2,632 research outputs found
Confirmation of the presence of viable but non-cultureable bacteria in the stratosphere
The presence of viable, but non-cultureable, bacteria on membranes through which stratospheric air samples were passed has been confirmed using viable fluorescent staining
Exhaust jet wake and thrust characteristics of several nozzles designed for VTOL DOWNWASH suppression. Tests in and out of ground effect with 70 deg F and 1200 deg F nozzle discharge temperatures
Jet wake degradation and thrust characteristics of exhaust nozzles designed for VTOL downwash suppression and fuselage and ground effect
Bidirectional relationships and disconnects between NAFLD and features of the metabolic syndrome
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) represents a wide spectrum of liver disease from simple steatosis, to steatohepatitis, (both with and without liver fibrosis), cirrhosis and end-stage liver failure. NAFLD also increases the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and both HCC and end stage liver disease may markedly increase risk of liver-related mortality. NAFLD is increasing in prevalence and is presently the second most frequent indication for liver transplantation. As NAFLD is frequently associated with insulin resistance, central obesity, dyslipidaemia, hypertension and hyperglycaemia, NAFLD is often considered the hepatic manifestation of the metabolic syndrome. There is growing evidence that this relationship between NAFLD and metabolic syndrome is bidirectional, in that NAFLD can predispose to metabolic syndrome features, which can in turn exacerbate NAFLD or increase the risk of its development in those without a pre-existing diagnosis. Although the relationship between NAFLD and metabolic syndrome is frequently bidirectional, recently there has been much interest in genotype/phenotype relationships where there is a disconnect between the liver disease and metabolic syndrome features. Such potential examples of genotypes that are associated with a dissociation between liver disease and metabolic syndrome are patatin-like phospholipase domain-containing protein-3 (PNPLA3) (I148M) and transmembrane 6 superfamily member 2 protein (TM6SF2) (E167K) genotypes. This review will explore the bidirectional relationship between metabolic syndrome and NAFLD, and will also discuss recent insights from studies of PNPLA3 and TM6SF2 genotypes that may give insight into how and why metabolic syndrome features and liver disease are linked in NAFLD
Bianchi VIII Empty Futures
Using a qualitative analysis based on the Hamiltonian formalism and the
orthonormal frame representation we investigate whether the chaotic behaviour
which occurs close to the initial singularity is still present in the far
future of Bianchi VIII models. We describe some features of the vacuum Bianchi
VIII models at late times which might be relevant for studying the nature of
the future asymptote of the general vacuum inhomogeneous solution to the
Einstein field equations.Comment: 22 pages, no figures, Latex fil
Design and performance of a multicentre, randomized controlled trial of teleconsulting.
We have designed and performed a multicentre, randomized controlled trial of teleconsulting. The trial investigated the effectiveness and cost implications in rural and inner-city settings of using videoconferencing as an alternative to general practitioner referral to a hospital specialist. The participating general practitioners referred a total of 3170 patients who satisfied the entry criteria. Of these, 1040 (33%) failed to provide consent or otherwise refused to participate in the trial. Of the patients recruited to the trial, a total of 1902 (91%) completed and returned the baseline questionnaire. Although the trial was successful in recruiting sufficient patients and in obtaining high questionnaire response rates, the findings will require careful interpretation to take account of the limits which the protocol placed on the ability of general practitioners to select patients for referral
Cosmic No Hair for Collapsing Universes
It is shown that all contracting, spatially homogeneous, orthogonal Bianchi
cosmologies that are sourced by an ultra-stiff fluid with an arbitrary and, in
general, varying equation of state asymptote to the spatially flat and
isotropic universe in the neighbourhood of the big crunch singularity. This
result is employed to investigate the asymptotic dynamics of a collapsing
Bianchi type IX universe sourced by a scalar field rolling down a steep,
negative exponential potential. A toroidally compactified version of M*-theory
that leads to such a potential is discussed and it is shown that the isotropic
attractor solution for a collapsing Bianchi type IX universe is supersymmetric
when interpreted in an eleven-dimensional context.Comment: Extended discussion to include Kantowski-Sachs universe. In press,
Classical and Quantum Gravit
Global dynamics of the mixmaster model
The asymptotic behaviour of vacuum Bianchi models of class A near the initial
singularity is studied, in an effort to confirm the standard picture arising
from heuristic and numerical approaches by mathematical proofs. It is shown
that for solutions of types other than VIII and IX the singularity is velocity
dominated and that the Kretschmann scalar is unbounded there, except in the
explicitly known cases where the spacetime can be smoothly extended through a
Cauchy horizon. For types VIII and IX it is shown that there are at most two
possibilities for the evolution. When the first possibility is realized, and if
the spacetime is not one of the explicitly known solutions which can be
smoothly extended through a Cauchy horizon, then there are infinitely many
oscillations near the singularity and the Kretschmann scalar is unbounded
there. The second possibility remains mysterious and it is left open whether it
ever occurs. It is also shown that any finite sequence of distinct points
generated by iterating the Belinskii-Khalatnikov-Lifschitz mapping can be
realized approximately by a solution of the vacuum Einstein equations of
Bianchi type IX.Comment: 16 page
Dynamics of spatially homogeneous solutions of the Einstein-Vlasov equations which are locally rotationally symmetric
The dynamics of a class of cosmological models with collisionless matter and
four Killing vectors is studied in detail and compared with that of
corresponding perfect fluid models. In many cases it is possible to identify
asymptotic states of the spacetimes near the singularity or in a phase of
unlimited expansion. Bianchi type II models show oscillatory behaviour near the
initial singularity which is, however, simpler than that of the mixmaster
model.Comment: 27 pages, 3 figures, LaTe
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