1,680 research outputs found
Association between fetal sex, birthweight percentile and adverse pregnancy outcome
© 2019 The Authors. Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology (NFOG).Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Tracing the vertical composition of disc galaxies through colour gradients
(Abbreviated) Optical observations of a statistically complete sample of
edge-on disc galaxies are used to study the intrinsic vertical colour gradients
in the galactic discs, to constrain the effects of population gradients,
residual dust extinction and gradients in the galaxies' metal abundance. It
appears that the intrinsic vertical colour gradients are either non-existent,
or small and relatively constant as a function of position along the galaxies'
major axes. Our results are consistent with the absence of any vertical colour
gradient in the discs of the early-type sample galaxies. In most galaxies
small-scale variations in the magnitude and even the direction of the vertical
gradient are observed: at larger galactocentric distances they generally
display redder colours with increasing z height, whereas the opposite is often
observed in and near the galactic centres. For a significant fraction of our
sample galaxies another mechanism in addition to the effects of stellar
population gradients is required to explain the magnitude of the observed
gradients. The non-zero colour gradients in a significant fraction of our
sample galaxies are likely (at least) partially due to residual dust extinction
at these z heights, as is also evidenced from the sometimes significant
differences between the vertical colour gradients measured on either side of
the galactic planes. We suggest that initial vertical metallicity gradients, if
any, have likely not been accentuated by accretion or merging events over the
lifetimes of our sample galaxies. On the other hand, they may have weakened any
existing vertical metallicity gradients, although they also may have left the
existing correlations unchanged.Comment: 17 pages LaTeX, incl. 5 embedded postscript figures, resubmitted to
MNRAS (referee's comments taken into account
Recommendations for neonatologist performed echocardiography in Europe: Consensus Statement endorsed by European Society for Paediatric Research (ESPR) and European Society for Neonatology (ESN)
Contains fulltext :
171351.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access
Recovery, empowerment and rehabilitation: Do inpatient psychiatric rehabilitation services empower the individual?
Perceptions of the course and outcome from serious mental illness have changed over the last century and, more recently, the concept of recovery has gained prominence in this field. This paper reviews recent literature on recovery from serious mental illness and discusses both the meaning of the concept and the key contributing factors. Research suggests that empowerment is one of the most salient factors contributing to recovery and the relationship between recovery and empowerment is examined. Most research in the area of empowerment has, to date, focused on community settings and this paper considers the relevance of these ideas in other mental health settings. The relationship between empowerment, recovery and mental health services is discussed. Finally, conclusions are drawn and recommendations for further research are outlined
Nanoelectromechanical Sensors based on Suspended 2D Materials
The unique properties and atomic thickness of two-dimensional (2D) materials
enable smaller and better nanoelectromechanical sensors with novel
functionalities. During the last decade, many studies have successfully shown
the feasibility of using suspended membranes of 2D materials in pressure
sensors, microphones, accelerometers, and mass and gas sensors. In this review,
we explain the different sensing concepts and give an overview of the relevant
material properties, fabrication routes, and device operation principles.
Finally, we discuss sensor readout and integration methods and provide
comparisons against the state of the art to show both the challenges and
promises of 2D material-based nanoelectromechanical sensing.Comment: Review pape
Star formation history of KDG 61 and KDG 64 from spectroscopy and colour-magnitude diagrams
A study of two dE/dSph members of the nearby M 81 group of galaxies, KDG 61
and UGC 5442 = KDG 64, has been made. Direct Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) images and integrated-light spectra of 6 m
telescope of Special Astrophysical Observatory of Russian Academy of Sciences
have been used for quantitative star formation history analysis. The
spectroscopic and colour-magnitude diagrams analysis gives consistent results.
These galaxies appear to be dominated by an old population (12-14 Gyr) of low
metallicity ([Fe/H]~-1.5). Stars of ages about 1 to 4 Gyr have been detected in
both galaxies. The later population shows marginal metal enrichment. We do not
detect any significant radial gradients in age or metallicity in these
galaxies. Our radial velocity measurement suggests that the HII knot on the
line-of-sight of KDG 61 is not gravitationally attached to the galaxy.Comment: 16 pages, 13 figures, accepted by MNRA
Thick disk kinematics from RAVE and the solar motion
Radial velocity surveys such as the Radial Velocity Experiment (RAVE) provide
us with measurements of hundreds of thousands of nearby stars most of which
belong to the Galactic thin, thick disk or halo. Ideally, to study the Galactic
disks (both thin and thick) one should make use of the multi-dimensional
phase-space and the whole pattern of chemical abundances of their stellar
populations. In this paper, with the aid of the RAVE Survey, we study the thin
and thick disks of the Milky Way, focusing on the latter. We present a
technique to disentangle the stellar content of the two disks based on the
kinematics and other stellar parameters such as the surface gravity of the
stars. Using the Padova Galaxy Model, we checked the ability of our method to
correctly isolate the thick disk component from the Galaxy mixture of stellar
populations. We introduce selection criteria in order to clean the observed
radial velocities from the Galactic differential rotation and to take into
account the partial sky coverage of RAVE. We developed a numerical technique to
statistically disentangle thin and thick disks from their mixture. We deduce
the components of the solar motion relative to the Local Standard of Rest (LSR)
in the radial and vertical direction, the rotational lag of the thick disk
component relative to the LSR, and the square root of the absolute value of the
velocity dispersion tensor for the thick disk alone. The analysis of the thin
disk is presented in another paper. We find good agreement with previous
independent parameter determinations. In our analysis we used photometrically
determined distances. In the Appendix we show that similar values can be found
for the thick disk alone as derived in the main sections of our paper even
without the knowledge of photometric distances.Comment: accepted on A&A, please see companion paper "THIN disk kinem...
Applicability and added value of novel methods to improve drug development in rare diseases
The ASTERIX project developed a number of novel methods suited to study small populations. The objective of this exercise was to evaluate the applicability and added value of novel methods to improve drug development in small populations, using real world drug development programmes as reported in European Public Assessment Reports. The applicability and added value of thirteen novel methods developed within ASTERIX were evaluated using data from 26 European Public Assessment Reports (EPARs) for orphan medicinal products, representative of rare medical conditions as predefined through six clusters. The novel methods included were 'innovative trial designs' (six methods), 'level of evidence' (one method), 'study endpoints and statistical analysis' (four methods), and 'meta-analysis' (two methods) and they were selected from the methods developed within ASTERIX based on their novelty; methods that discussed already available and applied strategies were not included for the purpose of this validation exercise. Pre-requisites for application in a study were systematized for each method, and for each main study in the selected EPARs it was assessed if all pre-requisites were met. This direct applicability using the actual study design was firstly assessed. Secondary, applicability and added value were explored allowing changes to study objectives and design, but without deviating from the context of the drug development plan. We evaluated whether differences in applicability and added value could be observed between the six predefined condition clusters. Direct applicability of novel methods appeared to be limited to specific selected cases. The applicability and added value of novel methods increased substantially when changes to the study setting within the context of drug development were allowed. In this setting, novel methods for extrapolation, sample size re-assessment, multi-armed trials, optimal sequential design for small sample sizes, Bayesian sample size re-estimation, dynamic borrowing through power priors and fall-back tests for co-primary endpoints showed most promise - applicable in more than 40% of evaluated EPARs in all clusters. Most of the novel methods were applicable to conditions in the cluster of chronic and progressive conditions, involving multiple systems/organs. Relatively fewer methods were applicable to acute conditions with single episodes. For the chronic clusters, Goal Attainment Scaling was found to be particularly applicable as opposed to other (non-chronic) clusters. Novel methods as developed in ASTERIX can improve drug development programs. Achieving optimal added value of these novel methods often requires consideration of the entire drug development program, rather than reconsideration of methods for a specific trial. The novel methods tested were mostly applicable in chronic conditions, and acute conditions with recurrent episodes. The online version of this article (10.1186/s13023-018-0925-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users
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