Temporal variables and personal factors in glare sensation

Previous laboratory experiments have provided evidence of an effect of time of day on glare sensation. During the tests, temporal variables and personal factors were also measured to analyse their influence on levels of visual discomfort as the day progresses. The results revealed statistically significant and practically relevant tendencies towards greater tolerance to source luminance from artificial lighting at all times of day for earlier chronotypes and for participants not having ingested caffeine. No conclusive evidence was found for the effect of fatigue, sky condition and prior light exposure on glare sensation throughout the day. These findings suggest that temporal variables and personal factors should be measured in conjunction with visual discomfort levels to explore the causes of the wide individual differences commonly associated with the subjective evaluation of glare sensation

Electric Field Effects on Graphene Materials

Understanding the effect of electric fields on the physical and chemical properties of two-dimensional (2D) nanostructures is instrumental in the design of novel electronic and optoelectronic devices. Several of those properties are characterized in terms of the dielectric constant which play an important role on capacitance, conductivity, screening, dielectric losses and refractive index. Here we review our recent theoretical studies using density functional calculations including van der Waals interactions on two types of layered materials of similar two-dimensional molecular geometry but remarkably different electronic structures, that is, graphene and molybdenum disulphide (MoS$_2$). We focus on such two-dimensional crystals because of they complementary physical and chemical properties, and the appealing interest to incorporate them in the next generation of electronic and optoelectronic devices. We predict that the effective dielectric constant ($\varepsilon$) of few-layer graphene and MoS$_2$ is tunable by external electric fields ($E_{\rm ext}$). We show that at low fields ($E_{\rm ext}^{}<0.01$ V/\AA) $\varepsilon$ assumes a nearly constant value $\sim$4 for both materials, but increases at higher fields to values that depend on the layer thickness. The thicker the structure the stronger is the modulation of $\varepsilon$ with the electric field. Increasing of the external field perpendicular to the layer surface above a critical value can drive the systems to an unstable state where the layers are weakly coupled and can be easily separated. The observed dependence of $\varepsilon$ on the external field is due to charge polarization driven by the bias, which show several similar characteristics despite of the layer considered.Comment: Invited book chapter on Exotic Properties of Carbon Nanomatter: Advances in Physics and Chemistry, Springer Series on Carbon Materials. Editors: Mihai V. Putz and Ottorino Ori (11 pages, 4 figures, 30 references

Non-Disruptive Tactics of Suppression Are Superior in Countering Terrorism, Insurgency, and Financial Panics

BACKGROUND: Suppressing damaging aggregate behaviors such as insurgency, terrorism, and financial panics are important tasks of the state. Each outcome of these aggregate behaviors is an emergent property of a system in which each individual's action depends on a subset of others' actions, given by each individual's network of interactions. Yet there are few explicit comparisons of strategies for suppression, and none that fully incorporate the interdependence of individual behavior. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Here I show that suppression tactics that do not require the removal of individuals from networks of interactions are nearly always more effective than those that do. I find using simulation analysis of a general model of interdependent behavior that the degree to which such less disruptive suppression tactics are superior to more disruptive ones increases in the propensity of individuals to engage in the behavior in question. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, hearts-and-minds approaches are generally more effective than force in counterterrorism and counterinsurgency, and partial insurance is usually a better tactic than gag rules in quelling financial panics. Differences between suppression tactics are greater when individual incentives to support terrorist or insurgent groups, or susceptibilities to financial panic, are higher. These conclusions have utility for policy-makers seeking to end bloody conflicts and prevent financial panics. As the model also applies to mass protest, its conclusions provide insight as well into the likely effects of different suppression strategies undertaken by authoritarian regimes seeking to hold on to power in the face of mass movements seeking to end them

Neurofilament light chain in the vitreous humor of the eye

Background: Neurofilament light chain (NfL) is a promising biomarker of neurodegeneration in the cerebrospinal fluid and blood. This study investigated the presence of NfL in the vitreous humor and its associations with amyloid beta, tau, inflammatory cytokines and vascular proteins, apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotypes, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores, systemic disease, and ophthalmic diseases. / Methods: This is a single-site, prospective, cross-sectional cohort study. Undiluted vitreous fluid (0.5–1.0 mL) was aspirated during vitrectomy, and whole blood was drawn for APOE genotyping. NfL, amyloid beta (Aβ), total Tau (t-Tau), phosphorylated Tau (p-Tau181), inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, and vascular proteins in the vitreous were quantitatively measured by immunoassay. The main outcome measures were the detection of NfL levels in the vitreous humor and its associations with the aforementioned proteins. Linear regression was used to test the associations of NfL with other proteins, APOE genotypes, MMSE scores, and ophthalmic and systemic diseases after adjustment for age, sex, education level, and other eye diseases. / Results: NfL was detected in all 77 vitreous samples. NfL was not found to be associated with ophthalmic conditions, APOE genotypes, MMSE scores, or systemic disease (p > 0.05). NfL levels were positively associated with increased vitreous levels of Aβ40 (p = 7.7 × 10−5), Aβ42 (p = 2.8 × 10−4), and t-tau (p = 5.5 × 10−7), but not with p-tau181 (p = 0.53). NfL also had significant associations with inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-15 (IL-15, p = 5.3 × 10−4), IL-16 (p = 2.2 × 10−4), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP1, p = 4.1 × 10−4), and vascular proteins such as vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-1 (VEGFR1, p = 2.9 × 10−6), Vegf-C (p = 8.6 × 10−6), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1, p = 5.0 × 10−4), Tie-2 (p = 6.3 × 10−4), and intracellular adhesion molecular-1 (ICAM-1, p = 1.6 × 10−4). / Conclusion: NfL is detectable in the vitreous humor of the eye and significantly associated with amyloid beta, t-tau, and select inflammatory and vascular proteins in the vitreous. Additionally, NfL was not associated with patients’ clinical eye condition. Our results serve as a foundation for further investigation of NfL in the ocular fluids to inform us about the potential utility of its presence in the eye

Cytoplasmic PML promotes TGF-β-associated epithelial–mesenchymal transition and invasion in prostate cancer

Epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a key event that is involved in the invasion and dissemination of cancer cells. Although typically considered as having tumour-suppressive properties, transforming growth factor (TGF)-β signalling is altered during cancer and has been associated with the invasion of cancer cells and metastasis. In this study, we report a previously unknown role for the cytoplasmic promyelocytic leukaemia (cPML) tumour suppressor in TGF-β signalling-induced regulation of prostate cancer-associated EMT and invasion. We demonstrate that cPML promotes a mesenchymal phenotype and increases the invasiveness of prostate cancer cells. This event is associated with activation of TGF-β canonical signalling pathway through the induction of Sma and Mad related family 2 and 3 (SMAD2 and SMAD3) phosphorylation. Furthermore, the cytoplasmic localization of promyelocytic leukaemia (PML) is mediated by its nuclear export in a chromosomal maintenance 1 (CRM1)-dependent manner. This was clinically tested in prostate cancer tissue and shown that cytoplasmic PML and CRM1 co-expression correlates with reduced disease-specific survival. In summary, we provide evidence of dysfunctional TGF-β signalling occurring at an early stage in prostate cancer. We show that this disease pathway is mediated by cPML and CRM1 and results in a more aggressive cancer cell phenotype. We propose that the targeting of this pathway could be therapeutically exploited for clinical benefit

4D, N = 1 Supersymmetry Genomics (II)

We continue the development of a theory of off-shell supersymmetric representations analogous to that of compact Lie algebras such as SU(3). For off-shell 4D, N = 1 systems, quark-like representations have been identified [1] in terms of cis-Adinkras and trans-Adinkras and it has been conjectured that arbitrary representations are composites of $n_c$-cis and $n_t$-trans representations. Analyzing the real scalar and complex linear superfield multiplets, these "chemical enantiomer" numbers are found to be $n_c$ = $n_t$ = 1 and $n_c$ = 1, $n_t$ = 2, respectively.Comment: 40 pages, 8 figures, sequel to "4D, N = 1 Supersymmetry Genomics (I)" [arxiv: 0902.3830

Risk assessment for the spread of Serratia marcescens within dental-unit waterline systems using Vermamoeba vermiformis

Vermamoeba vermiformis is associated with the biofilm ecology of dental-unit waterlines (DUWLs). This study investigated whether V. vermiformis is able to act as a vector for potentially pathogenic bacteria and so aid their dispersal within DUWL systems. Clinical dental water was initially examined for Legionella species by inoculating it onto Legionella selective-medium plates. The molecular identity/profile of the glassy colonies obtained indicated none of these isolates were Legionella species. During this work bacterial colonies were identified as a non-pigmented Serratia marcescens. As the water was from a clinical DUWL which had been treated with Alpron™ this prompted the question as to whether S. marcescens had developed resistance to the biocide. Exposure to Alpron™ indicated that this dental biocide was effective, under laboratory conditions, against S. marcescens at up to 1x108 colony forming units/millilitre (cfu/ml). V. vermiformis was cultured for eight weeks on cells of S. marcescens and Escherichia coli. Subsequent electron microscopy showed that V. vermiformis grew equally well on S. marcescens and E. coli (p = 0.0001). Failure to detect the presence of S. marcescens within the encysted amoebae suggests that V. vermiformis is unlikely to act as a vector supporting the growth of this newly isolated, nosocomial bacterium

The impact of Stieltjes' work on continued fractions and orthogonal polynomials

Stieltjes' work on continued fractions and the orthogonal polynomials related to continued fraction expansions is summarized and an attempt is made to describe the influence of Stieltjes' ideas and work in research done after his death, with an emphasis on the theory of orthogonal polynomials

Sozialstaatliche Kürzungspolitik in Deutschland: Nur eine Mär? Eine quantitative Gesetzgebungsanalyse 1974–2014

Quantitative analyses on welfare state dynamics have to cope with the “dependent variable problem”, as studies on social spending reach different conclusions than analyses of replacement rate data. This article suggests a way around this problem by presenting results from a fine-grained analysis of welfare state legislation in Germany between 1974 and 2014. We show that the German welfare state has seen both cuts and expansions occur in all decades. Moreover, we show by means of a regression analysis that partisan politics play a role. Supporting the “Nixon-in-China”-thesis, social democratic governments are associated with a higher probability of cutbacks – especially in times of budgetary pressure – whereas expansions are more likely under Christian democratic governments