747 research outputs found
The Facioscapulohumeral Syndrome: A Report of Two Cases
Two patients developed progressive muscle weakness in adult life. The initial diagnosis of polymyositis was made in both cases, but subsequent studies and the distribution of muscle involvement suggested facioscapulohumeral myopathy. Other investigators have proposed that this syndrome may result from either genetic or acquired causes. In our patients, the disorder was probably a sequela of polymyositis
Propagation of wave packets in randomly stratified media
The propagation of a narrow-band signal radiated by a point source in a
randomly layered absorbing medium is studied asymptotically in the
weak-scattering limit. It is shown that in a disordered stratified medium that
is homogeneous on average a pulse is channelled along the layers in a narrow
strip in the vicinity of the source. The space-time distribution of the pulse
energy is calculated. Far from the source, the shape of wave packets is
universal and independent of the frequency spectrum of the radiated signal.
Strong localization effects manifest themselves also as a low-decaying tail of
the pulse and a strong time delay in the direction of stratification. The
frequency-momentum correlation function in a one-dimensional random medium is
calculated.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, Revtex-4. Submitted to Phys. Rev.
Optically pure heterobimetallic helicates from self-assembly and click strategies
Single diastereomer, diamagnetic, octahedral Fe(II) tris chelate complexes are synthesised that contain three pendant pyridine proligands pre-organised for coordination to a second metal. They bind Cu(I) and Ag(I) with coordination geometry depending on the identity of the metal and the detail of the ligand structure, but for example homohelical (ΔFe,ΔCu) configured systems with unusual trigonal planar Cu cations are formed exclusively in solution as shown by VT-NMR and supported by DFT calculations. Similar heterobimetallic tris(triazole) complexes are synthesised via clean CuAAC reactions at a tris(alkynyl) complex, although here the configurations of the two metals differ (ΔFe,ΛCu), leading to the first optically pure heterohelicates. A second series of Fe complexes perform less well in either strategy as a result of lack of preorganisation
Unraveling the alcohol harm paradox: a population-based study of social gradients across very heavy drinking thresholds
BACKGROUND:
There is consistent evidence that individuals in higher socioeconomic status groups are more likely to report exceeding recommended drinking limits, but those in lower socioeconomic status groups experience more alcohol-related harm. This has been called the ‘alcohol harm paradox’. Such studies typically use standard cut-offs to define heavy drinking, which are exceeded by a large proportion of adults. Our study pools data from six years (2008–2013) of the population-based Health Survey for England to test whether the socioeconomic distribution of more extreme levels of drinking could help explain the paradox.
METHODS:
The study included 51,498 adults from a representative sample of the adult population of England for a cross-sectional analysis of associations between socioeconomic status and self-reported drinking. Heavy weekly drinking was measured at four thresholds, ranging from 112 g+/168 g + (alcohol for women/men, or 14/21 UK standard units) to 680 g+/880 g + (or 85/110 UK standard units) per week. Heavy episodic drinking was also measured at four thresholds, from 48 g+/64 g + (or 6/8 UK standard units) to 192 g+/256 g + (or 24/32 UK standard units) in one day. Socioeconomic status indicators were equivalised household income, education, occupation and neighbourhood deprivation.
RESULTS:
Lower socioeconomic status was associated with lower likelihoods of exceeding recommended limits for weekly and episodic drinking, and higher likelihoods of exceeding more extreme thresholds. For example, participants in routine or manual occupations had 0.65 (95 % CI 0.57–0.74) times the odds of exceeding the recommended weekly limit compared to those in ‘higher managerial’ occupations, and 2.15 (95 % CI 1.06–4.36) times the odds of exceeding the highest threshold. Similarly, participants in the lowest income quintile had 0.60 (95 % CI 0.52–0.69) times the odds of exceeding the recommended weekly limit when compared to the highest quintile, and 2.30 (95 % CI 1.28–4.13) times the odds of exceeding the highest threshold.
CONCLUSIONS:
Low socioeconomic status groups are more likely to drink at extreme levels, which may partially explain the alcohol harm paradox. Policies that address alcohol-related health inequalities need to consider extreme drinking levels in some sub-groups that may be associated with multiple markers of deprivation. This will require a more disaggregated understanding of drinking practices
Probing Spin-Charge Relation by Magnetoconductance in One-Dimensional Polymer Nanofibers
Polymer nanofibers are one-dimensional organic hydrocarbon systems containing
conducting polymers where the non-linear local excitations such as solitons,
polarons and bipolarons formed by the electron-phonon interaction were
predicted. Magnetoconductance (MC) can simultaneously probe both the spin and
charge of these mobile species and identify the effects of electron-electron
interactions on these nonlinear excitations. Here we report our observations of
a qualitatively different MC in polyacetylene (PA) and in polyaniline (PANI)
and polythiophene (PT) nanofibers. In PA the MC is essentially zero, but it is
present in PANI and PT. The universal scaling behavior and the zero (finite) MC
in PA (PANI and PT) nanofibers provide evidence of Coulomb interactions between
spinless charged solitons (interacting polarons which carry both spin and
charge)
Superconducting-coil--resistor circuit with electric field quadratic in the current
It is shown for the first time that the observed [Phys. Lett. A 162 (1992)
105] potential difference Phi_t between the resistor and the screen surrounding
the circuit is caused by polarization of the resistor because of the kinetic
energy of the electrons of the superconducting coil. The proportionality of
Phi_t to the square of the current and to the length of the superconducting
wire is explained. It is pointed out that measuring Phi_t makes it possible to
determine the Fermi quasimomentum of the electrons of a metal resistor.Comment: 2 pages, 1 figur
The Effectiveness of Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention in Emergency Departments: A Multicentre Pragmatic Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial
BACKGROUND:
Alcohol misuse is common in people attending emergency departments (EDs) and there is some evidence of efficacy of alcohol screening and brief interventions (SBI). This study investigated the effectiveness of SBI approaches of different intensities delivered by ED staff in nine typical EDs in England: the SIPS ED trial.
METHODS AND FINDINGS:
Pragmatic multicentre cluster randomized controlled trial of SBI for hazardous and harmful drinkers presenting to ED. Nine EDs were randomized to three conditions: a patient information leaflet (PIL), 5 minutes of brief advice (BA), and referral to an alcohol health worker who provided 20 minutes of brief lifestyle counseling (BLC). The primary outcome measure was the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) status at 6 months. Of 5899 patients aged 18 or more presenting to EDs, 3737 (63·3%) were eligible to participate and 1497 (40·1%) screened positive for hazardous or harmful drinking, of whom 1204 (80·4%) gave consent to participate in the trial. Follow up rates were 72% (n?=?863) at six, and 67% (n?=?810) at 12 months. There was no evidence of any differences between intervention conditions for AUDIT status or any other outcome measures at months 6 or 12 in an intention to treat analysis. At month 6, compared to the PIL group, the odds ratio of being AUDIT negative for brief advice was 1·103 (95% CI 0·328 to 3·715). The odds ratio comparing BLC to PIL was 1·247 (95% CI 0·315 to 4·939). A per protocol analysis confirmed these findings.
CONCLUSIONS:
SBI is difficult to implement in typical EDs. The results do not support widespread implementation of alcohol SBI in ED beyond screening followed by simple clinical feedback and alcohol information, which is likely to be easier and less expensive to implement than more complex interventions
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Pre-empting loss through ‘fashion memory’: a ‘postconservation’ perspective
Caring for modern materials and technologies used in contemporary fashion can become an archival dilemma, especially for museums collecting the intentionally ephemeral. Degradation becomes a focus, which is often evaluated via scientific research, empirical investigation, and interventional (physical) conservation. Quickening material degradation can often heighten anxiety in conservation and curatorial practice because this can limit the potential use of the artefact. In addition to using traditional modern materials some fashion designers are following sustainable design strategies in textile manufacturing, ones that challenge the growth model. Biodegradable materials have characteristics favoured by some designers, who intend for their creations to remain stable in use and wear before organic disposal. ‘Progressive fashion’ such as this raises questions and the need for new interpretive practices within fashion conservation. This paper examines how modern material degradation can lead to new ‘material relationships’, thus enabling future uses and users and hence allowing different aesthetic views and ‘fashion' memories’ to coexist. A ‘postconservation’ model is to extend the legacy and appreciation of fashion artefacts by moving from a representational conservation approach towards one that embraces documenting and preserving the performative, wearable, and renewable concepts. If a fashion item is designed to degrade, what are the archival implications in conserving, documenting processes and ‘performance’ of the applied characteristics of such artefacts? Methodological approaches using Material Engagement Theory and postphenomenology help to introduce temporal dynamic elements that postmodern materials often show during the transient process of degradation. Object studies of a wild rubber dress designed by Vivienne Westwood and Andreas Kronthaler c.2013, ‘ECCO’-Leather dress by Iris van Herpen, c.2010 and Rootbound #2 dress by Diana Scherer c.2017, highlight notions of pre-empting loss as a collection care approach, illustrating the potential benefits in archiving of the temporal aspects of contemporary fashion. Outcomes indicate creative practices of fashion designers using modern materials cannot be represented as being stable nor neutral
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