Clique decompositions of multipartite graphs and completion of Latin squares

Our main result essentially reduces the problem of finding an edge-decomposition of a balanced r-partite graph of large minimum degree into r-cliques to the problem of finding a fractional r-clique decomposition or an approximate one. Together with very recent results of Bowditch and Dukes as well as Montgomery on fractional decompositions into triangles and cliques respectively, this gives the best known bounds on the minimum degree which ensures an edge-decomposition of an r-partite graph into r-cliques (subject to trivially necessary divisibility conditions). The case of triangles translates into the setting of partially completed Latin squares and more generally the case of r-cliques translates into the setting of partially completed mutually orthogonal Latin squares.Comment: 40 pages. To appear in Journal of Combinatorial Theory, Series

Arbitrary Orientations of Hamilton Cycles in Digraphs

Let $n$ be sufficiently large and suppose that $G$ is a digraph on $n$ vertices where every vertex has in- and outdegree at least $n/2$. We show that $G$ contains every orientation of a Hamilton cycle except, possibly, the antidirected one. The antidirected case was settled by DeBiasio and Molla, where the threshold is $n/2+1$. Our result is best possible and improves on an approximate result by H\"aggkvist and Thomason.Comment: Final version, to appear in SIAM Journal Discrete Mathematics (SIDMA

Investigation Of Emotional Numbing And Other Potential Risk Factors Of Chronic Ptsd In Veterans

The current study sought to examine potential risk factors contributing to the chronicity of posttraumatic stress disorder. Participants consisted of 70 EKU students as well as veterans from Eastern Kentucky. Students and veterans voluntarily took an online survey and students received credit in their summer psychology courses. The PTSD Checklist-DSM5 (PCL-5) was used to measure PTSD symptomology and severity, the Life Events Checklist was used to measure types and frequencies of trauma, the revised UCLA loneliness scale and the Six-Item Lubben Social Network scale was used to measure levels of isolation due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Brief Hypervigilance Scale was used to measure symptoms of hypervigilance, the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire was used to measure experiential avoidance, and the Big Five Inventory was used to measure personality traits. Results supported the hypotheses with significant correlations regarding emotional numbing, hypervigilance, avoidance, agreeableness, and neuroticism. Implications of these results are discussed

Case Report: The Complexities of Managing Medications and the Importance of Deprescribing Anticholinergics in Older Adults

Potentially inappropriate anticholinergic medications (including over-the-counter products), polypharmacy, and the existence of communication barriers among members of the interprofessional team frequently contribute to clinical complexity in older adults. We present the case of a frail 86-year old female from the perspective of a community pharmacist managing outpatient medications and transitions of care. CD’s past medical history is significant for dementia, multiple falls, recurrent urinary tract infections, depression, cardiac arrhythmia, macular degeneration, chronic pain, depression, and cerebrovascular disease

The dynamic switch mechanism that leads to activation of LRRK2 is embedded in the DFGψ motif in the kinase domain.

Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) is a large multidomain protein, and LRRK2 mutants are recognized risk factors for Parkinson's disease (PD). Although the precise mechanisms that control LRRK2 regulation and function are unclear, the importance of the kinase domain is strongly implicated, since 2 of the 5 most common familial LRRK2 mutations (G2019S and I2020T) are localized to the conserved DFGψ motif in the kinase core, and kinase inhibitors are under development. Combining the concept of regulatory (R) and catalytic (C) spines with kinetic and cell-based assays, we discovered a major regulatory mechanism embedded within the kinase domain and show that the DFG motif serves as a conformational switch that drives LRRK2 activation. LRRK2 is quite unusual in that the highly conserved Phe in the DFGψ motif, which is 1 of the 4 R-spine residues, is replaced with tyrosine (DY2018GI). A Y2018F mutation creates a hyperactive phenotype similar to the familial mutation G2019S. The hydroxyl moiety of Y2018 thus serves as a "brake" that stabilizes an inactive conformation; simply removing it destroys a key hydrogen-bonding node. Y2018F, like the pathogenic mutant I2020T, spontaneously forms LRRK2-decorated microtubules in cells, while the wild type and G2019S require kinase inhibitors to form filaments. We also explored 3 different mechanisms that create kinase-dead pseudokinases, including D2017A, which further emphasizes the highly synergistic role of key hydrophobic and hydrophilic/charged residues in the assembly of active LRRK2. We thus hypothesize that LRRK2 harbors a classical protein kinase switch mechanism that drives the dynamic activation of full-length LRRK2

Health effects of dietary phospholipids

Beneficial effects of dietary phospholipids (PLs) have been mentioned since the early 1900's in relation to different illnesses and symptoms, e.g. coronary heart disease, inflammation or cancer. This article gives a summary of the most common therapeutic uses of dietary PLs to provide an overview of their approved and proposed benefits; and to identify further investigational needs

Three-graviton scattering and recoil effects in M-atrix theory

We study the scattering of three gravitons in M-atrix theory at finite N. With a specific choice of the background we obtain the complete result up to two loops. The contributions from three-body forces agree with the ones presented in recent papers. We extend the calculation and evaluate the two-body exchanges as well. Such terms, somewhat difficult to isolate and compute, had been neglected so far in the existing literature. We show that the result we have obtained from M-atrix theory precisely matches the result from one-particle reducible tree diagrams in eleven-dimensional supergravity .Comment: corrected reference to the second paper in ref [6] in which recoil effects were considered and comparative comments added. latex, 22 page

Development of freeze-drying cycles for pharmaceutical products using a micro freeze-dryer

This paper aims to investigate how a small-scale freeze-dryer can be used for process design. The system encompasses a temperature controlled metallic ring that surrounds a small batch of vials, in contact with the external vials through removable thermal conductors. The temperature of the ring can be modified to keep a constant difference with the temperature of one or more vials of the batch. In this paper an extensive validation of the system is given, considering 10% w/w sucrose and 5% w/w mannitol solutions, processed in different types of vials (6 R and 20 R) and in different operating conditions. The micro freeze-dryer was also shown to be able to provide accurate estimates of the overall heat transfer coefficient from the shelf to the product in the vials (Kv) and of the resistance of the dried cake to vapor flux (Rp): both values appeared to be very close to those obtained for the same case studies in a pilot-scale unit. Finally, the use of the micro freeze-dryer to control product temperature and drying time values to simulate a pilot-scale unit was addressed, thus demonstrating the adequacy of this system for process scale-up