Storage and perpendicular retrieving of two-dimensional pulses in electromagnetically induced transparency media

Propagation of two dimensional pulses in electromagnetically induced tranparency media in the case of perpendicular storing and retrieving pulses has been analyzed. It has been shown that propagation control of the pulses in optically thick media can be used for producing interchange between pulse time-shape and intensity profile distribution. A simple obvious analytical solution for the retrieved new field has been obtained.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Seeking protection from precarity? Relationships between transport needs and insecurity in housing and employment

The importance of the nexus between transport, housing location and employment location has long been identified as important to social welfare. In transport research this has however operated largely at either end of the spectrum of advantage. There exists a strong tradition, with roots in welfare economics, which explores those with choices and how they make trade-offs between where to live and work, the associated wage rate and the commute costs. At the other end is work which recognises the social costs for those that do not have access to transport and struggle to participate in employment. This paper focuses its attention on households that fall between these extremes and for whom the choice/no-choice dichotomy does not work. Through in-depth interviews with 46 people in the UK we find that the interactions between the location and, critically, security of both housing and employment plays a critical role in shaping what ‘choices’ exist. In particular, the findings explain why some households own cars although, on other metrics, they would not be expected to find ownership affordable, and how the security of housing tenure shapes long-term household trajectories. The literature on planning and travel behaviour has paid little or no attention to the security of housing and employment. This study suggests the importance of addressing this gap and refocussing attention on the different ways in which transport connects to wider planning and social policy

Developing an index of vulnerability to motor fuel price increases in England

As the outlook for oil prices remains uncertain, this paper develops a method to assess which areas of England would be most vulnerable to future motor fuel price increases. Building on previous research, we define and operationalise three dimensions of vulnerability: exposure (the cost burden of motor fuel), sensitivity (income) and adaptive capacity (accessibility with modes alternative to the car). We exploit unique data sets available in England, including the ‘MOT’ vehicle inspection data and DfT Accessibility Statistics. This allows us to map vulnerability to fuel price increases at a spatially disaggregated level (Lower-layer Super Output Areas), taking into account motor-fuel expenditure for all travel purposes, and the ability of households to shift to other modes of travel. This is an advancement on the ‘oil vulnerability’ indices developed in previous international research

Mondor’s Disease : Rare case of a painful breast lump in a middle-aged woman

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Family characteristics, students' reading habits, environment and students' academic performance in Nigeria

The paper examined family background factors that affect students' academic achievement in institutions of higher learning in Nigeria. With the use of structured questionnaire, data were collected from 110 first-degree final year students using random sampling and analysed through multiple linear regression techniques. It was found that student's academic performance was positively influenced by student's parental level of education, maternal income level, age, income of the student and number of hours allocated for reading on daily basis. Those students who spent more hours reading their books daily were found performing better than those who spent lesser hours. The hypothesis that parental educational level impacted positive effects on students' academic performance was confirmed valid for the country while effects of parental occupation and parental income were mixed. The major finding of the paper was that higher educational attainment and income status of parents were essential factors contributing to high academic record of students of tertiary institutions. It was, therefore, recommended that policy that enforces higher education advancement for all parents should be enforced in Nigeria

Pulmonary Glue Embolism: An unusual complication following endoscopic sclerotherapy for gastric varices

A pulmonary glue embolism is an unusual but potentially life-threatening complication following the treatment of variceal bleeding, especially in patients with large varices requiring large volumes of sclerosant. Other contributory factors include the rate of injection and ratio of the constituent components of the sclerosant (i.e. n-butylcyanoacrylate and lipiodol). This condition may be associated with a delayed onset of respiratory compromise. Therefore, a high degree of clinical suspicion is essential in patients with unexplained cardiorespiratory decline during or following endoscopic sclerotherapy. We report a 65-year-old man who was admitted to the Hull Royal Infirmary, Hull, UK, in 2017 with haematemesis and melaena. He subsequently developed acute respiratory distress syndrome secondary to a glue embolism following emergency sclerotherapy for bleeding gastric varices. The aetiology of the embolism was likely a combination of the large size of the gastric varices and the large volume of cyanoacrylate needed. After an endoscopy, the patient underwent transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunting twice to control the bleeding, after which he recovered satisfactorily.Keywords: Gastric Varices; Pulmonary Embolism; Sclerotherapy; N-butyl-cyanoacrylate; Lipiodol; Case Report; United Kingdom

Abolishing user fees for children and pregnant women trebled uptake of malaria-related interventions in Kangaba, Mali.

Malaria is the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in children under 5 in Mali. Health centres provide primary care, including malaria treatment, under a system of cost recovery. In 2005, Médecins sans Frontieres (MSF) started supporting health centres in Kangaba with the provision of rapid malaria diagnostic tests and artemisinin-based combination therapy. Initially MSF subsidized malaria tests and drugs to reduce the overall cost for patients. In a second phase, MSF abolished fees for all children under 5 irrespective of their illness and for pregnant women with fever. This second phase was associated with a trebling of both primary health care utilization and malaria treatment coverage for these groups. MSF's experience in Mali suggests that removing user fees for vulnerable groups significantly improves utilization and coverage of essential health services, including for malaria interventions. This effect is far more marked than simply subsidizing or providing malaria drugs and diagnostic tests free of charge. Following the free care strategy, utilization of services increased significantly and under-5 mortality was reduced. Fee removal also allowed for more efficient use of existing resources, reducing average cost per patient treated. These results are particularly relevant for the context of Mali and other countries with ambitious malaria treatment coverage objectives, in accordance with the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. This article questions the effectiveness of the current national policy, and the effectiveness of reducing the cost of drugs only (i.e. partial subsidies) or providing malaria tests and drugs free for under-5s, without abolishing other related fees. National and international budgets, in particular those that target health systems strengthening, could be used to complement existing subsidies and be directed towards effective abolition of user fees. This would contribute to increasing the impact of interventions on population health and, in turn, the effectiveness of aid

Pseudoangiomatous Stromal Hyperplasia : A rare mimic of breast malignancy

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