Dangerous Traps: Anhingas Mistake Anthropogenic Debris For Prey Fish At An Urban Site In South-eastern Brazil

Impacts of anthropogenic inedible debris on seabirds have been well documented, but on inland waterbirds this kind of pollution remains poorly recorded. Herein we report 21 instances of inedible objects stuck in the bill of Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga), a fish-eating waterbird which has the cutting edges of the mandible serrated. Disturbance and harm by pieces of plastic, rope, and cotton stuck in the bill were recorded. Debris caused drag and prevented the birds from fishing. Birds with small pieces of material stuck on their bills were still able to fish, but their hunting success decreased. When the debris was large and stuck on the bill for long, the birds possibly starved and some of them died. The time spent to clean up the bill was related to the type of material, ranging from 1 to 17 days. Our records illustrate the deleterious effect that anthropogenic debris has on the life of a Neotropical aquatic inland bird. © 2015, Sociedade Brasileira de Ornitologia. All rights reserved.23438038

Evolution of Giant Planets in Eccentric Disks

We investigate the interaction between a giant planet and a viscous circumstellar disk by means of high-resolution, two-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations. We consider planet masses that range from 1 to 3 Jupiter masses (Mjup) and initial orbital eccentricities that range from 0 to 0.4. We find that a planet can cause eccentricity growth in a disk region adjacent to the planet's orbit, even if the planet's orbit is circular. Disk-planet interactions lead to growth in a planet's orbital eccentricity. The orbital eccentricities of a 2 Mjup and a 3 Mjup planet increase from 0 to 0.11 within about 3000 orbits. Over a similar time period, the orbital eccentricity of a 1 Mjup planet grows from 0 to 0.02. For a case of a 1 Mjup planet with an initial eccentricity of 0.01, the orbital eccentricity grows to 0.09 over 4000 orbits. Radial migration is directed inwards, but slows considerably as a planet's orbit becomes eccentric. If a planet's orbital eccentricity becomes sufficiently large, e > ~0.2, migration can reverse and so be directed outwards. The accretion rate towards a planet depends on both the disk and the planet orbital eccentricity and is pulsed over the orbital period. Planet mass growth rates increase with planet orbital eccentricity. For e~0.2 the mass growth rate of a planet increases by approximately 30% above the value for e=0. For e > ~0.1, most of the accretion within the planet's Roche lobe occurs when the planet is near the apocenter. Similar accretion modulation occurs for flow at the inner disk boundary which represents accretion toward the star.Comment: 20 pages 16 figures, 3 tables. To appear in The Astrophysical Journal vol.652 (December 1, 2006 issue

Analysis of cerebrospinal fluid from cattle with central nervous system disorders after storage for 24 hours with autologous serum

BACKGROUND: We compared the changes in cell morphology, total and differential cell counts between cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples analyzed within an hour of collection (fresh sample) and after the addition of autologous serum and storage for 24 h (stored sample) in 27 cattle with central nervous system disorders. RESULTS: There was a positive linear correlation between total and differential cell counts in the fresh and the stored samples. Cell morphology was preserved in all stored samples, except for increased vacuolization of mononuclear cells and cleaved nuclei of some small mononuclear cells. In the stored CSF samples, the total nucleated cell count and monocyte percentage were decreased (P = 0.01; P = 0.03), while the lymphocyte percentage was increased (P = 0.04). Mononuclear pleocytosis diagnosed in 20 fresh samples was cytologically confirmed in 12 of the 20 stored samples. In the remaining eight stored samples, the number of total nucleated cells was within the normal range. Neutrophilic pleocytosis was confirmed in all seven stored samples. The overall agreement rate between cytologic interpretation of the fresh and the stored CSF samples was 70 % (100 % for neutrophilic pleocytosis and 60 % for mononuclear pleocytosis). CONCLUSIONS: Adding 11 % of autologous serum to CSF samples might allow delayed analysis with a good agreement rate for CSF cytological interpretation. Caution is nonetheless warranted, as animal age, anamnesis, and neurological presentation need to be considered when interpreting stored CSF without pleocytosis. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12917-015-0502-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Extended thromboprophylaxis with betrixaban in acutely ill medical patients

BACKGROUND: Patients with acute medical illnesses are at prolonged risk for venous thrombosis. However, the appropriate duration of thromboprophylaxis remains unknown. METHODS: Patients who were hospitalized for acute medical illnesses were randomly assigned to receive subcutaneous enoxaparin (at a dose of 40 mg once daily) for 10±4 days plus oral betrixaban placebo for 35 to 42 days or subcutaneous enoxaparin placebo for 10±4 days plus oral betrixaban (at a dose of 80 mg once daily) for 35 to 42 days. We performed sequential analyses in three prespecified, progressively inclusive cohorts: patients with an elevated d-dimer level (cohort 1), patients with an elevated d-dimer level or an age of at least 75 years (cohort 2), and all the enrolled patients (overall population cohort). The statistical analysis plan specified that if the between-group difference in any analysis in this sequence was not significant, the other analyses would be considered exploratory. The primary efficacy outcome was a composite of asymptomatic proximal deep-vein thrombosis and symptomatic venous thromboembolism. The principal safety outcome was major bleeding. RESULTS: A total of 7513 patients underwent randomization. In cohort 1, the primary efficacy outcome occurred in 6.9% of patients receiving betrixaban and 8.5% receiving enoxaparin (relative risk in the betrixaban group, 0.81; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.65 to 1.00; P=0.054). The rates were 5.6% and 7.1%, respectively (relative risk, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.66 to 0.98; P=0.03) in cohort 2 and 5.3% and 7.0% (relative risk, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.63 to 0.92; P=0.006) in the overall population. (The last two analyses were considered to be exploratory owing to the result in cohort 1.) In the overall population, major bleeding occurred in 0.7% of the betrixaban group and 0.6% of the enoxaparin group (relative risk, 1.19; 95% CI, 0.67 to 2.12; P=0.55). CONCLUSIONS: Among acutely ill medical patients with an elevated d-dimer level, there was no significant difference between extended-duration betrixaban and a standard regimen of enoxaparin in the prespecified primary efficacy outcome. However, prespecified exploratory analyses provided evidence suggesting a benefit for betrixaban in the two larger cohorts. (Funded by Portola Pharmaceuticals; APEX ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01583218.)

Quasi-periodic flares in EXO 2030+375 observed with INTEGRAL

Context: Episodic flaring activity is a common feature of X-ray pulsars in HMXBs. In some Be/X-ray binaries flares were observed in quiescence or prior to outbursts. EXO 2030+375 is a Be/X-ray binary showing "normal" outbursts almost every ~46 days, near periastron passage of the orbital revolution. Some of these outbursts were occasionally monitored with the INTEGRAL observatory. Aims: The INTEGRAL data revealed strong quasi-periodic flaring activity during the rising part of one of the system's outburst. Such activity has previously been observed in EXO 2030+375 only once, in 1985 with EXOSAT. (Some indications of single flares have also been observed with other satellites.) Methods: We present the analysis of the flaring behavior of the source based on INTEGRAL data and compare it with the flares observed in EXO 2030+375 in 1985. Results: Based on the observational properties of the flares, we argue that the instability at the inner edge of the accretion disk is the most probable cause of the flaring activity.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A Lette

On the migration of protogiant solid cores

The increase of computational resources has recently allowed high resolution, three dimensional calculations of planets embedded in gaseous protoplanetary disks. They provide estimates of the planet migration timescale that can be compared to analytical predictions. While these predictions can result in extremely short migration timescales for cores of a few Earth masses, recent numerical calculations have given an unexpected outcome: the torque acting on planets with masses between 5 M_Earth and 20 M_Earth is considerably smaller than the analytic, linear estimate. These findings motivated the present work, which investigates existence and origin of this discrepancy or ``offset'', as we shall call it, by means of two and three dimensional numerical calculations. We show that the offset is indeed physical and arises from the coorbital corotation torque, since (i) it scales with the disk vortensity gradient, (ii) its asymptotic value depends on the disk viscosity, (iii) it is associated to an excess of the horseshoe zone width. We show that the offset corresponds to the onset of non-linearities of the flow around the planet, which alter the streamline topology as the planet mass increases: at low mass the flow non-linearities are confined to the planet's Bondi sphere whereas at larger mass the streamlines display a classical picture reminiscent of the restricted three body problem, with a prograde circumplanetary disk inside a ``Roche lobe''. This behavior is of particular importance for the sub-critical solid cores (M <~ 15 M_Earth) in thin (H/r <~0.06) protoplanetary disks. Their migration could be significantly slowed down, or reversed, in disks with shallow surface density profiles.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap

Language and cultural capital in school experience of Polish children in Scotland

This article addresses the complex relationship between migration and education in the context of recent intra-European labour mobility. It considers how this mobility impacts the education and life chances of migrant students attending schools in Scotland, UK. By examining the experiences of Polish migrant children and youth at schools in Scotland, the article engages with the issues of language, cultural capital transferability and social positioning. Drawing on qualitative data from 65 in-depth interviews with school children aged 5–17 years, their parents and teachers, as well as observations in the contexts of school and home, the article points to a range of factors affecting the transition of migrant pupils to new schools and social environments

Chronic non-cancer pain in primary care: an Italian cross-sectional study

Chronic non-cancer pain is a complex health condition that affects more than a quarter of the Italian population who mainly refers to general practitioners and primary care for their treatment. There are little information on the epidemiological and clinical characteristics and types of treatments for these patients who suffer from chronic pain. The aim of the study was to provide epidemiological and clinical information about patients with chronic non-cancer pain who refers to GPs for their treatment. An observational, multicentre, cross-sectional study was carried out using retrospectively reviewed clinical records from 29 GPs. Some pharmacoeconomic aspects were also investigated. A total of 1,007 patients who had chronic pain were selected for the study. Chronic pain was more common in women than in men (ratio 2.7 : 1) (P = 0.002). With regard to incomes, the women earned less than the men (P = 0.017). The chronic pain was musculoskeletal (73.4%), mixed (21.4%), neuropathic (4.9%) and visceral (0.3%). More women than men had pain in two or more sites, and 33.5% of the patients reported more than one diagnosis that related to chronic pain. The general practitioners had prescribed nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for 71.8% of the cases, opioids for 16.9%, adjuvants for 9.0% and acetaminophen for 2.4%, and about pharmacoeconomic aspects, the total cost for the sample was €111,331.42. Primary care is the essential frontline for patients who suffer from non-cancer pain. An interdisciplinary assessment and approach should start in primary care delivery to maximize the clinical outcomes

On unsupervised methods for medical image segmentation: Investigating classic approaches in breast cancer dce-mri

Unsupervised segmentation techniques, which do not require labeled data for training and can be more easily integrated into the clinical routine, represent a valid solution especially from a clinical feasibility perspective. Indeed, large-scale annotated datasets are not always available, undermining their immediate implementation and use in the clinic. Breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer death in women worldwide. In this study, breast lesion delineation in Dynamic Contrast Enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) series was addressed by means of four popular unsupervised segmentation approaches: Split-and-Merge combined with Region Growing (SMRG), k-means, Fuzzy C-Means (FCM), and spatial FCM (sFCM). They represent well-established pattern recognition techniques that are still widely used in clinical research. Starting from the basic versions of these segmentation approaches, during our analysis, we identified the shortcomings of each of them, proposing improved versions, as well as developing ad hoc pre- and post-processing steps. The obtained experimental results, in terms of area-based—namely, Dice Index (DI), Jaccard Index (JI), Sensitivity, Specificity, False Positive Ratio (FPR), False Negative Ratio (FNR)—and distance-based metrics—Mean Absolute Distance (MAD), Maximum Distance (MaxD), Hausdorff Distance (HD)—encourage the use of unsupervised machine learning techniques in medical image segmentation. In particular, fuzzy clustering approaches (namely, FCM and sFCM) achieved the best performance. In fact, for area-based metrics, they obtained DI = 78.23% ± 6.50 (sFCM), JI = 65.90% ± 8.14 (sFCM), sensitivity = 77.84% ± 8.72 (FCM), specificity = 87.10% ± 8.24 (sFCM), FPR = 0.14 ± 0.12 (sFCM), and FNR = 0.22 ± 0.09 (sFCM). Concerning distance-based metrics, they obtained MAD = 1.37 ± 0.90 (sFCM), MaxD = 4.04 ± 2.87 (sFCM), and HD = 2.21 ± 0.43 (FCM). These experimental findings suggest that further research would be useful for advanced fuzzy logic techniques specifically tailored to medical image segmentation.</jats:p

Disk Planet Interactions and Early Evolution in Young Planetary Systems

We study and review disk protoplanet interactions using local shearing box simulations. These suffer the disadvantage of having potential artefacts arising from periodic boundary conditions but the advantage, when compared to global simulations, of being able to capture much of the dynamics close to the protoplanet at high resolution for low computational cost. Cases with and without self sustained MHD turbulence are considered. The conditions for gap formation and the transition from type I migration are investigated and found to depend on whether the single parameter M_p R^3/(M_* H^3), with M_p, M_*, R and H being the protoplanet mass, the central mass, the orbital radius and the disk semi-thickness respectively exceeds a number of order unity. We also investigate the coorbital torques experienced by a moving protoplanet in an inviscid disk. This is done by demonstrating the equivalence of the problem for a moving protoplanet to one where the protoplanet is in a fixed orbit which the disk material flows through radially as a result of the action of an appropriate external torque. For sustainable coorbital torques to be realized a quasi steady state must be realized in which the planet migrates through the disk without accreting significant mass. In that case although there is sensitivity to computational parameters, in agreement with earlier work by Masset & Papaloizou (2003) based on global simulations, the coorbital torques are proportional to the migration speed and result in a positive feedback on the migration, enhancing it and potentially leading to a runaway. This could lead to a fast migration for protoplanets in the Saturn mass range in massive disks and may be relevant to the mass period correlation for extrasolar planets which gives a preponderance of sub Jovian masses at short orbital period.Comment: To appear in Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy (with higher resolution figures