Tensile film clamps and mounting block for the rheovibron and autovibron viscoelastometer

A set of film clamps and a mounting block for use in the determination of tensile modulus and damping properties of films in a manually operated or automated Rheovibron is diagrammed. These clamps and mounting block provide uniformity of sample gripping and alignment in the instrument. Operator dependence and data variability are greatly reduced

Technical management techniques for identification and control of industrial safety and pollution hazards

Constructive recommendations are suggested for pollution problems from offshore energy resources industries on outer continental shelf. Technical management techniques for pollution identification and control offer possible applications to space engineering and management

C18O (3-2) observations of the Cometary Globule CG 12: a cold core and a C18O hot spot

The feasibility of observing the C18O (3-2) spectral line in cold clouds with the APEX telescope has been tested. As the line at 329.330 GHz lies in the wing of a strong atmospheric H2O absorption it can be observed only at high altitude observatories. Using the three lowest rotational levels instead of only two helps to narrow down the physical properties of dark clouds and globules. The centres of two C18O maxima in the high latitude low mass star forming region CG 12 were mapped in C18O (3-2) and the data were analyzed together with spectral line data from the SEST. The T_MB(3-2)/T_MB(2-1) ratio in the northern C18O maximum, CG 12 N, is 0.8, and in the southern maximum, CG 12 S, ~2. CG 12 N is modelled as a 120'' diameter (0.4pc) cold core with a mass of 27 Msun. A small size maximum with a narrow, 0.8 kms-1, C18O (3-2) spectral line with a peak temperature of T_MB ~11 K was detected in CG 12 S. This maximum is modelled as a 60'' to 80'' diameter (~0.2pc) hot (80 K < Tex < 200 K) ~1.6 Msun clump. The source lies on the axis of a highly collimated bipolar molecular outflow near its driving source. This is the first detection of such a compact, warm object in a low mass star forming region.Comment: APEX A&A special issue, accepte

How Pharmaceutical Industry Employees Manage Competing Moral Commitments

The pharmaceutical industry has been criticised for pervasive misconduct. These concerns have generally resulted in increasing regulation. While such regulation is no doubt necessary, it tends to assume that everyone working for pharmaceutical companies is equally motivated by commerce, without much understanding of the specific views and experiences of those who work in different parts of the industry. In order to gain a more nuanced picture of the work that goes on in the “medical affairs” departments of pharmaceutical companies, we conducted 15 semi-structured interviews with professionals working in medical departments of companies in Sydney, Australia. We show that this group of pharmaceutical professionals are committed to their responsibilities both to patients, research participants, and the public and to their companies. Despite the discrepancies between these commitments, our participants did not express much cognitive dissonance, and this appeared to stem from their use of two dialectically related strategies, one of which embraces commerce and the other of which resists the commercial imperative. We interpret these findings through the lens of institutional theory and consider their implications for pharmaceutical ethics and governance. Keywords: Qualitative research; Social values; Pharmaceutical industry; Pharmaceutical ethicsNHMR

Further detections of OH masers in carbon stars with silicate features

A sample of J-type carbon stars was searched for OH maser emission. The new detection of three OH lines towards two silicate carbon stars is reported. In V778 Cyg, previously known as the main-lines (1665 and 1667 MHz) maser source, the satellite 1612 MHz emission was discovered while in NSV 2814 the main OH lines were detected. The presence of OH maser lines confirms the former suggestion that oxygen-rich material is located in the vicinity ($\approx$ $10^{15-16}$ cm) of silicate carbon stars.Comment: LaTeX2e, 4 pages with 2 figure

Adolescents’ preferences for sexual dimorphism are influenced by relative exposure to male and female faces

Exposure to a particular population of faces can increase ratings of the normality and attractiveness of similar-looking faces. Such exposure can also refine the perceived boundaries of that face population, such that other faces are more readily perceived as dissimilar. We predicted that relatively less exposure to opposite-sex faces, as experienced by children at single-sex compared with mixed-sex schools, would decrease ratings of the attractiveness of sexual dimorphism in opposite-sex faces (that is, boys at single-sex schools would show a decreased preference for feminised faces, and girls at single-sex schools would show a decreased preference for masculinised faces). Consistent with this prediction, girls at single-sex compared with mixed-sex schools demonstrated significantly stronger preferences for facial femininity in both male and female faces. Boys at single-sex compared with mixed-sex schools demonstrated marginally stronger preferences for facial masculinity in male faces, but did not differ in their ratings of female faces. These effects were attenuated among some single-sex school pupils by the presence of adolescent opposite-sex siblings. These data add to the evidence that long-term exposure to a particular face population can influence judgements of other faces, and contribute to our understanding of the factors leading to individual differences in face preferences

Grindr Users Take More Risks, but Are More Open to Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Pre-exposure Prophylaxis: Could This Dating App Provide a Platform for HIV Prevention Outreach?

BackgroundTechnology has changed the way that men who have sex with men (MSM) seek sex. More than 60% of MSM in the United States use the internet and/or smartphone-based geospatial networking apps to find sex partners. We correlated use of the most popular app (Grindr) with sexual risk and prevention behavior among MSM.MethodsA nested cohort study was conducted between September 2018 and June 2019 among MSM receiving community-based human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and sexually transmitted infection (STI) screening in central San Diego. During the testing encounter, participants were surveyed for demographics, substance use, risk behavior (previous 3 months), HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use, and Grindr usage. Participants who tested negative for HIV and who were not on PrEP were offered immediate PrEP.ResultsThe study included 1256 MSM, 1090 of whom (86.8%) were not taking PrEP. Overall, 580 of 1256 (46%) participants indicated that they used Grindr in the previous 7 days. Grindr users reported significantly higher risk behavior (greater number of male partners and condomless sex) and were more likely to test positive for chlamydia or gonorrhea (8.6% vs 4.7% of nonusers; P = .005). Grindr users were also more likely to be on PrEP (18.7% vs 8.7% of nonusers; P &lt; .001) and had fewer newly diagnosed HIV infections (9 vs 26 among nonusers; P = .014). Grindr users were also nearly twice as likely as nonusers to initiate PrEP (24.6% vs 14%; P &lt; .001).ConclusionsGiven the higher risk behavior and greater acceptance of PrEP among MSM who used Grindr, Grindr may provide a useful platform to promote HIV and STI testing and increase PrEP uptake

Incidence of seropositive myasthenia gravis in Cape Town and South Africa

Background. Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a treatable autoimmune disease characterised by fatiguable weakness of skeletal muscles. More than 85% of MG patients have antibodies to the acetylcholine receptor (AChR) at the neuromuscular junction or are seropositive for MG (SPMG). In the developed world the incidence of MG has increased, particularly among older individuals, but no epidemiological studies have been done on SPMG in Africa. Objectives. To determine the annual incidence rate (IR) of SPMG in the Cape Town (CT) municipality, and the crude annual IR of SPMG for the whole of South Africa (SA). Methods. Positive AChR antibody tests were identified between 1 January 2003 and 1 January 2005 for patients living in CT, and the age- and sex-specific incidences were calculated. To determine the national crude annual IR over the same period, positive assays were identified from the laboratories that process AChR assays for SA. National Census 2001 population statistics formed the denominators. Results. There were 65 positive assays in CT, and 230 nationwide. Based on these figures the annual IR for CT was 11.2 per million per year (95% confidence interval (CI) 8.7 - 14.3), and for South Africa 2.6 per million / year (95% CI 2.2 - 2.9). After a questionnaire response from CT neurologists regarding the routine use of the AChR antibody assay, the annual IR for CT was adjusted to 12.6 per million (95% CI 9.9 - 15.9) to incorporate those presumed to have SPMG without a confirmatory test. In CT, the IR in females was 15.3 per million / year (95% CI 11.2 - 20.4), and in males, 6.8 per million / year (95% CI 4.1 - 10.7). The CT IRs for blacks, coloureds and whites were not statistically different after adjusting for age and gender. The IR of SPMG in CT was 6 times greater in those presenting after the age of 50 years than in those with earlier disease onset (95% CI 3.7 - 9.7). Conclusions. The annual IR of SPMG in CT is much the same as rates recorded recently in other developed countries, but the rest of SA has a much lower IR. A preponderance of MG starting after the age of 50 years reflects a worldwide trend, although the CT data showed a relatively lower-than-expected incidence for older males. IRs for SPMG vary widely in different regions in SA; this is likely to be related to differences in regional health care delivery, and underdiagnosis

Business Value Is not only Dollars - Results from Case Study Research on Agile Software Projects

Business value is a key concept in agile software development. This paper presents results of a case study on how business value and its creation is perceived in the context of agile projects. Our overall conclusion is that the project participants almost never use an explicit and structured approach to guide the value creation throughout the project. Still, the application of agile methods in the studied cases leads to satisfied clients. An interesting result of the study represents the fact that the agile process of many projects differs significantly from what is described in the agile practitioners’ books as best practices. The key implication for research and practice is that we have an incentive to pursue the study of value creation in agile projects and to complement it by providing guidelines for better client’s involvement, as well as by developing structured methods that will enhance the value-creation in a project

Functional expression of two glucose transporter isoforms from the parasitic protozoan Leishmania enriettii

The parasitic protozoan Leishmania enriettii contains a family of tandemly repeated genes, designated Pro-1, that encode proteins with significant sequence similarity to mammalian facilitative glucose transporters. Pro-1 mRNAs are expressed almost exclusively in the promastigote or insect stage of the parasite life cycle. The Pro-1 tandem repeat encodes two isoforms of the putative transporter, iso-1 and iso-2, which have identical predicted amino acid sequences except for their NH2-terminal hydrophilic domains. We have now expressed both iso-1 and iso-2 by microinjecting their RNAs into Xenopus oocytes and assaying these oocytes for transport of various radiolabeled ligands. Both iso-1 and iso-2 transport [3H]2-deoxy-D-glucose, confirming that each protein is a bona fide glucose transporter. Each isoform also transports fructose and, to a much lesser degree, mannose. Compounds which inhibit 2-deoxy-D-glucose transport in L. enriettii promastigotes also inhibit transport in the microinjected oocytes expressing each isoform, indicating that the substrate specificities and pharmacological properties of each isoform are similar to those measured for 2-deoxy-D-glucose transport in intact parasites. The Km for transport of 2-deoxyglucose in oocytes expressing iso-1 is similar to that for oocytes expressing iso-2. These results reveal that both transporter isoforms have closely related functional properties and that the difference in their structures may serve some other purpose such as differential subcellular localization