18,313 research outputs found
Genetic typing of Candida albicans strains isolated from the oral cavity of patients with denture stomatitis before and after itraconazole therapy
This study determined, by molecular typing of C. albicans species isolated from denture stomatitis patients with a mycological relapse six
months after successful itraconazole therapy, whether there had been recurrence of infection with the same strain(s), selection of particular
strains or infection with new strains of C. albicans. Forty patients with long-standing Candida-associated denture stomatitis were assigned
either cyclodextrin itraconazole solution or itraconazole capsules (100mg b.d. for 15 days). Palatal erythema was measured and imprint
cultures undertaken at baseline and at 15 days, four weeks and six months after treatment commenced. Yeast isolates were formally
identified and chromosomal DNA was extracted from pairs of isolates from those patients with C. albicans present at baseline and six
months after treatment commenced. Southern blotting of EcoRI-digested chromosomal DNA was performed using the C. albicans-specific
27A repetitive element as a probe. Eighteen of 36 patients were infected with C. albicans at baseline and six months after treatment
commenced. Overall, 13 genetically different strains of C. albicans were found. However, in 17 of 18 patients, the C. albicans strains
isolated prior to itraconazole therapy and six months later were the same. Thus recurrence of denture stomatitis in these individuals was
due to re-colonisation by the original strain, rather than re-infection with a different strain. Key words: Genotyping, C. albicans, denture
stomatitis
How the Justice System Responds to Juvenile Victims: A Comprehensive Model.
The justice system handles thousands of cases involving juvenile victims each year. These victims are served by a complex set of agencies and institutions, including police, prosecutors, courts, and child protection agencies. Despite the many cases involving juvenile victims and the structure in place for responding to them, the juvenile victim justice system model presented in this Bulletin is a new concept. Although the juvenile victim justice system has a distinct structure and sequence, its operation is not very well understood. Unlike the more familiar juvenile offender justice system, the juvenile victim justice system has not been conceptualized as a whole or implemented by a common set of statutes. This Bulletin identifies the major elements of the juvenile victim justice system by delineating how cases move through the system. It reviews each step in the case flow process for the child protection and criminal justice systems and describes the interaction of the agencies an individuals involved. Recognizing how the juvenile victim justice system works can inform policy decisions and improve outcomes for juvenile victims. Acknowledging the existence of the system has important implications for system integration, information sharing, and data collection—all of which play a key role in ensuring the safety and well-being of juvenile victims
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Contrasting Experimentally Device-Manipulated and Device-Free Smiles.
Researchers in psychology have long been interested in not only studying smiles, but in examining the downstream effects of experimentally manipulated smiles. To experimentally manipulate smiles unobtrusively, participants typically hold devices (e.g., pens or chopsticks) in their mouths in a manner that activates the muscles involved in smiling. Surprisingly, despite decades of research using these methods, no study has tested to what degree these methods activate the same muscles as more natural, device-free smiles. Our study fills this gap in the literature by contrasting the magnitude of muscle activation in device-free smiles against the popular chopstick/pen manipulation. We also contrast these methods against the Smile Stick, a new device specifically designed to manipulate smiles in a comfortable and hygienic fashion. One hundred fifty-nine participants each participated in three facial expression manipulations that were held for 1 min: smile manipulation via Smile Stick, smile manipulation via chopsticks, and device-free smile. Facial electromyography was used to measure the intensity of the activation of the two main types of muscles involved in genuine, Duchenne smiling: the orbicularis oculi (a muscle group around the eyes) and the zygomaticus major (a muscle group in the cheeks). Furthermore, following each manipulation, participants rated their experience of the manipulation (i.e., comfort, fatigue, and difficulty), experienced affect (positive and negative), and levels of arousal. Results indicated that the Smile Stick and chopsticks performed equally across all measurements. Device-free smiles were rated as most comfortable but also the most fatiguing, and procured the greatest levels of positive affect and lowest levels of negative affect. Furthermore, device-free smiles resulted in significantly higher levels of both zygomaticus major (by ∼40%) and orbicularis oculi (by ∼15%) muscle activation than either the Smile Stick or chopsticks. The two devices were not different from each other in muscle activation. This study reveals that while device-free smiling procures the greatest changes in muscle activation and affect change, smiling muscle groups are activated by device manipulations, and expected changes in affect do occur, albeit to a lesser degree than device-free smiling. It also indicates that the Smile Stick is an acceptable and comparable alternative to disposable chopsticks
Rayleigh-Benard Convection with a Radial Ramp in Plate Separation
Pattern formation in Rayleigh-Benard convection in a large-aspect-ratio
cylinder with a radial ramp in the plate separation is studied analytically and
numerically by performing numerical simulations of the Boussinesq equations. A
horizontal mean flow and a vertical large scale counterflow are quantified and
used to understand the pattern wavenumber. Our results suggest that the mean
flow, generated by amplitude gradients, plays an important role in the roll
compression observed as the control parameter is increased. Near threshold the
mean flow has a quadrupole dependence with a single vortex in each quadrant
while away from threshold the mean flow exhibits an octupole dependence with a
counter-rotating pair of vortices in each quadrant. This is confirmed
analytically using the amplitude equation and Cross-Newell mean flow equation.
By performing numerical experiments the large scale counterflow is also found
to aid in the roll compression away from threshold but to a much lesser degree.
Our results yield an understanding of the pattern wavenumbers observed in
experiment away from threshold and suggest that near threshold the mean flow
and large scale counterflow are not responsible for the observed shift to
smaller than critical wavenumbers.Comment: 10 pages, 13 figure
Assessment of the potential of MERIS near-infrared water vapour products to correct ASAR interferometric measurements
Atmospheric water vapour is a major limitation for high precision Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) applications due to its significant impact on microwave signals. We propose a statistical criterion to test whether an independent water vapour product can reduce water vapour effects on InSAR interferograms, and assess the potential of the Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) near-infrared water vapour products for correcting Advanced SAR (ASAR) data. Spatio-temporal comparisons show c. 1.1mm
agreement between MERIS and GPS/radiosonde water vapour products in terms of standard deviations. One major limitation with the use of MERIS water vapour products is the frequency of cloud free conditions. Our analysis indicates that in spite of the low global cloud free conditions (~25%), the frequency can be much higher for certain areas such as Eastern Tibet (~38%) and Southern
California (~48%). This suggests that MERIS water vapour products show potential for correcting ASAR interferometric measurements in certain regions
Grain boundary motion in layered phases
We study the motion of a grain boundary that separates two sets of mutually
perpendicular rolls in Rayleigh-B\'enard convection above onset. The problem is
treated either analytically from the corresponding amplitude equations, or
numerically by solving the Swift-Hohenberg equation. We find that if the rolls
are curved by a slow transversal modulation, a net translation of the boundary
follows. We show analytically that although this motion is a nonlinear effect,
it occurs in a time scale much shorter than that of the linear relaxation of
the curved rolls. The total distance traveled by the boundary scales as
, where is the reduced Rayleigh number. We obtain
analytical expressions for the relaxation rate of the modulation and for the
time dependent traveling velocity of the boundary, and especially their
dependence on wavenumber. The results agree well with direct numerical
solutions of the Swift-Hohenberg equation. We finally discuss the implications
of our results on the coarsening rate of an ensemble of differently oriented
domains in which grain boundary motion through curved rolls is the dominant
coarsening mechanism.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figure
Dance training shapes action perception and its neural implementation within the young and older adult brain
How we perceive others in action is shaped by our prior experience. Many factors influence brain responses when observing others in action, including training in a particular physical skill, such as sport or dance, and also general development and aging processes. Here, we investigate how learning a complex motor skill shapes neural and behavioural responses among a dance-naïve sample of 20 young and 19 older adults. Across four days, participants physically rehearsed one set of dance sequences, observed a second set, and a third set remained untrained. Functional MRI was obtained prior to and immediately following training. Participants’ behavioural performance on motor and visual tasks improved across the training period, with younger adults showing steeper performance gains than older adults. At the brain level, both age groups demonstrated decreased sensorimotor cortical engagement after physical training, with younger adults showing more pronounced decreases in inferior parietal activity compared to older adults. Neural decoding results demonstrate that among both age groups, visual and motor regions contain experience-specific representations of new motor learning. By combining behavioural measures of performance with univariate and multivariate measures of brain activity, we can start to build a more complete picture of age-related changes in experience-dependent plasticity
Structure of Stochastic Dynamics near Fixed Points
We analyze the structure of stochastic dynamics near either a stable or
unstable fixed point, where force can be approximated by linearization. We find
that a cost function that determines a Boltzmann-like stationary distribution
can always be defined near it. Such a stationary distribution does not need to
satisfy the usual detailed balance condition, but might have instead a
divergence-free probability current. In the linear case the force can be split
into two parts, one of which gives detailed balance with the diffusive motion,
while the other induces cyclic motion on surfaces of constant cost function.
Using the Jordan transformation for the force matrix, we find an explicit
construction of the cost function. We discuss singularities of the
transformation and their consequences for the stationary distribution. This
Boltzmann-like distribution may be not unique, and nonlinear effects and
boundary conditions may change the distribution and induce additional currents
even in the neighborhood of a fixed point.Comment: 7 page
Finite Size Scaling of Domain Chaos
Numerical studies of the domain chaos state in a model of rotating
Rayleigh-Benard convection suggest that finite size effects may account for the
discrepancy between experimentally measured values of the correlation length
and the predicted divergence near onset
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