The effect of co-ingesting beetroot juice and vitamin C on blood pressure in Hispanic women: a literature review and a proposal

Dietary nitrate supplementation is known for improving blood pressure through vasodilation and may favorably alter oral microbial populations related to cardiovascular health. Co-ingestion with vitamin C (VITC) may further potentiate these benefits but this remains unexplored. Additionally, this field has yet to examine the influence of sex and ethnicity, which is important given that physiological differences exist between populations. The purpose of this study is to assess the effects of combining dietary nitrate, in the form of beetroot juice, and VITC on blood pressure and the oral microbiome in women of Hispanic, African American, and American descent across multiple institutions. In a double-blinded, randomized, crossover design, 12 Hispanic females will arrive to the laboratory at Pepperdine University, while 12 African American and 12 Caucasian women will arrive to the laboratory at Indiana University, for 4 visits over 4 months to receive nitrate-depleted beetroot juice and crystal light (PL+CL), PL and VITC (PL+VITC), nitrate-rich beetroot juice and CL (BR+CL), and BR and VITC (BR+VITC). During each experimental trial, resting blood and buccal cell samples will be obtained followed by body composition. Following this, blood pressure and heart rate will be measured at rest and during a protocol for assessing cardiovascular reactivity. Each visit will take place during the early follicular phase of the menstrual cycle. The data have important implications for increasing the application of dietary interventions for cardiovascular health to benefit a wider population

Algorithmic statistics revisited

The mission of statistics is to provide adequate statistical hypotheses (models) for observed data. But what is an "adequate" model? To answer this question, one needs to use the notions of algorithmic information theory. It turns out that for every data string $x$ one can naturally define "stochasticity profile", a curve that represents a trade-off between complexity of a model and its adequacy. This curve has four different equivalent definitions in terms of (1)~randomness deficiency, (2)~minimal description length, (3)~position in the lists of simple strings and (4)~Kolmogorov complexity with decompression time bounded by busy beaver function. We present a survey of the corresponding definitions and results relating them to each other

Sovereign debt markets in light of the shadow economy

We investigate the controversial role of the informal sector in the economy of 64 countries between 2003 and 2007 by focusing for the first time on the impact it has on sovereign debt markets. In addition to a standard ordered probit regression, we employ two nonparametric neural network modeling techniques in order to capture possible complex interactions between our variables. Results confirm our main hypothesis that the informal sector has significant adverse effects on credit ratings and lending costs. MLP neural networks offer the best fit to the data, followed by the RBF neural networks and probit regression, respectively. The results do not change with respect to the stage of economic development of a country and contradict views about the possibility of significant economic benefits arising from the informal sector. Our study has important implications, especially in the context of the ongoing sovereign debt crisis, since it suggests that a reduction in the informal sector of financially challenged countries is likely to help in relaxing credit risk concerns and cutting down lending costs. Finally, a decision tree analysis is used to exploit the inherent discreteness in the data and derive intuitive rules with respect to the level of the informal sector

Mergers of multi-metallic globular clusters: The role of dynamics

Hubble Space Telescope observations of globular clusters (GCs) in the Antennae galaxy show clusters of clusters, or regions in the galaxy that span hundreds of parsecs, where many of the GCs are doomed to collide, and eventually merge. Several such objects appear likely to present a significant range in ages, hence possibly metallicities, and their merger could plausibly lead to multi-metallic GCs. Here we explore this process with direct-summation N-body simulations with GPU hardware. Our results reveal that colliding GCs with different metallicities and ages can produce a GC with multiplicity and occupation fractions not unlike those observed in multi-metallic clusters. In our simulations, the merged clusters have a phase with a larger amount of flattening than average, as a consequence of rapid rotation- thus suggesting that relatively recent mergers may play a role in producing highly flattened, multi-metallic clusters. We additionally explore the role of the King parameter of the cluster in the occupation fractions with a set of 160 direct-summation simulations and find that for equal size clusters the King parameter of the progenitor clusters determines the occupation fractions in the merger product, while in unequal size mergers the size of the clusters dominates the distribution of stars in the new GC. In particular, we find that the observed distribution of populations in Omega Cen can be described to some extent with our dynamical models.Comment: Accepted for publication MNRA

A cross-national study on the antecedents of work–life balance from the fit and balance perspective

Drawing on the perceived work–family fit and balance perspective, this study investigates demands and resources as antecedents of work–life balance (WLB) across four countries (New Zealand, France, Italy and Spain), so as to provide empirical cross-national evidence. Using structural equation modelling analysis on a sample of 870 full time employees, we found that work demands, hours worked and family demands were negatively related to WLB, while job autonomy and supervisor support were positively related to WLB. We also found evidence that resources (job autonomy and supervisor support) moderated the relationships between demands and work–life balance, with high resources consistently buffering any detrimental influence of demands on WLB. Furthermore, our study identified additional predictors of WLB that were unique to some national contexts. For example, in France and Italy, overtime hours worked were negatively associated with WLB, while parental status was positively associated with WLB. Overall, the implications for theory and practice are discussed.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

A idealização da alteridade: reflexões sobre seus fundamentos na história ocidental

Así como fueron considerados “salvajes” o “atrasados”, los nativos de las tierras colonizadas por los europeos también han sido objeto de elogios que han llegado hasta la idealización, y que han surgido especialmente entre las élites intelectuales de origen europeo. Este último tipo de discursos e imaginarios, relativamente poco comunes y escasamente estudiados, parece contraponerse al racismo e invitaría a una valoración de la diversidad cultural. Sin embargo, este artículo tiene como objetivo plantear un análisis crítico de dicho elogio de la alteridad, el cual, contrariamente a lo que se suele creer, no es un avance intelectual reciente, sino un discurso basado en antiguos mitos premodernos. Para alcanzar este objetivo, se hizo un análisis hermenéutico de los discursos de autores y colectivos reconocidos en Occidente, quienes han recurrido a términos connotados positivamente para describir las culturas de pueblos no europeos. En esos discursos se observaron algunos patrones generales, lo cual permitió relacionarlos con estructuras míticas de larga duración, tales como el mito cristiano del Jardín del Edén y el mito grecolatino de una Edad de Oro. Como una prolongación de esto, hoy se puede considerar al Otro “natural” y “tradicional” como el ejemplo de un ser humano admirable. No obstante, en este artículo se concluye que ese tipo de representaciones, aunque hoy estimadas como políticamente correctas, se basan en versiones esencializadas de la alteridad, las cuales en realidad reproducen ideales hegemónicos y contribuyen a ocultar la complejidad de la diversidad cultural.Just as the natives of lands colonized by Europeans were considered "wild" or "slow," they have also been the object of praise that has gone as far as idealization, and that have emerged especially among the intellectual elites of European origin. This last type of discourses and imaginaries, relatively rare and scarcely studied, seems to be opposed to racism and would invite an appreciation of cultural diversity. However, this article aims to propose a critical analysis of this praise of alterity, which, contrary to what is usually believed, is not a recent intellectual advance, but a discourse based on ancient pre-modern myths. To achieve this goal, a hermeneutic analysis of the discourses of authors and collectives recognized in the West, who have resorted to positively connoted terms to describe the cultures of non-European peoples was made. In these discourses, some general patterns were observed, which allowed them to be related to mythical structures of long duration, such as the Christian myth of the Garden of Eden and the Greek-Latin myth of a Golden Age. As an extension of this, today we can consider the Other "natural" and "traditional" as the example of an admirable human being. However, in this article it is concluded that such representations, although nowadays considered as politically correct, are based on specialized versions of alterity, which in reality reproduce hegemonic ideals and contribute to hide the complexity of the cultural diversity.Assim como foram considerados “selvagens” ou “atrasados” os nativos das terras colonizadas pelos europeus, também foram objeto de elogios que chegaram até a idealização e que surgiram especialmente entre as elites intelectuais de origem europeia. Este último tipo de discursos e imaginários, relativamente pouco comuns e escassamente estudados, parece contrapor-se ao racismo e convida a uma valorização da diversidade cultural. Contudo, este artigo tem como objetivo propor uma análise crítica do elogio da alteridade, o qual, ao contrário do que se costuma acreditar, não é um avanço intelectual recente, mas sim um discurso baseado em antigos mitos pré-modernos. Para atingir esse objetivo, fez-se uma análise hermenêutica dos discursos de autores e coletivos reconhecidos no Ocidente, os que têm recorrido a termos conotados positivamente para descrever as culturas de povos não europeus. Nesses discursos, foram observados alguns padrões gerais, o que permitiu relacioná-los com estruturas míticas de longa duração, tais como o mito cristão do Jardim do Éden e o mito greco-latino de uma Idade do Ouro. Como uma prolongação disso, hoje pode-se considerar o Outro “natural” e “tradicional” como o exemplo de um ser humano admirável. No entanto, neste artigo, conclui-se que esse tipo de representações, embora hoje estimadas como politicamente corretas, estão baseadas em versões essencializadas da alteridade, as quais, em realidade, produzem ideais hegemônicos e contribuem para ocultar a complexidade da diversidade cultural.https://revistas.udem.edu.co/index.php/anagramas/article/view/191

The Chandra ACIS Survey of M33 (ChASeM33): The final source catalog

This study presents the final source catalog of the Chandra ACIS Survey of M33 (ChASeM33). With a total exposure time of 1.4 Ms, ChASeM33 covers ~70% of the D25 isophote (R\approx4kpc) of M33 and provides the deepest, most complete, and detailed look at a spiral galaxy in X-rays. The source catalog includes 662 sources, reaches a limiting unabsorbed luminosity of ~2.4x10^(34) erg/s in the 0.35-8.0keV energy band, and contains source positions, source net counts, fluxes and significances in several energy bands, and information on source variability. The analysis challenges posed by ChASeM33 and the techniques adopted to address these challenges are discussed. To constrain the nature of the detected X-ray source, hardness ratios were constructed and spectra were fit for 254 sources, followup MMT spectra of 116 sources were acquired, and cross-correlations with previous X-ray catalogs and other multi-wavelength data were generated. Based on this effort, 183 of the 662 ChASeM33 sources could be identified. Finally, the luminosity function for the detected point sources as well as the one for the X-ray binaries in M33 is presented. The luminosity functions in the soft band (0.5-2.0 keV) and the hard band (2.0-8.0 keV) have a limiting luminosity at the 90% completeness limit of 4.0x10^(34) erg/s and 1.6x10^(35) erg/s (for D=817kpc), respectively, which is significantly lower than what was reported by previous X-ray binary population studies in galaxies more distant than M33. The resulting distribution is consistent with a dominant population of high mass X-ray binaries as would be expected for M33.Comment: 186 pages, 11 figures, 10 tables. Accepted for publication in the ApJS. For a high resolution version of the paper, see http://hea-www.harvard.edu/vlp_m33_public

An HST/ACS investigation of the spatial and chemical structure and sub-structure of NGC 891, a Milky Way analogue

We present a structural analysis of NGC891, an edge-on galaxy that has long been considered to be an analogue of the Milky Way. Using starcounts derived from deep HST/ACS images, we detect the presence of a thick disk component in this galaxy with vertical scale height 1.44+/-0.03 kpc and radial scale length 4.8+/-0.1 kpc, only slightly longer than that of the thin disk. A stellar spheroid with a de Vaucouleurs-like profile is detected from a radial distance of 0.5 kpc to the edge of the survey at 25 kpc; the structure appears to become more flattened with distance, reaching q = 0.50 in the outermost halo region probed. The halo inside of 15 kpc is moderately metal-rich (median [Fe/H] ~ -1.1) and approximately uniform in median metallicity. Beyond that distance a modest chemical gradient is detected, with the median reaching [Fe/H] ~ -1.3 at 20 kpc. We find evidence for subtle, but very significant, small-scale variations in the median colour and density over the halo survey area. We argue that the colour variations are unlikely to be due to internal extinction or foreground extinction, and reflect instead variations in the stellar metallicity. Their presence suggests a startling conclusion: that the halo of this galaxy is composed of a large number of incompletely-mixed sub-populations, testifying to its origin in a deluge of small accretions.Comment: 21 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Is In-Vivo laparoscopic simulation learning a step forward in the Undergraduate Surgical Education?

BACKGROUND: Essentials Skills in the Management of Surgical Cases - ESMSC is an International Combined Applied Surgical Science and Wet Lab course addressed at the Undergraduate level. Laparoscopic Skills is a fundamental element of Surgical Education and various Simulation-Based Learning (SBL) models have been endorsed. This study aims to explore if there is any significant difference in delegates' performance depending on whether they completed In Vivo module prior to the equivalent in the laparoscopic simulator. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 37 Medical Students from various EU countries were divided in 2 groups, and both completed the "Fundamentals in Laparoscopic Surgery" module in the Dry-lab Laparoscopic Simulator as well as the same module "In Vivo" on a swine model. Group A (18 students, 48.6%) completed the "Fundamentals in Laparoscopic Surgery - FLS" module prior to the "In Vivo", whereas group B completed the "In Vivo" module first. Direct Observation of Procedural Skills (DOPS) were used to assess delegates' performance. RESULTS: The mean DOPS scores for the "FLS" and "In Vivo" models were 2.27 ± 0.902 and 2.03 ± 0.833, respectively, and the delegates' performance was not statistically significantly different between them (p = 0.128). There was no statistically significant difference in the scores among different gender, year of study, school and handedness groups. The alteration in the sequence between Dry-lab "FLS" and "In Vivo" modules did not affect the performance in neither the "FLS" nor the "In Vivo" models. CONCLUSIONS: The inexpensive, but low-fidelity "FLS" model could serve an equal alternative Simulation-Based Learning model for the early undergraduate training. Our study demonstrated that high fidelity In Vivo simulation for laparoscopic skills does not affect significantly the improvement in the delegates' performance at the undergraduate level. Further studies should be conducted to identify at which stage of training should high fidelity simulation be introduced