On variational principles for coherent vortex structures

Different approaches are discussed of variational principles characterizing coherent vortex structures in two-dimensional flows. Turbulent flows seem to form ordered structures in the large scales of the motion and the self-organization principle predicts asymptotic states realizing an extremal value of the energy or a minimum of enstrophy. On the other hand the small scales take care of the increase of entropy, and asymptotic results can be obtained by applying the theory of equilibrium statistical mechanics

Penicillium verrucosum occurrence and Ochratoxin A contents in organically cultivated grain with special reference to ancient wheat types and drying practice

This study addresses the relationship between the ochratoxigenic strains of Penicillium verrucosum and ochratoxin A (OTA) contents in organically cultivated grain. It included 37 combined, non-dried grain samples from farmers with no drying facilities as well as 19 non-dried and 22 dried samples from six farms with on-farm drying facilities (Case studies 1-6). The study focused on the ancient wheat type spelt but also included samples of wheat, rye, barley, oats, triticale, emmer, and einkorn. All 78 samples were analysed for moisture content (MC) and occurrence of P. verrucosum. The latter was assessed by plating non-disinfected kernels on DYSG agar and counting those contaminated by the fungus. Fiftyfive samples were analysed for OTA. Most of the combine harvested samples (82%) were contaminated with P. verrucosum prior to drying. This was ascribed to difficult harvest conditions and many samples of spelt, which was significantly more contaminated by P. verrucosum than oats, wheat and barley. Though not statistically significant, the results also indicated that spelt was more contaminated than rye, which is usually regarded the most sensitive small grain cereal. No correlation was found between number of kernels contaminated by P. verrucosum and OTA content. Despite many non-dried samples being contaminated by P. verrucosum, only two exceeded the EU maximum limit for grain (5 ng OTA g-1), both being spring spelt with 18 and 92 ng g-1, respectively. The problems were most likely correlated to a late harvest and high MC of the grain. The case studies showed exceedings of the maximum limit in a batch of dried oats and spring wheat, respectively, probably to be explained by insufficient drying of late harvested grain with high MC. Furthermore, our results clearly indicate that OTA is not produced in significant amounts in samples with MCs below 17%. All dried samples with MCs above 18% exceeded the 5 ng OTA g-1 limit in grain. However, no correlation between MC and the amount of OTA produced was found

Upper atmospheres and ionospheres of planets and satellites

The upper atmospheres of the planets and their satellites are more directly exposed to sunlight and solar wind particles than the surface or the deeper atmospheric layers. At the altitudes where the associated energy is deposited, the atmospheres may become ionized and are referred to as ionospheres. The details of the photon and particle interactions with the upper atmosphere depend strongly on whether the object has anintrinsic magnetic field that may channel the precipitating particles into the atmosphere or drive the atmospheric gas out to space. Important implications of these interactions include atmospheric loss over diverse timescales, photochemistry and the formation of aerosols, which affect the evolution, composition and remote sensing of the planets (satellites). The upper atmosphere connects the planet (satellite) bulk composition to the near-planet (-satellite) environment. Understanding the relevant physics and chemistry provides insight to the past and future conditions of these objects, which is critical for understanding their evolution. This chapter introduces the basic concepts of upper atmospheres and ionospheres in our solar system, and discusses aspects of their neutral and ion composition, wind dynamics and energy budget. This knowledge is key to putting in context the observations of upper atmospheres and haze on exoplanets, and to devise a theory that explains exoplanet demographics.Comment: Invited Revie

On the renormalization of multiparton webs

We consider the recently developed diagrammatic approach to soft-gluon exponentiation in multiparton scattering amplitudes, where the exponent is written as a sum of webs - closed sets of diagrams whose colour and kinematic parts are entangled via mixing matrices. A complementary approach to exponentiation is based on the multiplicative renormalizability of intersecting Wilson lines, and their subsequent finite anomalous dimension. Relating this framework to that of webs, we derive renormalization constraints expressing all multiple poles of any given web in terms of lower-order webs. We examine these constraints explicitly up to four loops, and find that they are realised through the action of the web mixing matrices in conjunction with the fact that multiple pole terms in each diagram reduce to sums of products of lower-loop integrals. Relevant singularities of multi-eikonal amplitudes up to three loops are calculated in dimensional regularization using an exponential infrared regulator. Finally, we formulate a new conjecture for web mixing matrices, involving a weighted sum over column entries. Our results form an important step in understanding non-Abelian exponentiation in multiparton amplitudes, and pave the way for higher-loop computations of the soft anomalous dimension.Comment: 60 pages, 15 figure

An integrated general practice and pharmacy-based intervention to promote the use of appropriate preventive medications among individuals at high cardiovascular disease risk: protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial

Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are responsible for significant morbidity, premature mortality, and economic burden. Despite established evidence that supports the use of preventive medications among patients at high CVD risk, treatment gaps remain. Building on prior evidence and a theoretical framework, a complex intervention has been designed to address these gaps among high-risk, under-treated patients in the Australian primary care setting. This intervention comprises a general practice quality improvement tool incorporating clinical decision support and audit/feedback capabilities; availability of a range of CVD polypills (fixed-dose combinations of two blood pressure lowering agents, a statin ± aspirin) for prescription when appropriate; and access to a pharmacy-based program to support long-term medication adherence and lifestyle modification. Methods: Following a systematic development process, the intervention will be evaluated in a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial including 70 general practices for a median period of 18 months. The 35 general practices in the intervention group will work with a nominated partner pharmacy, whereas those in the control group will provide usual care without access to the intervention tools. The primary outcome is the proportion of patients at high CVD risk who were inadequately treated at baseline who achieve target blood pressure (BP) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels at the study end. The outcomes will be analyzed using data from electronic medical records, utilizing a validated extraction tool. Detailed process and economic evaluations will also be performed. Discussion: The study intends to establish evidence about an intervention that combines technological innovation with team collaboration between patients, pharmacists, and general practitioners (GPs) for CVD prevention. Trial registration: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN1261600023342

Evaluation of alternative mosquito sampling methods for malaria vectors in Lowland South - East Zambia.

Sampling malaria vectors and measuring their biting density is of paramount importance for entomological surveys of malaria transmission. Human landing catch (HLC) has been traditionally regarded as a gold standard method for surveying human exposure to mosquito bites. However, due to the risk of human participant exposure to mosquito-borne parasites and viruses, a variety of alternative, exposure-free trapping methods were compared in lowland, south-east Zambia. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention miniature light trap (CDC-LT), Ifakara Tent Trap model C (ITT-C), resting boxes (RB) and window exit traps (WET) were all compared with HLC using a 3 × 3 Latin Squares design replicated in 4 blocks of 3 houses with long lasting insecticidal nets, half of which were also sprayed with a residual deltamethrin formulation, which was repeated for 10 rounds of 3 nights of rotation each during both the dry and wet seasons. The mean catches of HLC indoor, HLC outdoor, CDC-LT, ITT-C, WET, RB indoor and RB outdoor, were 1.687, 1.004, 3.267, 0.088, 0.004, 0.000 and 0.008 for Anopheles quadriannulatus Theobald respectively, and 7.287, 6.784, 10.958, 5.875, 0.296, 0.158 and 0.458, for An. funestus Giles, respectively. Indoor CDC-LT was more efficient in sampling An. quadriannulatus and An. funestus than HLC indoor (Relative rate [95% Confidence Interval] = 1.873 [1.653, 2.122] and 1.532 [1.441, 1.628], respectively, P < 0.001 for both). ITT-C was the only other alternative which had comparable sensitivity (RR = 0.821 [0.765, 0.881], P < 0.001), relative to HLC indoor other than CDC-LT for sampling An. funestus. While the two most sensitive exposure-free techniques primarily capture host-seeking mosquitoes, both have substantial disadvantages for routine community-based surveillance applications: the CDC-LT requires regular recharging of batteries while the bulkiness of ITT-C makes it difficult to move between sampling locations. RB placed indoors or outdoors and WET had consistently poor sensitivity so it may be useful to evaluate additional alternative methods, such as pyrethrum spray catches and back packer aspirators, for catching resting mosquitoes

Using a New Odour-Baited Device to Explore Options for Luring and Killing Outdoor-Biting Malaria Vectors: A Report on Design and Field Evaluation of the Mosquito Landing Box.

Mosquitoes that bite people outdoors can sustain malaria transmission even where effective indoor interventions such as bednets or indoor residual spraying are already widely used. Outdoor tools may therefore complement current indoor measures and improve control. We developed and evaluated a prototype mosquito control device, the 'Mosquito Landing Box' (MLB), which is baited with human odours and treated with mosquitocidal agents. The findings are used to explore technical options and challenges relevant to luring and killing outdoor-biting malaria vectors in endemic settings. Field experiments were conducted in Tanzania to assess if wild host-seeking mosquitoes 1) visited the MLBs, 2) stayed long or left shortly after arrival at the device, 3) visited the devices at times when humans were also outdoors, and 4) could be killed by contaminants applied on the devices. Odours suctioned from volunteer-occupied tents were also evaluated as a potential low-cost bait, by comparing baited and unbaited MLBs. There were significantly more Anopheles arabiensis, An. funestus, Culex and Mansonia mosquitoes visiting baited MLB than unbaited controls (P<=0.028). Increasing sampling frequency from every 120 min to 60 and 30 min led to an increase in vector catches of up to 3.6 fold (P<=0.002), indicating that many mosquitoes visited the device but left shortly afterwards. Outdoor host-seeking activity of malaria vectors peaked between 7:30 and 10:30pm, and between 4:30 and 6:00am, matching durations when locals were also outdoors. Maximum mortality of mosquitoes visiting MLBs sprayed or painted with formulations of candidate mosquitocidal agent (pirimiphos-methyl) was 51%. Odours from volunteer occupied tents attracted significantly more mosquitoes to MLBs than controls (P<0.001). While odour-baited devices such as the MLBs clearly have potential against outdoor-biting mosquitoes in communities where LLINs are used, candidate contaminants must be those that are effective at ultra-low doses even after short contact periods, since important vector species such as An. arabiensis make only brief visits to such devices. Natural human odours suctioned from occupied dwellings could constitute affordable sources of attractants to supplement odour baits for the devices. The killing agents used should be environmentally safe, long lasting, and have different modes of action (other than pyrethroids as used on LLINs), to curb the risk of physiological insecticide resistance

Insights from Amphioxus into the Evolution of Vertebrate Cartilage

Central to the story of vertebrate evolution is the origin of the vertebrate head, a problem difficult to approach using paleontology and comparative morphology due to a lack of unambiguous intermediate forms. Embryologically, much of the vertebrate head is derived from two ectodermal tissues, the neural crest and cranial placodes. Recent work in protochordates suggests the first chordates possessed migratory neural tube cells with some features of neural crest cells. However, it is unclear how and when these cells acquired the ability to form cellular cartilage, a cell type unique to vertebrates. It has been variously proposed that the neural crest acquired chondrogenic ability by recruiting proto-chondrogenic gene programs deployed in the neural tube, pharynx, and notochord. To test these hypotheses we examined the expression of 11 amphioxus orthologs of genes involved in neural crest chondrogenesis. Consistent with cellular cartilage as a vertebrate novelty, we find that no single amphioxus tissue co-expresses all or most of these genes. However, most are variously co-expressed in mesodermal derivatives. Our results suggest that neural crest-derived cartilage evolved by serial cooption of genes which functioned primitively in mesoderm

CMB Telescopes and Optical Systems

The cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB) is now firmly established as a fundamental and essential probe of the geometry, constituents, and birth of the Universe. The CMB is a potent observable because it can be measured with precision and accuracy. Just as importantly, theoretical models of the Universe can predict the characteristics of the CMB to high accuracy, and those predictions can be directly compared to observations. There are multiple aspects associated with making a precise measurement. In this review, we focus on optical components for the instrumentation used to measure the CMB polarization and temperature anisotropy. We begin with an overview of general considerations for CMB observations and discuss common concepts used in the community. We next consider a variety of alternatives available for a designer of a CMB telescope. Our discussion is guided by the ground and balloon-based instruments that have been implemented over the years. In the same vein, we compare the arc-minute resolution Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) and the South Pole Telescope (SPT). CMB interferometers are presented briefly. We conclude with a comparison of the four CMB satellites, Relikt, COBE, WMAP, and Planck, to demonstrate a remarkable evolution in design, sensitivity, resolution, and complexity over the past thirty years.Comment: To appear in: Planets, Stars and Stellar Systems (PSSS), Volume 1: Telescopes and Instrumentatio

Electrophysiological Evidence of Atypical Spatial Attention in Those with a High Level of Self-reported Autistic Traits

Selective attention is atypical in individuals with autism spectrum conditions. Evidence suggests this is also the case for those with high levels of autistic traits. Here we investigated the neural basis of spatial attention in those with high and low levels of self-reported autistic traits via analysis of ERP deflections associated with covert attention, target selection and distractor suppression (the N2pc, NT and PD). Larger N2pc and smaller PD amplitude was observed in those with high levels of autistic traits. These data provide neural evidence for differences in spatial attention, specifically, reduced distractor suppression in those with high levels of autistic traits, and may provide insight into the experience of perceptual overload often reported by individuals on the autism spectrum