Support for the global feasibility of the Ages and Stages Questionnaire as developmental screener

Objective: To investigate the psychometric properties of the Dutch version of the 48 months Ages and Stages Questionnaire (D_ASQ_48). Design: Prospective cohort study of a community-based sample of children born in 2002 and 2003 whose parents filled out the D_ASQ_48 and a questionnaire on school status at 60 months. The ASQ was translated into Dutch and back-translated into English by three independent translators. Setting: Well Child Centers covering 25% of the Netherlands. Participants: Parents of 1510 preterm and 562 term children born in 2002-2003 attending routine Well Child visits at age 45-50 months. Main outcome measures: Reliability, validity and mean population scores for D_ASQ_48 compared to other countries. Results: Mean population scores for the D_ASQ_48 were mostly similar to those in the USA, Norway and Korea. Exceptions (effect sizes of difference >0.5) were problem solving (USA) and fine motor (Korea). Reliability was good for the total score (Cronbach alpha 0.79) and acceptable for all domains (0.61-0.74). As expected, infants born at gestational age Conclusions: The good psychometric properties of the Dutch ASQ_48 and the small differences when compared to other countries support its usefulness in the early detection of developmental problems amongst children worldwide. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

The internal structure of a debris-covered glacier on Mars revealed by gully incision

Viscous flow features (VFFs) in Mars' mid latitudes are analogous to debris-covered glaciers on Earth. They have complex, often curvilinear patterns on their surfaces, which probably record histories of ice flow. As is the case for glaciers on Earth, patterns on the surfaces of VFFs are likely to reflect complexities in their subsurface structure. Until now, orbital observations of VFF-internal structures have remained elusive. We present observations of internal structures within a small, kilometer-scale VFF in the Nereidum Montes region of Mars' southern mid latitudes, using images from the Context Camera (CTX) and High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) instruments on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The VFF-internal structures are revealed by a gully incision, which extends from the VFF headwall to its terminus and intersects curvilinear undulations and a crevasse field on the VFF surface. Near to the VFF terminus, the curvilinear VFF-surface undulations connect to the VFF-internal layers, which are inclined and extend down to the VFF's deep interior, and possibly all the way to the bed. Similar structures are common near to the termini of glaciers on Earth; they form under ice flow compression where ice thins and slows approaching the ice margin, and ice flow is forced up towards the surface. We performed 3D ice flow modeling which supports this analogy, revealing that the inclined VFF-internal structures, and associated curvilinear structures on the VFF surface, are located in a zone of strong ice flow compression where ice flow deviates upwards away from the bed. The inclined VFF-internal structures we observe could represent up-warped VFF-internal layering transported up to the surface from the VFF's deep interior, or thrust structures representing debris transport pathways between the VFF's bed and its surface. Our observations raise numerous considerations for future surface missions targeting Mars' mid-latitude subsurface ice deposits. Inclined layers formed under flow compression could reduce the requirement for high-cost, high-risk deep drilling to address high-priority science questions. They could allow futures missions to (a) access ice age sequences for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction via shallow sampling along transects of ice surfaces where layers of progressively older age outcrop, and/or (b) access samples of ice/lithics transported to shallow/surface positions from environments of astrobiological interest at/near glacier beds. However, our observations also raise considerations for potential drilling hazards associated with structural complexities and potential dust/debris layers within subsurface ice deposits on Mars. They highlight the importance of characterizing VFF-surface structures, and their relationships to VFF-internal structure and ice flow histories ahead of ice access missions to Mars

Sinuous ridges and the history of fluvial and glaciofluvial activity in Chukhung Crater, Tempe Terra, Mars

International audience<p>We explore the origins of a complex assemblage of sinuous ridges in Chukhung crater (38.47°N, 72.42°W), Tempe Terra, Mars, and discuss the implications of the landsystem for post-Noachian fluvial and glaciofluvial activity in this location [1].</p><p>We produced a geomorphic map of Chukhung crater using a basemap of 6 m/pixel Context Camera (CTX) images and a 75 m/pixel High Resolution Stereo Camera digital elevation model (DEM). We used 25 cm/pixel High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment images, and a 24 cm/pixel DEM generated from CTX stereopair images [2] to aid classifications of sinuous ridges into four morpho-stratigraphic subtypes. We constrained an age envelope of ~2.1–3.6 Ga for Chukhung crater using modelled ages (from crater size-frequency analyses) of units above and below it in the regional stratigraphy. We derived a minimum model age of ~330 Ma for viscous flow features (putative debris-covered glaciers) in southern Chukhung crater.</p><p>Sinuous ridges in southern Chukhung crater emerge from moraine-like deposits associated with the debris-covered glaciers. Sinuous ridges in northern Chukhung crater extend from dendritic fluvial valley networks on the crater wall. The northern sinuous ridges are most likely to be inverted palaeochannels, which comprise subaerial river sediments exhumed as ridges by erosion of surrounding materials.</p><p>Both sinuous ridge subtypes in southern Chukhung crater have numerous esker-like properties. Eskers are ridges of glaciofluvial sediment deposited in meltwater tunnels within or beneath glacial ice. One of the ridge subtypes in southern Chukhung crater is best explained as eskers because these ridges ascend the sides of their host valleys and, in places, escape over them onto adjacent plains. Post-depositional processes can cause inverted paleochannels to cross local undulations in the contemporary topography [3] but the ascent and escape over larger, pre-existing topographic divides is (as yet) not adequately explained by these mechanisms. Eskers, in contrast, form under hydraulic pressure in ice-confined tunnels, and commonly ascend valley walls and cross topographic divides. The esker-like properties of the second sinuous ridge subtype in southern Chukhung crater can also be explained under the inverted palaeochannel hypothesis so the origins of these ridges remain more ambiguous.</p><p>Chukhung crater has undergone protracted and/or episodic modification by liquid water since its formation between the early Hesperian and early Amazonian. This falls after the Noachian period (>3.7 Ga), when most major fluvial activity on Mars occurred. Esker-forming wet-based glaciation in Chukhung crater might have occurred as recently as the mid Amazonian (>330 Ma), when climate conditions are thought to have been cold and hyper-arid. Rare occurrences of eskers associated with Amazonian-aged glaciers in Mars’ mid-latitudes are attributed to transient, localised geothermal heating within tectonic rift/graben settings [4]. The location of Chukhung crater between major branches of the large Tempe Fossae volcano-tectonic rift system is consistent with this hypothesis.</p><p>References: [1] Butcher et al. 2021, Icarus 357, 114131. [2] Mayer and Kite 2016, Lunar Planet. Sci. Conf. Abstract #1241. [3] Lefort et al. 2012, J. Geophys. Res. Planets 117, E03007. [4] Butcher et al. 2017, J. Geophys. Res. Planets 122, 2445–2468.</p&gt

Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) for natural microseismicity studies: A case study from Antarctica

Icequakes, microseismic earthquakes at glaciers, offer insights into the dynamics of ice sheets. For the first time in the Antarctic, we explore the use of fiber optic cables as Distributed Acoustic Sensors (DAS) as a new approach for monitoring basal icequakes. We present the use of DAS for studying icequakes as a case study for the application of DAS to microseismic datasets in other geological settings. Fiber was deployed on the ice surface at Rutford Ice Stream in two different configurations. We compare the performance of DAS with a conventional geophone network for: microseismic detection and location; resolving source and noise spectra; source mechanism inversion; and measuring anisotropic shear-wave splitting parameters. Both DAS array geometries detect fewer events than the geophone array. However, DAS is superior to geophones for recording the microseism signal, suggesting the applicability of DAS for ambient noise interferometry. We also present the first full-waveform source mechanism inversions using DAS anywhere, successfully showing the horizontal stick-slip nature of the icequakes. In addition, we develop an approach to use a 2D DAS array geometry as an effective multi-component sensor capable of accurately characterising shear-wave splitting due to the anisotropic ice fabric. Although our observations originate from a glacial environment, the methodology and implications of this work are relevant for employing DAS in other microseismic environments

At identical isowork rates, ageing influences cardiorespiratory adaptations in COPD out-patients

SummaryPurposeTo determine the extent to which younger COPD patients improve their cardiorespiratory function during exercise in comparison with older COPD patients, as a result of exercise training.MethodsThirty-nine COPD patients underwent an exercise program. They were divided into two groups: a younger group (57.2±1.0 years, n=18 patients) and an older group (68.8±0.6 years, n=21 patients). Forced expiratory volume in 1s was lower than 55% of the predicted value for all patients.ResultsAfter training, V˙O2 symptom-limited significantly improved by 10.3% and 8.4% for the younger and older COPD patients, respectively (P<0.05). Peak power significantly improved by 25.2% and 17.8% in the younger and older groups, respectively (P<0.05) with a greater improvement for the younger group (P<0.05). At submaximal exercise, ventilation and heart rate significantly decreased after training in the younger COPD patients (P<0.05) with no significant modification in the older COPD patients.ConclusionsThe results suggest that all patients with COPD benefit from exercise rehabilitation at maximal exercise workload, however, according to their age, submaximal cardiorespiratory adaptations were greater in younger patients

Dissipation and noise in adiabatic quantum pumps

We investigate the distribution function, the heat flow and the noise properties of an adiabatic quantum pump for an arbitrary relation of pump frequency $\omega$ and temperature. To achieve this we start with the scattering matrix approach for ac-transport. This approach leads to expressions for the quantities of interest in terms of the side bands of particles exiting the pump. The side bands correspond to particles which have gained or lost a modulation quantum $\hbar \omega$. We find that our results for the pump current, the heat flow and the noise can all be expressed in terms of a parametric emissivity matrix. In particular we find that the current cross-correlations of a multiterminal pump are directly related a to a non-diagonal element of the parametric emissivity matrix. The approach allows a description of the quantum statistical correlation properties (noise) of an adiabatic quantum pump

Preliminary assessment of the environmental baseline in the Fylde, Lancashire

This report presents the collated preliminary results from the British Geological Survey (BGS) led project Science-based environmental baseline monitoring associated with shale gas development in the Fylde, Lancashire. The project has been funded by a combination of BGS National Capability funding, in-kind contributions from project partners and a grant awarded by the Department of Business Energy and Investment Strategy (BEIS). It complements an on-going project, in which similar activities are being carried out, in the Vale of Pickering, North Yorkshire. Further information on the projects can be found on the BGS website: www.bgs.ac.uk. The project has initiated a wide-ranging environmental baseline monitoring programme that includes water quality (groundwater and surface water), seismicity, ground motion, atmospheric composition (greenhouse gases and air quality), soil gas and radon in air (indoors and outdoors). The motivation behind the project(s) was to establish independent monitoring in the area around the proposed shale gas hydraulic fracturing sites in the Fylde, Lancashire (Cuadrilla Resources Ltd) before any shale gas operations take place. As part of the project, instrumentation has been deployed to measure, in real-time or near real-time, a range of environmental variables (water quality, seismicity, atmospheric composition). These data are being displayed on the project’s web site (www.bgs.ac.uk/lancashire). Additional survey, sampling and monitoring has also been carried out through a co-ordinated programme of fieldwork and laboratory analysis, which has included installation of new monitoring infrastructure, to allow compilation of one of the most comprehensive environmental datasets in the UK. The monitoring programme is continuing. However, there are already some very important findings emerging from the limited datasets which should be taken into account when developing future monitoring strategy, policy and regulation. The information is not only relevant to Lancashire but will be applicable more widely in the UK and internationally. Although shale gas operations in other parts of the world are well-established, there is a paucity of good baseline data and effective guidance on monitoring. The project will also allow the experience gained, and the scientifically-robust findings to be used, to develop and establish effective environmental monitoring strategies for shale gas and similar industrial activities

A consistent, scalable model for Eulerian spray modeling

Despite great practical interest in how sprays emanate from fuel injectors, the near-nozzle region has remained a challenge for spray modelers. Recently, Eulerian models have shown promise in capturing the fast gas-liquid interactions in the near field. However, with the inclusion of compressibility, it can be difficult to maintain consistency between the hydrodynamic and thermodynamic variables. In order to resolve numerical inconsistencies that occur in segregated solutions of Eulerian spray model equations as well as to provide good scalability and stability, a new construction of a -Y model is introduced. This construction is built around an IMEX-RK3 algorithm which offers accuracy and efficiency. The new algorithm is compared to an existing implementation for speed and is validated against experimental measurements of spray evolution in order to test the accuracy. The predictions of the new construction are slightly more accurate and, when tested on 256 processors, are 34 times faster.Also this research used the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE), which is supported by National Science Foundation grant number ACI-1053575. The authors gratefully acknowledge the computing resources provided on the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) at The University of Texas at Austin that have contributed to the research results reported within this paper URL: http://www.tacc.utexas.edu.Pandal-Blanco, A.; Pastor Enguídanos, JM.; García Oliver, JM.; Baldwin, E.; Schmidt, D. (2016). A consistent, scalable model for Eulerian spray modeling. International Journal of Multiphase Flow. 83:162-171. doi:10.1016/j.ijmultiphaseflow.2016.04.003S1621718

Right ventricular myocardial work: proof-of-concept for non-invasive assessment of right ventricular function

Aims Right ventricular myocardial work (RVMW) is a novel method for non-invasive assessment of right ventricular (RV) function utilizing RV pressure-strain loops. This study aimed to explore the relationship between RVMW and invasive indices of right heart catheterization (RHC) in a cohort of patients with heart failure with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (HFrEF), and to compare values of RVMW with those of a group of patients without cardiovascular disease.Methods and results Non-invasive analysis of RVMW was performed in 22 HFrEF patients [median age 63 (59-67) years] who underwent echocardiography and invasive RHC within 48 h. Conventional RV functional measurements, RV global constructive work (RVGCW), RV global work index (RVGWI), RV global wasted work (RVGWVV), and RV global work efficiency (RVGWE) were analysed and compared with invasively measured stroke volume and stroke volume index. Non-invasive analysis of RVMW was also performed in 22 patients without cardiovascular disease to allow for comparison between groups. None of the conventional echocardiographic parameters of RV systolic function were significantly correlated with stroke volume or stroke volume index. In contrast, one of the novel indices derived non-invasively by pressure-strain Loops, RVGCW, demonstrated a moderate correlation with invasively measured stroke volume and stroke volume index (r = 0.63, P=0.002 and r = 0.59, P= 0.004, respectively). RVGWI, RVGCW, and RVGWE were significantly lower in patients with HFrEF compared to a healthy cohort, while values of RVGWVV were significantly higher.Conclusion RVGCW is a novel parameter that provides an integrative analysis of RV systolic function and correlates more closely with invasively measured stroke volume and stroke volume index than other standard echocardiographic parameters.Cardiolog

Global left ventricular myocardial work efficiency and Long-term prognosis in patients after ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction

Background:Left ventricular (LV) global longitudinal strain has demonstrated incremental prognostic value over LV ejection fraction in patients with ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction. However, LV global longitudinal strain does not take into consideration the effect of afterload. Novel speckle-tracking echocardiographic indices of myocardial work integrate blood pressure measurements (afterload) with LV global longitudinal strain. The present study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of global LV myocardial work efficiency (GLVMWE; reflecting LV performance) obtained from pressure-strain loops with echocardiography in patients with ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction.Methods:A total of 507 ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction patients (mean age, 61 +/- 11 years; 76% men) were retrospectively analyzed. LV ejection fraction and GLVMWE were measured by transthoracic echocardiography within 48 hours of admission. GLVMWE was defined as the ratio of constructive work divided by the sum of constructive and wasted work in all LV segments and expressed as a percentage. Spline curve analysis was used to define the association between reduced GLVMWE and all-cause death.Results:After a median follow-up of 80 months (interquartile range, 67-97 months), 40 (8%) patients died. Patients with reduced GLVMWE (= 86%). Reduced GLVMWE (<86%) showed an independent association with all-cause mortality (hazard ratio, 3.167 [95% CI, 1.679-5.972]; P<0.001).Conclusions:Reduced GLVMWE (<86%) measured by transthoracic echocardiography within 48 hours of admission in ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction patients is associated with worse long-term survival.Cardiolog