Resonance and Sedimentary Layering in the Context of a Global Flood

Much of the layering in the sedimentary column demands a cyclic mechanism for its development. Newton\u27s gravitational attraction principle as manifested in the tides provides such a mechanism .The Resonance phenomenon, produced by tides and other excitation sources, are invoked to provide the global ocean tides with the ability to transport and deposit the required amount of sediment. Computer simulations are used to develop an understanding of the events

A qualitative study of the contribution of pharmacists to heart failure management in Scotland

Study objectives: (1) To identify the medication management needs of chronic heart failure (CHF) patients and their caregivers; (2) To examine the perceived support for medication management available to these people from health professionals; (3) To identify the actual and potential perceived contribution of pharmacists to medication management. Setting: A mixed urban/ rural region in the west of Scotland. Design: Semi-structured qualitative research interviews. Participants: A total of 50 people with CHF (NYHA Class II and III) due to left ventricular systolic dysfunction (33 males; mean age 67 years, 17 females; mean age 68 years) and 30 nominated caregivers recruited from the outpatient departments of two hospitals in the West of Scotland. Sampling was purposive to include patients from a range of CHF severity, ages and sexes. Main results: Managing medications was a responsibility shared by both the patients with CHF and caregivers. Treatment regimens were reported to be difficult to comply with. Health professionals were seen to provide little support for medication management. Pharmacists were viewed as being a good and accessible source of practical assistance who were also knowledgeable about the individual’s heart health history. Participants reported valuing advice from pharmacists about the side effects of medications and for their assistance in reducing the complex logistics of medication management and in having medications delivered. Conclusions: Patients with CHF and caregivers voiced a willingness to try to manage their medication regimen accurately but had a limited capacity to do so. Pharmacists were viewed as providing valuable support to patients with CHF and their caregivers, in terms of medication management. The extended role of pharmacists in medication management of CHF should be encouraged

Ga-NMR local susceptibility of the kagome-based magnet SrCr_9pGa_(12-9p)O_19. A high temperature study

We report a high-$T$ Ga-NMR study in the kagome-based antiferromagnetic compound SrCr$_{9p}$Ga$_{12-9p}$O$_{19}$ ($.81\leq p\leq .96$), and present a refined mean-field analysis of the high T local NMR susceptibility of Cr frustrated moments. We find that the intralayer kagome coupling is $J=86(6)$ K, and the interlayer coupling through non-kagome Cr moments is $J^{\prime }=69(7)$ K. The $J^{\prime}/J=0.80(1)$ ratio confirms the common belief that the frustrated entity is a pyrochlore slab.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures Conference paper: Highly Frustrated Magnetism 2000, Waterloo (Canada) Submitted to Canadian Journal of Physic

Mealiness assessment in apples using MRI techniques

Small samples of Top Red apples stored 6 months under controlled atmosphere (expected to be non-mealy) and 2°C (expected to be mealy) have been used for MRI imaging. Multi-slice-multi-echo magnetic resonance images (64*64 pixels) have been recorded with a 8 ms echo time. Three out of four apples corresponding to the sample maintained under controlled atmosphere did not developed mealiness while three out of four fruits corresponding to the sample stored at 2°C became mealy after 6 months of storage. The minimum T2 values obtained for the mealy apples show to be significantly lower (F = 13.21) when compared with non-mealy apples pointing that a more desegregated structure and a lower juiciness content leads to lower T2 signal. Also, there is a significant linear correlation (r = −0.76) between the number of pixels with a T2 value below 35 ms within a fruit image and the deformation parameter registered during the Magness–Taylor firmness test. Finally, all T2 maps of mealy apples show a regional variation of contrast which is not shown for non-mealy apples. Significant differences (F = 19.43) between mealy and non-mealy apples are found in the histograms of the T2 maps as mealy apples show a skew histogram combined with a “tail” in their high T2 extreme which is not shown in the histograms of non-mealy apples. These histogram features are also shown for an apple showing internal breakdown indicating that in mealy apples there is a differential water movement that may precede internal breakdown

Sea-level rise due to polar ice-sheet mass loss during past warm periods

Interdisciplinary studies of geologic archives have ushered in a new era of deciphering magnitudes, rates, and sources of sea-level rise from polar ice-sheet loss during past warm periods. Accounting for glacial isostatic processes helps to reconcile spatial variability in peak sea level during marine isotope stages 5e and 11, when the global mean reached 6 to 9 meters and 6 to 13 meters higher than present, respectively. Dynamic topography introduces large uncertainties on longer time scales, precluding robust sea-level estimates for intervals such as the Pliocene. Present climate is warming to a level associated with significant polar ice-sheet loss in the past. Here, we outline advances and challenges involved in constraining ice-sheet sensitivity to climate change with use of paleo–sea level records

Global development of children’s palliative care: the picture in 2017

Background: The growing interest in tracking the global development of palliative care provision is not matched by research on the development of palliative care services specifically for children. Yet it is estimated that worldwide, 21 million children annually could benefit from the provision of palliative care. We report on a global study of children’s palliative care development and offer suggestions for further improvement in design and method. Methods: Primary data on the level of children’s palliative care development in 2017 was collected from in-country experts through a specific question in an online questionnaire that sought to measure the overall level of palliative care provision globally. Countries were assigned to one of six categories on the basis of the responses obtained. Conflicting responses from the same country were resolved with reference to a hierarchy of preferred respondents. Results: Our data allowed the categorisation of 113 countries, accounting for 65% of the global population aged under 20. Number of countries (% of global child population) in each category were as follows: 1) no known activity, 21 (4%); 2) capacity-building, 16 (24%); 3a) isolated provision, 55 (30%); 3b) generalized provision, 5 (1%); 4a) preliminary integration into mainstream provision, 14 (8%); 4b) advanced integration, 7 (2%). Conclusions: Children’s palliative care at the highest level of provision is available in just 21 countries, accounting for fewer than 10% of the global population aged under 20. It is concentrated in high income settings, whilst the majority of the global need for such care is in low- and middle-income countries. Our study is a useful tool for global advocacy relating to children’s palliative care and a stimulus for the creation of improved indicators to measure it at the country level

Probing Heavy Higgs Boson Models with a TeV Linear Collider

The last years have seen a great development in our understanding of particle physics at the weak scale. Precision electroweak observables have played a key role in this process and their values are consistent, within the Standard Model interpretation, with a light Higgs boson with mass lower than about 200 GeV. If new physics were responsible for the mechanism of electroweak symmetry breaking, there would, quite generally, be modifications to this prediction induced by the non-standard contributions to the precision electroweak observables. In this article, we analyze the experimental signatures of a heavy Higgs boson at linear colliders. We show that a linear collider, with center of mass energy \sqrt{s} <= 1 TeV, would be very useful to probe the basic ingredients of well motivated heavy Higgs boson models: a relatively heavy SM-like Higgs, together with either extra scalar or fermionic degrees of freedom, or with the mixing of the third generation quarks with non-standard heavy quark modes.Comment: 21 page

Mealiness assessment in apples and peaches using MRI techniques

Mealiness (woolliness in peaches) is a negative attribute of sensory texture that combines the sensation of a desegregated tissue with the sensation of lack of juiciness. In this study, 24 apples cv. Top Red and 8 peaches cv. Maycrest, submitted to 3 and 2 different storage conditions respectively have been tested by mechanical and MRI techniques to assess mealiness. With this study, the results obtained on apples in a previous work have been validated using mathematical features from the histograms of the T2 maps: more skewed and the presence of a tail in mealy apples, similar to internal breakdown. In peaches, MRI techniques can also be used to identify woolly fruits. Not all the changes found in the histograms of woolly peaches are similar from those observed in mealy apples pointing to a different underlying physiological change in both disorder