Finding Your Literature Match -- A Recommender System

The universe of potentially interesting, searchable literature is expanding continuously. Besides the normal expansion, there is an additional influx of literature because of interdisciplinary boundaries becoming more and more diffuse. Hence, the need for accurate, efficient and intelligent search tools is bigger than ever. Even with a sophisticated search engine, looking for information can still result in overwhelming results. An overload of information has the intrinsic danger of scaring visitors away, and any organization, for-profit or not-for-profit, in the business of providing scholarly information wants to capture and keep the attention of its target audience. Publishers and search engine engineers alike will benefit from a service that is able to provide visitors with recommendations that closely meet their interests. Providing visitors with special deals, new options and highlights may be interesting to a certain degree, but what makes more sense (especially from a commercial point of view) than to let visitors do most of the work by the mere action of making choices? Hiring psychics is not an option, so a technological solution is needed to recommend items that a visitor is likely to be looking for. In this presentation we will introduce such a solution and argue that it is practically feasible to incorporate this approach into a useful addition to any information retrieval system with enough usage.Comment: Contribution to the proceedings of the colloquium Future Professional Communication in Astronomy II, 13-14 April 2010, Cambridge, Massachusetts. 11 pages, 4 figures

Utilidad de la reconstrucción tridimensional con tomografía computarizada en Traumatología y Ortopedia

La reconstrucción tridimensional es una nuev a técnica diagnóstica introducida en cirugía ortopédica y traumatología. Está indicada en algunas fracturas de acetábulo, columna y pelvis porque facilita una visión desde diferente s ángulos y en determinadas lesiones congénitas donde es imprescindible una correcta evaluación preoperatoria. Presentamo s dos paciente s con fracturas acetabulares, otro con lesión me - tastásica en columna lumbar y otro con hipoplasia del arco neural de cuarta vértebra lumbar. La reconstrucción tridimensional fue útil para el definitivo diagnóstico en los cuatro pacientes.Three dimensional images is a new technique introduced in orthopaedic surgery and traumatology. It's indicated for some fractures of the acetabulum, spine or pelvic girdle becaus e supply a vision from differents angles and in determinated congenital damage s who is indispensable an accurate evaluation before the surgery. We presented two patients with acetabular fractures, other with a metastasi c tumour in lumbar spine and anothe r with a hipoplasti c neural arch in a lumbar vertebra. The thre e dimensional reconstruction was useful for the definitive diagnostic in the four patients

The High Time Resolution Universe Survey - V: Single-pulse energetics and modulation properties of 315 pulsars

We report on the pulse-to-pulse energy distributions and phase-resolved modulation properties for catalogued pulsars in the southern High Time Resolution Universe intermediate-latitude survey. We selected the 315 pulsars detected in a single-pulse search of this survey, allowing a large sample unbiased regarding any rotational parameters of neutron stars. We found that the energy distribution of many pulsars is well-described by a log-normal distribution, with few deviating from a small range in log-normal scale and location parameters. Some pulsars exhibited multiple energy states corresponding to mode changes, and implying that some observed "nulling" may actually be a mode-change effect. PSRJ1900-2600 was found to emit weakly in its previously-identified "null" state. We found evidence for another state-change effect in two pulsars, which show bimodality in their nulling time scales; that is, they switch between a continuous-emission state and a single-pulse-emitting state. Large modulation occurs in many pulsars across the full integrated profile, with increased sporadic bursts at leading and trailing sub-beam edges. Some of these high-energy outbursts may indicate the presence of "giant pulse" phenomena. We found no correlation with modulation and pulsar period, age, or other parameters. Finally, the deviation of integrated pulse energy from its average value was generally quite small, despite the significant phase-resolved modulation in some pulsars; we interpret this as tenuous evidence of energy regulation between distinct pulsar sub-beams.Comment: Before full MNRAS publication, supplementary material is available temporarily at http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22076931/supplementary_material.pd

Coordination Chemistry and Sensing Properties Towards Anions and Metal Ions of a Simple Fluorescent Urea

The coordination and sensing properties towards anions and transition metal ions of the simple novel fluorescent urea 1-(2-aminophenyl)-3-(naphthalen-1)-yl)urea (L) were investigated in solution, and in the solid state. An electron donating amine group in the molecular skeleton of L decreased the acidity of the urea NHs that are usually deprotonated by basic anions and allowed for a good degree of affinity towards fluoride in DMSO-d6-0.5 %H2O. Moreover, the amine moiety acted as a further binding group for metal ions. Indeed, L was able to bind Zn2+ both in solution and in the solid state, and to respond to the presence of this metal ion in MeCN with an enhancement of the fluorescence emission. Although solution studies evidenced the formation of a 1 : 1 complex of L with Zn2+, complexes with a 2 : 1 ligand-to-metal stoichiometry were isolated in the solid state. DFT calculations helped to clarify the stability reasons behind these results

Transformation of a Star into a Planet in a Millisecond Pulsar Binary

Millisecond pulsars are thought to be neutron stars that have been spun-up by accretion of matter from a binary companion. Although most are in binary systems, some 30% are solitary, and their origin is therefore mysterious. PSR J1719-1438, a 5.7 ms pulsar, was detected in a recent survey with the Parkes 64m radio telescope. We show that it is in a binary system with an orbital period of 2.2 h. Its companion's mass is near that of Jupiter, but its minimum density of 23 g cm$^{-3}$ suggests that it may be an ultra-low mass carbon white dwarf. This system may thus have once been an Ultra Compact Low-Mass X-ray Binary, where the companion narrowly avoided complete destruction.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figures. Science Express, in pres

Cooking Particulate Matter: A Systematic Review on Nanoparticle Exposure in the Indoor Cooking Environment

Background: Cooking and fuel combustion in the indoor environment are major sources of respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM), which is an excellent carrier of potentially harmful absorbed inorganic and organic compounds. Chronic exposure to RSPM can lead to acute pulmonary illness, asthma, cardiovascular disease, and lung cancer in people involved in cooking. Despite this, questions remain about the harmfulness of different particulate matter (PM) sources generated during cooking, and the factors influencing PM physico-chemical properties. The most reliable methods for sampling and analyzing cooking emissions remain only partially understood. Objectives: This review aims to comprehensively assess the risks of PM generated during cooking, considering the main sources of PM, PM chemical composition, and strategies for PM physico-chemical analysis. We present the first systematic analysis of PM sources and chemical composition related to cooking. We highlight significant differences between studies using different experimental conditions, with a lack of a standard methodology. Methods: Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement rules and the Patient, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcome (PICO) strategy for scientific research, three different scientific databases (PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science) were screened to find scientific articles that measure, collect, and analyze the chemical composition of nanometer-and micrometer-sized PM generated during cooking activities under different conditions. Data are summarized to assess risk, evaluating the main sources and factors influencing PM generation, their chemical composition, and how they have been collected and analyzed in changing experimental conditions. Results: From 2474 search results, there were 55 studies that met our criteria. Overall, the main variable sources of PM in cooking activities relate to the stove and fuel type. The concentration and chemical–physical properties of PM are also strongly influenced by the food and food additive type, food processing type, cooking duration, temperature, and utensils. The most important factor influencing indoor PM concentration is ventilation. The PM generated during cooking activities is composed mainly of elemental carbon (EC) and its derivatives, and the porous structure of PM with high surface-to-volume ratio is a perfect carrier of inorganic and organic matter. Conclusions: This review reveals a growing interest in PM exposure during cooking activities and highlights significant variability in the chemical–physical properties of particles, and thus variable exposure risks. Precise risk characterization improves possible preventive strategies to reduce the risk of indoor pollutant exposure. However, comprehensive PM analysis needs proper sampling and analysis methods which consider all factors influencing the physico-chemical properties of PM in an additive and synergistic way. Our analysis highlights the need for method standardization in PM environmental analyses, to ensure accuracy and allow deeper comparisons between future studies