On soft limits of large-scale structure correlation functions

We study soft limits of correlation functions for the density and velocity fields in the theory of structure formation. First, we re-derive the (resummed) consistency conditions at unequal times using the eikonal approximation. These are solely based on symmetry arguments and are therefore universal. Then, we explore the existence of equal-time relations in the soft limit which, on the other hand, depend on the interplay between soft and hard modes. We scrutinize two approaches in the literature: the time-flow formalism, and a background method where the soft mode is absorbed into a locally curved cosmology. The latter has been recently used to set up (angular averaged) 'equal-time consistency relations'. We explicitly demonstrate that the time-flow relations and 'equal-time consistency conditions'are only fulfilled at the linear level, and fail at next-to-leading order for an Einstein de-Sitter universe. While applied to the velocities both proposals break down beyond leading order, we find that the 'equal-time consistency conditions'quantitatively approximates the perturbative results for the density contrast. Thus, we generalize the background method to properly incorporate the effect of curvature in the density and velocity fluctuations on short scales, and discuss the reasons behind this discrepancy. We conclude with a few comments on practical implementations and future directions.

Quantum Discord for d circle times 2 Systems

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Sulcus anatomy and diameter in pseudophakic eyes and correlation with biometric data: Evaluation with a 50 MHz ultrasound biomicroscope

PURPOSE: To evaluate the sulcus anatomy and possible correlations between sulcus diameter and white-to-white (WTW) diameter in pseudophakic eyes, data that may be important in the stability of add-on intraocular lenses (IOLs). SETTING: University Eye Hospital, Tuebingen, Germany. DESIGN: Case series. METHODS: In pseudophakic eyes, the axial length (AL) and horizontal WTW were measured by the IOLMaster device. Cross-sectional images were obtained with a 50 MHz ultrasound biomicroscope on the 4 meridians: vertical, horizontal (180 degrees), temporal oblique, and nasal oblique. Sulcus-to-sulcus (STS), angle-to-angle (ATA), and sclera-to-sclera (ScTSc) diameters were measured. The IOL optic diameter (6.0 mm) served as a control. To test reliability, optic measurements were repeated 5 times in a subset of eyes. RESULTS: The vertical ATA and STS diameters were statistically significantly larger than the horizontal diameter (P=.0328 and P=.0216, respectively). There was no statistically significant difference in ScTSc diameters. A weak correlation was found between WTW and horizontal ATA (r = 0.5766, P<.0001) and between WTW and horizontal STS (r = 0.5040, P=.0002). No correlation was found between WTW and horizontal ScTSc (r = 0.2217, P=.1217). CONCLUSIONS: The sulcus anatomy had a vertical oval shape with the vertical meridian being the largest, but it also had variation in the direction of the largest meridian. The WTW measurements showed a weak correlation with STS. In pseudophakic eyes, Soemmerring ring or a bulky haptic may affect the ciliary sulcus anatomy.

GRBAS and Cape-V Scales: High Reliability and Consensus When Applied at Different Times

Objectives. To evaluate whether the overall dysphonia grade, roughness, breathiness, asthenia, and strain (GRBAS) scale, and the Consensus Auditory Perceptual Evaluation-Voice (CAPE-V) scale show the same reliability and consensus when applied to the same vocal sample at different times. Study Design. Observational cross-sectional study. Methods. Sixty subjects had their voices recorded according to the tasks proposed in the CAPE-V scale. Vowels /a/ and /i/ were sustained between 3 and 5 seconds. Reproduction of six sentences and spontaneous speech from the request "Tell me about your voice" were analyzed. For the analysis of the GRBAS scale, the sustained vowel and reading tasks of the sentences was used. Auditory-perceptual voice analyses were conducted by three expert speech therapists with more than 5 years of experience and familiar with both the scales. Results. A strong correlation was observed in the intrajudge consensus analysis, both for the GRBAS scale as well as for CAPE-V, with intraclass coefficient values ranging from 0.923 to 0.985. A high degree of correlation between the general GRBAS and CAPE-V grades (coefficient = 0.842) was observed, with similarities in the grades of dysphonia distribution in both scales. The evaluators indicated a mild difficulty in applying the GRBAS scale and low to mild difficulty in applying the CAPE-V scale. The three evaluators agreed when indicating the GRBAS scale as the fastest and the CAPE-V scale as the most sensitive, especially for detecting small changes in voice. Conclusions. The two scales are reliable and are indicated for use in analyzing voice quality.

Different protocols to produce artificial dentine carious lesions in vitro and in situ: hardness and mineral content correlation

This study compared dentine demineralization induced by in vitro and in situ models, and correlated dentine surface hardness (SH), cross-sectional hardness (CSH) and mineral content by transverse microradiography (TMR). Bovine dentine specimens (n = 15/group) were demineralized in vitro with the following: MC gel (6% carboxymethylcellulose gel and 0.1 m lactic acid, pH 5.0, 14 days); buffer I (0.05 m acetic acid solution with calcium, phosphate and fluoride, pH 4.5, 7 days); buffer II (0.05 m acetic acid solution with calcium and phosphate, pH 5.0, 7 days), and TEMDP (0.05 m lactic acid with calcium, phosphate and tetraethyl methyl diphosphonate, pH 5.0, 7 days). In an in situ study, 11 volunteers wore palatal appliances containing 2 bovine dentine specimens, protected with a plastic mesh to allow biofilm development. The volunteers dripped a 20% sucrose solution on each specimen 4 times a day for 14 days. In vitro and in situ lesions were analyzed using TMR and statistically compared by ANOVA. TMR and CSH/SH were submitted to regression and correlation analysis (p < 0.05). The in situ model produced a deep lesion with a high R value, but with a thin surface layer. Regarding the in vitro models, MC gel produced only a shallow lesion, while buffers I and II as well as TEMDP induced a pronounced subsurface lesion with deep demineralization. The relationship between CSH and TMR was weak and not linear. The artificial dentine carious lesions induced by the different models differed significantly, which in turn might influence further de- and remineralization processes. Hardness analysis should not be interpreted with respect to dentine mineral loss

Total internal reflection fluorescence cross-correlation spectroscopy: theory and application for studying boundary slip phenomenon

I present a new experimental method called Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence Cross-Correlation Spectroscopy (TIR-FCCS). It is a method that can probe hydrodynamic flows near solid surfaces, on length scales of tens of nanometres. Fluorescent tracers flowing with the liquid are excited by evanescent light, produced by epi-illumination through the periphery of a high NA oil-immersion objective. Due to the fast decay of the evanescent wave, fluorescence only occurs for tracers in the ~100 nm proximity of the surface, thus resulting in very high normal resolution. The time-resolved fluorescence intensity signals from two laterally shifted (in flow direction) observation volumes, created by two confocal pinholes are independently measured and recorded. The cross-correlation of these signals provides important information for the tracers’ motion and thus their flow velocity. Due to the high sensitivity of the method, fluorescent species with different size, down to single dye molecules can be used as tracers. The aim of my work was to build an experimental setup for TIR-FCCS and use it to experimentally measure the shear rate and slip length of water flowing on hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces. However, in order to extract these parameters from the measured correlation curves a quantitative data analysis is needed. This is not straightforward task due to the complexity of the problem, which makes the derivation of analytical expressions for the correlation functions needed to fit the experimental data, impossible. Therefore in order to process and interpret the experimental results I also describe a new numerical method of data analysis of the acquired auto- and cross-correlation curves – Brownian Dynamics techniques are used to produce simulated auto- and cross-correlation functions and to fit the corresponding experimental data. I show how to combine detailed and fairly realistic theoretical modelling of the phenomena with accurate measurements of the correlation functions, in order to establish a fully quantitative method to retrieve the flow properties from the experiments. An importance-sampling Monte Carlo procedure is employed in order to fit the experiments. This provides the optimum parameter values together with their statistical error bars. The approach is well suited for both modern desktop PC machines and massively parallel computers. The latter allows making the data analysis within short computing times. I applied this method to study flow of aqueous electrolyte solution near smooth hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces. Generally on hydrophilic surface slip is not expected, while on hydrophobic surface some slippage may exists. Our results show that on both hydrophilic and moderately hydrophobic (contact angle ~85°) surfaces the slip length is ~10-15nm or lower, and within the limitations of the experiments and the model, indistinguishable from zero.

Monitoring kinetic processes in polymeric colloids by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy

Polymerbasierte Kolloide mit Groen im Nanometerbereich werden als aussichts- reiche Kandidaten fur die Verkapselung und den Transport von pharmazeutischen Wirkstoen angesehen. Daher ist es wichtig die physikalischen Prozesse, die die Bil- dung, Struktur und kinetische Stabilitat der polymerbasierten Kolloide beein ussen, besser zu verstehen. Allerdings ist die Untersuchung dieser Prozesse fur nanome- tergroe Objekte kompliziert und erfordert fortgeschrittene Techniken. In dieser Arbeit beschreibe ich Untersuchungen, bei denen Zwei-Farben-Fluoreszenzkreuz- korrelationsspektroskopie (DC FCCS) genutzt wurde, um Informationen uber die Wechselwirkung und den Austausch von dispergierten, nanometergroen Kolloiden zu bekommen. Zunachst habe ich den Prozess der Polymernanopartikelherstellung aus Emul- sionstropfen untersucht, welcher einen der am haugsten angewendeten Prozesse der Nanopartikelformulierung darstellt. Ich konnte zeigen, dass mit DC FCCS eindeutig und direkt Koaleszenz zwischen Emulsionstropfen gemessen werden kann. Dies ist von Interesse, da Koaleszenz als Hauptgrund fur die breite Groenverteilung der nalen Nanopartikel angesehen wird. Weiterhin habe ich den Austausch von Mizellen bildenden Molekulen zwischen amphiphilen Diblock Kopolymermizellen untersucht. Als Modellsystem diente ein Linear-Burste Block Kopolymer, welches Mizellen mit einer dichten und kurzen Korona bildet. Mit Hilfe von DC FCCS konnte der Austausch in verschiedenen Losungsmitteln und bei verschiedenen Temperaturen beobachtet werden. Ich habe herausgefunden, dass in Abhangigkeit der Qualitat des Losungsmittels die Zeit des Austausches um Groenordnungen verschoben werden kann, was eine weitreichende Einstellung der Austauschkinetik ermoglicht. Eine Eigenschaft die all diese Kolloide gemeinsam haben ist ihre Polydispersitat. Im letzten Teil meiner Arbeit habe ich am Beispiel von Polymeren als Modellsystem untersucht, welchen Eekt Polydispersitat und die Art der Fluoreszenzmarkierung auf FCS Experimente haben. Eine Anpassung des klassischen FCS Modells kann die FCS Korrelationskurven dieser Systeme beschreiben. Die Richtigkeit meines Ansatzes habe ich mit dem Vergleich zur Gel-Permeations-Chromatographie und Brownschen Molekulardynamiksimulationen bestatigt.

Quality Control in the Healthcare Industry: An Analysis of Surgery Turnover Times

For virtually all hospitals, utilization rates are a critical managerial indicator of efficiency and are determined in part by turnover time. Turnover time is defined as the time elapsed between surgeries, during which the operating room is cleaned and preparedfor the next surgery. Lengthier turnover times result in lower utilization rates, thereby hindering hospitals’ ability to maximize the numbers of patients that can be attended to. In this thesis, we analyze operating room data from a two year period provided byEvangelical Community Hospital in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, to understand the variability of the turnover process. From the recorded data provided, we derive our best estimation of turnover time. Recognizing the importance of being able to properly modelturnover times in order to improve the accuracy of scheduling, we seek to fit distributions to the set of turnover times. We find that log-normal and log-logistic distributions are well-suited to turnover times, although further research must validate this finding. Wepropose that the choice of distribution depends on the hospital and, as a result, a hospital must choose whether to use the log-normal or the log-logistic distribution. Next, we use statistical tests to identify variables that may potentially influence turnover time. We find that there does not appear to be a correlation between surgerytime and turnover time across doctors. However, there are statistically significant differences between the mean turnover times across doctors. The final component of our research entails analyzing and explaining the benefits of introducing control charts as a quality control mechanism for monitoring turnover times in hospitals. Although widely instituted in other industries, control charts are notwidely adopted in healthcare environments, despite their potential benefits. A major component of our work is the development of control charts to monitor the stability of turnover times. These charts can be easily instituted in hospitals to reduce the variabilityof turnover times. Overall, our analysis uses operations research techniques to analyze turnover times and identify manners for improvement in lowering the mean turnover time and thevariability in turnover times. We provide valuable insight into a component of the surgery process that has received little attention, but can significantly affect utilization rates in hospitals. Most critically, an ability to more accurately predict turnover timesand a better understanding of the sources of variability can result in improved scheduling and heightened hospital staff and patient satisfaction. We hope that our findings can apply to many other hospital settings.

Correlation between topographic N400 anomalies and reduced cerebral blood flow in the anterior temporal lobes of patients with dementia

In Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients, episodic memory impairments are apparent, yet semantic memory difficulties are also observed. While the episodic pathology has been thoroughly studied, the neurophysiological mechanisms of the semantic impairments remain obscure. Semantic dementia (SD) is characterized by isolated semantic memory deficits. The present study aimed to find an early marker of mild AD and SD by employing a semantic priming paradigm during electroencephalogram recordings. Event-related potentials (ERP) of early (P1, N1) and late (N400) word processing stages were obtained to measure semantic memory functions. Separately, baseline cerebral blood flow (CBF) was acquired with arterial spin labeling. Thus, the analysis focused on linear regressions of CBF with ERP topographical similarity indices in order to find the brain structures that showed altered baseline functionality associated with deviant ERPs. All participant groups showed semantic priming in their reaction times. Furthermore, decreased CBF in the temporal lobes was associated with abnormal N400 topography. No significant CBF clusters were found for the early ERPs. Taken together, the neurophysiological results suggested that the automatic spread of activation during semantic word processing was preserved in mild dementia, while controlled access to the words was impaired. These findings suggested that N400-topography alterations might be a potential marker for the detection of early dementia. Such a marker could be beneficial for differential diagnosis due to its low cost and non-invasive application as well as its relationship with semantic memory dysfunctions that are closely associated to the cortical deterioration in regions crucial for semantic word processing.

Antibiotic-dependent correlation between drug-induced killing and loss of luminescence in Streptococcus gordonii expressing luciferase

Measuring antibiotic-induced killing relies on time-consuming biological tests. The firefly luciferase gene (luc) was successfully used as a reporter gene to assess antibiotic efficacy rapidly in slow-growing Mycobacterium tuberculosis. We tested whether luc expression could also provide a rapid evaluation of bactericidal drugs in Streptococcus gordonii. The suicide vectors pFW5luc and a modified version of pJDC9 carrying a promoterless luc gene were used to construct transcriptional-fusion mutants. One mutant susceptible to penicillin-induced killing (LMI2) and three penicillin-tolerant derivatives (LMI103, LMI104, and LMI105) producing luciferase under independent streptococcal promoters were tested. The correlation between antibiotic-induced killing and luminescence was determined with mechanistically unrelated drugs. Chloramphenicol (20 times the MIC) inhibited bacterial growth. In parallel, luciferase stopped increasing and remained stable, as determined by luminescence and Western blots. Ciprofloxacin (200 times the MIC) rapidly killed 1.5 log10 CFU/ml in 2-4 hr. Luminescence decreased simultaneously by 10-fold. In contrast, penicillin (200 times the MIC) gave discordant results. Although killing was slow (< or = 0.5 log10 CFU/ml in 2 hr), luminescence dropped abruptly by 50-100-times in the same time. Inactivating penicillin with penicillinase restored luminescence, irrespective of viable counts. This was not due to altered luciferase expression or stability, suggesting some kind of post-translational modification. Luciferase shares homology with aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase and acyl-CoA ligase, which might be regulated by macromolecule synthesis and hence affected in penicillin-inhibited cells. Because of resemblance, luciferase might be down-regulated simultaneously. Luminescence cannot be universally used to predict antibiotic-induced killing. Thus, introducing reporter enzymes sharing mechanistic similarities with normal metabolic reactions might reveal other effects than those expected.

T2 mapping in the knee after microfracture at 3.0 T: correlation of global T2 values and clinical outcome - preliminary results

OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study was to correlate global T2 values of microfracture repair tissue (RT) with clinical outcome in the knee joint. METHODS: We assessed 24 patients treated with microfracture in the knee joint. Magnetic resonance (MR) examinations were performed on a 3T MR unit, T2 relaxation times were obtained with a multi-echo spin-echo technique. T2 maps were obtained using a pixel wise, mono-exponential non-negative least squares fit analysis. Slices covering the cartilage RT were selected and region of interest analysis was done. An individual T2 index was calculated with global mean T2 of the RT and global mean T2 of normal, hyaline cartilage. The Lysholm score and the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) knee evaluation forms were used for the assessment of clinical outcome. Bivariate correlation analysis and a paired, two tailed t test were used for statistics. RESULTS: Global T2 values of the RT [mean 49.8ms, standards deviation (SD) 7.5] differed significantly (P<0.001) from global T2 values of normal, hyaline cartilage (mean 58.5ms, SD 7.0). The T2 index ranged from 61.3 to 101.5. We found the T2 index to correlate with outcome of the Lysholm score (r(s)=0.641, P<0.001) and the IKDC subjective knee evaluation form (r(s)=0.549, P=0.005), whereas there was no correlation with the IKDC knee form (r(s)=-0.284, P=0.179). CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that T2 mapping is sensitive to assess RT function and provides additional information to morphologic MRI in the monitoring of microfracture.

Swiss tree rings reveal warm and wet summers during medieval times

We present a 1200 year drought reconstruction for the European Alpine region based on carbon isotope variations of tree rings from living larch trees and historic timber. The carbon isotope fractionation at the study site is sensitive to summer precipitation, temperature, and irradiance, resulting in a stable and high correlation with a drought index for interannual to decadal frequencies and possibly beyond (r(2)=0.58 for 1901-2004, July/August). When combining this information with maximum latewood density-derived summer temperature, a strongly reduced occurrence of summer droughts during the warm A.D. 900-1200 period is evident, coinciding with the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA), with a shift to colder and drier conditions for the subsequent centuries. The warm-wet MCA contrasts strongly with the climate of the drought-prone warm phase of the recent decades, indicating different forcing mechanism for these two warm periods and pointing to beneficial conditions for agriculture and human well-being during the MCA in this region.

Using 18O/2H, 3H/3He, 85Kr and CFCs to determine mean residence times and water origin in the Grazer and Leibnitzer Feld groundwater bodies (Austria)

Two groundwater bodies, Grazer Feld and Leibnitzer Feld, with surface areas of 166 and 103 km2 respectively are characterised for the first time by measuring the combination of d18O/d2H, 3H/3He, 85Kr, CFC-11, CFC-12 and hydrochemistry in 34 monitoring wells in 2009/2010. The timescales of groundwater recharge have been characterised by 131 d18O measurements of well and surface water sampled on a seasonal basis. Most monitoring wells show a seasonal variation or indicate variable contributions of the main river Mur (0–30%, max. 70%) and/or other rivers having their recharge areas in higher altitudes. Combined d18O/d2H-measurements indicate that 65–75% of groundwater recharge in the unusual wet year of 2009 was from precipitation in the summer based on values from the Graz meteorological station. Monitoring wells downstream of gravel pit lakes show a clear evaporation trend. A boron–nitrate differentiation plot shows more frequent boron-rich water in the more urbanised Grazer Feld and more frequent nitrate-rich water in the more agricultural used Leibnitzer Feld indicating that a some of the nitrate load in the Grazer Feld comes from urban sewer water. Several lumped parameter models based on tritium input data from Graz and monthly data from the river Mur (Spielfeld) since 1977 yield a Mean Residence Time (MRT) for the Mur-water itself between 3 and 4 years in this area. Data from d18O, 3H/3He measurements at the Wagna lysimeter station supports the conclusion that 90% of the groundwaters in the Grazer Feld and 73% in the Leibnitzer Feld have MRTs of <5 years. Only in a few groundwaters were MRTs of 6–10 or 11–25 years as a result of either a long-distance water inflow in the basins or due to longer flow path in somewhat deeper wells (>20 m) with relative thicker unsaturated zones. The young MRT of groundwater from two monitoring wells in the Leibnitzer Feld was confirmed by 85Kr-measurements. Most CFC-11 and CFC-12 concentrations in the groundwater exceed the equilibration concentrations of modern concentrations in water and are therefore unsuitable for dating purposes. An enrichment factor up to 100 compared to atmospheric equilibrium concentrations and the obvious correlation of CFC-12 with SO4, Na, Cl and B in the ground waters of the Grazer Feld suggest that waste water in contact with CFC-containing material above and below ground is the source for the contamination. The dominance of very young groundwater (<5 years) indicates a recent origin of the contamination by nitrate and many other components observed in parts of the groundwater bodies. Rapid measures to reduce those sources are needed to mitigate against further deterioration of these waters.

Serial [18F]-fluoromisonidazole PET during radiochemotherapy for locally advanced head and neck cancer and its correlation with outcome.

PURPOSE The aim was to assess changes of tumour hypoxia during primary radiochemotherapy (RCT) for head and neck cancer (HNC) and to evaluate their relationship with treatment outcome. MATERIAL AND METHODS Hypoxia was assessed by FMISO-PET in weeks 0, 2 and 5 of RCT. The tumour volume (TV) was determined using FDG-PET/MRI/CT co-registered images. The level of hypoxia was quantified on FMISO-PET as TBRmax (SUVmaxTV/SUVmean background). The hypoxic subvolume (HSV) was defined as TV that showed FMISO uptake ⩾1.4 times blood pool activity. RESULTS Sixteen consecutive patients (T3-4, N+, M0) were included (mean follow-up 31, median 44months). Mean TBRmax decreased significantly (p<0.05) from 1.94 to 1.57 (week 2) and 1.27 (week 5). Mean HSV in week 2 and week 5 (HSV2=5.8ml, HSV3=0.3ml) were significantly (p<0.05) smaller than at baseline (HSV1=15.8ml). Kaplan-Meier plots of local recurrence free survival stratified at the median TBRmax showed superior local control for less hypoxic tumours, the difference being significant at baseline and after 2weeks (p=0.031, p=0.016). CONCLUSIONS FMISO-PET documented that in most HNC reoxygenation starts early during RCT and is correlated with better outcome.

Oxygen isotopes of lake marl at Gerzensee and Leysin (Switzerland), covering the Younger Dryas and two minor oscillations, and their correlation to the GRIP ice core

The ratio of oxygen isotopes is a temperature proxy both in precipitation and in the calcite of lacustrine sediments. The very similar oxygen-isotope records from Greenland ice cores and European lake sediments during the Last Glacial Termination suggest that the drastic climatic changes occurred quasi-simultaneously on an extra-regional, probably hemispheric scale. In order to study temporal relations of the different parameters recorded in lake sediments, for example biotic response times to rapid climatic changes, a precise chronology is required. In unlaminated lake sediments there is not yet available a method to provide a high-resolution chronology, especially for periods with radiocarbon plateaux. Alternatively, an indirect time scale can be constructed by linking the lake stratigraphy with other well-dated climate records. New oxygen-isotope records from Gerzensee and Leysin, with an estimated sampling resolution of between 15 and 40 years, match the Greenlandic isotope record in many details. Under the assumption that the main variations in temperature and thus in oxygen isotopes occurred about simultaneously in Greenland and Switzerland, we have assigned a time scale to the lake sediments of Gerzensee and Leysin by wiggle-matching their stable-isotope records with those of Greenland ice cores, which are among the best dated climatic archives. We estimate a precision of 20 to 100 years during the Last Glacial Termination.