Dynamical layer decoupling in a stripe-ordered, high T_c superconductor

In the stripe-ordered state of a strongly-correlated two-dimensional electronic system, under a set of special circumstances, the superconducting condensate, like the magnetic order, can occur at a non-zero wave-vector corresponding to a spatial period double that of the charge order. In this case, the Josephson coupling between near neighbor planes, especially in a crystal with the special structure of La_{2-x}Ba_xCuO_4, vanishes identically. We propose that this is the underlying cause of the dynamical decoupling of the layers recently observed in transport measurements at x=1/8.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures (one with 3 subfigures); ; new edited version; one new reference (Ref.25); to be published in Physical Review Letters (in press

Quantitative projections of a quality measure: Performance of a complex task

AbstractComplex data series that arise during interaction between humans (operators) and advanced technology in a controlled and realistic setting have been explored. The purpose is to obtain quantitative measures that reflect quality in task performance: on a ship simulator, nine crews have solved the same exercise, and detailed maneuvering histories have been logged. There are many degrees of freedom, some of them connected to the fact that the vessels may be freely moved in any direction. To compare maneuvering histories, several measures were used: the time needed to reach the position of operation, the integrated angle between the hull direction and the direction of motion, and the extent of movement when the vessel is to be manually kept in a fixed position. These measures are expected to reflect quality in performance. We have also obtained expert quality evaluations of the crews. The quantitative measures and the expert evaluations, taken together, allow a ranking of crew performance. However, except for time and integrated angle, there is no correlation between the individual measures. This may indicate that complex situations with social and man–machine interactions need complex measures of quality in task performance. In general terms, we have established a context-dependent and flexible framework with quantitative measures in contact with a social-science concept that is hard to define. This approach may be useful for other (qualitative) concepts in social science that contain important information on the society

Recommendations for a core outcome set for measuring standing balance in adult populations: a consensus-based approach

Standing balance is imperative for mobility and avoiding falls. Use of an excessive number of standing balance measures has limited the synthesis of balance intervention data and hampered consistent clinical practice.To develop recommendations for a core outcome set (COS) of standing balance measures for research and practice among adults.A combination of scoping reviews, literature appraisal, anonymous voting and face-to-face meetings with fourteen invited experts from a range of disciplines with international recognition in balance measurement and falls prevention. Consensus was sought over three rounds using pre-established criteria.The scoping review identified 56 existing standing balance measures validated in adult populations with evidence of use in the past five years, and these were considered for inclusion in the COS.Fifteen measures were excluded after the first round of scoring and a further 36 after round two. Five measures were considered in round three. Two measures reached consensus for recommendation, and the expert panel recommended that at a minimum, either the Berg Balance Scale or Mini Balance Evaluation Systems Test be used when measuring standing balance in adult populations.Inclusion of two measures in the COS may increase the feasibility of potential uptake, but poses challenges for data synthesis. Adoption of the standing balance COS does not constitute a comprehensive balance assessment for any population, and users should include additional validated measures as appropriate.The absence of a gold standard for measuring standing balance has contributed to the proliferation of outcome measures. These recommendations represent an important first step towards greater standardization in the assessment and measurement of this critical skill and will inform clinical research and practice internationally

Policy Coherence in US Tobacco Control: Beyond FDA Regulation

Joshua Yang and Thomas Novotny explore whether the US government can develop and implement a coherent policy agenda to reduce tobacco-related morbidity and mortality

Fulminant and Fatal Multiple Organ Failure in a 12-Year-Old Boy With Mycoplasma pneumoniae Infection

Mycoplasma pneumoniae (Mp) is a unique pathogen that causes not only pulmonary but also extrapulmonary manifestations that must be rapidly diagnosed. A 12-year-old boy, with no relevant medical history, presented with fever, severe epigastric pain, and vomiting. Laboratory findings showed fulminant and cholestatic hepatitis, hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, acute kidney injury, disseminated intravascular coagulopathy, acute myocardial infarction, and rhabdomyolysis. His clinical condition rapidly deteriorated during intubation and continuous renal replacement therapy. Despite intensive treatment, he did not recover. We report a case of fulminant and fatal multiple organ failure in a previously healthy boy with Mp infection, describing the possible pathomechanisms of multiple organ failure involved in the disease

Moduli Stabilization and Inflationary Cosmology with Poly-Instantons in Type IIB Orientifolds

Equipped with concrete examples of Type IIB orientifolds featuring poly-instanton corrections to the superpotential, the effects on moduli stabilization and inflationary cosmology are analyzed. Working in the framework of the LARGE volume scenario, the Kaehler modulus related to the size of the four-cycle supporting the poly-instanton contributes sub-dominantly to the scalar potential. It is shown that this Kaehler modulus gets stabilized and, by displacing it from its minimum, can play the role of an inflaton. Subsequent cosmological implications are discussed and compared to experimental data.Comment: 38 pages, 7 figures, Reference added, Typo fixed, Published versio

Design of a randomised controlled trial on immune effects of acidic and neutral oligosaccharides in the nutrition of preterm infants: carrot study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Prevention of serious infections in preterm infants is a challenge, since prematurity and low birth weight often requires many interventions and high utility of devices. Furthermore, the possibility to administer enteral nutrition is limited due to immaturity of the gastrointestinal tract in the presence of a developing immune system. In combination with delayed intestinal bacterial colonisation compared with term infants, this may increase the risk for serious infections. Acidic and neutral oligosaccharides play an important role in the development of the immune system, intestinal bacterial colonisation and functional integrity of the gut. This trial aims to determine the effect of enteral supplementation of acidic and neutral oligosaccharides on infectious morbidity (primary outcome), immune response to immunizations, feeding tolerance and short-term and long-term outcome in preterm infants. In addition, an attempt is made to elucidate the role of acidic and neutral oligosaccharides in postnatal modulation of the immune response and postnatal adaptation of the gut.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>In a double-blind placebo controlled randomised trial, 120 preterm infants (gestational age <32 weeks and/or birth weight <1500 gram) are randomly allocated to receive enteral acidic and neutral oligosaccharides supplementation (20%/80%) or placebo supplementation (maltodextrin) between day 3 and 30 of life. Primary outcome is infectious morbidity (defined as the incidence of serious infections). The role of acidic and neutral oligosaccharides in modulation of the immune response is investigated by determining the immune response to DTaP-IPV-Hib(-HBV)+PCV7 immunizations, plasma cytokine concentrations, faecal Calprotectin and IL-8. The effect of enteral acidic and neutral oligosaccharides supplementation on postnatal adaptation of the gut is investigated by measuring feeding tolerance, intestinal permeability, intestinal viscosity, and determining intestinal microflora. Furthermore, short-term and long-term outcome are evaluated.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Especially preterm infants, who are at increased risk for serious infections, may benefit from supplementation of prebiotics. Most studies with prebiotics only focus on the colonisation of the intestinal microflora. However, the pathways how prebiotics may influence the immune system are not yet fully understood. Studying the immune modulatory effects is complex because of the multicausal risk of infections in preterm infants. The combination of neutral oligosaccharides with acidic oligosaccharides may have an increased beneficial effect on the immune system. Increased insight in the effects of prebiotics on the developing immune system may help to decrease the (infectious) morbidity and mortality in preterm infants.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN16211826.</p

Locomotor hyperactivity in 14-3-3Zeta KO mice is associated with dopamine transporter dysfunction

Dopamine (DA) neurotransmission requires a complex series of enzymatic reactions that are tightly linked to catecholamine exocytosis and receptor interactions on pre- and postsynaptic neurons. Regulation of dopaminergic signalling is primarily achieved through reuptake of extracellular DA by the DA transporter (DAT) on presynaptic neurons. Aberrant regulation of DA signalling, and in particular hyperactivation, has been proposed as a key insult in the presentation of schizophrenia and related neuropsychiatric disorders. We recently identified 14-3-3ζ as an essential component of neurodevelopment and a central risk factor in the schizophrenia protein interaction network. Our analysis of 14-3-3ζ-deficient mice now shows that baseline hyperactivity of knockout (KO) mice is rescued by the antipsychotic drug clozapine. 14-3-3ζ KO mice displayed enhanced locomotor hyperactivity induced by the DA releaser amphetamine. Consistent with 14-3-3ζ having a role in DA signalling, we found increased levels of DA in the striatum of 14-3-3ζ KO mice. Although 14-3-3ζ is proposed to modulate activity of the rate-limiting DA biosynthesis enzyme, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), we were unable to identify any differences in total TH levels, TH localization or TH activation in 14-3-3ζ KO mice. Rather, our analysis identified significantly reduced levels of DAT in the absence of notable differences in RNA or protein levels of DA receptors D1–D5. Providing insight into the mechanisms by which 14-3-3ζ controls DAT stability, we found a physical association between 14-3-3ζ and DAT by co-immunoprecipitation. Taken together, our results identify a novel role for 14-3-3ζ in DA neurotransmission and provide support to the hyperdopaminergic basis of pathologies associated with schizophrenia and related disorders.H Ramshaw, X Xu, EJ Jaehne, P McCarthy, Z Greenberg, E Saleh, B McClure, J Woodcock, S Kabbara, S Wiszniak, Ting-Yi Wang, C Parish, M van den Buuse, BT Baune, A Lopez and Q Schwar

D3-brane Potentials from Fluxes in AdS/CFT

We give a comprehensive treatment of the scalar potential for a D3-brane in a warped conifold region of a compactification with stabilized moduli. By studying general ultraviolet perturbations in supergravity, we systematically incorporate `compactification effects' sourced by supersymmetry breaking in the compact space. Significant contributions to the D3-brane potential, including the leading term in the infrared, arise from imaginary anti-self-dual (IASD) fluxes. For an arbitrary Calabi-Yau cone, we determine the most general IASD fluxes in terms of scalar harmonics, then compute the resulting D3-brane potential. Specializing to the conifold, we identify the operator dual to each mode of flux, and for chiral operators we confirm that the potential computed in the gauge theory matches the gravity result. The effects of four-dimensional curvature, including the leading D3-brane mass term, arise directly from the ten-dimensional equations of motion. Furthermore, we show that gaugino condensation on D7-branes provides a local source for IASD flux. This flux precisely encodes the nonperturbative contributions to the D3-brane potential, yielding a promising ten-dimensional representation of four-dimensional nonperturbative effects. Our result encompasses all significant contributions to the D3-brane potential discussed in the literature, and does so in the single coherent framework of ten-dimensional supergravity. Moreover, we identify new terms with irrational scaling dimensions that were inaccessible in prior works. By decoupling gravity in a noncompact configuration, then systematically reincorporating compactification effects as ultraviolet perturbations, we have provided an approach in which Planck-suppressed contributions to the D3-brane effective action can be computed.Comment: 70 page