1,763 research outputs found
Decreased beta-cell mass in diabetes: significance, mechanisms and therapeutic implications
Increasing evidence indicates that decreased functional beta-cell mass is the hallmark of both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. This underlies the absolute or relative insulin insufficiency in both conditions. In this For Debate, we consider the possible mechanisms responsible for beta-cell death and impaired function and their relative contribution to insulin insufficiency in diabetes. Beta-cell apoptosis and impaired proliferation consequent to hyperglycaemia is one pathway that could be operating in all forms of diabetes. Autoimmunity and other routes to beta-cell death are also considered. Recognition of decreased functional beta-cell mass and its overlapping multifactorial aetiology in diabetic states, leads us to propose a unifying classification of diabete
Reliability of the Hazelbaker Assessment Tool for Lingual Frenulum Function
BACKGROUND: About 3% of infants are born with a tongue-tie which may lead to breastfeeding problems such as ineffective latch, painful attachment or poor weight gain. The Hazelbaker Assessment Tool for Lingual Frenulum Function (HATLFF) has been developed to give a quantitative assessment of the tongue-tie and recommendation about frenotomy (release of the frenulum). The aim of this study was to assess the inter-rater reliability of the HATLFF. METHODS: Fifty-eight infants referred to the Breastfeeding Education and Support Services (BESS) at The Royal Women's Hospital for assessment of tongue-tie and 25 control infants were assessed by two clinicians independently. RESULTS: The Appearance items received kappas between about 0.4 to 0.6, which represents "moderate" reliability. The first three Function items (lateralization, lift and extension of tongue) had kappa values over 0.65 which indicates "substantial" agreement. The four Function items relating to infant sucking (spread, cupping, peristalsis and snapback) received low kappa values with insignificant p values. There was 96% agreement between the two assessors on the recommendation for frenotomy (kappa 0.92, excellent agreement). The study found that the Function Score can be more simply assessed using only the first three function items (ie not scoring the sucking items), with a cut-off of ≤4 for recommendation of frenotomy. CONCLUSION: We found that the HATLFF has a high reliability in a study of infants with tongue-tie and control infant
'When I click "ok" I become Sassy – I become a girl.' Young people and gender identity: Subverting the ‘body’ in massively multi-player online role-playing games
This article is available open access through the publisher’s website through the link below. Copyright @ 2012 Taylor & Francis.This article explores young people's practices in the virtual spaces of online gaming communities. Based on a five-year ethnographic study of virtual worlds, it considers how young people construct and maintain identities within virtual social systems. In particular, the article discusses digital gender practices and considers the potential that these games offer for their young users to engage in alternate gender identities. We argue that these digital spaces offer spaces for the imagination and can enhance agency and, potentially, resistance. However, digital identity is simultaneously no ‘liberated space’ and it incorporates norms and practices that often mirror those of the material world. We argue that this ‘porosity’ is an important tool through which young people come to understand gender identity
Effect of chemical disorder on NiMnSb investigated by Appearance Potential Spectroscopy: a theoretical study
The half-Heusler alloy NiMnSb is one of the local-moment ferromagnets with
unique properties for future applications. Band structure calculations predict
exclusively majority bands at the Fermi level, thus indicating {100%} spin
polarization there. As one thinks about applications and the design of
functional materials, the influence of chemical disorder in these materials
must be considered. The magnetization, spin polarization, and electronic
structure are expected to be sensitive to structural and stoichiometric
changes. In this contribution, we report on an investigation of the
spin-dependent electronic structure of NiMnSb. We studied the influence of
chemical disorder on the unoccupied electronic density of states by use of the
ab-initio Coherent Potential Approximation method. The theoretical analysis is
discussed along with corresponding spin-resolved Appearance Potential
Spectroscopy measurements. Our theoretical approach describes the spectra as
the fully-relativistic self-convolution of the matrix-element weighted,
orbitally resolved density of states.Comment: JPD submitte
Discovery of new TeV supernova remnant shells in the Galactic plane with H.E.S.S
Supernova remnants (SNRs) are prime candidates for efficient particle
acceleration up to the knee in the cosmic ray particle spectrum. In this work
we present a new method for a systematic search for new TeV-emitting SNR shells
in 2864 hours of H.E.S.S. phase I data used for the H.E.S.S. Galactic Plane
Survey. This new method, which correctly identifies the known shell
morphologies of the TeV SNRs covered by the survey, HESS J1731-347, RX
1713.7-3946, RCW 86, and Vela Junior, reveals also the existence of three new
SNR candidates. All three candidates were extensively studied regarding their
morphological, spectral, and multi-wavelength (MWL) properties. HESS J1534-571
was associated with the radio SNR candidate G323.7-1.0, and thus is classified
as an SNR. HESS J1912+101 and HESS J1614-518, on the other hand, do not have
radio or X-ray counterparts that would permit to identify them firmly as SNRs,
and therefore they remain SNR candidates, discovered first at TeV energies as
such. Further MWL follow up observations are needed to confirm that these newly
discovered SNR candidates are indeed SNRs
A tilted grating interferometer for full vector field differential x-ray phase contrast tomography
We report on a setup for differential x-ray phase-contrast imaging and tomography, that measures the full 2D phase-gradient information. The setup uses a simple one-dimensional x-ray grating interferometer, in which the grating structures of the interferometer are oriented at a tilt angle with respect to the sample rotation axis. In such a configuration, the differential phase images from opposing tomography projections can be combined to yield both components of the gradient vector. We show how the refractive index distribution as well as its x, y, and z gradient components can be reconstructed directly from the recorded projection data. The method can equally well be applied at conventional x-ray tube sources, to analyzer based x-ray imaging or neutron imaging. It is demonstrated with measurements of an x-ray phantom and a rat brain using synchrotron radiation
Spin Structure of K Valleys in Single-Layer WS2 on Au(111)
The spin structure of the valence and conduction bands at the K\u304 and K\u304\u2032 valleys of single-layer WS2 on Au(111) is determined by spin- and angle-resolved photoemission and inverse photoemission. The bands confining the direct band gap of 1.98 eV are out-of-plane spin polarized with spin-dependent energy splittings of 417 meV in the valence band and 16 meV in the conduction band. The sequence of the spin-split bands is the same in the valence and in the conduction bands and opposite at the K\u304 and the K\u304\u2032 high-symmetry points. The first observation explains "dark" excitons discussed in optical experiments; the latter points to coupled spin and valley physics in electron transport. The experimentally observed band dispersions are discussed along with band structure calculations for a freestanding single layer and for a single layer on Au(111)
Ferromagnetic Kondo-Lattice Model
We present a many-body approach to the electronic and magnetic properties of
the (multiband) Kondo-lattice model with ferromagnetic interband exchange. The
coupling between itinerant conduction electrons and localized magnetic moments
leads, on the one hand, to a distinct temperature-dependence of the electronic
quasiparticle spectrum and, on the other hand, to magnetic properties, as
e.~g.the Curie temperature T_C or the magnon dispersion, which are strongly
influenced by the band electron selfenergy and therewith in particular by the
carrier density. We present results for the single-band Kondo-lattice model in
terms of quasiparticle densities of states and quasiparticle band structures
and demonstrate the density-dependence of the self-consistently derived Curie
temperature. The transition from weak-coupling (RKKY) to strong-coupling
(double exchange) behaviour is worked out.
The multiband model is combined with a tight-binding-LMTO bandstructure
calculation to describe real magnetic materials. As an example we present
results for the archetypal ferromagnetic local-moment systems EuO and EuS. The
proposed method avoids the double counting of relevant interactions and takes
into account the correct symmetry of atomic orbitals.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figure
Electron-correlation effects in appearance-potential spectra of Ni
Spin-resolved and temperature-dependent appearance-potential spectra of
ferromagnetic Nickel are measured and analyzed theoretically. The Lander
self-convolution model which relates the line shape to the unoccupied part of
the local density of states turns out to be insufficient. Electron correlations
and orbitally resolved transition-matrix elements are shown to be essential for
a quantitative agreement between experiment and theory.Comment: LaTeX, 6 pages, 2 eps figures included, Phys. Rev. B (in press
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