Variations on fetal heart rate variability.

This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Wiley via http://dx.doi.org/10.1113/JP27071

Pancreaticoduodenal transplantation in humans

Whole cadaveric pancreata were transplanted to the pelvic extraperitoneal location in four patients with diabetes who previously had undergone successful cadaveric renal transplantation. One graft was lost within a few hours from venous thrombosis but with patient survival. The other three are providing normal endocrine function after two and a half, 11 and 12 months. The exocrine pancreatic secretions were drained into the recipient jejunum through enteric anastomoses. Because mucosal slough of the graft and duodenum and jejunum in two patients caused a protein losing enteropathy and necessitated reoperations, we now do the pancreatic transplantation with only a blister of graft duodenum large enough for side-to-side enteroenterostomy. The spleen has been transplanted with the pancreas mainly for technical reasons, and this technique should have further trials in spite of the fact that delayed graft splenectomy became necessary in two recipients to treat graft induced hematologic complications

Parallel algorithm with spectral convergence for nonlinear integro-differential equations

We discuss a numerical algorithm for solving nonlinear integro-differential equations, and illustrate our findings for the particular case of Volterra type equations. The algorithm combines a perturbation approach meant to render a linearized version of the problem and a spectral method where unknown functions are expanded in terms of Chebyshev polynomials (El-gendi's method). This approach is shown to be suitable for the calculation of two-point Green functions required in next to leading order studies of time-dependent quantum field theory.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figure

Beyond self-report: tools to compare estimated and real-world smartphone use

Psychologists typically rely on self-report data when quantifying mobile phone usage, despite little evidence of its validity. In this paper we explore the accuracy of using self-reported estimates when compared with actual smartphone use. We also include source code to process and visualise these data. We compared 23 participants' actual smartphone use over a two-week period with self-reported estimates and the Mobile Phone Problem Use Scale. Our results indicate that estimated time spent using a smartphone may be an adequate measure of use, unless a greater resolution of data are required. Estimates concerning the number of times an individual used their phone across a typical day did not correlate with actual smartphone use. Neither estimated duration nor number of uses correlated with the Mobile Phone Problem Use Scale. We conclude that estimated smartphone use should be interpreted with caution in psychological research

Dark spinor models in gravitation and cosmology

We introduce and carefully define an entire class of field theories based on non-standard spinors. Their dominant interaction is via the gravitational field which makes them naturally dark; we refer to them as Dark Spinors. We provide a critical analysis of previous proposals for dark spinors noting that they violate Lorentz invariance. As a working assumption we restrict our analysis to non-standard spinors which preserve Lorentz invariance, whilst being non-local and explicitly construct such a theory. We construct the complete energy-momentum tensor and derive its components explicitly by assuming a specific projection operator. It is natural to next consider dark spinors in a cosmological setting. We find various interesting solutions where the spinor field leads to slow roll and fast roll de Sitter solutions. We also analyse models where the spinor is coupled conformally to gravity, and consider the perturbations and stability of the spinor.Comment: 43 pages. Several new sections and details added. JHEP in prin

Dripping Faucet Dynamics Clarified by an Improved Mass-Spring Model

An improved mass-spring model for a dripping faucet is presented. The model is constructed based on the numerical results which we recently obtained from fluid dynamical calculations. Both the fluid dynamical calculations and the present mass-spring model exhibit a variety of complex behavior including transition to chaos in good agreement with experiments. Further, the mass-spring model reveals fundamental dynamics inherent in the dripping faucet system.Comment: 17 pages, 17 figure

Are there gender differences in the geography of alcohol-related mortality in Scotland? An ecological study

<b>Background</b> There is growing concern about alcohol-related harm, particularly within Scotland which has some of the highest rates of alcohol-related death in western Europe. There are large gender differences in alcohol-related mortality rates in Scotland and in other countries, but the reasons for these differences are not clearly understood. In this paper, we aimed to address calls in the literature for further research on gender differences in the causes, contexts and consequences of alcohol-related harm. Our primary research question was whether the kind of social environment which tends to produce higher or lower rates of alcohol-related mortality is the same for both men and women across Scotland. <b>Methods</b> Cross-sectional, ecological design. A comparison was made between spatial variation in men's and women's age-standardised alcohol-related mortality rates in Scotland using maps, Moran's Index, linear regression and spatial analyses of residuals. Directly standardised mortality rates were derived from individual level records of death registration, 2000–2005 (n = 8685). <b>Results</b> As expected, men's alcohol-related mortality rate substantially exceeded women's and there was substantial spatial variation in these rates for both men and women within Scotland. However, there was little spatial variation in the relationship between men's and women's alcohol-mortality rates (r2 = 0.73); areas with relatively high rates of alcohol-related mortality for men tended also to have relatively high rates for women. In a small number of areas (8 out of 144) the relationship between men's and women's alcohol-related mortality rates was significantly different. <b>Conclusion</b> In as far as geographic location captures exposure to social and economic environment, our results suggest that the relationship between social and economic environment and alcohol-related harm is very similar for men and women. The existence of a small number of areas in which men's and women's alcohol-related mortality had an different relationship suggests that some places may have unusual drinking cultures. These might prove useful for further investigations into the factors which influence drinking behaviour in men and women