5W+1H pattern: A perspective of systematic mapping studies and a case study on cloud software testing

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Joint product numerical range and geometry of reduced density matrices

© 2016, Science China Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. The reduced density matrices of a many-body quantum system form a convex set, whose three-dimensional projection Θ is convex in R3. The boundary ∂Θ of Θ may exhibit nontrivial geometry, in particular ruled surfaces. Two physical mechanisms are known for the origins of ruled surfaces: symmetry breaking and gapless. In this work, we study the emergence of ruled surfaces for systems with local Hamiltonians in infinite spatial dimension, where the reduced density matrices are known to be separable as a consequence of the quantum de Finetti’s theorem. This allows us to identify the reduced density matrix geometry with joint product numerical range Π of the Hamiltonian interaction terms. We focus on the case where the interaction terms have certain structures, such that a ruled surface emerges naturally when taking a convex hull of Π. We show that, a ruled surface on ∂Θ sitting in Π has a gapless origin, otherwise it has a symmetry breaking origin. As an example, we demonstrate that a famous ruled surface, known as the oloid, is a possible shape of Θ, with two boundary pieces of symmetry breaking origin separated by two gapless lines

Accuracy of epidemiological inferences based on publicly available information: retrospective comparative analysis of line lists of human cases infected with influenza A(H7N9) in China

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Chronic typhoid infection and the risk of biliary tract cancer and stones in Shanghai, China

Previous studies have shown a positive association between chronic typhoid carriage and biliary cancers. We compared serum Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi antibody titers between biliary tract cancer cases, biliary stone cases without evidence of cancer, and healthy subjects in a large population-based case-control study in Shanghai, China

Bacteremic community-acquired pneumonia due to Klebsiella pneumoniae: Clinical and microbiological characteristics in Taiwan, 2001-2008

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Klebsiella pneumoniae </it>is the major cause of community-acquired pyogenic infections in Taiwan. This retrospective study evaluated the clinical and microbiological characteristics of bacteremic community-acquired pneumonia due to <it>K. pneumoniae </it>in Taiwanese adults.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The clinical characteristics of bacteremic community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in adults due to <it>K. pneumoniae </it>were compared to those of adults with bacteremic CAP due to <it>Streptococcus pneumoniae </it>at a tertiary medical center in Taiwan from 2001-2008. Risk factors for mortality of bacteremic CAP due to <it>K. pneumoniae </it>were analyzed. All clinical isolates of <it>K. pneumoniae </it>were examined for capsular serotypes, hypermucoviscosity phenotype, aerobactin and <it>rmpA </it>gene.</p> <p>Results</p> <p><it>K. pneumoniae </it>was the dominant cause of bacteremic CAP and was associated with a more fulminant course and a worse prognosis than bacteremic CAP due to <it>Streptococcus pneumoniae</it>. Initial presentation with septic shock and respiratory failure were independent risk factors for both early and total mortality. Serotype K1 and K2 comprised around half of all isolates. There were no significant differences in the clinical characteristics of patients with bacteremic CAP due to K1/K2 and non-K1/K2 isolates. Hypermucoviscosity phenotype as well as the aerobactin and <it>rmpA </it>genes were highly prevalent in the <it>K. pneumoniae </it>isolates.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p><it>K. pneumoniae </it>continued to be the dominant cause of bacteremic CAP in Taiwanese adults during 2001-2008. Initial presentation with septic shock and respiratory failure were independent risk factors for both early and total mortality from <it>K. pneumoniae </it>bacteremic CAP. Serotypes K1/K2 comprised around half of all isolates, but did not predispose patients to a poor clinical outcome. Physicians should be aware of the poor prognosis of any patient with bacteremic <it>K. pneumoniae </it>CAP and monitor these patients more closely.</p

The Effect of Aliphatic Carboxylic Acids on Olfaction-Based Host-Seeking of the Malaria Mosquito Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto

The role of aliphatic carboxylic acids in host-seeking response of the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto was examined both in a dual-choice olfactometer and with indoor traps. A basic attractive blend of ammonia + lactic acid served as internal standard odor. Single carboxylic acids were tested in a tripartite blend with ammonia + lactic acid. Four different airflow stream rates (0.5, 5, 50, and 100 ml/min) carrying the compounds were tested for their effect on trap entry response in the olfactometer. In the olfactometer, propanoic acid, butanoic acid, 3-methylbutanoic acid, pentanoic acid, heptanoic acid, octanoic acid, and tetradecanoic acid increased attraction relative to the basic blend. While several carboxylic acids were attractive only at one or two flow rates, tetradecanoic acid was attractive at all flow rates tested. Heptanoic acid was attractive at the lowest flow rate (0.5 ml/min), but repellent at 5 and 50 ml/min. Mixing the air stream laden with these 7 carboxylic acids together with the headspace of the basic blend increased attraction in two quantitative compositions. Subtraction of single acids from the most attractive blend revealed that 3-methylbutanoic acid had a negative effect on trap entry response. In the absence of tetradecanoic acid, the blend was repellent. In assays with MM-X traps, both a blend of 7 carboxylic acids + ammonia + lactic acid (all applied from low density polyethylene-sachets) and a simple blend of ammonia + lactic acid + tetradecanoic acid were attractive. The results show that carboxylic acids play an essential role in the host-seeking behavior of An. gambiae, and that the contribution to blend attractiveness depends on the specific compound studied

Proteomics: in pursuit of effective traumatic brain injury therapeutics

Effective traumatic brain injury (TBI) therapeutics remain stubbornly elusive. Efforts in the field have been challenged by the heterogeneity of clinical TBI, with greater complexity among underlying molecular phenotypes than initially conceived. Future research must confront the multitude of factors comprising this heterogeneity, representing a big data challenge befitting the coming informatics age. Proteomics is poised to serve a central role in prescriptive therapeutic development, as it offers an efficient endpoint within which to assess post-TBI biochemistry. We examine rationale for multifactor TBI proteomic studies and the particular importance of temporal profiling in defining biochemical sequences and guiding therapeutic development. Lastly, we offer perspective on repurposing biofluid proteomics to develop theragnostic assays with which to prescribe, monitor and assess pharmaceutics for improved translation and outcome for TBI patients

Polyclonal rabbit anti-murine plasmacytoma cell globulins induce myeloma cells apoptosis and inhibit tumour growth in mice

Multiple myelomas (MMs) are etiologically heterogeneous and there are limited treatment options; indeed, current monoclonal antibody therapies have had limited success, so more effective antibodies are urgently needed. Polyclonal antibodies are a possible alternative because they target multiple antigens simultaneously. In this study, we produced polyclonal rabbit anti-murine plasmacytoma cell immunoglobulin (PAb) by immunizing rabbits with the murine plasmacytoma cell line MPC-11. The isolated PAb bound to plasma surface antigens in several MM cell lines, inhibited their proliferation as revealed by MTT assay, and induce apoptosis as indicated by flow cytometry, microscopic observation of apoptotic changes in morphology, and DNA fragmentation on agarose gels. The cytotoxicity of PAb on MPC-11 cell lines was both dose-dependent and time-dependent; PAb exerted a 50% inhibitory effect on MPC-11 cell viability at a concentration of 200 µg/ml in 48 h. Flow cytometry demonstrated that PAb treatment significantly increased the number of apoptotic cells (48.1%) compared with control IgG (8.3%). Apoptosis triggered by PAb was confirmed by activation of caspase-3, -8, and -9. Serial intravenous or intraperitoneal injections of PAb inhibited tumour growth and prolonged survival in mice bearing murine plasmacytoma, while TUNEL assay demonstrated that PAb induced statistically significant apoptosis (P < 0.05) compared to control treatments. We conclude that PAb is an effective agent for in vitro and in vivo induction of apoptosis in multiple myeloma and that exploratory clinical trials may be warranted

Matched sizes of activating and inhibitory receptor/ligand pairs are required for optimal signal integration by human Natural Killer cells

It has been suggested that receptor-ligand complexes segregate or co-localise within immune synapses according to their size, and this is important for receptor signaling. Here, we set out to test the importance of receptor-ligand complex dimensions for immune surveillance of target cells by human Natural Killer (NK) cells. NK cell activation is regulated by integrating signals from activating receptors, such as NKG2D, and inhibitory receptors, such as KIR2DL1. Elongating the NKG2D ligand MICA reduced its ability to trigger NK cell activation. Conversely, elongation of KIR2DL1 ligand HLA-C reduced its ability to inhibit NK cells. Whereas normal-sized HLA-C was most effective at inhibiting activation by normal-length MICA, only elongated HLA-C could inhibit activation by elongated MICA. Moreover, HLA-C and MICA that were matched in size co-localised, whereas HLA-C and MICA that were different in size were segregated. These results demonstrate that receptor-ligand dimensions are important in NK cell recognition, and suggest that optimal integration of activating and inhibitory receptor signals requires the receptor-ligand complexes to have similar dimensions

Radio Emission from Ultra-Cool Dwarfs

The 2001 discovery of radio emission from ultra-cool dwarfs (UCDs), the very low-mass stars and brown dwarfs with spectral types of ~M7 and later, revealed that these objects can generate and dissipate powerful magnetic fields. Radio observations provide unparalleled insight into UCD magnetism: detections extend to brown dwarfs with temperatures <1000 K, where no other observational probes are effective. The data reveal that UCDs can generate strong (kG) fields, sometimes with a stable dipolar structure; that they can produce and retain nonthermal plasmas with electron acceleration extending to MeV energies; and that they can drive auroral current systems resulting in significant atmospheric energy deposition and powerful, coherent radio bursts. Still to be understood are the underlying dynamo processes, the precise means by which particles are accelerated around these objects, the observed diversity of magnetic phenomenologies, and how all of these factors change as the mass of the central object approaches that of Jupiter. The answers to these questions are doubly important because UCDs are both potential exoplanet hosts, as in the TRAPPIST-1 system, and analogues of extrasolar giant planets themselves.Comment: 19 pages; submitted chapter to the Handbook of Exoplanets, eds. Hans J. Deeg and Juan Antonio Belmonte (Springer-Verlag