An Analysis of the Decay B→D∗XℓνˉℓB \rightarrow D^* X \ell \bar\nu_\ell with Predictions from Heavy Quark and Chiral Symmetry

This paper considers the implications of the heavy quark and chiral symmetries for the semi-leptonic decay $B \rightarrow D^* X \ell \bar \nu_\ell$. The general kinematic analysis for decays of the form {\sl pseudoscalar meson $\rightarrow$ vector meson $+$ pseudoscalar meson $+$ lepton $+$ anti-lepton} is presented. This formalism is applied to the above exclusive decay which allows the differential decay rate to be expressed in a form that is ideally suited for the experimental determination of the different form factors for the process through angular distribution measurements. Heavy quark and chiral symmetry predictions for the form factors are presented, and the differential decay rate is calculated in the kinematic region where chiral perturbation theory is valid.Comment: 15 pages, uses jytex.tex and tables.tex; 3 figures not included but available on reques

Low NOx Fuel Flexible Combustor Integration Project Overview

The Integrated Technology Demonstration (ITD) 40A Low NOx Fuel Flexible Combustor Integration development is being conducted as part of the NASA Environmentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) Project. Phase 2 of this effort began in 2012 and will end in 2015. This document describes the ERA goals, how the fuel flexible combustor integration development fulfills the ERA combustor goals, and outlines the work to be conducted during project execution

The Exact Critical Bubble Free Energy and the Effectiveness of Effective Potential Approximations

To calculate the temperature at which a first-order cosmological phase transition occurs, one must calculate $F_c(T)$, the free energy of a critical bubble configuration. $F_c(T)$ is often approximated by the classical energy plus an integral over the bubble of the effective potential; one must choose a method for calculating the effective potential when $V''<0$. We test different effective potential approximations at one loop. The agreement is best if one pulls a factor of $\mu^4/T^4$ into the decay rate prefactor [where $\mu^2 = V''(\phi_f)$], and takes the real part of the effective potential in the region $V''<0$. We perform a similar analysis on the 1-dimensional kink.Comment: 11 pages plus 3 figures in jyTeX; CALT-68-188

Diarrheagenic pathogens in adults attending a hospital in Singapore.

BACKGROUND: Singapore's diarrhoeal notification system is based on specific pathogens. Official data may thus be skewed towards notifiable diseases. Limited information is available on the profiles of aetiological agents responsible for acute gastroenteritis (AGE) cases, especially among the adult population. To understand the frequency and distribution of potential causative agents of diarrheal disease in Singapore, we screened adults' stool samples collected from a large public hospital. METHODS: The stool samples were screened for 18 diarrheagenic pathogens using a combination of commercial multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR), in-house singleplex PCR and immunochromatographic assays. One hundred adult faecal samples that were collected from October 2013 to January 2014 for routine diagnostic purposes and submitted for culture at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore were used. RESULTS: Pathogens were detected in 32% of the samples. The predominant organisms encountered were norovirus genogroup II (11%), Aeromonas spp. (9%) and Campylobacter spp. (5%). One sample was positive for both verocytotoxigenic E. coli (VTEC) and E. coli O157:H7. Two other samples were positive for VTEC only, and one other sample was positive for E. coli O157:H7 only. Astrovirus, C. perfringens, Shigella spp. and toxigenic C. difficile were each detected in 2% of the samples. Cryptosporidium parvum, Giardia lamblia, group A rotavirus, Salmonella spp. and Vibrio spp. were each detected in 1% of the samples. No L. monocytogenes, Y. enterocolitica, enteric adenovirus, or norovirus genogroup I were detected. CONCLUSION: Our preliminary findings suggest that pathogens causing non-notifiable diseases might have contributed considerably to the adult hospitalised AGE cases. However, as the samples were from an adult hospital, the data obtained may not be representative of the whole community. Thus, a larger study to collect clinical samples and risk exposure data from primary healthcare clinics and children hospital is planned for, to gain a more holistic perspective on the epidemiology of AGE in Singapore. A larger study may also offer valuable insights for improving the approach of microbiological surveillance of food, as well as strategizing inspection efforts along the food supply chain by public health authorities

Improving mammalian genome scaffolding using large insert mate-pair next-generation sequencing

BACKGROUND: Paired-tag sequencing approaches are commonly used for the analysis of genome structure. However, mammalian genomes have a complex organization with a variety of repetitive elements that complicate comprehensive genome-wide analyses. RESULTS: Here, we systematically assessed the utility of paired-end and mate-pair (MP) next-generation sequencing libraries with insert sizes ranging from 170 bp to 25 kb, for genome coverage and for improving scaffolding of a mammalian genome (Rattus norvegicus). Despite a lower library complexity, large insert MP libraries (20 or 25 kb) provided very high physical genome coverage and were found to efficiently span repeat elements in the genome. Medium-sized (5, 8 or 15 kb) MP libraries were much more efficient for genome structure analysis than the more commonly used shorter insert paired-end and 3 kb MP libraries. Furthermore, the combination of medium- and large insert libraries resulted in a 3-fold increase in N50 in scaffolding processes. Finally, we show that our data can be used to evaluate and improve contig order and orientation in the current rat reference genome assembly. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that applying combinations of mate-pair libraries with insert sizes that match the distributions of repetitive elements improves contig scaffolding and can contribute to the finishing of draft genomes

Inferring who-infected-whom-where in the 2016 Zika outbreak in Singapore-a spatio-temporal model.

Singapore experienced its first known Zika outbreak in 2016. Given the lack of herd immunity, the suitability of the climate for pathogen transmission, and the year-round presence of the vector- Aedes aegypti-Zika had the potential to become endemic, like dengue. Guillain-Barré syndrome and microcephaly are severe complications associated elsewhere with Zika and the risk of these complications makes understanding its spread imperative. We investigated the spatio-temporal spread of locally transmitted Zika in Singapore and assessed the relevance of non-residential transmission of Zika virus infections, by inferring the possible infection tree (i.e. who-infected-whom-where) and comparing inferences using geographically resolved data on cases' home, their work, or their home and work. We developed a spatio-temporal model using time of onset and both addresses of the Zika-confirmed cases between July and September 2016 to estimate the infection tree using Bayesian data augmentation. Workplaces were involved in a considerable fraction (64.2%) of infections, and homes and workplaces may be distant relative to the scale of transmission, allowing ambulant infected persons may act as the 'vector' infecting distant parts of the country. Contact tracing is a challenge for mosquito-borne diseases, but inferring the geographically structured transmission tree sheds light on the spatial transmission of Zika to immunologically naive regions of the country

Pennsylvania Folklife Vol. 30, No. 1

• The Allentown Academy: America\u27s First German Medical School • Amish Attitudes and Treatment of Illness • Germanic European Origins and Geographical History of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Dunkards • The Voyage of Bishop Naas 1733 • Segregation in Life, Segregation in Death: Landscape of an Ethnic Cemetery • Rest in Peace, Joseph Hewes! • Aldes un Neies / Old & Newhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/pafolklifemag/1089/thumbnail.jp

The epidemiology and transmission of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in the community in Singapore: study protocol for a longitudinal household study.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the most common multidrug-resistant organisms in healthcare settings worldwide, but little is known about MRSA transmission outside of acute healthcare settings especially in Asia. We describe the methods for a prospective longitudinal study of MRSA prevalence and transmission. METHODS: MRSA-colonized individuals were identified from MRSA admission screening at two tertiary hospitals and recruited together with their household contacts. Participants submitted self-collected nasal, axilla and groin (NAG) swabs by mail for MRSA culture at baseline and monthly thereafter for 6 months. A comparison group of households of MRSA-negative patients provided swab samples at one time point. In a validation sub-study, separate swabs from each site were collected from randomly selected individuals, to compare MRSA detection rates between swab sites, and between samples collected by participants versus those collected by trained research staff. Information on each participant's demographic information, medical status and medical history, past healthcare facilities usage and contacts, and personal interactions with others were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: Understanding the dynamics of MRSA persistence and transmission in the community is crucial to devising and evaluating successful MRSA control strategies. Close contact with MRSA colonized patients may to be important for MRSA persistence in the community; evidence from this study on the extent of community MRSA could inform the development of household- or community-based interventions to reduce MRSA colonization of close contacts and subsequent re-introduction of MRSA into healthcare settings. Analysis of longitudinal data using whole-genome sequencing will yield further information regarding MRSA transmission within households, with significant implications for MRSA infection control outside acute hospital settings