253 research outputs found
A water-vapor electrolysis cell with phosphoric acid electrolyte
Feasibility of phosphoric acid water vapor electrolysis cell for spacecraft cabin air conditioning syste
Feeling good about being hungry: food-related thoughts in eating disorder
Objectives: This study explores the relationships to food and hunger in women living with anorexic type eating difficulties and asks how imagery-based elaborations of food and eating thoughts are involved in their eating restraint, and recovery. Design: The qualitative idiographic approach of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used. Four in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with women self-selected as having experienced anorexia or anorexic like behaviour. Methods: The data was analysed using IPA and an audit of the analysis was conducted to ensure that the process followed had been systematic and rigorous and appropriately considered reflexivity. Results: Hunger was perceived positively by participants as confirmation that they were achieving their goal of losing weight, or avoiding weight gain. Hunger conferred a sense of being in control for the participants. Intrusive thoughts about food were reported as being quickly followed by elaborative mental imagery of the positive aspects of weight loss, and the negative consequences of eating. Imagery appeared to serve to maintain anorexic behaviours rather than to motivate food seeking. However, negative imagery of the consequences of anorexia were also described as supporting recovery. Conclusions: The finding that physiological sensations of hunger were experienced as positive confirmation of maintaining control has potentially important clinical and theoretical implications. It suggests further attention needs to be focused upon how changes in cognitive elaboration, involving mental imagery, are components of the psychological changes in the development of, maintenance of, and recovery from, anorexia
The composition of a quad of buildings sector energy: Physical, economic, and environmental quantities
In an analysis conducted for the US Department of Energy Office of Building Technologies (OBT), the Pacific Northwest Laboratory examined the fuel type composition of energy consumed in the US buildings sector. Numerical estimates were developed for the physical quantities of fuel consumed, as well as of the fossil fuel emissions (carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides) and nuclear spent fuel byproducts associated with that consumption. Electric generating requirements and the economic values associated with energy consumption also were quantified. These variables were quantified for a generic quad (1 quadrillion Btu) of primary energy for the years 1987 and 2010, to illustrate the impacts of a fuel-neutral reduction in buildings sector energy use, and for specific fuel types, to enable meaningful comparisons of benefits achievable through various OBT research projects or technology developments. Two examples are provided to illustrate how these conversion factors may be used to quantify the impacts of energy savings potentially achievable through OBT building energy conservation efforts. 18 refs., 6 figs., 16 tabs
Obscured AGNS in Bulgeless Hosts Discovered By Wise : The Case Study of Sdss J1224+5555
There is mounting evidence that supermassive black holes form and grow in bulgeless galaxies. However, a robust determination of the fraction of AGNs in bulgeless galaxies, an important constraint to models of supermassive black hole seed formation and merger-free models of AGN fueling, is unknown, since optical studies have been shown to be incomplete for low mass AGNs. In a recent study using the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, we discovered hundreds of bulgeless galaxies that display mid-infrared signatures of extremely hot dust suggestive of powerful accreting massive black holes, despite having no signatures of black hole activity at optical wavelengths. Here we report X-ray follow-up observations of J122434.66+555522.3, a nearby (z=0.052) isolated bulgeless galaxy that contains an unresolved X-ray source detected at the 3 sigma level by XMM-Newton with an observed luminosity uncorrected for intrinsic absorption of L2-10~keV=1.1+/-0.4 1040 ergs s-1. Ground-based near-infrared spectroscopy with the Large Binocular Telescope together with multiwavelength observations from ultraviolet to millimeter wavelengths together suggest that J1224+5555 harbors a highly absorbed AGN with an intrinsic absorption of ~NH \u3e1024 cm-2. The hard X-ray luminosity of the putative AGN corrected for absorption is L2-10~keV~3x1042 ergs s-1, which, depending on the bolometric correction factor, corresponds to a bolometric luminosity of the AGN of 6x1043 ergs s-1 - 3x1044 erg s-1, and a lower mass limit for the black hole of MBH~2x106 Msun, based on the Eddington limit. While enhanced X-ray emission and hot dust can be produced by star formation in extremely low metallicity environments typical in dwarf galaxies, J1224+5555 has a stellar mass of ~2.0 x 1010 Msun and an above solar metallicity (12 + logO/H = 9.11), typical of our WISE-selected bulgeless galaxy sample. While collectively these observations suggest the presence of an AGN, we caution that identifying obscured AGNs in the low-luminosity regime is challenging and often requires multiwavelength observations. These observations suggest that low-luminosity AGNs can be heavily obscured and reside in optically quiescent galaxies, adding to the growing body of evidence that the fraction of bulgeless galaxies with accreting black holes may be significantly underestimated based on optical studies
Canine intrahepatic portosystemic shunt insertion into the systemic circulation is commonly through primary hepatic veins as assessed with CT angiography
Congenital intrahepatic portosystemic shunts (IHPSS) in dogs are traditionally classified as right, left, or central divisional. There are few descriptive studies regarding the variation of IHPSS within these categories. This multicenter, analytical, crossâsectional study aimed to describe a large series of dogs with CT angiography (CTA) of IHPSS, hypothesizing that there would be variation to the existing classification. Ninety CTA studies were assessed for IHPSS type, insertion, and the relationship of the insertion to the primary hepatic veins. Ninetyâtwo percent of IHPSS inserted into a primary hepatic vein (HV) or phrenic vein, 8% inserted directly into the ventral aspect of the intrahepatic caudal vena cava. The most common IHPSS type was a single right divisional (44%), including those inserting via the right lateral HV or the caudate HV. Left divisional IHPSS (33%) inserted into the left HV or left phrenic vein. Central divisional IHPSS (13%) inserted into the quadrate HV, central HV, dorsal right medial HV, or directly into the ventral aspect of the intrahepatic caudal vena cava. Multiple sites of insertion were seen in 9% of dogs. Within left, central, and right divisional types, further subclassifications can therefore commonly be defined based on the hepatic veins with which the shunting vessel communicates. Relating IHPSS morphology to the receiving primary HV could make IHPSS categorization more consistent and may influence the type and method of IHPSS attenuation recommended
The Messy Nature of Fiber Spectra: Star-Quasar Pairs Masquerading as Dual Type 1 AGNs
Theoretical studies predict that the most significant growth of supermassive
black holes occurs in late-stage mergers, coinciding with the manifestation of
dual active galactic nuclei (AGNs), and both major and minor mergers are
expected to be important for dual AGN growth. In fact, dual AGNs in minor
mergers should be signposts for efficient minor merger-induced SMBH growth for
both the more and less massive progenitor. We identified two candidate dual
AGNs residing in apparent minor mergers with mass ratios of 1:7 and
1:30. SDSS fiber spectra show broad and narrow emission lines in the
primary nuclei of each merger while only a narrow [O III] emission line and a
broad and prominent H/[N II] complex is observed in the secondary
nuclei. The FWHMs of the broad H lines in the primary and secondary
nuclei are inconsistent in each merger, suggesting that each nucleus in each
merger hosts a Type 1 AGN. However, spatially-resolved LBT optical spectroscopy
reveal rest-frame stellar absorption features, indicating the secondary sources
are foreground stars and that the previously detected broad lines are likely
the result of fiber spillover effects induced by the atmospheric seeing at the
time of the SDSS observations. This study demonstrates for the first time that
optical spectroscopic searches for Type 1/Type 1 pairs similarly suffer from
fiber spillover effects as has been observed previously for Seyfert 2 dual AGN
candidates. The presence of foreground stars may not have been clear if an
instrument with more limited wavelength range or limited sensitivity had been
used.Comment: 15 pages including appendix and references, 6 figures, 1 table.
Accepted for publication in Ap
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In utero ultrafine particulate matter exposure causes offspring pulmonary immunosuppression.
Early life exposure to fine particulate matter (PM) in air is associated with infant respiratory disease and childhood asthma, but limited epidemiological data exist concerning the impacts of ultrafine particles (UFPs) on the etiology of childhood respiratory disease. Specifically, the role of UFPs in amplifying Th2- and/or Th17-driven inflammation (asthma promotion) or suppressing effector T cells (increased susceptibility to respiratory infection) remains unclear. Using a mouse model of in utero UFP exposure, we determined early immunological responses to house dust mite (HDM) allergen in offspring challenged from 0 to 4 wk of age. Two mice strains were exposed throughout gestation: C57BL/6 (sensitive to oxidative stress) and BALB/C (sensitive to allergen exposure). Offspring exposed to UFPs in utero exhibited reduced inflammatory response to HDM. Compared with filtered air (FA)-exposed/HDM-challenged mice, UFP-exposed offspring had lower white blood cell counts in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and less pronounced peribronchiolar inflammation in both strains, albeit more apparent in C57BL/6 mice. In the C57BL/6 strain, offspring exposed in utero to FA and challenged with HDM exhibited a robust response in inflammatory cytokines IL-13 and Il-17. In contrast, this response was lost in offspring exposed in utero to UFPs. Circulating IL-10 was significantly up-regulated in C57BL/6 offspring exposed to UFPs, suggesting increased regulatory T cell expression and suppressed Th2/Th17 response. Our results reveal that in utero UFP exposure at a level close to the WHO recommended PM guideline suppresses an early immune response to HDM allergen, likely predisposing neonates to respiratory infection and altering long-term pulmonary health
Within Game and Between Gender Comparisons of Match Demands in Menâs and Womenâs International Touch Rugby World Cup
Touch rugby is an intermittent, high-intensity, anaerobic team sport that is widely played internationally as the Federation of International Touch includes 47-member nations. PURPOSE: The present study quantified and compared the match demands of menâs and womenâs international touch rugby players during the 2019 world cup. METHODS: Match demands (male: n=16; female: n=15) were assessed via 5Hz global positioning system devices. Separate linear mixed models and Cohenâs effect size comparisons were used to compare variables within matches (1st v 2nd half) for menâs and womenâs only matches, while between gender comparisons were made for complete match demands. RESULTS: Within match comparisons revealed significant, small reductions in running distance (p = 0.003) and one-minute peak average speed (p = 0.019) for menâs matches in the second half compared to the first half. For womenâs matches a significant, small reduction in running distance (p \u3c0.001) and a significant, small increase for walking distance (p \u3c0.001) was revealed during the second half compared to the first half. Significant, small to moderate differences were found between menâs and womenâs matches for average speed (p = 0.006), running distance (p \u3c0.001), sprint distance (p \u3c0.001), and peak speed (p \u3c0.001). CONCLUSION: Findings show the physical demands of menâs touch rugby matches are more demanding than womenâs matches. Results from our study suggest that gender specific conditioning programs should be implemented to ensure suitable preparation for international matches
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