Recent development in organic scintillators

Discussion on recent developments of organic scintillators includes studies of organic compounds that form glass-like masses which scintillate and are stable at room temperature, correlations between molecular structure of organic scintillators and self-quenching, recently developed fast scintillators, and applications of liquid-scintillation counters

Comment to "Observation of the neutron radiative decay" by R.U. Khafizov et al., published in JETP Letters 83 (2006) 5 (Pis'ma v ZhETF 83 (2006) 7)

The commented manuscript was submitted for publication without informing at least four of the other authors, viz. N. Severijns, O. Zimmer, H.-F. Wirth and D. Rich. This violates our rights as collaborators. The analysis presented and the manuscript itself have not been discussed and have also not been approved by the entire collaboration prior to submission. Besides this formal incorrectness, we also criticise the content of the paper

Thermo-elasticity for anisotropic media in higher dimensions

In this note we develop tools to study the Cauchy problem for the system of thermo-elasticity in higher dimensions. The theory is developed for general homogeneous anisotropic media under non-degeneracy conditions. For degenerate cases a method of treatment is sketched and for the cases of cubic media and hexagonal media detailed studies are provided.Comment: 33 pages, 5 figure

Nutrient Composition of some Tropical Legumes Capable of Substituting Fish Meal in Fish Diets

Sword beans (Canavalia gladiata); Jackbean (Canavalia enciformis (L)); Mucuna bean (Mucuna pruriens); Mucuna cochiunensis; Bambara (Voandzeia subterranea) and Limabean (Phaseolus lunatus) are the tropical legumes considered in this paper. They have been used in the feed of ruminants but very scarcely considered in fish feed. Information about their nutrient composition are also scarce. Results from this study show that the protein contents of the test seeds ranged from 19.94% dry matter (DM), (Bambara) to 36.95% DM (Mucuna cochiunensis). Considering the high protein level required by fish for maximum growth and the presence of some ANFs, the seeds may not be able to be used in isolation without supplementing them with other food stuffs having higher protein value. The relatively high content of Nitrogen Free Extract (+ fibre) seem to suggest that the test seeds can be used in a semi-intensive setting to supply carbohydrate in fish diets. The seeds contain considerable amount of linoleic acid (18:2 n-6). The highest occurring in Lima beans. Sword beans and Jack beans are rich in oleic acid (18:1n-9). Palmatic acid (16:0) is high, while stearic acid (18:0) and myristic acid (14:0) are low. The amino acid compositions of the test seeds are not very adequate. Sword beans had a better amino acid profile though it seems deficient in some of the amino acids. The amino acid contents of Jack bean, Mucuna bean, Bambara and Lima bean look inadequate to provide a possible alternative to fish meal on individual basis. If to be used in fish feed formulation, combinating them with other protein sources, possessing higher contents of the limiting amino acids is strongly suggested. The potentials of these seeds in fish feed formulation seem high

Attosecond control of electron dynamics in carbon monoxide

Laser pulses with stable electric field waveforms establish the opportunity to achieve coherent control on attosecond timescales. We present experimental and theoretical results on the steering of electronic motion in a multi-electron system. A very high degree of light-waveform control over the directional emission of C+ and O+ fragments from the dissociative ionization of CO was observed. Ab initio based model calculations reveal contributions to the control related to the ionization and laser-induced population transfer between excited electronic states of CO+ during dissociation

Is loss in femorotibial cartilage thickness related to severity of contra-lateral radiographic knee osteoarthritis? – Longitudinal data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative

SummaryObjectiveAnti-catabolic disease modifying drugs (DMOADs) aim to reduce cartilage loss in knee osteoarthritis (KOA). Testing such drugs in clinical trials requires sufficient rates of loss in the study participants to occur, preferably at a mild disease stage where cartilage can be preserved. Here we analyze a “progression” model in mild radiographic KOA (RKOA), based on contra-lateral radiographic status.MethodsWe studied 837 participants (62.4 ± 9 yrs; 30 ± 4.9 kg/m²; 61.8% women) from the Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI) with mild to moderate RKOA (Kellgren Lawrence grade [KLG] 2–3) and with/without Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) atlas radiographic joint space narrowing (JSN). These had quantitative measurements of subregional femorotibial cartilage thickness from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at baseline and 1-year follow-up. They were stratified by contra-lateral knee status: no (KLG 0/1), definite (KLG2) and moderate RKOA (KLG 3/4).ResultsKLG2 knees with JSN and moderate contra-lateral RKOA had (P = 0.008) greater maximum subregional cartilage loss −220 μm [95% confidence interval (CI) −255, −184 μm] than those without contra-lateral RKOA −164 μm [−187, −140 μm]. Their rate of subregional cartilage loss was similar and not significantly different (P = 0.61) to that in KLG 3 knees without contra-lateral RKOA (−232 μm; [−266; −198 μm]). The effect of contra-lateral RKOA status was less in KLG2 knees without JSN, and in KLG3 knees.ConclusionKLG2 knees with JSN and moderate contra-lateral RKOA, display relatively high rates of subregional femorotibial cartilage loss, despite being at a relatively mild stage of RKOA. They may therefore provide a unique opportunity for recruitment in clinical trials that explore the efficacy of anti-catabolic DMOADs on structural progression

Do ultra-runners in a 24-h run really dehydrate?

Background: Loss of body mass during a 24-h run was considered to be a result of dehydration. Aims: We intended to quantify the decrease in body mass as a loss in fat mass or skeletal muscle mass and to quantify the change in hydration status. Methods: Body mass, fat mass, skeletal muscle mass, haematocrit, plasma sodium and urinary specific gravity were measured in 15 ultra-marathoners in a 24-h run. Results: Body mass decreased by 2.2kg (p=0.0009) and fat mass decreased by 0.5kg (p=0.0084). The decrease in body mass correlated to the decrease in fat mass (r=0.72, p=0.0024). Urinary specific gravity increased from 1.012 to 1.022g/mL (p=0.0005). Conclusions: The decrease in body mass and the increase in urinary specific gravity indicate dehydration. The decrease in body mass was correlated to the decrease in fat mass and therefore not only due to dehydratio