A molecular perspective on generic concepts in the Hypotrachyna clade (Parmeliaceae, Ascomycota)

Departamento de Biología Vegetal II, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad Complutense de Madrid

Requirements definition and testing of the new version of multi-mission generic monitoring system (GEMS) v 4.4 for operations at Eumetsat

EUMETSAT (www.eumetsat.int) e’ l’agenzia europea per operazioni su satelliti per monitorare clima, meteo e ambiente terrestre. Dal centro operativo situato a Darmstadt (Germania), si controllano satelliti meteorologici su orbite geostazionarie e polari che raccolgono dati per l’osservazione dell’atmosfera, degli oceani e della superficie terrestre per un servizio continuo di 24/7. Un sistema di monitoraggio centralizzato per programmi diversi all’interno dell’ambiente operazionale di EUMETSAT, e’ dato da GEMS (Generic Event Monitoring System). Il software garantisce il controllo di diverse piattaforme, cross-monitoring di diverse sezioni operative, ed ha le caratteristiche per potere essere esteso a future missioni. L’attuale versione della GEMS MMI (Multi Media Interface), v. 3.6, utilizza standard Java Server Pages (JSP) e fa uso pesante di codici Java; utilizza inoltre files ASCII per filtri e display dei dati. Conseguenza diretta e’ ad esempio, il fatto che le informazioni non sono automaticamente aggiornate, ma hanno bisogno di ricaricare la pagina. Ulteriori inputs per una nuova versione della GEMS MMI vengono da diversi comportamenti anomali riportati durante l’uso quotidiano del software. La tesi si concentra sulla definizione di nuovi requisiti per una nuova versione della GEMS MMI (v. 4.4) da parte della divisione ingegneristica e di manutenzione di operazioni di EUMETSAT. Per le attivita’ di supporto, i test sono stati condotti presso Solenix. Il nuovo software permettera’ una migliore applicazione web, con tempi di risposta piu’ rapidi, aggiornamento delle informazioni automatico, utilizzo totale del database di GEMS e le capacita’ di filtri, insieme ad applicazioni per telefoni cellulari per il supporto delle attivita’ di reperibilita’. La nuova versione di GEMS avra’ una nuova Graphical User Interface (GUI) che utilizza tecnologie moderne. Per un ambiente di operazioni come e’ quello di EUMETSAT, dove l’affidabilita’ delle tecnologie e la longevita’ dell’approccio scelto sono di vitale importanza, non tutti gli attuali strumenti a disposizione sono adatti e hanno bisogno di essere migliorati. Allo stesso tempo, un’ interfaccia moderna, in termini di visual design, interattivita’ e funzionalita’, e’ importante per la nuova GEMS MMI.

Generic detection of coronaviruses and differentiation at the prototype strain level by reverse transcription-PCR and nonfluorescent low-density microarray

A nonfluorescent low-cost, low-density oligonucleotide array was designed for detecting the whole coronavirus genus after reverse transcription (RT)-PCR. The limit of detection was 15.7 copies/reaction. The clinical detection limit in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome was 100 copies/sample. In 39 children suffering from coronavirus 229E, NL63, OC43, or HKU1, the sensitivity was equal to that of individual real-time RT-PCRs.

The interaction of generic structure and interpersonal relations in two-party e-chat discourse

On the basis of a corpus of e-chat IRC exchanges (approximately 10,000 words in total) between Greek- and English-speaking speakers, the paper establishes a typical generic structure for two-party IRC exchanges, by focusing on how participants are oriented towards an ideal schema of phases and acts, as well as on how their interpersonal concerns contribute to the shaping of this schema. It is found that IRC interlocutors are primarily concerned with establishing contact with each other, while the (ideational) development of topic seems to be a less pressing need. The signaling of interpersonal relations is pervasive throughout e-chat discourse, as seen both in the range of devices developed and the two free elements of the generic schema, that is conversation play and channel check. It is also found that the accomplishment of the generic schema in each IRC exchange crucially depends on the acts of negotiation performed by the initiator and the responder.

Flavor-phenomenology of two-Higgs-doublet models with generic Yukawa structure

In this article, we perform an extensive study of flavor observables in a two-Higgs-doublet model with generic Yukawa structure (of type III). This model is interesting not only because it is the decoupling limit of the minimal supersymmetric standard model but also because of its rich flavor phenomenology which also allows for sizable effects not only in flavor-changing neutral-current (FCNC) processes but also in tauonic B decays. We examine the possible effects in flavor physics and constrain the model both from tree-level processes and from loop observables. The free parameters of the model are the heavy Higgs mass, tanβ (the ratio of vacuum expectation values) and the “nonholomorphic” Yukawa couplings ϵfij(f=u,d,ℓ). In our analysis we constrain the elements ϵfij in various ways: In a first step we give order of magnitude constraints on ϵfij from ’t Hooft’s naturalness criterion, finding that all ϵfij must be rather small unless the third generation is involved. In a second step, we constrain the Yukawa structure of the type-III two-Higgs-doublet model from tree-level FCNC processes (Bs,d→μ+μ−, KL→μ+μ−, D¯¯¯0→μ+μ−, ΔF=2 processes, τ−→μ−μ+μ−, τ−→e−μ+μ− and μ−→e−e+e−) and observe that all flavor off-diagonal elements of these couplings, except ϵu32,31 and ϵu23,13, must be very small in order to satisfy the current experimental bounds. In a third step, we consider Higgs mediated loop contributions to FCNC processes [b→s(d)γ, Bs,d mixing, K−K¯¯¯ mixing and μ→eγ] finding that also ϵu13 and ϵu23 must be very small, while the bounds on ϵu31 and ϵu32 are especially weak. Furthermore, considering the constraints from electric dipole moments we obtain constrains on some parameters ϵu,ℓij. Taking into account the constraints from FCNC processes we study the size of possible effects in the tauonic B decays (B→τν, B→Dτν and B→D∗τν) as well as in D(s)→τν, D(s)→μν, K(π)→eν, K(π)→μν and τ→K(π)ν which are all sensitive to tree-level charged Higgs exchange. Interestingly, the unconstrained ϵu32,31 are just the elements which directly enter the branching ratios for B→τν, B→Dτν and B→D∗τν. We show that they can explain the deviations from the SM predictions in these processes without fine-tuning. Furthermore, B→τν, B→Dτν and B→D∗τν can even be explained simultaneously. Finally, we give upper limits on the branching ratios of the lepton flavor-violating neutral B meson decays (Bs,d→μe, Bs,d→τe and Bs,d→τμ) and correlate the radiative lepton decays (τ→μγ, τ→eγ and μ→eγ) to the corresponding neutral current lepton decays (τ−→μ−μ+μ−, τ−→e−μ+μ− and μ−→e−e+e−). A detailed Appendix contains all relevant information for the considered processes for general scalar-fermion-fermion couplings.

Cost-effectiveness of ticagrelor and generic clopidogrel in patients with acute coronary syndrome in Switzerland

QUESTION UNDER STUDY The aim of this study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of ticagrelor and generic clopidogrel as add-on therapy to acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), from a Swiss perspective. METHODS Based on the PLATelet inhibition and patient Outcomes (PLATO) trial, one-year mean healthcare costs per patient treated with ticagrelor or generic clopidogrel were analysed from a payer perspective in 2011. A two-part decision-analytic model estimated treatment costs, quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), life years and the cost-effectiveness of ticagrelor and generic clopidogrel in patients with ACS up to a lifetime at a discount of 2.5% per annum. Sensitivity analyses were performed. RESULTS Over a patient's lifetime, treatment with ticagrelor generates an additional 0.1694 QALYs and 0.1999 life years at a cost of CHF 260 compared with generic clopidogrel. This results in an Incremental Cost Effectiveness Ratio (ICER) of CHF 1,536 per QALY and CHF 1,301 per life year gained. Ticagrelor dominated generic clopidogrel over the five-year and one-year periods with treatment generating cost savings of CHF 224 and 372 while gaining 0.0461 and 0.0051 QALYs and moreover 0.0517 and 0.0062 life years, respectively. Univariate sensitivity analyses confirmed the dominant position of ticagrelor in the first five years and probabilistic sensitivity analyses showed a high probability of cost-effectiveness over a lifetime. CONCLUSION During the first five years after ACS, treatment with ticagrelor dominates generic clopidogrel in Switzerland. Over a patient's lifetime, ticagrelor is highly cost-effective compared with generic clopidogrel, proven by ICERs significantly below commonly accepted willingness-to-pay thresholds.

Using 'Generic Abilities' to Foster Professionalism in a Post-Professional Program

Introduction To be successful in a profession, persons must have mastery of professional affective behaviors in addition to that profession’s core knowledge base. Health care delivery is more than just developing a good plan of care. The effective health care provider also will have good interpersonal and communication skills, have a commitment to learning, act professionally and responsibly, and have abilities in problem solving and critical thinking. But, these behaviors and characteristics are not taught directly in a professional program. This presentation will demonstrate how these ‘generic abilities’ have been incorporated in a post-professional program and how they can be used in other professional health care, professional development, and leadership programs. [See PDF for complete abstract]

Standing waves as an explanation for generic stationary correlation patterns in noninvasive EEG of focal onset seizures.

Cerebral electrical activity is highly nonstationary because the brain reacts to ever changing external stimuli and continuously monitors internal control circuits. However, a large amount of energy is spent to maintain remarkably stationary activity patterns and functional inter-relations between different brain regions. Here we examine linear EEG correlations in the peri-ictal transition of focal onset seizures, which are typically understood to be manifestations of dramatically changing inter-relations. Contrary to expectations we find stable correlation patterns with a high similarity across different patients and different frequency bands. This skeleton of spatial correlations may be interpreted as a signature of standing waves of electrical brain activity constituting a dynamical ground state. Such a state could promote the formation of spatiotemporal neuronal assemblies and may be important for the integration of information stemming from different local circuits of the functional brain network.

One-loop SQCD corrections to the decay of top squarks to charm and neutralino in the generic MSSM

In this article we calculate the one-loop supersymmetric QCD (SQCD) corrections to the decay u˜1→cχ˜01 in the minimal supersymmetric standard model with generic flavor structure. This decay mode is phenomenologically important if the mass difference between the lightest squark u˜1 (which is assumed to be mainly stoplike) and the neutralino lightest supersymmetric particle χ˜01 is smaller than the top mass. In such a scenario u˜1→tχ˜01 is kinematically not allowed and searches for u˜1→Wbχ˜01 and u˜1→cχ˜01 are performed. A large decay rate for u˜1→cχ˜01 can weaken the LHC bounds from u˜1→Wbχ01 which are usually obtained under the assumption Br[u˜1→Wbχ01]=100%. We find the SQCD corrections enhance Γ[u˜1→cχ˜01] by approximately 10% if the flavor violation originates from bilinear terms. If flavor violation originates from trilinear terms, the effect can be ±50% or more, depending on the sign of At. We note that connecting a theory of supersymmetry breaking to LHC observables, the shift from the DR¯¯¯¯¯ to the on-shell mass is numerically very important for light stop decays.

Taste acceptability of pulverized brand-name and generic drugs containing amlodipine or candesartan.

Trials with pulverized brand-name antihypertensive drugs suggest that, from the perspective of taste acceptability, crushed candesartan, chlortalidon, hydrochlorothiazide, lercanidipine and lisinopril should be preferred to pulverized amlodipine, atenolol, bisoprolol, enalapril, irbesartan, losartan, ramipril, telmisartan and valsartan. Brand-name antihypertensive drugs and the corresponding generic medicines have never been compared with respect to their taste acceptability. We therefore investigated among healthy health care workers the taste acceptability of a pulverized 1 mg-test dose of the brand-name and two generics containing either the dihydropyridine calcium-channel blocker amlodipine (Norvasc(®), Amlodipin-Mepha(®) and Amlodipin Pfizer(®)) or the angiotensin receptor antagonist candesartan (Atacand(®), Cansartan-Mepha(®) and Pemzek(®)). For this purpose, a smiley-face scale depicting four degrees of pleasure was used. Between November and December 2013, the taste test was performed among 19 nurses (15 female and 4 male subjects) and 12 physicians (5 female and 7 male subjects) aged between 25 and 49 years. Pulverized brand-names and generics containing either amlodipine or candesartan did not differ with respect to their taste acceptability.

Explicit description of generic representations for quivers of type An or Dn

We describe explicitly a generic representation for Dynkin quivers of type An or Dn for any dimension vector.