Non-Newtonian rimming flow: stability analysis

Paper presented to the 10th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Florida, 14-16 July 2014.The rimming flow of a thin polymeric film inside a rotating horizontal cylinder is studied theoretically. The non- Newtonian fluid viscosity is described by the Generalized Newtonian Fluid (GNF) constitutive model. With linear stability analysis, it is found that, analogously to Newtonian fluids, rimming flow of viscous non-Newtonian fluids is neutrally stable.cf201

The Associations Between Children's and Adolescents’ Suicidal and Self-Harming Behaviors, and Related Behaviors Within Their Social Networks: A Systematic Review

© 2017, Copyright © International Academy for Suicide Research.Social influences—including the suicidal and self-harming behaviors of others—have been highlighted as a risk factor for suicidal and self-harming behavior in young people, but synthesis of the evidence is lacking. A systematic review of 86 relevant papers was conducted. Considerable published evidence was obtained for positive associations between young people's suicidal and self-harming behavior and that of people they know, with those reporting knowing people who had engaged in suicidal or self-harming behaviors more likely to report engaging in similar behaviors themselves. Findings are discussed in relation to a number of methodological and measurement issues—including the role of normative perceptions—and implications for the prevention of suicidal and self-harming behavior are considered

Tumour-derived alkaline phosphatase regulates tumour growth, epithelial plasticity and disease-free survival in metastatic prostate cancer

BACKGROUND: Recent evidence suggests that bone-related parameters are the main prognostic factors for overall survival in advanced prostate cancer (PCa), with elevated circulating levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) thought to reflect the dysregulated bone formation accompanying distant metastases. We have identified that PCa cells express ALPL, the gene that encodes for tissue nonspecific ALP, and hypothesised that tumour-derived ALPL may contribute to disease progression. METHODS: Functional effects of ALPL inhibition were investigated in metastatic PCa cell lines. ALPL gene expression was analysed from published PCa data sets, and correlated with disease-free survival and metastasis. RESULTS: ALPL expression was increased in PCa cells from metastatic sites. A reduction in tumour-derived ALPL expression or ALP activity increased cell death, mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition and reduced migration. Alkaline phosphatase activity was decreased by the EMT repressor Snail. In men with PCa, tumour-derived ALPL correlated with EMT markers, and high ALPL expression was associated with a significant reduction in disease-free survival. CONCLUSIONS: Our studies reveal the function of tumour-derived ALPL in regulating cell death and epithelial plasticity, and demonstrate a strong association between ALPL expression in PCa cells and metastasis or disease-free survival, thus identifying tumour-derived ALPL as a major contributor to the pathogenesis of PCa progression.British Journal of Cancer advance online publication, 22 December 2016; doi:10.1038/bjc.2016.402 www.bjcancer.com

"I am your mother and your father!": In vitro derived gametes and the ethics of solo reproduction

In this paper, we will discuss the prospect of human reproduction achieved with gametes originating from only one person. According to statements by a minority of scientists working on the generation of gametes in vitro, it may become possible to create eggs from men’s non-reproductive cells and sperm from women’s. This would enable, at least in principle, the creation of an embryo from cells obtained from only one individual: ‘solo reproduction’. We will consider what might motivate people to reproduce in this way, and the implications that solo reproduction might have for ethics and policy. We suggest that such an innovation is unlikely to revolutionise reproduction and parenting. Indeed, in some respects it is less revolutionary than in vitro fertilisation as a whole. Furthermore, we show that solo reproduction with in vitro created gametes is not necessarily any more ethically problematic than gamete donation—and probably less so. Where appropriate, we draw parallels with the debate surrounding reproductive cloning. We note that solo reproduction may serve to perpetuate reductive geneticised accounts of reproduction, and that this may indeed be ethically questionable. However, in this it is not unique among other technologies of assisted reproduction, many of which focus on genetic transmission. It is for this reason that a ban on solo reproduction might be inconsistent with continuing to permit other kinds of reproduction that also bear the potential to strengthen attachment to a geneticised account of reproduction. Our claim is that there are at least as good reasons to pursue research towards enabling solo reproduction, and eventually to introduce solo reproduction as an option for fertility treatment, as there are to do so for other infertility related purposes

Quantitative analysis of a footwall‐scarp degradation complex and syn‐rift stratigraphic architecture, Exmouth Plateau, NW Shelf, offshore Australia

Interactions between footwall‐, hangingwall‐ and axial‐derived depositional systems make syn‐rift stratigraphic architecture difficult to predict, and preservation of net‐erosional source landscapes is limited. Distinguishing between deposits derived from fault‐scarp degradation (consequent systems) and those derived from long‐lived catchments beyond the fault block crest (antecedent systems) is also challenging, but important for hydrocarbon reservoir prospecting. We undertake geometric and volumetric analysis of a fault‐scarp degradation complex and adjacent hangingwall‐fill associated with the Thebe‐2 fault block on the Exmouth Plateau, NW Shelf, offshore Australia, using high resolution 3D seismic data. Vertical and headward erosion of the complex and fault throw are measured. Seismic‐stratigraphic and seismic facies mapping allow us to constrain the spatial and architectural variability of depositional systems in the hangingwall. Footwall‐derived systems interacted with hangingwall‐ and axial‐derived systems, through diversion around topography, interfingering or successive onlap. We calculate the volume of footwall‐sourced hangingwall fans (VHW) for nine quadrants along the fault block, and compare this to the volume of material eroded from the immediately up‐dip fault‐scarp (VFW). This analysis highlights areas of sediment bypass (VFW > VHW) and areas fed by sediment sources beyond the degraded fault scarp (VHW > VFW). Exposure of the border fault footwall and adjacent fault terraces produced small catchments located beyond the fault block crest that fed the hangingwall basin. One source persisted throughout the main syn‐rift episode, and its location coincided with: (a) an intra‐basin topographic high; (b) a local fault throw minimum; (c) increased vertical and headward erosion within the fault‐scarp degradation complex; and (d) sustained clinoform development in the immediate hangingwall. Our novel quantitative volumetric approach to identify through‐going sediment input points could be applied to other rift basin‐fills. We highlight implications for hydrocarbon exploration and emphasize the need to incorporate interaction of multiple sediment sources and their resultant architecture in tectono‐stratigraphic models for rift basins

Lesbian and Heterosexual Two-Parent Families: Adolescent–Parent Relationship Quality and Adolescent Well-Being

This study compared 51 adolescents from intact two-mother planned lesbian families (all conceived through donor insemination) with 51 adolescents from intact mother-father families on their relationships with their parents (parental control, disclosure to parents, and adolescent-parent relationship quality), psychological adjustment (self-esteem, social anxiety, and conduct problems), and substance usage (consumption of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana/hashish). The adolescents (average age 16 years) were matched on demographic characteristics (age, gender, educational level, country of birth, parental birth country) with a sample from a large school-based survey, and data were collected by means of adolescent self-reports. Analyses indicated that adolescents in both family types had positive relationships with their parents, which were favorably associated with psychological well-being. On the assessments of psychological adjustment and substance use, family type was significantly associated only with self-esteem and conduct problems: Adolescents with lesbian mothers had higher levels of self-esteem and lower levels of conduct problems than their counterparts in heterosexual-parent families. Overall, the findings indicate that adolescents from intact two-mother lesbian families are comparable to those in a matched comparison group with intact mother-father families. The few differences found on psychological well-being favored the adolescents in lesbian two-mother families

Guideline for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) in South Africa

The original publication is available at http://www.samj.org.zaIntroduction. Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) encompass a heterogeneous group of clonal haematopoietic disorders characterised by chronic and progressive cytopenias resulting from ineffective haematopoiesis. Treatment is complicated by differences in disease mechanisms in different subgroups, variable clinical phenotypes and risk of progression to acute myeloid leukaemia. Rationale. Changes in disease classification, prognostic scoring systems, the availability of novel treatment options and the absence of South African guidelines for the diagnosis and management of these complex disorders underpinned the need for the development of these recommendations. Methods. These recommendations are based on the opinion of a number of experts in the field from the laboratory as well as clinical settings and came from both the private and institutional academic environments. The most recent literature as well as available guidelines from other countries were discussed and debated at a number of different meetings held over a 2-year period. Results. A comprehensive set of recommendations was developed focusing on risk stratification, supportive management and specific treatment. Novel agents and their indications are discussed and recommendations are made based on best available evidence and taking into account the availability of treatments in South Africa. Conclusion. Correct diagnosis, risk stratification and appropriate therapeutic choices are the cornerstones of success in the management of patients with MDS.Publishers' Versio

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

Framing Young Children’s Humour and Practitioner Responses to it Using a Bakhtinian Carnivalesque Lens

This article presents findings from a pilot study offering an alternative framing of children's humour and laughter in an early childhood education setting. It employs a Bakhtinian carnivalesque lens to explore the nature of children's humour in an urban nursery, and investigate the framing of children's humour and laughter outside the popular paradigm of developmental psychology. In addition, it addresses the challenge that children's humour can present for early childhood practitioners, turning to Bakhtin's analysis of carnival to frame children's humour as carnivalesque. This conception is then offered as a part of a potential explanation for practitioners' occasional resistance to children's humour, proposing that dominating, authoritative discourses within early childhood education play a significant role in this. The article draws on a number of theorists, including Bakhtin more widely, to address reasons why humour is not valued pedagogically within the UK early childhood field, and suggests that further research in the area is imperative, in order that we gain a better understanding of the place and significance of children's humour within early childhood practice