Anomalous Fluctuations in Observations of Q0957+561 A,B: Smoking Gun of a Cosmic String?

We report the detection of anomalous brightness fluctuations in the multiple image Q0957+561 A,B gravitational lens system, and consider whether such anomalies have a plausible interpretation within the framework of cosmic string theory. We study a simple model of gravitational lensing by an asymmetrical rotating string. An explicit form of the lens equation is obtained and approximate relations for magnification are derived. We show that such a model with typical parameters of the GUT string can quantitatively reproduce the observed pattern of brightness fluctuations. On the other hand, explanation involving a binary star system as an alternative cause requires an unacceptably large massive object at a small distance. We also discuss possible observational manifestations of cosmic strings within our lens model.Comment: Published in Astronomy and Astrophysics. 7 pages, 6 figure

Study and implementation of urogenital schistosomiasis elimination in Zanzibar (Unguja and Pemba islands) using an integrated multidisciplinary approach

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Schistosomiasis is a parasitic infection that continues to be a major public health problem in many developing countries being responsible for an estimated burden of at least 1.4 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in Africa alone. However, morbidity due to schistosomiasis has been greatly reduced in some parts of the world, including Zanzibar. The Zanzibar government is now committed to eliminate urogenital schistosomiasis. Over the next 3--5 years, the whole at-risk population will be administered praziquantel (40 mg/kg) biannually. Additionally, snail control and behaviour change interventions will be implemented in selected communities and the impact measured in a randomized intervention trial. METHODS: In this 5-year research study, on both Unguja and Pemba islands, urogenital schistosomiasis will be assessed in 45 communities with urine filtration and reagent strips in 4,500 schoolchildren aged 9--12 years annually, and in 4,500 first-year schoolchildren and 2,250 adults in years 1 and 5. Additionally, from first-year schoolchildren, a finger-prick blood sample will be collected and examined for Schistosoma haematobium infection biomarkers. Changes in prevalence and infection intensity will be assessed annually. Among the 45 communities, 15 were randomized for biannual snail control with niclosamide, in concordance with preventive chemotherapy campaigns. The reduction of Bulinus globosus snail populations and S. haematobium-infected snails will be investigated. In 15 other communities, interventions triggering behaviour change have been designed and will be implemented in collaboration with the community. A change in knowledge, attitudes and practices will be assessed annually through focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with schoolchildren, teachers, parents and community leaders. In all 45 communities, changes in the health system, water and sanitation infrastructure will be annually tracked by standardized questionnaire-interviews with community leaders. Additional issues potentially impacting on study outcomes and all incurring costs will be monitored and recorded. DISCUSSION: Elimination of schistosomiasis has become a priority on the agenda of the Zanzibar government and the international community. Our study will contribute to identifying what, in addition to preventive chemotherapy, needs to be done to prevent, control, and ultimately eliminate schistosomiasis, and to draw lessons for current and future schistosomiasis elimination programmes in Africa and elsewhere.Trial registrationISRCTN4883768

Raman Spectroscopic Analysis of Normal, Dysplastic and Cancerous Oral Mucosa: A Tissue Engineering Approach

Head and neck cancer (HNC) is the sixth most common malignancy worldwide. Squamous cell carcinoma, the primary cause of HNC, evolves from normal epithelium through dysplasia before invading the connective tissue to form a carcinoma. Only 5% of suspicious lesions progress to cancer and diagnosis currently relies on histopathological evaluation, which is invasive and time consuming. A non-invasive, real-time point-of-care method could overcome these problems and facilitate regular screening. Infrared (IR) and Raman spectroscopy (RS) can non-invasively provide information regarding biochemical differences between normal and abnormal tissues. In this study, RS was employed to distinguish between different tissues-engineered models. 3D tissue engineered models of normal, dysplastic and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) using normal oral keratinocytes, dysplastic (D19, D20 and DOK) and HNSCC cell lines (Cal27 , SCC4 and FaDu) were constructed and their biochemical content predicted by interpretation of their spectral characteristics. Spectral features of normal tissue samples were mainly attributed to lipids, whereas, malignant tissue samples were observed to be protein dominant. Visible differences were found between the spectra of normal, dysplastic and cancerous models, specifically in the bands of amide I and III. The spectra of HNSCC models showed a broad and strong peak of amide I instead of the sharp and weak lipid peak in normal models at band centred at 1667 cm-1. A shift at 2937 cm-1 was only observed in DOK, differentiating them from the other tissue types. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Cluster Analysis (CA) distinguished noticeable differences between tissues

Reef Coral Reproduction in the Eastern Pacific: Costa Rica, Panamá, and the Galápagos Islands (Ecuador). VI. Agariciidae, Pavona clavus

The reproductive ecology of the zooxanthellate reef coral Pavona clavus was investigated at several sites in Costa Rica, Panama, and the Galapagos Islands (Ecuador) over the period 1985–2009. Pavona clavus displayed stable gonochorism as only five hermaphrodites were found in 590 samples. At four of five locations, sex ratios were skewed toward female dominance; however, at Saboga Island (Panama) male colonies predominated. In Panama, sexual maturity was observed in an estimated eight year old female colony, and several colonies of 10–20 years of age demonstrated gametogenesis. Sexual activity was observed at all study sites, but gamete development occurred in only 14–31% of colonies sampled sporadically. Seasonality of gametogenic activity occurred predominantly during the warm/wet season, June to August, at mainland sites (Cano Island, Costa Rica, and Gulfs of Chiriqui and Panama, Panama). This pattern was repeated in the Galapagos Islands, but mainly from March to May when seasonally high sea temperatures and rainfall prevailed there. Histological sampling and field observations indicated that spawning was centered around the full moon, most frequently on lunar day 17, and near sunset (1,800 h). Mean fecundity (mature ova cm-2 live tissue) estimates were significantly different for two sites and ranged from ~1,780 (Saboga Island, Gulf of Panama, seasonally upwelling) to ~4,280 (Uva Is, Gulf of Chiriqui, nonupwelling). Assuming three annual spawning events colony-1 (August, September, October), extrapolation of minimum and maximum fecundities yield 5,340 and 12,840 ova cm-2 year-1. Seasonal, lunar, and diel spawning patterns in nine zooxanthellate species at Uva Island indicate asynchronous coral community spawning

Q2237+0305 in X-rays: spectra and variability with XMM-Newton

X-ray observations of gravitationally lensed quasars may allow us to probe the inner structure of the central engine of a quasar. Observations of Q2237+0305 (Einstein Cross) in X-rays may be used to constrain the inner structure of the X-ray emitting source. Here we analyze the XMM-Newton observation of the quasar in the gravitational lens system Q2237+0305 taken during 2002. Combined spectra of the four images of the quasar in this system were extracted and modelled with a power-law model. Statistical analysis was used to test the variability of the total flux. The total X-ray flux from all the images of this quadruple gravitational lens system is 6 x 10^{-13} erg/cm2/s in the range 0.2-10 keV, showing no significant X-ray spectral variability during almost 42 ks of the observation time. Fitting of the cleaned source spectrum yields a photon power-law index of Gamma=1.82+0.07/-0.08. The X-ray lightcurves obtained after background subtraction are compatible with the hypothesis of a stationary flux from the source.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, 4 tables, accepted by A&

Reproductive Ecology of the Azooxanthellate Coral Tubastraea coccinea in the Equatorial Eastern Pacific: Part V. Dendrophylliidae

The reproductive ecology of Tubastraea coccinea Lesson, an azooxanthellate tropical scleractinian coral, was studied over various periods from 1985 to 2006 at four principal eastern Pacific locations in Costa Rica, Panamá, and the Galápagos Islands (Ecuador). This small (polyp diameter 0.8–1.0 cm), relatively cryptic species produced ova and planulae year round, including colonies with as few as 2–10 polyps. Of 424 colonies examined histologically, 13.7% contained both ova and sperm. Mature ova varied in diameter from ~300 to 800 µm and the time from spawning and fertilization of oocytes to release of brooded planulae was about 6 weeks. Planulae were 0.5–1.5 mm long and they settled and metamorphosed on a variety of substrates after 1–3 days. Spermaries, though more difficult to distinguish in histological sections, were present throughout the year. Spent spermaries were never observed in sections, but several colonies in Panamá and the Galápagos Islands released sperm from night one to night five after full moon, indicating the potential for cross-fertilization among colonies. Planula release was observed at Uva Island (Panamá) in March, May, June, and July, and in general planula presence was higher at warm ocean temperatures at all sites, whether or not the sites were inXuenced by seasonal upwelling. Annual fecundity estimates for T. coccinea are comparable with other high fecundity brooding species, including the zooxanthellate Porites panamensis, with which it co-occurs in Panamá. Tubastraea coccinea is widely distributed in the tropical Indo-Pacific and has colonized substrates in the western Atlantic. In addition to the reproductive characteristics described in the present study, other features of the biology of T. coccinea, such as an ability to withstand conditions that produce bleaching and mortality in zooxanthellate species, may account for its widespread, low-latitude distribution in multiple oceans

Development of strategies for effective communication of food risks and benefits across Europe: Design and conceptual framework of the FoodRisC project

The FoodRisC project is funded under the Seventh Framework Programme (CORDIS FP7) of the European Commission; Grant agreement no.: 245124. Copyright @ 2011 Barnett et al.BACKGROUND: European consumers are faced with a myriad of food related risk and benefit information and it is regularly left up to the consumer to interpret these, often conflicting, pieces of information as a coherent message. This conflict is especially apparent in times of food crises and can have major public health implications. Scientific results and risk assessments cannot always be easily communicated into simple guidelines and advice that non-scientists like the public or the media can easily understand especially when there is conflicting, uncertain or complex information about a particular food or aspects thereof. The need for improved strategies and tools for communication about food risks and benefits is therefore paramount. The FoodRisC project ("Food Risk Communication - Perceptions and communication of food risks/benefits across Europe: development of effective communication strategies") aims to address this issue. The FoodRisC project will examine consumer perceptions and investigate how people acquire and use information in food domains in order to develop targeted strategies for food communication across Europe.METHODS/DESIGN: This project consists of 6 research work packages which, using qualitative and quantitative methodologies, are focused on development of a framework for investigating food risk/benefit issues across Europe, exploration of the role of new and traditional media in food communication and testing of the framework in order to develop evidence based communication strategies and tools. The main outcome of the FoodRisC project will be a toolkit to enable coherent communication of food risk/benefit messages in Europe. The toolkit will integrate theoretical models and new measurement paradigms as well as building on social marketing approaches around consumer segmentation. Use of the toolkit and guides will assist policy makers, food authorities and other end users in developing common approaches to communicating coherent messages to consumers in Europe.DISCUSSION: The FoodRisC project offers a unique approach to the investigation of food risk/benefit communication. The effective spread of food risk/benefit information will assist initiatives aimed at reducing the burden of food-related illness and disease, reducing the economic impact of food crises and ensuring that confidence in safe and nutritious food is fostered and maintained in Europe.This article is available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund

On the making and taking of professionalism in the further education workplace

This paper examines the changing nature of professional practice in English further education. At a time when neo-liberal reform has significantly impacted on this under-researched and over-market-tested sector, little is known about who its practitioners are and how they construct meaning in their work. Sociological interest in the field has tended to focus on further education practitioners as either the subjects of market and managerial reform or as creative agents operating within the contradictions of audit and inspection cultures. In challenging such dualism, which is reflective of wider sociological thinking, the paper examines the ways in which agency and structure combine to produce a more transformative conception of the further education professional. The approach contrasts with a prevailing policy discourse that seeks to re-professionalise and modernise further education practice without interrogating either the terms of its professionalism or the neo-liberal practices in which it resides

Why do we need (another) special issue on gender and VET?

The Journal of Vocational Education and Training last had a special issue on gender and vocational education and training (VET) in 2006. In the intervening 8 years, the journal has published 264 research papers, of which just 10 - that is, less than 4% - addressed the issue of gender in any substantive way. This is something of a disappointment, as editors always hope that a special issue will provoke increased discussion and debate in the journal about its theme as well as providing a focused resource. Is the problem that, compared to the effects of global labour migration flows, constantly rising youth unemployment figures or emerging skills gaps in an aging society, gender issues have lost their relevance as just one category of social inequalities among many others? This can hardly be the case, since it is obviously a most thorough-going and persistent one. Despite over 30 years of gender studies, and numerous policy initiatives to address gender inequalities, gender segregation persists in VET as well as in the labour market. Women still earn less, hold the majority of part-time contracts, tend to be stereotyped into caring and personal service work, and are largely under-represented in leadership positions. Is the problem then that there is nothing new to be said about gender and VET? We do not agree that that is the case either: gender injustice remains a central issue in VET and the labour market; and as the social, political and economic landscape changes rapidly in today's world, it is inevitable that gender inequalities are produced and reproduced in new and different ways. So we felt the need to call once again for a collection of papers dedicated specifically to this topic, and one that would reflect this evolution