Autonomic activity in Gulf War veterans using heart rate and systolic blood pressure variability

Heart rate variability (HRV) describes variations of heart rate and is attributed to cyclic fluctuations in autonomic tone. The different methods of heart rate variability analysis allow for a non-invasive assessment of autonomic activity. This study analyzes the heart rate variability through both frequency domain methods and joint time-frequency domain methods which were executed through the LabVJEW graphical programming language. These algorithms were utilized to assess autonomic nervous system activity in Gulf War veterans with no health complaints versus Gulf War veterans with chronic fatigue syndrome. The heart rate variability analysis was obtained from acquired measurements of heart rate and blood pressure during periods of steady-state supine and standing positions. The subject populations as well as the physiological signals utilized in this study were obtained from the East Orange DVA Medical Center. The results of this study indicate that there is no significant difference (p\u3c.05) in autonomic nervous system activity, as assessed with low frequency/high frequency ratios, between Gulf War veterans with no health complaints versus Gulf War veterans with chronic fatigue syndrome. The results also indicate that there is no significant difference (p\u3c.05) in the index of autonomic balance yielded from each of the LF/HF ratios obtained from the heart rate and blood pressure variabilities, respectively, versus the LF{BP}/HF{ECG}ratio

Les crédits nouveaux à l’habitat des ménages : tendances récentes.

Ralentissement de la distribution du crédit à l’habitat dans un contexte marqué par le resserrement des conditions d’octroi et un net affaiblissement de la demande des ménages.Crédits nouveaux à l’habitat, ancien, neuf, amélioration-entretien, répartition des financements, taux d’intérêt bancaire, prêts relais.

Chiral force of guided light on an atom

We calculate the force of a near-resonant guided light field of an ultrathin optical fiber on a two-level atom. We show that, if the atomic dipole rotates in the meridional plane, the magnitude of the force of the guided light depends on the field propagation direction. The chirality of the force arises as a consequence of the directional dependencies of the Rabi frequency of the guided driving field and the spontaneous emission from the atom. This provides a unique method for controlling atomic motion in the vicinity of an ultrathin fiber.Comment: text and figures were revised, and a new discussion was adde

Performance comparison of thin-film composite forward osmosis membranes

Forward osmosis (FO) is an emerging low-energy technology. Much effort was given on developing a new membrane material and engineering membrane structure to improve the performance of FO membranes. The performances of two newly developed polyamide-based thin-film composite (TFC) FO membranes were tested and compared with the commercially available cellulose triacetate (CTA) FO membrane. The intrinsic properties of the two TFC FO membranes determined in RO experiments indicate superior performance of the membranes. When tested in FO experiments, TFC membranes delivered consistent results, confirming their outstanding permeability and selectivity properties. The study shows that future studies on membrane fouling will be necessary to have a better understanding of membrane performance and to further optimize membrane properties. © 2013 Copyright Balaban Desalination Publications

Ethics in fieldwork: Reflections on the unexpected

© 2014: Jane Palmer, Dena Fam, Tanzi Smith, Sarina Kilham, and Nova Southeastern University. Research involving fieldwork can present the researcher with ethical dilemmas not anticipated in institutional ethics approval processes, and which offer profound personal and methodological challenges. The authors' experiences of conducting qualitative fieldwork in four distinctly different contexts are used to illustrate some of these unexpected consequences and ethical dilemmas. Issues encountered included: compromised relationships with informants which develop in unforeseen ways; engagement with traumatized informants which lead to unexpected roles for the researcher such as confidante, dealing with new information that is critical to informants' futures but could undermine the research project, and the implications of ethical decisions for research design and analysis. In our shared reflection on the four case studies in this paper, we examine anticipatory rather than reactive ways of dealing with such ethical dilemmas. Preparation and critical reflection are found to be key tools in relating to field informants, dealing with the personal challenges of undertaking field work, and developing useful research outcomes after returning home. We conclude by suggesting some issues for field researchers to consider in addition to the concerns addressed in a standard university ethics approval process

Bescherming bronnen voor drinkwater : De rol van drinkwaterbedrijven

VROM-Inspecti

Atomic position localization via dual measurement

We study localization of atomic position when a three-level atom interacts with a quantized standing-wave field in the Ramsey interferometer setup. Both the field quadrature amplitude and the atomic internal state are measured to obtain the atomic position information. It is found that this dual measurement scheme produces an interference pattern superimposed on a diffraction-like pattern in the atomic position distribution, where the former pattern originates from the state-selective measurement and the latter from the field measurement. The present scheme results in a better resolution in the position localization than the field-alone measurement schemes. We also discuss the measurement-correlated mechanical action of the standing-wave field on the atom in the light of Popper's test.Comment: 6.5 pages and 5 figure

Uji Aktivitas Antidislipidemia In Vivo Fraksi Ekstrak Daun Salam (Eugenia Polyantha) pada Tikus Galur Wistar yang Diinduksi Diet Tinggi Lemak

Dislipidemia merupakan faktor resiko berbagai penyakit yang masih menjadi masalah besar di Indonesia. Daun salam (Eugenia polyantha) terbukti dapat digunakan sebagai antidislipidemia.Untuk mengetahui fraksi apakah yang berpengaruh terhadap aktivitas antidislipidemia dilakukan penelitian eksperimental secara in vivo dengan desain penelitian Rancangan Acak Lengkap (RAL), hasil yang didapatkan adalahFraksi etil asetat ekstrak daun salam menurunkan kadar trigliserida serum secara bermakna (p=0,033) dan fraksi n-heksan ekstrak daun salam meningkatkan kadar HDL serum secara bermakna (p=0,030)

Multiorder coherent Raman scattering of a quantum probe field

We study the multiorder coherent Raman scattering of a quantum probe field in a far-off-resonance medium with a prepared coherence. Under the conditions of negligible dispersion and limited bandwidth, we derive a Bessel-function solution for the sideband field operators. We analytically and numerically calculate various quantum statistical characteristics of the sideband fields. We show that the multiorder coherent Raman process can replicate the statistical properties of a single-mode quantum probe field into a broad comb of generated Raman sidebands. We also study the mixing and modulation of photon statistical properties in the case of two-mode input. We show that the prepared Raman coherence and the medium length can be used as control parameters to switch a sideband field from one type of photon statistics to another type, or from a non-squeezed state to a squeezed state and vice versa.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev.