Melting of olive oil in immiscible surroundings: experiments and theory

We report on the melting dynamics of frozen olive oil in quiescent water for Rayleigh numbers up to $10^9$. The density difference results in an upward buoyancy-driven flow of liquid oil forming a thin film around the frozen oil. We experimentally investigate flat, cylindrical, and spherical shapes and we derive theoretical expressions for the local film thickness, velocity, and the local melt rate for these three canonical geometries. Our theoretical models compare favourably with our experimental findings.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figures, to be submitte

The Case for Extended Screening Intervals for People With Diabetes and No or Minimal Retinopathy at Baseline

Invited commentary

Pertussis in The Netherlands: an outbreak despite high levels of immunization with whole-cell vaccine.

In 1996, a sudden increase in pertussis incidence was reported in the Netherlands (2.1 per 100,000 in 1995, 18 per 100,000 in 1996). Although not all potential surveillance artifacts could be excluded, it is highly probable that the data reflect a true outbreak. However, the cause of this increase has not yet been determined. Further research is directed to the severity of disease and a possible mismatch between the vaccine and the circulating Bordetella strains

Caregiving in severe mental illness: the psychometric properties of the Involvement Evaluation Questionnaire in Portugal

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Despite the achievements of previous research, caregiving assessments in severe mental illness should be crossculturally validated in order to define risk groups or to evaluate family work. This study reports on the psychometric properties of the European version of the Involvement Evaluation Questionnaire (IEQ-EU) in Portugal.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A Portuguese translation of the IEQ-EU was developed according to the 'European Psychiatric Services: Inputs Linked to Outcome Domains and Needs' (EPSILON) group guidelines. We then studied 194 caregivers who were related to patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders in psychiatric outpatient services. All relatives were assessed using the IEQ-EU. In order to describe the corresponding patients' sample, the majority (n = 162) was evaluated with the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHO-DAS II); 108 patients were also assessed with the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The factor structure of the Portuguese version of the questionnaire was similar to the original; internal consistency was good, with Cronbach's α ranging from 0.71 to 0.87 in the IEQ-EU scales (total score and domains: tension, supervision, worrying, urging); test-retest reliability yielded intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) from 0.80 to 0.94, concerning the same scores. Ecological validity was confirmed. Most caregiving consequences were reported on the worrying domain of the IEQ-EU.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Validity and reliability of the Portuguese IEQ-EU translation were established. Specifically the four IEQ-EU subscale domains seem to be valid in Portugal.</p