The Robber Flies (Diptera: Asilidae) of the Albany Pinebush

The Albany Pinebush, a pitch pine-scrub oak sand barrens, was examined for robber flies and the results compared to historical records found in the New York State Museum, Albany. Thirty-six species were recorded of which seventeen were new records. Two species, Cyrtopogon laphriformis and Promachus bastardii, last recorded in 1914 and 1931, respectively, were not located in the survey

A Dark Matter Hurricane: Measuring the S1 Stream with Dark Matter Detectors

The recently discovered S1 stream passes through the Solar neighbourhood on a low inclination, counter-rotating orbit. The progenitor of S1 is a dwarf galaxy with a total mass comparable to the present-day Fornax dwarf spheroidal, so the stream is expected to have a significant DM component. We compute the effects of the S1 stream on WIMP and axion detectors as a function of the density of its unmeasured dark component. In WIMP detectors the S1 stream supplies more high energy nuclear recoils so will marginally improve DM detection prospects. We find that even if S1 comprises less than 10% of the local density, multi-ton xenon WIMP detectors can distinguish the S1 stream from the bulk halo in the relatively narrow mass range between 5 and 25 GeV. In directional WIMP detectors such as CYGNUS, S1 increases DM detection prospects more substantially since it enhances the anisotropy of the WIMP signal. Finally, we show that axion haloscopes possess by far the greatest potential sensitivity to the S1 stream. Once the axion mass has been discovered, the distinctive velocity distribution of S1 can easily be extracted from the axion power spectrum.Comment: 21 pages, 11 figure

Excitation Spectrum at the Yang-Lee Edge Singularity of 2D Ising Model on the Strip

At the Yang-Lee edge singularity, finite-size scaling behavior is used to measure the low-lying excitation spectrum of the Ising quantum spin chain for free boundary conditions. The measured spectrum is used to identify the CFT that describes the Yang-Lee edge singularity of the 2D Ising model for free boundary conditions.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figur

Cholesterol and coronary heart disease: screening and treatment

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the United Kingdom, accounting for just under one quarter of all deaths in 1995: 27% among men and 21% among women.1 Although many CHD deaths occur among elderly people, CHD accounts for 31% of male and 13% of female deaths within the 45–64 age group

Communication about Psychotic Symptoms in Long-Term Psychiatric Illness

Background: Communicating about psychotic symptoms can be challenging. This study aimed to identify (1) how psychiatrists and patients communicate about psychotic symptoms from a research and clinical perspective and (2) whether communication patterns depend on patients' symptom levels. Sampling and Methods: Consultations between 27 psychiatrists and 100 patients with long-term schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder in outpatient clinics were video-recorded, transcribed and coded. Symptoms were assessed on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. Avoidance or engagement with psychotic symptoms was coded separately by researchers and three clinical psychiatrists. Results: Psychotic symptoms were not mentioned in 27% of consultations. Patients reported their absence in 34% of consultations and avoided talking about symptoms in 6%. Researchers rated psychiatrists as engaged in talking about psychotic symptoms in 15% of consultations and avoiding talking about them in 18% of consultations. Psychiatrists identified somewhat less avoidance (10%) and more engagement (23%). Psychiatrist avoidance was seen when the patient raised the topic and the psychiatrist gave brief responses and/or changed the topic. When psychiatrists engaged, they asked specific questions about symptoms, responded to patient concerns and provided explanations about symptoms. Psychotic symptoms were more often discussed with patients with more negative and general symptoms. Conclusions: There is considerable variation in whether psychotic symptoms are discussed or not in outpatient consultations. Whether psychiatrists discuss psychotic symptoms is influenced by patients' symptoms; however, not by their psychotic symptoms but rather by the presence of negative and general symptoms. Psychiatrists' ratings of communication identify broadly similar patterns as detailed research analyses

Practical long-distance quantum key distribution system using decoy levels

Quantum key distribution (QKD) has the potential for widespread real-world applications. To date no secure long-distance experiment has demonstrated the truly practical operation needed to move QKD from the laboratory to the real world due largely to limitations in synchronization and poor detector performance. Here we report results obtained using a fully automated, robust QKD system based on the Bennett Brassard 1984 protocol (BB84) with low-noise superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) and decoy levels. Secret key is produced with unconditional security over a record 144.3 km of optical fibre, an increase of more than a factor of five compared to the previous record for unconditionally secure key generation in a practical QKD system.Comment: 9 page

Extended scope of nursing practice: a multicentre randomised controlled trial of appropriately trained nurses and pre-registration house officers in pre-operative assessment in elective general surgery

Aim/ Principal Research Question:1) To determine whether pre-operative assessment carried out by an appropriately trained nurse (ATN) is equivalent in quality to that carried out by a pre-registration house officer (PRHO).2) To assess whether pre-assessments carried out by ATNs and PRHOs are equivalent in terms of cost.3) To determine whether assessments carried out by ATNs are acceptable to patients.4) To investigate the quality of communication between senior medical staff and ATNs.Factors of Interest:The extended role of appropriately trained nurses and pre-registration house officers in pre-operative assessment in elective general surgery.Methods:The study design was principally a prospective randomised equivalence trial but was accompanied by additional qualitative assessment of patient and staff perceptions, and an economic evaluation.The intervention consisted of a pre-operative assessment carried out by either an ATN or a PRHO. Of the patients who completed the study with a full evaluation, 926 patients were randomised to the PRHO arm of the trial and 948 to the ATN arm. Three ATNs took part in the study, one from each centre, together with a total of 87 PRHOs.Immediately following the initial assessment of a patient by a PRHO or an ATN, one of a number of clinical research fellows, all specialist registrars in anaesthetics, repeated the assessment and recorded it on a study form, together with a list of investigations required. The clinical research fellow then evaluated the competency of the initial assessor by comparing the quality of their assessment with their own. Any deficiencies in ordering of investigations and referral to other specialities were met in order to maximise patient care.Sample groups:All patients attending at one site for assessment prior to general anaesthetic for elective general, vascular, urological or breast surgery were potentially included in the study. Of 1907 patients who were randomised, 1874 completed the study with a full evaluation.The study was carried out at four NHS hospitals, three of which were teaching hospitals, in three NHS Trusts in Southampton, Sheffield and Doncaster.Outcome measures:Three areas of ATN and PRHO performance were judged separately, history taking, examination and ordering of tests, and each was graded into one of four categories, the most important of which was under-assessment, which would possibly have affected peri-operative management. In the case of ordering of tests, it was possible to have both over- and under-assessed a patient on different tests.Findings:The pre-operative assessments carried out by the ATNs were essentially equivalent to those performed by the PRHOs in terms of under-assessment that might possibly have affected peri-operative management, although there was variation between the ATNs in terms of the quality of history taking. This may be related to the low number of patients seen at one study site.PRHOs ordered significantly more unnecessary tests than the ATNs. The substitution of ATNs for PRHOs was calculated to be cost neutral.The results of the qualitative assessment showed that the use of ATNs for pre-operative assessment was acceptable to patients; however, there was no evidence that communication between senior medical staff and those carrying out pre-operative assessments was improved by their introduction.Conclusions:This study demonstrated no reason to inhibit the development of fully nurse-led pre-operative assessment, provided that the nurses are appropriately trained and maintain sufficient workload to retain skills.Implications for Further Research:Further research is needed in the following areas:1) the extent and type of training needed for nurses undertaking the pre-operative assessment role2) the use, costs and benefits of routine pre-operative testing.<br/