4,391 research outputs found
Relationships Between Physical Measurements and Calving Difficulty in Two-Year-Old Santa Gertrudis Heifers
Last updated: 6/1/200
Conversion of an Atomic Fermi Gas to a Long-Lived Molecular Bose Gas
We have converted an ultracold Fermi gas of Li atoms into an ultracold
gas of Li molecules by adiabatic passage through a Feshbach resonance.
Approximately molecules in the least-bound, ,
vibrational level of the X singlet state are produced with an
efficiency of 50%. The molecules remain confined in an optical trap for times
of up to 1 s before we dissociate them by a reverse adiabatic sweep.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Letter
Helium, Oxygen, Proton, and Electron (HOPE) Mass Spectrometer for the Radiation Belt Storm Probes Mission
The HOPE mass spectrometer of the Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) mission (renamed the Van Allen Probes) is designed to measure the in situ plasma ion and electron fluxes over 4Ï sr at each RBSP spacecraft within the terrestrial radiation belts. The scientific goal is to understand the underlying physical processes that govern the radiation belt structure and dynamics. Spectral measurements for both ions and electrons are acquired over 1 eV to 50 keV in 36 log-spaced steps at an energy resolution ÎE FWHM/Eâ15 %. The dominant ion species (H+, He+, and O+) of the magnetosphere are identified using foil-based time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometry with channel electron multiplier (CEM) detectors. Angular measurements are derived using five polar pixels coplanar with the spacecraft spin axis, and up to 16 azimuthal bins are acquired for each polar pixel over time as the spacecraft spins. Ion and electron measurements are acquired on alternate spacecraft spins. HOPE incorporates several new methods to minimize and monitor the background induced by penetrating particles in the harsh environment of the radiation belts. The absolute efficiencies of detection are continuously monitored, enabling precise, quantitative measurements of electron and ion fluxes and ion species abundances throughout the mission. We describe the engineering approaches for plasma measurements in the radiation belts and present summaries of HOPE measurement strategy and performance
A warped disk model for M33 and the 21-cm line width in spiral galaxies
To determine the actual HI distribution and the velocity field in the
outermost disk of the spiral galaxy M33, a tilted-ring model is fitted to 21-cm
line data taken with the Arecibo Telescope. Since M33 is one of the main
calibrators for the extragalactic distance scale derived through the
Tully-Fisher relation, the outer disk warping is of interest for a correct
determination and deprojection of the galaxy's line width. Even though our best
model predicts small effects on the observed line width of M33, we show that
similar outer disk warping in galaxies oriented differently along our line of
sight could affect the widths considerably. Therefore there may be systematic
effects in the determination of the rotation velocities and dynamic masses of
spiral galaxies, whose exact value depends also on which method is used for
measuring the galaxy's total line width.Comment: 27 pages, ps files only, ApJ in pres
Complex interventions reduce use of urgent healthcare in adults with asthma: systematic review with meta-regression.
Open access article.INTRODUCTION: Asthma accounts for considerable healthcare expenditure, a large proportion of which is attributable to use of expensive urgent healthcare. This review examines the characteristics of complex interventions that reduce urgent healthcare use in adults with asthma. METHOD: Electronic searches of MEDLINE, EMBASE, PSYCINFO, CINAHL, the British Nursing Library and the Cochrane library, from inception to January 2013 were conducted. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they: i) included adults with asthma ii) assessed the efficacy of a complex intervention using randomised controlled trial design, and iii) included a measure of urgent healthcare utilisation at follow-up. Data on participants recruited, methods, characteristics of complex interventions and the effects of the intervention on urgent healthcare use were extracted. RESULTS: 33 independent studies were identified resulting in 39 comparisons altogether. Pooled effects indicated that interventions were associated with a reduction in urgent healthcare use (ORÂ =Â 0.79, 95% CIÂ =Â 0.67, 0.94). When study effects were grouped according to the components of the interventions used, significant effects were seen for interventions that included general education (ORÂ =Â 0.77, 95% CIÂ =Â 0.64, 0.91), skills training (ORÂ =Â 0.64, 95% CIÂ =Â 0.48, 0.86) and relapse prevention (ORÂ =Â 0.75, 95% CIÂ =Â 0.57, 0.98). In multivariate meta-regression analysis, only skills training remained significant. CONCLUSIONS: Complex interventions reduced the use of urgent healthcare in adults with asthma by 21%. Those complex interventions including skills training, education and relapse prevention may be particularly effective in reducing the use of urgent healthcare in adults with asthma.National Institute for Health Research (NIHR
Differential impact of two risk communications on antipsychotic prescribing to people with dementia in Scotland: segmented regression time series analysis 2001-2011
The two risk communications were associated with reductions in antipsychotic use, in ways which were compatible with marked differences in their content and dissemination. Further research is needed to ensure that the content and dissemination of regulatory risk communications is optimal, and to track their impact on intended and unintended outcomes. Although rates are falling, antipsychotic prescribing in dementia in Scotland remains unacceptably hig
Anxietyârelated factors associated with symptom severity in irritable bowel syndrome
Background
Gastrointestinal symptomâspecific anxiety and somatization have both been associated with higher symptom severity in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS); however, this relationship has not been explored fully. Moreover, the performance of the visceral sensitivity index (VSI) for measuring gastrointestinal symptomâspecific anxiety has not been examined in a UK population. We conducted a crossâsectional survey to examine these issues.
Methods
Gastrointestinal symptomâspecific anxiety was measured using the VSI, and somatization was measured via the patient health questionnaireâ12 (PHQâ12) in adults from the UK community with Rome IVâdefined IBS. Exploratory factor analysis was performed on the VSI, prior to subsequent analyses, to establish its factor structure. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between demographic features, different factors of the VSI, somatization, and IBS symptom severity.
Key Results
A total of 811 individuals with IBS provided complete data. Factor analysis of the VSI revealed a threeâfactor structure, accounting for 47% of the variance. The first of these VSI factors and the PHQâ12 were both strongly and independently associated with IBS symptom severity, for the group as a whole and for all four IBS subtypes. Most VSI items concerned with overt gastrointestinal symptomâspecific anxiety loaded onto the other two VSI factors that were not associated with symptom severity.
Conclusions and Inferences
The factor structure of the VSI requires further investigation. Our findings cast doubt on the central role of gastrointestinal symptomâspecific anxiety as a driver for symptom severity in IBS. Awareness of both gastrointestinal and extraâintestinal symptoms, however, is strongly associated with symptom severity
Delusional beliefs and reason giving
Delusions are often regarded as irrational beliefs, but their irrationality is not sufficient to explain what is pathological about them. In this paper we ask whether deluded subjects have the capacity to support the content of their delusions with reasons, that is, whether they can author their delusional states. The hypothesis that delusions are characterised by a failure of authorship, which is a dimension of self knowledge, deserves to be
empirically tested because (a) it has the potential to account for the distinction between endorsing a delusion and endorsing a framework belief; (b) it contributes to a
philosophical analysis of the relationship between rationality and self knowledge; and (c) it informs diagnosis and therapy in clinical psychiatry. However, authorship cannot provide a demarcation criterion between delusions and other irrational belief states
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