Young and Intermediate-age Distance Indicators

Distance measurements beyond geometrical and semi-geometrical methods, rely mainly on standard candles. As the name suggests, these objects have known luminosities by virtue of their intrinsic proprieties and play a major role in our understanding of modern cosmology. The main caveats associated with standard candles are their absolute calibration, contamination of the sample from other sources and systematic uncertainties. The absolute calibration mainly depends on their chemical composition and age. To understand the impact of these effects on the distance scale, it is essential to develop methods based on different sample of standard candles. Here we review the fundamental properties of young and intermediate-age distance indicators such as Cepheids, Mira variables and Red Clump stars and the recent developments in their application as distance indicators.Comment: Review article, 63 pages (28 figures), Accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews (Chapter 3 of a special collection resulting from the May 2016 ISSI-BJ workshop on Astronomical Distance Determination in the Space Age

Homo naledi, a new species of the genus Homo from the Dinaledi Chamber, South Africa.

Homo naledi is a previously-unknown species of extinct hominin discovered within the Dinaledi Chamber of the Rising Star cave system, Cradle of Humankind, South Africa. This species is characterized by body mass and stature similar to small-bodied human populations but a small endocranial volume similar to australopiths. Cranial morphology of H. naledi is unique, but most similar to early Homo species including Homo erectus, Homo habilis or Homo rudolfensis. While primitive, the dentition is generally small and simple in occlusal morphology. H. naledi has humanlike manipulatory adaptations of the hand and wrist. It also exhibits a humanlike foot and lower limb. These humanlike aspects are contrasted in the postcrania with a more primitive or australopith-like trunk, shoulder, pelvis and proximal femur. Representing at least 15 individuals with most skeletal elements repeated multiple times, this is the largest assemblage of a single species of hominins yet discovered in Africa

Network topology of NaV1.7 mutations in sodium channel-related painful disorders

Background: Gain-of-function mutations in SCN9A gene that encodes the voltage-gated sodium channel NaV1.7 have been associated with a wide spectrum of painful syndromes in humans including inherited erythromelalgia, paroxysmal extreme pain disorder and small fibre neuropathy. These mutations change the biophysical properties of NaV1.7 channels leading to hyperexcitability of dorsal root ganglion nociceptors and pain symptoms. There is a need for better understanding of how gain-of-function mutations alter the atomic structure of Nav1.7. Results: We used homology modeling to build an atomic model of NaV1.7 and a network-based theoretical approach, which can predict interatomic interactions and connectivity arrangements, to investigate how pain-related NaV1.7 mutations may alter specific interatomic bonds and cause connectivity rearrangement, compared to benign variants and polymorphisms. For each amino acid substitution, we calculated the topological parameters betweenness centrality (Bct), degree (D), clustering coefficient (CCct), closeness (Cct), and eccentricity (Ect), and calculated their variation (value= mutantvalue-WTvalue). Pathogenic NaV1.7 mutations showed significantly higher variation of |Bct| compared to benign variants and polymorphisms. Using the cut-off value \uc2\ub10.26 calculated by receiver operating curve analysis, we found that Bctcorrectly differentiated pathogenic NaV1.7 mutations from variants not causing biophysical abnormalities (nABN) and homologous SNPs (hSNPs) with 76% sensitivity and 83% specificity. Conclusions: Our in-silico analyses predict that pain-related pathogenic NaV1.7 mutations may affect the network topological properties of the protein and suggest |Bct| value as a potential in-silico marker

Construction status and prospects of the Hyper-Kamiokande project

The Hyper-Kamiokande project is a 258-kton Water Cherenkov together with a 1.3-MW high-intensity neutrino beam from the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC). The inner detector with 186-kton fiducial volume is viewed by 20-inch photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) and multi-PMT modules, and thereby provides state-of-the-art of Cherenkov ring reconstruction with thresholds in the range of few MeVs. The project is expected to lead to precision neutrino oscillation studies, especially neutrino CP violation, nucleon decay searches, and low energy neutrino astronomy. In 2020, the project was officially approved and construction of the far detector was started at Kamioka. In 2021, the excavation of the access tunnel and initial mass production of the newly developed 20-inch PMTs was also started. In this paper, we present a basic overview of the project and the latest updates on the construction status of the project, which is expected to commence operation in 2027

Prospects for neutrino astrophysics with Hyper-Kamiokande

Hyper-Kamiokande is a multi-purpose next generation neutrino experiment. The detector is a two-layered cylindrical shape ultra-pure water tank, with its height of 64 m and diameter of 71 m. The inner detector will be surrounded by tens of thousands of twenty-inch photosensors and multi-PMT modules to detect water Cherenkov radiation due to the charged particles and provide our fiducial volume of 188 kt. This detection technique is established by Kamiokande and Super-Kamiokande. As the successor of these experiments, Hyper-K will be located deep underground, 600 m below Mt. Tochibora at Kamioka in Japan to reduce cosmic-ray backgrounds. Besides our physics program with accelerator neutrino, atmospheric neutrino and proton decay, neutrino astrophysics is an important research topic for Hyper-K. With its fruitful physics research programs, Hyper-K will play a critical role in the next neutrino physics frontier. It will also provide important information via astrophysical neutrino measurements, i.e., solar neutrino, supernova burst neutrinos and supernova relic neutrino. Here, we will discuss the physics potential of Hyper-K neutrino astrophysics

The Cholecystectomy As A Day Case (CAAD) Score: A Validated Score of Preoperative Predictors of Successful Day-Case Cholecystectomy Using the CholeS Data Set

Background Day-case surgery is associated with significant patient and cost benefits. However, only 43% of cholecystectomy patients are discharged home the same day. One hypothesis is day-case cholecystectomy rates, defined as patients discharged the same day as their operation, may be improved by better assessment of patients using standard preoperative variables. Methods Data were extracted from a prospectively collected data set of cholecystectomy patients from 166 UK and Irish hospitals (CholeS). Cholecystectomies performed as elective procedures were divided into main (75%) and validation (25%) data sets. Preoperative predictors were identified, and a risk score of failed day case was devised using multivariate logistic regression. Receiver operating curve analysis was used to validate the score in the validation data set. Results Of the 7426 elective cholecystectomies performed, 49% of these were discharged home the same day. Same-day discharge following cholecystectomy was less likely with older patients (OR 0.18, 95% CI 0.15–0.23), higher ASA scores (OR 0.19, 95% CI 0.15–0.23), complicated cholelithiasis (OR 0.38, 95% CI 0.31 to 0.48), male gender (OR 0.66, 95% CI 0.58–0.74), previous acute gallstone-related admissions (OR 0.54, 95% CI 0.48–0.60) and preoperative endoscopic intervention (OR 0.40, 95% CI 0.34–0.47). The CAAD score was developed using these variables. When applied to the validation subgroup, a CAAD score of ≤5 was associated with 80.8% successful day-case cholecystectomy compared with 19.2% associated with a CAAD score >5 (p < 0.001). Conclusions The CAAD score which utilises data readily available from clinic letters and electronic sources can predict same-day discharges following cholecystectomy

Guided Waves Direction of Arrival Estimation Based on Calibrated Multiresolution Wavelet Analysis

Damages produced by impacts can compromise structural integrity. Precise localization of the damage is fundamental to improve structural monitoring systems accuracy and reliability. A method based on the estimation of elastic waves Direction of Arrival (DoA) in plate-like structures by means of a DFT-Based Continuous Wavelet Transform (CWT) decomposition is proposed. To tackle the dispersive behaviour of guided waves, simultaneous multiband signal filtering in the Wavelet domain is performed. Subsequently, the cross-correlation method is applied to each computed scale to evaluate the Difference Time of Arrival (DToA). Finally, DoA is extracted applying an averaging procedure across scales to the arc-tangent of the ratio between the DToA among specific active areas of the sensors. This approach has been experimentally validated through measurements on an aluminum plate, after a calibration stage was performed

A Comparison Of The Performance Of Endometrial Biopsy With The Pipelle® By Nurses And Physicians

[No abstract available]452164165Stovall, Ling, Morgan, A prospective, randomized comparison of the Pipelle endometrial sampling device with the Novak curette (1991) American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 156, p. 1287Cornier, The Pipelle: A disposable device for endometrial biopsy (1984) Am J Obstet Gynecol, 148, p. 109Diaz, Faúndes, Marchi, Espejo, Comparación del desempeño del DIU T-Cu 200B insertado por médicos o enfermeras (1992) Rev. Iberoamericana de Fertilidad, 9, p. 53Armitage, (1971) Statistical Methods in Medical Research, , Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxfor

Management Of Missing Strings In Users Of Intrauterine Contraceptives

Background: A common question among health care professionals is how to manage nonvisible strings in users of intrauterine contraceptives (IUCs) at repeat follow-up visits. This study assessed the position of the IUCs in women who consulted repeatedly with nonvisible IUC strings. Study Design: The medical records of the clinic were reviewed to identify new acceptors and switchers who had an IUC inserted between 1990 and 2009. All women were identified whose IUC string could not be visualized at the external os of the cervix by the health care professional at any given follow-up visit, even after attempting a standard maneuver of sweeping the strings from the cervical canal using a cervical brush or trying to visualize the strings in the cervical canal using colposcopy. Data were also retrieved on the use of ultrasonography and/or pelvic X-ray to assess IUC position, as well as data from any subsequent visits at which the IUC strings were nonvisible. Results: The medical charts of 14,935 patients using an IUC were reviewed, and 750 women (5.0%) presenting for the first time with missing IUC strings at any follow-up visit were identified. Ultrasound scans showed the IUC to be in situ in 735 cases (98.0%), while 9 women (1.2%) had expelled the device and, in 5 cases (0.7%), the device was found in the pelvis following uterine perforation. IUC strings were missing on a second occasion in 297 cases. The device was found to be in situ in 295 cases (99.3%) and had been expelled in 2 (0.7%). At subsequent consultations, (between 1 and 18 years after the first consultation), strings were missing in 113, 55, 19 and 5 cases. In 111 (98.2%), 54 (98.2%), 18 (94.7%) and 5 (100%) of these cases, respectively, the IUC was found to be in situ, while in the remaining cases, the device had been expelled. Conclusions: Missing IUC strings are an uncommon finding, and ultrasonography confirmed that the device was in situ in the majority of these cases. For women with persistent missing IUC strings after one ultrasound scan that has verified appropriate intrauterine position, given the 2.4% likelihood that expulsion may have occurred at the time of subsequent visits, repeating the ultrasound (if available) should be considered for at least one (and possibly two) additional women's visit. © 2012 Elsevier Inc. 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