We demonstrate that a summing up series of Feynman diagrams can yield unbiased accurate results for strongly correlated fermions even when the convergence radius vanishes. We consider the unitary ...Fermi gas, a model of nonrelativistic fermions in three-dimensional continuous space. Diagrams are built from partially dressed or fully dressed propagators of single particles and pairs. The series is resummed by a conformal-Borel transformation that incorporates the large-order behavior and the analytic structure in the Borel plane, which are found by the instanton approach. We report highly accurate numerical results for the equation of state in the normal unpolarized regime, and reconcile experimental data with the theoretically conjectured fourth virial coefficient.
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Background Based on previous meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials (RCTs), the use of interferon alpha (IFN-α) in the adjuvant setting improves disease-free survival (DFS) in patients with ...high-risk cutaneous melanoma. However, RCTs have yielded conflicting data on the effect of IFN-α on overall survival (OS). Methods We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the effect of IFN-α on DFS and OS in patients with high-risk cutaneous melanoma. The systematic review was performed by searching MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cancerlit, Cochrane, ISI Web of Science, and ASCO databases. The meta-analysis was performed using time-to-event data from which hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of DFS and OS were estimated. Subgroup and meta-regression analyses to investigate the effect of dose and treatment duration were also performed. Statistical tests were two-sided. Results The meta-analysis included 14 RCTs, published between 1990 and 2008, and involved 8122 patients, of which 4362 patients were allocated to the IFN-α arm. IFN-α alone was compared with observation in 12 of the 14 trials, and 17 comparisons (IFN-α vs comparator) were generated in total. IFN-α treatment was associated with a statistically significant improvement in DFS in 10 of the 17 comparisons (HR for disease recurrence = 0.82, 95% CI = 0.77 to 0.87; P < .001) and improved OS in four of the 14 comparisons (HR for death = 0.89, 95% CI = 0.83 to 0.96; P = .002). No between-study heterogeneity in either DFS or OS was observed. No optimal IFN-α dose and/or treatment duration or a subset of patients more responsive to adjuvant therapy was identified using subgroup analysis and meta-regression. Conclusion In patients with high-risk cutaneous melanoma, IFN-α adjuvant treatment showed statistically significant improvement in both DFS and OS.
Patients with melanoma and positive sentinel nodes were randomly assigned to completion lymph-node dissection or observation. Melanoma-specific survival did not differ significantly between the ...groups.
Sentinel-lymph-node biopsy is a standard procedure in the care of appropriately selected patients with melanoma. The first Multicenter Selective Lymphadenectomy Trial (MSLT-I) confirmed the value of early nodal evaluation and treatment.
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This prospective, international, randomized trial showed that the pathologic status of the sentinel node or nodes was the most important prognostic factor and that patients who underwent sentinel-node biopsy had fewer recurrences of melanoma than patients who underwent wide excision and nodal observation. Among patients with intermediate-thickness melanomas (defined as 1.2 to 3.5 mm) and nodal metastases, early surgical treatment, guided by sentinel-node biopsy, was associated with increased . . .
Background
Skin is a multilayer interface between the body and the environment, responsible for many important functions, such as temperature regulation, water transport, sensation, and protection ...from external triggers.
Objectives
This paper provides an overview of principal factors that influence human skin and describes the diversity of skin characteristics, its causes and possible consequences. It also discusses limitations in the barrier function of the skin, describing mechanisms of absorption.
Methods
There are a number of in vivo investigations focusing on the diversity of human skin characteristics with reference to barrier properties and body‐dependent factors.
Results
Skin properties vary among individuals of different age, gender, ethnicity, and skin types. In addition, skin characteristics differ depending on the body site and can be influenced by the body‐mass index and lifestyle. Although one of the main functions of the skin is to act as a barrier, absorption of some substances remains possible.
Conclusions
Various factors can alter human skin properties, which can be reflected in skin function and the quality of everyday life. Skin properties and function are strongly interlinked.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
•The equivalence between dynamical and projective accounts of measurements are studied in quantum cognitive models.•This equivalence reveals the role of introspective evaluations of intentions to act ...in opinion change.•The slowdown of opinion change is induced by introspective evaluations of intentions to act.•A thought experiment is proposed.•Simulations indicate that the predicted slowdown can be observed for a wide variety of parameter values.
In this paper it is shown a quantum-like cognitive model that predicts the slowdown of opinion change. The model proposed is a heuristic model that can reproduces some experimental results, but no assumptions about quantum descriptions of the physical brain are made. In quantum-like cognitive models the measurement postulate represents a decision. It is well known that the measurement postulate is not an essential ingredient of quantum theory, a dynamical account of measurements can also be given. Experimental results corroborate with the equivalence between both accounts. The quantum Zeno effect is an exemplary case. In this paper it is shown that, in a quantum-like cognitive model, the equivalence between the projective and dynamical accounts reveal that evaluations of intentions to act can slow down the opinion change. A thought experiment is proposed and simulations indicate that the predicted slowdown can be observed for a wide variety of parameter values.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
A key quantity in strongly interacting resonant Fermi gases is the contact C, which characterizes numerous properties such as the momentum distribution at large momenta or the pair correlation ...function at short distances. The temperature dependence of C was measured at unitarity, where existing theoretical predictions differ substantially even at the qualitative level. We report accurate data for the contact and the momentum distribution of the unitary gas in the normal phase, obtained by bold diagrammatic Monte Carlo and Borel resummation. Our results agree with experimental data within error bars and provide crucial benchmarks for the development of advanced theoretical treatments and precision measurements.
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The Antarctic minke whale (
Balaenoptera bonaerensis
) (AMW) is one of the smallest species among baleen whales, occurring in the southern hemisphere from Antarctica to near the equator, and ...performing seasonal migrations from polar to tropical waters. Information about (AMW) occurrence in the winter breeding grounds is scarce, mostly coming from old records from whaling stations before the 1960’s international moratorium, such as Costinha Station in Northeastern Brazil (6° S / 34° W) and some sightings from few dedicated visual surveys. Acoustic methods can provide important data on the occurrence and distribution of migratory species. This work describes the occurrence of the Antarctic minke whale through acoustic detections of their “Bioduck” vocalisations in the Santos Basin, South-Southeastern Brazil (22° and 28° S / 42° and 48° W). Data was recorded between November 12 and December 19, 2015. AMW calls were detected for 12 days. We detected and classified 9 different Bio-duck calls in Brazilian coastal waters, evidencing a highly diverse acoustic behavior for the minke whale breeding ground. This is the first attempt to describe the acoustic diversity of AMW vocalizations in lower latitudes, contributing important information for future conservation efforts and management of AMW populations and their habitat. Therefore, our study presents the foremost acoustic evidence of the Antarctic minke whale in Brazilian coastal waters.
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Summary
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play fundamental roles in plant responses to pathogen infection, including modulation of cell death processes and defense‐related gene expression. Cell death ...triggered as part of the hypersensitive response enhances resistance to biotrophic pathogens, but favors the virulence of necrotrophs. Even though the involvement of ROS in the orchestration of defense responses is well established, the relative contribution of specific subcellular ROS sources to plant resistance against microorganisms with different pathogenesis strategies is not completely known. The aim of this work was to investigate the role of chloroplastic ROS in plant defense against a typical necrotrophic fungus, Botrytis cinerea. For this purpose, we used transgenic Nicotiana tabacum (tobacco) lines expressing a plastid‐targeted cyanobacterial flavodoxin (pfld lines), which accumulate lower chloroplastic ROS in response to different stresses. Tissue damage and fungal growth were significantly reduced in infected leaves of pfld plants, as compared with infected wild‐type (WT) counterparts. ROS build‐up triggered by Botrytis infection and associated with chloroplasts was significantly decreased (70–80%) in pfld leaves relative to the wild type. Phytoalexin accumulation and expression of pathogenesis‐related genes were induced to a lower degree in pfld plants than in WT siblings. The impact of fungal infection on photosynthetic activity was also lower in pfld leaves. The results indicate that chloroplast‐generated ROS play a major role in lesion development during Botrytis infection. This work demonstrates that the modulation of chloroplastic ROS levels by the expression of a heterologous antioxidant protein can provide a significant degree of protection against a canonical necrotrophic fungus.
Significance Statement
Necrotrophic pathogens promote cell death as a pathogenesis strategy. Increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) signal this process. The role of chloroplastic ROS during tobacco infection by Botrytis cinerea was probed by using transgenic plants in which ROS build‐up was limited by expression of a bacterial flavodoxin. Decrease in ROS accumulation correlated with lower tissue damage and pathogen growth, preservation of photosynthesis and reduced expression of pathogenesis‐related genes, indicating that chloroplastic ROS contribute to the development of disease symptoms, while their decrease improves resistance.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
The simulation of structural problems involving the deformations of volumetric bodies is of paramount importance in many areas of engineering. Although the use of tetrahedral elements is extremely ...appealing, tetrahedral discretisations are generally known as very stiff and are hence often avoided in typical simulation workflows.
The development of mixed displacement–pressure approaches has allowed to effectively overcome this problem leading to a class of locking-free elements which can effectively compete with hexahedral discretisations while retaining obvious advantages in the mesh generation step. Despite such advantages the adoption of the technology within commercial codes is not yet pervasive.
This can be attributed to two different reasons: the difficulty in making use of standard constitutive libraries and the implied continuity of the pressure, which makes the application of the method questionable in the context of multi-material problems. Current paper proposes the adoption of the volumetric strain instead of the pressure as a nodal value. Such choice leads to the definition of a modified strain making the use of standard strain-driven constitutive laws straightforward. At the same time, the continuity of the volumetric strain across multimaterial interfaces can be understood as a sort of kinematic constraint (stresses can still remain discontinuous across material interfaces). The new element also opens the door to the use of anisotropic constitutive laws, which are typically problematic in the context of mixed elements.
•Mixed displacement–volumetric strain formulation.•Capability to address the near-incompressible limit.•Capability to use arbitrary, strain-driven, constitutive laws.•Can deal with the anisotropic case.•Stabilised element.
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