13,511 research outputs found
The use of prevalence as a measure of lice burden: a case study of Lepeophtheirus salmonis on Scottish Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., farms
This study investigates the benefits of using prevalence as a summary measure of sea lice infestation on farmed Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L. Aspects such as sampling effort, the relationship between abundance and prevalence arising from the negative binomial distribution, and how this relationship can be used to indicate the degree of aggregation of lice on a site at a given time point are discussed. As a case study, data were drawn from over 50 commercial Atlantic salmon farms on the west coast of Scotland between 2002 and 2006. Descriptive statistics and formal analysis using a linear modelling technique identified significant variations in sea lice prevalence across year class, region and season. Supporting evidence of a functional relationship between prevalence and abundance of sea lice is provided, which is explained through the negative binomial distribution
Magnetic properties of geometrically frustrated SrGd2O4
A study of the magnetic properties of the frustrated rare earth oxide SrGd2O4
has been completed using bulk property measurements of magnetization,
susceptibility and specific heat on single crystal samples. Two zero-field
phase transitions have been identified at 2.73 and 0.48 K. For the field, H,
applied along the a and b axes, a single boundary is identified that delineates
the transition from a low field, low temperature magnetically ordered regime to
a high field, high temperature paramagnetic phase. Several field-induced
transitions, however, have been observed with H || c. The measurements have
been used to map out the magnetic phase diagram of SrGd2O4, suggesting that it
is a complex system with several competing magnetic interactions. The
low-temperature magnetic behavior of SrGd2O4 is very different compared to the
other SrLn2O4 (Ln = Lanthanide) compounds, even though all of the SrLn2O4
compounds are isostructural, with the magnetic ions forming a low-dimensional
lattice of zigzag chains that run along the c axis. The differences are likely
to be due to the fact that in the ground state Gd3+ has zero orbital angular
momentum and therefore the spin-orbit interactions, which are crucial for other
SrLn2O4 compounds, can largely be neglected. Instead, given the relatively
short Gd3+-Gd3+ distances in SrGd2O4, dipolar interactions must be taken into
account for this antiferromagnet alongside the Heisenberg exchange terms.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figure
Growth of large single crystals of Rare Earth Hexaborides
Single crystal growth of several rare earth hexaborides has been carried out
by the floating zone technique. A high power Xenon arc lamp image furnace was
used for the crystal growth. Large high quality crystals of LaB,
CeB, PrB and NdB, about 1 cc in volume have been obtained.
Crystals of all these compounds have also been grown using enriched B
isotope for use in neutron scattering experiments.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures, in press (J. Crystal Growth
Optimization of multivariate analysis for IACT stereoscopic systems
Multivariate methods have been recently introduced and successfully applied
for the discrimination of signal from background in the selection of genuine
very-high energy gamma-ray events with the H.E.S.S. Imaging Atmospheric
Cerenkov Telescope. The complementary performance of three independent
reconstruction methods developed for the H.E.S.S. data analysis, namely Hillas,
model and 3D-model suggests the optimization of their combination through the
application of a resulting efficient multivariate estimator. In this work the
boosted decision tree method is proposed leading to a significant increase in
the signal over background ratio compared to the standard approaches. The
improved sensitivity is also demonstrated through a comparative analysis of a
set of benchmark astrophysical sources.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in
Astroparticle Physic
The poster session as fusing theory and practice in art and design education: exhibiting an occluded genre
While the academic poster has been used extensively in the sciences, its particular pertinence in art and design education remains unrecognised. Posters (outputs) and the poster sessions which accompany them (processes) form an ‘occluded genre’ in design education. The secondary literature about academic posters is typically ‘how-to’ rather than pedagogical analysis. We identify the benefits of using posters in design education, whether as formats for ‘regenring’ the conventional contextual studies essay, or as iterations towards essay work which draw on the skills students are developing in their design briefs and thereby bridging theory and practice, and accommodating diversity. Based on our pedagogical research in the UK and the Netherlands, this article reflects on how students respond to the benefits of the poster, and the poster session, and provides teachers with a clear rationale for their increased use in design education
Core binding factor (CBF) is required for Epstein-Barr virus EBNA3 proteins to regulate target gene expression
ChIP-seq performed on lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs), expressing epitope-tagged EBNA3A, EBNA3B or EBNA3C from EBV-recombinants, revealed important principles of EBNA3 binding to chromatin. When combined with global chromatin looping data, EBNA3-bound loci were found to have a singular character, each directly associating with either EBNA3-repressed or EBNA3-activated genes, but not with both. EBNA3A and EBNA3C showed significant association with repressed and activated genes. Significant direct association for EBNA3B loci could only be shown with EBNA3B-repressed genes. A comparison of EBNA3 binding sites with known transcription factor binding sites in LCL GM12878 revealed substantial co-localization of EBNA3s with RUNX3-a protein induced by EBV during B cell transformation. The beta-subunit of core binding factor (CBFβ), that heterodimerizes with RUNX3, could co-immunoprecipitate robustly EBNA3B and EBNA3C, but only weakly EBNA3A. Depletion of either RUNX3 or CBFβ with lentivirus-delivered shRNA impaired epitope-tagged EBNA3B and EBNA3C binding at multiple regulated gene loci, indicating a requirement for CBF heterodimers in EBNA3 recruitment during target-gene regulation. ShRNA-mediated depletion of CBFβ in an EBNA3C-conditional LCL confirmed the role of CBF in the regulation of EBNA3C-induced and -repressed genes. These results reveal an important role for RUNX3/CBF during B cell transformation and EBV latency that was hitherto unexplored
Deriving modified rankin scores from medical records
<p><b>Background and Purpose:</b> Modified Rankin score (mRS) is traditionally graded using a face-to-face or telephone interview. Certain stroke assessment scales can be derived from a review of a patient’s case-record alone. We hypothesized that mRS could be successfully derived from the narrative within patient case-records.</p>
<p><b>Methods:</b> Sequential patients attending our cerebrovascular outpatient clinic were included. Two independent, blinded clinicians, trained in mRS, assessed case-records to derive mRS. They scored “certainty” of their grading on a 5-point Likert scale. Agreement between derived and traditional face-to-face mRS was calculated using attribute agreement analysis.</p>
<p><b>Results:</b> Fifty patients with a range of disabilities were included. Case-record appraisers were poor at deriving mRS (k=0.34 against standard). Derived mRS grades showed poor agreement between observers (k=0.33). There was no relationship between certainty of derived mRS and proportion of correct grades (P=0.727).</p>
<p><b>Conclusion:</b> Accurate mRS cannot be derived from standard hospital records. Direct mRS interview is still required for clinical trials.</p>
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