“Glauber” models are used to calculate geometric quantities in the initial state of heavy ion collisions, such as impact parameter, number of participating nucleons and initial eccentricity. ...Experimental heavy-ion collaborations, in particular at RHIC and LHC, use Glauber Model calculations for various geometric observables for determination of the collision centrality. In this document, we describe the assumptions inherent to the approach, and provide an updated implementation (v2) of the Monte Carlo based Glauber Model calculation, which originally was used by the PHOBOS collaboration. The main improvement w.r.t. the earlier version (v1) (Alver et al. 2008) is the inclusion of Tritium, Helium-3, and Uranium, as well as the treatment of deformed nuclei and Glauber–Gribov fluctuations of the proton in p +A collisions. A users’ guide (updated to reflect changes in v2) is provided for running various calculations.
Long-term depression at parallel fiber-Purkinje cell synapses (PF-PC LTD) has been proposed to be required for cerebellar motor learning. To date, tests of this hypothesis have sought to interfere ...with receptors (mGluR1) and enzymes (PKC, PKG, or αCamKII) necessary for induction of PF-PC LTD and thereby determine if cerebellar motor learning is impaired. Here, we tested three mutant mice that target the expression of PF-PC LTD by blocking internalization of AMPA receptors. Using three different cerebellar coordination tasks (adaptation of the vestibulo-ocular reflex, eyeblink conditioning, and locomotion learning on the Erasmus Ladder), we show that there is no motor learning impairment in these mutant mice that lack PF-PC LTD. These findings demonstrate that PF-PC LTD is not essential for cerebellar motor learning.
► Motor learning is tested in three mutant mouse models lacking PF-PC LTD expression ► VOR and OKR short-term gain adaptation are not affected in mutants lacking LTD ► VOR phase reversal is not impaired in mutants or in controls after chemical LTD block ► Eyeblink conditioning and Erasmus Ladder learning are also not affected in mutants
The majority of marine invertebrates produce dispersive larvae which, in order to complete their life cycles, must attach and metamorphose into benthic forms. This process, collectively referred to ...as settlement, is often guided by habitat-specific cues. While the sources of such cues are well known, the links between their biological activity, chemical identity, presence and quantification in situ are largely missing. Previous work on coral larval settlement in vitro has shown widespread induction by crustose coralline algae (CCA) and in particular their associated bacteria. However, we found that bacterial biofilms on CCA did not initiate ecologically realistic settlement responses in larvae of 11 hard coral species from Australia, Guam, Singapore and Japan. We instead found that algal chemical cues induce identical behavioral responses of larvae as per live CCA. We identified two classes of CCA cell wall-associated compounds--glycoglycerolipids and polysaccharides--as the main constituents of settlement inducing fractions. These algae-derived fractions induce settlement and metamorphosis at equivalent concentrations as present in CCA, both in small scale laboratory assays and under flow-through conditions, suggesting their ability to act in an ecologically relevant fashion to steer larval settlement of corals. Both compound classes were readily detected in natural samples.
Varivax (varicella virus vaccine live Oka/Merck; Merck), a live attenuated varicella vaccine, is indicated for vaccination against varicella in appropriate individuals ⩾12 months of age. The 10-year ...safety profile for Varivax is described using data submitted to Merck from routine global postmarketing surveillance, combined with information from a Varicella Zoster Virus Identification Program, which uses polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis to identify the presence and strain of VZV in selected specimens. There were 16,683 reports worldwide voluntarily submitted to Merck, for an overall reporting rate of 3.4 reports/10,000 doses of vaccine distributed. PCR analysis of vesicular rashes that occurred within the first 2 weeks after vaccination was more likely to identify wild-type varicella-zoster virus (VZV), whereas the presence of Oka VZV was generally associated with vesicular rashes that occurred 15–42 days after vaccination. Reports of breakthrough varicella that occurred >42 days after vaccination were associated with wild-type VZV. Among 697 herpes zoster reports, PCR analysis identified Oka VZV in 57 reports and wild-type VZV in 38 reports. There were no primary neurologic adverse events associated with Oka VZV. Secondary transmission of Oka VZV from vaccine recipients with postvaccination vesicular rashes was identified in 3 susceptible household contacts. Disseminated Oka VZV was identified in 6 immunocompromised patients and 1 patient with Down syndrome. This review has shown that the vaccine is generally safe and well tolerated.
Persistent acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is characterized by excessive fibroproliferation, ongoing inflammation, prolonged mechanical ventilation, and a substantial risk of death. ...Because previous reports suggested that corticosteroids may improve survival, we performed a multicenter, randomized controlled trial of corticosteroids in patients with persistent ARDS.
We randomly assigned 180 patients with ARDS of at least seven days' duration to receive either methylprednisolone or placebo in a double-blind fashion. The primary end point was mortality at 60 days. Secondary end points included the number of ventilator-free days and organ-failure-free days, biochemical markers of inflammation and fibroproliferation, and infectious complications.
At 60 days, the hospital mortality rate was 28.6 percent in the placebo group (95 percent confidence interval, 20.3 to 38.6 percent) and 29.2 percent in the methylprednisolone group (95 percent confidence interval, 20.8 to 39.4 percent; P=1.0); at 180 days, the rates were 31.9 percent (95 percent confidence interval, 23.2 to 42.0 percent) and 31.5 percent (95 percent confidence interval, 22.8 to 41.7 percent; P=1.0), respectively. Methylprednisolone was associated with significantly increased 60- and 180-day mortality rates among patients enrolled at least 14 days after the onset of ARDS. Methylprednisolone increased the number of ventilator-free and shock-free days during the first 28 days in association with an improvement in oxygenation, respiratory-system compliance, and blood pressure with fewer days of vasopressor therapy. As compared with placebo, methylprednisolone did not increase the rate of infectious complications but was associated with a higher rate of neuromuscular weakness.
These results do not support the routine use of methylprednisolone for persistent ARDS despite the improvement in cardiopulmonary physiology. In addition, starting methylprednisolone therapy more than two weeks after the onset of ARDS may increase the risk of death. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00295269.).
Urban districts throughout the country are increasingly closing schools in response to declining enrollment and academic underperformance. We estimate the impact of public school closings in ...Philadelphia on student achievement and behavioral outcomes. While school closures had no effect on the average achievement of displaced students, achievement increased among displaced students attending higher-performing schools following closure. The achievement of students attending receiving-schools, however, was negatively affected by the receipt of displaced students. School absences increased significantly for displaced students following closure. We also find that the achievement of displaced and receiving-school students declined as the fraction of displaced students attending a receiving-school increased, and displaced students missed more days of school and received more suspension days the farther they traveled to their new school following closure. These findings suggest that the academic and behavioral consequences of closing urban schools depend on the school settings displaced and receiving-school students experience in the wake of closures.
Although numerous algal products have antimicrobial activity, limited knowledge of metabolite localisation and presentation in algae has meant that ecological roles of algal natural products are not ...well understood. In this study, extracts of Asparagopsis armata had antibacterial activity against marine (Vibrio spp.) and biomedical (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus spp.) strains. The major natural products in both life-history stages of A. armata (as determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis GC-MS) were bromoform (0.58 to 4.3% of dry weight DW) and dibromoacetic acid DBA (0.02 to 2.6% DW), and each compound was active against these same bacteria. To resolve whether this antibiotic activity was ecologically relevant, we examined the localisation of metabolites in the specialised cells of A. armata and observed a delivery mechanism for the release of metabolites to the surface. Bromoform and DBA were subsequently quantified in the surrounding medium of laboratory cultures, establishing their release from the alga. In a novel ecological test of algal natural products, halogenated metabolites in A. armata were manipulated by omitting bromine from an artificial seawater medium. Significantly higher densities of epiphytic bacteria occurred on algae that no longer produced halogenated metabolites. Both bromoform and DBA were more active against bacteria isolated from algae lacking brominated metabolites than algae producing normal amounts of these compounds. Taken together, these results indicate that halogenated metabolites of A. armata may be important in reducing epiphytic bacterial densities.
Heavy-ion collisions at the LHC Roland, G.; Šafařík, K.; Steinberg, P.
Progress in particle and nuclear physics,
07/2014, Letnik:
77
Journal Article
Recenzirano
A new era in the study of high-energy nuclear collisions began when the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) provided the first collisions of lead nuclei in late 2010. In the first three years of ...operation the ALICE, ATLAS and CMS experiments each collected Pb–Pb data samples of more than 50μb−1 at sNN=2.76TeV, exceeding the previously studied collision energies by more than an order of magnitude. These data have provided new insights into the properties of QCD matter under extreme conditions, with extensive measurements of soft particle production and newly accessible hard probes of the hot and dense medium. In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview of the results obtained in heavy-ion collisions at the LHC so far, with particular emphasis on the complementary nature of the observations by the three experiments. In particular, the combination of ALICE’s strengths at hadron identification, the strengths of ATLAS and CMS to make precise measurements of high pT probes, and the resourceful measurements of collective flow by all of the experiments have provided a rich and diverse dataset in only a few years. While the basic paradigm established at RHIC — that of a hot, dense medium that flows with a viscosity to shear-entropy ratio near the predicted lower bound, and which degrades the energy of probes, such as jets, heavy-flavours and J/ψ — is confirmed at the LHC, the new data suggest many new avenues for extracting its properties in detail.
While many studies of coral bleaching report on broad, regional scale responses, fewer examine variation in susceptibility among coral taxa and changes in community structure, before, during and ...after bleaching on individual reefs. Here we report in detail on the response to bleaching by a coral community on a highly disturbed reef site south of mainland Singapore before, during and after a major thermal anomaly in 2010. To estimate the capacity for resistance to thermal stress, we report on: a) overall bleaching severity during and after the event, b) differences in bleaching susceptibility among taxa during the event, and c) changes in coral community structure one year before and after bleaching. Approximately two thirds of colonies bleached, however, post-bleaching recovery was quite rapid and, importantly, coral taxa that are usually highly susceptible were relatively unaffected. Although total coral cover declined, there was no significant change in coral taxonomic community structure before and after bleaching. Several factors may have contributed to the overall high resistance of corals at this site including Symbiodinium affiliation, turbidity and heterotrophy. Our results suggest that, despite experiencing chronic anthropogenic disturbances, turbid shallow reef communities may be remarkably resilient to acute thermal stress.
Isoflavones are secondary plant constituents of certain foods and feeds such as soy, linseeds, and red clover. Furthermore, isoflavone-containing preparations are marketed as food supplements and ...so-called dietary food for special medical purposes to alleviate health complaints of peri- and postmenopausal women. Based on the bioactivity of isoflavones, especially their hormonal properties, there is an ongoing discussion regarding their potential adverse effects on human health. This review evaluates and summarises the evidence from interventional and observational studies addressing potential unintended effects of isoflavones on the female breast in healthy women as well as in breast cancer patients and on the thyroid hormone system. In addition, evidence from animal and in vitro studies considered relevant in this context was taken into account along with their strengths and limitations. Key factors influencing the biological effects of isoflavones, e.g., bioavailability, plasma and tissue concentrations, metabolism, temporality (pre- vs. postmenopausal women), and duration of isoflavone exposure, were also addressed. Final conclusions on the safety of isoflavones are guided by the aim of precautionary consumer protection.
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