531 research outputs found
Intergenerational 20 year trends in the prevalence of asthma and hay fever in adults: the Midspan family study surveys of parents and offspring
<b>Objective</b>: To estimate trends between 1972-6 and 1996 in the prevalences of asthma and hay fever in adults.
Design: Two epidemiological surveys 20 years apart. Identical questions were asked about asthma, hay fever, and respiratory symptoms at each survey.
Setting: Renfrew and Paisley, two towns in the west of Scotland.
<b>Subjects</b>: 1477 married couples aged 45-64 participated in a general population survey in 1972-6; and 2338 offspring aged 30-59 participated in a 1996 survey. Prevalences were compared in 1708 parents and 1124 offspring aged 45-54.
<b>Main outcome measures</b>: Prevalences of asthma, hay fever, and respiratory symptoms.
Results: In never smokers, age and sex standardised prevalences of asthma and hay fever were 3.0% and 5.8% respectively in 1972-6, and 8.2% and 19.9% in 1996. In ever smokers, the corresponding values were 1.6% and 5.4% in 1972-6 and 5.3% and 15.5% in 1996. In both generations, the prevalence of asthma was higher in those who reported hay fever (atopic asthma). In never smokers, reports of wheeze not labelled as asthma were about 10 times more common in 1972-6 than in 1996. With a broader definition of asthma (asthma and/or wheeze), to minimise diagnostic bias, the overall prevalence of asthma changed little. However, diagnostic bias mainly affected non-atopic asthma. Atopic asthma increased more than twofold (prevalence ratio 2.52 (95% confidence interval 1.01 to 6.28)) whereas the prevalence of non-atopic asthma did not change (1.00 (0.53 to 1.90)).
<b>Conclusion</b>: The prevalence of asthma in adults has increased more than twofold in 20 years, largely in association with trends in atopy, as measured indirectly by the prevalence of hay fever. No evidence was found for an increase in diagnostic awareness being responsible for the trend in atopic asthma, but increased awareness may account for trends in non-atopic asthma
Remarks on the multi-parameter reweighting method for the study of lattice QCD at non-zero temperature and density
We comment on the reweighting method for the study of finite density lattice
QCD. We discuss the applicable parameter range of the reweighting method for
models which have more than one simulation parameter. The applicability range
is determined by the fluctuations of the modification factor of the Boltzmann
weight. In some models having a first order phase transition, the fluctuations
are minimized along the phase transition line if we assume that the pressure in
the hot and the cold phase is balanced at the first order phase transition
point. This suggests that the reweighting method with two parameters is
applicable in a wide range for the purpose of tracing out the phase transition
line in the parameter space. To confirm the usefulness of the reweighting
method for 2 flavor QCD, the fluctuations of the reweighting factor are
measured by numerical simulations for the cases of reweighting in the quark
mass and chemical potential directions. The relation with the phase transition
line is discussed. Moreover, the sign problem caused by the complex phase
fluctuations is studied.Comment: 20 page, 6 figure
The Equation of State for Two Flavor QCD at Non-zero Chemical Potential
We present results of a simulation of QCD on a 4x16^3 lattice with 2
continuum flavors of p4-improved staggered fermion with mass m/T=0.4.
Derivatives of the thermodynamic grand potential with respect to quark chemical
potential mu_q up to fourth order are calculated, enabling estimates of the
pressure, quark number density and associated susceptibilities as functions of
mu_q via Taylor series expansion. Discretisation effects associated with
various staggered fermion formulations are discussed in some detail. In
addition it is possible to estimate the radius of convergence of the expansion
as a function of temperature. We also discuss the calculation of energy and
entropy densities which are defined via mixed derivatives of the thermodynamic
grand potential with respect to the bare couplings and quark masses.Comment: 30 pages, LaTeX2e File, 17 Postscript figure
Perturbative QCD at non-zero chemical potential: Comparison with the large-Nf limit and apparent convergence
The perturbative three-loop result for the thermodynamic potential of QCD at
finite temperature and chemical potential as obtained in the framework of
dimensional reduction is compared with the exact result in the limit of large
flavor number. The apparent convergence of the former as well as possibilities
for optimization are investigated. Corresponding optimized results for full QCD
are given for the case of two massless quark flavors.Comment: REVTEX4, 4 pages, 3 color figures. v2: fig. 3 now includes also
lattice data for two-flavor QCD at nonzero chemical potentia
The pressure of QCD at finite temperatures and chemical potentials
The perturbative expansion of the pressure of hot QCD is computed here to
order g^6ln(g) in the presence of finite quark chemical potentials. In this
process all two- and three-loop one-particle irreducible vacuum diagrams of the
theory are evaluated at arbitrary T and mu, and these results are then used to
analytically verify the outcome of an old order g^4 calculation of Freedman and
McLerran for the zero-temperature pressure. The results for the pressure and
the different quark number susceptibilities at high T are compared with recent
lattice simulations showing excellent agreement especially for the chemical
potential dependent part of the pressure.Comment: 35 pages, 6 figures; text revised, one figure replace
FAPRI 2004 U.S. and World Agricultural Outlook
Crop Production/Industries, Livestock Production/Industries,
Topological susceptibility with the improved Asqtad action
As a test of the chiral properties of the improved Asqtad (staggered fermion)
action, we have been measuring the topological susceptibility as a function of
quark masses for 2 + 1 dynamical flavors. We report preliminary results, which
show reasonable agreement with leading order chiral perturbation theory for
lattice spacing less than 0.1 fm. The total topological charge, however, shows
strong persistence over Monte Carlo time.Comment: Lattice2002(algor
FAPRI 2006 U.S. and World Agricultural Outlook
The FAPRI 2006 U.S. and World Agricultural Outlook presents projections of world agricultural production, consumption, and trade under average weather patterns, existing farm policy, and policy commitments under current trade agreements and custom unions. Despite continued high energy prices, world economic growth is expected to remain strong in the coming decade, above 3% per annum. Other major drivers of the 2006 baseline include new bio-energy policies in several large countries, EU sugar policy reform, sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) shocks in livestock and poultry markets, and movements in the exchange rate.Crop Production/Industries, International Relations/Trade, Livestock Production/Industries,
Extreme differences in 87Sr/86Sr between Samoan lavas and the magmatic olivines they host: Evidence for highly heterogeneous 87Sr/86Sr in the magmatic plumbing system sourcing a single lava
.Investigations of mantle heterogeneity in ocean island basalts (OIB) frequently compare heavy radiogenic isotopes (i.e. 87Sr/86Sr), often measured in whole rock powders, with 3He/4He and δ18O, commonly measured in olivines. However, the 87Sr/86Sr in the olivines, which is dominated by Sr in melt inclusions, may not be in equilibrium with the 87Sr/86Sr in the whole rock. Here we present new 87Sr/86Sr measurements made on Samoan magmatic olivines, where multiple olivine crystals are aggregated for a single isotopic measurement. The olivines host abundant melt inclusions, and yielded relatively large quantities of Sr (13.0 to 100.6 ng) in 19 to 185 mg aliquots of fresh olivine, yielding high Srsample/Srblank ratios (≥ 427). These new data on olivines show that samples can exhibit significant 87Sr/86Sr disequilibrium: in one extreme sample, where the basaltic whole rock 87Sr/86Sr (0.708901) is higher than several different aliquots of aggregate magmatic olivines (0.707385 to 0.707773), the whole rock-olivine 87Sr/86Sr disequilibrium is > 1590 ppm. The 87Sr/86Sr disequilibrium observed between whole rocks and bulk olivines relates to the isotopic disequilibrium between whole rocks and the average 87Sr/86Sr of the population of melt inclusions hosted in the olivines. Therefore, a population of olivines in a Samoan lava must have crystallized from (and trapped melts of) a different 87Sr/86Sr composition than the final erupted lava hosting the olivines. A primary question is how melts with different 87Sr/86Sr can exist in the same magmatic plumbing system and contribute heterogeneous 87Sr/86Sr to a lava and the magmatic olivines it hosts. We explore potential mechanisms for generating heterogeneous melts in magma chambers. The reliance, in part, of chemical geodynamic models of the relationships between isotopic systems measured in whole rocks (87Sr/86Sr) and systems measured in olivines (3He/4He and δ18O) means that whole rock-olivine Sr-isotopic disequilibrium will be important for evaluating relationship among these key isotopic tracer systems. Moving forward, it will be important to evaluate whether whole rock-olivine Sr-isotopic disequilibrium is a pervasive issue in OIB globally
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