651 research outputs found
The 4d one component lattice model in the broken phase revisited
Measurements of various physical quantities in the symmetry broken phase of
the one component lattice with standard action, are shown to be
consistent with the critical behavior obtained by renormalization group
analyses. This is in contrast to recent conclusions by another group, who
further claim that the unconventional scaling behavior they observe, when
extended to the complete Higgs sector of the Standard Model, would alter the
conventional triviality bound on the mass of the Higgs.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figure
Knowledge and Uses of African Pangolins as a Source of Traditional Medicine in Ghana
Traditional medicine has been practised in Ghana for centuries with the majority of Ghanaians still patronising the services of traditional healers. Throughout Africa a large number of people use pangolins as a source of traditional medicine, however, there is a dearth of information on the use of animals in folk medicine in Ghana, in particular the use of pangolins. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalent use of pangolins and the level of knowledge of pangolin use among traditional healers in Ghana for the treatment of human ailments. Data was gathered from 48 traditional healers using semi-structured interviews on the traditional medicinal use of pangolin body parts in the Kumasi metropolis of Ghana. The cultural importance index, relative frequency of citation, informant agreement ratio and use agreement values were calculated to ascertain the most culturally important pangolin body part as well as the level of knowledge dissemination among traditional healers with regards pangolin body parts. Our study revealed that 13 body parts of pangolins are used to treat various medicinal ailments. Pangolin scales and bones were the most prevalent prescribed body parts and indicated the highest cultural significance among traditional healing practices primarily for the treatment of spiritual protection, rheumatism, financial rituals and convulsions. Despite being classified under Schedule 1 of Ghana's Wildlife Conservation Act of 1971 (LI 685), that prohibits anyone from hunting or being in possession of a pangolin, our results indicated that the use of pangolins for traditional medicinal purposes is widespread among traditional healers in Ghana. A study on the population status and ecology of the three species of African pangolins occurring in Ghana is urgently required in order to determine the impact this harvest for traditional medical purposes has on their respective populations as current levels appear to be unmonitored and unsustainable
Incorporating information from source simulations into searches for gravitational-wave bursts
The detection of gravitational waves from astrophysical sources of
gravitational waves is a realistic goal for the current generation of
interferometric gravitational-wave detectors. Short duration bursts of
gravitational waves from core-collapse supernovae or mergers of binary black
holes may bring a wealth of astronomical and astrophysical information. The
weakness of the waves and the rarity of the events urges the development of
optimal methods to detect the waves. The waves from these sources are not
generally known well enough to use matched filtering however; this drives the
need to develop new ways to exploit source simulation information in both
detections and information extraction. We present an algorithmic approach to
using catalogs of gravitational-wave signals developed through numerical
simulation, or otherwise, to enhance our ability to detect these waves. As more
detailed simulations become available, it is straightforward to incorporate the
new information into the search method. This approach may also be useful when
trying to extract information from a gravitational-wave observation by allowing
direct comparison between the observation and simulations.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figur
Invasive Pneumococcal Pneumonia and Respiratory Virus Co-infections
Each year, especially in the winter, many get sick and some die of invasive pneumococcal pneumonia. Does this type of pneumonia increase in the winter because people are in closer contact indoors? Or are people more susceptible to this bacterial disease after having had a seasonal respiratory virus infection? A season-by-season analysis found an association between pneumococcal pneumonia and two viruses (influenza and respiratory syncytial virus). The association varied by season and was strongest when the predominant influenza virus subtype was H3N2. Vaccination against influenza and RSV should also help protect against pneumococcal pneumonia
Walking the tightrope: communicating overdiagnosis in modern healthcare
Overdiagnosis and overtreatment have serious implications for individuals, healthcare systems, and society,1 2 and effective strategies are urgently needed to help the public, clinicians, and policy makers address this problem. Communication about overdiagnosis has been highlighted as essential for moving forward but presents several challenges, such as the potential to confuse the public, undermine trust, and adversely affect people who already have a diagnosis. Various communication based strategies offer real promise; we describe what is known and what we need to know to communicate effectively and safely about overdiagnosis and overtreatment. Key messages: Overdiagnosis provides no benefits to patients and is a challenge to the sustainability of modern healthcare systems Communication based strategies could help reduce overdiagnosis and its negative impact on individuals and health systems Mass media education, shared decision making, terminology changes for disease states, and deliberative methods (juries) all have potential as effective communication strategiesKJMcC is supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) career development fellowship (1029241), JJ is supported by an NHMRC early career fellowship (1037028), and. JW is supported by a career development fellowship from Cancer Research UK (C7492/A17219)
A Petal of the Sunflower: Photometry of the Stellar Tidal Stream in the Halo of Messier 63 (NGC 5055)
We present surface photometry of a very faint, giant arc feature in the halo
of the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 5055 (M63) that is consistent with being a part
of a stellar stream resulting from the disruption of a dwarf satellite galaxy.
This faint feature was first detected in early photographic studies by van der
Kruit (1979); more recently by Mart\'inez-Delgado et al. (2010) and as
presented in this work, the loop has been realized to be the result of a recent
minor merger through evidence obtained by deep images taken with a telescope of
only 0.16 m aperture. The stellar stream is confirmed in additional images
taken with the 0.5 m of the BlackBird Remote Observatory and the 0.8 m of the
McDonald Observatory. This low surface brightness structure around the disk of
the galaxy extends ~29 kpc from its center, with a projected width of 3.3 kpc.
The stream's morphology is consistent with that of the visible part of a
"great-circle" stellar stream originating from the accretion of a ~10^8 M_sun
dwarf satellite in the last few Gyr. The progenitor satellite's current
position and fate are not conclusive from our data. The color of the stream's
stars is consistent with Local Group dwarfs and is similar to the outer regions
of M63's disk and stellar halo. We detect other low surface brightness
"plumes"; some of these may be extended spiral features related to the galaxy's
complex spiral structure and others may be tidal debris associated with the
disruption of the galaxy's outer stellar disk as a result of the accretion
event. We differentiate between features related to the tidal stream and faint,
blue features in the outskirts of the galaxy's disk previously detected by the
GALEX satellite. With its highly warped HI gaseous disk (~20 deg), M63
represents one of several examples of an isolated spiral galaxy with a warped
disk showing strong evidence of an ongoing minor merger.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures, 3 tables, Accepted for publication in The
Astronomical Journa
Common and Distinct Components in Data Fusion
In many areas of science multiple sets of data are collected pertaining to
the same system. Examples are food products which are characterized by
different sets of variables, bio-processes which are on-line sampled with
different instruments, or biological systems of which different genomics
measurements are obtained. Data fusion is concerned with analyzing such sets of
data simultaneously to arrive at a global view of the system under study. One
of the upcoming areas of data fusion is exploring whether the data sets have
something in common or not. This gives insight into common and distinct
variation in each data set, thereby facilitating understanding the
relationships between the data sets. Unfortunately, research on methods to
distinguish common and distinct components is fragmented, both in terminology
as well as in methods: there is no common ground which hampers comparing
methods and understanding their relative merits. This paper provides a unifying
framework for this subfield of data fusion by using rigorous arguments from
linear algebra. The most frequently used methods for distinguishing common and
distinct components are explained in this framework and some practical examples
are given of these methods in the areas of (medical) biology and food science.Comment: 50 pages, 12 figure
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