3,991 research outputs found
Detection of HIV-1 infection in dried blood spots from a 12-year-old ABO bedside test card
Background and Objectives: We tested dried blood from an ABO bedside test card which had been stored at room temperature for 12 years, to prove that a patient with HIV-1 infection had been infected by blood transfusion. Materials and Methods: Immunoblots for HIV-1 antibodies and threefold PCRs with half-nested primers for the HIV-1 integrase gene were done with eluates from the dried blood spots. Results: HIV-1 antibodies and HIV-1 DNA could be detected in the sample from one unit of blood, but not from the two other units or from the recipient before transfusion. Conclusion: Further studies should be done on the validity of stored dried blood as an alternative to the storage of frozen donor serum for several years for `look-back' studies
Malpractice by Veterinarians
The veterinarian\u27s liability is measured by the same basic standards applicable to physicians and surgeons. In both fields the technical nature of the malpractice action creates special problems. To determine the issue of liability the jury must identify both the historical facts and the standard of care. Attempting to resolve issues of medical fact may be difficult for a lay jury; such resolution demanding as it does, not merely an appraisal of the witnesses\u27 demeanor and character, but an evaluation of their stories in the context of the situation giving rise to the cause of action
The structure and kinematics of the the Galaxy thin gaseous disc outside the solar orbit
The rotation curve of the Galaxy is generally thought to be flat. However,
using radial velocities from interstellar molecular clouds, which is common in
rotation curve determination, seems to be incorrect and may lead to incorrectly
inferring that the rotation curve is flat indeed. Tests basing on photometric
and spectral observations of bright stars may be misleading. The rotation
tracers (OB stars) are affected by motions around local gravity centers and
pulsation effects seen in such early type objects. To get rid of the latter a
lot of observing work must be involved. We introduce a method of studying the
kinematics of the thin disc of our Galaxy outside the solar orbit in a way that
avoids these problems. We propose a test based on observations of interstellar
CaII H and K lines that determines both radial velocities and distances. We
implemented the test using stellar spectra of thin disc stars at galactic
longitudes of 135{\degr} and 180{\degr}. Using this method, we constructed the
rotation curve of the thin disc of the Galaxy. The test leads to the obvious
conclusion that the rotation curve of the thin gaseous galactic disk,
represented by the CaII lines, is Keplerian outside the solar orbit rather than
flat.Comment: 33 pages, 18 figures, accepted for publication in Publications of the
Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 2015. February
The PASTEL catalogue of stellar parameters
The PASTEL catalogue is an update of the [Fe/H] catalogue, published in 1997
and 2001. It is a bibliographical compilation of stellar atmospheric parameters
providing (Teff,logg,[Fe/H]) determinations obtained from the analysis of high
resolution, high signal-to-noise spectra, carried out with model atmospheres.
PASTEL also provides determinations of the one parameter Teff based on various
methods. It is aimed in the future to provide also homogenized atmospheric
parameters and elemental abundances, radial and rotational velocities. A web
interface has been created to query the catalogue on elaborated criteria.
PASTEL is also distributed through the CDS database and VizieR. To make it as
complete as possible, the main journals have been surveyed, as well as the CDS
database, to find relevant publications. The catalogue is regularly updated
with new determinations found in the literature. As of Febuary 2010, PASTEL
includes 30151 determinations of either Teff or (Teff,logg,[Fe/H]) for 16649
different stars corresponding to 865 bibliographical references. Nearly 6000
stars have a determination of the three parameters (Teff,logg,[Fe/H]) with a
high quality spectroscopic metallicity.Comment: 5 pages, accepted for publication in A&A. The PASTEL catalogue can be
queried at http://pastel.obs.u-bordeaux1.fr/ or
http://vizier.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/VizieR?-source=B/paste
Biomarker case-detection and prediction with potential for functional psychosis screening: development and validation of a model related to biochemistry, sensory neural timing and end organ performance
The Mental Health Biomarker Project aimed to discover case-predictive biomarkers for functional psychosis. In a retrospective, cross-sectional study, candidate marker results from 67 highly characterized symptomatic participants were compared with results from 67 gender- and age-matched controls. Urine samples were analyzed for catecholamines, their metabolites, and hydroxylpyrolline-2-one, an oxidative stress marker. Blood samples were analyzed for vitamin and trace element cofactors of enzymes in catecholamine synthesis and metabolism pathways. Cognitive, auditory, and visual processing measures were assessed using a simple 45-min, office-based procedure. Receiver operating curve (ROC) and odds ratio analysis discovered biomarkers for deficits in folate, vitamin D and B6 and elevations in free copper to zinc ratio, catecholamines and the oxidative stress marker. Deficits were discovered in peripheral visual and auditory end-organ function, intracerebral auditory and visual processing speed and dichotic listening performance. Fifteen ROC biomarker variables were divided into five functional domains. Through a repeated ROC process, individual ROC variables, followed by domains and finally the overall 15 set model, were dichotomously scored and tallied for abnormal results upon which it was found that ≥3 out of 5 abnormal domains achieved an area under the ROC curve of 0.952 with a sensitivity of 84% and a specificity of 90%. Six additional middle ear biomarkers in a 21 biomarker set increased sensitivity to 94%. Fivefold cross-validation yielded a mean sensitivity of 85% for the 15 biomarker set. Non-parametric regression analysis confirmed that ≥3 out of 5 abnormally scored domains predicted >50% risk of caseness while 4 abnormally scored domains predicted 88% risk of caseness; 100% diagnostic certainty was reached when all 5 domains were abnormally scored. These findings require validation in prospective cohorts and other mental illness states. They have potential for case-detection, -screening, -monitoring, and -targeted personalized management. The findings unmask unmet needs within the functional psychosis condition and suggest new biological understandings of psychosis phenomenology.Stephanie Fryar-Williams and Jörg E. Strobe
Thinking in action: Need for cognition predicts self-control together with action orientation
Need for Cognition describes relatively stable interindividual differences in cognitive motivation. Previous research has shown relations of Need for Cognition to Self-Control–a capacity that can be broadly defined as resistance to temptation–yet, the processes underlying this relation remain unclear. One explanation for the prediction of Self-Control by Need for Cognition can be an increased motivation to invest cognitive effort with higher levels of Need for Cognition. Another possible link could be that individual differences in the implementation of Self-Control intentions may play a moderating or mediating role for the predictive value of Need for Cognition. Such individual differences in the self-motivated initiation and maintenance of intentions are described by dispositional Action Orientation. Therefore, in the present study, Action Orientation was examined with regard to its possible role in explaining the relation of Need for Cognition to Self-Control. In a sample of 1209 young adults, Self-Control was assessed with two different self-report instruments and moderation and mediation models of the relationship between Need for Cognition, Action Orientation, and Self-Control were tested. While there was no evidence for a moderating role of Action Orientation in explaining the relation of Need for Cognition and Self-Control, Action Orientation was found to partly mediate this relation with a remaining direct effect of Need for Cognition on Self-Control. These results add to the conceptual understanding of Need for Cognition and demonstrate the relevance of trait variables to predict Self-Control
Observing the emergence of chaos in a many-particle quantum system
Accessing the connection between classical chaos and quantum many-body
systems has been a long-standing experimental challenge. Here, we investigate
the onset of chaos in periodically driven two-component Bose-Einstein
condensates, whose small quantum uncertainties allow for exploring the phase
space with high resolution. By analyzing the uncertainties of time-evolved
many-body states, we find signatures of elliptic and hyperbolic periodic orbits
generated according to the Poincar\'e-Birkhoff theorem, and the formation of a
chaotic region at increasing driving strengths. The employed fluctuation
analysis allows for probing the phase-space structure by use of only short-time
quantum dynamics.Comment: 5+2 pages, 4 figure
Modulation of the glyoxalase system in the aging model Podospora anserina : effects on growth and lifespan
The eukaryotic glyoxalase system consists of two enzymatic components, glyoxalase I (lactoylglutathionelyase) and glyoxalase II (hydroxyacylglutathione hydrolase). These enzymes are dedicated to the removal of toxic alpha-oxoaldehydes like methylglyoxal (MG). MG is formed as a by-product of glycolysis and MG toxicity results from its damaging capability leading to modifications of proteins, lipids and nucleic acids. An efficient removal of MG appears to be essential to ensure cellular functionality and viability. Here we study the effects of the genetic modulation of genes encoding the components of the glyoxalase system in the filamentous ascomycete and aging model Podospora anserina. Overexpression of PaGlo1 leads to a lifespan reduction on glucose rich medium, probably due to depletion of reduced glutathione. Deletion of PaGlo1 leads to hypersensitivity against MG added to the growth medium. A beneficial effect on lifespan is observed when both PaGlo1 and PaGlo2 are overexpressed and the corresponding strains are grown on media containing increased glucose concentrations. Notably, the double mutant has a ‘healthy’ phenotype without physiological impairments. Moreover, PaGlo1/PaGlo2_OEx strains are not long-lived on media containing standard glucose concentrations suggesting a tight correlation between the efficiency and capacity to remove MG within the cell, the level of available glucose and lifespan. Overall, our results identify the up-regulation of both components of the glyoxalase system as an effective intervention to increase lifespan in P. anserina. Key words: Podospora anserina, aging, lifespan, glycation, glucose, methylglyoxal, advanced glycation end product
On the appearance of hyperons in neutron stars
By employing a recently constructed hyperon-nucleon potential the equation of
state of \beta-equilibrated and charge neutral nucleonic matter is calculated.
The hyperon-nucleon potential is a low-momentum potential which is obtained
within a renormalization group framework. Based on the Hartree-Fock
approximation at zero temperature the densities at which hyperons appear in
neutron stars are estimated. For several different bare hyperon-nucleon
potentials and a wide range of nuclear matter parameters it is found that
hyperons in neutron stars are always present. These findings have profound
consequences for the mass and radius of neutron stars.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figures, RevTeX4; summary and conclusions are
strengthened, to appear in PR
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