The effect of flavanol rich cocoa on cerebral perfusion in older adults during conscious resting state : a placebo controlled, crossover, acute trial

Rationale: There has recently been increasing interest in the potential of flavanols, plant derived compounds found in foods such as fruit and vegetables, to ameliorate age-related cognitive decline. Research suggests that cocoa flavanols improve memory and learning, possibly as a result of their anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects. These effects may be mediated by increased cerebral blood flow (CBF), thus stimulating neuronal function. Objectives: The present study employed arterial spin labelling (ASL) functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI) to explore the effect of a single acute dose of cocoa flavanols on regional CBF. Methods: CBF was measured pre and post consumption of low (23mg) or high (494mg) 330ml equicaloric flavanol drinks matched for caffeine, theobromine, taste and appearance according to a randomised counterbalanced crossover double-blind design in eight males and ten females, aged 50-65 years. Changes in perfusion from pre to post consumption were calculated as a function of each drink. Results: Significant increases in regional perfusion across the brain were observed following consumption of the high flavanol drink relative to the low flavanol drink, particularly in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the central opercular cortex of the parietal lobe. Conclusions: Consumption of cocoa flavanol improves regional cerebral perfusion in older adults. This provides evidence for a possible acute mechanism by which cocoa flavanols are associated with benefits for cognitive performance

Predicting seawater intrusion in coastal groundwater boreholes using self-potential data

Many coastal groundwater abstraction wells are under threat from seawater intrusion: this is exacerbated in summer by low water tables and increased abstraction. Existing hydrochemistry or geophysical techniques often fail to predict the timing of intrusion events. We investigate whether the presence and transport of seawater can influence self-potentials (SPs) measured within groundwater boreholes, with the aim of using SP monitoring to provide early warning of saline intrusion. SP data collection: SP data were collected from a coastal groundwater borehole and an inland borehole (> 60 km from the coast) in the Seaford Chalk of southern England. The SP gradient in the inland borehole was approximately 0.05 mV/m, while that in the coastal borehole varied from 0.16-0.26 mV/m throughout the monitoring period. Spectral analysis showed that semi-diurnal fluctuations in the SP gradient were several orders of magnitude higher at the coast than inland, indicating a strong influence from oceanic tides. A characteristic decrease in the gradient, or precursor, was observed in the coastal borehole several days prior to seawater intrusion. Modelling results: Hydrodynamic transport and geoelectric modelling suggest that observed pressure changes (associated with the streaming potential) are insufficient to explain either the magnitude of the coastal SP gradient or the semi-diurnal SP fluctuations. By contrast, a model of the exclusion-diffusion potential closely matches these observations and produces a precursor similar to that observed in the field. Sensitivity analysis suggests that both a sharp saline front and spatial variations in the exclusion efficiency arising from aquifer heterogeneities are necessary to explain the SP gradient observed in the coastal borehole. The presence of the precursor in the model depends also on the presence and depth of fractures near the base of the borehole. Conclusions: Our results indicate that SP monitoring, combined with hydrodynamic transport and geoelectric modelling, holds considerable promise as an early warning device for seawater intrusion. We now aim to refine our understanding of the technique by applying it to a range of aquifer types

Was Tropical Cyclone Heta or Hunting by People Responsible for Decline of the Lupe (Ducula pacifica) (Aves: Columbidae) Population on Niue during 1994–2004?

v. ill. 23 cm.QuarterlyOn 6 January 2004, Tropical Cyclone Heta devastated much of the South Pacific island nation of Niue. The forest suffered extensive damage, particularly to the north-western sector, with many trees uprooted and others stripped of branches and foliage. Even though some patches of forest in the southeast sustained little damage, many lupe (Pacific pigeon, Ducula pacifica) and kulukulu (purple-crowned fruit dove, Ptilinopus porphyraceus) entered eastern villages in search of food and water after the cyclone, a very unusual behavior. This paper details our findings from a survey of some of Niue’s forest birds carried out during September 2004 and compares these with results from a similar survey in September 1994. Five-minute point count data, an index of conspicuousness, from three transects showed that heahea (Polynesian triller, Lalage maculosa) were more abundant in 2004 than in 1994, that the results were variable from transect to transect for miti (Polynesian starling, Aplonis tabuensis) and kulukulu, but that significantly fewer lupe were detected along all three transects in 2004 than previously. We tentatively suggest that the decline in the lupe population was caused mainly by unsustainable human hunting during 1994–2004, rather than mortality caused by the cyclone

Assessment and Optimization of Medical Risks using the Integrated Medical Model

ObjectiveDevelop an evidence-based, probabilistic risk forecasting model that can help guide mission planning, requirements development, and align science with engineering technology development

Supporting hurricane inventory management decisions with consumer demand estimates

Matching supply and demand can be very challenging for anyone attempting to provide goods or services during the threat of a natural disaster. In this paper, we consider inventory allocation issues faced by a retailer during a hurricane event and provide insights that can be applied to humanitarian operations during slow-onset events. We start with an empirical analysis using regression that triangulates three sources of information: a large point-of-sales data set from a Texas Gulf Coast retailer, the retailer's operational and logistical constraints, and hurricane forecast data from the National Hurricane Center (NHC). We establish a strong association between the timing of the hurricane weather forecast, the forecasted landfall position of the storm, and hurricane sales. Storm intensity is found to have a weaker association on overall inventory decisions. Using the results of the empirical analysis and the NHC forecast data, we construct a state-space model of demand during the threat of a hurricane and develop an inventory management model to satisfy consumer demand prior to a hurricane making landfall. Based on the structure of the problem, we model this situation as a two-stage, two-location inventory allocation model from a centralized distribution center that balances transportation, shortage and holding costs. The model is used to explore the role of recourse, i.e., deferring part of the inventory allocation until observing the state of the hurricane as it moves towards landfall. Our approach provides valuable insights into the circumstances under which recourse may or may not be worthwhile in any setting where an anticipated extreme event drives consumer demand. © 2016 Elsevier B.V

Washington Park Main Street Plan

There is an immense variety of privately owned businesses. They will be stakeholders because their businesses are located there, but they will also be assets in themselves in drawing people to the area. There is basically everything anyone could possible want or need in this area. There are two gas stations, a Family Dollar, a liquor store, a few sit down restaurants, numerous places where one can get a quick bite to eat, a frame shop, a clothing store, a pawn shop, a store with fresh produce (which is hard to find in urban areas), a store that sells sports uniforms, a frame shop, a lawyerʼs office, an animal hospital, two Laundromats, a record shop, a health food store, two cell phone stores, an automotive shop, and a karate school with an afterschool program. With such variety, it will draw people to the area and then give them other reasons to keep coming back

Nuclear Star Clusters across the Hubble Sequence

Over the last decade, HST imaging studies have revealed that the centers of most galaxies are occupied by compact, barely resolved sources. Based on their structural properties, position in the fundamental plane, and spectra, these sources clearly have a stellar origin. They are therefore called ``nuclear star clusters'' (NCs) or ``stellar nuclei''. NCs are found in galaxies of all Hubble types, suggesting that their formation is intricately linked to galaxy evolution. In this contribution, I briefly review the results from recent studies of NCs, touch on some ideas for their formation, and mention some open issues related to the possible connection between NCs and supermassive black holes.Comment: 6 page conference proceedings, to appear in "The impact of HST on European Astronomy" (41st ESLAB Symposium), pdflatex file, uses svmult.cls (included

Deriving High-Precision Radial Velocities

This chapter describes briefly the key aspects behind the derivation of precise radial velocities. I start by defining radial velocity precision in the context of astrophysics in general and exoplanet searches in particular. Next I discuss the different basic elements that constitute a spectrograph, and how these elements and overall technical choices impact on the derived radial velocity precision. Then I go on to discuss the different wavelength calibration and radial velocity calculation techniques, and how these are intimately related to the spectrograph's properties. I conclude by presenting some interesting examples of planets detected through radial velocity, and some of the new-generation instruments that will push the precision limit further.Comment: Lecture presented at the IVth Azores International Advanced School in Space Sciences on "Asteroseismology and Exoplanets: Listening to the Stars and Searching for New Worlds" (arXiv:1709.00645), which took place in Horta, Azores Islands, Portugal in July 201

‘Engage the World’: examining conflicts of engagement in public museums

Public engagement has become a central theme in the mission statements of many cultural institutions, and in scholarly research into museums and heritage. Engagement has emerged as the go-to-it-word for generating, improving or repairing relations between museums and society at large. But engagement is frequently an unexamined term that might embed assumptions and ignore power relationships. This article describes and examines the implications of conflicting and misleading uses of ‘engagement’ in relation to institutional dealings with contested questions about culture and heritage. It considers the development of an exhibition on the Dead Sea Scrolls by the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto in 2009 within the new institutional goal to ‘Engage the World’. The chapter analyses the motivations, processes and decisions deployed by management and staff to ‘Engage the World’, and the degree to which the museum was able to re-think its strategies of public engagement, especially in relation to subjects,issues and publics that were more controversial in nature