Search results for "RULE"
showing 10 items of 1403 documents
Causality and the Coulomb sum rule in nuclei.
1989
The spectral function in the Jost-Lehmann-Dyson representation of causal commutators is determined for the nonrelativistic limit of inclusive lepton scattering from nuclei. From this an extrapolation of the Coulomb sum rule to higher-momentum transfers is performed which is consistent with the requirement of causality.
Data from: The strategic reference gene: an organismal theory of inclusive fitness
2019
How to define and use the concept of inclusive fitness is a contentious topic in evolutionary theory. Inclusive fitness can be used to calculate selection on a focal gene, but it is also applied to whole organisms. Individuals are then predicted to appear designed as if to maximise their inclusive fitness, provided that certain conditions are met (formally when interactions between individuals are ‘additive’). Here we argue that applying the concept of inclusive fitness to organisms is justified under far broader conditions than previously shown, but only if it is appropriately defined. Specifically, we propose that organisms should maximise the sum of their offspring (including any accrued…
Autocatalytic cleavage of Clostridium difficile toxin B.
2007
Clostridium difficile, the causative agent of nosocomial antibiotic-associated diarrhoea and pseudomembranous colitis, possesses two main virulence factors: the large clostridial cytotoxins A and B. It has been proposed that toxin B is cleaved by a cytosolic factor of the eukaryotic target cell during its cellular uptake. Here we report that cleavage of not only toxin B, but also all other large clostridial cytotoxins, is an autocatalytic process dependent on host cytosolic inositolphosphate cofactors. A covalent inhibitor of aspartate proteases, 1,2-epoxy-3-(p-nitrophenoxy)propane, completely blocked toxin B function on cultured cells and was used to identify its catalytically active prote…
EngineeredControl of Cell Morphology In Vivo Reveals Distinct Roles for Yeast andFilamentous Forms of Candida albicans duringInfection
2003
ABSTRACT It is widely assumed that the ability of Candida albicans to switch between different morphologies is required for pathogenesis. However, most virulence studies have used mutants that are permanently locked into either the yeast or filamentous forms which are avirulent but unsuitable for discerning the role of morphogenetic conversions at the various stages of the infectious process. We have constructed a strain in which this developmental transition can be externally modulated both in vitro and in vivo. This was achieved by placing one copy of the NRG1 gene (a negative regulator of filamentation) under the control of a tetracycline-regulatable promoter. This modified strain was th…
The emergence of Vibrio pathogens in Europe : ecology, evolution, and pathogenesis (Paris, 11-12th March 2015)
2015
Global change has caused a worldwide increase in reports of Vibrio-associated diseases with ecosystem-wide impacts on humans and marine animals. In Europe, higher prevalence of human infections followed regional climatic trends with outbreaks occurring during episodes of unusually warm weather. Similar patterns were also observed in Vibrio-associated diseases affecting marine organisms such as fish, bivalves and corals. Basic knowledge is still lacking on the ecology and evolutionary biology of these bacteria as well as on their virulence mechanisms. Current limitations in experimental systems to study infection and the lack of diagnostic tools still prevent a better understanding of Vibrio…
Bioactive Glass-Ceramics in Middle Ear Surgery An 8-Year Review
1988
An 8-year follow-up of Ceravital middle ear prostheses showed there was extremely good tolerance in the middle ear space. Incompatibility phenomena were not observed, and inflammatory reactions were neither caused nor supported by the implants. The tympanoplasties were always performed without interposition of cartilage between the tympanic membrane or the tympanic membrane graft and the disk-shaped portion of the implant, and extrusions were never observed. Long-lasting inflammatory processes appeared to destroy implants the same way they destroy ossicles. Transient inflammatory periods (such as episodes of purulent otitis media, which occurred soon after the prostheses were implanted) did…
Validation of the Tetracycline Regulatable Gene Expression System for the Study of the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease
2011
Understanding the pathogenesis of infectious disease requires the examination and successful integration of parameters related to both microbial virulence and host responses. As a practical and powerful method to control microbial gene expression, including in vivo, the tetracycline-regulatable system has recently gained the favor of many investigative groups. However, some immunomodulatory effects of the tetracyclines, including doxycycline, could potentially limit its use to evaluate host responses during infection. Here we have used a well-established murine model of disseminated candidiasis, which is highly dependent on both the virulence displayed by the fungal cells and on the host im…
Exergoeconomic analysis as support in decision-making for the design and operation of multiple chiller systems in air conditioning applications
2020
Abstract Multiple-chillers systems represent viable solutions for medium/large-scale air conditioning applications characterized by variable cooling demand. The energy efficiency of such systems is influenced by the number of chillers, the combination of cooling capacities, and the load-sharing among the units. Large efforts have been devoted to developing efficient operation strategies for these systems, but rules of thumb are usually adopted for selecting cooling capacities thus leaving room for energy and economic savings. In this paper, exergoeconomic analysis is proposed as a promising method to identify near-optimal design and operation strategies, due to the capability of exergoecono…
Process-independent strong running coupling
2016
We unify two widely different approaches to understanding the infrared behaviour of quantum chromodynamics (QCD), one essentially phenomenological, based on data, and the other computational, realised via quantum field equations in the continuum theory. Using the latter, we explain and calculate a process-independent running-coupling for QCD, a new type of effective charge that is an analogue of the Gell-Mann--Low effective coupling in quantum electrodynamics. The result is almost identical to the process-dependent effective charge defined via the Bjorken sum rule, which provides one of the most basic constraints on our knowledge of nucleon spin structure. This reveals the Bjorken sum to be…
A computer program suitable for analysis of choice of categories in biomedical data recognition problems.
1980
The optimum choice of categories in problems of medical data recognition is governed by the choice of categories, the selection of appropriate features, and by the choice of a loss function. Under these circumstances it is often difficult to find out the suitable classification scheme. The computer program described here serves for the design of the optimum recognition procedure. The Bayes rule is used as decision rule. A criterion for the comparison of different choice of categories is given. The program can be performed after estimation of the underlying prior probabilities and the conditional densities obtained from a training set, and before testing the decision rule with real data.