Cosmic Neutrino Bound on the Dark Matter Annihilation Rate in the Late Universe

How large can the dark matter self-annihilation rate in the late universe be? This rate depends on (rho_DM/m_chi)^2 , where rho_DM/m_chi is the number density of dark matter, and the annihilation cross section is averaged over the velocity distribution. Since the clustering of dark matter is known, this amounts to asking how large the annihilation cross section can be. Kaplinghat, Knox, and Turner proposed that a very large annihilation cross section could turn a halo cusp into a core, improving agreement between simulations and observations; Hui showed that unitarity prohibits this for large dark matter masses. We show that if the annihilation products are Standard Model particles, even just neutrinos, the consequent fluxes are ruled out by orders of magnitude, even at small masses. Equivalently, to invoke such large annihilation cross sections, one must now require that essentially no Standard Model particles are produced.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures; to appear in the proceedings of the TeV Particle Astrophysics II Workshop, Madison, Wisconsin, 28-31 Aug 200

Nanofiller Fibre-Reinforced Polymer Nanocomposites

In this work, the technology of nano and micro-scale particle reinforcement concerning various polymeric fibre-reinforced systems including polyamides (PA), polyesters, polyurethanes, polypropylenes and high performance/temperature engineering polymers such as polyimide (PI), poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK), polyarylacetylene (PAA) and poly p-phenylene benzobisoxazole (PBO) is reviewed. When the diameters of polymer fibre materials are shrunk from micrometers to submicrons or nanometers, there appear several unique characteristics such as very large surface area to volume ratio (this ratio for a nanofibre can be as large as 103 times of that of a microfibre), flexibility in surface functionalities and superior mechanical performance (such as stiffness and tensile strength) compared with any other known form of the material. However, nanoparticle reinforcement of fibre reinforced composites has been shown to be a possibility, but much work remains to be performed in order to understand how nanoreinforcement results in dramatic changes in material properties. The understanding of these phenomena will facilitate their extension to the reinforcement of more complicated anisotropic structures and advanced polymeric composite systems

Measures of Health-Related Quality of Life Outcomes in Pediatric Neurosurgery: Literature Review

Background Improving value in healthcare means optimizing outcomes and minimizing costs. The emerging pay-for-performance era requires understanding of the effect of healthcare services on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Pediatric and surgical subspecialties have yet to fully integrate HRQoL measures into practice. The present study reviewed and characterized the HRQoL outcome measures across various pediatric neurosurgical diagnoses. Methods A literature review was performed by searching PubMed and Google Scholar with search terms such as “health-related quality of life” and “pediatric neurosurgery” and then including the specific pathologies for which a HRQoL instrument was found (e.g., “health-related quality of life” plus “epilepsy”). Each measurement was evaluated by content and purpose, relative strengths and weaknesses, and validity. Results We reviewed 68 reports. Epilepsy, brain tumor, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, hydrocephalus, and scoliosis were diagnoses found in reported studies that had used disease-specific HRQoL instruments. Information using general HRQoL instruments was also reported. Internal, test–retest, and/or interrater reliability varied across the instruments, as did face, content, concurrent, and/or construct validity. Few instruments were tested enough for robust reliability and validity. Significant variability was found in the usage of these instruments in clinical studies within pediatric neurosurgery. Conclusions The HRQoL instruments used in pediatric neurosurgery are currently without standardized guidelines and thus exhibit high variability in use. Clinicians should support the development and application of these methods to optimize these instruments, promote standardization of research, improve performance measures to reflect clinically modifiable and meaningful outcomes, and, ultimately, lead the national discussion in healthcare quality and patient-centered care

CosmoDM and its application to Pan-STARRS data

The Cosmology Data Management system (CosmoDM) is an automated and flexible data management system for the processing and calibration of data from optical photometric surveys. It is designed to run on supercomputers and to minimize disk I/O to enable scaling to very high throughput during periods of reprocessing. It serves as an early prototype for one element of the ground-based processing required by the Euclid mission and will also be employed in the preparation of ground based data needed in the eROSITA X-ray all sky survey mission. CosmoDM consists of two main pipelines. The first is the single-epoch or detrending pipeline, which is used to carry out the photometric and astrometric calibration of raw exposures. The second is the co- addition pipeline, which combines the data from individual exposures into deeper coadd images and science ready catalogs. A novel feature of CosmoDM is that it uses a modified stack of As- tromatic software which can read and write tile compressed images. Since 2011, CosmoDM has been used to process data from the DECam, the CFHT MegaCam and the Pan-STARRS cameras. In this paper we shall describe how processed Pan-STARRS data from CosmoDM has been used to optically confirm and measure photometric redshifts of Planck-based Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect selected cluster candidates.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures. Proceedings of Precision Astronomy with Fully Depleted CCDs Workshop (2014). Accepted for publication in JINS

Attitudes to self-sampling for HPV among Indian, Pakistani, African-Caribbean and white British women in Manchester, UK

Objective: To examine attitudes to self-sampling for human papillomavirus (HPV) testing among women from contrasting ethnic groups.Setting: Manchester, UK.Methods: Two hundred women of Indian, Pakistani, African-Caribbean and white British origin were recruited from social and community groups to participate in a questionnaire survey. The questionnaire included items on attitudes to self-sampling and intention to use the test.Results: Willingness to try to use the test was high, and women did not foresee religious or cultural barriers to self-sampling; however, a large proportion of women were concerned about doing the test properly. This concern was greatest in the Indian and African-Caribbean groups.Conclusions: Although women's willingness to try self-sampling for HPV is encouraging, worries about carrying out the procedure correctly must be addressed if women are to feel confident about the results of self-sampling methods and reassured by a negative result

Urological injuries during obstetric and gynaecological procedures: a retrospective analysis over a period of eleven years

Background: To determine frequency and nature of urological injuries in obstetric and gynaecological procedures and their consequences and mode of management in a tertiary care hospital SDM Medical college and hospital, Dharwad, India.Methods: A retrospective study of all obstetric and gynaecological surgeries over a period of 11 years from January 2004 to December 2014 was carried out at Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, SDM Medical College and Hospital, Dharwad, India. Cases with the documented urological injuries were analyzed further. A total of 18,250 patients underwent obstetric and gynaecological procedures like lower segment caesarean section, various types of hysterectomies were analyzed. Cases with urologic injuries were identified and analyzed for risk factor, timing of diagnosis, their management and consequences.Results: Out of 18,250 patients undergoing various surgeries, 37(0.2%) patients had bladder injury and 4(0.02%) patients had ureteric injury. In gynecologic procedures, the incidence of bladder injury was highest in radical hysterectomy (2 out of 79, 2.5%) followed by TLH/LAVH (4 out of 299, 1.3%), NDVH (7 out of 490, 1.4%) TAH (5 out of 1360, 0.37%), laparotomy (1 out of 347, 0.29%) and vaginal hysterectomy (3 out of 1529, 0.2%). Three ureteric injuries were noted in cases of TLH/LAVH (3 out of 299) and one in case of TAH (1 out of 1360, 0.07%).Conclusions: Even though urological injuries are statistically rare, they are responsible for significant morbidity. Bladder injuries are more common, but are easy to manage with earlier diagnosis. Ureteric injuries which are usually diagnosed late and hence cause more morbidity than bladder injuries

Self medication among elderly poses challenges in urban settings

Background: Self-medication can be defined as obtaining and consuming one (or more) drug(s) without the advice of a physician. Using over the counter medicine is a common practice in developing countries including India. Studies have shown relatively high rates of self-medication among elderly and suggested awareness programmes among this group. Objectives of current study are to determine the prevalence of self-medication among geriatric population and to educate them about self-medication by an interactive session.Methods This was a cross sectional, questionnaire based study to evaluate the prevalence of self-medication in geriatric population in senior citizen club of Adajan and Ghoddod area of Surat city. Questionnaires were designed and modified from previous studies. Written informed consent was taken from those willing to participate in the study. After filling of pre-questionnaire, an interactive session was arranged and post-questionnaire were given to all participants. Data obtained were subjected to statistical analysis.Results: Number of participants in present study was 100. Self-medication was most common in age group of 65 to 75 years (48%) followed by less than 65 years (33%). 85% participants reported having taken non-prescription drugs. Drugs commonly used for self-medication were analgesics (85) and antacids (80). Side effects due to self-medication were reported by 22 participants. Main reasons for self-medication cited were to save expenses (65) and to save time (62). Post study awareness increased to 98%.Conclusions: Prevalence of self-medication is high in elderly. Interactive session can increase awareness regarding self-medication

Surface activation of polyester fabric using ammonia dielectric barrier discharge and improvement in colour depth

The effect of atmospheric pressure ammonia dielectric barrier discharge on the surface of polyester fabric has been studied using contact angle goniometer, ATR–FTIR spectroscopy and SEM. It is observed that the surface of plasma treated polyester is more hydrophilic due to incorporation of nitrogenous polar functional groups and shows different conformational composition and crystallinity. The ATR–FTIR results clearly indicate the conversion of trans ethylene glycol residue to gauche one after plasma treatment and thus reduction in crystallinity. Plasma treatment has shown synergetic effect on dye uptake. Natural dyeing of plasma treated polyester with ‘Rubia cordifolia’ has shown 65% improvement in colour depth in comparison to untreated polyester fabric