Suggestibility of Placebo Reactors and Non-Reactors in the Autokinetic Situation

The phenomenon of not relying solely up on one\u27s own judgment and of distorting one\u27s perception toward a perceived social norm has been observed to take place with a rather large percentage of subjects participating in a number of research projects. Both Asch and Sherif have done extensive work showing this distortion of perception when an individual is placed in a group setting and finds himself in a contradictory position between his own perception and that of the other group members. The question arises as to whether or not acceptance of suggestion is a personality trait characteristic of the individual. To what extent, if any, will the trait of suggestibility manifest in one situation transfer to a second setting when suggestion is applied? Specifically, in this research project, individuals will be chosen according to their reactions to a placebo pill experiment. Placebo reactors will be those individuals who have manifest the internalization of suggestion in the experiment. Non-reactors will be chosen for their lack of placebo pill reaction which will be considered as rejection of the applied suggestion. Both the placebo reactors and non-reactors will be placed in an unstable experimental situation that has the possibilities of being structured according to the individual\u27s perception or perceived social norm. Since the autokinetic illusion is almost universal, this phenomenon will be employed in the experimental procedure. Suggestion as to the amount of movement present in the autokinetic effect will then be given. The amount of movement will be recorded and tested for significance for the reactor and non-reactor groups

Sunyaev-Zel'dovich power spectrum with decaying cold dark matter

Recent studies of structures of galaxies and clusters imply that dark matter might be unstable and decay with lifetime $\Gamma^{-1}$ about the age of universe. We study the effects of the decay of cold dark matter on the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) power spectrum. We analytically calculate the SZ power spectrum taking finite lifetime of cold dark matter into account. We find the finite lifetime of dark matter decreases the power at large scale ($l < 4000$) and increases at small scale ($l > 4000$). This is in marked contrast with the dependence of other cosmological parameters such as the amplitude of mass fluctuations $\sigma_{8}$ and the cosmological constant $\Omega_{\lambda}$ (under the assumption of a flat universe) which mainly change the normalization of the angular power spectrum. This difference allows one to determine the lifetime and other cosmological parameters rather separately. We also investigate sensitivity of a future SZ survey to the cosmological parameters including the life time, assuming a fiducial model $\Gamma^{-1} = 10 h^{-1} {\rm Gyr}$, $\sigma_{8} = 1.0$, and $\Omega_{\lambda} = 0.7$. We show that future SZ surveys such as ACT, AMIBA, and BOLOCAM can determine the lifetime within factor of two even if $\sigma_{8}$ and $\Omega_{\lambda}$ are marginalized.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

The Future of Heliophysics Research through Targeted use of Constellations

This white paper seeks to outline the benefits and challenges of constellations, ranging from the Heliophysics System Observatory, to constellations consisting of a small number of spacecraft, to large-number constellations. In moving toward this constellation era, investments are required by our sponsors to best enable our continued scientific advancement in Solar and Space Physics

Therapeutic effect of hyperbaric oxygen in psoriasis vulgaris: two case reports and a review of the literature

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Psoriasis is an inflammatory and immunological cutaneous disease. The high morbidity in patients with psoriasis results from severe clinical manifestations and/or adverse effects of treatment. The Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society and Federal Medicare and Medicaid Services have approved the use of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO₂) for more than 15 indications, including wound healing, infections and late effects of radiation, which are largely unresponsive to conventional treatments. Accumulated data show that HBO₂ has anti-inflammatory effects and other positive influences on the immune system, making it a rational treatment in the management of psoriasis plaques and arthritis.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We present the cases of two patients with long histories of psoriasis vulgarus who exhibited marked improvement with use of HBO_2. The first patient was 40 years old and had pustular psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. He was treated with six sessions of HBO₂ (at 2.8 atmospheres of pressure for 60 minutes), which successfully controlled his symptoms. At the 18-month post-treatment follow up, the patient exhibited complete remission of psoriasis and marked improvement in psoriatic arthritis without medication. The second patient was 55 years old with extensive psoriatic lesions, and exhibited marked improvement within 15 sessions of HBO₂. No adverse effects of HBO₂ were identified.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>HBO₂ may possess potential therapeutic efficacy in the management of psoriasis. We outline the pathogenesis of psoriasis and the selective anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive effects of HBO₂. We hope that this will provide a basis for elucidating the mechanisms of action and consequently pave the way for further controlled studies.</p

First all-sky search for continuous gravitational waves from unknown sources in binary systems

We present the first results of an all-sky search for continuous gravitational waves from unknown spinning neutron stars in binary systems using LIGO and Virgo data. Using a specially developed analysis program, the TwoSpect algorithm, the search was carried out on data from the sixth LIGO science run and the second and third Virgo science runs. The search covers a range of frequencies from 20 Hz to 520 Hz, a range of orbital periods from 2 to ∼2,254  h and a frequency- and period-dependent range of frequency modulation depths from 0.277 to 100 mHz. This corresponds to a range of projected semimajor axes of the orbit from ∼0.6 × 10[superscript −3]  ls to ∼6,500  ls assuming the orbit of the binary is circular. While no plausible candidate gravitational wave events survive the pipeline, upper limits are set on the analyzed data. The most sensitive 95% confidence upper limit obtained on gravitational wave strain is 2.3 × 10[superscript −24] at 217 Hz, assuming the source waves are circularly polarized. Although this search has been optimized for circular binary orbits, the upper limits obtained remain valid for orbital eccentricities as large as 0.9. In addition, upper limits are placed on continuous gravitational wave emission from the low-mass x-ray binary Scorpius X-1 between 20 Hz and 57.25 Hz.National Science Foundation (U.S.)United States. National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationCarnegie TrustDavid & Lucile Packard FoundationResearch CorporationAlfred P. Sloan Foundatio

Nanotechnology and the Treatment of HIV Infection

Suboptimal adherence, toxicity, drug resistance and viral reservoirs make the lifelong treatment of HIV infection challenging. The emerging field of nanotechnology may play an important role in addressing these challenges by creating drugs that possess pharmacological advantages arising out of unique phenomena that occur at the “nano” scale. At these dimensions, particles have physicochemical properties that are distinct from those of bulk materials or single molecules or atoms. In this review, basic concepts and terms in nanotechnology are defined, and examples are provided of how nanopharmaceuticals such as nanocrystals, nanocapsules, nanoparticles, solid lipid nanoparticles, nanocarriers, micelles, liposomes and dendrimers have been investigated as potential anti-HIV therapies. Such drugs may, for example, be used to optimize the pharmacological characteristics of known antiretrovirals, deliver anti-HIV nucleic acids into infected cells or achieve targeted delivery of antivirals to the immune system, brain or latent reservoirs. Also, nanopharmaceuticals themselves may possess anti-HIV activity. However several hurdles remain, including toxicity, unwanted biological interactions and the difficulty and cost of large-scale synthesis of nanopharmaceuticals

Clinical outcomes and response to treatment of patients receiving topical treatments for pyoderma gangrenosum: a prospective cohort study

Background: pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is an uncommon dermatosis with a limited evidence base for treatment. Objective: to estimate the effectiveness of topical therapies in the treatment of PG. Methods: prospective cohort study of UK secondary care patients with a clinical diagnosis of PG suitable for topical treatment (recruited July 2009 to June 2012). Participants received topical therapy following normal clinical practice (mainly Class I-III topical corticosteroids, tacrolimus 0.03% or 0.1%). Primary outcome: speed of healing at 6 weeks. Secondary outcomes: proportion healed by 6 months; time to healing; global assessment; inflammation; pain; quality-of-life; treatment failure and recurrence. Results: Sixty-six patients (22 to 85 years) were enrolled. Clobetasol propionate 0.05% was the most commonly prescribed therapy. Overall, 28/66 (43.8%) of ulcers healed by 6 months. Median time-to-healing was 145 days (95% CI: 96 days, ∞). Initial ulcer size was a significant predictor of time-to-healing (hazard ratio 0.94 (0.88;80 1.00); p = 0.043). Four patients (15%) had a recurrence. Limitations: No randomised comparator Conclusion: Topical therapy is potentially an effective first-line treatment for PG that avoids possible side effects associated with systemic therapy. It remains unclear whether more severe disease will respond adequately to topical therapy alone

Spectropolarimetry of high-redshift obscured and red quasars

Spectropolarimetry is a powerful technique that has provided critical support for the geometric unification model of local active galactic nuclei. In this paper, we present optical (rest-frame UV) Keck spectropolarimetry of five luminous obscured (Type 2) and extremely red quasars (ERQs) at z~2.5. Three objects reach polarization fractions of >10% in the continuum. We propose a model in which dust scattering is the dominant scattering and polarization mechanism in our targets, though electron scattering cannot be completely excluded. Emission lines are polarized at a lower level than is the continuum. This suggests that the emission-line region exists on similar spatial scales as the scattering region. In three objects we detect an intriguing 90 degree swing in the polarization position angle as a function of line-of-sight velocity in the emission lines of Ly-alpha, CIV and NV. We interpret this phenomenon in the framework of a geometric model with an equatorial dusty scattering region in which the material is outflowing at several thousand km/sec. Emission lines may also be scattered by dust or resonantly. This model explains several salient features of observations by scattering on scales of a few tens of pc. Our observations provide a tantalizing view of the inner region geometry and kinematics of high-redshift obscured and extremely red quasars. Our data and modeling lend strong support for toroidal obscuration and powerful outflows on the scales of the UV emission-line region, in addition to the larger scale outflows inferred previously from the optical emission-line kinematics.Comment: 26 pages, MNRAS, in pres

Multiple novel prostate cancer susceptibility signals identified by fine-mapping of known risk loci among Europeans

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified numerous common prostate cancer (PrCa) susceptibility loci. We have fine-mapped 64 GWAS regions known at the conclusion of the iCOGS study using large-scale genotyping and imputation in 25 723 PrCa cases and 26 274 controls of European ancestry. We detected evidence for multiple independent signals at 16 regions, 12 of which contained additional newly identified significant associations. A single signal comprising a spectrum of correlated variation was observed at 39 regions; 35 of which are now described by a novel more significantly associated lead SNP, while the originally reported variant remained as the lead SNP only in 4 regions. We also confirmed two association signals in Europeans that had been previously reported only in East-Asian GWAS. Based on statistical evidence and linkage disequilibrium (LD) structure, we have curated and narrowed down the list of the most likely candidate causal variants for each region. Functional annotation using data from ENCODE filtered for PrCa cell lines and eQTL analysis demonstrated significant enrichment for overlap with bio-features within this set. By incorporating the novel risk variants identified here alongside the refined data for existing association signals, we estimate that these loci now explain ∼38.9% of the familial relative risk of PrCa, an 8.9% improvement over the previously reported GWAS tag SNPs. This suggests that a significant fraction of the heritability of PrCa may have been hidden during the discovery phase of GWAS, in particular due to the presence of multiple independent signals within the same regio