Presumed Neuroglycopenia Caused by Severe Hypoglycemia in Horses.

BackgroundNeuroglycopenia refers to a shortage of glucose in the brain resulting in neuronal dysfunction and death if left untreated. Presumed neuroglycopenia has not been described in horses.ObjectiveTo report neurological signs in horses with presumed neuroglycopenia as the result of severe hypoglycemia.AnimalsNinety horses (hours to 28 years of age) diagnosed with hypoglycemia (blood glucose concentration < 75 mg/dL [< 4.2 mmol/L]).MethodsRetrospective study. Electronic medical records were searched. Signalment, history, complaint, clinical signs, laboratory findings including CSF analysis, electroencephalogram, clinical or definitive diagnosis, and outcome were recorded. Kruskal-Wallis analysis of variance and logistic regression were used to investigate association between blood glucose concentration and data extracted. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05.ResultsThirty-eight and 52 horses had mild (50-74 mg/dL [2.8-4.1 mmol/L]), and severe hypoglycemia (< 50 mg/dL [< 2.8 mmol/L]), respectively. Most common causes of hypoglycemia included liver and gastrointestinal (40%) disease, sepsis (33%), neoplasia (7%), and insulin-induced (4%). Most common neurologic deficits included obtundation (100%), seizures (42%), and disorientation (22%). CSF-glucose was severely low (mean 2.5 mg/dL [0.1 mmol/L], median 0 mg/dL). Paroxysmal discharges in support of seizures were identified in the occipital (visual) and parietal (closest to temporal-auditory) cortical regions upon EEG examination (8/8 horses).Conclusions and clinical importanceNeuroglycopenia is presumed to occur in horses as the result of severe hypoglycemia. Subclinical seizures, and intermittent blindness and deafness of cortical origin can occur. Severe altered state of consciousness and seizures can be observed at a blood glucose cut-off value of < 42 mg/dL (< 2.3 mmol/L)

Strongly Coupled Quantum and Classical Systems and Zeno's Effect

A model interaction between a two-state quantum system and a classical switching device is analysed and shown to lead to the quantum Zeno effect for large values of the coupling constant k . A minimal piecewise deterministic random process compatible with the Liouville equation is described, and it is shown that 1/k can be interpreted as the jump frequency of the classical deviceComment: 9 page

Response of the Brazilian gravitational wave detector to signals from a black hole ringdown

It is assumed that a black hole can be disturbed in such a way that a ringdown gravitational wave would be generated. This ringdown waveform is well understood and is modelled as an exponentially damped sinusoid. In this work we use this kind of waveform to study the performance of the SCHENBERG gravitational wave detector. This first realistic simulation will help us to develop strategies for the signal analysis of this Brazilian detector. We calculated the signal-to-noise ratio as a function of frequency for the simulated signals and obtained results that show that SCHENBERG is expected to be sensitive enough to detect this kind of signal up to a distance of $\sim 20\mathrm{kpc}$.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, Amaldi 5 Conference Proceedings contribution. Submitted to Class. Quantum Gra

The discrete fragmentation equations : semigroups, compactness and asynchronous exponential growth

In this paper we present a class of fragmentation semigroups which are compact in a scale of spaces defined in terms of finite higher moments. We use this compactness result to analyse the long time behaviour of such semigroups and, in particular, to prove that they have the asynchronous growth property. We note that, despite compactness, this growth property is not automatic as the fragmentation semigroups are not irreducible

Stellar Population Diagnostics of Elliptical Galaxy Formation

Major progress has been achieved in recent years in mapping the properties of passively-evolving, early-type galaxies (ETG) from the local universe all the way to redshift ~2. Here, age and metallicity estimates for local cluster and field ETGs are reviewed as based on color-magnitude, color-sigma, and fundamental plane relations, as well as on spectral-line indices diagnostics. The results of applying the same tools at high redshifts are then discussed, and their consistency with the low-redshift results is assessed. Most low- as well as high-redshift (z~1) observations consistently indicate 1) a formation redshift z>~3 for the bulk of stars in cluster ETGs, with their counterparts in low-density environments being on average ~1-2 Gyr younger, i.e., formed at z>~1.5-2, 2) the duration of the major star formation phase anticorrelates with galaxy mass, and the oldest stellar populations are found in the most massive galaxies. With increasing redshift there is evidence for a decrease in the number density of ETGs, especially of the less massive ones, whereas existing data appear to suggest that most of the most-massive ETGs were already fully assembled at z~1. Beyond this redshift, the space density of ETGs starts dropping significantly, and as ETGs disappear, a population of massive, strongly clustered, starburst galaxies progressively becomes more and more prominent, which makes them the likely progenitors to ETGs.Comment: To appear on Annual Review of Astronomy & Astrophysics, Vol. 44 (2006). 46 pages with 16 figures. Replaced version includes updated references, few typos less, and replaces Fig. 11 and Fig. 16 which had been skrewed u

A Counterexample to Claimed COBE Constraints on Compact Toroidal Universe Models

It has been suggested that if the Universe satisfies a flat, multiply connected, perturbed Friedmann-Lema^itre model, then cosmic microwave background data from the COBE satellite implies that the minimum size of the injectivity diameter (shortest closed spatial geodesic) must be larger than about two fifths of the horizon diameter. To show that this claim is misleading, a simple $T^2 \times R$ universe model of injectivity diameter a quarter of this size, i.e. a tenth of the horizon diameter, is shown to be consistent with COBE four year observational maps of the cosmic microwave background. This is done using the identified circles principle.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, accepted for Classical & Quantum Gravit

Theoretical description of phase coexistence in model C60

We have investigated the phase diagram of the Girifalco model of C60 fullerene in the framework provided by the MHNC and the SCOZA liquid state theories, and by a Perturbation Theory (PT), for the free energy of the solid phase. We present an extended assessment of such theories as set against a recent Monte Carlo study of the same model [D. Costa et al, J. Chem. Phys. 118:304 (2003)]. We have compared the theoretical predictions with the corresponding simulation results for several thermodynamic properties. Then we have determined the phase diagram of the model, by using either the SCOZA, or the MHNC, or the PT predictions for one of the coexisting phases, and the simulation data for the other phase, in order to separately ascertain the accuracy of each theory. It turns out that the overall appearance of the phase portrait is reproduced fairly well by all theories, with remarkable accuracy as for the melting line and the solid-vapor equilibrium. The MHNC and SCOZA results for the liquid-vapor coexistence, as well as for the corresponding critical points, are quite accurate. All results are discussed in terms of the basic assumptions underlying each theory. We have selected the MHNC for the fluid and the first-order PT for the solid phase, as the most accurate tools to investigate the phase behavior of the model in terms of purely theoretical approaches. The overall results appear as a robust benchmark for further theoretical investigations on higher order C(n>60) fullerenes, as well as on other fullerene-related materials, whose description can be based on a modelization similar to that adopted in this work.Comment: RevTeX4, 15 pages, 7 figures; submitted to Phys. Rev.

The hidden burden of adult allergic rhinitis : UK healthcare resource utilisation survey

Funding Funding for this survey was provided by Meda Pharma.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

On the leading OPE corrections to the ghost-gluon vertex and the Taylor theorem

This brief note is devoted to a study of genuine non-perturbative corrections to the Landau gauge ghost-gluon vertex in terms of the non-vanishing dimension-two gluon condensate. We pay special attention to the kinematical limit which the bare vertex takes for its tree-level expression at any perturbative order, according to the well-known Taylor theorem. Based on our OPE analysis, we also present a simple model for the vertex, in acceptable agreement with lattice data.Comment: Final version published in JHE