Strong Coupling Superconductivity in the Vicinity of the Structural Quantum Critical Point in (CaxSr1-x)3Rh4Sn13

The family of the superconducting quasiskutterudites (CaxSr1?x)3Rh4Sn13 features a structural quantum critical point at xc=0.9, around which a dome-shaped variation of the superconducting transition temperature Tc is found. Using specific heat, we probe the normal and the superconducting states of the entire series straddling the quantum critical point. Our analysis indicates a significant lowering of the effective Debye temperature on approaching xc, which we interpret as a result of phonon softening accompanying the structural instability. Furthermore, a remarkably large enhancement of 2?/kBTc and ?C/?Tc beyond the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer values is found in the vicinity of the structural quantum critical point. The phase diagram of (CaxSr1?x)3Rh4Sn13 thus provides a model system to study the interplay between structural quantum criticality and strong electron-phonon coupling superconductivity

Associations between physical activity and BMI, body fatness, and visceral adiposity in overweight or obese Latino and non-Latino adults.

Background/objectivesAlthough several studies have reported associations between moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA), body fatness and visceral adipose tissue (VAT), the extent to which associations differ among Latinos and non-Latinos remains unclear. This study evaluated the associations between body composition and MVPA in Latino and non-Latino adults.Subjects/methodsAn exploratory, cross-sectional analysis was conducted using baseline data collected from 298 overweight adults enrolled in a 12-month randomized controlled trial that tested the efficacy of text messaging to improve weight loss. MVPA, body fatness and VAT were assessed by waist-worn accelerometry, dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and DXA-derived software (GE CoreScan GE, Madison, WI, USA), respectively. Participants with <5 days of accelerometry data or missing DXA data were excluded; 236 participants had complete data. Multivariable linear regression assessed associations between body composition and MVPA per day, defined as time in MVPA, bouts of MVPA (time per bout ⩾10 min), non-bouts of MVPA (time per bout <10 min) and meeting the 150-min MVPA guideline. The modifying influence of ethnicity was modeled with a multiplicative interaction term.ResultsThe interaction between ethnicity and MVPA in predicting percent body fat was significant (P=0.01, 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.58, 4.43)) such that a given increase in MVPA was associated with a greater decline in total body fat in non-Latinos compared with Latinos (adjusted for age, sex and accelerometer wear time). There was no interaction between ethnicity and MVPA in predicting VAT (g) (P=0.78, 95% CI (-205.74, 273.17)) and body mass index (BMI) (P=0.18, 95% CI (-0.49, 2.26)).ConclusionsAn increase in MVPA was associated with a larger decrease in body fat, but neither BMI nor VAT, in non-Latinos compared with Latinos. This suggests that changes in VAT and BMI in response to MVPA may be less influenced by ethnicity than is total body fatness

Profiteering from the Dot-com Bubble, Sub-Prime Crisis and Asian Financial Crisis

This paper explores the characteristics associated with the formation of bubbles that occurred in the Hong Kong stock market in 1997 and 2007, as well as the 2000 dot-com bubble of Nasdaq. It examines the profitability of Technical Analysis (TA) strategies generating buy and sell signals with knowing and without trading rules. The empirical results show that by applying long and short strategies during the bubble formation and short strategies after the bubble burst, it not only produces returns that are significantly greater than buy and hold strategies, but also produces greater wealth compared with TA strategies without trading rules. We conclude these bubble detection signals help investors generate greater wealth from applying appropriate long and short Moving Average (MA) strategies

Maternal postpartum depression is a risk factor for infant emotional variability at 4 months

Maternal postpartum depression (PPD) is a risk for disruption of mother–infant interaction. Infants of depressed mothers have been found to display less positive, more negative, and neutral affect. Other studies have found that infants of mothers with PPD inhibit both positive and negative affect. In a sample of 28 infants of mothers with PPD and 52 infants of nonclinical mothers, we examined the role of PPD diagnosis and symptoms for infants’ emotional variability, measured as facial expressions, vocal protest, and gaze using microanalysis, during a mother–infant face-to-face interaction. PPD symptoms and diagnosis were associated with (a) infants displaying fewer high negative, but more neutral/interest facial affect events, and (b) fewer gaze off events. PPD diagnosis, but not symptoms, was associated with less infant vocal protest. Total duration of seconds of infant facial affective displays and gaze off was not related to PPD diagnosis or symptoms, suggesting that when infants of depressed mothers display high negative facial affect or gaze off, these expressions are more sustained, indicating lower infant ability to calm down and re-engage, interpreted as a disturbance in self-regulation. The findings highlight the importance of not only examining durations, but also frequencies, as the latter may inform infant emotional variability

Weight Loss Associated With Different Patterns of Self-Monitoring Using the Mobile Phone App My Meal Mate

Background: Obesity is a major global public health issue due to its association with a number of serious chronic illnesses and its high economic burden to health care providers. Self-monitoring of diet has been consistently linked to weight loss. However, there is limited evidence about how frequently individuals need to monitor their diet for optimal weight loss. Objective: The aim of this paper is to describe app usage frequency and pattern in the mobile phone arm of a previously conducted randomized controlled trial. The relationship between frequency and pattern of electronic dietary self-monitoring and weight loss is also investigated. Methods: A randomized pilot trial comparing three methods of self-monitoring (mobile phone app, paper diary, Web-based) was previously conducted. Trial duration was 6 months. The mobile phone app My Meal Mate features an electronic food diary and encourages users to self-monitor their dietary intake. All food consumption data were automatically uploaded with a time and date stamp. Post hoc regression analysis of app usage patterns was undertaken in the My Meal Mate group (n=43; female: 77%, 33/43; white: 100%, 43/43; age: mean 41, SD 9 years; body mass index: mean 34, SD 4 kg/m2) to explore the relationship between frequency and pattern of electronic dietary self-monitoring and weight loss. Baseline characteristics of participants were also investigated to identify any potential predictors of dietary self-monitoring. Results: Regression analysis showed that those in the highest frequency-of-use category (recorded ≥129 days on the mobile phone app) had a −6.4 kg (95% CI −10.0 to −2.9) lower follow-up weight (adjusted for baseline weight) than those in the lowest frequency-of-use category (recorded ≤42 days; P<.001). Long-term intermittent monitoring over 6 months appeared to facilitate greater mean weight loss than other patterns of electronic self-monitoring (ie, monitoring over the short or moderate term and stopping and consistently monitoring over consecutive days). Participant characteristics such as age, baseline weight, sex, ethnicity, conscientiousness, and consideration of future consequences were not statistically associated with extent of self-monitoring. Conclusions: The results of this post hoc exploratory analysis indicate that duration and frequency of app use is associated with improved weight loss, but further research is required to identify whether there are participant characteristics that would reliably predict those who are most likely to regularly self-monitor their diet

The depressogenic potential of added dietary sugars

Added sugars are ubiquitous in contemporary Western diets. Although excessive sugar consumption is now robustly associated with an array of adverse health consequences, comparatively little research has thus far addressed its impact on the risk of mental illness. But ample evidence suggests that high-dose sugar intake can perturb numerous metabolic, inflammatory, and neurobiological processes. Many such effects are of particular relevance to the onset and maintenance of depressive illness, among them: systemic inflammation, gut microbiota disruption, perturbed dopaminergic reward signaling, insulin resistance, oxidative stress, and the generation of toxic advanced glycation end-products (AGEs). Accordingly, we hypothesize that added dietary sugars carry the potential to increase vulnerability to major depressive disorder, particularly at high levels of consumption. The present paper: (a) summarizes the existing experimental and epidemiological research regarding sugar consumption and depression vulnerability; (b) examines the impact of sugar ingestion on known depressogenic physiological processes; and (c) outlines the clinical and theoretical implications of the apparent sugar-depression link. We conclude that the extant literature supports the hypothesized depressogenic impact of added dietary sugars, and propose that an improved understanding of the effects of sugar on body and mind may aid in the development of novel therapeutic and preventative measures for depression

Case Report: Color as a Therapeutic Intervention

Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Epithelial cell–derived secreted and transmembrane 1a signals to activated neutrophils during pneumococcal pneumonia

Airway epithelial cell responses are critical to the outcome of lung infection. In this study, we aimed to identify unique contributions of epithelial cells during lung infection. To differentiate genes induced selectively in epithelial cells during pneumonia, we compared genome-wide expression profiles from three sorted cell populations: epithelial cells from uninfected mouse lungs, epithelial cells from mouse lungs with pneumococcal pneumonia, and nonepithelial cells from those same infected lungs. Of 1,166 transcripts that were more abundant in epithelial cells from infected lungs compared with nonepithelial cells from the same lungs or from epithelial cells of uninfected lungs, 32 genes were identified as highly expressed secreted products. Especially strong signals included two related secreted and transmembrane (Sectm) 1 genes, Sectm1a and Sectm1b. Refinement of sorting strategies suggested that both Sectm1 products were induced predominantly in conducting airway epithelial cells. Sectm1 was induced during the early stages of pneumococcal pneumonia, and mutation of NF-kB RelA in epithelial cells did not diminish its expression. Instead, type I IFN signaling was necessary and sufficient for Sectm1 induction in lung epithelial cells, mediated by signal transducer and activator of transcription 1. For target cells, Sectm1a bound to myeloid cells preferentially, in particular Ly6GbrightCD11bbright neutrophils in the infected lung. In contrast, Sectm1a did not bind to neutrophils from uninfected lungs. Sectm1a increased expression of the neutrophil-attracting chemokine CXCL2 by neutrophils from the infected lung. We propose that Sectm1a is an epithelial product that sustains a positive feedback loop amplifying neutrophilic inflammation during pneumococcal pneumonia

A Small-Molecule Inhibitor of Mps1 Blocks the Spindle-Checkpoint Response to a Lack of Tension on Mitotic Chromosomes

SummaryThe spindle checkpoint prevents chromosome loss by preventing chromosome segregation in cells with improperly attached chromosomes [1–3]. The checkpoint senses defects in the attachment of chromosomes to the mitotic spindle [4] and the tension exerted on chromosomes by spindle forces in mitosis [5–7]. Because many cancers have defects in chromosome segregation, this checkpoint may be required for survival of tumor cells and may be a target for chemotherapy. We performed a phenotype-based chemical-genetic screen in budding yeast and identified an inhibitor of the spindle checkpoint, called cincreasin. We used a genome-wide collection of yeast gene-deletion strains and traditional genetic and biochemical analysis to show that the target of cincreasin is Mps1, a protein kinase required for checkpoint function [8]. Despite the requirement for Mps1 for sensing both the lack of microtubule attachment and tension at kinetochores, we find concentrations of cincreasin that selectively inhibit the tension-sensitive branch of the spindle checkpoint. At these concentrations, cincreasin causes lethal chromosome missegregation in mutants that display chromosomal instability. Our results demonstrate that Mps1 can be exploited as a target and that inhibiting the tension-sensitive branch of the spindle checkpoint may be a way of selectively killing cancer cells that display chromosomal instability