Polarization Observations with the Cosmic Background Imager

We describe polarization observations of the CMBR with the Cosmic Background Imager, a 13 element interferometer which operates in the 26-36 GHz band from Llano de Chajnantour in northern Chile. The array consists of 90-cm Cassegrain antennas mounted on a steerable platform which can be rotated about the optical axis to facilitate polarization observations. The CBI employs single mode circularly polarized receivers which sample multipoles from ℓ~400 to ℓ~4250. The instrumental polarization of the CBI was calibrated with 3C279, a bright polarized point source which was monitored with the VLA

Design of new cold rolled purlins by experimental testing and Direct Strength Method

New cold roll formed channel and zed sections for purlins, namely UltraBEAM™2 and UltraZED™2, have been developed by Hadley Industries plc using a combined approach of experimental testing, finite element modelling and optimisation techniques. The new sections have improved strength to weight ratio by increasing the section's strength through the use of stiffeners in the section webs. The European standard, Eurocode 3 [1], uses the traditional Effective Width Method to determine the strength of a cold formed steel member. However, the design of the new sections UltraBEAM™2 and UltraZED™2 using this method is very complicated in calculating the effective section properties as these sections contain complex folded-in stiffeners. In addition, the incorporation of competing buckling modes such as distortional buckling of these sections can be difficult to analyse. To overcome difficulties of using Eurocode 3 or such a standard with the Effective Width Method for determining the strength of these sections, the Direct Strength Method is adopted in this paper. Four-point beam bending tests were carried out to determine the buckling and ultimate bending capacities of the UltraBEAM™2 and UltraZED™2 sections. Results from both experimental testing and Finite Element analysis were initially used as validation for the design using the Direct Strength Method. The Direct Strength Method's results were then compared with the experimental test results for a broader data in which the UltraBEAM™2 and UltraZED™2 sections had a range of different width-to-thickness ratios. It showed an excellent agreement between test and Direct Strength design values suggesting that the Direct Strength Method is a powerful tool for the design and optimisation of the new cold roll formed channel and zed purlins.N/

Breaking the Tire Cycle Advocacy Campaign

WiLDCOAST, an environmental nonprofit on the United States-Mexico border has a program that focuses on the flow of used tires into California from Mexico was a huge burden on local communities. This program was the basis for this advocacy campaign which focuses on a legislative fix to break the tire cycle, and reduce the associated economic, public health, and environmental impacts that these tires cause. This project became state law.https://digital.sandiego.edu/npi-bpl-advocacy/1001/thumbnail.jp

Networks of strong ties

Social networks transmitting covert or sensitive information cannot use all ties for this purpose. Rather, they can only use a subset of ties that are strong enough to be ``trusted''. In this paper we consider transitivity as evidence of strong ties, requiring that each tie can only be used if the individuals on either end also share at least one other contact in common. We examine the effect of removing all non-transitive ties in two real social network data sets. We observe that although some individuals become disconnected, a giant connected component remains, with an average shortest path only slightly longer than that of the original network. We also evaluate the cost of forming transitive ties by deriving the conditions for the emergence and the size of the giant component in a random graph composed entirely of closed triads and the equivalent Erdos-Renyi random graph.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure

Financial time series: market analysis techniques based on matrix profiles

The Matrix Profile (MP) algorithm has the potential to revolutionise many areas of data analysis. In this article, several applications to financial time series are examined. Several approaches for the identification of similar behaviour patterns (or motifs) are proposed, illustrated, and the results discussed. While the MP is primarily designed for single series analysis, it can also be applied to multi-variate financial series. It still permits the initial identification of time periods with indicatively similar behaviour across individual market sectors and indexes, together with the assessment of wider applications, such as general market behaviour in times of financial crisis. In short, the MP algorithm offers considerable potential for detailed analysis, not only in terms of motif identification in financial time series, but also in terms of exploring the nature of underlying events

Effect of telehealth on use of secondary care and mortality: findings from the Whole System Demonstrator cluster randomised trial

Objective To assess the effect of home based telehealth interventions on the use of secondary healthcare and mortality

Recovery-focused care planning and coordination in England and Wales: a cross-national mixed methods comparative case study

Background In the UK, concerns about safety and fragmented community mental health care led to the development of the care programme approach in England and care and treatment planning in Wales. These systems require service users to have a care coordinator, written care plan and regular reviews of their care. Processes are required to be collaborative, recovery-focused and personalised but have rarely been researched. We aimed to obtain the views and experiences of stakeholders involved in community mental health care and identify factors that facilitate or act as barriers to personalised, collaborative, recovery-focused care. Methods We conducted a cross-national comparative study employing a concurrent transformative mixed-methods approach with embedded case studies across six service provider sites in England and Wales. The study included a survey of views on recovery, empowerment and therapeutic relationships in service users (n = 448) and recovery in care coordinators (n = 201); embedded case studies involving interviews with service providers, service users and carers (n = 117) and a review of care plans (n = 33). Quantitative and qualitative data were analysed within and across sites using inferential statistics, correlations and framework method. Results Significant differences were found across sites for scores on therapeutic relationships. Variation within sites and participant groups was reported in experiences of care planning and understandings of recovery and personalisation. Care plans were described as administratively burdensome and were rarely consulted. Carers reported varying levels of involvement. Risk assessments were central to clinical concerns but were rarely discussed with service users. Service users valued therapeutic relationships with care coordinators and others, and saw these as central to recovery. Conclusions Administrative elements of care coordination reduce opportunities for recovery-focused and personalised work. There were few common understandings of recovery which may limit shared goals. Conversations on risk appeared to be neglected and assessments kept from service users. A reluctance to engage in dialogue about risk management may work against opportunities for positive risk-taking as part of recovery-focused work. Research to investigate innovative approaches to maximise staff contact time with service users and carers, shared decision-making in risk assessments, and training designed to enable personalised, recovery-focused care coordination is indicated

Ultrasound in the diagnosis of a median neuropathy in the forearm: case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Electrodiagnostic studies are traditionally used in the diagnosis of focal neuropathies, however they lack anatomical information regarding the nerve and its surrounding structures. The purpose of this case is to show that high-resolution ultrasound used as an adjunct to electrodiagnostic studies may complement this lack of information and give insight to the cause.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 60-year-old male patient sustained a forearm traction injury resulting in progressive weakness and functional loss in the first three digits of the right hand. High-resolution ultrasound showed the presence of an enlarged nerve and a homogenous soft-tissue structure appearing to engulf the nerve. The contralateral side was normal. Surgery revealed fibrotic bands emanating from the flexor digitorum profundus muscle compressing the median nerve thus confirming the ultrasound findings.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A diagnostically challenging case of median neuropathy in the forearm is presented in which high-resolution ultrasound was valuable in establishing an anatomic etiology and directing appropriate management.</p

Detection of Plasmodium falciparum infected Anopheles gambiae using near-infrared spectroscopy

Background: Large-scale surveillance of mosquito populations is crucial to assess the intensity of vector-borne disease transmission and the impact of control interventions. However, there is a lack of accurate, cost-effective and high-throughput tools for mass-screening of vectors. Methods: A total of 750 Anopheles gambiae (Keele strain) mosquitoes were fed Plasmodium falciparum NF54 gametocytes through standard membrane feeding assay (SMFA) and afterwards maintained in insectary conditions to allow for oocyst (8 days) and sporozoite development (14 days). Thereupon, each mosquito was scanned using near infra-red spectroscopy (NIRS) and processed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) to determine the presence of infection and infection load. The spectra collected were randomly assigned to either a training dataset, used to develop calibrations for predicting oocyst- or sporozoite-infection through partial least square regressions (PLS); or to a test dataset, used for validating the calibration’s prediction accuracy. Results: NIRS detected oocyst- and sporozoite-stage P. falciparum infections with 88% and 95% accuracy, respectively. This study demonstrates proof-of-concept that NIRS is capable of rapidly identifying laboratory strains of human malaria infection in African mosquito vectors. Conclusions: Accurate, low-cost, reagent-free screening of mosquito populations enabled by NIRS could revolutionize surveillance and elimination strategies for the most important human malaria parasite in its primary African vector species. Further research is needed to evaluate how the method performs in the field following adjustments in the training datasets to include data from wild-caught infected and uninfected mosquitoes