Relevance of pseudospin symmetry in proton-nucleus scattering

The manifestation of pseudospin-symmetry in proton-nucleus scattering is discussed. Constraints on the pseudospin-symmetry violating scattering amplitude are given which require as input cross section and polarization data, but no measurements of the spin rotation function. Application of these constraints to p-58Ni and p-208Pb scattering data in the laboratory energy range of 200 MeV to 800 MeV, reveals a significant violation of the symmetry at lower energies and a weak one at higher energies. Using a schematic model within the Dirac phenomenology, the role of the Coulomb potential in proton-nucleus scattering with regard to pseudospin symmetry is studied. Our results indicate that the existence of pseudospin-symmetry in proton-nucleus scattering is questionable in the whole energy region considered and that the violation of this symmetry stems from the long range nature of the Coulomb interaction.Comment: 22 pages including 9 figures, correction of 1 reference, revision of abstract and major modification of chapter 4, Fig. 6, and Fig. 7; addition of Fig. 8 and Fig.

Violation of pseudospin symmetry in nucleon-nucleus scattering: exact relations

An exact determination of the size of the pseudospin symmetry violating part of the nucleon-nucleus scattering amplitude from scattering observables is presented. The approximation recently used by Ginocchio turns out to underestimate the violation of pseudospin symmetry. Nevertheless the conclusion of a modestly broken pseudospin symmetry in proton-208Pb scattering at EL=800MeV remains valid.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure

Estimating Effectiveness of the Control of Violence and Socioeconomic Development in Colombia: An Application of Dynamic Data Envelopment Analysis and Data Panel Approach

This paper develops an index to evaluate the level of effectiveness of the control of violence based on the data envelopment analysis approach. The index is used to examine the grade of effectiveness of the control of violence at the level of Colombian departments between 1993 and 2007. Comparing the results across Colombian departments, we find that the majority of departments show improvement in their scores of effectiveness. A second stage of the regression model reveals that departments with a higher gross domestic product and higher education and employment are more effective in the control of violence, whereas departments with higher political violence, unemployment rates, unsatisfied basic needs, a displaced population, and hectares cultivated with coca show lower effectiveness in the control of violence. All these findings are of particular interest in the formulation and development of policies against violence, taking into account that organised forms of violence, such as drug trafficking, impede the adequate effectiveness of its control. Moreover, violence decreases social investments, generating alterations in social services that produce long-run deterioration in faith in the government’s ability to govern, which should become an incentive to further violence

Pointed Wings, Low Wingloading and Calm Air Reduce Migratory Flight Costs in Songbirds

Migratory bird, bat and insect species tend to have more pointed wings than non-migrants. Pointed wings and low wingloading, or body mass divided by wing area, are thought to reduce energy consumption during long-distance flight, but these hypotheses have never been directly tested. Furthermore, it is not clear how the atmospheric conditions migrants encounter while aloft affect their energy use; without such information, we cannot accurately predict migratory species' response(s) to climate change. Here, we measured the heart rates of 15 free-flying Swainson's Thrushes (Catharus ustulatus) during migratory flight. Heart rate, and therefore rate of energy expenditure, was positively associated with individual variation in wingtip roundedness and wingloading throughout the flights. During the cruise phase of the flights, heart rate was also positively associated with wind speed but not wind direction, and negatively but not significantly associated with large-scale atmospheric stability. High winds and low atmospheric stability are both indicative of the presence of turbulent eddies, suggesting that birds may be using more energy when atmospheric turbulence is high. We therefore suggest that pointed wingtips, low wingloading and avoidance of high winds and turbulence reduce flight costs for small birds during migration, and that climate change may have the strongest effects on migrants' in-flight energy use if it affects the frequency and/or severity of high winds and atmospheric instability

Gender Differences in Aspirin use Among Adults With Coronary Heart Disease in the United States

BACKGROUND: Aspirin reduces mortality for men and women with coronary heart disease (CHD). Previous research suggests women with acute coronary syndromes receive less aggressive care, including less frequent early administration of aspirin. The presence of gender differences in aspirin use for secondary prevention is less clear. OBJECTIVE: To determine if a gender difference exists in the use of aspirin for secondary prevention among individuals with CHD. DESIGN: We analyzed data from the nationally representative 2000–2002 Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys to determine the prevalence of regular aspirin use among men and women with CHD. PARTICIPANTS: Participants, 1,869, 40 years and older who reported CHD or prior myocardial infarction. RESULTS: Women were less likely than men to use aspirin regularly (62.4% vs 75.6%, p < .001) even after adjusting for demographic, socioeconomic and clinical characteristics (adjusted OR = 0.62, 95% CI, 0.48–0.79). This difference narrowed but remained significant when the analysis was limited to those without self-reported contraindications to aspirin (79.8% vs 86.4%, P = .002, adjusted OR = 0.68, 95% CI, 0.48–0.97). Women were more likely than men to report contraindications (20.5% vs 12.5%, P < .001). Differences in aspirin use were greater between women and men with private health insurance (61.8% vs 79.0%, P < .001, adjusted OR = 0.48, 95% CI, 0.35–0.67) than among those with public coverage (62.5% vs 70.7%, P = .04, adjusted OR = 0.74, 95% CI, 0.50–1.11) (P < .001 for gender–insurance interaction). CONCLUSION: We found a gender difference in aspirin use among patients with CHD not fully explained by differences in patient characteristics or reported contraindications. These findings suggest a need for improved secondary prevention of cardiovascular events for women with CHD

Laterality and Flight: Concurrent Tests of Side-Bias and Optimality in Flying Tree Swallows

Behavioural side-bias occurs in many vertebrates, including birds as a result of hemispheric specialization and can be advantageous by improving response times to sudden stimuli and efficiency in multi-tasking. However, behavioural side-bias can lead to morphological asymmetries resulting in reduced performance for specific activities. For flying animals, wing asymmetry is particularly costly and it is unclear if behavioural side-biases will be expressed in flight; the benefits of quick response time afforded by side-biases must be balanced against the costs of less efficient flight due to the morphological asymmetry side-biases may incur. Thus, competing constraints could lead to context-dependent expression or suppression of side-bias in flight. In repeated flight trials through an outdoor tunnel with obstacles, tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) preferred larger openings, but we did not detect either individual or population-level side-biases. Thus, while observed behavioural side-biases during substrate-foraging and copulation are common in birds, we did not see such side-bias expressed in obstacle avoidance behaviour in flight. This finding highlights the importance of behavioural context for investigations of side-bias and hemispheric laterality and suggests both proximate and ultimate trade-offs between species-specific cognitive ecology and flight biomechanics

Long-term survival after initial hospital admission for peripheral arterial disease in the lower extremities

ABSTRACT: Background As the population ages, peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in the lower extremities will become a larger public health problem. Awareness in patients as well clinicians of the high risk of morbidity and mortality is important but seems currently low. Insights in absolute mortality risks following admission for PAD in the lower extremities can be useful to improve awareness as they are easy to interpret. Methods A nationwide cohort of 4,158 patients with an initial admission for PAD in the lower extremities was identified through linkage of the national hospital and population register in 1997 and 2000. Results Over 60% of 4,158 patients were men. 28 days, 1 year and 5 year mortality risk were 2.4%, 10.3% and 31.0% for men and 3.5%, 10.4% and 27.4% for women. Coronary heart disease and stroke were frequent cause of death. Five years mortality risk was higher for men compared to women (HR 1.36, 95% CI 1.21-1.53). Conclusions Our findings demonstrate that, 5 year mortality risk is high, especially in men and comparable to that of patients admitted for acute myocardial infarction or ischemic stroke. Though, in general population the awareness of the severity of PAD in the lower extremities is significantly lower than that for any other cardiovascular disease and it seems that cardiovascular risk factor management for prevention in PAD patients is very modes

Metagenomic and Metabolic Profiling of Nonlithifying and Lithifying Stromatolitic Mats of Highborne Cay, The Bahamas

BACKGROUND: Stromatolites are laminated carbonate build-ups formed by the metabolic activity of microbial mats and represent one of the oldest known ecosystems on Earth. In this study, we examined a living stromatolite located within the Exuma Sound, The Bahamas and profiled the metagenome and metabolic potential underlying these complex microbial communities. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The metagenomes of the two dominant stromatolitic mat types, a nonlithifying (Type 1) and lithifying (Type 3) microbial mat, were partially sequenced and compared. This deep-sequencing approach was complemented by profiling the substrate utilization patterns of the mats using metabolic microarrays. Taxonomic assessment of the protein-encoding genes confirmed previous SSU rRNA analyses that bacteria dominate the metagenome of both mat types. Eukaryotes comprised less than 13% of the metagenomes and were rich in sequences associated with nematodes and heterotrophic protists. Comparative genomic analyses of the functional genes revealed extensive similarities in most of the subsystems between the nonlithifying and lithifying mat types. The one exception was an increase in the relative abundance of certain genes associated with carbohydrate metabolism in the lithifying Type 3 mats. Specifically, genes associated with the degradation of carbohydrates commonly found in exopolymeric substances, such as hexoses, deoxy- and acidic sugars were found. The genetic differences in carbohydrate metabolisms between the two mat types were confirmed using metabolic microarrays. Lithifying mats had a significant increase in diversity and utilization of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur substrates. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: The two stromatolitic mat types retained similar microbial communities, functional diversity and many genetic components within their metagenomes. However, there were major differences detected in the activity and genetic pathways of organic carbon utilization. These differences provide a strong link between the metagenome and the physiology of the mats, as well as new insights into the biological processes associated with carbonate precipitation in modern marine stromatolites

Gender differences in the utilization of health-care services among the older adult population of Spain

BACKGROUND: Compared to men, women report greater morbidity and make greater use of health-care services. This study examines potential determinants of gender differences in the utilization of health-care services among the elderly. METHODS: Cross-sectional study covering 3030 subjects, representative of the non-institutionalized Spanish population aged 60 years and over. Potential determinants of gender differences in the utilization of health services were classified into predisposing factors (age and head-of-family status), need factors (lifestyles, chronic diseases, functional status, cognitive deficit and health-related quality of life (HRQL)) and enabling factors (educational level, marital status, head-of-family employment status and social network). Relative differences in the use of each service between women and men were summarized using odds ratios (OR), obtained from logistic regression. The contribution of the variables of interest to the gender differences in the use of such services was evaluated by comparing the OR before and after adjustment for such variables. RESULTS: As compared to men, a higher percentage of women visited a medical practitioner (OR: 1.24; 95% confidence limits (CL): 1.07–1.44), received home medical visits (OR: 1.67; 95% CL: 1.34–2.10) and took ≥3 medications (OR: 1.54; 95% CL: 1.34–1.79), but there were no gender differences in hospital admission or influenza vaccination. Adjustment for need or enabling factors led to a reduction in the OR of women compared to men for utilization of a number of services studied. On adjusting for the number of chronic diseases, the OR (95% CL) of women versus men for ingestion of ≥3 medications was 1.24 (1.06–1.45). After adjustment for HRQL, the OR was 1.03 (0.89–1.21) for visits to medical practitioners, 1.24 (0.98–1.58) for home medical visits, 0.71 (0.58–0.87) for hospitalization, and 1.14 (0.97–1.33) for intake of ≥3 medications. After adjustment for the number of chronic diseases and HRQL, the OR of hospitalization among women versus men was 0.68 (0.56–0.84). CONCLUSION: The factors that best explain the greater utilization of health-care services by elderly women versus men are the number of chronic diseases and HRQL. For equal need, certain inequality was observed in hospital admission, in that it proved less frequent among women

Validation of diabetes mellitus and hypertension diagnosis in computerized medical records in primary health care

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Computerized Clinical Records, which are incorporated in primary health care practice, have great potential for research. In order to use this information, data quality and reliability must be assessed to prevent compromising the validity of the results.</p> <p>The aim of this study is to validate the diagnosis of hypertension and diabetes mellitus in the computerized clinical records of primary health care, taking the diagnosis criteria established in the most prominently used clinical guidelines as the gold standard against which what measure the sensitivity, specificity, and determine the predictive values.</p> <p>The gold standard for diabetes mellitus was the diagnostic criteria established in 2003 American Diabetes Association Consensus Statement for diabetic subjects. The gold standard for hypertension was the diagnostic criteria established in the Joint National Committee published in 2003.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional multicentre validation study of diabetes mellitus and hypertension diagnoses in computerized clinical records of primary health care was carried out. Diagnostic criteria from the most prominently clinical practice guidelines were considered for standard reference.</p> <p>Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and global agreement (with kappa index), were calculated. Results were shown overall and stratified by sex and age groups.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The agreement for diabetes mellitus with the reference standard as determined by the guideline was almost perfect (κ = 0.990), with a sensitivity of 99.53%, a specificity of 99.49%, a positive predictive value of 91.23% and a negative predictive value of 99.98%.</p> <p>Hypertension diagnosis showed substantial agreement with the reference standard as determined by the guideline (κ = 0.778), the sensitivity was 85.22%, the specificity 96.95%, the positive predictive value 85.24%, and the negative predictive value was 96.95%. Sensitivity results were worse in patients who also had diabetes and in those aged 70 years or over.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results substantiate the validity of using diagnoses of diabetes and hypertension found within the computerized clinical records for epidemiologic studies.</p