Found: High Surface Brightness Compact Galaxies

We are using the 2dF spectrograph to make a survey of all objects (`stars' and `galaxies') in a 12 sq.deg region towards the Fornax cluster. We have discovered a population of compact emission-line galaxies unresolved on photographic sky survey plates and therefore missing in most galaxy surveys based on such material. These galaxies are as luminous as normal field galaxies. Using H-alpha to estimate star formation they contribute at least an additional 5 per cent to the local star formation rate.Comment: To appear in "The Low Surface Brightness Universe", IAU Coll 171, eds. J.I. Davies et al., A.S.P. Conference Series. 3 pages, LaTex, 1 encapsulated ps-figure, requires paspconf.st

Mirror organisation: Towards establishing a link between representative bureaucracy and employee ownership perception.

Public sector organizations within multi-ethnic settings are facing the challenge of ethnic tension. One of the measures adopted globally to mitigate these tensions in the public sector is the implementation of representative bureaucracies that mirror ethnic composition within society. Although this measure has been successful to some extent, studies suggest that there is increasing tension arising from ethnic discrimination. This review paper charts a new course in psychological ownership perception and representative bureaucracy theories by attempting to establish a link between ethnic representation and employee ownership perception. Propositions based on a critical review of existing literature are presented to enable further empirical investigations

X-chromosome trinucleotide repeats: effects on brain structure (British Human Genetics Conference, Abstract 4.12)

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10C continued: A deeper radio survey at 15.7 GHz

We present deep 15.7-GHz observations made with the Arcminute Microkelvin Imager Large Array in two fields previously observed as part of the Tenth Cambridge (10C) survey. These observations allow the source counts to be calculated down to 0.1 mJy, a factor of five deeper than achieved by the 10C survey. The new source counts are consistent with the extrapolated fit to the 10C source count, and display no evidence for either steepening or flattening of the counts. There is thus no evidence for the emergence of a significant new population of sources (e.g. starforming) at 15.7 GHz flux densities above 0.1 mJy, the flux density level at which we expect starforming galaxies to begin to contribute. Comparisons with the de Zotti et al. model and the SKADS Simulated Sky show that they both underestimate the observed number of sources by a factor of two at this flux density level. We suggest that this is due to the flat-spectrum cores of radio galaxies contributing more significantly to the counts than predicted by the models.We thank the staff of the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory for maintaining and operating AMI. IHW and CR acknowledge Science and Technology Facilities Council studentships. IHW acknowledges support from the Square Kilometre Array South Africa project and the South African National Research Foundation. This research has made use of NASA’s Astrophysics Data System. We thank the referee for their careful reading of this manuscript.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Oxford University Press via http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stv296

LY 294002 inhibits adenosine receptor activation by a mechanism independent of effects on PI-3 kinase or casein kinase II

Adenosine reduces both evoked and spontaneous calcium-dependent acetylcholine (ACh) release through a mechanism downstream of calcium entry at amphibian motor nerve endings (Silinsky EM. J Physiol 1984; 346: 243-6). LY 294002 (2-(4-morpholinyl)-8-phenyl-4H-1-benzopyran-4-one), an inhibitor of both phosphoinositide-3 kinase (PI-3 kinase) and casein kinase II, has been reported to increase spontaneous ACh release reflected in miniature endplate potential (MEPP) frequencies independently of intraterminal calcium at the frog neuromuscular junction (Rizzoli SO, Betz WJ. J Neurosci 2002; 22: 10680-). It has been suggested that the increase in MEPP frequency caused by LY 294002, is mediated through an action on synaptotagmins, vesicle associated calcium sensors believed to trigger synaptic vesicle exocytosis. We thus examined the effects of adenosine on MEPP frequencies and evoked ACh release reflected as endplate potentials (EPPs) in order to determine if the presumed calcium-independent ACh release is affected by adenosine. We also wanted to determine if PI-3 kinase or casein kinase II is involved in mediating or modulating the inhibitory effects of adenosine. To these ends, we examined the effects of adenosine in the presence of LY 294002, wortmannin (a highly selective the PI-3 kinase inhibitor), or DRB (5,6-dichlorobenzimidazole riboside, an inhibitor of casein kinase II). LY 294002 reduced the sensitivity of both MEPP frequencies and the nerve-evoked calcium dependent EPPs to adenosine. The occlusive effects of LY 294002 on the actions of adenosine on MEPPs and EPPs were overcome by increasing adenosine concentration. Neither wortmannin nor DRB had any effect on the sensitivity of the EPPs to adenosine indicating that neither PI-3 kinase nor casein kinase II inhibition mediates the reduction in motor-nerve terminal sensitivity to adenosine produced by LY 294002. The results indicate a competitive relationship between LY 294002 and adenosine at A1 receptors at the frog neuromuscular junction. This effect is independent of the previously described effects of LY 294002 on the exocytotic process, and is also independent of PI-3 kinase or casein kinase II

Pharmacokinetics of Antituberculosis Drugs in HIV-Positive and HIV-Negative Adults in Malawi

Limited data address the impact of HIV co-infection on the pharmacokinetics of anti-tuberculosis drugs in Sub-Saharan Africa. 47 Malawian adults underwent rich pharmacokinetic sampling at 0-0.5-1-2-3-4-6-8 and 24 hours post-dose. 51% were male; mean age was 34 years. 65% were HIV-positive with a mean CD4 count of 268 cells/μL. Anti-tuberculosis drugs were administered as fixed-dose combinations (rifampicin150mg/isoniazid75mg/pyrazinamide400mg/ethambutol275mg) according to recommended weight bands. Plasma drug concentrations were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (rifampicin and pyrazinamide) or liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (isoniazid and ethambutol). Data were analysed by non-compartmental methods and analysis of variance of log-transformed summary parameters. Pharmacokinetic parameters were: rifampicin Cmax 4.129 (2.474-5.596)μg/mL, AUC0-24 21.32 (13.57-28.60)μg/mL*h, half-life 2.45 (1.86-3.08)h; isoniazid Cmax 3.97 (2.979-4.544)μg/mL, AUC0-24 22.5 (14.75-34.59)μg/mL*h, half-life 3.93 (3.18-4.73)h.; pyrazinamide Cmax 34.21 (30.00-41.60)μg/mL, AUC0-24 386.6 (320.0-463.7)μg/mL*h, half-life 6.821 (5.71-8.042)h; ethambutol Cmax 2.278 (1.694-3.098)μg/mL, AUC0-24 20.41 (16.18-26.27)μg/mL*h, half-life 7.507 (6.517-8.696)h. Isoniazid PK data analysis suggested that around two-thirds were slow acetylators. Dose, weight and weight-adjusted dose were not significant predictors of PK exposure probably due to weight-banded dosing. In this first pharmacokinetic study of tuberculosis drugs in Malawian adults, measures of pharmacokinetic exposure were comparable with other studies for all first line drugs except for rifampicin, for which Cmax and AUC0-24 were notably lower. Contrary to some earlier observations, HIV status did not significantly affect AUC of any of the drugs. Increasing the dose of rifampicin could be beneficial in African adults, irrespective of HIV status. Current co-trimoxazole prophylaxis was associated with an increase in half-life of isoniazid of 41% (p=0.022). Possible competitive interactions between isoniazid and sulphamethoxazole mediated by the N-acetyltransferase pathway should therefore be explored further

The first maps of κd - the dust mass absorption coefficient - in nearby galaxies, with DustPedia

The dust mass absorption coefficient, κd is the conversion function used to infer physical dust masses from observations of dust emission. However, it is notoriously poorly constrained, and it is highly uncertain how it varies, either between or within galaxies. Here we present the results of a proof-of-concept study, using the DustPedia data for two nearby face-on spiral galaxies M 74 (NGC 628) and M 83 (NGC 5236), to create the first ever maps of κd in galaxies. We determine κd using an empirical method that exploits the fact that the dust-to-metals ratio of the interstellar medium is constrained by direct measurements of the depletion of gas-phase metals. We apply this method pixel-by-pixel within M 74 and M 83, to create maps of κd. We also demonstrate a novel method of producing metallicity maps for galaxies with irregularly sampled measurements, using the machine learning technique of Gaussian process regression. We find strong evidence for significant variation in κd. We find values of κd at 500 μm spanning the range 0.11-0.25 m^{2 kg^{-1}} in M 74, and 0.15-0.80 m^{2 kg^{-1}} in M 83. Surprisingly, we find that κd shows a distinct inverse correlation with the local density of the interstellar medium. This inverse correlation is the opposite of what is predicted by standard dust models. However, we find this relationship to be robust against a large range of changes to our method - only the adoption of unphysical or highly unusual assumptions would be able to suppress it

Treatment prescribing patterns in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA): Analysis from the UK Childhood Arthritis Prospective Study (CAPS)

OBJECTIVE: Initial treatment of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is largely based on the extent of joint involvement, disease severity and ILAR category. The licensing of biologic therapies for JIA has expanded treatment options. The aims of the study are (1) to describe treatment prescribing patterns in JIA over the first 3 years following first presentation to paediatric rheumatology and (2) to determine whether patterns of treatment have changed as biologics have become more widely available. METHODS: Children with at least 3 years of follow-up within the Childhood Arthritis Prospective Study (CAPS) were included. For analysis, children were placed into one of five groups according to their initial presentation to paediatric rheumatology: oligoarthritis (oJIA), polyarthritis (pJIA), systemic (sJIA), enthesitis-related arthritis (ERA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Treatment patterns over 3 years were described. RESULTS: Of 1051 children, 58% received synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (sDMARD) and 20% received biologics over the 3 years. Use of sDMARDs and biologics was higher in more severe disease presentations (sJIA and pJIA); however, 35% and 10% who presented with oJIA were also treated with sDMARDs and biologics, respectively. The number of children receiving sDMARD after 2006 was higher (p = 0.02); however, there was no difference in biologic prescribing before and after 2006 (p = 0.4). CONCLUSIONS: A high proportion of children presenting with JIA received sDMARDs plus/minus biologics during 3 years of follow-up. This was most common for patients with severe JIA but was also prescribed for patients with oligoarticular disease, despite the lack of evidence for effectiveness in this category

Effects of stitching on delamination of satin weave carbon-epoxy laminates under mode I, mode II and mixed-mode I/II loadings

The objective of the present study is to characterize the effect of modified chain stitching on the delamination growth under mixed-mode I/II loading conditions. Delamination toughness under mode I is experimentally determined, for unstitched and stitched laminates, by using untabbed and tabbed double cantilever beam (TDCB) tests. The effect of the reinforcing tabs on mode I toughness is investigated. Stitching improves the energy release rate (ERR) up to 4 times in mode I. Mode II delamination toughness is evaluated in end-notched flexure (ENF) tests. Different geometries of stitched specimens are tested. Crack propagation occurs without any failure of stitching yarns. The final crack length attains the mid-span or it stops before and the specimen breaks in bending. The ERR is initially low and gradually increases with crack length to very high values. The mixedmode delamination behaviour is investigated using a mixed-mode bending (MMB) test. For unstitched specimens, a simple mixed-mode criterion is identified. For stitched specimens, stitching yarns do not break during 25% of mode I ratio tests and the ERR increase is relatively small compared to unstitched values. For 70% and 50% of mode I ratios, failures of yarns are observed during crack propagation and tests are able to capture correctly the effect of the stitching: it clearly improves the ERR for these two mixed modes, as much as threefold

Hip disability and osteoarthritis outcome score (HOOS) – validity and responsiveness in total hip replacement

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to evaluate if physical functions usually associated with a younger population were of importance for an older population, and to construct an outcome measure for hip osteoarthritis with improved responsiveness compared to the Western Ontario McMaster osteoarthritis score (WOMAC LK 3.0). METHODS: A 40 item questionnaire (hip disability and osteoarthritis outcome score, HOOS) was constructed to assess patient-relevant outcomes in five separate subscales (pain, symptoms, activity of daily living, sport and recreation function and hip related quality of life). The HOOS contains all WOMAC LK 3.0 questions in unchanged form. The HOOS was distributed to 90 patients with primary hip osteoarthritis (mean age 71.5, range 49–85, 41 females) assigned for total hip replacement for osteoarthritis preoperatively and at six months follow-up. RESULTS: The HOOS met set criteria of validity and responsiveness. It was more responsive than WOMAC regarding the subscales pain (SRM 2.11 vs. 1.83) and other symptoms (SRM 1.83 vs. 1.28). The responsiveness (SRM) for the two added subscales sport and recreation and quality of life were 1.29 and 1.65, respectively. Patients ≤ 66 years of age (range 49–66) reported higher responsiveness in all five subscales than patients >66 years of age (range 67–85) (Pain SRM 2.60 vs. 1.97, other symptoms SRM 3.0 vs. 1.60, activity of daily living SRM 2.51 vs. 1.52, sport and recreation function SRM 1.53 vs. 1.21 and hip related quality of life SRM 1.95 vs. 1.57). CONCLUSION: The HOOS 2.0 appears to be useful for the evaluation of patient-relevant outcome after THR and is more responsive than the WOMAC LK 3.0. The added subscales sport and recreation function and hip related quality of life were highly responsive for this group of patients, with the responsiveness being highest for those younger than 66