Effect of quantum fluctuations on structural phase transitions in SrTiO_3 and BaTiO_3

Using path-integral Monte Carol simulations and an ab initio effective Hamiltonian, we study the effects of quantum fluctuations on structural phase transitions in the cubic perovskite compounds SrTiO3 and BaTiO3. We find quantum fluctuations affect ferroelectric (FE) transitions more strongly than antiferrodistortive (AFD) ones, even though the effective mass of a single FE local mode is larger. For SrTiO3 we find that the quantum fluctuations suppress the FE transition completely, and reduce the AFD transition temperature from 130K to 110K. For BaTiO3, quantum fluctuations do not affect the order of the transition, but do reduce the transition temperature by 35-50 K. The implications of the calculations are discussed.Comment: Revtex (preprint style, 14 pages) + 2 postscript figures. A version in two-column article style with embedded figures is available at http://electron.rutgers.edu/~dhv/preprints/index.html#wz_qs

A plasma inhibitor of the renin-antirenin reaction and the in vitro generation of angiotensin I

In the course of studies designed to develop a radioimmunoassay system for the detection of renin, we have identified in human plasma a potent inhibitor that interferes with the renin-antirenin reaction. Utilizing gel filtration, this renin-antirenin inhibitory activity was found to have the same molecular size as renin substrate. However, it could be separated from renin substrate by ion-exchange chromatography. When fractions containing this activity were tested in an in vitro system containing renin and renin substrate, they were found to inhibit the generation of angiotensin I.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/22129/1/0000557.pd

How a slow-ovipositing parasitoid can succed as a biological control agent of the invasive mealybug Phenacoccus peruvianus: implications for future classical and conservation biological control programs

[EN] Phenaccocus peruvianus Granara de Willink (Hemiptera: pseudococcidae) is an invasive mealybug that has become a pest of ornamental plants in Europe and has recently been detected in California, USA. In this work, we studied the tritrophic interaction among this mealybug, its main parasitoid Acerophagus n. sp. near coccois (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) and tending ants to disclose the success of this parasitoid controlling P. peruvianus. Acerophagus n. sp. near coccois accepted mealybugs for parasitism regardless of their size but did not hostfeed. We recorded three active defenses of P. peruvianus. Host handling time-consuming process that required more than 30 min. Tending ants, Lasius grandis (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), reduced the time spent by parasitoids in a patch and disrupted oviposition attempts. The low numbers of ants tending mealybugs colonies in Spain and France could explain why this parasitoid, with a long handling time, is an efficient biological control agent for P. peruvianus.Beltrà Ivars, A.; Soto Sánchez, AI.; Tena Barreda, A. (2015). How a slow-ovipositing parasitoid can succed as a biological control agent of the invasive mealybug Phenacoccus peruvianus: implications for future classical and conservation biological control programs. BioControl. 60(4):473-484. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-015-9663-6S473484604Arakelian G (2013) Bougainvillea mealybug (Phenacoccus peruvianus). Factsheet 2013. County of Los Angeles. Department of agricultural commissioner/weights and measures, USABartlett BR (1961) The influence of ants upon parasites, predators, and scale insects. Ann Entomol Soc Am 54:543–551Bartlett BR (1978) Pseudococcidae. In: Clausen CP (ed) Introduced parasites and predators of arthropod pests and weeds: a world review, 1st edn. Agricultural Research Service USDA, Washington, USA, pp 137–170Barzman MS, Daane KM (2001) Host-handling behaviors in parasitoids of black scale, Saissetia oleae (Homoptera: Coccidae): a case for ant-mediated evolution. J Anim Ecol 70:237–247Beltrà A, Soto A, Germain JF, Matile-Ferrero D, Mazzeo G, Pellizzari G, Russo A, Franco JC, Williams DJ (2010) The Bougainvillea mealybug Phenacoccus peruvianus, a rapid invader from South America to Europe. Entomol Hell 19:137–143Beltrà A, Garcia-Marí F, Soto A (2013a) Seasonal phenology, spatial distribution, and sampling plan for the invasive mealybug Phenacoccus peruvianus (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae). J Econ Entomol 106:1486–1494Beltrà A, Tena A, Soto A (2013b) Fortuitous biological control of the invasive mealybug Phenacoccus peruvianus in Southern Europe. 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UC Pub Entomol 3:253–288Daane KM, Barzman MS, Caltagirone LE, Hagen KS (2000) Metaphycus anneckei and Metaphycus hageni: two discrete species parasitic on black scale, Saissetia oleae. BioControl 45:269–284Daane KM, Bentley WJ, Walton VM, Malakar-Kuenen R, Millar JC, Ingels CA, Weber EA, Gispert C (2006) New controls investigated for vine mealybug. Calif Agric 60:31–38Daane KM, Sime KR, Fallon J, Cooper ML (2007) Impacts of Argentine ants on mealybugs and their natural enemies in California’s coastal vineyards. Ecol Entomol 32:583–596De Farias AM, Hopper KR (1999) Oviposition behavior of Aphelinus asychis (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) and Aphidius matricariae (Hymenoptera: Aphidiidae) and defense behavior of their host Diuraphis noxia (Homoptera: Aphididae). Environ Entomol 28:858–862Dorn B, Mattiacci L, Bellotti AC, Dorn S (2001) Host specificity and comparative foraging behavior of Aenasius vexans and Acerophagus coccois, two endo-parasitoids of the cassava mealybug. 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(Hymenoptera: Formicidae) on the biological control of Dysmicoccus brevipes (Cockerell) (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae). Biol Control 15:145–152Gross P (1993) Insect behavioral and morphological defenses against parasitoids. Annu Rev Entomol 38:251–273Gullan PJ (1997) Relationships with ants. In: Ben-Dov Y, Hodgson CJ (eds) Soft scale insects—their biology natural enemies and control, 1st edn. Elsevier, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, pp 351–373Gullan PJ, Kosztarab M (1997) Adaptations in scale insects. Annu Rev Entomol 42:23–50Hcidari M, Jahan M (2000) A study of ovipositional behavior of Anagyrus pseudococci a parasitoid of mealybugs. J Agric Sci Technol 2:49–53Honda JY, Luck RF (1995) Scale morphology effects on feeding behavior and biological control potential of Rhyzobius lophanthae (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). Ann Entomol Soc Am 88:441–450Joyce AL, Hoddle MS, Bellows TS, Gonzalez D (2001) Oviposition behavior of Coccidoxenoides peregrinus, a parasitoid of Planococcus ficus. 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Which medical error to disclose to patients and by whom? Public preference and perceptions of norm and current practice

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Disclosure of near miss medical error (ME) and who should disclose ME to patients continue to be controversial. Further, available recommendations on disclosure of ME have emerged largely in Western culture; their suitability to Islamic/Arabic culture is not known.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We surveyed 902 individuals attending the outpatient's clinics of a tertiary care hospital in Saudi Arabia. Personal preference and perceptions of norm and current practice regarding which ME to be disclosed (5 options: don't disclose; disclose if associated with major, moderate, or minor harm; disclose near miss) and by whom (6 options: any employee, any physician, at-fault-physician, manager of at-fault-physician, medical director, or chief executive director) were explored.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Mean (SD) age of respondents was 33.9 (10) year, 47% were males, 90% Saudis, 37% patients, 49% employed, and 61% with college or higher education. The percentage (95% confidence interval) of respondents who preferred to be informed of harmful ME, of near miss ME, or by at-fault physician were 60.0% (56.8 to 63.2), 35.5% (32.4 to 38.6), and 59.7% (56.5 to 63.0), respectively. Respectively, 68.2% (65.2 to 71.2) and 17.3% (14.7 to 19.8) believed that as currently practiced, harmful ME and near miss ME are disclosed, and 34.0% (30.7 to 37.4) that ME are disclosed by at-fault-physician. Distributions of perception of norm and preference were similar but significantly different from the distribution of perception of current practice (P < 0.001). In a forward stepwise regression analysis, older age, female gender, and being healthy predicted preference of disclosure of near miss ME, while younger age and male gender predicted preference of no-disclosure of ME. Female gender also predicted preferring disclosure by the at-fault-physician.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We conclude that: 1) there is a considerable diversity in preferences and perceptions of norm and current practice among respondents regarding which ME to be disclosed and by whom, 2) Distributions of preference and perception of norm were similar but significantly different from the distribution of perception of current practice, 3) most respondents preferred to be informed of ME and by at-fault physician, and 4) one third of respondents preferred to be informed of near-miss ME, with a higher percentage among females, older, and healthy individuals.</p

Cell-Cell Transmission Enables HIV-1 to Evade Inhibition by Potent CD4bs Directed Antibodies

HIV is known to spread efficiently both in a cell-free state and from cell to cell, however the relative importance of the cell-cell transmission mode in natural infection has not yet been resolved. Likewise to what extent cell-cell transmission is vulnerable to inhibition by neutralizing antibodies and entry inhibitors remains to be determined. Here we report on neutralizing antibody activity during cell-cell transmission using specifically tailored experimental strategies which enable unambiguous discrimination between the two transmission routes. We demonstrate that the activity of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and entry inhibitors during cell-cell transmission varies depending on their mode of action. While gp41 directed agents remain active, CD4 binding site (CD4bs) directed inhibitors, including the potent neutralizing mAb VRC01, dramatically lose potency during cell-cell transmission. This implies that CD4bs mAbs act preferentially through blocking free virus transmission, while still allowing HIV to spread through cell-cell contacts. Thus providing a plausible explanation for how HIV maintains infectivity and rapidly escapes potent and broadly active CD4bs directed antibody responses in vivo

PII: 0038-1098(72)90883-6

The linewidths of the paramagnetic resonance lines of Fe 1~,Fe3ã nd Mn2 in MgO decrease as a function of increasing temperature in the helium range. This decrease appears to result from a motional narrowing of the contribution to the linewidth from dipolar interaction with Fe2~ions as the Fe2&apos; relaxation rate becomes comparable with the frequency width of the line studied

Evidence for a critical end point in [111]-stressed RbCaF3

In RbCaF3, a [111] stress σ > σE induces an Ising line separating the pseudo-cubic from the trigonal phase which impinges at finite angle on a first-order boundary to the tetragonal phase. Thus, a critical end point (CEP) occurs sited at σE = 0.10 ± 0.01 kbar and TE = 196.3 ± 0.1 K. The discontinuity jump of the order parameter along this boundary is monotonous across the CEP. The Paramagnetic Resonance of the Gd3+-O2- centre was used as a symmetry probe to establish the phase diagram.Dans RbCaF3, pour une contrainte σ > σE appliquée suivant [111], une ligne de transitions de type Ising sépare une phase pseudo-cubique d'une phase trigonale. Elle rencontre sous un angle fini une ligne de transitions de premier ordre qui borde une phase pseudo-tétragonale. On localise ainsi un point critique terminal à σE= 0,10 ± 0,01 kbar et TE = 196,3 ± 0,1 K. Le saut du paramètre d'ordre est monotone le long de la ligne de premier ordre. Pour établir le diagramme de phase on a utilisé la Résonance Paramagnétique électronique du centre Gd3+-O2-

The temperature dependence of the linewidth of iron group ions in MgO

AbstractThe linewidths of the paramagnetic resonance lines of Fe1+, Fe3+ and Mn2+ in MgO decrease as a function of increasing temperature in the helium range. This decrease appears to result from a motional narrowing of the contribution to the linewidth from dipolar interaction with Fe2+ ions as the Fe2+ relaxation rate becomes comparable with the frequency width of the line studied