Unsteady bipolar diffusion charging in aerosol neutralisers: A non-dimensional approach to predict charge distribution equilibrium behaviour

High total particle concentration and small particle size are common features of aerosols encountered in the field of aerosol-based nanotechnology that can potentially lead to non-equilibrium issues in the neutraliser upon SMPS characterisation, resulting in large errors in size distribution measurements. Experiments show that the commonly assumed n⋅tn⋅t product rule fails to predict equilibrium behaviour in aerosol neutralisers under these conditions, as it does not capture the influence of total particle concentration and particle size. The aim of this work is to provide an equilibrium indicator that identifies situations where equilibrium is not reached in the neutraliser as a function of residence time, ion generation rate, total particle concentration, and particle size. Bipolar diffusion charging equations are solved numerically in a one-dimensional model first, and a non-dimensional analysis of the results is carried out in order to map equilibrium behaviour as a function of two non-dimensional groups, the non-dimensional ion concentration, and the non-dimensional neutraliser residence time. Solving the three-dimensional form of the charging equations in the geometry of the neutraliser then enables one to find good agreement in terms of equilibrium behaviour between experiments and predictions from the non-dimensional model. The three-dimensional model captures the complexity of the physics of unsteady particle charging inside a neutraliser. This work then discusses this as a new approach to non-equilibrium behaviour prediction in neutralisers, providing a tool supplementing the n⋅t product rule that can be used in practice.The authors express their thanks to Cambustion ltd. for the loan of the TSI 3077A neutraliser. The project was supported by the EPSRC Cambridge NanoDTC, EP/G037221/1, the Cambridge Home EU Scholarship Scheme (CHESS Fund) and the Schiff Foundation Studentships.This is the final published version. It was first made available by Elsevier at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021850215000440#

Pilot Safety Evaluation of Varenicline for the Treatment of Methamphetamine Dependence.

Despite the worldwide extent of methamphetamine dependence, no medication has been shown to effectively treat afflicted individuals. One relatively unexplored approach is modulation of cholinergic system function. Animal research suggests that enhancement of central cholinergic activity, possibly at nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), can reduce methamphetamine-related behaviors. Further, preliminary findings indicate that rivastigmine, a cholinesterase inhibitor, may reduce craving for methamphetamine after administration of the drug in human subjects. We therefore performed a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover pilot study of the safety and tolerability of varenicline in eight methamphetamine-dependent research subjects. Varenicline is used clinically to aid smoking cessation, and acts as a partial agonist at α4β2 nAChRs with full agonist properties at α7 nAChRs. Oral varenicline dose was titrated over 1 week to reach 1 mg bid, and then was co-administered with 30 mg methamphetamine, delivered in ten intravenous infusions of 3 mg each. Varenicline was found to be safe in combination with IV methamphetamine, producing no cardiac rhythm disturbances or alterations in vital sign parameters. No adverse neuropsychiatric sequelae were detected either during varenicline titration or following administration of methamphetamine. The results suggest that varenicline warrants further investigation as a potential treatment for methamphetamine dependence

Reconciling Apples & Oranges: A Constructivist SoTL Writing Program

Faculty new to SoTL, especially when they consider writing for publication, often react by focusing on how different it is—apples and oranges—from their familiar disciplinary processes and products. Although there are indeed significant differences between individual disciplines and SoTL, appealing to the similarities can demystify SoTL as disciplinary experts reach out of their comfort zones and into areas of research and writing that often make them doubt themselves. We fill a gap in the SoTL literature by describing how to go from data analysis to publication in SoTL. We also report on our descriptive study delving into the complexities of participants’ experiences, helping us come to a greater understanding of how to support this work

Genetic Covariance Structure of Reading, Intelligence and Memory in Children

This study investigates the genetic relationship among reading performance, IQ, verbal and visuospatial working memory (WM) and short-term memory (STM) in a sample of 112, 9-year-old twin pairs and their older siblings. The relationship between reading performance and the other traits was explained by a common genetic factor for reading performance, IQ, WM and STM and a genetic factor that only influenced reading performance and verbal memory. Genetic variation explained 83% of the variation in reading performance; most of this genetic variance was explained by variation in IQ and memory performance. We hypothesize, based on these results, that children with reading problems possibly can be divided into three groups: (1) children low in IQ and with reading problems; (2) children with average IQ but a STM deficit and with reading problems; (3) children with low IQ and STM deficits; this group may experience more reading problems than the other two

Symptoms associated with victimization in patients with schizophrenia and related disorders

Background: Patients with psychoses have an increased risk of becoming victims of violence. Previous studies have suggested that higher symptom levels are associated with a raised risk of becoming a victim of physical violence. There has been, however, no evidence on the type of symptoms that are linked with an increased risk of recent victimization. Methods: Data was taken from two studies on involuntarily admitted patients, one national study in England and an international one in six other European countries. In the week following admission, trained interviewers asked patients whether they had been victims of physical violence in the year prior to admission, and assessed symptoms on the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). Only patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or related disorders (ICD-10 F20–29) were included in the analysis which was conducted separately for the two samples. Symptom levels assessed on the BPRS subscales were tested as predictors of victimization. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models were fitted to estimate adjusted odds ratios. Results: Data from 383 patients in the English sample and 543 patients in the European sample was analysed. Rates of victimization were 37.8% and 28.0% respectively. In multivariable models, the BPRS manic subscale was significantly associated with victimization in both samples. Conclusions: Higher levels of manic symptoms indicate a raised risk of being a victim of violence in involuntary patients with schizophrenia and related disorders. This might be explained by higher activity levels, impaired judgement or poorer self-control in patients with manic symptoms. Such symptoms should be specifically considered in risk assessments

A systematic review of the safety of lisdexamfetamine dimesylate

BACKGROUND: Here we review the safety and tolerability profile of lisdexamfetamine dimesylate (LDX), the first long-acting prodrug stimulant for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). METHODS: A PubMed search was conducted for English-language articles published up to 16 September 2013 using the following search terms: (lisdexamfetamine OR lisdexamphetamine OR SPD489 OR Vyvanse OR Venvanse OR NRP104 NOT review [publication type]). RESULTS: In short-term, parallel-group, placebo-controlled, phase III trials, treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) in children, adolescents, and adults receiving LDX were typical for those reported for stimulants in general. Decreased appetite was reported by 25-39 % of patients and insomnia by 11-19 %. The most frequently reported TEAEs in long-term studies were similar to those reported in the short-term trials. Most TEAEs were mild or moderate in severity. Literature relating to four specific safety concerns associated with stimulant medications was evaluated in detail in patients receiving LDX. Gains in weight, height, and body mass index were smaller in children and adolescents receiving LDX than in placebo controls or untreated norms. Insomnia was a frequently reported TEAE in patients with ADHD of all ages receiving LDX, although the available data indicated no overall worsening of sleep quality in adults. Post-marketing survey data suggest that the rate of non-medical use of LDX was lower than that for short-acting stimulants and lower than or equivalent to long-acting stimulant formulations. Small mean increases were seen in blood pressure and pulse rate in patients receiving LDX. CONCLUSIONS: The safety and tolerability profile of LDX in individuals with ADHD is similar to that of other stimulants

Digital Technologies in Providing Development of Algorithms Surgical Treatment of Supraventricular Arrhythmias

The aim of the study was the development and clinical application of patient selection algorithm for surgical treatment of longlasting persistent atrial fibrillation. The study included 235 patients with acquired heart disease and coronary artery disease, which in the period from 1999 to 2015 performed surgical treatment of long-term persistent atrial fibrillation (RF “MAZE III” procedure) in conjunction with the correction of the underlying heart disease. The patients were divided into 2 groups according to the method of operation: the group 1 – 135 patients (76 women and 59 men) who have applied an integrated approach to surgery for atrial fibrillation, including penetrating method of RF effects on atrial myocardium and the study of the function of the sinus node before and after the operation (these patients were operated on from 2008 to 2015). The group 2 – 100 patients (62 women and 38 men) with a “classical” method of monopolar RF “MAZE III”, which the sinus node function was not studied. We used the combined (epi- and endocardial) method of RF "MAZE". This algorithm is decreasing of possible permanent pacemaker postoperatively. The initial sinus node function in these patients, measured using the original method, the basic line of this algorithm was taken. The results showed that use this algorithm for selection of patients allows significantly reduce the possibility of pacemaker implantation in the postoperative perio

Anthropology and STS: Generative interfaces, multiple locations

In this multi-authored essay, nine anthropologists working in different parts of the world take part in a conversation about the interfaces between anthropology and STS (science and technology studies). Through this conversation, multiple interfaces emerge that are heterogeneously composed according to the languages, places, and arguments from where they emerge. The authors explore these multiple interfaces as sites where encounters are also sites of difference—where complex groupings, practices, topics, and analytical grammars overlap, and also exceed each other, composing irregular links in a conversation that produces connections without producing closure

Autocorrelations of stellar light and mass at z~0 and ~1: From SDSS to DEEP2

We present measurements of projected autocorrelation functions w_p(r_p) for the stellar mass of galaxies and for their light in the U, B and V bands, using data from the third data release of the DEEP2 Galaxy Redshift Survey and the final data release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We investigate the clustering bias of stellar mass and light by comparing these to projected autocorrelations of dark matter estimated from the Millennium Simulations (MS) at z=1 and 0.07, the median redshifts of our galaxy samples. All of the autocorrelation and bias functions show systematic trends with spatial scale and waveband which are impressively similar at the two redshifts. This shows that the well-established environmental dependence of stellar populations in the local Universe is already in place at z=1. The recent MS-based galaxy formation simulation of Guo et al. (2011) reproduces the scale-dependent clustering of luminosity to an accuracy better than 30% in all bands and at both redshifts, but substantially overpredicts mass autocorrelations at separations below about 2 Mpc. Further comparison of the shapes of our stellar mass bias functions with those predicted by the model suggests that both the SDSS and DEEP2 data prefer a fluctuation amplitude of sigma_8 0.8 rather than the sigma_8=0.9 assumed by the MS.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Monthly Notices, minor revisions in tex