170 research outputs found
What can we learn about GW Physics with an elastic spherical antenna?
A general formalism is set up to analyse the response of an arbitrary solid
elastic body to an arbitrary metric Gravitational Wave perturbation, which
fully displays the details of the interaction antenna-wave. The formalism is
applied to the spherical detector, whose sensitivity parameters are thereby
scrutinised. A multimode transfer function is defined to study the amplitude
sensitivity, and absorption cross sections are calculated for a general metric
theory of GW physics. Their scaling properties are shown to be independent of
the underlying theory, with interesting consequences for future detector
design. The GW incidence direction deconvolution problem is also discussed,
always within the context of a general metric theory of the gravitational
field.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figures, REVTeX, enhanced Appendix B with numerical
values and mathematical detail. See also gr-qc/000605
Compositional controls on oceanic plates : geophysical evidence from the MELT area
Author Posting. © The Authors, 2005. This is the author's version of the work. It is
posted here by permission of Nature Publishing Group for personal use, not for redistribution. The
definitive version was published in Nature 437 (2005): 249-252, doi:10.1038/nature04014.Magnetotelluric (MT) and seismic data, collected during the MELT
experiment at the Southern East Pacific Rise (SEPR) constrain the distribution
of melt beneath this mid-ocean-ridge spreading center and also the evolution of the
oceanic lithosphere during its early cooling history. In this paper, we focus on
structure imaged at distances ~100 to 350 km east of the ridge crest, corresponding
to seafloor ages of ~1.3 to 4.5 Ma, where the seismic and electrical conductivity
structure is nearly constant, independent of age. Beginning at a depth of about 60
km, there is a large increase in electrical conductivity and a change from isotropic
to transversely anisotropic electrical structure with higher conductivity in the
direction of fast propagation for seismic waves. Because conductive cooling
models predict structure that increases in depth with age, extending to about 30
km at 4.5 Ma, we infer that the structure of young oceanic plates is instead
controlled by a decrease in water content above 60 km induced by the melting
process beneath the spreading center.US participation in the MELT experiment and subsequent analysis was funded by NSF grants through the Marine Geology and Geophysics Program, Ocean Sciences Division
The affective atmospheres of surveillance
The spaces that surveillance produces can be thought of as ambiguous, entailing elements that are ethereal yet material, geographical yet trans-geographical. Contemporary surveillance systems form numerous connections that involve multiple times, spaces, and bodies. Owing to their ubiquity, normalization, and yet clandestine characteristics, they seem to produce an almost unnoticed aspect of everyday life. The impacts, then, of contemporary surveillance systems appear to be particularly experienced on the margins of consciousness. Thus we find that an empirical analysis of this realm of experience is possible but requires one to look for such things as disruption, disfluency, and hesitation in the text of speech acts rather than clear representation. Through empirical analysis of narratives concerning everyday experiences of living with contemporary surveillance systems, this paper focuses on their possible affective impacts. In turn, we find it more fitting to think about the so-called “surveillance society” in terms of producing “atmospheres” rather than “cultures or assemblages,” and “affects” rather than “emotions.” © 2013, SAGE Publications. All rights reserved
The Consensus from the Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis (MAP) Conference 2017.
On March 24 and 25, 2017 researchers and clinicians from around the world met at Temple University in Philadelphia to discuss the current knowledge of Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis (MAP) and its relationship to human disease. The conference was held because of shared concern that MAP is a zoonotic bacterium that poses a threat not only to animal health but also human health. In order to further study this problem, the conferees discussed ways to improve MAP diagnostic tests and discussed potential future anti-MAP clinical trials. The conference proceedings may be viewed on the www.Humanpara.org website. A summary of the salient work in this field is followed by recommendations from a majority of the conferees
Blogging the Virtual: New Geographies of Domination and Resistance In and Beyond Russia
Russia’s accelerating authoritarian turn has not ignored the internet, and in recent years, the Russian state has clamped down on internet activities that diverge from the statist line, employing a variety of strategies to dominate online spaces. Nevertheless, oppositional voices flourish on the Russian internet, taking shape in independent blogs and videos. This paper explores three political bloggers through surveillant and resistance assemblages, making sense of this contestation through an interpretation of the Deleuzian virtual that underscores the emancipatory potential of online activities for producing more egalitarian configurations, but also taking stock of the ways that these technologies have increased domination. Encompassing the blurriness between digital and corporeal spaces, the paper contributes by revealing new geographies of contestation against state strategies to dominate the Russian internet. Overlapping with but not corresponding to Russian territorial boundaries, these dynamics highlight shifting spaces of power and resistance in the increasingly illiberal world
Developing risk prediction models for type 2 diabetes: a systematic review of methodology and reporting
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The World Health Organisation estimates that by 2030 there will be approximately 350 million people with type 2 diabetes. Associated with renal complications, heart disease, stroke and peripheral vascular disease, early identification of patients with undiagnosed type 2 diabetes or those at an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes is an important challenge. We sought to systematically review and critically assess the conduct and reporting of methods used to develop risk prediction models for predicting the risk of having undiagnosed (prevalent) or future risk of developing (incident) type 2 diabetes in adults.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted a systematic search of PubMed and EMBASE databases to identify studies published before May 2011 that describe the development of models combining two or more variables to predict the risk of prevalent or incident type 2 diabetes. We extracted key information that describes aspects of developing a prediction model including study design, sample size and number of events, outcome definition, risk predictor selection and coding, missing data, model-building strategies and aspects of performance.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Thirty-nine studies comprising 43 risk prediction models were included. Seventeen studies (44%) reported the development of models to predict incident type 2 diabetes, whilst 15 studies (38%) described the derivation of models to predict prevalent type 2 diabetes. In nine studies (23%), the number of events per variable was less than ten, whilst in fourteen studies there was insufficient information reported for this measure to be calculated. The number of candidate risk predictors ranged from four to sixty-four, and in seven studies it was unclear how many risk predictors were considered. A method, not recommended to select risk predictors for inclusion in the multivariate model, using statistical significance from univariate screening was carried out in eight studies (21%), whilst the selection procedure was unclear in ten studies (26%). Twenty-one risk prediction models (49%) were developed by categorising all continuous risk predictors. The treatment and handling of missing data were not reported in 16 studies (41%).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We found widespread use of poor methods that could jeopardise model development, including univariate pre-screening of variables, categorisation of continuous risk predictors and poor handling of missing data. The use of poor methods affects the reliability of the prediction model and ultimately compromises the accuracy of the probability estimates of having undiagnosed type 2 diabetes or the predicted risk of developing type 2 diabetes. In addition, many studies were characterised by a generally poor level of reporting, with many key details to objectively judge the usefulness of the models often omitted.</p
The Emergence of Emotions
Emotion is conscious experience. It is the affective aspect of consciousness. Emotion arises from sensory stimulation and is typically accompanied by physiological and behavioral changes in the body. Hence an emotion is a complex reaction pattern consisting of three components: a physiological component, a behavioral component, and an experiential (conscious) component. The reactions making up an emotion determine what the emotion will be recognized as. Three processes are involved in generating an emotion: (1) identification of the emotional significance of a sensory stimulus, (2) production of an affective state (emotion), and (3) regulation of the affective state. Two opposing systems in the brain (the reward and punishment systems) establish an affective value or valence (stimulus-reinforcement association) for sensory stimulation. This is process (1), the first step in the generation of an emotion. Development of stimulus-reinforcement associations (affective valence) serves as the basis for emotion expression (process 2), conditioned emotion learning acquisition and expression, memory consolidation, reinforcement-expectations, decision-making, coping responses, and social behavior. The amygdala is critical for the representation of stimulus-reinforcement associations (both reward and punishment-based) for these functions. Three distinct and separate architectural and functional areas of the prefrontal cortex (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex) are involved in the regulation of emotion (process 3). The regulation of emotion by the prefrontal cortex consists of a positive feedback interaction between the prefrontal cortex and the inferior parietal cortex resulting in the nonlinear emergence of emotion. This positive feedback and nonlinear emergence represents a type of working memory (focal attention) by which perception is reorganized and rerepresented, becoming explicit, functional, and conscious. The explicit emotion states arising may be involved in the production of voluntary new or novel intentional (adaptive) behavior, especially social behavior
Incorporação da tecnologia da informação na Atenção Básica do SUS no Nordeste do Brasil: expectativas e experiências
Early mortality and functional outcome after acute stroke in Uganda: prospective study with 30 day follow-up
Ischemic Strokes Are More Severe in Poland Than in the United States
Case Fatality Rates for Stroke Were Ascertained Prospectively in Two Regional Catchment Hospitals in Poland and 36 Teaching Hospitals in the US University Hospital Consortium. Case Fatality Rates in Poland (23.9%) Were Higher Than in the United States (7.5%). Angina, Atrial Fibrillation, and Congestive Heart Failure Were More Frequent in Polish Stroke Patients (40%, 26%, and 25%, Respectively) Than in US Patients (17%, 12%, and 10%). Stroke Severity as Indicated by Higher Frequencies of Hemiplegia, Disordered Consciousness, Dysphagia, and Aphasia Was Greater in Poland (19%, 39%, 28%, and 42%, Respectively) Than the United States (11%, 13%, 14%, and 26%)
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