISO) simulation on the cumulus parameterization was examined with three different cumulus schemes-simplified Arakawa-Schubert, Kuo, and moist convective adjustment. The simulated intensity and propagation characteristics of the ISO depend significantly on the choice of cumulus scheme, in which more constrained convection scheme produces stronger intraseasonal variability in tropics. Mean thermodynamic state and the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) structure also vary among the simulations, demonstrating that the ISO variability and the mean states are mutually dependent. Following Tokioka et al. (1988), the simplified Arakawa-Schubert scheme was modified by posing a minimum entrainment rate constraint for cumuli, and the relationship between tropical intraseasonal variability and zonal mean rainfall structure was examined. More constraining deep convections, the tropical ISO variability becomes stronger with narrower ITCZ structures. Vertical and horizontal structures of eastward propagating waves appeared in the aqua-planet experiments were further investigated. The vertical structures of propagating waves are consistent with observations of the Madden-Julian Oscillation, but the vertical profile of ISO-modulated heating exhibits a middle-heavy structure and the simulated waves show relatively faster propagations compared with the observed. The horizontal composite structures show the boundary-layer moisture frictional convergence to the east, and divergence to the west of the convective region, and this suggests that a frictional Kelvin wave-CISK mechanism is important to these eastward propagating waves.close635