Fall risk in people with MS: A Physiological Profile Assessment study.

INTRODUCTION: The Physiological Profile Assessment (PPA) is used in research and clinical practice for assessing fall risk. We compared PPA test performance between people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and healthy controls, determined the fall-risk profile for people with MS and developed a reference database for people with MS. METHODS: For this study, 416 ambulant people with MS (51.5 ± 12.0 years) and 352 controls (52.8 ± 12.2 years) underwent the PPA (tests of contrast sensitivity, proprioception, quadriceps strength, reaction time and sway) with composite fall-risk scores computed from these measures. MS participants were followed prospectively for falls for 3 months. RESULTS: The MS participants performed significantly worse than controls in each PPA test. The average composite fall-risk score was also significantly elevated, indicating a "marked" fall risk when compared with controls. In total, 155 MS participants (37.3%) reported 2 + falls in the follow-up period. Frequent fallers performed significantly worse than non-frequent fallers in the contrast sensitivity, reaction time and sway tests and had higher PPA composite scores. CONCLUSIONS: In line with poor PPA test performances, falls incidence in people with MS was high. This study provides comprehensive reference data for the PPA measures for people with MS that could be used to inform future research and clinical practice

Posterior samples of the parameters of binary black holes from Advanced LIGO, Virgo's second observing run

This paper presents a parameter estimation analysis of the seven binary black hole mergers-GW170104, GW170608, GW170729, GW170809, GW170814, GW170818, and GW170823-detected during the second observing run of the Advanced LIGO and Virgo observatories using the gravitational-wave open data. We describe the methodology for parameter estimation of compact binaries using gravitational-wave data, and we present the posterior distributions of the inferred astrophysical parameters. We release our samples of the posterior probability density function with tutorials on using and replicating our results presented in this paper

Customers as decision-makers: strategic environmental assessment in the private sector

Despite its diversification and global spread, strategic environmental assessment (SEA) remains limited mainly to activities characterised by well-defined planning processes, typically within the public sector. This article explores the possible application of SEA within certain private-sector contexts where higher-level strategy-making itself is inherently weaker and development is often piecemeal and reactive. The possible adaptation of SEA to the preparation of a strategic document by a particular industrial concern in the UK is examined: this draws attention to the multi-actor nature of development processes within the industry. This leads to the suggestion that SEA in this setting should be thought of as a form of environmental advocacy oriented towards industrial customers, who are understood as sharing a decision-making role in infrastructure development.</p

Experimental limits on massive neutrinos from e(+)e(-) annihilations at 29 GeV

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://journals.aps.org/prd/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevD.37.577.A search was made in 29-GeV e(+)e(-) annihilations for massive neutrinos decaying to e(±)X(∓)(ν) where X is a muon or meson. A 300-pb(-1) data sample yielded just one candidate event with a mass m(e)X>1.8 GeV. Significant limits are found for new neutrinos with masses from 1.8 to 6.7 GeV and with mixing parameters in the range 3×10(-6)<‖U‖(2)<1. .A

The PyCBC search for gravitational waves from compact binary coalescence

We describe the PyCBC search for gravitational waves from compact-object binary coalescences in advanced gravitational-wave detector data. The search was used in the first Advanced LIGO observing run and unambiguously identified two black hole binary mergers, GW150914 and GW151226. At its core, the PyCBC search performs a matched-filter search for binary merger signals using a bank of gravitational-wave template waveforms. We provide a complete description of the search pipeline including the steps used to mitigate the effects of noise transients in the data, identify candidate events and measure their statistical significance. The analysis is able to measure false-alarm rates as low as one per million years, required for confident detection of signals. Using data from initial LIGO's sixth science run, we show that the new analysis reduces the background noise in the search, giving a 30% increase in sensitive volume for binary neutron star systems over previous searches.Comment: 29 pages, 7 figures, accepted by Classical and Quantum Gravit

Spectral line shape of resonant four-wave mixing induced by broad-bandwidth lasers

We present a theoretical and experimental study of the line shape of resonant four-wave mixing induced by broad-bandwidth laser radiation that revises the theory of Meacher, Smith, Ewart, and Cooper (MSEC) [Phys. Rev. A 46, 2718 (1992)]. We adopt the same method as MSEC but correct for an invalid integral used to average over the distribution of atomic velocities. The revised theory predicts a Voigt line shape composed of a homogeneous, Lorentzian component, defined by the collisional rate Γ, and an inhomogeneous, Doppler component, which is a squared Gaussian. The width of the inhomogeneous component is reduced by a factor of √2 compared to the simple Doppler width predicted by MSEC. In the limit of dominant Doppler broadening, the width of the homogeneous component is predicted to be 4Γ, whereas in the limit of dominant homogeneous broadening, the predicted width is 2Γ. An experimental measurement is reported of the line shape of the four-wave-mixing signal using a broad-bandwidth, "modeless", laser resonant with the Q1 (6) line of the A2 Σ - X2 Π(0,0) system of the hydroxyl radical. The measured widths of the Voigt components were found to be consistent with the predictions of the revised theory

An improved pipeline to search for gravitational waves from compact binary coalescence

The second generation of ground-based gravitational-wave detectors will begin taking data in September 2015. Sensitive and computationally-efficient data analysis methods will be required to maximize what we learn from their observations. We describe improvements made to the offline analysis pipeline searching for gravitational waves from stellar-mass compact binary coalescences, and assess how these improvements affect search sensitivity. Starting with the two-stage ihope pipeline used in S5, S6 and VSR1-3 and using two weeks of S6/VSR3 data as test periods, we first demonstrate a pipeline with a simpler workflow. This single-stage pipeline performs matched filtering and coincidence testing only once. This simplification allows us to reach much lower false-alarm rates for loud candidate events. We then describe an optimized chi-squared test which minimizes computational cost. Next, we compare methods of generating template banks, demonstrating that a fixed bank may be used for extended stretches of time. Fixing the bank reduces the cost and complexity, compared to the previous method of regenerating a template bank every 2048 s of analyzed data. Creating a fixed bank shared by all detectors also allows us to apply a more stringent coincidence test, whose performance we quantify. With these improvements, we find a 10% increase in sensitive volume with a negligible change in computational cost

Measurement of the Cosmic Ray Energy Spectrum and Composition from 10^{17} to 10^{18.3} eV Using a Hybrid Fluorescence Technique

We study the spectrum and average mass composition of cosmic rays with primary energies between 10^{17} eV and 10^{18} eV using a hybrid detector consisting of the High Resolution Fly's Eye (HiRes) prototype and the MIA muon array. Measurements have been made of the change in the depth of shower maximum as a function of energy. A complete Monte Carlo simulation of the detector response and comparisons with shower simulations leads to the conclusion that the cosmic ray intensity is changing f rom a heavier to a lighter composition in this energy range. The spectrum is consistent with earlier Fly's Eye measurements and supports the previously found steepening near 4 \times 10^{17} eV .Comment: 39 pages, 15 figures, in revtex4 epsf style, submited to AP

The Pierre Auger Observatory III: Other Astrophysical Observations

Astrophysical observations of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays with the Pierre Auger ObservatoryComment: Contributions to the 32nd International Cosmic Ray Conference, Beijing, China, August 201