An improved generalized inverse algorithm for linear inequalities and its applications

Iterative, two-class algorithm for linear inequalitie

Some Aspects of Price Inflation in Ireland. ESRI General Research Series Paper No. 40, January 1968

In every country prices have risen sUbstantiaUy since the end of the war. In Ireland, as in six other European countries, consumer prices had almost doubled between 1948 and 1965--see Table 2. Is this situation of continuously rising prices in the indefinite future a fact of life which must be accepted and with which we must somehow cope, or does it mean that a sudden, and possibly catastrophic, fall in prices, like that of May 192o after World War I, is to be anticipated? History generally has a way of repeating itself and similarities are observable between our times and others, but with much longer time-lags between cause and effect in the more recent period. One might hope that, as governments nowadays have much greater control of their economies than in the past, and with the development of the social conscience, disastrous price falls can be avoided or mitigated. It is only a hope, however

The Tabby cat locus maps to feline chromosome B1.

The Tabby markings of the domestic cat are unique coat patterns for which no causative candidate gene has been inferred from other mammals. In this study, a genome scan was performed on a large pedigree of cats that segregated for Tabby coat markings, specifically for the Abyssinian (Ta-) and blotched (tbtb) phenotypes. There was linkage between the Tabby locus and eight markers on cat chromosome B1. The most significant linkage was between marker FCA700 and Tabby (Z = 7.56, theta = 0.03). Two additional markers in the region supported linkage, although not with significant LOD scores. Pairwise analysis of the markers supported the published genetic map of the cat, although additional meioses are required to refine the region. The linked markers cover a 17-cM region and flank an evolutionary breakpoint, suggesting that the Tabby gene has a homologue on either human chromosome 4 or 8. Alternatively, Tabby could be a unique locus in cats

A Merger Scenario for the Dynamics of Abell 665

We present new redshift measurements for 55 galaxies in the vicinity of the rich galaxy cluster Abell 665. When combined with results from the literature, we have good velocity measurements for a sample of 77 confirmed cluster members from which we derive the cluster's redshift z=0.1829 +/- 0.0005 and line-of-sight velocity dispersion of 1390 +/- 120 km/s. Our analysis of the kinematical and spatial data for the subset of galaxies located within the central 750 kpc reveals only subtle evidence for substructure and non-Gaussianity in the velocity distribution. We find that the brightest cluster member is not moving significantly relative to the other galaxies near the center of the cluster. On the other hand, our deep ROSAT high resolution image of A665 shows strong evidence for isophotal twisting and centroid variation, thereby confirming previous suggestions of significant substructure in the hot X-ray--emitting intracluster gas. In light of this evident substructure, we have compared the optical velocity data with N-body simulations of head-on cluster mergers. We find that a merger of two similar mass subclusters (mass ratios of 1:1 or 1:2) seen close to the time of core-crossing produces velocity distributions that are consistent with that observed.Comment: 30 pages and 7 figures. Accepted by the Astrophysical Journal Full resoultion figures 1 and 3 available in postscript at http://www.physics.rutgers.edu/~percy/A665paper.htm

Two 'b's in the Beehive: The Discovery of the First Hot Jupiters in an Open Cluster

We present the discovery of two giant planets orbiting stars in Praesepe (also known as the Beehive Cluster). These are the first known hot Jupiters in an open cluster and the only planets known to orbit Sun-like, main-sequence stars in a cluster. The planets are detected from Doppler shifted radial velocities; line bisector spans and activity indices show no correlation with orbital phase, confirming the variations are caused by planetary companions. Pr0201b orbits a V=10.52 late F dwarf with a period of 4.4264 +/- 0.0070 days and has a minimum mass of 0.540 +/- 0.039 Mjup, and Pr0211b orbits a V=12.06 late G dwarf with a period of 2.1451 +/- 0.0012 days and has a minimum mass of 1.844 +/- 0.064 Mjup. The detection of 2 planets among 53 single members surveyed establishes a lower limit on the hot Jupiter frequency of 3.8 (+5.0)(-2.4) % in this metal-rich open cluster. Given the precisely known age of the cluster, this discovery also demonstrates that, in at least 2 cases, giant planet migration occurred within 600 Myr after formation. As we endeavor to learn more about the frequency and formation history of planets, environments with well-determined properties -- such as open clusters like Praesepe -- may provide essential clues to this end.Comment: 5 pages, 3 tables, 2 figures. Published in ApJ Letter

How does the sexual, physical and mental health of young adults not in education, employment or training (NEET) compare to workers and students?

BACKGROUND: Syndemic theory highlights the potential for health problems to interact synergistically, compounding impact. Young adults not in education, employment or training (NEET) are more likely to experience disadvantage and poorer general health outcomes. However, there is little research on their sexual health, or the extent to which this clusters with mental and physical health outcomes. METHODS: Analysis of data from 16 to 24 year olds (1729 men, 2140 women) interviewed 2010-12 for Britain's third National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles. Natsal-3 is a national probability sample survey using computer-assisted personal interviewing with computer-assisted self-interviewing. Participants were classified as workers, students or NEET. We used multivariable logistic regression to examine associations between being NEET (relative to worker or student) and risk behaviours and outcomes in physical, sexual and mental health domains. We then examined how risk behaviours and poor health outcomes cluster within and across domains. RESULTS: 15% men and 20% women were NEET; 36% men and 32% women were workers; and 49% men and 48% women were students. Young people who were NEET were more likely to report smoking and drug use (men) than other young people. There were few differences in sexual health, although NEETs were more likely to report condomless sex, and NEET women, unplanned pregnancy (past year). Risk behaviours clustered more within and across domains for NEET men. Among NEET women, poor health outcomes clustered across mental, physical and sexual health domains. CONCLUSIONS: Harmful health behaviours (men) and poor health outcomes (women) clustered more in those who are NEET. This points to a possible syndemic effect of NEET status on general ill health, especially for women. Our paper is novel in highlighting that elevated risk pertains to sexual as well as mental and physical health

A randomized controlled trial assessing the effect of intermittent and abrupt cessation of milking to end lactation on the well-being and intramammary infection risk of dairy cows

The objectives were to compare the effects of an intermittent milking schedule with a thrice daily milking schedule during the final week of lactation on the well-being, udder health, milk production, and risk of culling of dairy cows. We hypothesized that cows subjected to an intermittent milking schedule would experience less udder engorgement and pain, lower concentrations of fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (11,17-dioxoandrostanes; 11,17-DOA concentration) after dry-off, lower risk of an intramammary infection during the dry period, higher milk production and lower somatic cell count in the subsequent lactation, and lower culling risk compared with herd mates milked 3 times daily and dried off by abrupt cessation. In a randomized controlled field study, Holstein cows (n = 398) with a thrice daily milking schedule were assigned to treatment and control groups. The treatment consisted of an intermittent milking schedule for 7 d before dry-off (gradual cessation of milking, GRAD). Gradual-cessation cows were milked once daily until the day of dry-off, whereas cows in the control group (abrupt cessation of milking, APT) were milked 3 times daily until the day of dry-off. Udder firmness and pain responses of the udder 3 d after dry-off, as well as the percentage change in fecal 11,17-DOA concentration (3 d after dry-off compared with the dry-off day), were used to assess the well-being of the animals. Compared with cows in the GRAD group, the odds [95% confidence interval (CI)] of udder firmness were 1.55 (0.99–2.42) for cows in the APT group, and the odds of a pain response were 1.48 (0.89–2.44) for cows in the APT group. The least squares means (95% CI) of the percentage change in 11,17-DOA concentration were 129.3% (111.1–150.4) for the APT group and 113.6% (97.5–132.4) for the GRAD group. Quarter-level culture results from the periods before dry-off and after calving were compared, to assess the likelihoods of microbiological cure and new infection. Cows in the APT group had lower odds of a new intramammary infection in the dry period [odds ratio, 95% CI: 0.63 (0.37–1.05)], whereas we observed no meaningful differences in the microbiological cure likelihood among groups. The least squares means (95% CI) for somatic cell counts (log10-transformed) were 4.9 (4.8–5.0) in the APT group and 4.9 (4.8–5.0) in the GRAD group. The odds (95% CI) of clinical mastitis in the first 30 d postcalving were 1.32 (0.53–3.30) in the APT group compared with the GRAD group. We observed no meaningful differences in milk production at the first test date postcalving or the culling risk among groups. We conclude that the gradual-cessation protocol tested herein failed to significantly improve animal well-being, udder health, milk production, and survival in the tested study cohort. However, the observed differences in udder firmness, as well as the numerical differences in udder pain and the percentage change in fecal 11,17-DOA concentrations suggest that this line of research may be useful. Future research is needed to develop drying-off strategies that are appropriate for lowering milk production at the end of the lactation and improve animal well-being without compromising udder health

Development of the corpus callosum and cognition after neonatal encephalopathy

Objective: Neonatal imaging studies report corpus callosum abnormalities after neonatal hypoxic–ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE), but corpus callosum development and relation to cognition in childhood are unknown. Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), we examined the relationship between corpus callosum size, microstructure and cognitive and motor outcomes at early school-age children cooled for HIE (cases) without cerebral palsy compared to healthy, matched controls. A secondary aim was to examine the impact of HIE-related neonatal brain injury on corpus callosum size, microstructure and growth. Methods: Participants aged 6–8 years underwent MRI, the Movement Assessment Battery for Children Second Edition and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Fourth Edition. Cross-sectional area, volume, fractional anisotropy and radial diffusivity of the corpus callosum and five subdivisions were measured. Multivariable regression was used to assess associations between total motor score, full-scale IQ (FSIQ) and imaging metrics. Results: Adjusting for age, sex and intracranial volume, cases (N = 40) compared to controls (N = 39) demonstrated reduced whole corpus callosum area (β = −26.9, 95% confidence interval [CI] = −53.17, −0.58), volume (β = −138.5, 95% CI = −267.54, −9.56), fractional anisotropy and increased radial diffusivity (P < 0.05) within segments II–V. In cases, segment V area (β = 0.18, 95% CI = 0.004, 0.35), volume (β = 0.04, 95% CI = 0.001, 0.079), whole corpus callosum fractional anisotropy (β = 13.8 95% CI = 0.6, 27.1) and radial diffusivity (β = −11.3, 95% CI = −22.22, −0.42) were associated with FSIQ. Growth of the corpus callosum was restricted in cases with a FSIQ ≤85, and volume was reduced in cases with mild neonatal multifocal injury compared to white matter injury alone. Interpretation: Following neonatal HIE, morphological and microstructural changes in the corpus callosum are associated with reduced cognitive function at early school age

A quantitative assessment of shoot flammability for 60 tree and shrub species supports rankings based on expert opinion

Fire is an important ecological disturbance in vegetated ecosystems across the globe, and also has considerable impacts on human infrastructure. Vegetation flammability is a key bottom-up control on fire regimes, and on the nature of individual fires. Although New Zealand (NZ) historically had low fire frequencies, anthropogenic fires have considerably impacted indigenous vegetation as humans used fire extensively to clear forests. Few studies of vegetation flammability have been undertaken in NZ, and only one has compared the flammability of indigenous plants; this was a qualitative assessment derived from expert opinion. We addressed this knowledge gap by measuring the flammability of terminal shoots from a range of trees and shrubs found in NZ. We quantified shoot flammability of 60 indigenous and exotic species, and compared our experimentally derived ranking with expert opinion. The most flammable species was the invasive exotic shrub Ulex europaeus, followed by Eucalyptus viminalis, Pomaderris kumeraho, Dacrydium cupressinum, and Lophozonia menziesii. Our experimentally derived ranking was strongly correlated with expert opinion, lending support to both methods. Our results are useful to ecologists seeking to understand how fires have and will influence NZ’s ecosystems, and for fire managers identifying high-risk landscapes, and low flammability species for ‘green firebreaks’