Bose-Einstein Condensation in a Surface Micro Trap

Bose-Einstein condensation has been achieved in a magnetic surface micro trap with 4x10^5 87Rb atoms. The strongly anisotropic trapping potential is generated by a microstructure which consists of microfabricated linear copper conductors at a width ranging from 3 to 30 micrometer. After loading a high number of atoms from a pulsed thermal source directly into a magneto-optical trap (MOT) the magnetically stored atoms are transferred into the micro trap by adiabatic transformation of the trapping potential. The complete in vacuo trap design is compatible with ultrahigh vacuum below 2x10^(-11) mbar.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Implementing a Multi-Component School-based Obesity Prevention Intervention: A Qualitative Study

Objective: To explore barriers and facilitators to implementing and sustaining Healthy Choices, a three-year multi-component obesity prevention intervention implemented in middle schools in Massachusetts. Methods: Using purposive sampling, 56 in-depth interviews were conducted with middleschool employees representing different positions (administrators, teachers, food service personnel, and employees serving as intervention coordinators). Interviews were recorded and transcribed. Emergent themes were identified using thematic analyses. Results: State-mandated testing, budget limitations, and time constraints were viewed as implementation barriers while staff buy-in and technical assistance were seen as facilitating implementation. Respondents felt that intervention sustainability was dependent on external funding and expert assistance. Conclusions and Implications: Results confirm the importance of gaining faculty and staff support. Schools implementing large scale interventions should consider developing sustainable partnerships with organizations that can provide resources and ongoing training. Sustainability of complex interventions may depend on state-level strategies that provide resources for implementation and technical assistance

Identifying a Milk-Replacer and Weaning Strategy for Holstein Calves Using Automated Behavioral Measures of Lying and Environmental Enrichment Device Use

In dairy production, “weaning readiness” is often based on solid feed intake. The goal of this study was to determine weaning readiness using feed-intake, lying-behaviors, and the use of an environmental enrichment device (EED) in calves that underwent 1 of 4 milk-replacer and weaning protocols. Twenty-eight male Holstein calves (95 ± 2.6 lb BW at 1 d of age) were housed in individual pens and initially fed one type of milk replacer (25% crude protein (CP), 17% fat, 1.45 lb of dry matter (DM)) via nipplebuckets twice a day (AM and PM), and one type of textured calf starter (ad libitum; 20% CP and 37% starch). At age 3 days, calves were randomly assigned to one of the four nutrition-weaning strategies:1. MOD-STEP - 1.46 lb per day of milk replacer; 2-step weaned, initiated at age 6 weeks, completed 3 days later; 2. HI-STEP - 2.4 lb per day of milk replacer; 2-step weaned, initiated at age 5 weeks and completed 1 week later; 3. HI-LATE - 2.4 lb per day of milk replacer; 2-step weaned, initiated at age 7 weeks and completed 1 week later; and 4. HI-GRAD - 2.4 lb per day of milk replacer; 5-step weaned, initiated at age 6 week and completed 2 weeks later. Each calf’s pen had an EED, which included a dummy-nipple attached to a bottle and holder. A sensor and automated logger tracked each event (1 Hz) that the calf manipulated the EED (25 Hz sensitivity). Each calf was fitted with an accelerometer on the back leg to automatically measure lying behaviors. The device collected the y-axis (lie vs. stand) and z-axis (right or left percent during lying) of the calf every minute. For this experiment, 3-day sample periods were analyzed before and after weaning was initiated. In addition, the 3 days following weaning-completion were sampled. Feed intake among MOD-STEP calves increased by 1.0 ± 0.19 lb after the first bottle was removed (P ≤ 0.05), and then by 1.5 ± 0.19 SE lb after completion of weaning (P ≤ 0.05). The use of EED did not change among MOD-STEP calves (P \u3e 0.05), but after weaning, they increased their lying time, especially on their left side (P ≤ 0.05). These changes in lying-behaviors may indicate increased comfort and maturity of the rumen. On the contrary, calves in the HI-STEP treatment ate the least amount of feed overall (P \u3c 0.05), and they used the EED the most (P \u3e 0.05). Calves in the HI-STEP treatment showed reduced lying bouts after weaning (P ≤ 0.05), but no other lying-measures changed (P \u3e 0.05). The HI-LATE calves had similar feed intake and EED use compared to MOD-STEP calves. These findings suggest that weaning age needs to be more than 8 weeks for calves fed 2.4 lb of milk replacer per day. Gradual weaning may also improve feed intake and reduce EED use. When calves were gradually weaned starting at age 6 weeks and completed at age 8 weeks, they had the same amount of solid feed intake as HI-LATE calves. More research is needed to determine if increased feed intake and reduced EED use are also indicators that cross-sucking is less likely to occur when calves are grouped after weaning

An iterative block-shifting approach to retention time alignment that preserves the shape and area of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry peaks

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Metabolomics, petroleum and biodiesel chemistry, biomarker discovery, and other fields which rely on high-resolution profiling of complex chemical mixtures generate datasets which contain millions of detector intensity readings, each uniquely addressed along dimensions of <it>time </it>(<it>e.g.</it>, <it>retention time </it>of chemicals on a chromatographic column), a <it>spectral value </it>(<it>e.g., mass-to-charge ratio </it>of ions derived from chemicals), and the <it>analytical run number</it>. They also must rely on data preprocessing techniques. In particular, inter-run variance in the retention time of chemical species poses a significant hurdle that must be cleared before feature extraction, data reduction, and knowledge discovery can ensue. <it>Alignment methods</it>, for calibrating retention reportedly (and in our experience) can misalign matching chemicals, falsely align distinct ones, be unduly sensitive to chosen values of input parameters, and result in distortions of peak shape and area.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We present an iterative block-shifting approach for retention-time calibration that detects chromatographic features and qualifies them by retention time, spectrum, and the effect of their inclusion on the quality of alignment itself. Mass chromatograms are aligned pairwise to one selected as a reference. In tests using a 45-run GC-MS experiment, block-shifting reduced the absolute deviation of retention by greater than 30-fold. It compared favourably to COW and XCMS with respect to alignment, and was markedly superior in preservation of peak area.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Iterative block-shifting is an attractive method to align GC-MS mass chromatograms that is also generalizable to other two-dimensional techniques such as HPLC-MS.</p

Archival influenza virus genomes from Europe reveal genomic variability during the 1918 pandemic

The 1918 influenza pandemic was the deadliest respiratory pandemic of the 20th century and determined the genomic make-up of subsequent human influenza A viruses (IAV). Here, we analyze both the first 1918 IAV genomes from Europe and the first from samples prior to the autumn peak. 1918 IAV genomic diversity is consistent with a combination of local transmission and long-distance dispersal events. Comparison of genomes before and during the pandemic peak shows variation at two sites in the nucleoprotein gene associated with resistance to host antiviral response, pointing at a possible adaptation of 1918 IAV to humans. Finally, local molecular clock modeling suggests a pure pandemic descent of seasonal H1N1 IAV as an alternative to the hypothesis of origination through an intrasubtype reassortment.Peer Reviewe

Dendritic Core-Shell Macromolecules Soluble in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide

International audienceSupercritical carbon dioxide has found strong interest as a reaction medium recently.1,2 As an alternative to organic solvents, compressed carbon dioxide is toxicologically harmless, nonflammable, inexpensive, and environmentally benign.3 Its accessible critical temperature and pressure (Tc ) 31 °C, Pc ) 7.38 MPa, Fc ) 0.468 g cm-3)4 and the possibility of tuning the solvent-specific properties between the ones of liquid and gas are very attractive

A Dichotomy Result for Ramsey Quantifiers

Abstract. Ramsey quantifiers are a natural object of study not only for logic and computer science, but also for formal semantics of natu-ral language. Restricting attention to finite models leads to the natural question whether all Ramsey quantifiers are either polynomial-time com-putable or NP-hard, and whether we can give a natural characterization of the polynomial-time computable quantifiers. In this paper, we first show that there exist intermediate Ramsey quantifiers and then we prove a dichotomy result for a large and natural class of Ramsey quantifiers, based on a reasonable and widely-believed complexity assumption. We show that the polynomial-time computable quantifiers in this class are exactly the constant-log-bounded Ramsey quantifiers.

Metabolite Profiling of Alzheimer's Disease Cerebrospinal Fluid

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive loss of cognitive functions. Today the diagnosis of AD relies on clinical evaluations and is only late in the disease. Biomarkers for early detection of the underlying neuropathological changes are still lacking and the biochemical pathways leading to the disease are still not completely understood. The aim of this study was to identify the metabolic changes resulting from the disease phenotype by a thorough and systematic metabolite profiling approach. For this purpose CSF samples from 79 AD patients and 51 healthy controls were analyzed by gas and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS and LC-MS/MS) in conjunction with univariate and multivariate statistical analyses. In total 343 different analytes have been identified. Significant changes in the metabolite profile of AD patients compared to healthy controls have been identified. Increased cortisol levels seemed to be related to the progression of AD and have been detected in more severe forms of AD. Increased cysteine associated with decreased uridine was the best paired combination to identify light AD (MMSE>22) with specificity and sensitivity above 75%. In this group of patients, sensitivity and specificity above 80% were obtained for several combinations of three to five metabolites, including cortisol and various amino acids, in addition to cysteine and uridine

Rapid Etiological Classification of Meningitis by NMR Spectroscopy Based on Metabolite Profiles and Host Response

Bacterial meningitis is an acute disease with high mortality that is reduced by early treatment. Identification of the causative microorganism by culture is sensitive but slow. Large volumes of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) are required to maximise sensitivity and establish a provisional diagnosis. We have utilised nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to rapidly characterise the biochemical profile of CSF from normal rats and animals with pneumococcal or cryptococcal meningitis. Use of a miniaturised capillary NMR system overcame limitations caused by small CSF volumes and low metabolite concentrations. The analysis of the complex NMR spectroscopic data by a supervised statistical classification strategy included major, minor and unidentified metabolites. Reproducible spectral profiles were generated within less than three minutes, and revealed differences in the relative amounts of glucose, lactate, citrate, amino acid residues, acetate and polyols in the three groups. Contributions from microbial metabolism and inflammatory cells were evident. The computerised statistical classification strategy is based on both major metabolites and minor, partially unidentified metabolites. This data analysis proved highly specific for diagnosis (100% specificity in the final validation set), provided those with visible blood contamination were excluded from analysis; 6-8% of samples were classified as indeterminate. This proof of principle study suggests that a rapid etiologic diagnosis of meningitis is possible without prior culture. The method can be fully automated and avoids delays due to processing and selective identification of specific pathogens that are inherent in DNA-based techniques