6,777 research outputs found
Childhood mental health: an ecological analysis of the effects of neighborhood characteristics
Research on childhood mental illness traditionally examines risk factors most proximal to the child. However, current trends reflect growing interest in how broader contextual factors contribute to psychopathology risk. In this study, we examined neighborhoodâlevel indicators as potential sources of chronic strain in a sample of 156 motherâchild dyads; children were 8 to 12 years old. For most neighborhood indicators, data were collected at the level of census tracts using publicly available data sets. We hypothesized that these indicators would be both associated with greater overall mental health symptoms and specifically predictive of childhood symptoms of depression. We also examined potential mediators (maternal functioning and family cohesion) and moderators (maternal depression). Neighborhood indicators correlated with parentsâ ratings of children's overall mental health problems, but did not correlate with children's selfâreport of depression symptoms. Maternal functioning mediated neighborhood effects on children's overall mental health problems. Implications and directions for future research are presented.The current work was supported by the following grants from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health MH066077, MH082861, PI: Martha C. Tompson, Ph.D. and MH082861S1, PI: Gail N. Kemp, M.A., M.P.H. (MH066077 - National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health; MH082861 - National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health; MH082861S1 - National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health)Published versio
Pre-clearing vegetation of the coastal lowlands of the Wet Tropics Bioregion, North Queensland
A pre-clearing vegetation map and digital coverage at approximately 1:50 000 scale for the coastal lowlands (up to about 200 m elevation) of the Wet Tropics Bioregion, North Queensland is presented. The study area covers about 508 000 ha from Cooktown, 420 km south almost to Townsville (latitude 15° 30ââ18° 20â longitude 144° 50ââ146° 40â). Data sources included historical aerial photography, early surveyorsâ plans, explorersâ journals, previous vegetation maps, and maps of soils and geology. The pre-clearing mapping was built around the remnant vegetation mapping of Stanton & Stanton (2005), and the vegetation classification of this latter work was adopted. Vegetation units were further classified into regional ecosystems compatible with the standard State-wide system used by Queensland government. The digital coverage is part of the current Queensland Herbarium regional ecosystem coverage (Queensland Herbarium and Wet Tropics Management Authority 2005). Coloured maps (1:100 000 scale) of the pre-clearing vegetation of the Herbert, Tully, Innisfail and Macalister/Daintree subregions are on an accompanying CD-ROM. An evaluation of vegetation loss through clearing on the coastal lowlands of the Wet Tropics revealed several nearextinct vegetation communities and regional ecosystems, and many others that are drastically reduced in area. Even ecosystems occurring on poorly drained lands have suffered a surprisingly high level of loss due to the effectiveness of drainage operations. Grassland ecosystems were found to be widespread on the Herbert and Tully floodplains, but are now close to extinction. The lowlands vegetation of the Wet Tropics that remains today continues to be fragmented and degraded despite the introduction of State-wide broad-scale tree-clearing laws in 1999, and the cessation of broadscale tree-clearing in December 2006
The magnetoelectrochemical switch
In the field of spintronics, the archetype solid-state two-terminal device is the spin valve, where the resistance is controlled by the magnetization configuration. We show here how this concept of spin-dependent switch can be extended to magnetic electrodes in solution, by magnetic control of their chemical environment. Appropriate nanoscale design allows a huge enhancement of the magnetic force field experienced by paramagnetic molecular species in solutions, which changes between repulsive and attractive on changing the electrodes' magnetic orientations. Specifically, the field gradient force created within a sub-100-nm-sized nanogap separating two magnetic electrodes can be reversed by changing the orientation of the electrodes' magnetization relative to the current flowing between the electrodes. This can result in a breaking or making of an electric nanocontact, with a change of resistance by a factor of up to 103. The results reveal how an external field can impact chemical equilibrium in the vicinity of nanoscale magnetic circuits
How much dark matter is there inside early-type galaxies?
We study the luminous mass as a function of the dynamical mass inside the
effective radius (r_e) of early-type galaxies (ETGs) to search for differences
between these masses. We assume Newtonian dynamics and that any difference
between these masses is due to the presence of dark matter. We use several
samples of ETGs -ranging from 19 000 to 98 000 objects- from the ninth data
release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We perform Monte Carlo (MC)
simulations of galaxy samples and compare them with real samples. The main
results are: i) MC simulations show that the distribution of the dynamical vs.
luminous mass depends on the mass range where the ETGs are distributed
(geometric effect). This dependence is caused by selection effects and
intrinsic properties of the ETGs. ii) The amount of dark matter inside r_e is
approximately 7% +- 22%. iii) This amount of dark matter is lower than the
minimum estimate (10%) found in the literature and four times lower than the
average (30%) of literature estimates. However, if we consider the associated
error, our estimate is of the order of the literature average.Comment: 24 pages, 12 figures. MNRAS accepte
Two Galaxy Clusters: A3565 and A3560
We report 102 new redshifts and magnitudes for a sample of galaxies to RF ~
15.5 mag in a 2.17 deg x 2.17 deg region centered on the galaxy IC 4296, the
most luminous member of the A3565 cluster. Up to the limiting magnitude we find
29 cluster members, and measure a velocity dispersion of 228 km/s. The
estimated total mass for this system is ~ 3.0 x h**-1 10**13 Msun (where h =
H0/100 km/s/Mpc), and its dynamical properties are quite typical of poor
clusters presenting X-ray emission. We also find that galaxies with absorption
lines are more concentrated towards the center of the cluster, while systems
with emission lines are mainly located in the outer parts. The small velocity
dispersion of the cluster, coupled to the known presence of an interacting pair
of galaxies, and the large extent of the brightest cluster galaxy, could
indicate that galaxy formation through mergers may still be underway in this
system. The surveyed region also contains galaxies belonging to the Shapley
Concentration cluster A3560. Within 30 arc min of the cluster center, we detect
32 galaxies, for which we measure a velocity dispersion of 588 km/s and a mass
of ~2 x h**-1 10**14 Msun. However, because our sample is restricted to
galaxies brighter than M*, these values should be considered only as rough
estimates.Comment: 33 pages, including 6 tables and 9 postscript figures. Uses AAS Latex
macros. Postscript file and ASCII versions of Tables 4 and 6 are available at
http://www.dan.on.br/other_surveys/a3565.html. Scheduled for September 1999
issue of The Astronomical Journa
X-ray total mass estimate for the nearby relaxed cluster A3571
We constrain the total mass distribution in the cluster A3571, combining
spatially resolved ASCA temperature data with ROSAT imaging data with the
assumption that the cluster is in hydrostatic equilibrium. The total mass
within r_500 (1.7/h_50 Mpc) is M_500 = 7.8[+1.4,-2.2] 10^14/ h_50 Msun at 90%
confidence, 1.1 times smaller than the isothermal estimate. The Navarro, Frenk
& White ``universal profile'' is a good description of the dark matter density
distribution in A3571. The gas density profile is shallower than the dark
matter profile, scaling as r^{-2.1} at large radii, leading to a monotonically
increasing gas mass fraction with radius. Within r_500 the gas mass fraction
reaches a value of f_gas = 0.19[+0.06,-0.03] h_50^{-3/2} (90% confidence
errors). Assuming that this value of f_gas is a lower limit for the the
universal value of the baryon fraction, we estimate the 90% confidence upper
limit of the cosmological matter density to be Omega_m < 0.4.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, accepted by Ap
Mating Ewes on Condensed Tannin-Containing Forages Increases Ewe Reproductive Rate and Reduces Lamb Mortality
Action of condensed tannin (CT) reduces forage protein degradation in the rumen and increases the absorption of amino acids from the small intestine (Barry & McNabb 1999). This paper reports the effects of grazing ewes on two CT-containing forages during mating upon ewe reproductive rate and lamb mortality
KIF5A and the contribution of susceptibility genotypes as a predictive biomarker for multiple sclerosis
There is increasing interest in the development of multiple sclerosis (MS) biomarkers that reflect central nervous system tissue injury to determine prognosis. We aimed to assess the prognostic value of kinesin superfamily motor protein KIF5A in MS by measuring levels of KIF5A in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) combined with analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs; rs12368653 and rs703842) located within a MS susceptibility gene locus at chromosome 12q13â14 region. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to measure KIF5A in CSF obtained from two independent biobanks comprising non-inflammatory neurological disease controls (NINDC), clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) and MS cases. CSF KIF5A expression was significantly elevated in progressive MS cases compared with NINDCs, CIS and relapsingâremitting MS (RRMS). In addition, levels of KIF5A positively correlated with change in MS disease severity scores (EDSS, MSSS and ARMSSS), in RRMS patients who had documented disease progression at 2-year clinical follow-up. Copies of adenine risk alleles (AG/AA; rs12368653 and rs703842) corresponded with a higher proportion of individuals in relapse at the time of lumbar puncture (LP), higher use of disease-modifying therapies post LP and shorter MS duration. Our study suggests that CSF KIF5A has potential as a predictive biomarker in MS and further studies into the potential prognostic value of analysing MS susceptibility SNPs should be considered
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