Caution fatigue: group identification and disgust provide protection in the COVID-19 pandemic

The current Coronavirus pandemic has yielded an abundance of concerns regarding the psychological effects of isolating a highly social species through widespread lockdowns and enhanced social distancing. Research show that many are suffering from mental health crises, while also refusing to isolate (Brooks et al., 2020; Czeiler, et al., 2020). These behaviors combine to increase risk of viral infection. An emerging term to explain this paradox is “Caution Fatigue”. Yet, there is no research that outlines its specific underlying mechanisms. The goal of this paper is to propose a series of models that delineate caution fatigue through the effects a) uncertainty b) the stereotype content model (Fiske et al., 2002) and c) group identification have on predicting the inhibition of risk perception through disgust. While caution fatigue is not ultimately observed, the conditions which one is willing to engage or mitigate risk are discussed. Unmasked faces are found to be viewed in a more negative affective state than masked faces which lends to increased feelings of group identification alongside uncertainty to promote feelings of disgust and risk. The findings presented here lack to perfectly encapsulate caution fatigue, but there is evidence of xenophobia against members of Asian heritage. Observations and implications are explained further

On the Cooling of the Neutron Star in Cassiopeia A

We demonstrate that the high-quality cooling data observed for the young neutron star in the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A over the past 10 years--as well as all other reliably known temperature data of neutron stars--can be comfortably explained within the "nuclear medium cooling" scenario. The cooling rates of this scenario account for medium-modified one-pion exchange in dense matter and polarization effects in the pair-breaking formations of superfluid neutrons and protons. Crucial for the successful description of the observed data is a substantial reduction of the thermal conductivity, resulting from a suppression of both the electron and nucleon contributions to it by medium effects. We also find that possibly in as little as about ten years of continued observation, the data may tell whether or not fast cooling processes are active in this neutron star.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

High Ratio of 44Ti/56Ni in Cas A and Axisymmetric Collapse-Driven Supernova Explosion

The large abundance ratio of $^{44}Ti/^{56}Ni$ in Cas A is puzzling. In fact, the ratio seems to be larger than the theoretical constraint derived by Woosley & Hoffman (1991). However, this constraint is obtained on the assumption that the explosion is spherically symmetric, whereas Cas A is famous for the asymmetric form of the remnant. Recently, Nagataki et al. (1997) calculated the explosive nucleosynthesis of axisymmetrically deformed collapse-driven supernova. They reported that the ratio of $^{44}Ti/^{56}Ni$ was enhanced by the stronger alpha-rich freezeout in the polar region. In this paper, we apply these results to Cas A and examine whether this effect can explain the large amount of $^{44}Ti$ and the large ratio of $^{44}Ti/^{56}Ni$. We demonstrate that the conventional spherically symmetric explosion model can not explain the $^{44}$Ti mass produced in Cas A if its lifetime is shorter than $\sim$ 80 years and the intervening space is transparent to the gamma-ray line from the decay of $^{44}$Ti. On the other hand, we show the axisymmetric explosion models can solve the problem. We expect the same effect from a three dimensionally asymmetric explosion, since the stronger alpha-rich freezeout will also occur in that case in the region where the larger energy is deposited.Comment: 10 pages, LaTeX text and 3 postscript figure

Coherently Dedispersed Polarimetry of Millisecond Pulsars

We present a large sample of high-precision, coherently-dedispersed polarization profiles of millisecond pulsars (MSPs) at frequencies between 410 and 1414 MHz. These data include the first polarimetric observations of several of the pulsars, and the first low-frequency polarization profiles for others. Our observations support previous suggestions that the pulse shapes and polarimetry of MSPs are more complex than those of their slower relatives. An immediate conclusion is that polarimetry-based classification schemes proposed for young pulsars are of only limited use when applied to millisecond pulsars.Comment: 28 pages, 10 figures. Text matches version that appeared in ApJS. Full paper with high-resolution figures available at ftp://ftp.jb.man.ac.uk/pub/psr/papers/msppolpton.ps.g

C1 inhibitor deficiency: 2014 United Kingdom consensus document

C1 inhibitor deficiency is a rare disorder manifesting with recurrent attacks of disabling and potentially life-threatening angioedema. Here we present an updated 2014 United Kingdom consensus document for the management of C1 inhibitor-deficient patients, representing a joint venture between the United Kingdom Primary Immunodeficiency Network and Hereditary Angioedema UK. To develop the consensus, we assembled a multi-disciplinary steering group of clinicians, nurses and a patient representative. This steering group first met in 2012, developing a total of 48 recommendations across 11 themes. The statements were distributed to relevant clinicians and a representative group of patients to be scored for agreement on a Likert scale. All 48 statements achieved a high degree of consensus, indicating strong alignment of opinion. The recommendations have evolved significantly since the 2005 document, with particularly notable developments including an improved evidence base to guide dosing and indications for acute treatment, greater emphasis on home therapy for acute attacks and a strong focus on service organisation. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Incidence of community-acquired lower respiratory tract infections and pneumonia among older adults in the United Kingdom: a population-based study.

Community-acquired lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) and pneumonia (CAP) are common causes of morbidity and mortality among those aged ≥65 years; a growing population in many countries. Detailed incidence estimates for these infections among older adults in the United Kingdom (UK) are lacking. We used electronic general practice records from the Clinical Practice Research Data link, linked to Hospital Episode Statistics inpatient data, to estimate incidence of community-acquired LRTI and CAP among UK older adults between April 1997-March 2011, by age, sex, region and deprivation quintile. Levels of antibiotic prescribing were also assessed. LRTI incidence increased with fluctuations over time, was higher in men than women aged ≥70 and increased with age from 92.21 episodes/1000 person-years (65-69 years) to 187.91/1000 (85-89 years). CAP incidence increased more markedly with age, from 2.81 to 21.81 episodes/1000 person-years respectively, and was higher among men. For both infection groups, increases over time were attenuated after age-standardisation, indicating that these rises were largely due to population aging. Rates among those in the most deprived quintile were around 70% higher than the least deprived and were generally higher in the North of England. GP antibiotic prescribing rates were high for LRTI but lower for CAP (mostly due to immediate hospitalisation). This is the first study to provide long-term detailed incidence estimates of community-acquired LRTI and CAP in UK older individuals, taking person-time at risk into account. The summary incidence commonly presented for the ≥65 age group considerably underestimates LRTI/CAP rates, particularly among older individuals within this group. Our methodology and findings are likely to be highly relevant to health planners and researchers in other countries with aging populations

Information from the Water Ingress Accident on AVR

An ingress of water occurred in the AVR reactor in May 1978. The reactor had been shut down and cooled by forced circulation; liquid water entered the primary circuit from a leak in the superheater, evaporated in passing through the core and condensed in the lower part of the primary circuit and in the ball handling region.Various fission product activities were measured in the water by the AVR scientists and a study was started to identify the sources of these activities and to derive information which could be used in the analyses of water ingress accidents in general. The first part of this study is reported in this note. The possible source terms are considered separately and estimates of their contributions are made, supported by data from previous laboratory experiments where possible. The main conclusion is that valuable information has been derived concerning the desorption of iodine, caesium and strontium from dust and primary circuit surfaces. A minimum programme of measurements and analytical work necessary to increase this information has been identified. An example of the application of the data to a particular accident to a power reactor is given to indicate how the information can affect the calculation of consequences. For the second part of the study, better estimates of the fission product concentrations in the primary circuit prior to the accident and various measurements when the reactor is operating again are required

Pulsed beams as field probes for precision measurement

We describe a technique for mapping the spatial variation of static electric, static magnetic, and rf magnetic fields using a pulsed atomic or molecular beam. The method is demonstrated using a beam designed to measure the electric dipole moment of the electron. We present maps of the interaction region, showing sensitivity to (i) electric field variation of 1.5 V/cm at 3.3 kV/cm with a spatial resolution of 15 mm; (ii) magnetic field variation of 5 nT with 25 mm resolution; (iii) radio-frequency magnetic field amplitude with 15 mm resolution. This new diagnostic technique is very powerful in the context of high-precision atomic and molecular physics experiments, where pulsed beams have not hitherto found widespread application.Comment: 6 pages, 12 figures. Figures heavily compressed to comply with arxiv's antediluvian file-size polic