The reactions p¯p→e+e− and e+e−→p¯p are analyzed in the near-threshold region. Specific emphasis is put on the role played by the interaction in the initial or final antinucleon–nucleon (N¯N) system ...which is taken into account rigorously. For that purpose a recently published N¯N potential derived within chiral effective field theory and fitted to results of a new partial-wave analysis of p¯p scattering data is employed. Our results provide strong support for the conjecture that the pronounced energy dependence of the e+e−↔p¯p cross section, seen in pertinent experiments, is primarily due to the p¯p interaction. Predictions for the proton electromagnetic form factors GE and GM in the timelike region, close to the N¯N threshold, and for spin-dependent observables are presented. The steep rise of the effective form factor for energies close to the p¯p threshold is explained solely in terms of the p¯p interaction. The corresponding experimental information is quantitatively described by our calculation.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Lameness has a considerable influence on the welfare and health of dairy cows. Many attempts have been made to develop automatic lameness detection systems using computer vision technology. However, ...these detection methods are easily affected by the characteristics of individual cows, resulting in inaccurate detection of lameness. Therefore, this study explores an individualized lameness detection method for dairy cattle based on the supporting phase using computer vision. This approach is applied to eliminate the influence of the characteristics of individual cows and to detect lame cows and lame hooves. In this paper, the correlation coefficient between lameness and the supporting phase is calculated, a lameness detection algorithm based on the supporting phase is proposed, and the accuracy of the algorithm is verified. Additionally, the reliability of this method using computer vision technology is verified based on deep learning. One hundred naturally walking cows are selected from video data for analysis. The results show that the correlation between lameness and the supporting phase was 0.864; 96% of cows were correctly classified, and 93% of lame hooves were correctly detected using the supporting phase–based lameness detection algorithm. The mean average precision is 87.0%, and the number of frames per second is 83.3 when the Receptive Field Block Net Single Shot Detector deep learning network was used to detect the locations of cow hooves in the video. The results show that the supporting phase–based lameness detection method proposed in this paper can be used for the detection and classification of cow lameness and the detection of lame hooves with high accuracy. This approach eliminates the influence of individual cow characteristics and could be integrated into an automatic detection system and widely applied for the detection of cow lameness.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
We take advantage of an analytic model of galaxy formation coupled to the merger tree of an N-body simulation to study the roles of environment and stellar mass in the quenching of galaxies. The ...model has been originally set in order to provide the observed evolution of the stellar mass function as well as reasonable predictions of the star formation rate-stellar mass relation, from high redshift to the present time. We analyze the stellar mass and environmental quenching efficiencies and their dependence on stellar mass, halo mass (taken as a proxy for the environment), and redshift. Our analysis shows that the two quenching efficiencies are dependent on redshift and stellar and halo mass, and that the halo mass is also a good proxy for the environment. The environmental quenching increases with decreasing redshift and is inefficient below log M* ∼ 9.5, reaches the maximum value at log M* ∼ 10.5, and decreases again, becoming poorly efficient at very high stellar mass (log M* 11.5). Central and satellites galaxies are mass quenched differently: for the former, the quenching efficiency depends very weakly on redshift but strongly on stellar mass; for the latter, it strongly depends on both stellar mass and redshift in the range . According to the most recent observational results, we find that the two quenching efficiencies are not separable: intermediate-mass galaxies, as well as intermediate/massive galaxies in more massive halos, are environmentally quenched faster. At stellar masses lower than log M* 9.5, both quenching mechanisms become inefficient, independently of the redshift.
Background
We undertook a prospective study of non‐obstetric epidurals placed in surgical inpatients at a single teaching hospital to evaluate the incidence of and potential risk factors for major ...complications of continuous epidural anesthesia.
Methods
Demographic information, details of the epidural procedure, and complications (from the pre‐anesthetic period through resolution) were recorded for more than 5000 surgical inpatients who underwent continuous epidural anesthesia in our institution between March 2009 and April 2011. The incidence of and risk factors for major complications were evaluated.
Results
During the study period, 5083 patients were interviewed and their details were recorded (98% capture rate). Sixty‐nine (1.36%) experienced major complications: epidural hematoma in 1 patient (0.02%), post‐operative neurologic deficits in 57 patients (1.12%), post‐dural puncture headache in 7 patients (0.14%), and systemic local anesthetic toxicity in 4 patients (0.08%). Only one patient had permanent sequelae: unilateral lower limb paresthesia. Identified risk factors for neurologic deficits were as follows: American Society of Anesthesiologists status II–III, siting in the lumbar region, orthopedic and urologic surgery, multiple attempts to site an epidural, paresthesia during insertion, a history of neuraxial anesthesia, and use of patient‐controlled epidural analgesia.
Conclusions
Serious complications were very rare; only one patient had permanent sequelae, and a single epidural hematoma was diagnosed. Post‐operative neurologic deficits were more common, but most complications resolved spontaneously within 3 months and they rarely required intervention.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Galaxy clustering sets strong constraints on the physics governing galaxy formation and evolution. However, most current models fail to reproduce the clustering of low-mass galaxies on small scales ...(r < 1 Mpc h
−1). In this paper, we study the galaxy clusterings predicted from a few semi-analytical models. We first compare two Munich versions, Guo et al. and De Lucia & Blaizot. The Guo11 model well reproduces the galaxy stellar mass function, but overpredicts the clustering of low-mass galaxies on small scales. The DLB07 model provides a better fit to the clustering on small scales, but overpredicts the stellar mass function. These seem to be puzzling. The clustering on small scales is dominated by galaxies in the same dark matter halo, and there is slightly more fraction of satellite galaxies residing in massive haloes in the Guo11 model, which is the dominant contribution to the clustering discrepancy between the two models. However, both models still overpredict the clustering at 0.1 < r < 10 Mpc h
−1 for low-mass galaxies. This is because both models overpredict the number of satellites by 30 per cent in massive haloes than the data. We show that the Guo11 model could be slightly modified to simultaneously fit the stellar mass function and clusterings, but that cannot be easily achieved in the DLB07 model. The better agreement of DLB07 model with the data actually comes as a coincidence as it predicts too many low-mass central galaxies which are less clustered and thus brings down the total clustering. Finally, we show the predictions from the semi-analytical models of Kang et al. We find that this model can simultaneously fit the stellar mass function and galaxy clustering if the supernova feedback in satellite galaxies is stronger. We conclude that semi-analytical models are now able to solve the small-scales clustering problem, without invoking of any other new physics or changing the dark matter properties, such as the recent favoured warm dark matter.
Metabolic endotoxemia, commonly derived from gut dysbiosis, is a primary cause of chronic low grade inflammation that underlies many chronic diseases. Here we show that mice fed a diet high in ...omega-6 fatty acids exhibit higher levels of metabolic endotoxemia and systemic low-grade inflammation, while transgenic conversion of tissue omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids dramatically reduces endotoxemic and inflammatory status. These opposing effects of tissue omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids can be eliminated by antibiotic treatment and animal co-housing, suggesting the involvement of the gut microbiota. Analysis of gut microbiota and fecal transfer revealed that elevated tissue omega-3 fatty acids enhance intestinal production and secretion of intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP), which induces changes in the gut bacteria composition resulting in decreased lipopolysaccharide production and gut permeability, and ultimately, reduced metabolic endotoxemia and inflammation. Our findings uncover an interaction between host tissue fatty acid composition and gut microbiota as a novel mechanism for the anti-inflammatory effect of omega-3 fatty acids. Given the excess of omega-6 and deficiency of omega-3 in the modern Western diet, the differential effects of tissue omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids on gut microbiota and metabolic endotoxemia provide insight into the etiology and management of today's health epidemics.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
We study the colors and metallicities of the brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) and intracluster light (ICL) in galaxy groups and clusters, as predicted by a semi-analytic model of galaxy formation, ...coupled with a set of high-resolution N-body simulations. The model assumes stellar stripping and violent relaxation processes during galaxy mergers to be the main channels for the formation of the ICL. We find that BCGs are more metal-rich and redder than the ICL, at all redshifts once the ICL starts to form (z ∼ 1). In good agreement with several observed data, our model predicts negative radial metallicity and color gradients in the BCG+ICL system. By comparing the typical colors of the ICL with those of satellite galaxies, we find that the mass and metals in the ICL come from galaxies of different mass, depending on the redshift. Stripping of low-mass galaxies, , is the most important contributor in the early stages of ICL formation, but the bulk of the mass/metals contents are given by intermediate/massive galaxies, , at lower redshift. Our analysis supports the idea that stellar stripping is more important than galaxy mergers in building up the ICL, and highlights the importance of colors/metallicity measurements for understanding the formation and evolution of the ICL.
AbstractThis study investigated the effects of polymers on the small-strain stiffness behavior of high volume Class-F fly ash–kaolinite mixtures. The shear wave velocity (Vs) and its anisotropy of ...organically modified fly ash–kaolinite mixtures were evaluated using a self-developed floating wall type consolidometer bender element (BE) testing system. Both synthetic polymers polyethylene oxide (PEO) and biopolymers (xanthan gum and chitosan) were used to modify the stiffness of fly ash–kaolinite mixtures. Shear waves generated and received by bender elements were measured to quantify the small-strain stiffness of the organically modified fly ash–kaolinite mixtures in three orthogonal directions, i.e., vh, hv, and hh. The results suggested that (1) as the fly ash content increased, Vs increased, while the Vs anisotropy, in terms of shear wave velocity ratio Vs−hh/Vs−vh, decreased; (2) a threshold fly ash content concept, which corresponds to the onset of continuous contact chains between fly ash particles throughout the specimen, was used to distinguish the kaolinite-dominated zone from the fly ash-dominated zone of Vs and Vs anisotropy behavior; (3) the introduction of fly ash was also found to enhance the cross-anisotropy of fly ash–kaolinite mixtures; (4) the addition of PEO and chitosan increased the Vs of the fly ash–kaolinite mixtures, while the addition of xanthan gum decreased the Vs; and (5) all three polymers were found to decrease the Vs anisotropy of the fly ash–kaolinite mixtures.
Understanding the mechanism of the sexual dimorphism in susceptibility to obesity and metabolic syndrome (MS) is important for the development of effective interventions for MS.
Here we show that gut ...microbiome mediates the preventive effect of estrogen (17β-estradiol) on metabolic endotoxemia (ME) and low-grade chronic inflammation (LGCI), the underlying causes of MS and chronic diseases. The characteristic profiles of gut microbiome observed in female and 17β-estradiol-treated male and ovariectomized mice, such as decreased Proteobacteria and lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis, were associated with a lower susceptibility to ME, LGCI, and MS in these animals. Interestingly, fecal microbiota-transplant from male mice transferred the MS phenotype to female mice, while antibiotic treatment eliminated the sexual dimorphism in MS, suggesting a causative role of the gut microbiome in this condition. Moreover, estrogenic compounds such as isoflavones exerted microbiome-modulating effects similar to those of 17β-estradiol and reversed symptoms of MS in the male mice. Finally, both expression and activity of intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP), a gut microbiota-modifying non-classical anti-microbial peptide, were upregulated by 17β-estradiol and isoflavones, whereas inhibition of IAP induced ME and LGCI in female mice, indicating a critical role of IAP in mediating the effects of estrogen on these parameters.
In summary, we have identified a previously uncharacterized microbiome-based mechanism that sheds light upon sexual dimorphism in the incidence of MS and that suggests novel therapeutic targets and strategies for the management of obesity and MS in males and postmenopausal women.
Objectives
To evaluate the effect of peri-prostatic adipose tissue (PPAT) measurements using preoperative MRI on the prediction of prostate cancer (PCa) aggressiveness in men undergoing radical ...prostatectomy (RP).
Methods
We performed a retrospective study on 179 consecutive patients receiving RP from June 2016 to October 2018. Clinical characteristics were collected. PPAT measurements including peri-prostatic fat area (PPFA) and peri-prostatic fat area to prostate area (PA) ratio (PPFA/PA) were calculated by MRI. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to identify independent predictors of PCa lymph node metastasis (LNM). The predictive performance was estimated through ROC curves. Nomograms were created based on the predictors.
Results
Pathologic Gleason score positively correlated with digital rectal examination (DRE), PSA, PPFA/PA, P504S, and Ki-67 (all
P
< 0.05). ROC curves revealed that high PPFA and high PPFA/PA were associated with LNM (both
P
< 0.05). Multivariate analysis revealed that high PPFA/PA, pathologic Gleason score, pT stage, and Ki-67 were independently predictive of LNM. The nomograms were created and the C-index was 0.945.
Conclusions
PPFA/PA is an independent predictor for LNM along with Gleason score, pT stage, and Ki-67. PPFA/PA may help predict LNM in men undergoing RP, thus providing adjunctive information for therapeutic strategy and prognosis.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
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