Improving the psychological evaluation of exercise referral: psychometric properties of the Exercise Referral Quality of Life Scale

There is a growing need to assess the psychological outcomes of exercise referral and the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence has called for the routine assessment of life-quality. However, a quality of life scale specific to the requirements of exercise referral is currently unavailable. Therefore, the aim of this study was to produce a quality of life measure for this purpose. The Exercise Referral Quality of Life Scale is a 22-item measure comprising three domains: mental and physical health, injury pain and illness and physical activity facilitators. Exploratory factor analysis determined the initial factor structure and was subsequently confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis. Additional scale properties were also assessed. The scale contributes to the global need for improved consistent psychological outcome assessment of exercise referral

A calculus for distrust and mistrust

Properties of trust are becoming widely studied in several applications within the computational domain. On the contrary, negative trust attribution is less well-defined and related issues are yet to be approached and resolved. We present a natural deduction calculus for trust protocols and its negative forms, distrust and mistrust. The calculus deals efficiently with forms of trust transitivity and negative trust multiplication and we briefly illustrate some possible applications

Measurement of the antineutrino neutral-current elastic differential cross section

arXiv:1309.7257v1 [hep-ex

Different types of FC γ -receptors are involved in anti-Lewis Y antibody induced effector functions in vitro

Stimulation of monocytes by interaction of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) with Fc gamma receptors (FcγRs) results in the activation of various monocyte effector functions. In the present investigation we show that the anti-Lewis Y (LeY) anti-tumour mAb ABL 364 and its mouse/human IgG1 chimaera induce both antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) and the release of tumour necrosis factor α (TNF-α) during mixed culture of monocytes with LeY+SKBR5 breast cancer cells in vitro. Although anti-LeY mAb-mediated TNF-α release paralleled ADCC activity, cytokine release required a higher concentration of sensitizing mAb than the induction of cytolysis. The determination of the FcγR classes involved in the induction of the distinct effector functions showed that anti-LeY mAb-induced cytolysis was triggered by interaction between anti-LeY mAbs and FcγRI. In contrast, mAb-induced TNF-α release mainly depended on the activation of monocyte FcγRII. Neutralization of TNF-α showed no influence on monocyte ADCC activity towards SKBR5 target cells. Our data indicate an independent regulation of anti-LeY mAb induced effector functions of ADCC and TNF-α release which seemed to be triggered by activation of different types of FcγR. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaig

String theoretic QCD axions in the light of PLANCK and BICEP2

The QCD axion solving the strong CP problem may originate from antisymmetric tensor gauge fields in compactified string theory, with a decay constant around the GUT scale. Such possibility appears to be ruled out now by the detection of tensor modes by BICEP2 and the PLANCK constraints on isocurvature density perturbations. A more interesting and still viable possibility is that the string theoretic QCD axion is charged under an anomalous U(1)_A gauge symmetry. In such case, the axion decay constant can be much lower than the GUT scale if moduli are stabilized near the point of vanishing Fayet-Illiopoulos term, and U(1)_A-charged matter fields get a vacuum value far below the GUT scale due to a tachyonic SUSY breaking scalar mass. We examine the symmetry breaking pattern of such models during the inflationary epoch with the Hubble expansion rate 10^{14} GeV, and identify the range of the QCD axion decay constant, as well as the corresponding relic axion abundance, consistent with known cosmological constraints. In addition to the case that the PQ symmetry is restored during inflation, there are other viable scenarios, including that the PQ symmetry is broken during inflation at high scales around 10^{16}-10^{17} GeV due to a large Hubble-induced tachyonic scalar mass from the U(1)_A D-term, while the present axion scale is in the range 10^{9}-5\times 10^{13} GeV, where the present value larger than 10^{12} GeV requires a fine-tuning of the axion misalignment angle. We also discuss the implications of our results for the size of SUSY breaking soft masses.Comment: 29 pages, 1 figure; v3: analysis updated including the full anharmonic effects, references added, version accepted for publication in JHE

Mortality among US employees of a large computer manufacturing company: 1969–2001

BACKGROUND: Previous studies suggested increased cancer incidence and mortality in workers exposed to solvents and other chemicals in computer manufacturing jobs. Most previous studies were of small cohorts and findings were inconsistent. A lawsuit involving a large U.S. company produced a data file for analysis. This study sought to elucidate patterns of mortality in workers who were engaged manufacturing computers and related electronic components in the largest database available to date. METHODS: A proportional mortality and proportional cancer mortality analysis of deaths in eligible workers between 1969 and 2001 was carried out, with U.S. population mortality data as the standard for comparison. Mortality and work history data was from corporate mortality and work history files produced during litigation and standard U.S. and state mortality files. The study base comprised 31,941 decedents who died between 1969 and 2001, who had worked for at least five years and whose death information was collected in the corporate mortality file. Proportional mortality ratios (PMRs) and Proportional Cancer Mortality Ratios (PCMRs) and their 95% confidence intervals were computed for 66 causes of death in males and females. RESULTS: PMRs for all cancers combined were elevated in males (PMR = 107; 95% CI = 105–109) and females (PMR = 115; 95% CI = 110–119); several specific cancers and other causes of death were also significantly elevated in both males and females. There were reduced deaths due to non-malignant respiratory disease in males and females and heart disease in females; several specific cancers and other causes of death were significantly reduced in both males and females. Proportional cancer mortality ratios (PCMRs) for brain and central nervous system cancer were elevated (PCMR = 166; 95% CI = 129–213), kidney cancer (PCMR = 162; 95% CI = 124–212), melanoma of skin (PCMR = 179; 95% CI = 131–244) and pancreatic cancer (PCMR = 126; 95% CI = 101–157) were significantly elevated in male manufacturing workers. Kidney cancer (PCMR = 212; 95% CI = 116–387) and cancer of all lymphatic and hematopoietic tissue (PCMR = 162; 95% CI = 121–218) were significantly elevated in female manufacturing workers. CONCLUSION: Mortality was elevated due to specific cancers and among workers more likely to be exposed to solvents and other chemical exposures in manufacturing operations. Due to lack of individual exposure information, no conclusions are made about associations with any particular agent

Anatomy and Taxonomic Status of the Chasmosaurine Ceratopsid Nedoceratops hatcheri from the Upper Cretaceous Lance Formation of Wyoming, U.S.A

Background: The validity of Nedoceratops hatcheri, a chasmosaurine ceratopsid dinosaur known from a single skull recovered in the Lance Formation of eastern Wyoming, U.S.A., has been debated for over a century. Some have argued that the taxon is an aberrant Triceratops, and most recently it was proposed that N. hatcheri represents an intermediate ontogenetic stage between ‘‘young adult’ ’ and ‘‘old adult’ ’ forms of a single taxon previously split into Triceratops and Torosaurus. Methodology/Principal Findings: The holotype skull of Nedoceratops hatcheri was reexamined in order to map reconstructed areas and compare the specimen with other ceratopsids. Although squamosal fenestrae are almost certainly not of taxonomic significance, some other features are unique to N. hatcheri. These include a nasal lacking a recognizable horn, nearly vertical postorbital horncores, and relatively small parietal fenestrae. Thus, N. hatcheri is tentatively considered valid, and closely related to Triceratops spp. The holotype of N. hatcheri probably represents an ‘‘old adult,’ ’ based upon bone surface texture and the shape of the horns and epiossifications on the frill. In this study, Torosaurus is maintained as a genus distinct from Triceratops and Nedoceratops. Synonymy of the three genera as ontogenetic stages of a single taxon would require cranial changes otherwise unknown in ceratopsids, including additions of ossifications to the frill and repeated alternation of bone surface texture between juvenile and adult morphotypes

‘Nedoceratops’: An Example of a Transitional Morphology

Background: The holotype and only specimen of the chasmosaurine ceratopsid dinosaur ‘Nedoceratops hatcheri ’ has been the source of considerable taxonomic debate since its initial description. At times it has been referred to its own genus while at others it has been considered synonymous with the contemporaneous chasmosaurine Triceratops. Most recently, the debate has focused on whether the specimen represents an intermediate ontogenetic stage between typical young adult Triceratops and the proposed mature morphology, which was previously considered to represent a distinct genus, ‘Torosaurus’. Methodology/Principal Findings: The only specimen of ‘Nedoceratops hatcheri ’ was examined and the proposed diagnostic features of this taxon were compared with other chasmosaurine ceratopsids. Every suggested autapomorphy of ‘Nedoceratops ’ is found in specimens of Triceratops. In this study, Triceratops includes the adult ‘Torosaurus ’ morphology. The small parietal fenestra and elongate squamosals of Nedoceratops are consistent with a transition from a short, solid parietalsquamosal frill to an expanded, fenestrated condition. Objections to this hypothesis regarding the number of epiossifications of the frill and alternations of bone surface texture were explored through a combination of comparative osteology and osteohistology. The synonymy of the three taxa was further supported by these investigations. Conclusions/Significance: The Triceratops, ‘Torosaurus’, and ‘Nedoceratops ’ morphologies represent ontogenetic variatio

Stress related epigenetic changes may explain opportunistic success in biological invasions in Antipode mussels

Different environmental factors could induce epigenetic changes, which are likely involved in the biological invasion process. Some of these factors are driven by humans as, for example, the pollution and deliberate or accidental introductions and others are due to natural conditions such as salinity. In this study, we have analysed the relationship between different stress factors: time in the new location, pollution and salinity with the methylation changes that could be involved in the invasive species tolerance to new environments. For this purpose, we have analysed two different mussels’ species, reciprocally introduced in antipode areas: the Mediterranean blue mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis and the New Zealand pygmy mussel Xenostrobus securis, widely recognized invaders outside their native distribution ranges. The demetylathion was higher in more stressed population, supporting the idea of epigenetic is involved in plasticity process. These results can open a new management protocols, using the epigenetic signals as potential pollution monitoring tool. We could use these epigenetic marks to recognise the invasive status in a population and determine potential biopollutants