283 research outputs found
Connectifications of metrizable spaces
AbstractWe answer a question of Alas, Tkačenko, Tkachuk, and Wilson by constructing a metrizable space with no compact open subsets which cannot be densely embedded in a connected metrizable (or even perfectly normal) space. We also obtain a result that implies that every nowhere locally compact metrizable space can be densely embedded in a connected metrizable space
Non-invasive anaerobic threshold measurement using fuzzy model interpolation
The interface between skeletal muscle activation
through aerobic and anaerobic glycolysis is of key interest to
sportspeople and athletes who participate in medium to long
distance sports, such as middle- and long-distance running,
cycling, swimming, rowing, kayaking and a variety of other
events. To date, the gold standard for measuring anaerobic
threshold (AT) is a structured test to exhaustion where blood
lactate concentration is measured at regular intervals. However,
the need for invasive testing, requiring trained personnel and
specialist equipment, limits the availability of such tests. This
paper proposes a non-invasive AT measurement method, which
validates well against AT measured using lactate analysis.
In addition, the proposed test has a relatively loose set of
requirements on the exercise test protocol required and just
requires a measure of exercise intensity and heart-rate. While
the test is applicable to a range of sports, usage is demonstrated
in this paper for a set of cyclists, using velocity as a measure
of exercise intensity
BRISTOL (Reino Unido) (Inglaterra). Planos de población (1813). 1:10100
Escala gráfica de 4 estadios [= 7'7 cm]. Orientado con flechaOrografía por normalesRelación de los principales edificios de la ciudad identificadas por clave numéricaRed cuadriculada para facilitar la localización de los edificiosTítulo y grabador enmarcados en cartel
Upsurge in meningitis cases in Jirapa district, 2017, Upper West - Ghana
Introduction: Meningitis is the inflammation of the meninges. In the first eight (8) epidemiological weeks of 2017, Jirapa District, Upper West Region, Ghana recorded 41 suspected cases with six deaths and this had exceeded the alert threshold of 5 suspected cases per 100,000 population per week. We therefore conducted an epidemiological investigation, assessed surveillance and epidemic response and helped implement control measures. Methods: We conducted a descriptive study in Jirapa District 21st to 25th March, 2017. We reviewed patient records from January to March with clinicians, response and surveillance assessment and searched for cases. The case definition was any person living in Jirapa District and reporting with or without fever of acute onset with neck stiffness, poor sucking (in infants), bulging fontanelles (in infants), altered consciousness, other signs of meningeal irritation/inflammation from 1st January to 25th March, 2017. Descriptive analysis was performed and expressed as frequencies and proportions with Microsoft Excel, 2016. Results: Sixty-one cases were recorded, of which 10 were confirmed with seven deaths (CFR=70%). Most were female 32 (53.33%) and majority, 21 (34.4%) below age 10 years. Streptococcus pneumoniae was the causative organism in all the 10 samples. Although the number of reported meningitis cases and the CFR were high, the epidemic threshold of 10 suspected cases per 100,000 population per week was not crossed. There was an active surveillance and effective rapid response team in the district conducted health education and contact tracing when the number of cases were increasing. Conclusion: Jirapa District saw an increase in the number of reported meningitis cases in 2017. An active surveillance system and effective rapid response team in the district prevented a potential outbreak. Communities were educated on risk factors, preventive measures to reduce spread and the need for early reporting
From headliners to hangovers: Digital media communication in the British rock music festival experience
Extant tourist experience literature focuses on ‘live’ space and time activity, while pre- and post-components are often neglected despite the opportunities offered by increasing use of digital media communication (DMC). Focusing especially on the pre-festival experience but also addressing peri- and post-phases, this study examines the role of DMC in tourists’ experiences at British rock music festivals. Interviews with festivalgoers revealed three core and inter-related themes: information, emotional response and communitas. Initial engagement with DMC enabled planning, generated feelings of anticipatory excitement and created a sense of communitas. Online activity reduced peri-festival but continued to enhance the live event experience, while the virtual communitas was extended at the post-festival phase
Fat, syn and disordered eating: The dangers and powers of excess
This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Fat Studies on 8 April 2015 available online: http://wwww.tandfonline.com/10.1080/21604851.2015.1016777This article draws on qualitative research inside one UK secular commercial weight loss group to show how ancient Christian suspicions of appetite and pleasure resurface in this group’s language of “Syn.” Following ancient Christian representations of sin, members assume that Syn depicts disorder and that fat is a visible sign of a body which has fallen out of place. Syn, though, is ambiguous, utilizing ancient theological meanings to discipline fat while containing within it the power to resist the very borders which hold women’s bodies and fat in place. Syn thus signals both the dangers and powers of disordered eating.This article draws on qualitative research inside one UK secular commercial weight loss group to show how ancient Christian suspicions of appetite and pleasure resurface in this group’s language of “Syn.” Following ancient Christian representations of sin, members assume that Syn depicts disorder and that fat is a visible sign of a body which has fallen out of place. Syn, though, is ambiguous, utilizing ancient theological meanings to discipline fat while containing within it the power to resist the very borders which hold women’s bodies and fat in place. Syn thus signals both the dangers and powers of disordered eating
A survey of diamagnetic probes for copper(2+) binding to the prion protein. H-1 NMR solution structure of the palladium(2+) bound single octarepeat
The prion protein (PrPC) is a copper binding cell surface glycoprotein which when misfolded causes transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. The cooperative binding of Cu2+ to an unstructured octarepeat sequence within PrPC causes profound folding of this region. The use of NMR to determine the solution structure of the octarepeat region of PrP with Cu2+ bound has been hampered by the paramagnetic nature of the Cu2+ ions. Using NMR we have investigated the binding of candidate diamagnetic replacement ions, to the octarepeat region of PrP. We show that Pd2+ forms diamagnetic complexes with the peptides HGGG, HGGGW and QPHGGGWGQ with 1 : 1 stoichiometry The H-1 NMR spectra indicate that these peptides are in slow-exchange between free and bound Pd2+ on the chemical-shift time-scale. We demonstrate that the Pd-peptide complex forms slowly with a time taken to reach half-maximal signal of 3 hours. Other candidate metal ions, Ni2+, Pt2+ and Au3+, were investigated but only the Pd2+ complexes gave resolvable H-1 NMR spectra. We have determined the solution structure of the QPHGGGWGQ-Pd 1 : 1 complex using 71 NOE distance restraints. A backbone RMSD of 0.30 angstrom was observed over residues 3 to 7 in the final ensemble. The co-ordinating ligands consist of the histidine imidazole side chain N epsilon, the amide N of the second and third glycines with possibly H2O as the fourth ligand. The co-ordination geometry differs markedly from that of the HGGGW-Cu crystal structure. This survey of potential replacement metal ions to Cu2+ provides insight into the metal specificity and co-ordination chemistry of the metal bound octarepeats
Evaluation of the sentinel surveillance system for influenza-like illnesses in the Greater Accra region, Ghana, 2018
Influenza-like Illness (ILI) is a medical diagnosis of possible influenza or another respiratory illness with a common set of symptoms. The deaths of four schoolchildren, during a pandemic influenza outbreak in December 2017 in Ghana, raised doubts about the ILI surveillance system's performance. We evaluated the ILI surveillance system in the Greater Accra region, Ghana, to assess the system's attributes and its performance on set objectives.; CDC guidelines were used to evaluate the data of the ILI surveillance system between 2013 and 2017. We interviewed the surveillance personnel on the system's description and operation. Additionally, routinely entered ILI data from the National Influenza Center provided by the six sentinel sites in Accra was extracted. We sampled and reviewed 120 ILI case-investigation forms from these sites. Surveillance activities were examined on system's performance indicators, each being scored on a scale of 1 to 3 (poorest to best performance).; All population and age groups were under ILI surveillance over the period evaluated. Overall, 2948 suspected case-patients, including 392 (13.3%) children under-five were reported, with 219 being positive for influenza virus (Predictive value positive = 7.4%). The predominant influenza subtype was H3N2, recorded in 90 (41.1%) of positive case-patients. The system only met two out of its four objectives. None of the six sentinel sites consistently met their annual 260 suspected case-detection quota. Samples reached the laboratory on average 48 hours after collection and results were disseminated within 7 days. Of 120 case-investigation forms sampled, 91 (76.3%) were completely filled in.; The ILI surveillance system in the Greater Accra region is only partially meeting its objectives. While it is found to be sensitive, representative and timely, the data quality was sub-optimal. We recommend the determination of thresholds for alert and outbreak detection and ensuring that sentinel sites meet their weekly case-detection targets
- …