Funding: All of the co-authors from Rice University and Signature Science, LLC were either fully or partially supported by the Fun GCAT program from the Office of the Director of National ...Intelligence (ODNI), Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA), via the Army Research Office (ARO) under Federal Award No. PdF is supported by funding from the Texas AM Clinical Science & Translational Research Institute Pilot Grant CSTR2016-1, DARPA (HR001118A0025-FoF-FP-006), NIH (R21AI139738-01A1, 1 R01AI141607-01A1, 1R21GM132705-01) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. At a high level, the HSP flags sequences as threats if they show high similarity to unique proteins, genes, or genomic regions within the US Select Agents and Toxins List, the European Union Control List of Dual-Use Items, the Australia Group List, and (as applicable to US foreign distribution) agents on the Export Administration Regulations Commerce Control List (CCL). The clear disadvantage, as recognized within the HHS Guidance itself, is the exclusion of biosecurity threats outside of the pathogens and toxins that fall under the Select Agent Regulations (SAR), which is currently administered by HHS/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)/Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).
A novel application of Synthetic Schlieren in a laboratory set-up yields a quantitative measurement of the density field of two-dimensional, stratified or homogeneous, transparent fluids in a ...laboratory set-up using a single camera. This application obtains local values of the density without the need for tomographic reconstruction algorithms that require images taken from different directions through the fluid nor does the application require regularization. This is achieved by placing the camera at a large oblique angle with respect to the experimental set-up. This step is motivated by a fallacy observed when applying ray tracing in a classical configuration, in which the camera’s optical axis is perpendicular to the flat surface of a fluid container. The application is illustrated by the optical determination of static density fields of linearly and nonlinearly stratified fluids, as well as of multi-layered fluids. The application is validated by comparing with density profiles obtained from probe measurements of conductivity and temperature. Our application yields similar density and density gradient profiles as the probe while also providing a whole-field measurement without disturbing the fluid, and allowing the determination of dynamical density fields.
Chemicals identified as endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) have widespread consumer uses, yet little is known about indoor exposure. We sampled indoor air and dust in 120 homes, analyzing for 89 ...organic chemicals identified as EDCs. Fifty-two compounds were detected in air and 66 were detected in dust. These are the first reported measures in residential environments for over 30 of the compounds, including several detected at the highest concentrations. The number of compounds detected per home ranged from 13 to 28 in air and from 6 to 42 in dust. The most abundant compounds in air included phthalates (plasticizers, emulsifiers), o-phenylphenol (disinfectant), 4-nonylphenol (detergent metabolite), and 4-tert-butylphenol (adhesive) with typical concentrations in the range of 50-1500 ng/m3. The penta- and tetrabrominated diphenyl ethers (flame retardants) were frequently detected in dust, and 2,3-dibromo-1-propanol, the carcinogenic intermediate of a flame retardant banned in 1977, was detected in air and dust. Twenty-three pesticides were detected in air and 27 were detected in dust, the most abundant being permethrins and the synergist piperonyl butoxide. The banned pesticides heptachlor, chlordane, methoxychlor, and DDT were also frequently detected, suggesting limited indoor degradation. Detected concentrations exceeded government health-based guidelines for 15 compounds, but no guidelines are available for 28 compounds, and existing guidelines do not consider endocrine effects. This study provides a basis for prioritizing toxicology and exposure research for individual EDCs and mixtures and provides new tools for exposure assessment in health studies.
Symmetry permeates nature and is fundamental to all laws of physics. One example is parity (mirror) symmetry, which implies that flipping left and right does not change the laws of physics. Laws for ...electromagnetism, gravity and the subatomic strong force respect parity symmetry, but the subatomic weak force does not. Historically, parity violation in electron scattering has been important in establishing (and now testing) the standard model of particle physics. One particular set of quantities accessible through measurements of parity-violating electron scattering are the effective weak couplings C2q, sensitive to the quarks' chirality preference when participating in the weak force, which have been measured directly only once in the past 40 years. Here we report a measurement of the parity-violating asymmetry in electron-quark scattering, which yields a determination of 2C2u - C2d (where u and d denote up and down quarks, respectively) with a precision increased by a factor of five relative to the earlier result. These results provide evidence with greater than 95 per cent confidence that the C2q couplings are non-zero, as predicted by the electroweak theory. They lead to constraints on new parity-violating interactions beyond the standard model, particularly those due to quark chirality. Whereas contemporary particle physics research is focused on high-energy colliders such as the Large Hadron Collider, our results provide specific chirality information on electroweak theory that is difficult to obtain at high energies. Our measurement is relatively free of ambiguity in its interpretation, and opens the door to even more precise measurements in the future.
The accurate understanding and control of the time resolution of a scintillator–photodetector assembly are becoming more and more important in medical physics. The time-of-flight information in the ...positron emission tomography (TOF-PET) enhances in fact the signal-to-noise ratio of the reconstructed images. We present a custom-made Monte Carlo code investigating the role of all the parameters contributing to the time resolution. In particular, the single photoelectron response barely affects the best achievable time resolution. However, it plays a dominant role in reproducing the shape and features (rise time, amplitude) of the signal produced by the detection of a gamma ray. In such a way, it mostly determines the threshold for the best time resolution. We validated the Monte Carlo code by comparing its results with available measurements of time resolutions at various threshold levels in assemblies formed by small-size L(Y)SO and LuAG crystals coupled to Silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) and photomultiplier tubes (PMT).
Abstract Background Recurrence is a frequent complaint of patients with vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC). Although the pathogenesis of VVC remains a controversial issue, disruption of the balance ...between the vaginal microbiota may facilitate overgrowth by Candida. Some probiotic bacterial strains can suppress Candida albicans ; Lactobacillus plantarum P17630 is able to attach to vaginal epithelial cells and significantly reduce the adhesion of C. albicans. Objective To evaluate the effect of the application of Lactobacillus plantarum P17630 in restoring the vaginal microbiota and prevention of relapses among women with acute VVC undergoing conventional (azole) local and main therapy. Methods Retrospective comparative study. We recruited 89 women with a diagnosis of VVC, who were placed into two groups on the basis of reported treatment. The control group was treated with a daily dose of 2% clotrimazole vaginal cream at bedtime for 3 days, followed by vaginal application of a capsule containing lubricant once a day for 6 days and then once a week for another 4 weeks. The probiotic group was treated with the same azole-based protocol but followed by vaginal application of a capsule containing Lactobacillus plantarum P17630 (>108 CFU) once a day for 6 days and then once a week for another 4 weeks beginning the day following clotrimazole discontinuation. Clinical and diagnostic patterns were monitored for three months of follow-up. Results At the end of study the probiotic-treated women showed a statistically significant increase in Lactobacillus values “+++” (80% versus 40%, p < 0.001) and a better subjective resolution of symptoms such as vaginal discomfort described as burning or itching (90% versus 67.5%, p < 0.03). Among controls there was a non-significant increase at 3 months of recurrence of infection, but a significant increase of women with value of pH = 5 or >5. Conclusion Although the results of different studies are controversial, most have suggested use of probiotics in the prevention or treatment of VVC, and no adverse effects have been reported. Our data with L. plantarum P17630 (Gyno-Canesflor - Bayer) confirm the role of this specific strain as a potential empirical preventive agent for reducing vaginal discomfort after conventional treatment of acute VVC and shifting the vaginal milieu toward a predominance of lactobacilli with an improvement of the vaginal pH value.
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