Rapid wound healing in a reef manta ray masks the extent of vessel strike

Increasing vessel traffic in the marine environment due to commercial and recreational activities has amplified the number of conflicts with marine animals. However, there are limited multi-year observations of the healing rate of marine animals following vessel strike. Here we document the healing rate of a reef manta ray Mobula alfredi, following lacerations caused by a propeller along the pectoral fin. We demonstrate a high healing capacity, with wound length following a negative exponential curve over time. Lacerations healed to 5% of the initial wound length (i.e. 95% closure) within 295 days. The wounds appeared to stabilise at this point as observed more than three years following the incident and resulted in a distinctive scarring pattern. Examination of an extensive photo-identification catalogue of manta rays from the Ningaloo Coast World Heritage Area showed that the scarring pattern occurs more frequently than previously recognised, as the wounds had been previously attributed to failed predation attempts. This study provides baseline information for wound healing from vessel strike in reef manta rays and indirect evidence for increased vessel strikes on manta rays within the Ningaloo Coast World Heritage Area. We discuss the implication for spatial and behavioural management of vessels around manta rays

Playing safe: Assessing the risk of sexual abuse to elite child athletes

Young athletes frequently suffer from being seen as athletes first and children second. This has consequences for their legal, civil and human rights as children (Kelly et al., 1995) and for the way in which sport organisations choose to intervene on their behalf to protect them from physical, psychological and sexual abuses (Brackenridge, 1994). Sport careers peak at different ages depending on the sport: in some, children as young as 12 or 13 may reach the highest levels of competitive performance; in others, full maturity as an athlete may come late into adulthood or even middle age. Recognition of this variation has given rise to the concept of ‘sport age’ (Kirby, 1986) referring to sport-specific athlete development. This concept is of significance in helping to identify the developmental process in terms of athletic, rather than chronological, maturity. The risk of sexual abuse in sport, formerly ignored or denied, has now been documented in a number of studies, using both quantitative and qualitative methods (Kirby & Greaves, 1996; Brackenridge, 1997; Volkwein, 1996). Drawing on data from these studies and from the previous work on sport age and athletic maturation, this paper proposes a possible means of identifying and assessing relative risk of sexual abuse to elite young athletes in selected sports. The concept of a ‘stage of imminent achievement’ (SIA) is proposed as the period of peak vulnerability of young athletes to sexual abuse

Analysis of the modes of energy consumption of the complex of an incoherent scattering of the institute of ionosphere of national academy of sciences and the ministry of education and science of Ukraine

У даній статті представлені результати аналізу режимів енергоспоживання комплексу некогерентного розсіяння Інституту іоносфери НАН і МОН України з метою вирішення проблеми підвищення енергоефективності науково-дослідного комплексу та створення енергоефективної системи електропостачання, яка забезпечить стійку роботу наукового обладнання для виконання дослідницьких програм НАН України. Описана система електроживлення комплексу та режими енергоспоживання комплексу. Описано пристрої радарної системи, а також найбільш потужні споживачі електроенергії, які споживають електроенергію на експериментальні і господарські потреби. Проаналізовано енергоспоживання комплексу некогерентного розсіяння за 2013 р. Отримано і представлено графіки середньої споживаної потужності (середньодобовий показник) і середньої споживаної потужності в режимі вимірювань. Описана доцільність проведення робіт з оптимізації енергопостачання науково-дослідного комплексу Інституту іоносфери. Запропоновано можливі заходи для зниження економічної вартості проведення експериментів з дослідження іоносфери науково-дослідного комплексу некогерентного розсіяння. Проведено аналіз робіт сучасних авторів з метою показати, що підвищення ефективності функціонування систем електропостачання є актуальною проблемою сучасних досліджень.This article presents the results of the analysis of the energy consumption modes of the incoherent scattering complex of the Institute of Ionosphere of the National Academy of Sciences and the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine to solve the problem of increasing the energy efficiency of a research complex and creating an energy efficient power supply system that will ensure the sustainability of scientific equipment for research programs of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. The system of power supply of the complex and modes of power consumption of the complex are described. The devices of the radar system are described, as well as the most powerful consumers of electricity, which consume electricity for experimental and economic needs. The energy consumption of the incoherent scattering complex in 2013 is analyzed. Graphs of the average power consumption (daily average) and average power consumption in measurement modes were obtained and presented. The feasibility of work to optimize the energy supply of the research complex of the institute of the ionosphere is described. Possible measures are proposed to reduce the economic cost of conducting experiments on the study of the ionosphere of an incoherent scattering research complex. The analysis of the works of modern authors i s carried out in order to show that increasing the efficiency of the power supply systems is an actual problem of modern research

Cost effectiveness of thrombolytic therapy with tissue plasminogen activator as compared with streptokinase for acute myocardial infarction

BACKGROUND. Patients with acute myocardial infarction who were treated with accelerated tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) (given over a period of 1 1/2 hours rather than the conventional 3 hours, and with two thirds of the dose given in the first 30 minutes) had a 30-day mortality that was 15 percent lower than that of pati

A Measurement of Psi(2S) Resonance Parameters

Cross sections for e+e- to hadons, pi+pi- J/Psi, and mu+mu- have been measured in the vicinity of the Psi(2S) resonance using the BESII detector operated at the BEPC. The Psi(2S) total width; partial widths to hadrons, pi+pi- J/Psi, muons; and corresponding branching fractions have been determined to be Gamma(total)= (264+-27) keV; Gamma(hadron)= (258+-26) keV, Gamma(mu)= (2.44+-0.21) keV, and Gamma(pi+pi- J/Psi)= (85+-8.7) keV; and Br(hadron)= (97.79+-0.15)%, Br(pi+pi- J/Psi)= (32+-1.4)%, Br(mu)= (0.93+-0.08)%, respectively.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure

The G0 Experiment: Apparatus for Parity-Violating Electron Scattering Measurements at Forward and Backward Angles

In the G0 experiment, performed at Jefferson Lab, the parity-violating elastic scattering of electrons from protons and quasi-elastic scattering from deuterons is measured in order to determine the neutral weak currents of the nucleon. Asymmetries as small as 1 part per million in the scattering of a polarized electron beam are determined using a dedicated apparatus. It consists of specialized beam-monitoring and control systems, a cryogenic hydrogen (or deuterium) target, and a superconducting, toroidal magnetic spectrometer equipped with plastic scintillation and aerogel Cerenkov detectors, as well as fast readout electronics for the measurement of individual events. The overall design and performance of this experimental system is discussed.Comment: Submitted to Nuclear Instruments and Method

Theory and Applications of Non-Relativistic and Relativistic Turbulent Reconnection

Realistic astrophysical environments are turbulent due to the extremely high Reynolds numbers. Therefore, the theories of reconnection intended for describing astrophysical reconnection should not ignore the effects of turbulence on magnetic reconnection. Turbulence is known to change the nature of many physical processes dramatically and in this review we claim that magnetic reconnection is not an exception. We stress that not only astrophysical turbulence is ubiquitous, but also magnetic reconnection itself induces turbulence. Thus turbulence must be accounted for in any realistic astrophysical reconnection setup. We argue that due to the similarities of MHD turbulence in relativistic and non-relativistic cases the theory of magnetic reconnection developed for the non-relativistic case can be extended to the relativistic case and we provide numerical simulations that support this conjecture. We also provide quantitative comparisons of the theoretical predictions and results of numerical experiments, including the situations when turbulent reconnection is self-driven, i.e. the turbulence in the system is generated by the reconnection process itself. We show how turbulent reconnection entails the violation of magnetic flux freezing, the conclusion that has really far reaching consequences for many realistically turbulent astrophysical environments. In addition, we consider observational testing of turbulent reconnection as well as numerous implications of the theory. The former includes the Sun and solar wind reconnection, while the latter include the process of reconnection diffusion induced by turbulent reconnection, the acceleration of energetic particles, bursts of turbulent reconnection related to black hole sources as well as gamma ray bursts. Finally, we explain why turbulent reconnection cannot be explained by turbulent resistivity or derived through the mean field approach.Comment: 66 pages, 24 figures, a chapter of the book "Magnetic Reconnection - Concepts and Applications", editors W. Gonzalez, E. N. Parke

Partial Wave Analysis of J/ψ→γ(K+K−π+π−)J/\psi \to \gamma (K^+K^-\pi^+\pi^-)

BES data on $J/\psi \to \gamma (K^+K^-\pi^+\pi^-)$ are presented. The $K^*\bar K^*$ contribution peaks strongly near threshold. It is fitted with a broad $0^{-+}$ resonance with mass $M = 1800 \pm 100$ MeV, width $\Gamma = 500 \pm 200$ MeV. A broad $2^{++}$ resonance peaking at 2020 MeV is also required with width $\sim 500$ MeV. There is further evidence for a $2^{-+}$ component peaking at 2.55 GeV. The non-$K^*\bar K^*$ contribution is close to phase space; it peaks at 2.6 GeV and is very different from $K^{*}\bar{K^{*}}$.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures, 1 table, Submitted to PL