576 research outputs found
Ambient Green and Creativity
This research examined an important applied question: whether viewing ambient green (relative to red) on the wall of a workspace would facilitate creativity. A methodologically sound experiment revealed no influence of green on creativity. Care must be taken when interpreting a null result, but these data do not provide support for the presence of a relation between ambient green and creativity. This research also highlights the need for more research in the area of ambient color and psychological functioning, and the need for caution regarding the tendency to move to real-world recommendations before a firm empirical base is established
Effects of water quality in Bassenthwaite Lake on anglers' catches of salmon and sea-trout in the River Derwent
This is the report on the Effects of Water Quality in the Bassenthwaite Lake on Anglers Catches of Salmon and Sea-trout in the River Derwent April 1993 by the Institute of Freshwater Ecology. An analysis of the catch statistics for salmon and sea-trout in the Rivers Derwent and Cocker was undertaken in relation to available information on the algal water quality in Bassenthwaite Lake to test the hypothesis that poor catch returns were associated with a deterioration of water quality within the lake. Analysis of the catch statistics failed to reveal any correlation between water quality and catch returns for either species of fish and it is concluded that any water deterioration in Bassenthwaite Lake has not caused any major damage to the salmon and sea trout fisheries of the Derwent/Cocker system. This conclusion is supported by the analysis of the Windermere/Leven and Crake system, where no correlation could be found between lake water quality and downstream catches of migratory salmonid fish. However, the possibility still exists and such an effect might be detected by further field work on the macroinvertebrates and on the composition of potential salmonid spawning in the area
138Lymphocyte recovery after allogeneic stem cell transplantation: Comparison of bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cell transplantation
A connection between stress and development in the multicelular prokaryote Streptomyces coelicolor
Morphological changes leading to aerial mycelium formation and sporulation in the mycelial bacterium Streptomyces coelicolor rely on establishing distinct patterns of gene expression in separate regions of the colony. sH was identified previously as one of three paralogous sigma factors associated with stress responses in S. coelicolor. Here, we show that sigH and the upstream gene prsH (encoding a putative antisigma factor of sH) form an operon transcribed from two developmentally regulated promoters, sigHp1 and sigHp2. While sigHp1 activity is confined to the early phase of growth, transcription of sigHp2 is dramatically induced at the time of aerial hyphae formation. Localization of sigHp2 activity using a transcriptional fusion to the green fluorescent protein reporter gene (sigHp2–egfp) showed that sigHp2 transcription is spatially restricted to sporulating aerial hyphae in wild-type S. coelicolor. However, analysis of mutants unable to form aerial hyphae (bld mutants) showed that sigHp2 transcription and sH protein levels are dramatically upregulated in a bldD mutant, and that the sigHp2–egfp fusion was expressed ectopically in the substrate mycelium in the bldD background. Finally, a protein possessing sigHp2 promoter-binding activity was purified to homogeneity from crude mycelial extracts of S. coelicolor and shown to be BldD. The BldD binding site in the sigHp2 promoter was defined by DNase I footprinting. These data show that expression of sH is subject to temporal and spatial regulation during colony development, that this tissue-specific regulation is mediated directly by the developmental transcription factor BldD and suggest that stress and developmental programmes may be intimately connected in Streptomyces morphogenesis
Interaction of quasilocal harmonic modes and boson peak in glasses
The direct proportionality relation between the boson peak maximum in
glasses, , and the Ioffe-Regel crossover frequency for phonons,
, is established. For several investigated materials . At the frequency the mean free path of the
phonons becomes equal to their wavelength because of strong resonant
scattering on quasilocal harmonic oscillators. Above this frequency phonons
cease to exist. We prove that the established correlation between
and holds in the general case and is a direct consequence of
bilinear coupling of quasilocal oscillators with the strain field.Comment: RevTex, 4 pages, 1 figur
Spin oscillations in transient diffusion of a spin pulse in n-type semiconductor quantum wells
By studying the time and spatial evolution of a pulse of the spin
polarization in -type semiconductor quantum wells, we highlight the
importance of the off-diagonal spin coherence in spin diffusion and transport.
Spin oscillations and spin polarization reverse along the the direction of spin
diffusion in the absence of the applied magnetic field are predicted from our
investigation.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in PR
Complex lithium ion dynamics in simulated LiPO3 glass studied by means of multi-time correlation functions
Molecular dynamics simulations are performed to study the lithium jumps in
LiPO3 glass. In particular, we calculate higher-order correlation functions
that probe the positions of single lithium ions at several times. Three-time
correlation functions show that the non-exponential relaxation of the lithium
ions results from both correlated back-and-forth jumps and the existence of
dynamical heterogeneities, i.e., the presence of a broad distribution of jump
rates. A quantitative analysis yields that the contribution of the dynamical
heterogeneities to the non-exponential depopulation of the lithium sites
increases upon cooling. Further, correlated back-and-forth jumps between
neighboring sites are observed for the fast ions of the distribution, but not
for the slow ions and, hence, the back-jump probability depends on the
dynamical state. Four-time correlation functions indicate that an exchange
between fast and slow ions takes place on the timescale of the jumps
themselves, i.e., the dynamical heterogeneities are short-lived. Hence, sites
featuring fast and slow lithium dynamics, respectively, are intimately mixed.
In addition, a backward correlation beyond the first neighbor shell for highly
mobile ions and the presence of long-range dynamical heterogeneities suggest
that fast ion migration occurs along preferential pathways in the glassy
matrix. In the melt, we find no evidence for correlated back-and-forth motions
and dynamical heterogeneities on the length scale of the next-neighbor
distance.Comment: 12 pages, 13 figure
Anthropogenic Space Weather
Anthropogenic effects on the space environment started in the late 19th
century and reached their peak in the 1960s when high-altitude nuclear
explosions were carried out by the USA and the Soviet Union. These explosions
created artificial radiation belts near Earth that resulted in major damages to
several satellites. Another, unexpected impact of the high-altitude nuclear
tests was the electromagnetic pulse (EMP) that can have devastating effects
over a large geographic area (as large as the continental United States). Other
anthropogenic impacts on the space environment include chemical release ex-
periments, high-frequency wave heating of the ionosphere and the interaction of
VLF waves with the radiation belts. This paper reviews the fundamental physical
process behind these phenomena and discusses the observations of their impacts.Comment: 71 pages, 35 figure
Atrial flutter and fibrillation in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension or chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension in the ASPIRE registry: comparison of rate versus rhythm control approaches
Background
The development of atrial flutter and fibrillation (AFL/AF) in patients with pre-capillary pulmonary hypertension has been associated with an increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Rate and rhythm control strategies have not been directly compared.
Methods
Eighty-four patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) or chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) with new-onset AFL/AF were identified in the ASPIRE registry. First, baseline characteristics and rates of sinus rhythm (SR) restoration of 3 arrhythmia management strategies (rate control, medical rhythm control and DC cardioversion, DCCV) in an early (2009–13) and later (2014–19) cohort were compared. Longer-term outcomes in patients who achieved SR versus those who did not were then explored.
Results
Sixty (71%) patients had AFL and 24 (29%) AF. Eighteen (22%) patients underwent rate control, 22 (26%) medical rhythm control and 44 (52%) DCCV. SR was restored in 33% treated by rate control, 59% medical rhythm control and 95% DCCV (p < 0.001). Restoration of SR was associated with greater improvement in functional class (FC) and Incremental Shuttle Walk Distance (p both <0.05). It also independently predicted superior survival (3-year survival 62% vs 23% in those remaining in AFL/AF, p < 0.0001). In addition, FC III/IV independently predicted higher mortality (HR 2.86, p = 0.007). Right atrial area independently predicted AFL/AF recurrence (OR 1.08, p = 0.01). DCCV was generally well tolerated with no immediate major complications.
Conclusions
Restoration of SR is associated with superior functional improvement and survival in PAH/CTEPH compared with rate control. DCCV is generally safe and is more effective than medical therapy at achieving SR
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