Repeated ischaemic preconditioning: A novel therapeutic intervention and potential underlying mechanisms.

Ischaemic preconditioning (IPC) refers to the phenomenon that short periods of cyclical tissue ischaemia confer subsequent protection against ischaemia-induced injury. As a consequence, IPC can ameliorate the myocardial damage following infarction and reduce infarct size. The ability of IPC to confer remote protection makes IPC a potentially feasible cardioprotective strategy. In this review, we discuss the concept that repeatedly exposing tissue to IPC may increase the "dose" of protection, and subsequently lead to enhanced protection against ischaemia-induced myocardial injury. This may be relevant for clinical populations, who demonstrate attenuated efficacy of IPC to prevent or attenuate ischaemic injury (and therefore myocardial infarct size). Furthermore, episodic IPC facilitates repeated exposure to local (e.g. shear stress) and systemic (e.g. hormones, cytokines, blood-borne substances) stimuli, which may induce improvement in vascular function and health. Such adaptation may contribute to prevention of cardio- and cerebro-vascular events. The clinical benefits of repeated IPC may, therefore, result from both the prevention of ischaemic events and attenuation of their consequences. We provide an overview of the literature pertaining to the impact of repeated IPC on cardiovascular function, related to both local and or remote adaptation, as well as potential clinical implications. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

FCNC Processes from D-brane Instantons

Low string scale models might be tested at the LHC directly by their Regge resonances. For such models it is important to investigate the constraints of Standard Model precision measurements on the string scale. It is shown that highly suppressed FCNC processes like K0- bar K^0 oscillations or leptonic decays of the D0-meson provide non-negligible lower bounds on both the perturbatively and surprisingly also non-perturbatively induced string theory couplings. We present both the D-brane instanton formalism to compute such amplitudes and discuss various possible scenarios and their constraints on the string scale for (softly broken) supersymmetric intersecting D-brane models.Comment: 28 pages, 13 figures, reference added, 1 typo corrected, style file adde

Four-Dimensional SCFTs from M5-Branes

We engineer a large new set of four-dimensional N=1 superconformal field theories by wrapping M5-branes on complex curves. We present new supersymmetric AdS_5 M-theory backgrounds which describe these fixed points at large N, and then directly construct the dual four-dimensional CFTs for a certain subset of these solutions. Additionally, we provide a direct check of the central charges of these theories by using the M5-brane anomaly polynomial. This is a companion paper which elaborates upon results reported in arXiv:1112:5487.Comment: 45 pages, 11 figure

Economic burden of female genital mutilation in 27 high-prevalence countries

Background: Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a traditional harmful practice affecting 200 million women and girls globally. Health complications of FGM occur immediately and over time, and are associated with healthcare costs that are poorly understood. Quantifying the global FGM-related burden is essential for supporting programmes and policies for prevention and mitigation. / Methods: Health complications of FGM are derived from a meta-analysis and stratified by acute, uro-gynaecological, obstetric and psychological/sexual. Treatment costs are calculated from national cohort models of 27 high-burden countries over 30 years. Savings associated with full/partial abandonment are compared with a current incidence reference scenario, assuming no changes in FGM practices. / Results: Our model projects an increasing burden of FGM due to population growth. As a reference scenario assuming no change in practices, prevalent cases in 27 countries will rise from 119.4 million (2018) to 205.8 million (2047). Full abandonment could reduce this to 80.0 million (2047), while partial abandonment is insufficient to reduce cases. Current incidence economic burden is US$1.4 billion/year, rising to US$2.1 billion/year in 2047. Full abandonment would reduce the future burden to US$0.8 billion/year by 2047. / Conclusion: FGM is a human rights violation, a public health issue and a substantial economic burden that can be avoided through effective prevention strategies. While decreasing trends are observed in some countries, these trends are variable and not consistently observed across settings. Additional resources are needed to prevent FGM to avoid human suffering and growing costs. The findings of this study warrant increased political commitment and investment in the abandonment of FGM

Universality and exactness of Schrodinger geometries in string and M-theory

We propose an organizing principle for classifying and constructing Schrodinger-invariant solutions within string theory and M-theory, based on the idea that such solutions represent nonlinear completions of linearized vector and graviton Kaluza-Klein excitations of AdS compactifications. A crucial simplification, derived from the symmetry of AdS, is that the nonlinearities appear only quadratically. Accordingly, every AdS vacuum admits infinite families of Schrodinger deformations parameterized by the dynamical exponent z. We exhibit the ease of finding these solutions by presenting three new constructions: two from M5 branes, both wrapped and extended, and one from the D1-D5 (and S-dual F1-NS5) system. From the boundary perspective, perturbing a CFT by a null vector operator can lead to nonzero beta-functions for spin-2 operators; however, symmetry restricts them to be at most quadratic in couplings. This point of view also allows us to easily prove nonrenormalization theorems: for any Sch(z) solution of two-derivative supergravity constructed in the above manner, z is uncorrected to all orders in higher derivative corrections if the deforming KK mode lies in a short multiplet of an AdS supergroup. Furthermore, we find infinite classes of 1/4 BPS solutions with 4-,5- and 7-dimensional Schrodinger symmetry that are exact.Comment: 31 pages, plus appendices; v2, minor corrections, added refs, slight change in interpretation in section 2.3, new Schrodinger and Lifshitz solutions included; v3, clarifications in sections 2 and 3 regarding existence of solutions and multi-trace operator

Screening for breast cancer : medicalization, visualization and the embodied experience

Women’s perspectives on breast screening (mammography and breast awareness) were explored in interviews with midlife women sampled for diversity of background and health experience. Attending mammography screening was considered a social obligation despite women’s fears and experiences of discomfort. Women gave considerable legitimacy to mammography visualizations of the breast, and the expert interpretation of these. In comparison, women lacked confidence in breast awareness practices, directly comparing their sensory capabilities with those of the mammogram, although mammography screening did not substitute breast awareness in a straightforward way. The authors argue that reliance on visualizing technology may create a fragmented sense of the body, separating the at risk breast from embodied experience

Improving the cost-effectiveness of visual devices for the control of Riverine tsetse flies, the major vectors of Human African Trypanosomiasis

Control of the Riverine (Palpalis) group of tsetse flies is normally achieved with stationary artificial devices such as traps or insecticide-treated targets. The efficiency of biconical traps (the standard control device), 161 m black targets and small 25625 cm targets with flanking nets was compared using electrocuting sampling methods. The work was done on Glossina tachinoides and G. palpalis gambiensis (Burkina Faso), G. fuscipes quanzensis (Democratic Republic of Congo), G. f. martinii (Tanzania) and G. f. fuscipes (Kenya). The killing effectiveness (measured as the catch per m2 of cloth) for small targets plus flanking nets is 5.5–15X greater than for 1 m2 targets and 8.6–37.5X greater than for biconical traps. This has important implications for the costs of control of the Riverine group of tsetse vectors of sleeping sickness

Turing's Genius - Defining an apt microcosm.

Alan Turing (1912–1954) is widely acknowledged as a genius. As well as codebreaking during World War II and taking a pioneering role in computer hardware design and software after the War, he also wrote three important foundational papers in the fields of theoretical computer science, artificial intelligence, and mathematical biology. He has been called the father of computer science, but he also admired by mathematicians, philosophers, and perhaps more surprisingly biologists, for his wide-ranging ideas. His influence stretches from scientific to cultural and even political impact. For all these reasons, he was a true polymath. This paper considers the genius of Turing from various angles, both scientific and artistic. The four authors provide position statements on how Turing has influenced and inspired their work, together with short biographies, as a starting point for a panel session and visual music performance

Colorectal cancer linkage on chromosomes 4q21, 8q13, 12q24, and 15q22

A substantial proportion of familial colorectal cancer (CRC) is not a consequence of known susceptibility loci, such as mismatch repair (MMR) genes, supporting the existence of additional loci. To identify novel CRC loci, we conducted a genome-wide linkage scan in 356 white families with no evidence of defective MMR (i.e., no loss of tumor expression of MMR proteins, no microsatellite instability (MSI)-high tumors, or no evidence of linkage to MMR genes). Families were ascertained via the Colon Cancer Family Registry multi-site NCI-supported consortium (Colon CFR), the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Memorial University of Newfoundland. A total of 1,612 individuals (average 5.0 per family including 2.2 affected) were genotyped using genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism linkage arrays; parametric and non-parametric linkage analysis used MERLIN in a priori-defined family groups. Five lod scores greater than 3.0 were observed assuming heterogeneity. The greatest were among families with mean age of diagnosis less than 50 years at 4q21.1 (dominant HLOD = 4.51, α = 0.84, 145.40 cM, rs10518142) and among all families at 12q24.32 (dominant HLOD = 3.60, α = 0.48, 285.15 cM, rs952093). Among families with four or more affected individuals and among clinic-based families, a common peak was observed at 15q22.31 (101.40 cM, rs1477798; dominant HLOD = 3.07, α = 0.29; dominant HLOD = 3.03, α = 0.32, respectively). Analysis of families with only two affected individuals yielded a peak at 8q13.2 (recessive HLOD = 3.02, α = 0.51, 132.52 cM, rs1319036). These previously unreported linkage peaks demonstrate the continued utility of family-based data in complex traits and suggest that new CRC risk alleles remain to be elucidated. © 2012 Cicek et al