865 research outputs found
Removal processes for tributyltin during municipal wastewater treatment
This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ 2013 Springer.The fate and behaviour of tributyltin (TBT) at two wastewater treatment works was examined. Both sites had two inlet streams, and each utilised high rate biological filters (biofilters) on one the streams, before treatment of the combined flows on trickling filters, with one having additional tertiary processes, installed to remove ammonia and solids. The study was designed to determine if these processes enhanced the removal of TBT. Degradation of TBT was observed in one of the biofilters, possibly as a result of temperature and hydraulic loading. At the treatment works with tertiary processes, the mass flux showed the overall removal of TBT was 68 %, predominantly due to removal with solids in the primary settlement processes. However, overall removal of 95 % was observed in the conventional trickling filter works with 94 % of this due to biodegradation in the trickling filter. The two works both removed TBT, but at different treatment stages and by different processes. Differences in the form (solubility) of TBT in the influent may have attributed to this, although further understanding of factors controlling degradation would allow for a more complete assessment of the potential of biological processes to remove hazardous compounds from wastewaters.United Utilities PL
An examination of the self-referent executive processing model of test anxiety: control, emotional regulation, self-handicapping, and examination performance
According to the self-referent executive processing (S-REF) model, test anxiety develops from interactions between three systems: executive self-regulation processes, self-beliefs, and maladaptive situational interactions. Studies have tended to examine one system at a time, often in conjunction with how test anxiety relates to achievement outcomes. The aim of this study was to enable a more thorough test of the S-REF model by examining one key construct from each of these systems simultaneously. These were control (a self-belief construct), emotional regulation through suppression and reappraisal (an executive process), and self-handicapping (a maladaptive situational interaction). Relations were examined from control, emotional regulation, and self-handicapping to cognitive test anxiety (worry), and subsequent examination performance on a high-stakes test. Data were collected from 273 participants in their final year of secondary education. A structural equation model showed that higher control was indirectly related to better examination performance through lower worry, higher reappraisal was indirectly related to worse examination performance through higher worry, and higher self-handicapping was related to worse examination performance through lower control and higher worry. These findings suggest that increasing control and reducing self-handicapping would be key foci for test anxiety interventions to incorporate. Š 2018 The Author(s
Tailoring communication in consultations with women from high risk breast cancer families
This multicentre study examined the influence of patient demographic, disease status and psychological variables on clinical geneticists/genetic counsellors (consultants) behaviours in initial consultations with women from high-risk breast cancer families. One hundred and fifty-eight women completed a pre-clinic self-report questionnaire. The consultations were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim and coded. Consultants did not vary their behaviour according to women's expectations. However, significantly more aspects of genetic testing were discussed with women who were affected with breast cancer (P<0.001), screening and management with unaffected women (P=0.01) and breast cancer prevention with younger women (P=0.01). Prophylactic mastectomy was discussed more frequently with women with medical and allied health training (P=0.02), and prophylactic oophorectomy with women affected with breast cancer (P=0.03), those in non-professional occupations (P=0.04) and with a family history of breast and ovarian cancer (P<0.001). Consultants used significantly more behaviours to facilitate understanding with women who were in non-professional occupations (P=0.04); facilitated active patient involvement more with women affected with breast cancer (P<0.001) and used more supportive and counselling behaviours with affected women (P=0.02). This study showed that patient demographics were more likely to predict consultants' communication behaviours than the woman's psychological status. Methods to facilitate assessment of psychological morbidity are needed to allow more tailored communication
Effects of Interferon-ι/β on HBV Replication Determined by Viral Load
Interferons ι and β (IFN-ι/β) are type I interferons produced by the host to control microbial infections. However, the use of IFN-ι to treat hepatitis B virus (HBV) patients generated sustained response to only a minority of patients. By using HBV transgenic mice as a model and by using hydrodynamic injection to introduce HBV DNA into the mouse liver, we studied the effect of IFN-ι/β on HBV in vivo. Interestingly, our results indicated that IFN-ι/β could have opposite effects on HBV: they suppressed HBV replication when viral load was high and enhanced HBV replication when viral load was low. IFN-ι/β apparently suppressed HBV replication via transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulations. In contrast, IFN-ι/β enhanced viral replication by inducing the transcription factor HNF3γ and activating STAT3, which together stimulated HBV gene expression and replication. Further studies revealed an important role of IFN-ι/β in stimulating viral growth and prolonging viremia when viral load is low. This use of an innate immune response to enhance its replication and persistence may represent a novel strategy that HBV uses to enhance its growth and spread in the early stage of viral infection when the viral level is low
Production of phi mesons at mid-rapidity in sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV Au+Au collisions at RHIC
We present the first results of meson production in the K^+K^- decay channel
from Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV as measured at mid-rapidity by
the PHENIX detector at RHIC. Precision resonance centroid and width values are
extracted as a function of collision centrality. No significant variation from
the PDG accepted values is observed. The transverse mass spectra are fitted
with a linear exponential function for which the derived inverse slope
parameter is seen to be constant as a function of centrality. These data are
also fitted by a hydrodynamic model with the result that the freeze-out
temperature and the expansion velocity values are consistent with the values
previously derived from fitting single hadron inclusive data. As a function of
transverse momentum the collisions scaled peripheral.to.central yield ratio RCP
for the is comparable to that of pions rather than that of protons. This result
lends support to theoretical models which distinguish between baryons and
mesons instead of particle mass for explaining the anomalous proton yield.Comment: 326 authors, 24 pages text, 23 figures, 6 tables, RevTeX 4. To be
submitted to Physical Review C as a regular article. Plain text data tables
for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications
are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm
Pembauran Budaya di Desa Rantau Sakti Kecamatan Tambusai Utara Kabupaten Rokan Hulu
This study is to research how the intercourse of culture that existed in the Rantau Sakti village Tambusai Utara District and Rokan Hulu Regent intertribal nasions of Java, Medan Java, Batak, Minang, and Melayu. Theres a launching factors and hindrance factors too in culture intercourse. The data tekhnic collection with the koesioner, interview, and documentation. And the analisys of data is descriptive where the data presented in the form of a diagrams, percentages, pictures, and explanations. The research results show that The lives of the multicultural that could lead to the occurrence of intercourse of culture through assimilation, acculturation, and amalgamation. The intercourse of culture through three aspects of it can run well theres happened in Rantau Sakti village on seven principles like language, system of knowledge , a social organization , celebration life and technologi, means of subsistence, religion, and art . There is also intercourse of culture with amalgamation culture that leads to assimilation and acculturation. Its launching factor are the attitude of tolerance and open, in common religion, and the same occasion in the economic field. While the hindrance factor are differences of religion and stereotype (ethnic prejudice). Those two factors each happened to the process of changing culture with assimilation, acculturation, and amalgamation That leads to a positive thing.Keyword: The Culture Intercourse, Inter-ethnic
Utilisation of an operative difficulty grading scale for laparoscopic cholecystectomy
Background
A reliable system for grading operative difficulty of laparoscopic cholecystectomy would standardise description of findings and reporting of outcomes. The aim of this study was to validate a difficulty grading system (Nassar scale), testing its applicability and consistency in two large prospective datasets.
Methods
Patient and disease-related variables and 30-day outcomes were identified in two prospective cholecystectomy databases: the multi-centre prospective cohort of 8820 patients from the recent CholeS Study and the single-surgeon series containing 4089 patients. Operative data and patient outcomes were correlated with Nassar operative difficultly scale, using Kendallâs tau for dichotomous variables, or JonckheereâTerpstra tests for continuous variables. A ROC curve analysis was performed, to quantify the predictive accuracy of the scale for each outcome, with continuous outcomes dichotomised, prior to analysis.
Results
A higher operative difficulty grade was consistently associated with worse outcomes for the patients in both the reference and CholeS cohorts. The median length of stay increased from 0 to 4 days, and the 30-day complication rate from 7.6 to 24.4% as the difficulty grade increased from 1 to 4/5 (both pâ<â0.001). In the CholeS cohort, a higher difficulty grade was found to be most strongly associated with conversion to open and 30-day mortality (AUROCâ=â0.903, 0.822, respectively). On multivariable analysis, the Nassar operative difficultly scale was found to be a significant independent predictor of operative duration, conversion to open surgery, 30-day complications and 30-day reintervention (all pâ<â0.001).
Conclusion
We have shown that an operative difficulty scale can standardise the description of operative findings by multiple grades of surgeons to facilitate audit, training assessment and research. It provides a tool for reporting operative findings, disease severity and technical difficulty and can be utilised in future research to reliably compare outcomes according to case mix and intra-operative difficulty
Performance of CMS muon reconstruction in pp collision events at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV
The performance of muon reconstruction, identification, and triggering in CMS
has been studied using 40 inverse picobarns of data collected in pp collisions
at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the LHC in 2010. A few benchmark sets of selection
criteria covering a wide range of physics analysis needs have been examined.
For all considered selections, the efficiency to reconstruct and identify a
muon with a transverse momentum pT larger than a few GeV is above 95% over the
whole region of pseudorapidity covered by the CMS muon system, abs(eta) < 2.4,
while the probability to misidentify a hadron as a muon is well below 1%. The
efficiency to trigger on single muons with pT above a few GeV is higher than
90% over the full eta range, and typically substantially better. The overall
momentum scale is measured to a precision of 0.2% with muons from Z decays. The
transverse momentum resolution varies from 1% to 6% depending on pseudorapidity
for muons with pT below 100 GeV and, using cosmic rays, it is shown to be
better than 10% in the central region up to pT = 1 TeV. Observed distributions
of all quantities are well reproduced by the Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO
Performance of CMS muon reconstruction in pp collision events at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV
The performance of muon reconstruction, identification, and triggering in CMS
has been studied using 40 inverse picobarns of data collected in pp collisions
at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the LHC in 2010. A few benchmark sets of selection
criteria covering a wide range of physics analysis needs have been examined.
For all considered selections, the efficiency to reconstruct and identify a
muon with a transverse momentum pT larger than a few GeV is above 95% over the
whole region of pseudorapidity covered by the CMS muon system, abs(eta) < 2.4,
while the probability to misidentify a hadron as a muon is well below 1%. The
efficiency to trigger on single muons with pT above a few GeV is higher than
90% over the full eta range, and typically substantially better. The overall
momentum scale is measured to a precision of 0.2% with muons from Z decays. The
transverse momentum resolution varies from 1% to 6% depending on pseudorapidity
for muons with pT below 100 GeV and, using cosmic rays, it is shown to be
better than 10% in the central region up to pT = 1 TeV. Observed distributions
of all quantities are well reproduced by the Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO
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