Frame dragging with optical vortices

General Relativistic calculations in the linear regime have been made for electromagnetic beams of radiation known as optical vortices. These exotic beams of light carry a physical quantity known as optical orbital angular momentum (OAM). It is found that when a massive spinning neutral particle is placed along the optical axis, a phenomenon known as inertial frame dragging occurs. Our results are compared with those found previously for a ring laser and an order of magnitude estimate of the laser intensity needed for a precession frequency of 1 Hz is given for these "steady" beams of light.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figure

Cardiac Calcitropes, Myotropes, and Mitotropes: JACC Review Topic of the Week.

The term "inotrope" is familiar and intimately connected with pharmaceuticals clinically used for treatment of low cardiac output with cardiogenic shock. Traditional inotropic agents exert their effect by modulating calcium signaling in the myocardium. Their use is associated with poor long-term outcomes. Newer molecules in development intend to break from calcium mediation and the associated detrimental long-term effects by targeting distinct mechanisms of action to improve cardiac performance. Thus, "inotropy" does not sufficiently describe the range of potential novel pharmaceutical products. To enhance communication around and evaluation of current, emerging, and potential therapies, this review proposes a novel nuanced and holistic framework to categorize pharmacological agents that improve myocardial performance based on 3 myocardial mechanisms: calcitropes, which alter intracellular calcium concentrations; myotropes, which affect the molecular motor and scaffolding; and mitotropes, which influence energetics. Novel chemical entities can easily be incorporated into this structure, distinguishing themselves based on their mechanisms and clinical outcomes

A microchip optomechanical accelerometer

The monitoring of accelerations is essential for a variety of applications ranging from inertial navigation to consumer electronics. The basic operation principle of an accelerometer is to measure the displacement of a flexibly mounted test mass; sensitive displacement measurement can be realized using capacitive, piezo-electric, tunnel-current, or optical methods. While optical readout provides superior displacement resolution and resilience to electromagnetic interference, current optical accelerometers either do not allow for chip-scale integration or require bulky test masses. Here we demonstrate an optomechanical accelerometer that employs ultra-sensitive all-optical displacement read-out using a planar photonic crystal cavity monolithically integrated with a nano-tethered test mass of high mechanical Q-factor. This device architecture allows for full on-chip integration and achieves a broadband acceleration resolution of 10 \mu g/rt-Hz, a bandwidth greater than 20 kHz, and a dynamic range of 50 dB with sub-milliwatt optical power requirements. Moreover, the nano-gram test masses used here allow for optomechanical back-action in the form of cooling or the optical spring effect, setting the stage for a new class of motional sensors.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figure

Selection for Replicases in Protocells

PMCID: PMC3649988This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Large perturbations in CO2 flux and subsequent chemosynthesis are induced in agricultural soil by the addition of elemental sulfur

The microbial contribution to soil organic matter has been shown to be much larger than previously thought and thus it plays a major role in carbon cycling. Among soil microorganisms, chemoautotrophs can fix CO2 without sunlight and can glean energy through the oxidation of reduced elements such as sulfur. Here we show that the addition of sulfur to soil results in an initial surge in production of CO2 through microbial respiration, followed by an order of magnitude increase in the capture of carbon from the atmosphere as elemental sulfur is oxidised to sulfate. Thiobacillus spp., take advantage of specific conditions to become the dominant chemoautotrophic group that consumes CO2. We discern the direct incorporation of atmospheric carbon into soil carbohydrate, protein and aliphatic compounds and differentiate these from existing biomass. These results suggest that chemoautotrophs can play a large role in carbon cycling and that this carbon is heavily influenced by land management practises

Dietary elimination of children with food protein induced gastrointestinal allergy – micronutrient adequacy with and without a hypoallergenic formula?

Background: The cornerstone for management of Food protein-induced gastrointestinal allergy (FPGIA) is dietary exclusion; however the micronutrient intake of this population has been poorly studied. We set out to determine the dietary intake of children on an elimination diet for this food allergy and hypothesised that the type of elimination diet and the presence of a hypoallergenic formula (HF) significantly impacts on micronutrient intake. Method: A prospective observational study was conducted on children diagnosed with FPIGA on an exclusion diet who completed a 3 day semi-quantitative food diary 4 weeks after commencing the diet. Nutritional intake where HF was used was compared to those without HF, with or without a vitamin and mineral supplement (VMS). Results: One-hundred-and-five food diaries were included in the data analysis: 70 boys (66.7%) with median age of 21.8 months [IQR: 10 - 67.7]. Fifty-three children (50.5%) consumed a HF and the volume of consumption was correlated to micronutrient intake. Significantly (p <0.05) more children reached their micronutrient requirements if a HF was consumed. In those without a HF, some continued not to achieve requirements in particular for vitamin D and zinc, in spite of VMS. Conclusion: This study points towards the important micronutrient contribution of a HF in children with FPIGA. Children, who are not on a HF and without a VMS, are at increased risk of low intakes in particular vitamin D and zinc. Further studies need to be performed, to assess whether dietary intake translates into actual biological deficiencies

Is the pharmacy profession innovative enough?: meeting the needs of Australian residents with chronic conditions and their carers using the nominal group technique

Background Community pharmacies are ideally located as a source of support for people with chronic conditions. Yet, we have limited insight into what innovative pharmacy services would support this consumer group to manage their condition/s. The aim of this study was to identify what innovations people with chronic conditions and their carers want from their ideal community pharmacy, and compare with what pharmacists and pharmacy support staff think consumers want. Methods We elicited ideas using the nominal group technique. Participants included people with chronic conditions, unpaid carers, pharmacists and pharmacy support staff, in four regions of Australia. Themes were identified via thematic analysis using the constant comparison method. Results Fifteen consumer/carer, four pharmacist and two pharmacy support staff groups were conducted. Two overarching themes were identified: extended scope of practice for the pharmacist and new or improved pharmacy services. The most innovative role for Australian pharmacists was medication continuance, within a limited time-frame. Consumers and carers wanted improved access to pharmacists, but this did not necessarily align with a faster or automated dispensing service. Other ideas included streamlined access to prescriptions via medication reminders, electronic prescriptions and a chronic illness card. Conclusions This study provides further support for extending the pharmacist’s role in medication continuance, particularly as it represents the consumer’s voice. How this is done, or the methods used, needs to optimise patient safety. A range of innovative strategies were proposed and Australian community pharmacies should advocate for and implement innovative approaches to improve access and ensure continuity of care

Зміст та основні цілі стимулювання збуту на підприємстві

Стаття присвячена висвітленню сутності стимулювання підприємства, як важливої складової для забезпечення ефективного його функціонування, а також проаналізовано головні завдання, та основні переваги та недоліки заходів, які використовуються у системі стимулювання збуту. У статті розглянуто зміст стимулювання збуту продукції підприємства, його цілі та завдання. Виявлено, що стимулювання збуту ‒ це система короткострокових спонукальних заходів на тимчасовій або територіальній основі, що чинить вплив на трьох учасників ринку (споживачів, торгових посередників, торговий персонал), яка покликана стимулювати негайне здійснення покупки і прискорений збут продукції. Наведена характеристика сучасних засобів і прийомів стимулювання збуту. Розглянуто класифікацію стимулювання збуту продукції підприємства за виникненням і впливом на покупців. Дістали подальшого розвитку теоретичні положе ння стимулювання збуту, в тому числі визначення його основних напрямків.The article is devoted to highlighting the essence of stimulating the enterprise as an important component for ensuring its effective functioning, and also analyzed the main tasks and the main advantages and disadvantages of those used in the sales promotion system. The article deals with the content of sales’ promotion in the complex of product promotion, its goals and tasks. It is found that sales promotion is a system of short-term incentives on a temporary or territorial basis, affects three market part icipants (consumers, resellers, sales personnel), which is designed to stimulate immediate purchase and accelerated sales. The characteristic of modern means and methods of sales’ promotion is given. The classification of sales promotion in the work on occurrence and influence on buyers is described. The theoretical positions of sales’ promotion were furt her developed, the main directions of sales promotion were established

Null Models of Economic Networks: The Case of the World Trade Web

In all empirical-network studies, the observed properties of economic networks are informative only if compared with a well-defined null model that can quantitatively predict the behavior of such properties in constrained graphs. However, predictions of the available null-model methods can be derived analytically only under assumptions (e.g., sparseness of the network) that are unrealistic for most economic networks like the World Trade Web (WTW). In this paper we study the evolution of the WTW using a recently-proposed family of null network models. The method allows to analytically obtain the expected value of any network statistic across the ensemble of networks that preserve on average some local properties, and are otherwise fully random. We compare expected and observed properties of the WTW in the period 1950-2000, when either the expected number of trade partners or total country trade is kept fixed and equal to observed quantities. We show that, in the binary WTW, node-degree sequences are sufficient to explain higher-order network properties such as disassortativity and clustering-degree correlation, especially in the last part of the sample. Conversely, in the weighted WTW, the observed sequence of total country imports and exports are not sufficient to predict higher-order patterns of the WTW. We discuss some important implications of these findings for international-trade models.Comment: 39 pages, 46 figures, 2 table

Q-Module-Bot: A Generative AI-Based Question and Answer Bot for Module Teaching Support

Contributions: In this article, a generative artificial intelligence (AI)-based Q&A system has been developed by integrating information retrieval and natural language processing techniques, using course materials as a knowledge base and facilitating real-time student interaction through a chat interface. Background: The rise of advanced AI exemplified by ChatGPT developed by OpenAI, has sparked interest in its application within higher education. AI has the potential to reshape education delivery through chatbots and related tools, improving remote learning and mitigating challenges, such as student isolation and educator administrative burdens. Yet, ChatGPT’s practical applications in education remain uncertain, potentially due to its novel and enigmatic nature. Additionally, current e-learning chatbot systems often suffer from development complexity and a lack of input from key stakeholders, leading to developer-focused solutions rather than user-centered ones. Intended Outcomes: In this manuscript, we introduce a practical implementation of AI in education by creating a system called Q-Module-Bot that is accessible for both technical and nontechnical educators to harness e-learning benefits and demystify generative pretraining transformer (GPT). Application Design: The proposed Q-Module-Bot system has utilized pretrained large language models (LLMs) to build a Q&A system that helps students with their queries and supports education delivery using content extracted from a virtual learning environment (VLE). Findings: The prototype and system evaluation confirm the effectiveness of a scalable cross-departmental tool featuring source attribution and real-time responses. While successful in encouraging wider acceptance of GPT use cases in higher education, refinements are needed for full integration into the VLE and expansion to other modules/courses