Compatible actions and non-abelian tensor products

For a pair of groups $G, H$ we study pairs of actions $G$ on $H$ and $H$ on $G$ such that these pairs are compatible and non-abelian tensor products $G \otimes H$ are defined.Comment: 9 page

Evaluation of recombinant proteins of Neospora caninum as vaccine candidates (in a mouse model)

Abortion, resulting from infections by the parasite Neospora caninum, is a major cause of economic loss to both the dairy and beef industries of cattle-producing countries of the world. Vaccination as a means of preventing abortion and/or infection represents a viable control strategy; indeed a commercial vaccine is available in some countries, albeit of unknown efficacy. The commercial vaccine is based on inactivated tachyzoites of N. caninum but other approaches based on lysates and recombinant antigens of N. caninum may also be feasible. In this study we have used an immunisation/challenge model of transplacental transmission, based on the Qs mouse with an Nc-Liverpool challenge, to investigate the vaccine potential of a number of formulations based on four recombinant proteins of N. caninum (GRA1, GRA2, MIC10, and p24B). All formulations studied were immunogenic in the mouse when assessed by ELISA using sonicated tachyzoite antigen as the target antigen. In one experiment, a mixture of MIC10 and p24B produced partial protection against transplacental transmission of N. caninum in this mouse model; in contrast a live infection of tachyzoites of NC-Nowra given before pregnancy always induces very high levels of protective immunity. The field of vaccines against Neospora-associated abortion in cattle is discussed. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Pistons modeled by potentials

In this article we consider a piston modelled by a potential in the presence of extra dimensions. We analyze the functional determinant and the Casimir effect for this configuration. In order to compute the determinant and Casimir force we employ the zeta function scheme. Essentially, the computation reduces to the analysis of the zeta function associated with a scalar field living on an interval $[0,L]$ in a background potential. Although, as a model for a piston, it seems reasonable to assume a potential having compact support within $[0,L]$, we provide a formalism that can be applied to any sufficiently smooth potential.Comment: 10 pages, LaTeX. A typo in eq. (3.5) has been corrected. In "Cosmology, Quantum Vacuum and Zeta Functions: In Honour of Emilio Elizalde", Eds. S.D. Odintsov, D. Saez-Gomez, and S. Xambo-Descamps. (Springer 2011) pp 31

Proof Relevant Corecursive Resolution

Resolution lies at the foundation of both logic programming and type class context reduction in functional languages. Terminating derivations by resolution have well-defined inductive meaning, whereas some non-terminating derivations can be understood coinductively. Cycle detection is a popular method to capture a small subset of such derivations. We show that in fact cycle detection is a restricted form of coinductive proof, in which the atomic formula forming the cycle plays the role of coinductive hypothesis. This paper introduces a heuristic method for obtaining richer coinductive hypotheses in the form of Horn formulas. Our approach subsumes cycle detection and gives coinductive meaning to a larger class of derivations. For this purpose we extend resolution with Horn formula resolvents and corecursive evidence generation. We illustrate our method on non-terminating type class resolution problems.Comment: 23 pages, with appendices in FLOPS 201

Comparison of human uterine cervical electrical impedance measurements derived using two tetrapolar probes of different sizes

BACKGROUND We sought to compare uterine cervical electrical impedance spectroscopy measurements employing two probes of different sizes, and to employ a finite element model to predict and compare the fraction of electrical current derived from subepithelial stromal tissue. METHODS Cervical impedance was measured in 12 subjects during early pregnancy using 2 different sizes of the probes on each subject. RESULTS Mean cervical resistivity was significantly higher (5.4 vs. 2.8 Ωm; p < 0.001) with the smaller probe in the frequency rage of 4–819 kHz. There was no difference in the short-term intra-observer variability between the two probes. The cervical impedance measurements derived in vivo followed the pattern predicted by the finite element model. CONCLUSION Inter-electrode distance on the probes for measuring cervical impedance influences the tissue resistivity values obtained. Determining the appropriate probe size is necessary when conducting clinical studies of resistivity of the cervix and other human tissues

Identification of differential pharyngeal cytokine profiles during HIV infection

Poster Presentation: no. P90BACKGROUND: Significantly higher pharyngeal shedding of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is observed during HIV infection. Increased EBV shedding in pharynx is not affected even during highly active antiretroviral theyrapy (HAART). EBV positive monocyte populations have been shown to carry EBV to pharyngeal mucosa. Human cytokine profiles are often altered to facilitate herpes virus infection. Thus pharyngeal cytokine profiles may influence EBV reactivation and shedding during HIV infection. Our objective was to compare 37 pharyngeal cytokine profiles of HIV-seropositive patients who were or were not receiving HAART therapy …published_or_final_versio

Renal failure and leukocytosis are predictors of a complicated course of clostridium difficile infection if measured on day of diagnosis

Nonsevere Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) and severe CDI, which carries a higher risk than nonsevere CDI for treatment failure and CDI recurrence, are difficult to distinguish at the time of diagnosis. To investigate the prognostic value of 3 markers of severe CDI suggested by recent guidelines (fever, leukocytosis, and renal failure), we used the database of 2 randomized controlled trials, which contained information for 1105 patients with CDI. Leukocytosis (risk ratio [RR], 2.29; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.63–3.21) and renal failure (RR, 2.52; 95% CI, 1.82–3.50) were associated with treatment failure. Fever, although associated with treatment failure (RR, 2.45; 95% CI, 1.07–5.61), was rare. Renal failure was the only significant predictor of recurrence (RR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.05–2.02). Different timing of measurements of leukocyte count and serum creatinine level around the CDI diagnosis led to a different severity classification in many cases. In conclusion, both leukocytosis and renal failure are useful predictors, although timing of measurement is important

The challenges of analyzing behavioral response study data : an overview of the MOCHA (Multi-study OCean acoustics Human effects Analysis) project

Date of Acceptance:This paper describes the MOCHA project which aims to develop novel approaches for the analysis of data collected during Behavioral Response Studies (BRSs). BRSs are experiments aimed at directly quantifying the effects of controlled dosages of natural or anthropogenic stimuli (typically sound) on marine mammal behavior. These experiments typically result in low sample size, relative to variability, and so we are looking at a number of studies in combination to maximize the gain from each one. We describe a suite of analytical tools applied to BRS data on beaked whales, including a simulation study aimed at informing future experimental design.Postprin

Development and evaluation of a diagnostic cytokine-release assay for Mycobacterium suricattae infection in meerkats (Suricata suricatta)

CITATION: Clarke, C., et al. 2017. Development and evaluation of a diagnostic cytokine-release assay for mycobacterium suricattae infection in meerkats (Suricata suricatta). BMC Veterinary Research, 13:2, doi:10.1186/s12917-016-0927-x.The original publication is available at http://bmcvetres.biomedcentral.comBackground: Sensitive diagnostic tools are necessary for the detection of Mycobacterium suricattae infection in meerkats (Suricata suricatta) in order to more clearly understand the epidemiology of tuberculosis and the ecological consequences of the disease in this species. We therefore aimed to develop a cytokine release assay to measure antigen-specific cell-mediated immune responses of meerkats. Results: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were evaluated for the detection of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and IFN-γ inducible protein 10 (IP-10) in meerkat plasma. An IP-10 ELISA was selected to measure the release of this cytokine in whole blood in response to Bovigam® PC-HP Stimulating Antigen, a commercial peptide pool of M. bovis antigens. Using this protocol, captive meerkats with no known M. suricattae exposure (n = 10) were tested and results were used to define a diagnostic cut off value (mean plus 2 standard deviations). This IP-10 release assay (IPRA) was then evaluated in free-living meerkats with known M. suricattae exposure, categorized as having either a low, moderate or high risk of infection with this pathogen. In each category, respectively, 24.7%, 27.3% and 82.4% of animals tested IPRA-positive. The odds of an animal testing positive was 14.0 times greater for animals with a high risk of M. suricattae infection compared to animals with a low risk. Conclusion: These results support the use of this assay as a measure of M. suricattae exposure in meerkat populations. Ongoing longitudinal studies aim to evaluate the value of the IPRA as a diagnostic test of M. suricattae infection in individual animals.http://bmcvetres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12917-016-0927-xPublisher's versio

Accreting Neutron Stars in Low-Mass X-Ray Binary Systems

Using the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RossiXTE), astronomers have discovered that disk-accreting neutron stars with weak magnetic fields produce three distinct types of high-frequency X-ray oscillations. These oscillations are powered by release of the binding energy of matter falling into the strong gravitational field of the star or by the sudden nuclear burning of matter that has accumulated in the outermost layers of the star. The frequencies of the oscillations reflect the orbital frequencies of gas deep in the gravitational field of the star and/or the spin frequency of the star. These oscillations can therefore be used to explore fundamental physics, such as strong-field gravity and the properties of matter under extreme conditions, and important astrophysical questions, such as the formation and evolution of millisecond pulsars. Observations using RossiXTE have shown that some two dozen neutron stars in low-mass X-ray binary systems have the spin rates and magnetic fields required to become millisecond radio-emitting pulsars when accretion ceases, but that few have spin rates above about 600 Hz. The properties of these stars show that the paucity of spin rates greater than 600 Hz is due in part to the magnetic braking component of the accretion torque and to the limited amount of angular momentum that can be accreted in such systems. Further study will show whether braking by gravitational radiation is also a factor. Analysis of the kilohertz oscillations has provided the first evidence for the existence of the innermost stable circular orbit around dense relativistic stars that is predicted by strong-field general relativity. It has also greatly narrowed the possible descriptions of ultradense matter.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figures, updated list of sources and references, to appear in "Short-period Binary Stars: Observation, Analyses, and Results", eds. E.F. Milone, D.A. Leahy, and D. Hobill (Dordrecht: Springer, http://www.springerlink.com