Direct reconstruction of dynamical dark energy from observational Hubble parameter data

Reconstructing the evolution history of the dark energy equation of state parameter $w(z)$ directly from observational data is highly valuable in cosmology, since it contains substantial clues in understanding the nature of the accelerated expansion of the Universe. Many works have focused on reconstructing $w(z)$ using Type Ia supernova data, however, only a few studies pay attention to Hubble parameter data. In the present work, we explore the merit of Hubble parameter data and make an attempt to reconstruct $w(z)$ from them through the principle component analysis approach. We find that current Hubble parameter data perform well in reconstructing $w(z)$; though, when compared to supernova data, the data are scant and their quality is worse. Both $\Lambda$CDM and evolving $w(z)$ models can be constrained within $10\%$ at redshifts $z \lesssim 1.5$ and even $5\%$ at redshifts 0.1 $\lesssim$ z $\lesssim$ 1 by using simulated $H(z)$ data of observational quality.Comment: 25 pages, 11 figure

Systemic Acrolein Elevations in Mice With Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis and Patients With Multiple Sclerosis

Demyelination and axonal injury are the key pathological processes in multiple sclerosis (MS), driven by inflammation and oxidative stress. Acrolein, a byproduct and instigator of oxidative stress, has been demonstrated as a neurotoxin in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of MS. However, due to the invasive nature of acrolein detection using immunoblotting techniques, the investigation of acrolein in MS has been limited to animal models. Recently, detection of a specific acrolein-glutathione metabolite, 3-HPMA, has been demonstrated in urine, enabling the noninvasive quantification of acrolein for the first time in humans with neurological disorders. In this study, we have demonstrated similar elevated levels of acrolein in both urine (3-HPMA) and in spinal cord tissue (acrolein-lysine adduct) in mice with EAE, which can be reduced through systemic application of acrolein scavenger hydralazine. Furthermore, using this approach we have demonstrated an increase of 3-HPMA in both the urine and serum of MS patients relative to controls. It is expected that this noninvasive acrolein detection could facilitate the investigation of the role of acrolein in the pathology of MS in human. It may also be used to monitor putative therapies aimed at suppressing acrolein levels, reducing severity of symptoms, and slowing progression as previously demonstrated in animal studies

Information retrieval of mass encrypted data over multimedia networking with N-level vector model-based relevancy ranking

With an explosive growth in the deployment of networked applications over the Internet, searching the encrypted information that the user needs becomes increasingly important. However, the information search precision is quite low when using Vector space model for mass information retrieval, because long documents having poor similarity values are poorly represented in the vector space model and the order in which the terms appear in the document is lost in the vector space representation with intuitive weighting. To address the problems, this study proposed an N-level vector model (NVM)-based relevancy ranking scheme with an introduction of a new formula of the term weighting, taking into account the location of the feature term in the document to describe the content of the document properly, investigated into ways of ranking the encrypted documents using the proposed scheme, and conducted realistic simulation of information retrieval of mass encrypted data over multimedia networking. Results indicated that the timing of the index building, the most costing part of the relevancy ranking scheme, increased with the increase in both the document size and the multimedia content of the document being searched, which is in agreement with the expected. Performance evaluation demonstrated that our specially designed NVM-based encrypted information retrieval system is effective in ranking the encrypted documents transmitted over multimedia networks with large recall ratio and great retrieval precision

Barrier Inhomogeneity of Schottky Diode on Nonpolar AlN Grown by Physical Vapor Transport

An aluminum nitride (AlN) Schottky barrier diode (SBD) was fabricated on a nonpolar AlN crystal grown on tungsten substrate by physical vapor transport. The Ni/Au-AlN SBD features a low ideality factor n of 3.3 and an effective Schottky barrier height (SBH) of 1.05 eV at room temperature. The ideality factor n decreases and the effective SBH increases at high temperatures. The temperature dependences of n and SBH were explained using an inhomogeneous model. A mean SBH of 2.105 eV was obtained for the Ni-AlN Schottky junction from the inhomogeneity analysis of the current-voltage characteristics. An equation in which the parameters have explicit physical meanings in thermionic emission theory is proposed to describe the current-voltage characteristics of inhomogeneous SBDs.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure

Structural and functional abnormities of amygdala and prefrontal cortex in major depressive disorder with suicide attempts

Finding neural features of suicide attempts (SA) in major depressive disorder (MDD) may be helpful in preventing suicidal behavior. The ventral and medial prefrontal cortex (PFC), as well as the amygdala form a circuit implicated in emotion regulation and the pathogenesis of MDD. The aim of this study was to identify whether patients with MDD who had a history of SA show structural and functional connectivity abnormalities in the amygdala and PFC relative to MDD patients without a history of SA. We measured gray matter volume in the amygdala and PFC and amygdala-PFC functional connectivity using structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 158 participants [38 MDD patients with a history of SA, 60 MDD patients without a history of SA, and 60 healthy control (HC)]. MDD patients with a history of SA had decreased gray matter volume in the right and left amygdala (F = 30.270, P = 0.000), ventral/medial/dorsal PFC (F = 15.349, P = 0.000), and diminished functional connectivity between the bilateral amygdala and ventral and medial PFC regions (F = 22.467, P = 0.000), compared with individuals who had MDD without a history of SA, and the HC group. These findings provide evidence that the amygdala and PFC may be closely related to the pathogenesis of suicidal behavior in MDD and implicate the amygdala-ventral/medial PFC circuit as a potential target for suicide intervention

Structural and functional abnormities of amygdala and prefrontal cortex in major depressive disorder with suicide attempts

Finding neural features of suicide attempts (SA) in major depressive disorder (MDD) may be helpful in preventing suicidal behavior. The ventral and medial prefrontal cortex (PFC), as well as the amygdala form a circuit implicated in emotion regulation and the pathogenesis of MDD. The aim of this study was to identify whether patients with MDD who had a history of SA show structural and functional connectivity abnormalities in the amygdala and PFC relative to MDD patients without a history of SA. We measured gray matter volume in the amygdala and PFC and amygdala-PFC functional connectivity using structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 158 participants [38 MDD patients with a history of SA, 60 MDD patients without a history of SA, and 60 healthy control (HC)]. MDD patients with a history of SA had decreased gray matter volume in the right and left amygdala (F = 30.270, P = 0.000), ventral/medial/dorsal PFC (F = 15.349, P = 0.000), and diminished functional connectivity between the bilateral amygdala and ventral and medial PFC regions (F = 22.467, P = 0.000), compared with individuals who had MDD without a history of SA, and the HC group. These findings provide evidence that the amygdala and PFC may be closely related to the pathogenesis of suicidal behavior in MDD and implicate the amygdala-ventral/medial PFC circuit as a potential target for suicide intervention

Coupling Inductor Based Hybrid Millimeter-Wave Switch

A switch comprising a plurality of inductors and a plurality of shunt transistors is described. Each inductor can be electrically coupled between adjacent shunt transistors to form a distributed switch structure. At least two inductors in the plurality of inductors can be inductively coupled with each other. The plurality of inductors can correspond to portions of a coupling inductor, wherein the coupling inductor can have an irregular octagonal shape

Experimental and chemometric studies of cell membrane permeability

[Abstract] Cell membrane permeability (P) governs the molecules or ions to transport through the cell membrane. In this study, we measured P of ruminal microbes in different initial levels of surface tension (ST) and specific surface area (SSA). Data of P in present study and published data of pH, ammonia concentration, digestibility of neutral detergent fibre and gas production in two time scales (tk and ′tk) as input variables Vq(tk) were took into consideration for developing a predictive model. The ideas of Box–Jenkins Operators and Covariance Perturbation Theory Operators were used for the first time to establish a model to predict the variations of cellular permeability. The best model presented sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of > 0.89, and MCC > 0.78 for 77,781 cases (training + validation series). In addition, we also reported a simulation of ternary phase diagram with predicted values of cell permeability at various experimental conditions.National Natural Science Foundation of China; Grant No. 31172234Chinese Academy of Science and Technology Strategic Pilot Project; Grant No. XDA05020700Hunan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China; Grant No. 12JJ3015Red Gallega de Investigación sobre Cáncer Colorrectal; Ref. R2014/03

Loss to Follow-Up from HIV Screening to ART Initiation in Rural China.

BackgroundPatients who are newly screened HIV positive by EIA are lost to follow-up due to complicated HIV testing procedures. Because this is the first step in care, it affects the entire continuum of care. This is a particular concern in rural China.Objective(s)To assess the routine HIV testing completeness and treatment initiation rates at 18 county-level general hospitals in rural Guangxi.MethodsWe reviewed original hospital HIV screening records. Investigators also engaged with hospital leaders and key personnel involved in HIV prevention activities to characterize in detail the routine care practices in place at each county.Results699 newly screened HIV-positive patients between January 1 and June 30, 2013 across the 18 hospitals were included in the study. The proportion of confirmatory testing across the 18 hospitals ranged from 14% to 87% (mean of 43%), and the proportion of newly diagnosed individuals successfully initiated antiretroviral treatment across the hospitals ranged from 3% to 67% (mean of 23%). The average interval within hospitals for individuals to receive the Western Blot (WB) and CD4 test results from HIV positive screening (i.e. achieving testing completion) ranged from 14-116 days (mean of 41.7 days) across the hospitals. The shortest interval from receiving a positive EIA screening test result to receiving WB and CD4 testing and counseling was 0 day and the longest was 260 days.ConclusionThe proportion of patients newly screened HIV positive that completed the necessary testing procedures for HIV confirmation and received ART was very low. Interventions are urgently needed to remove barriers so that HIV patients can have timely access to HIV/AIDS treatment and care in rural China