The unquenched Upsilon spectrum

We describe the bottomonium spectrum obtained on the UKQCD dynamical ensembles and its comparison to quenched results. We include a determination of alpha_s and m_b from the dynmaical results.Comment: Lattice 2000 (Heavy Quark Physics

A Lack of "Environmental Earth Data" at the Microhabitat Scale Impacts Efforts to Control Invasive Arthropods That Vector Pathogens

We currently live in an era of major global change that has led to the introduction and range expansion of numerous invasive species worldwide. In addition to the ecological and economic consequences associated with most invasive species, invasive arthropods that vector pathogens (IAVPs) to humans and animals pose substantial health risks. Species distribution models that are informed using environmental Earth data are frequently employed to predict the distribution of invasive species, and to advise targeted mitigation strategies. However, there are currently substantial mismatches in the temporal and spatial resolution of these data and the environmental contexts which affect IAVPs. Consequently, targeted actions to control invasive species or to prepare the population for possible disease outbreaks may lack efficacy. Here, we identify and discuss how the currently available environmental Earth data are lacking with respect to their applications in species distribution modeling, particularly when predicting the potential distribution of IAVPs at meaningful space-time scales. For example, we examine the issues related to interpolation of weather station data and the lack of microclimatic data relevant to the environment experienced by IAVPs. In addition, we suggest how these data gaps can be filled, including through the possible development of a dedicated open access database, where data from both remotely- and proximally-sensed sources can be stored, shared, and accessed

Alpha-enhancement in the MW: results from the SDSS spectroscopic stellar database

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Metallicity Determinations from Ultraviolet-Visual Spectrophotometry. I. The Test Sample

New visual spectrophotometric observations of non-supergiant solar neighborhood stars are combined with IUE Newly Extracted Spectra (INES) energy distributions in order to derive their overall metallicities, [M/H]. This fundamental parameter, together with effective temperature and apparent angular diameter, is obtained by applying the flux-fitting method while surface gravity is derived from the comparison with evolutionary tracks in the theoretical H-R diagram. Trigonometric parallaxes for the stars of the sample are taken from the Hipparcos Catalogue. The quality of the flux calibration is discussed by analyzing a test sample via comparison with external photometry. The validity of the method in providing accurate metallicities is tested on a selected sample of G-type stars with well-determined atmospheric parameters from recent high-resolution spectral analysis. The extension of the overall procedure to the determination of the chemical composition of all the INES non-supergiant G-type stars with accurate parallaxes is planned in order to investigate their atmospheric temperature structure

High prevalence of anti-hepatitis e virus antibodies among blood donors in central Italy, february to march 2014

Prevalence of anti-hepatitis E virus (HEV) antibodies is highly variable in developed countries, which seems partly due to differences in assay sensitivity. Using validated sensitive assays, we tested 313 blood donors attending a hospital transfusion unit in central Italy in January and February 2014 for anti-HEV IgG and IgM and HEV RNA. Data on HEV exposure were collected from all donors. Overall anti-HEV IgG prevalence was 49% (153/313). Eating raw dried pig-liver sausage was the only independent predictor of HEV infection (adjusted prevalence rate ratio = 2.14; 95% confidence interval: 1.23–3.74). Three donors were positive for either anti-HEV IgM (n = 2; 0.6%) or HEV RNA (n = 2; 0.6%); they were completely asymptomatic, without alanine aminotransferase (ALT) abnormalities. Of the two HEV RNA-positive donors (both harbouring genotype 3), one was anti-HEV IgG- and IgM-positive, the other was anti-HEV IgG- and IgM-negative. The third donor was positive for anti-HEV IgG and IgM but HEV RNA-negative. HEV infection is therefore hyperendemic among blood donors (80% men 18–64 years-old) from central Italy and associated with local dietary habits. Nearly 1% of donors have acute or recent infection, implying potential transmission to blood recipients. Neither ALT nor anti-HEV IgM testing seems useful to prevent transfusion-transmitted HEV infection. © 2016, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control

Laser Spectroscopic Measurement of Helium Isotope Ratios

A sensitive laser spectroscopic method has been applied to the quantitative determination of the isotope ratio of helium at the level of 3He/4He = 10^-7 - 10^-5. The resonant absorption of 1083 nm laser light by the metastable 3He atoms in a discharge cell was measured with the frequency modulation saturation spectroscopy technique while the abundance of 4He was measured by a direct absorption technique. The results on three different samples extracted from the atmosphere and commercial helium gas were in good agreement with values obtained with mass spectrometry. The achieved 3-sigma detection limit of 3He in helium is 4 x 10^-9. This demonstration required a 200 micro-L STP sample of He. The sensitivity can be further improved, and the required sample size reduced, by several orders of magnitude with the addition of cavity enhanced spectroscopy

Does using a femoral nerve block for total knee replacement decrease postoperative delirium?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The effect of peripheral nerve blocks on postoperative delirium in older patients has not been studied. Peripheral nerve blocks may reduce the incidence of postoperative opioid use and its side effects such as delirium via opioid-sparing effect.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A prospective cohort study was conducted in patients who underwent total knee replacement. Baseline cognitive function was assessed using the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status. Postoperative delirium was measured using the Confusion Assessment Method postoperatively. Incidence of postoperative delirium was compared in two postoperative management groups: femoral nerve block ± patient-controlled analgesia and patient-controlled analgesia only. In addition, pain levels (using numeric rating scales) and opioid use were compared in two groups.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>85 patients were studied. The overall incidence of postoperative delirium either on postoperative day one or day two was 48.1%. Incidence of postoperative delirium in the femoral nerve block group was lower than patient controlled analgesia only group (25% vs. 61%, <it>P </it>= 0.002). However, there was no significant difference between the groups with respect to postoperative pain level or the amount of intravenous opioid use.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Femoral nerve block reduces the incidence of postoperative delirium. These results suggest that a larger randomized control trial is necessary to confirm these preliminary findings.</p

Synthetic Lick Indices and Detection of α-enhanced Stars. II. F, G, and K Stars in the –1.0 < [Fe/H] < +0.50 Range

We present an analysis of 402 F, G, and K solar neighborhood stars, with accurate estimates of [Fe/H] in the range -1.0 to +0.5 dex, aimed at the detection of α-enhanced stars and at the investigation of their kinematical properties. The analysis is based on the comparison of 571 sets of spectral indices in the Lick/IDS system, coming from four different observational data sets, with synthetic indices computed with solar-scaled abundances and with α-element enhancement. We use selected combinations of indices to single out α-enhanced stars without requiring previous knowledge of their main atmospheric parameters. By applying this approach to the total data set, we obtain a list of 60 bona fide α-enhanced stars and of 146 stars with solar-scaled abundances. The properties of the detected α-enhanced and solar-scaled abundance stars with respect to their [Fe/H] values and kinematics are presented. A clear kinematic distinction between solar-scaled and α-enhanced stars was found, although a one-to-one correspondence to "thin disk" and "thick disk" components cannot be supported with the present data