Direct Microlensing-Reverberation Observations of the Intrinsic magnetic Structure of AGN in Different Spectral States: A Tale of Two Quasars

We show how direct microlensing-reverberation analysis performed on two well-known Quasars (Q2237 - The Einstein Cross and Q0957 - The Twin) can be used to observe the inner structure of two quasars which are in significantly different spectral states. These observations allow us to measure the detailed internal structure of quasar Q2237 in a radio quiet high-soft state, and compare it to quasar Q0957 in a radio loud low-hard state. We find that the observed differences in the spectral states of these two quasars can be understood as being due to the location of the inner radii of their accretion disks relative to the co-rotation radii of rotating intrinsically magnetic supermassive compact objects in the centers of these quasars.Comment: 26 page manuscript with 2 tables and 2 figures, submitted to Astronomical Journa

Effectiveness of a Novel Qigong Meditative Movement Practice for Impaired Health in Flight Attendants Exposed to Second-Hand Cigarette Smoke

This single-arm non-randomized pilot study explores an in ervention to improve the health of flight attendants (FA) exposed to second-hand cigarette smoke prior to the smoking ban on commercial airlines. This group exhibits an unusual pattern of long-term pulmonary dysfunction. We report on Phase I of a two-phase clinical trial; the second Phase will be a randomized controlled trial testing digital delivery of the intervention. Subjects were recruited in the Northeastern US; testing and intervention were administered in 4 major cities. The intervention involved 12h of training in Meditative Movement practices. Based on recent research on the effects of nicotine on fear learning, and the influence of the autonomic nervous system on immune function, our hypothesis was that this training would improve autonomic function and thus benefit a range of health measures. Primary outcomes were the 6-min walk test and blood levels of C-reactive protein. Pulmonary, cardiovascular, autonomic, and affective measures were also taken. Fourteen participants completed the training and post- testing. There was a 53% decrease in high sensitivity C-Reactive Protein ( p ≤ 0.05), a 7% reduction in systolic blood pressure ( p ≤ 0.05), a 13% increase in the 6-min walk test ( p ≤ 0.005), and significant positive changes in several other outcomes. These results tend to confirm the hypothesized benefits of MM training for this population, and indicate that autonomic function may be important in the etiology and treatment of their symptoms. No adverse effects were reported

Generation of optimal trajectories for Earth hybrid pole sitters

A pole-sitter orbit is a closed path that is constantly above one of the Earth's poles, by means of continuous low thrust. This work proposes to hybridize solar sail propulsion and solar electric propulsion (SEP) on the same spacecraft, to enable such a pole-sitter orbit. Locally-optimal control laws are found with a semi-analytical inverse method, starting from a trajectory that satisfies the pole-sitter condition in the Sun-Earth circular restricted three-body problem. These solutions are subsequently used as first guess to find optimal orbits, using a direct method based on pseudospectral transcription. The orbital dynamics of both the pure SEP case and the hybrid case are investigated and compared. It is found that the hybrid spacecraft allows savings on propellant mass fraction. Finally, it is shown that for sufficiently long missions, a hybrid pole-sitter, based on mid-term technology, enables a consistent reduction in the launch mass for a given payload, with respect to a pure SEP spacecraft

Accuracy of Cancer Information on the Internet: A Comparison of a Wiki with a Professionally Maintained Database

Background: A Wiki is a website which can be directly, openly edited; Wikipedia, a collaborative encyclopedia, is a well-known example. Due to Wiki’s lack of editorial control and formal structure, we hypothesized that the content would be less complete and less accurate than that presented on a formal, peer-reviewed web site. Our goal was to compare the coverage, accuracy, and readability of cancer information from a Wiki (Wikipedia) with a peer-reviewed web site, the patientoriented National Cancer Institute’s Physician Data Query (PDQ) comprehensive cancer database. American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 46th Annual Meeting June 4-8, Chicago, IL

Investigating the physical properties of transiting hot Jupiters with the 1.5-m Kuiper Telescope

We present new photometric data of 11 hot Jupiter transiting exoplanets (CoRoT-12b, HAT-P-5b, HAT-P-12b, HAT-P-33b, HAT-P-37b, WASP-2b, WASP-24b, WASP-60b, WASP-80b, WASP-103b, XO-3b) in order to update their planetary parameters and to constrain information about their atmospheres. These observations of CoRoT-12b, HAT-P-37b and WASP-60b are the first follow-up data since their discovery. Additionally, the first near-UV transits of WASP-80b and WASP-103b are presented. We compare the results of our analysis with previous work to search for transit timing variations (TTVs) and a wavelength dependence in the transit depth. TTVs may be evidence of a third body in the system and variations in planetary radius with wavelength can help constrain the properties of the exoplanet's atmosphere. For WASP-103b and XO-3b, we find a possible variation in the transit depths that may be evidence of scattering in their atmospheres. The B-band transit depth of HAT-P-37b is found to be smaller than its near-IR transit depth and such a variation may indicate TiO/VO absorption. These variations are detected from 2-4.6$\sigma$, so follow-up observations are needed to confirm these results. Additionally, a flat spectrum across optical wavelengths is found for 5 of the planets (HAT-P-5b, HAT-P-12b, WASP-2b, WASP-24b, WASP-80b), suggestive that clouds may be present in their atmospheres. We calculate a refined orbital period and ephemeris for all the targets, which will help with future observations. No TTVs are seen in our analysis with the exception of WASP-80b and follow-up observations are needed to confirm this possible detection.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures, 9 Tables. Light Curves available online. Accepted to MNRAS (2017 August 25

Fixed-ratio combination of insulin degludec and liraglutide (IDegLira) improves cardiovascular risk markers in patients with type 2 diabetes uncontrolled on basal insulin

In this post hoc analysis we investigated the effects of insulin degludec/liraglutide fixed-ratio combination (IDegLira) versus comparators on cardiovascular (CV) risk markers in participants in the DUAL II (vs. insulin degludec), DUAL V (vs. insulin glargine 100 units/mL) and DUAL VII (vs. basal-bolus therapy) trials, grouped by sex, age (<65 years, ≥65 years) and diabetes duration (<10 years, ≥10 years). Treatment contrasts were in favour of IDegLira in many subgroups for changes from baseline in glycated haemoblogin (DUAL II, DUAL V), body weight (all three trials), systolic blood pressure (BP; all three trials), HDL cholesterol (DUAL VII) and LDL cholesterol (DUAL II, DUAL V). Higher heart rates were seen with IDegLira versus comparators (all three trials) plus significantly higher diastolic BP in men (DUAL V). Differences in treatment effect were seen between sexes in waist circumference (DUAL II), systolic BP (DUAL II, DUAL V) and triglycerides (DUAL VII), and between diabetes durations in LDL cholesterol (DUAL V). In conclusion, IDegLira is associated with a general improvement in CV risk markers compared with basal insulin or basal-bolus therapy after 26 weeks of treatment

Magnetic oxide semiconductors

Magnetic oxide semiconductors, oxide semiconductors doped with transition metal elements, are one of the candidates for a high Curie temperature ferromagnetic semiconductor that is important to realize semiconductor spintronics at room temperature. We review in this paper recent progress of researches on various magnetic oxide semiconductors. The magnetization, magneto-optical effect, and magneto-transport such as anomalous Hall effect are examined from viewpoint of feasibility to evaluate the ferromagnetism. The ferromagnetism of Co-doped TiO2 and transition metal-doped ZnO is discussed.Comment: 26 pages, 5 tables, 6 figure

Determinants of lifestyle behavior in type 2 diabetes: results of the 2011 cross-sectional survey on living with chronic diseases in Canada

BACKGROUND: Lifestyle behavior modification is an essential component of self-management of type 2 diabetes. We evaluated the prevalence of engagement in lifestyle behaviors for management of the disease, as well as the impact of healthcare professional support on these behaviors. METHODS: Self-reported data were available from 2682 adult respondents, age 20 years or older, to the 2011 Survey on Living with Chronic Diseases in Canada’s diabetes component. Associations with never engaging in and not sustaining self-management behaviors (of dietary change, weight control, exercise, and smoking cessation) were evaluated using binomial regression models. RESULTS: The prevalence of reported dietary change, weight control/loss, increased exercise and smoking cessation (among those who smoked since being diagnosed) were 89.7%, 72.1%, 69.5%, and 30.6%, respectively. Those who reported not receiving health professional advice in the previous 12 months were more likely to report never engaging in dietary change (RR = 2.7, 95% CI 1.8 – 4.2), exercise (RR = 1.7, 95% CI 1.3 – 2.1), or weight control/loss (RR = 2.2, 95% CI 1.3 – 3.6), but not smoking cessation (RR = 1.0; 95% CI: 0.7 – 1.5). Also, living with diabetes for more than six years was associated with not sustaining dietary change, weight loss and smoking cessation. CONCLUSION: Health professional advice for lifestyle behaviors for type 2 diabetes self-management may support individual actions. Patients living with the disease for more than 6 years may require additional support in sustaining recommended behaviors

The validation of a workplace incivility scale within the South African banking industry

Orientation: Workplace incivility holds consequences for both individuals and organisations. Managers are becoming increasingly aware of this phenomenon. Currently, there is no workplace incivility scale validated for use within the South African context. Research purpose: To investigate the reliability and validity of the adapted workplace incivility scale by Leiter and colleagues for use within South Africa. Motivation for the study: As it is currently difficult to measure workplace incivility within the South African context because of the lack of a valid and reliable scale, it is necessary to validate such a scale. Research design, approach and method: A cross-sectional research approach was used for the study. Convenience sampling (N = 345) was used within the South African banking industry. Specifically, the factor structure, convergent validity, discriminant validity and predictive validity were investigated in order to establish the overall validity of the scale. Main findings: The results confirmed that the scale showed a three-factor structure as best-fitting with acceptable reliability coefficients. Furthermore, discriminant validity could be shown between workplace incivility and workplace bullying, that is, supporting that these two constructs are not the same phenomenon. In terms of relationships, colleague incivility did not significantly predict any of the outcome variables and instigated incivility only being a negative predictor of job satisfaction and a borderline statistically significant negative predictor of work engagement. However, supervisor incivility predicted all the outcomes negatively. Practical/Managerial implications: Based on the results, workplace incivility should be addressed because of the harmful effects it can have, not only on employees but also on organisations. It is therefore necessary for managers to create awareness of workplace incivility in order to ensure that it does not integrate within the organisational culture and affect individual and organisational performance. Contribution/Value-add: The study contributes to the limited research available in South Africa regarding workplace incivility by providing a scale that is valid and reliable

Nitric oxide availability is increased in contracting skeletal muscle from aged mice, but does not differentially decrease muscle superoxide

Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species have been implicated in the loss of skeletal muscle mass and function that occurs during aging. Nitric oxide (NO) and superoxide are generated by skeletal muscle and where these are generated in proximity their chemical reaction to form peroxynitrite can compete with the superoxide dismutation to hydrogen peroxide. Changes in NO availability may therefore theoretically modify superoxide and peroxynitrite activities in tissues, but published data are contradictory regarding aging effects on muscle NO availability. We hypothesised that an age-related increase in NO generation might increase peroxynitrite generation in muscles from old mice, leading to an increased nitration of muscle proteins and decreased superoxide availability. This was examined using fluorescent probes and an isolated fiber preparation to examine NO content and superoxide in the cytosol and mitochondria of muscle fibers from adult and old mice both at rest and following contractile activity. We also examined the 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NT) and peroxiredoxin 5 (Prx5) content of muscles from mice as markers of peroxynitrite activity. Data indicate that a substantial age-related increase in NO levels occurred in muscle fibers during contractile activity and this was associated with an increase in muscle eNOS. Muscle proteins from old mice also showed an increased 3-NT content. Inhibition of NOS indicated that NO decreased superoxide bioavailability in muscle mitochondria, although this effect was not age related. Thus increased NO in muscles of old mice was associated with an increased 3-NT content that may potentially contribute to age-related degenerative changes in skeletal muscle