XMM-Newton reveals ~100 new LMXBs in M31 from variability studies

We have conducted a survey of X-ray sources in XMM-Newton observations of M31, examining their power density spectra (PDS) and spectral energy distributions (SEDs). Our automated source detection yielded 535 good X-ray sources; to date, we have studied 225 of them. In particular, we examined the PDS because low mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) exhibit two distinctive types of PDS. At low accretion rates, the PDS is characterised by a broken power law, with the spectral index changing from ~0 to ~1 at some frequency in the range \~0.01--1 Hz; we refer to such PDS as Type A. At higher accretion rates, the PDS is described by a simple power law; we call these PDS Type B. Of the 225 sources studied to date, 75 exhibit Type A variability, and are almost certainly LMXBs, while 6 show Type B but not Type A, and are likely LMXBs. Of these 81 candidate LMXBs, 71 are newly identified in this survey; furthermore, they are mostly found near the centre of M31. Furthermore, most of the X-ray population in the disc are associated with the spiral arms, making them likely high mass X-ray binaries (HMXBs). In general these HMXBs do not exhibit Type A variability, while many central X-ray sources (LMXBs) in the same luminosity range do. Hence the PDS may distinguish between LMXBs and HMXBs in this luminosity range.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. To appear in proceedings of IAUS230: "Populations of High Energy Sources in Galaxies", 14-19 August 2005, Dublin, Eds E.J.A. Meurs and G. Fabbian

The power of direct context as revealed by eye tracking:A model tracks relative attention to competing editorial and promotional content

Many previous studies on attention have ignored the eye-catching potential of 'direct context'—the entire promotional and editorial content an observer can view at the same time—in print media. In the current study, characteristics of 183 magazine advertisements and their direct context were coded systematically and linked to eye-tracking data, producing more than 19,000 observations. Expanding on earlier research, the authors focused on fixations within an advertisement during the first five seconds and attention paid to the combined main elements of an advertisement. Results showed that direct context diverted visual attention, especially when featuring multiple colors and large amounts of text

Schistosoma mansoni and Schistosoma haematobium infection and morbidity in a co-endemic focus: Integrated study of epidemiological, micro-geographical and immunological patterns

In Africa, polyparasitism is the rule rather than the exception. The aim of this thesis was to get a detailed insight into the micro-geographical distribution and patterns of S. mansoni and S. haematobium co-infections, and how this affects host morbidity. A community-wide study was carried out in a co-endemic focus in the north of Senegal, combining epidemiological, ecological, immunological, and geographical analyses. This multidisciplinary approach led to several new insights. Spatial analyses showed significant clustering of Schistosoma infection and morbidity even on a micro scale; S. mansoni and S. haematobium hotspots were found in different sections of one community. Another major finding was that the presence of S. mansoni in co-infections might protect against S. haematobium-specific urinary tract morbidity. Furthermore, it was observed that S. haematobium antigens induced stronger cytokine responses than those of S. mansoni, indicating that the first species may be more immunogenic. The results of this thesis provide new leads for further research on disease etiology and underlying mechanisms in Schistosoma co-infections. Such knowledge is key to rationalizing and optimizing current schistosomiasis control strategies in co-endemic areas and to developing successful elimination strategies in the future.Instituut voor Tropische Geneeskunde Antwerpen European Union's sixth framework programme (INCO-CT-2006-032405)UBL - phd migration 201

The Role of Political Skill in the Stressor–Outcome Relationship: Differential Predictions for Self- and Other-Reports of Political Skill

The beneficial role of political skill in stress reactions and performance evaluations has been demonstrated in a substantial amount of empirical research. Most of the research, however, has focused on self-perceptions of political skill. This study examines the differential moderating effects of self- vs. other-rated political skill in the conflict – emotional burnout and performance relationships, using two samples including non-academic staff employees of a large university (N = 839) and a variety of office and retail employees from an automotive organization (N = 142). We argue that self-reported political skill moderates the relationship between conflict and a self-reported strain-related outcome that is important to the individual (i.e., emotional burnout), but that supervisor-rated political skill does not moderate this relationship. Further, we argue that supervisor-rated political skill moderates the relationship between conflict and an outcome important to the supervisor and the organization (i.e., job performance), but that self-reported political skill does not moderate this relationship. Findings partially support our hypotheses as both self and supervisor-rated political skill neutralized the negative effects of conflict on burnout, but only supervisor-rated political skill neutralized the negative effects of conflict on performance. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed

Stabilizing Fluid-Fluid Displacements in Porous Media Through Wettability Alteration

We study experimentally how wettability impacts fluid-fluid-displacement patterns in granular media. We inject a low-viscosity fluid (air) into a thin bed of glass beads initially saturated with a more-viscous fluid (a water-glycerol mixture). Chemical treatment of glass surfaces allows us to control the wetting properties of the medium and modify the contact angle θ from 5° (drainage) to 120° (imbibition). We demonstrate that wettability exerts a powerful influence on the invasion morphology of unfavorable mobility displacements: increasing θ stabilizes fluid invasion into the granular pack at all capillary numbers. In particular, we report the striking observation of a stable radial displacement at low capillary numbers, whose origin lies on the cooperative nature of fluid invasion at the pore scale.Eni S.p.A. (Firm)ARCO Chair in Energy Studie

Epidemiological Interactions between Urogenital and Intestinal Human Schistosomiasis in the Context of Praziquantel Treatment across Three West African Countries

© 2015 Knowles et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. The attached file is the published version of the article

Extraversion and adaptive performance: Integrating trait activation and socioanalytic personality theories at work

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this recordBoth trait activation and socioanalytic personality theories clarify the personality – performance relationship at work. We argue that extraversion needs to be interactively combined with both social competency (socioanalytic theory) and an activating context (trait activation theory) to demonstrate effects on a relevant type of work performance. Specifically, the aim of the present study was to examine extraversion's association with adaptive performance when combined with social competency and context (i.e., climate for personal initiative). Our results demonstrate that the three-way interaction (i.e., extraversion × social competency × climate for initiative) has a significant relationship with adaptive performance, such that the extraversion–performance association is strengthened when both social competency and climate for initiative are heightened. Our findings suggest that personality scholars should consider both socioanalytic and trait activation perspectives when investigating performance prediction. We discuss implications, strengths, limitations, and directions for future research

ICU at home, with the use of mobile IC unit services:intensive care goes that extra mile

In this report we describe a patient with a long ICU stay because of severe Guillain Barré syndrome. Treatment was patient-centred and Mobile ICU facilities were used to facilitate an ICU at home for one day. Early focus on individual needs and wishes and close communication with and within ICU treatment teams can help to improve the long-term consequences of ICU admission. Research on which interventions are effective and most cost-effective need to be performed