On Randomness in Quantum Mechanics

The quantum mechanical probability densities are compared with the probability densities treated by the theory of random variables. The relevance of their difference for the interpretation of quantum mechanics is commented

Concentrations of mephedrone in cases of fatal and non-fatal clinical intoxications

Peer reviewe

Patient information after hospitalization improves humanistic care in intensive care units

Introduction The purpose of the study was to assess the prognosis value of pro-adrenomedullin (pADM), C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT), lactate (LT), albumin (ALB), cholesterol (CHOL), white blood cell (WBC) and severity score in patients with severe sepsis or septic shock. Methods A prospective, observational study in adult patients with severe sepsis or septic shock in a polyvalent ICU. Demographics, severity scores (APACHE II and SOFA) and all of the biomarkers were studied within 24+ hours from septic shock onset. Descriptive and comparative statistical analysis was performed using the statistical software packages SPSS v.15 and MedCalc® 9.2.1.0. Conclusion The protein pADM, LT and ALB showed good prognosis accuracy when measured on admission of septic patients to the ICU.Ye

Lamellar Structures of MUC2-Rich Mucin: A Potential Role in Governing the Barrier and Lubricating Functions of Intestinal Mucus

Mucus is a ubiquitous feature of mammalian wet epithelial surfaces, where it lubricates and forms a selective barrier that excludes a range of particulates, including pathogens, while hosting a diverse commensal microflora. The major polymeric component of mucus is mucin, a large glycoprotein formed by several MUC gene products, with MUC2 expression dominating intestinal mucus. A satisfactory answer to the question of how these molecules build a dynamic structure capable of playing such a complex role has yet to be found, as recent reports of distinct layers of chemically identical mucin in the colon and anomalously rapid transport of nanoparticles through mucus have emphasized. Here we use atomic force microscopy (AFM) to image a MUC2-rich mucus fraction isolated from pig jejunum. In the freshly isolated mucin fraction, we find direct evidence for trigonally linked structures, and their assembly into lamellar networks with a distribution of pore sizes from 20 to 200 nm. The networks are two-dimensional, with little interaction between lamellae. The existence of persistent cross-links between individual mucin polypeptides is consistent with a non-self-interacting lamellar model for intestinal mucus structure, rather than a physically entangled polymer network. We only observe collapsed entangled structures in purified mucin that has been stored in nonphysiological conditions

An Automatic Tree Search Algorithm for the Tisserand Graph

The Tisserand graph (TG) is a graphical tool commonly employed in the preliminary design of gravity-assisted trajectories. The TG is a two-dimensional map showing essential orbital information regarding the Keplerian orbits resulting from the close passage by one or more massive bodies, given the magnitude of the hyperbolic excess speed ($v_{\infty}$) and the minimum allowed pericenter height for each passage. Contours of constant $v_{\infty}$ populate the TG. Intersections between contours allow to link consecutive flybys and build sequences of encounters en route to a selected destination. When the number of perturbing bodies is large and many $v_{\infty}$ levels are considered, the identification of all the possible sequences of encounters through the visual inspection of the TG becomes a laborious task. Besides, if the sequences are used as input for a numerical code for trajectory design and optimization, an automated examination of the TG is desirable. This contribution describes an automatic technique to explore the TG and find all the encounter paths. The technique is based on a tree search method, and the intersections between contours are found using the regula-falsi scheme. The method is validated through comparisons with solutions available in the open literature. Examples are given of application to interplanetary mission scenarios, including the coupling with a trajectory optimizer

Transcriptomic signatures of neuronal differentiation and their association with risk genes for autism spectrum and related neuropsychiatric disorders.

Genes for autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are also implicated in fragile X syndrome (FXS), intellectual disabilities (ID) or schizophrenia (SCZ), and converge on neuronal function and differentiation. The SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cell line, the most widely used system to study neurodevelopment, is currently discussed for its applicability to model cortical development. We implemented an optimal neuronal differentiation protocol of this system and evaluated neurodevelopment at the transcriptomic level using the CoNTeXT framework, a machine-learning algorithm based on human post-mortem brain data estimating developmental stage and regional identity of transcriptomic signatures. Our improved model in contrast to currently used SH-SY5Y models does capture early neurodevelopmental processes with high fidelity. We applied regression modelling, dynamic time warping analysis, parallel independent component analysis and weighted gene co-expression network analysis to identify activated gene sets and networks. Finally, we tested and compared these sets for enrichment of risk genes for neuropsychiatric disorders. We confirm a significant overlap of genes implicated in ASD with FXS, ID and SCZ. However, counterintuitive to this observation, we report that risk genes affect pathways specific for each disorder during early neurodevelopment. Genes implicated in ASD, ID, FXS and SCZ were enriched among the positive regulators, but only ID-implicated genes were also negative regulators of neuronal differentiation. ASD and ID genes were involved in dendritic branching modules, but only ASD risk genes were implicated in histone modification or axonal guidance. Only ID genes were over-represented among cell cycle modules. We conclude that the underlying signatures are disorder-specific and that the shared genetic architecture results in overlaps across disorders such as ID in ASD. Thus, adding developmental network context to genetic analyses will aid differentiating the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders

Identical particles are indistinguishable but..

It is shown that quantum systems of identical particles can be treated as if they were different when they are in well differentiated states. This simplifying assumption allows the consideration of quantum systems isolated from the rest of the universe and justifies many intuitive statements about identical systems. However, it is shown that this simplification may lead to wrong results in the calculation of the entropy. Keywords: quantum mechanics, identical systems, entrop

Statistical and systematic errors in redshift-space distortion measurements from large surveys

This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society © 2012 RAS © 2012 The Authors Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.We investigate the impact of statistical and systematic errors on measurements of linear redshift-space distortions (RSD) in future cosmological surveys by analysing large catalogues of dark matter haloes from the baryonic acoustic oscillation simulations at the Institute for Computational Cosmology. These allow us to estimate the dependence of errors on typical survey properties, as volume, galaxy density and mass (i.e. bias factor) of the adopted tracer. We find that measures of the specific growth rate β = f/b using the Hamilton/Kaiser harmonic expansion of the redshift-space correlation function ξ(r p, π) on scales larger than 3h -1 Mpc are typically underestimated by up to 10 per cent for galaxy-sized haloes. This is significantly larger than the corresponding statistical errors, which amount to a few per cent, indicating the importance of non-linear improvements to the Kaiser model, to obtain accurate measurements of the growth rate. The systematic error shows a diminishing trend with increasing bias value (i.e. mass) of the haloes considered. We compare the amplitude and trends of statistical errors as a function of survey parameters to predictions obtained with the Fisher information matrix technique. This is what is usually adopted to produce RSD forecasts, based on the Feldman-Kaiser-Peacock prescription for the errors on the power spectrum. We show that this produces parameter errors fairly similar to the standard deviations from the halo catalogues, provided it is applied to strictly linear scales in Fourier space (k<0.2 h Mpc -1). Finally, we combine our measurements to define and calibrate an accurate scaling formula for the relative error on β as a function of the same parameters, which closely matches the simulation results in all explored regimes. This provides a handy and plausibly more realistic alternative to the Fisher matrix approach, to quickly and accurately predict statistical errors on RSD expected from future surveysEM is supported by the Spanish MICINNs Juan de la Cierva programme (JCI-2010-08112), by CICYT through the project FPA-2009 09017 and by the Community of Madrid through the project HEPHACOS (S2009/ESP-1473) under grant P-ESP-00346. Financial support of PRIN-INAF 2007, PRIN-MIUR 2008 and ASI Contracts I/023/05/0, I/088/06/0, I/016/07/0, I/064/08/0 and I/039/10/0 is gratefully acknowledged. LG is partly supported by ERC Advanced Grant #291521 ‘DARKLIGHT’

ECONOMIC IMPACTS RESULTING FROM CO-FIRING BIOMASS FEEDSTOCKS IN SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES COAL-FIRED PLANTS

Economic impacts of using biomass in Southeast United States coal-fired plants are estimated using a county-level biomass database; ORCED, a dynamic electricity distribution model that estimates feedstock value; ORIBAS, a GIS model that estimates feedstock transportation costs; and IMPLAN, an input-output model that determines the impacts of co-firing on economic activity.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,