Flow Phase Diagram for the Helium Superfluids

The flow phase diagram for He II and $^3$He-B is established and discussed based on available experimental data and the theory of Volovik [JETP Letters {\bf{78}} (2003) 553]. The effective temperature - dependent but scale - independent Reynolds number $Re_{eff}=1/q=(1+\alpha')/\alpha$, where $\alpha$ and $\alpha'$ are the mutual friction parameters and the superfluid Reynolds number characterizing the circulation of the superfluid component in units of the circulation quantum are used as the dynamic parameters. In particular, the flow diagram allows identification of experimentally observed turbulent states I and II in counterflowing He II with the turbulent regimes suggested by Volovik.Comment: 2 figure

The inhibitor of differentiation-2 promotes synovial fibroblast-dependent osteoclastogenesis in rheumatoid arthritis

Objectives: Despite indirect evidence suggesting that low oxygen levels might occur in the rheumatoid arthritis (RA) synovium, direct proof of the presence of hypoxia in the arthritic synovium as well as the relevance of low oxygen levels for joint destruction is lacking. The aim of this study was to analyse the distribution of hypoxia in arthritic joints and to evaluate the molecular effects of the hypoxic environment on the phenotype of RA synovial fibroblasts (SF).<p></p> Methods: The hypoxia marker EF-5 was applied in mice with the collagen-induced arthritis (CIA). Expression profile analysis with hypoxic and normoxic SF was performed using subtractive hybridization and microarray. The expression of the inhibitor of differentiation-2 (Id-2), CD68 (macrophage marker) and prolyl hydroxylase (fibroblast marker) was evaluated by immunohistochemistry on synovial tissues from RA, osteoarthritis patients and CIA mice. To evaluate the function of Id-2 in SF, cells were transfected with the pcDNA3.1 containing cDNA for Id-2 or Id-2-specific siRNA or mock controls. The expression of Id-2 and genes regulated by Id-2 in transfected SF was evaluated by SYBR Green real-time PCR and western blot. SF stably transfected with Id-2 were cocultured with bone marrow cells in a transwell system. The expression of the receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL) and osteoprotegerin were measured by real-time PCR. The development of osteoclasts was evaluated by visualization of the activity of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase.<p></p> Results: Using the hypoxia marker EF-5 we found that in mice with CIA, synovial cells invading bone and cartilage are exposed to reduced oxygen levels. Expression profile studies identified Id-2 as being upregulated under low oxygen conditions. In addition, IL-1beta stimulation increased the expression of Id-2 in these cells. Histological studies of RA synovium and CIA synovium showed strong expression of Id-2 in SF at sites of synovial invasion into bone. Overproduction of Id-2 in SF by stable transfection triggered the expression of several genes promoting osteoclastogenesis, including BMP-2, PTHrP, Wnt5a and vascular endothelial growth factor. Conversely, the suppression of endogenous Id-2 led to the downregulation of the expression of these molecules. Consistent with these findings coculture of Id-2 transfected SF with bone marrow cells increased the expression of the osteoclast differentiation factor RANKL, and decreased the expression of the osteoclast inhibitory factor osteoprotegerin in bone marrow stromal cells, which was followed by an increase in the number of osteoclasts.<p></p> Conclusion: Taken together, our data provide evidence that hypoxia is present at sites of synovial invasion in RA and that Id-2 induced by hypoxia contributes at these sites to joint destruction by promoting SF-dependent osteoclastogenesis

On the Complexity of Query Result Diversification

Query result diversification is a bi-criteria optimization problem for ranking query results. Given a database D, a query Q and a positive integer k, it is to find a set of k tuples from Q(D) such that the tuples are as relevant as possible to the query, and at the same time, as diverse as possible to each other. Subsets of Q(D) are ranked by an objective function defined in terms of relevance and diversity. Query result diversification has found a variety of applications in databases, information retrieval and operations research. This paper studies the complexity of result diversification for relational queries. We identify three problems in connection with query result diversification, to determine whether there exists a set of k tuples that is ranked above a bound with respect to relevance and diversity, to assess the rank of a given k-element set, and to count how many k-element sets are ranked above a given bound. We study these problems for a variety of query languages and for three objective functions. We establish the upper and lower bounds of these problems, all matching, for both combined complexity and data complexity. We also investigate several special settings of these problems, identifying tractable cases. 1

The Complexity of Computing Minimal Unidirectional Covering Sets

Given a binary dominance relation on a set of alternatives, a common thread in the social sciences is to identify subsets of alternatives that satisfy certain notions of stability. Examples can be found in areas as diverse as voting theory, game theory, and argumentation theory. Brandt and Fischer [BF08] proved that it is NP-hard to decide whether an alternative is contained in some inclusion-minimal upward or downward covering set. For both problems, we raise this lower bound to the Theta_{2}^{p} level of the polynomial hierarchy and provide a Sigma_{2}^{p} upper bound. Relatedly, we show that a variety of other natural problems regarding minimal or minimum-size covering sets are hard or complete for either of NP, coNP, and Theta_{2}^{p}. An important consequence of our results is that neither minimal upward nor minimal downward covering sets (even when guaranteed to exist) can be computed in polynomial time unless P=NP. This sharply contrasts with Brandt and Fischer's result that minimal bidirectional covering sets (i.e., sets that are both minimal upward and minimal downward covering sets) are polynomial-time computable.Comment: 27 pages, 7 figure

Modeling Human Cancer-induced Cachexia

Talbert et al. developed an inducible mouse model of cachexia caused by pancreatic cancer. This model exhibits features of the human condition, including the progressive depletion of muscle and adipose tissue associated with tumor progression

Psychological Outcomes of Living Liver Donors From a Multicenter Prospective Study: Results From the Adult‐to‐Adult Living Donor Liver Transplantation Cohort Study2 (A2ALL‐2)

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136736/1/ajt14134_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136736/2/ajt14134.pd

Social and Financial Outcomes of Living Liver Donation: A Prospective Investigation Within the Adult‐to‐Adult Living Donor Liver Transplantation Cohort Study 2 (A2ALL‐2)

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136356/1/ajt14055_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136356/2/ajt14055.pd

Multinational evidence-based recommendations on how to investigate and follow-up undifferentiated peripheral inflammatory arthritis: integrating systematic literature research and expert opinion of a broad international panel of rheumatologists in the 3E Initiative

Methods: 697 rheumatologists from 17 countries participated in the 3E (Evidence, Expertise, Exchange) Initiative of 2008–9 consisting of three separate rounds of discussions and modified Delphi votes. In the first round 10 clinical questions were selected. A bibliographic team systematically searched Medline, Embase, the Cochrane Library and ACR/EULAR 2007–2008 meeting abstracts. Relevant articles were reviewed for quality assessment, data extraction and synthesis. In the second round each country elaborated a set of national recommendations. Finally, multinational recommendations were formulated and agreement among the participants and the potential impact on their clinical practice was assessed. Results: A total of 39 756 references were identified, of which 250 were systematically reviewed. Ten multinational key recommendations about the investigation and follow-up of UPIA were formulated. One recommendation addressed differential diagnosis and investigations prior to establishing the operational diagnosis of UPIA, seven recommendations related to the diagnostic and prognostic value of clinical and laboratory assessments in established UPIA (history and physical examination, acute phase reactants, autoantibodies, radiographs, MRI and ultrasound, genetic markers and synovial biopsy), one recommendation highlighted predictors of persistence (chronicity) and the final recommendation addressed monitoring of clinical disease activity in UPIA. Conclusions: Ten recommendations on how to investigate and follow-up UPIA in the clinical setting were developed. They are evidence-based and supported by a large panel of rheumatologists, thus enhancing their validity and practical use

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