Detection of fixed points in spatiotemporal signals by clustering method

We present a method to determine fixed points in spatiotemporal signals. A 144-dimensioanl simulated signal, similar to a Kueppers-Lortz instability, is analyzed and its fixed points are reconstructed.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figure

Electrical method of monitoring percolation and abrasion of conducting spheres due to shear flow of a dense suspension in a narrow gap

This letter describes a method for studying the behavior of rigid particles in a dense suspension when they are forced into contact during flow within a narrow gap. The particles form transient percolating networks spanning the boundary walls, and will be crushed together. The method involves measuring the dc electrical resistance across the gap. The suspension e.g., solder paste consists of electrically conducting particles suspended in an insulating fluid. The electrical resistance drops when the particles are in contact with each other and the walls, and the insulating films on the surface of the conductors have been broken through. The results show a dramatic change in behavior as the ratio of gap to particle diameter is varied

Are residents of Seattle ready for ‘the Big One? An intervention study to change earthquake preparedness

Background: Community preparedness for natural hazards remains poor across cultures. In addition, evaluated intervention studies in natural hazard preparedness are scarce and contain methodological problems. This study presents results of an intervention study on earthquake preparedness conducted in Seattle, U.S.A. Methodology: This is a quasi-experimental, longitudinal, community intervention with a pretest-posttest design, focused on improving earthquake readiness at the household level. The sample included 157 adult residents of Seattle. Preparedness measures were assessed at baseline, one week after the intervention, and at three and 12 months after the intervention. This involved both of the groups in a survey and an observation of preparedness levels in their homes. The primary outcome measure was an observational tool of five preparedness items, which was implemented alongside a survey that measured psychological, social, demographic and self-reported preparedness variables. In addition, the intervention group completed a six-hour workshop on earthquake preparedness, divided over two days. The control group did not participate in the workshop. Results: The intervention group significantly improved their earthquake preparedness levels compared to baseline and to controls one week after the intervention. Nonetheless, the effect of the intervention faded at the 3-month followup, where no significant differences in earthquake preparedness were observed in the intervention group compared to baseline. In fact, preparedness appeared to increase for controls at three months compared to baseline and to one week after the intervention, and although not reaching statistical significance, it exceeded the intervention group’s preparedness levels. Anxiety and trust predicted earthquake preparedness for the control group at three months. Discussion: Despite levels of earthquake preparedness improving significantly for the intervention group right after the intervention, this effect disappeared at the 3 month follow-up, stressing the need for the field to develop measures to facilitate the maintenance of behaviour change over time. Interestingly, controls continued to improve their levels of preparedness, suggesting that the home assessments themselves might have acted as an intervention that was sufficiently powerful to trigger behaviour change in controls. Contrary to the emphasis on self-efficacy and other cognitive variables in the literature concerning natural hazard preparedness, these results suggest that emotions such as anxiety and trust might play a more important role in preparedness. Future preparedness interventions should put emotive factors centre stage in targeting preparedness. The findings of this study have implications for national and international policies on the design and delivery of community interventions to increase hazard preparedness in lay people

Electrical method of monitoring percolation and abrasion of conducting spheres due to shear flow of a dense suspension in a narrow gap

The following article appeared in (MANNAN, S.H., HUTT, D.A.and WHALLEY, D.C., 1999. Electrical method of monitoring percolation and abrasion of conducting spheres due to shear flow of a dense suspension in a narrow gap. Applied Physics Letters, 75(6), pp. 871-2) and may be found at http://link.aip.org/link/?APPLAB/75/871/1This letter describes a method for studying the behavior of rigid particles in a dense suspension when they are forced into contact during flow within a narrow gap. The particles form transient percolating networks spanning the boundary walls, and will be crushed together. The method involves measuring the dc electrical resistance across the gap. The suspension e.g., solder paste consists of electrically conducting particles suspended in an insulating fluid. The electrical resistance drops when the particles are in contact with each other and the walls, and the insulating films on the surface of the conductors have been broken through. The results show a dramatic change in behavior as the ratio of gap to particle diameter is varied

Contextualising and challenging under-representation in research in light of cultural trauma: a qualitative focus group and interview study

Background Although underserved populations— including those from ethnic minority communities and those living in poverty—have worse health and poorer healthcare experiences, most primary care research does not fairly reflect these groups. Patient and public involvement (PPI) is usually embedded within research studies in the United Kingdom (UK), but often fails to represent underserved populations. This study worked with patient and public contributors and local community leaders, situated in a socio-economically deprived and ethnically diverse urban area, to explore under-representation in primary healthcare research. Methods We undertook a focus group with a purposive sample of 6 members of a Patient and Public Involvement Group (PPIG), and interviews with 4 community leaders (representing Black, South Asian, Roma and socio-economically deprived communities). An iterative analysis process based on template analysis was used. Focus group 1 was rapidly analysed, and a template created. Findings were presented in focus group 2, and the template further developed. The Cultural Trauma concept was than applied to the template to give a wider theoretical lens. In-depth analysis of focus groups and interviews was then performed based on the template. Results Wider societal and historical influences have degraded trust in academic and healthcare institutions within underserved populations. Along with more practical considerations, trust underpins personal motivations to engage with research. Researchers need to invest time and resources in prolonged, mutually beneficial engagement with communities of importance to their research, including sharing power and influence over research priorities. Researcher reflexivity regarding differential power and cultural competencies are crucial. Utilising participatory methodologies including co-production demonstrates a commitment to inclusive study design. Conclusions Re-framing evidence-based medicine to be more useful and relevant to underserved populations with the highest burden of ill health is urgently needed. Lack of representation in primary healthcare research reflects wider societal inequalities, to which Cultural Trauma provides a useful lens. However, there are actions that researchers can take to widen representation. This will ultimately help achieve the goal of increased health equity by enhancing scientific rigour and research generalizability

Epidermolysa bullosa in Danish Hereford calves is caused by a deletion in LAMC2 gene

BACKGROUND Heritable forms of epidermolysis bullosa (EB) constitute a heterogeneous group of skin disorders of genetic aetiology that are characterised by skin and mucous membrane blistering and ulceration in response to even minor trauma. Here we report the occurrence of EB in three Danish Hereford cattle from one herd. RESULTS Two of the animals were necropsied and showed oral mucosal blistering, skin ulcerations and partly loss of horn on the claws. Lesions were histologically characterized by subepidermal blisters and ulcers. Analysis of the family tree indicated that inbreeding and the transmission of a single recessive mutation from a common ancestor could be causative. We performed whole genome sequencing of one affected calf and searched all coding DNA variants. Thereby, we detected a homozygous 2.4 kb deletion encompassing the first exon of the LAMC2 gene, encoding for laminin gamma 2 protein. This loss of function mutation completely removes the start codon of this gene and is therefore predicted to be completely disruptive. The deletion co-segregates with the EB phenotype in the family and absent in normal cattle of various breeds. Verifying the homozygous private variants present in candidate genes allowed us to quickly identify the causative mutation and contribute to the final diagnosis of junctional EB in Hereford cattle. CONCLUSIONS Our investigation confirms the known role of laminin gamma 2 in EB aetiology and shows the importance of whole genome sequencing in the analysis of rare diseases in livestock

Substantiating a political public sphere in the Scottish press : a comparative analysis

This article uses content analysis to characterize the performance of the media in a national public sphere, by setting apart those qualities that typify internal press coverage of a political event. The article looks at the coverage of the 1999 devolved Scottish election from the day before the election until the day after. It uses a word count to measure the election material in Scottish newspapers the Herald, the Press and Journal and the Scotsman, and United Kingdom newspapers the Guardian, the Independent and The Times, and categorizes that material according to discourse type, day and page selection. The article finds a number of qualities that typify the Scottish sample in particular, and might be broadly indicative of a political public sphere in action. Firstly, and not unexpectedly, it finds that the Scottish newspapers carry significantly more election coverage. Just as tellingly, though, the article finds that the Scottish papers offer a greater proportion of advice and background information, in the form of opinion columns and feature articles. It also finds that the Scottish papers place a greater concentration of both informative and evaluative material in the period before the vote, consistent with their making a contribution to informed political action. Lastly, the article finds that the Scottish sample situates coverage nearer the front of the paper and places a greater proportion on recto pages. The article therefore argues that the Scottish papers display features that distinguish them from the UK papers, and are broadly consistent with their forming part of a deliberative public sphere, and suggests that these qualities might be explored as a means of judging future media performance

A neural population model of the bi-phasic EEG-power spectrum during general anaesthesia

International audienceThe neuronal mechanisms of general anaesthesia are still poorly understood, though the induction of analgesia, amnesia, immobility and loss of consciousness by anaesthetic agents is well-established in hospital practice. To shed some light onto these mysterious effects, the chapter analyzes mathematically a neural field model describing the neural population dynamics by an integro-differential equation. The power spectrum is derived and compared to experimental results

Maternal psychological distress in primary care and association with child behavioural outcomes at age three

Observational studies indicate children whose mothers have poor mental health are at increased risk of socio-emotional behavioural difficulties, but it is unknown whether these outcomes vary by the mothers’ mental health recognition and treatment status. To examine this question, we analysed linked longitudinal primary care and research data from 1078 women enrolled in the Born in Bradford cohort. A latent class analysis of treatment status and self-reported distress broadly categorised women as (a) not having a common mental disorder (CMD) that persisted through pregnancy and the first 2 years after delivery (N = 756, 70.1 %), (b) treated for CMD (N = 67, 6.2 %), or (c) untreated (N = 255, 23.7 %). Compared to children of mothers without CMD, 3-year-old children with mothers classified as having untreated CMD had higher standardised factor scores on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (d = 0.32), as did children with mothers classified as having treated CMD (d = 0.27). Results were only slightly attenuated in adjusted analyses. Children of mothers with CMD may be at risk for socio-emotional and behavioural difficulties. The development of effective treatments for CMD needs to be balanced by greater attempts to identify and treat women. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00787-015-0777-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Tracking Multiorgan Treatment Response in Systemic AL-Amyloidosis With Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Derived Extracellular Volume Mapping

Background: Systemic light chain amyloidosis is a multisystem disorder that commonly involves the heart, liver, and spleen. Cardiac magnetic resonance with extracellular volume (ECV) mapping provides a surrogate measure of the myocardial, liver, and spleen amyloid burden. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess multiorgan response to treatment using ECV mapping, and assess the association between multiorgan treatment response and prognosis. Methods: The authors identified 351 patients who underwent baseline serum amyloid-P-component (SAP) scintigraphy and cardiac magnetic resonance at diagnosis, of which 171 had follow-up imaging. Results: At diagnosis, ECV mapping demonstrated that 304 (87%) had cardiac involvement, 114 (33%) significant hepatic involvement, and 147 (42%) significant splenic involvement. Baseline myocardial and liver ECV independently predict mortality (myocardial HR: 1.03 [95% CI: 1.01-1.06]; P = 0.009; liver HR: 1.03; [95% CI: 1.01-1.05]; P = 0.001). Liver and spleen ECV correlated with amyloid load assessed by SAP scintigraphy (R = 0.751; P < 0.001; R = 0.765; P < 0.001, respectively). Serial measurements demonstrated ECV correctly identified changes in liver and spleen amyloid load derived from SAP scintigraphy in 85% and 82% of cases, respectively. At 6 months, more patients with a good hematologic response had liver (30%) and spleen (36%) ECV regression than myocardial regression (5%). By 12 months, more patients with a good response demonstrated myocardial regression (heart 32%, liver 30%, spleen 36%). Myocardial regression was associated with reduced median N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (P < 0.001), and liver regression with reduced median alkaline phosphatase (P = 0.001). Changes in myocardial and liver ECV, 6 months after initiating chemotherapy, independently predict mortality (myocardial HR: 1.11 [95% CI: 1.02-1.20]; P = 0.011; liver HR: 1.07 [95% CI: 1.01-1.13]; P = 0.014). Conclusions: Multiorgan ECV quantification accurately tracks treatment response and demonstrates different rates of organ regression, with the liver and spleen regressing more rapidly than the heart. Baseline myocardial and liver ECV and changes at 6 months independently predict mortality, even after adjusting for traditional predictors of prognosis