Content Analysis of the Leading General Academic Databases

Title lists from the three leading general academic databases were compared to evaluate journal content. Some of the elements that were analyzed include subject coverage, the quality of titles provided, accessibility issues, and trends over time for these databases. While database title lists are now readily available on the Internet for comparison, as our article illustrates, these lists need further evaluation for proper assessment

Gravity wave amplification and phase crest re-organization over a shoal

In this experimental work, both wave amplification and phase evolution, due to a submerged mound, are studied. In addition to the classical surface wave measurements, the experimental study takes advantage of photographs that underline crest re-organization above and down-wave the shoal. In particular, together with wave amplification up to more than twice the incident wave, a wave steepening is observed in certain conditions in both the wave direction and in the cross-section. Due to a phase crest separation downstream of the shoal, steepening in the cross-shore direction is enhanced (up to 30% above the steepening along the main direction of propagation). Physical aspects are discussed through the analysis of the diffraction effects on the wave properties

A simple breathing circuit allowing precise control of inspiratory gases for experimental respiratory manipulations

BACKGROUND: Respiratory manipulations modulating blood flow and oxygenation levels have become an important component of modern functional MRI applications. Manipulations often consist of temporarily switching inspired fractions of CO(2) and O(2); and have typically been performed using simple oxygen masks intended for applications in respiratory therapy. However, precise control of inspired gas composition is difficult using this type of mask due to entrainment of room air and resultant dilution of inspired gases. We aimed at developing a gas delivery apparatus allowing improved control over the fractional concentration of inspired gases, to be used in brain fMRI studies. FINDINGS: The breathing circuit we have conceived allowed well controlled step changes in FiO(2) and FiCO(2), at moderate flow rates achievable on standard clinical flow regulators. In a two run test inside the scanner we demonstrate that tightly controlled simple gas switching manipulations can afford good intra-subject reproducibility of induced hyperoxia/hypercapnia responses. Although our approach requires a non-vented mask fitting closely to the subject’s face, the circuit ensures a continuous supply of breathable air even if the supply of medical gases is interrupted, and is easily removable in case of an emergency. The apparatus we propose is also compact and MRI compatible, allowing subject placement in confined spaces such as an MRI scanner for brain examinations. CONCLUSIONS: We have reported a new approach for the controlled administration of medical gases, and describe an implementation of the breathing circuit that is MRI compatible and uses commercially available parts. The resultant apparatus allows simple, safe and precise manipulations of FiO(2) and FiCO(2)

Tapping wave energy through Longuet-Higgins microseism effect

International audienceIt is well-known, since the works of Miche (1944) and Longuet-Higgins (1950), that, under a standing wave system, second-order pressures at twice the wave frequency penetrate the water column down to the sea-°oor, whatever the waterdepth. Recently Gu¶evel proposed that energy could be extracted from the waves with a heaving horizontal plate at the sea bottom, located next to a re°ective cli® or sea-wall, and tuned to oscillate at twice the wave frequency. Encouraging preliminary experiments were conducted in ACRI's wavetank (Lajoie et al. 2007). In this paper we address the theoretical modeling of wave energy extraction with such a device, in the asymptotic case when the waterdepth is very large compared to the wavelength. In section I we assume that the ¯rst-order wave system is little modi¯ed, i.e. the power taken from the waves is a small portion of the power carried by the incoming wave. In section II we relieve this assumption and we show that one hundred percent of the wave power can be extracted, notwithstanding how large the waterdepth

En raison de l'obligation de secours de l'article 2 de la Charte des droits et libertés de la personne du Québec, le médecin doit-il révéler l'état de son patient séropositif ou atteint du sida aux partenaires sexuels de celui-ci sans son consentement?

Résumé: Le SIDA bouleverse nos vies dans ce qu'elles ont de plus intime depuis près de vingt ans déjà. Étant mortelle, cette maladie a suscité de nombreux questionnements d'ordre juridique et éthique. Une question reste encore sans réponse: il s'agit de déterminer ce que doit faire un médecin dont le patient porteur du VIH ne prévient pas ses partenaires sexuels du danger qui les guette ou qu'ils ont déjà encouru. Doit-il se replier derrière le secret professionnel ou plutôt tenter d'avertir les personnes en péril par des moyens raisonnables? Dans les circonstances où le médecin est justifié de penser que son patient n'agira pas de lui-même, l'obligation de porter secours à toute personne en péril de l'article 2 de la Charte des droits et libertés de la personne du Québec impose au médecin la divulgation du danger qu'ils ont encouru ou qu'ils courent toujours aux partenaires sexuels car, dans ce cas, le droit à la vie prédomine sur le lien privilégié médecin-patient, le secret professionnel.||Abstract: For nearly twenty years now, AIDS has turned our lives upside down in their most intimate parts. This deadly disease has brought up numerous judicial and ethical dilemmas. Among them is the still very current one to determine what a physician should do, when his HIV-infected or AIDS- diagnosed patient doesn't disclose to his sexual partners the danger that threatens them or that has already occurred by sexual practices considered at risk. Should he hide behind his professional secrecy or, instead, by any reasonable means, try to warn them? ln the circumstances where the physician is justified to think that his patient will not do it himself, the obligation to give assistance to someone who's life is in peril in article 2 of the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms makes this revelation imperative. lndeed, in that situation, the right to life prevails over the priviliged relation physician-patient, the professional secrecy

Nuclear gluons at RHIC in a multiobservable approach

We explore the possibility of measuring nuclear gluon distributions at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider (RHIC) with root s = 200 GeV proton-nucleus collisions. In addition to measurements at central rapidity, we consider also observables at forward rapidity, consistent with proposed upgrades to the experimental capabilities of STAR and sPHENIX. The processes we consider consist of Drell-Yan dilepton, dijet, and direct photon jet production. The Drell-Yan process is found to be an efficient probe of gluons at small momentum fractions. In order to fully utilize the potential of Drell-Yan measurements we demonstrate how the overall normalization uncertainty present in the experimental data can be fixed using other experimental observables. An asset of the RHIC collider is its flexibility to run with different ion beams, and we outline how this ability could be taken advantage of to measure the A dependence of gluon distributions for which the current constraints are scarce.Peer reviewe

Influencers and preference predictors of HPV vaccine uptake among US male and female young adult college students

Objective: The purpose of the study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of male and female college students in Kentucky about HPV associated diseases and vaccines, and to determine which parameters predicted self-reported uptake of HPV vaccination. Materials and methods: A self-selected cross-sectional sample of college students completed an evidence-based online survey. Results: Of approximately 1200 potential respondents, 585 completed the survey. The average age was 20.6 (SD 3.15) and 78% were female; 84% of the population had had one or more sexual partners. Concern for HPV vaccine safety and potential need for boosters did not significantly deter vaccine uptake. Likewise, knowledge about HPV associated cancers was not predictive of vaccine uptake. On the other hand, parental influence for vaccination was a strong predictor for vaccine uptake (aOR = 5.32, 2.71–13.03), and free vaccine nearly doubled the likelihood of being vaccinated (aOR 1.90, 1.05–3.41). In addition, the strong preference for the respondent\u27s partner to be HPV vaccinated predicted vaccine uptake (aOR = 4.04, 95% CI: 2.31–7.05), but the lack of preference for partner vaccination predicted an unvaccinated self (aOR = 0.50, 0.27–0.93). Conclusions: HPV vaccination has been successful in young adult college students in Kentucky. Young adults prefer their partners to be HPV vaccinated regardless of whether they themselves are vaccinated. Parental influence and free vaccine were positive predictors for vaccine uptake in this population

A Tool for Automatic Correction of Endogenous Concentrations: Application to BHB Analysis by LC–MS-MS and GC-MS

Several substances relevant for forensic toxicology purposes have an endogenous presence in biological matrices: beta-hydroxybutyric acid (BHB), gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), steroids and human insulin, to name only a few. The presence of significant amounts of these endogenous substances in the biological matrix used to prepare calibration standards and quality control samples (QCs) can compromise validation steps and quantitative analyses. Several approaches to overcome this problem have been suggested, including using an analog matrix or analyte, relying entirely on standard addition analyses for these analytes, or simply ignoring the endogenous contribution provided that it is small enough. Although these approaches side-step the issue of endogenous analyte presence in spiked matrix-matched samples, they create serious problems with regards to the accuracy of the analyses or production capacity. We present here a solution that addresses head-on the problem of endogenous concentrations in matrices used for calibration standards and quality control purposes. The endogenous analyte concentration is estimated via a standard-addition type process. This estimated concentration, plus the spiked concentration are then used as the de facto analyte concentration present in the sample. These de facto concentrations are then used in data analysis software (MultiQuant, Mass Hunter, etc.) as the sample’s concentration. This yields an accurate quantification of the analyte, free from interference of the endogenous contribution. This de facto correction has been applied in a production setting on two BHB quantification methods (GC-MS and LC–MS-MS), allowing the rectification of BHB biases of up to 30 μg/mL. The additional error introduced by this correction procedure is minimal, although the exact amount will be highly method-dependent. The endogenous concentration correction process has been automated with an R script. The final procedure is therefore highly efficient, only adding four mouse clicks to the data analysis operations

The Mid-Infrared Instrument for the James Webb Space Telescope, V: Predicted Performance of the MIRI Coronagraphs

The imaging channel on the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) is equipped with four coronagraphs that provide high contrast imaging capabilities for studying faint point sources and extended emission that would otherwise be overwhelmed by a bright point-source in its vicinity. Such bright sources might include stars that are orbited by exoplanets and circumstellar material, mass-loss envelopes around post-main-sequence stars, the near-nuclear environments in active galaxies, and the host galaxies of distant quasars. This paper describes the coronagraphic observing modes of MIRI, as well as performance estimates based on measurements of the MIRI flight model during cryo-vacuum testing. A brief outline of coronagraphic operations is also provided. Finally, simulated MIRI coronagraphic observations of a few astronomical targets are presented for illustration

James Webb Space Telescope Optical Simulation Testbed I: Overview and First Results

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Optical Simulation Testbed (JOST) is a tabletop workbench to study aspects of wavefront sensing and control for a segmented space telescope, including both commissioning and maintenance activities. JOST is complementary to existing optomechanical testbeds for JWST (e.g. the Ball Aerospace Testbed Telescope, TBT) given its compact scale and flexibility, ease of use, and colocation at the JWST Science & Operations Center. We have developed an optical design that reproduces the physics of JWST's three-mirror anastigmat using three aspheric lenses; it provides similar image quality as JWST (80% Strehl ratio) over a field equivalent to a NIRCam module, but at HeNe wavelength. A segmented deformable mirror stands in for the segmented primary mirror and allows control of the 18 segments in piston, tip, and tilt, while the secondary can be controlled in tip, tilt and x, y, z position. This will be sufficient to model many commissioning activities, to investigate field dependence and multiple field point sensing & control, to evaluate alternate sensing algorithms, and develop contingency plans. Testbed data will also be usable for cross-checking of the WFS&C Software Subsystem, and for staff training and development during JWST's five- to ten-year mission.Comment: Proceedings of the SPIE, 9143-150. 13 pages, 8 figure