Cool White Dwarfs Selection with Pan-STARRS Proper Motions

The use of Reduced Proper Motion in identifying isolated white dwarfs has long been used as a proxy for the absolute magnitude in a population with known kinematics. This, however, introduces a proper motion detection limit on top of the existing photometric limit. How the survey volume is hampered by this extra parameter is discussed in Hambly et al. (2012). In this work, we discuss some robust outlier rejection methods in order to minimise the proper motion limit and hence maximise the survey volume. The generalised volume, corrected for the distance of the Sun from the Galactic Plane, is integrated explicitly

The use of tibial Less Invasive Stabilization System (LISS) plate [AO-ASIF] for the treatment of paediatric supracondylar fracture of femur: a case report

Paediatric supracondylar fractures of the femur are not common. The treatment options depend on the age of child, the site of the fracture, the pattern of injury and the surgeon's preference. We report a case of an 11-year old boy who sustained a comminuted displaced supracondylar fracture of the femur and was treated with indirect reduction and internal fixation with the Less Invasive Stabilization System (LISS) tibial plate

Low-roughness active microdisk resonators fabricated by focused ion beam

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)The authors present a new approach for the fabrication of active microdisk resonators using focused ion beam (FIB) followed by selective wet-chemical etching. This efficient technique enables the placement of the devices at any region of a sample and facilitates prototyping of monolithical integration. Also, it allows the production of very smooth walls required by the resonators. High-quality resonators with an active region based on high-gain InGaAsP/InP quantum wells are demonstrated using this technique. Emission in the C-band at whispering-gallery modes is observed.27629792981Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Centro de Pesquisa em Optica e Fotonica (CEPOF)Institutos Nacionais de Ciencia e Tecnologia (INCT) para Comunicacoes Opticas (FOTONICOM)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP

The White Dwarf Luminosity Functions from the Pan-STARRS 1 3π Steradian Survey

A large sample of white dwarfs is selected by both proper motion and colours from the Pan-STARRS 1 3{\pi} Steradian Survey Processing Version 2 to construct the White Dwarf Luminosity Functions of the discs and halo in the solar neighbourhood. Four-parameter astrometric solutions were recomputed from the epoch data. The generalised maximum volume method is then used to calculate the density of the populations. After removal of crowded areas near the Galactic plane and centre, the final sky area used by this work is 7.833 sr, which is 83% of the 3{\pi} sky and 62% of the whole sky. By dividing the sky using Voronoi tessellation, photometric and astrometric uncertainties are recomputed at each step of the integration to improve the accuracy of the maximum volume. Interstellar reddening is considered throughout the work. We find a disc-to-halo white dwarf ratio of about 100

Diagnostic yield of array CGH in patients with autism spectrum disorder in Hong Kong

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Mastitis diagnostics and performance monitoring: a practical approach

In this paper a review is given of frequently used mastitis diagnostic methods in modern dairy practice. Methods used at the quarter, cow, herd and regional or national level are discussed, including their usability for performance monitoring in udder health. Future developments, such as systems in which milk-derived parameters are combined with modern analytical techniques, are discussed. It is concluded that, although much knowledge is available and science is still developing and much knowledge is available, it is not always fully exploited in practice

Visualisation tool for peptide fractionation data in proteomics: application to OFFGEL isoelectric focussing

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>OFFGEL isoelectric focussing (IEF) has become a popular tool in proteomics to fractionate peptides or proteins. As a consequence there is a need for software solutions supporting data mining, interpretation and characterisation of experimental quality.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We can assess performance characteristics of OFFGEL IEF peptide fractionation in proteomics by generating plots of the overall fractionation patterns and the pairwise comparisons of adjacent fractions.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A visualisation tool for peptide fractionation has been developed to support the evaluation of IEF data quality and can be implemented in proteomics research.</p

Exploration of an innovative draw solution for a forward osmosis-membrane distillation desalination process

© 2017, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. Forward osmosis (FO) has emerged as a viable technology to alleviate the global water crisis. The greatest challenge facing the application of FO technology is the lack of an ideal draw solution with high water flux and low reverse salt flux. Hence, the objective of this study was to enhance FO by lowering reverse salt flux and maintaining high water flux; the method involved adding small concentrations of Al2(SO4)3 to a MgCl2 draw solution. Results showed that 0.5 M MgCl2 mixed with 0.05 M of Al2(SO4)3 at pH 6.5 achieved a lower reverse salt flux (0.53 gMH) than that of pure MgCl2 (1.55 gMH) using an FO cellulose triacetate nonwoven (CTA-NW) membrane. This was due possibly to the flocculation of aluminum hydroxide in the mixed draw solution that constricted membrane pores, resulting in reduced salt diffusion. Moreover, average water fluxes of 4.09 and 1.74 L/m2-h (LMH) were achieved over 180 min, respectively, when brackish water (5 g/L) and sea water (35 g/L) were used as feed solutions. Furthermore, three types of membrane distillation (MD) membranes were selected for draw solution recovery; of these, a polytetrafluoroethylene membrane with a pore size of 0.45 μm proved to be the most effective in achieving a high salt rejection (99.90%) and high water flux (5.41 LMH) in a diluted draw solution

Cognitive and behavioral predictors of light therapy use

Objective: Although light therapy is effective in the treatment of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and other mood disorders, only 53-79% of individuals with SAD meet remission criteria after light therapy. Perhaps more importantly, only 12-41% of individuals with SAD continue to use the treatment even after a previous winter of successful treatment. Method: Participants completed surveys regarding (1) social, cognitive, and behavioral variables used to evaluate treatment adherence for other health-related issues, expectations and credibility of light therapy, (2) a depression symptoms scale, and (3) self-reported light therapy use. Results: Individuals age 18 or older responded (n = 40), all reporting having been diagnosed with a mood disorder for which light therapy is indicated. Social support and self-efficacy scores were predictive of light therapy use (p's<.05). Conclusion: The findings suggest that testing social support and self-efficacy in a diagnosed patient population may identify factors related to the decision to use light therapy. Treatments that impact social support and self-efficacy may improve treatment response to light therapy in SAD. © 2012 Roecklein et al

Identifying people at high risk for developing sleep apnea syndrome (SAS): a cross-sectional study in a Pakistani population

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is associated with many cardiovascular and psychiatric diseases. Day-time sleepiness is a common consequence of sleep apnea and correlates with road-traffic accidents (RTA). Pakistan has a high prevalence of factors which predispose an individual to OSA and death from RTAs are a huge burden. However there is a dearth of prevalence studies in this regard. We aim to understand local relevance of the disease and estimate the prevalence of individuals high-risk for OSA.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This cross-sectional survey was conducted among 450 individuals at Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), which is a tertiary care teaching hospital in Pakistan. We used the BQ as our measurement tool. Based on the responses, participants were grouped into high or low-risk for OSA.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our study sample size was 418 with 63.2% males. Mean age of our study population was 30.4 SD +/- 12.3 years; and mean BMI was 23.2 SD +/- 5 kg/m2. Out of the total sample size 24.9% reported snoring and there were twice as many males who snored as compared to females. Forty-five individuals reported that they had nodded off to sleep while driving at least once in their lifetime. On the other hand, the highest proportion of high risk individuals 47.6% was found in the age group 60 or above. The overall prevalence of individuals who were high risk for sleep apnea was 10%.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A significant proportion of the population is at high-risk for OSA. Our study shows that despite low BMI and favorable craniofacial anatomy sleep apnea is still a locally relevant disease. Given the local relevance of OSAS, it is important to increase awareness among general population but more importantly among physicians of the developing countries, like Pakistan, about common clinical features and pertinent risk factors and complications of OSAS.</p