Slow electron holes in the Earth's magnetosheath

We present a statistical analysis of electrostatic solitary waves observed aboard Magnetospheric Multiscale spacecraft in the Earth's magnetosheath. Applying single-spacecraft interferometry to several hundred solitary waves collected in about two minute intervals, we show that almost all of them have the electrostatic potential of positive polarity and propagate quasi-parallel to the local magnetic field with plasma frame velocities of the order of 100 km/s. The solitary waves have typical parallel half-widths from 10 to 100 m that is between 1 and 10 Debye lengths and typical amplitudes of the electrostatic potential from 10 to 200 mV that is between 0.01 and 1\% of local electron temperature. The solitary waves are associated with quasi-Maxwellian ion velocity distribution functions, and their plasma frame velocities are comparable with ion thermal speed and well below electron thermal speed. We argue that the solitary waves of positive polarity are slow electron holes and estimate the time scale of their acceleration, which occurs due to interaction with ions, to be of the order of one second. The observation of slow electron holes indicates that their lifetime was shorter than the acceleration time scale. We argue that multi-spacecraft interferometry applied previously to these solitary waves is not applicable because of their too-short spatial scales. The source of the slow electron holes and the role in electron-ion energy exchange remain to be established

Synergistic Antibacterial Effects of Metallic Nanoparticle Combinations

© The Author(s) 2019.Metallic nanoparticles have unique antimicrobial properties that make them suitable for use within medical and pharmaceutical devices to prevent the spread of infection in healthcare. The use of nanoparticles in healthcare is on the increase with silver being used in many devices. However, not all metallic nanoparticles can target and kill all disease-causing bacteria. To overcome this, a combination of several different metallic nanoparticles were used in this study to compare effects of multiple metallic nanoparticles when in combination than when used singly, as single elemental nanoparticles (SENPs), against two common hospital acquired pathogens (Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas. aeruginosa). Flow cytometry LIVE/DEAD assay was used to determine rates of cell death within a bacterial population when exposed to the nanoparticles. Results were analysed using linear models to compare effectiveness of three different metallic nanoparticles, tungsten carbide (WC), silver (Ag) and copper (Cu), in combination and separately. Results show that when the nanoparticles are placed in combination (NPCs), antimicrobial effects significantly increase than when compared with SENPs (P < 0.01). This study demonstrates that certain metallic nanoparticles can be used in combination to improve the antimicrobial efficiency in destroying morphologically distinct pathogens within the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry.Peer reviewe

Application of Hazard Functions to Investigate Recurrence After Curative-Intent Resection for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background: Defining patterns and risk of recurrence can help inform surveillance strategies and patient counselling. We sought to characterize peak hazard rates (pHR) and peak time of recurrence among patients who underwent resection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: 1434 patients who underwent curative-intent resection of HCC were identified from a multi-institutional database. Hazard, patterns, and peak rates of recurrence were characterized. Results: The overall hazard of recurrence peaked at 2.4 months (pHR: 0.0384), yet varied markedly. The incidence of recurrence increased with Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage 0 (29%), A (54%), and B (64%). While the hazard function curve for BCLC 0 patients was relatively flat (pHR: 400 ng/mL: 36.3%) and Tumor Burden Score (low: 73.7% vs. medium: 50.6% vs. high: 24.2%) (both p < 0.001). Conclusion: Recurrence hazard rates for HCC varied substantially relative to both time and intensity/peak rates. TBS and AFP markedly impacted patterns of hazard risk of recurrence.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Circulating extracellular RNAs, myocardial remodeling, and heart failure in patients with acute coronary syndrome

Background: Given high on-treatment mortality in heart failure (HF), identifying molecular pathways that underlie adverse cardiac remodeling may offer novel biomarkers and therapeutic avenues. Circulating extracellular RNAs (ex-RNAs) regulate important biological processes and are emerging as biomarkers of disease, but less is known about their role in the acute setting, particularly in the setting of HF. Methods: We examined the ex-RNA profiles of 296 acute coronary syndrome (ACS) survivors enrolled in the Transitions, Risks, and Actions in Coronary Events Center for Outcomes Research and Education Cohort. We measured 374 ex-RNAs selected a priori, based on previous findings from a large population study. We employed a two-step, mechanism-driven approach to identify ex-RNAs associated with echocardiographic phenotypes (left ventricular [LV] ejection fraction, LV mass, LV end-diastolic volume, left atrial [LA] dimension, and LA volume index) then tested relations of these ex-RNAs with prevalent HF (N=31, 10.5%). We performed further bioinformatics analysis of microRNA (miRNAs) predicted targets\u27 genes ontology categories and molecular pathways. Results: We identified 44 ex-RNAs associated with at least one echocardiographic phenotype associated with HF. Of these 44 exRNAs, miR-29-3p, miR-584-5p, and miR-1247-5p were also associated with prevalent HF. The three microRNAs were implicated in the regulation p53 and transforming growth factor-beta signaling pathways and predicted to be involved in cardiac fibrosis and cell death; miRNA predicted targets were enriched in gene ontology categories including several involving the extracellular matrix and cellular differentiation. Conclusions: Among ACS survivors, we observed that miR-29-3p, miR-584-5p, and miR-1247-5p were associated with both echocardiographic markers of cardiac remodeling and prevalent HF. Relevance for Patients: miR-29c-3p, miR-584-5p, and miR-1247-5p were associated with echocardiographic phenotypes and prevalent HF and are potential biomarkers for adverse cardiac remodeling in HF

Measurement of the cross-section and charge asymmetry of WW bosons produced in proton-proton collisions at s=8\sqrt{s}=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents measurements of the $W^+ \rightarrow \mu^+\nu$ and $W^- \rightarrow \mu^-\nu$ cross-sections and the associated charge asymmetry as a function of the absolute pseudorapidity of the decay muon. The data were collected in proton--proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC and correspond to a total integrated luminosity of 20.2~\mbox{fb^{-1}}. The precision of the cross-section measurements varies between 0.8% to 1.5% as a function of the pseudorapidity, excluding the 1.9% uncertainty on the integrated luminosity. The charge asymmetry is measured with an uncertainty between 0.002 and 0.003. The results are compared with predictions based on next-to-next-to-leading-order calculations with various parton distribution functions and have the sensitivity to discriminate between them.Comment: 38 pages in total, author list starting page 22, 5 figures, 4 tables, submitted to EPJC. All figures including auxiliary figures are available at https://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/STDM-2017-13

Search for chargino-neutralino production with mass splittings near the electroweak scale in three-lepton final states in √s=13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for supersymmetry through the pair production of electroweakinos with mass splittings near the electroweak scale and decaying via on-shell W and Z bosons is presented for a three-lepton final state. The analyzed proton-proton collision data taken at a center-of-mass energy of √s=13  TeV were collected between 2015 and 2018 by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139  fb−1. A search, emulating the recursive jigsaw reconstruction technique with easily reproducible laboratory-frame variables, is performed. The two excesses observed in the 2015–2016 data recursive jigsaw analysis in the low-mass three-lepton phase space are reproduced. Results with the full data set are in agreement with the Standard Model expectations. They are interpreted to set exclusion limits at the 95% confidence level on simplified models of chargino-neutralino pair production for masses up to 345 GeV

Neuropathology of 16p13.11 Deletion in Epilepsy

16p13.11 genomic copy number variants are implicated in several neuropsychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia, autism, mental retardation, ADHD and epilepsy. The mechanisms leading to the diverse clinical manifestations of deletions and duplications at this locus are unknown. Most studies favour NDE1 as the leading disease-causing candidate gene at 16p13.11. In epilepsy at least, the deletion does not appear to unmask recessive-acting mutations in NDE1, with haploinsufficiency and genetic modifiers being prime candidate disease mechanisms. NDE1 encodes a protein critical to cell positioning during cortical development. As a first step, it is important to determine whether 16p13.11 copy number change translates to detectable brain structural alteration. We undertook detailed neuropathology on surgically resected brain tissue of two patients with intractable mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE), who had the same heterozygous NDE1-containing 800 kb 16p13.11 deletion, using routine histological stains and immunohistochemical markers against a range of layer-specific, white matter, neural precursor and migratory cell proteins, and NDE1 itself. Surgical temporal lobectomy samples from a MTLE case known not to have a deletion in NDE1 and three non-epilepsy cases were included as disease controls. We found that apart from a 3 mm hamartia in the temporal cortex of one MTLE case with NDE1 deletion and known hippocampal sclerosis in the other case, cortical lamination and cytoarchitecture were normal, with no differences between cases with deletion and disease controls. How 16p13.11 copy changes lead to a variety of brain diseases remains unclear, but at least in epilepsy, it would not seem to be through structural abnormality or dyslamination as judged by microscopy or immunohistochemistry. The need to integrate additional data with genetic findings to determine their significance will become more pressing as genetic technologies generate increasingly rich datasets. Detailed examination of brain tissue, where available, will be an important part of this process in neurogenetic disease specifically

Evaluation of classical precipitation descriptions for γ′′(Ni3Nb−D022) in Ni-base superalloys

The growth/coarsening kinetics of γ′′(Ni3Nb−D022) precipitates have been found by numerous researchers to show an apparent correspondence with the classical (Ostwald ripening) equation outlined by Lifshitz, Slyozov and (separately) Wagner for a diffusion controlled regime. Nevertheless, a significant disparity between the actual precipitate size distribution shape and that predicted by LSW is frequently observed in the interpretation of these results, the origin of which is unclear. Analysis of the literature indicates one likely cause for this deviation from LSW for γ′′ precipitates is the “encounter” phenomenon described by Davies et al. (Acta Metall 28(2):179–189, 1980) that is associated with secondary phases comprising a high volume fraction. Consequently, the distributions of both γ′′ precipitates described in the literature (Alloy 718) and measured in this research in Alloy 625 are analysed through employing the Lifshitz–Slyozov-Encounter-Modified (LSEM) formulation (created by Davies et al.). The results of the LSEM analysis show good far better agreement than LSW with experimental distributions after the application of a necessary correction for what is termed in this research as “directional encounter”. Moreover, the activation energy for γ′′ coarsening in Alloy 625 shows conformity with literature data once the effect of heterogeneous (on dislocations) precipitate nucleation at higher temperatures is accounted for