1,787 research outputs found
Real Lives and White Lies in the Funding of Scientific Research: The granting system turns young scientists into bureaucrats and then betrays them
Time-dependent response of a zonally averaged oceanâatmosphereâsea ice model to Milankovitch forcing
Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2010. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Springer-Verlag for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Climate Dynamics 6 (2010): 763-779, doi:10.1007/s00382-010-0790-6.An ocean-atmosphere-sea ice model is developed to explore the time-dependent
response of climate to Milankovitch forcing for the time interval 5-3 Myr BP. The ocean
component is a zonally averaged model of the circulation in five basins (Arctic, Atlantic,
Indian, Pacific, and Southern Oceans). The atmospheric component is a one-dimensional
(latitudinal) energy balance model, and the sea-ice component is a thermodynamic model.
Two numerical experiments are conducted. The first experiment does not include sea ice
and the Arctic Ocean; the second experiment does. Results from the two experiments are
used to investigate (i) the response of annual mean surface air and ocean temperatures to
Milankovitch forcing, and (ii) the role of sea ice in this response.
In both experiments, the response of air temperature is dominated by obliquity cycles
at most latitudes. On the other hand, the response of ocean temperature varies with latitude
and depth. Deep water formed between 45°N-65°N in the Atlantic Ocean mainly responds
to precession. In contrast, deep water formed south of 60°S responds to obliquity when sea
ice is not included. Sea ice acts as a time-integrator of summer insolation changes such that
annual mean sea-ice conditions mainly respond to obliquity. Thus, in the presence of sea
ice, air temperature changes over the sea ice are amplified, and temperature changes in deep
water of southern origin are suppressed since water below sea ice is kept near the freezing
point.This work was supported by an NSERC Discovery
Grant awarded to L.A.M. We also thank GEC3 for a Network Grant
Partial Homology Relations - Satisfiability in terms of Di-Cographs
Directed cographs (di-cographs) play a crucial role in the reconstruction of
evolutionary histories of genes based on homology relations which are binary
relations between genes. A variety of methods based on pairwise sequence
comparisons can be used to infer such homology relations (e.g.\ orthology,
paralogy, xenology). They are \emph{satisfiable} if the relations can be
explained by an event-labeled gene tree, i.e., they can simultaneously co-exist
in an evolutionary history of the underlying genes. Every gene tree is
equivalently interpreted as a so-called cotree that entirely encodes the
structure of a di-cograph. Thus, satisfiable homology relations must
necessarily form a di-cograph. The inferred homology relations might not cover
each pair of genes and thus, provide only partial knowledge on the full set of
homology relations. Moreover, for particular pairs of genes, it might be known
with a high degree of certainty that they are not orthologs (resp.\ paralogs,
xenologs) which yields forbidden pairs of genes. Motivated by this observation,
we characterize (partial) satisfiable homology relations with or without
forbidden gene pairs, provide a quadratic-time algorithm for their recognition
and for the computation of a cotree that explains the given relations
A pilot telephone intervention to increase uptake of breast cancer screening in socially deprived areas in Scotland (TELBRECS):study protocol for a randomised controlled trial
BACKGROUND Breast cancer accounts for almost 30% of all cancers and is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women in Scotland. Screening is key to early detection. The Scottish Breast Screening Programme is a nationwide, free at point of delivery screening service, to which all women aged between 50 and 70Â years are invited to attend every 3Â years. Currently over three-quarters of invited women regularly attend screening. However, women from more deprived areas are much less likely to attend: for example in the 3Â years from 2010-2012 only 63% of women in the most deprived area attended the East of Scotland Breast Screening programme versus 81% in the least deprived. Research has suggested that reminders (telephone or letter) and brief, personalised interventions addressing barriers to attendance may be helpful in increasing uptake in low-income women. METHODS/DESIGN We will employ a brief telephone reminder and support intervention, whose purpose is to elicit and address any mistaken beliefs women have about breast screening, with the aim that the perceived benefits of screening come to outweigh any perceived barriers for individuals. We will test whether this intervention, plus a simple anticipated regret manipulation, will lead to an increase in the uptake of breast cancer screening amongst low-income women who have failed to attend a first appointment, in a randomised controlled trial with 600 women. Participants will be randomly allocated to one of four treatment arms i.e. 1) Letter reminder (i.e. Treatment as usual: CONTROL); 2) Telephone reminder (TEL), 3) Telephone reminder plus telephone support (TEL-SUPP) and 4) Telephone reminder plus support plus AR (TEL-SUPP-AR). The primary outcome will be attendance at breast screening within 3Â months of the reminder letter. DISCUSSION If this simple telephone support intervention (with or without AR intervention) leads to a significant increase in breast screening attendance, this would represent a rare example of a theoretically-driven, relatively simple psychological intervention that could result in earlier detection of breast cancer amongst an under-served group of lower socio-economic women. TRIAL REGISTRATION Current Controlled trials: ISRCTN06039270. Registered 16th January 2014
Gaseous emissions during concurrent combustion of biomass and non-recyclable municipal solid waste
Background: Biomass and municipal solid waste offer sustainable sources of
energy; for example to meet heat and electricity demand in the form of combined
cooling, heat and power. Combustion of biomass has a lesser impact than solid
fossil fuels (e. g. coal) upon gas pollutant emissions, whilst energy recovery
from municipal solid waste is a beneficial component of an integrated,
sustainable waste management programme. Concurrent combustion of these fuels
using a fluidised bed combustor may be a successful method of overcoming some of
the disadvantages of biomass (high fuel supply and distribution costs,
combustion characteristics) and characteristics of municipal solid waste
(heterogeneous content, conflict with materials recycling). It should be
considered that combustion of municipal solid waste may be a financially
attractive disposal route if a 'gate fee' value exists for accepting waste for
combustion, which will reduce the net cost of utilising relatively more
expensive biomass fuels. Results: Emissions of nitrogen monoxide and sulphur
dioxide for combustion of biomass are suppressed after substitution of biomass
for municipal solid waste materials as the input fuel mixture. Interactions
between these and other pollutants such as hydrogen chloride, nitrous oxide and
carbon monoxide indicate complex, competing reactions occur between
intermediates of these compounds to determine final resultant emissions.
Conclusions: Fluidised bed concurrent combustion is an appropriate technique to
exploit biomass and municipal solid waste resources, without the use of fossil
fuels. The addition of municipal solid waste to biomass combustion has the
effect of reducing emissions of some gaseous pollutants
Stroke secondary prevention, a non-surgical and non-pharmacological consensus definition : results of a Delphi study
OBJECTIVE: Evidence supporting lifestyle modification in vascular risk reduction is limited, drawn largely from primary prevention studies. To advance the evidence base for non-pharmacological and non-surgical stroke secondary prevention (SSP), empirical research is needed, informed by a consensus-derived definition of SSP. To date, no such definition has been published. We used Delphi methods to generate an evidence-based definition of non-pharmacological and non-surgical SSP. RESULTS: The 16 participants were members of INSsPiRE (International Network of Stroke Secondary Prevention Researchers), a multidisciplinary group of trialists, academics and clinicians. The Elicitation stage identified 49 key elements, grouped into 3 overarching domains: Risk factors, Education, and Theory before being subjected to iterative stages of elicitation, ranking, discussion, and anonymous voting. In the Action stage, following an experience-based engagement with key stakeholders, a consensus-derived definition, complementing current pharmacological and surgical SSP pathways, was finalised: Non-pharmacological and non-surgical stroke secondary prevention supports and improves long-term health and well-being in everyday life and reduces the risk of another stroke, by drawing from a spectrum of theoretically informed interventions and educational strategies. Interventions to self-manage modifiable lifestyle risk factors are contextualized and individualized to the capacities, needs, and personally meaningful priorities of individuals with stroke and their families
Treatment of congenital extrahepatic portosystemic shunts in dogs : a systematic review and metaâanalysis
Background Several options have been proposed for the treatment of congenital extrahepatic portosystemic shunts (cEHPSS) in dogs, but formal comparisons among different treatment options are currently unavailable. A previous evidence-based review (2012) found low quality of evidence for papers assessing the treatment of cEHPSS in dogs. Objectives To assess the quality of evidence available in the treatment of cEHPSS, summarize the current state of knowledge with respect to outcome after cEHPSS management, and compare different treatment techniques. Animals Not used. Methods A bibliographic search was performed without date or language restrictions. Studies were assessed for quality of evidence (study design, study group sizes, subject enrollment quality, and overall risk of bias) and outcome measures reported (perioperative outcome, clinical outcome, and surgical or interventional outcome), all reported with 95% confidence intervals. A network meta-analysis was performed. Results Forty-eight studies were included. Six retrospective studies (grade 4b) compared 2 techniques and 7 were abstracts (grade 5). The quality of evidence was low and risk of bias high. Regarding surgical outcome, statistically significant superiority of ameroid constrictor over thin film band was observed (P = .003). No other comparisons were statistically significant. Conclusions and Clinical Importance The evidence base of choice of treatment of cEHPSS in dogs remains weak despite recent publications on the subject. Ameroid is superior to thin film band in causing EHPSS closure. Blinded randomized studies comparing different treatment modalities, which routinely include postoperative imaging to assess cEHPSS closure and acquired portosystemic shunt development are essential
DDE, a Degradation Product of DDT, and Duration of Lactation in a Highly Exposed Area of Mexico
A Vast Thin Plane of Co-rotating Dwarf Galaxies Orbiting the Andromeda Galaxy
Dwarf satellite galaxies are thought to be the remnants of the population of
primordial structures that coalesced to form giant galaxies like the Milky Way.
An early analysis noted that dwarf galaxies may not be isotropically
distributed around our Galaxy, as several are correlated with streams of HI
emission, and possibly form co-planar groups. These suspicions are supported by
recent analyses, and it has been claimed that the apparently planar
distribution of satellites is not predicted within standard cosmology, and
cannot simply represent a memory of past coherent accretion. However, other
studies dispute this conclusion. Here we report the existence (99.998%
significance) of a planar sub-group of satellites in the Andromeda galaxy,
comprising approximately 50% of the population. The structure is vast: at least
400 kpc in diameter, but also extremely thin, with a perpendicular scatter
<14.1 kpc (99% confidence). Radial velocity measurements reveal that the
satellites in this structure have the same sense of rotation about their host.
This finding shows conclusively that substantial numbers of dwarf satellite
galaxies share the same dynamical orbital properties and direction of angular
momentum, a new insight for our understanding of the origin of these most dark
matter dominated of galaxies. Intriguingly, the plane we identify is
approximately aligned with the pole of the Milky Way's disk and is co-planar
with the Milky Way to Andromeda position vector. The existence of such
extensive coherent kinematic structures within the halos of massive galaxies is
a fact that must be explained within the framework of galaxy formation and
cosmology.Comment: Published in the 3rd Jan 2013 issue of Nature. 19 pages, 4 figures, 1
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Comorbidity and dementia: a scoping review of the literature.
BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests that amongst people with dementia there is a high prevalence of comorbid medical conditions and related complaints. The presence of dementia may complicate clinical care for other conditions and undermine a patient's ability to manage a chronic condition. The aim of this study was to scope the extent, range and nature of research activity around dementia and comorbidity. METHODS: We undertook a scoping review including all types of research relating to the prevalence of comorbidities in people with dementia; current systems, structures and other issues relating to service organisation and delivery; patient and carer experiences; and the experiences and attitudes of service providers. We searched AMED, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, PubMed, NHS Evidence, Scopus, Google Scholar (searched 2012, Pubmed updated 2013), checked reference lists and performed citation searches on PubMed and Google Scholar (ongoing to February 2014). RESULTS: We included 54 primary studies, eight reviews and three guidelines. Much of the available literature relates to the prevalence of comorbidities in people with dementia or issues around quality of care. Less is known about service organisation and delivery or the views and experiences of people with dementia and their family carers. There is some evidence that people with dementia did not have the same access to treatment and monitoring for conditions such as visual impairment and diabetes as those with similar comorbidities but without dementia. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of comorbid conditions in people with dementia is high. Whilst current evidence suggests that people with dementia may have poorer access to services the reasons for this are not clear. There is a need for more research looking at the ways in which having dementia impacts on clinical care for other conditions and how the process of care and different services are adapting to the needs of people with dementia and comorbidity. People with dementia should be included in the debate about the management of comorbidities in older populations and there needs to be greater consideration given to including them in studies that focus on age-related healthcare issues
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