Cosmological Solutions of Low-Energy Heterotic M-Theory

We derive a set of exact cosmological solutions to the D=4, N=1 supergravity description of heterotic M-theory. Having identified a new and exact SU(3) Toda model solution, we then apply symmetry transformations to both this solution and to a previously known SU(2) Toda model, in order to derive two further sets of new cosmological solutions. In the symmetry-transformed SU(3) Toda case we find an unusual "bouncing" motion for the M5 brane, such that this brane can be made to reverse direction part way through its evolution. This bounce occurs purely through the interaction of non-standard kinetic terms, as there are no explicit potentials in the action. We also present a perturbation calculation which demonstrates that, in a simple static limit, heterotic M-theory possesses a scale-invariant isocurvature mode. This mode persists in certain asymptotic limits of all the solutions we have derived, including the bouncing solution.Comment: 24 pages, 2 tables, 9 eps figures; minor corrections to conten

The Isometries of Low-Energy Heterotic M-Theory

We study the effective D=4, N=1 supergravity description of five-dimensional heterotic M-theory in the presence of an M5 brane, and derive the Killing vectors and isometry group for the Kahler moduli-space metric. The group is found to be a non-semisimple maximal parabolic subgroup of Sp(4,R), containing a non-trivial SL(2,R) factor. The underlying moduli-space is then naturally realised as the group space Sp(4,R)/U(2), but equipped with a nonhomogeneous metric that is invariant only under that maximal parabolic group. This nonhomogeneous metric space can also be derived via field truncations and identifications performed on Sp(8,R)/U(4) with its standard homogeneous metric. In a companion paper we use these symmetries to derive new cosmological solutions from known ones.Comment: 11 pages, 1 table; two foonotes added, minor corrections to conten

Radicalism in the Margins: The Politics of Reading Wilfrid Scawen Blunt in 1920

This article examines marginalia as a form of radical writing practice in the period immediately after the First World War. It focuses specifically on a densely annotated copy of the second part of Wilfrid Scawen Blunt’s My Diaries, which covers 1900–1914 and was published in 1920. The annotator, John Arthur Fallows (1864–1935), was a former Church of England clergyman and Independent Labour Party politician, and the article asks what motivated him to leave such an explicit record of his engagement with the book in its margins. Blunt recast his original diary entries to show how the outbreak of the First World War had arisen from the pre-war imperialist policies of the Entente. Fallows, meanwhile, used his copy of My Diaries to inscribe a permanent record of his responses to Blunt’s writing, which were shaped by his own memories of pre-war radical-left political action. The dual record of textual engagement that can be recovered from this copy of My Diaries provides insight into how two British radicals “read” the causes of the First World War in the period between the Armistice and the conclusion of the Paris Peace Accords

Determinants of PhD student satisfaction: the roles of supervisor, department, and peer qualities

Understanding the determinants of PhD student satisfaction is likely to become increasingly vital for universities as student satisfaction rankings already ubiquitous at undergraduate and master degree levels extend more broadly to the PhD level. Moreover, as PhD student populations and university competition become increasingly transnational, there is a growing need to understand cross-nationally common determinants of satisfaction. Building on prior research into PhD student satisfaction, and drawing upon relevant conceptual and metrical refinements in the measurement of satisfaction from cognate domains of psychology, we use cross-sectional data (N=409) from PhD candidates across the sciences, social sciences, and humanities in 63 universities from 20 countries to examine how overall PhD student satisfaction is determined by, respectively and in combination, supervisor, department, and peer-group, in terms of both their academic qualities and supportiveness. Taken together, we find that supervisor supportiveness is the greatest predictor of PhD student satisfaction, but that supervisor academic qualities have no significant effect. However, both the academic qualities and supportiveness of departments significantly predict PhD student satisfaction, suggesting university departments and PhD supervisors would ideally work jointly, and perhaps more closely than many currently do, to achieve competitive levels of PhD student satisfaction

B-Cell and Monocyte Contribution to Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Identified by Cell-Type-Specific Differential Expression Analysis in RNA-Seq Data

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease characterized by complex interplay among immune cell types. SLE activity is experimentally assessed by several blood tests, including gene expression profiling of heterogeneous populations of cells in peripheral blood. To better understand the contribution of different cell types in SLE pathogenesis, we applied the two methods in cell-type-specific differential expression analysis, csSAM and DSection, to identify cell-type-specific gene expression differences in heterogeneous gene expression measures obtained using RNA-seq technology. We identified B-cell-, monocyte-, and neutrophil-specific gene expression differences. Immunoglobulin-coding gene expression was altered in B-cells, while a ribosomal signature was prominent in monocytes. On the contrary, genes differentially expressed in the heterogeneous mixture of cells did not show any functional enrichment. Our results identify antigen binding and structural constituents of ribosomes as functions altered by B-cell- and monocyte-specific gene expression differences, respectively. Finally, these results position both csSAM and DSection methods as viable techniques for celltype-specific differential expression analysis, which may help uncover pathogenic, cell-type-specific processes in SLE

The Initial Economic Burden of Femur Fractures on Informal Caregivers in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

BackgroundFemur fracture patients require significant in-hospital care. The burden incurred by caregivers of such patients amplifies the direct costs of these injuries and remains unquantified. Aim Here we aim to establish the in-hospital economic burden faced by informal caregivers of femur fracture patients. Methods 70 unique caregivers for 46 femoral shaft fracture patients were interviewed. Incurred economic burden was determined by the Human Capital Approach, using standardized income data to quantify productivity loss (in $USD). Linear regression assessed the relationship between caregiver burden and patient time-in-hospital.ResultsThe average economic burden incurred was$149, 9% of a caregiver’s annual income and positively correlated with patient time in hospital (p<0.01). Conclusion Caregivers of patients treated operatively for femur fractures lost a large portion of their annual income, and this loss increased with patient time in hospital. These indirect costs of femur fracture treatment constitute an important component of the total injury burden

Does oral sodium bicarbonate therapy improve function and quality of life in older patients with chronic kidney disease and low-grade acidosis (the BiCARB trial)? Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Date of acceptance: 01/07/2015 © 2015 Witham et al. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated. Acknowledgements UK NIHR HTA grant 10/71/01. We acknowledge the financial support of NHS Research Scotland in conducting this trial.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Controlled Trial of Two Incremental Milk-Feeding Rates in Preterm Infants

BACKGROUND: Observational data have shown that slow advancement of enteral feeding volumes in preterm infants is associated with a reduced risk of necrotizing enterocolitis but an increased risk of late-onset sepsis. However, data from randomized trials are limited. METHODS: We randomly assigned very preterm or very-low-birth-weight infants to daily milk increments of 30 ml per kilogram of body weight (faster increment) or 18 ml per kilogram (slower increment) until reaching full feeding volumes. The primary outcome was survival without moderate or severe neurodevelopmental disability at 24 months. Secondary outcomes included components of the primary outcome, confirmed or suspected late-onset sepsis, necrotizing enterocolitis, and cerebral palsy. RESULTS: Among 2804 infants who underwent randomization, the primary outcome could be assessed in 1224 (87.4%) assigned to the faster increment and 1246 (88.7%) assigned to the slower increment. Survival without moderate or severe neurodevelopmental disability at 24 months occurred in 802 of 1224 infants (65.5%) assigned to the faster increment and 848 of 1246 (68.1%) assigned to the slower increment (adjusted risk ratio, 0.96; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.92 to 1.01; P = 0.16). Late-onset sepsis occurred in 414 of 1389 infants (29.8%) in the faster-increment group and 434 of 1397 (31.1%) in the slower-increment group (adjusted risk ratio, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.86 to 1.07). Necrotizing enterocolitis occurred in 70 of 1394 infants (5.0%) in the faster-increment group and 78 of 1399 (5.6%) in the slower-increment group (adjusted risk ratio, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.68 to 1.16). CONCLUSIONS: There was no significant difference in survival without moderate or severe neurodevelopmental disability at 24 months in very preterm or very-low-birth-weight infants with a strategy of advancing milk feeding volumes in daily increments of 30 ml per kilogram as compared with 18 ml per kilogram. (Funded by the Health Technology Assessment Programme of the National Institute for Health Research; SIFT Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN76463425.)