Admission Diagnosis of Cerebral Malaria in Adults in an Endemic Area of Tanzania:Implications and Clinical Description

Cerebralmalariais commonly diagnosed in adults in endemic areas in Africa, both in hospitals and in the community. This presents a paradox inconsistent with the epidemiological understanding that the development of immunity during childhood confers protection against severe disease in adult life. To establish the contribution of Plasmodium falciparum infection in adults admitted with neurological dysfunction in an endemic area, to assess the implications of an admission clinical diagnosis of ‘cerebral malaria’ on the treatment and clinical outcome, and to describe the clinical features of patients with malaria parasitaemia. Prospective observational study. We studied adult patients admitted with neurological dysfunction to Muhimbili National Hospital, Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania from October 2000 to July 2001. A full blood count was done and serum creatinine, blood glucose and P. falciparum parasite load were measured. Of 199 patients (median age 34.5 years), 38% were diagnosed as ‘cerebral malaria’ on admission, but only 7.5% had detectable parasitaemia, giving a positive predictive value of 13.3%. Only 1% fulfilled the WHO criteria for cerebral malaria. The prevalence of parasitaemia (7.5%) was less than that observed in a group of asymptomatic controls (9.3%), but distribution of parasite densities was higher in the patients. Mortality was higher in patients with no parasitaemia (22.3%) than in those with parasitaemia (13%). Cerebral malaria was grossly overdiagnosed, resulting in unnecessary treatment and insufficient investigation of other possible diagnoses, which could lead to higher mortality. Extension of this misperception to the assessment of cause of death in community surveys may lead to an overestimation of the impact of malaria in adults.\u

Geochemical composition of k-rich lavas from the lena trough (Arctic ocean)

Mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) from the Arctic Ocean have been significantly less studied than those from other oceans. The Arctic ridges (Gakkel Ridge and Lena Trough) are ultraslow-spreading ridges with low melt productivity and are thus the best locations to investigate mantle heterogeneity. We report the major and trace element and Sr-Nd-Pb-Hf isotope compositions of basalts generated along the Lena Trough and the westernmost part of the Gakkel Ridge in the Arctic Ocean. Basalts from the northern Lena Trough and westernmost Gakkel Ridge (NLT-WGR) have compositions close to normal MORB. The geochemical composition of the NLT-WGR lavas confirms a binary mixing model involving melts from a depleted MORB mantle source and a Spitsbergen amphibole-bearing subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) source. In contrast, in the central part of the Lena Trough (CLT), the basalts are alkalic with relatively high Mg-number (60-65), high SiO2 (51·0-51·6 wt %), Al2O. 3 (18·1-18·4 wt %), Na2O (4·0-4·2 wt %), K 2O (1·0-1·6 wt %), K2O/TiO2 (0·6-0·9) and (La/Sm)PM (1·4-1·8), and low FeO (6·5-6·8 wt %) contents. These basalts display isotope variations with .87Sr/.86Sr ranging from 0·70361 to 0·70390, .143Nd/144Nd from 0·51283 to 0·51290 (e{open} Nd + 3·7 to +5·2), 176Hf/177Hf from 0·28313 to 0·28322 (e{open}Hf + 11·6 to +14·9) and .206Pb/204Pb from 17·752 to 17·884, .207Pb/204Pb from 15·410 to 15·423 and .208Pb/. 204Pb from 37·544 to 37·670. These isotope compositions clearly distinguish the CLT lavas from those generated along the Gakkel Ridge. For the CLT lavas, involvement of a phlogopite- or amphibole- and (possibly garnet)-bearing SCLM source component is proposed. Owing to SCLM contamination along the entire length of the Lena Trough, we classify the Lena Trough as an ocean-continent transition boundary. Magmatism similar to that observed in the Lena Trough would be expected to occur wherever ocean spreading initiates. © The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved

Autonomous Attitude Determination System (AADS). Volume 1: System description

Information necessary to understand the Autonomous Attitude Determination System (AADS) is presented. Topics include AADS requirements, program structure, algorithms, and system generation and execution

Processing and Transmission of Information

Contains reports on four research projects.National Science Foundation (Grant G-16526)National Institutes of Health (Grant MH-04737-03)National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Grant NsG-496)Lincoln Laboratory (Purchase Order DDL BB-107)United States Air Force (Contract AF19(628)-500

Evolution of magnetic polarons and spin-carrier interactions through the metal-insulator transition in Eu1−x_{1-x}Gdx_{x}O

Raman scattering studies as functions of temperature, magnetic field, and Gd-substitution are used to investigate the evolution of magnetic polarons and spin-carrier interactions through the metal-insulator transition in Eu$_{1-x}$Gd$_{x}$O. These studies reveal a greater richness of phase behavior than have been previously observed using transport measurements: a spin-fluctuation-dominated paramagnetic (PM) phase regime for T $>$ T$^{*}$ $>$ T$_{C}$, a two-phase regime for T $<$ T$^{*}$ in which magnetic polarons develop and coexist with a remnant of the PM phase, and an inhomogeneous ferromagnetic phase regime for T $<$ T$_{C}$

Unusually Weak Diffuse Interstellar Bands toward HD 62542

As part of an extensive survey of diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs), we have obtained optical spectra of the moderately reddened B5V star HD 62542, which is known to have an unusual UV extinction curve of the type usually identified with dark clouds. The typically strongest of the commonly catalogued DIBs covered by the spectra -- those at 5780, 5797, 6270, 6284, and 6614 A -- are essentially absent in this line of sight, in marked contrast with other lines of sight of similar reddening. We compare the HD 62542 line of sight with others exhibiting a range of extinction properties and molecular abundances and interpret the weakness of the DIBs as an extreme case of deficient DIB formation in a dense cloud whose more diffuse outer layers have been stripped away. We comment on the challenges these observations pose for identifying the carriers of the diffuse bands.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figures; aastex; accepted by Ap

Slotted Rotatable Target Assembley and Systematic Error Analysis for a Search for Long Range Spin Dependent Interactions from Exotic Vector Boson Exchange Using Neutron Spin Rotation

We discuss the design and construction of a novel target array of nonmagnetic test masses used in a neutron polarimetry measurement made in search for new possible exotic spin dependent neutron–atominteractions of Nature at sub-mm length scales. This target was designed to accept and efficiently transmit a transversely polarized slow neutron beam through a series of long open parallel slots bounded by flat rectangular plates. These openings possessed equal atom density gradients normal to the slots from the flat test masses with dimensions optimized to achieve maximum sensitivity to an exotic spin-dependent interaction from vector boson exchanges with ranges in the mm - μm regime. The parallel slots were oriented differently in four quadrants that can be rotated about the neutron beam axis in discrete 90°increments using a Geneva drive. The spin rotation signals from the 4 quadrants were measured using a segmented neutron ion chamber to suppress possible systematic errors from stray magnetic fields in the target region. We discuss the per-neutron sensitivity of the target to the exotic interaction, the design constraints, the potential sources of systematic errors which could be present in this design, and our estimate of the achievable sensitivity using this method

Quantum Melting of the Charge Density Wave State in 1T-TiSe2

We report a Raman scattering study of low-temperature, pressure-induced melting of the CDW phase of 1T-TiSe2. Our Raman scattering measurements reveal that the collapse of the CDW state occurs in three stages: (i) For P<5 kbar, the pressure dependence of the CDW amplitude mode energies and intensities are indicative of a ``crystalline'' CDW regime; (ii) for 5 < P < 25 kbar, there is a decrease in the CDW amplitude mode energies and intensities with increasing pressure that suggests a regime in which the CDW softens, and may decouple from the lattice; and (iii) for P>25 kbar, the absence of amplitude modes reveals a melted CDW regime.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure