Ozonation of cooling tower waters

Continuous ozone injection into water circulating between a cooling tower and heat exchanger with heavy scale deposits inhibits formation of further deposits, promotes flaking of existing deposits, inhibits chemical corrosion and controls algae and bacteria

Area deprivation across the life course and physical capability in mid-life: findings from the 1946 British Birth Cohort

Physical capability in later life is influenced by factors occurring across the life course, yet exposures to area conditions have only been examined cross-sectionally. Data from the National Survey of Health and Development, a longitudinal study of a 1946 British birth cohort, were used to estimate associations of area deprivation (defined as percentage of employed people working in partly skilled or unskilled occupations) at ages 4, 26, and 53 years (residential addresses linked to census data in 1950, 1972, and 1999) with 3 measures of physical capability at age 53 years: grip strength, standing balance, and chair-rise time. Cross-classified multilevel models with individuals nested within areas at the 3 ages showed that models assessing a single time point underestimate total area contributions to physical capability. For balance and chair-rise performance, associations with area deprivation in midlife were robust to adjustment for individual socioeconomic position and prior area deprivation (mean change for a 1-standard-deviation increase: balance, −7.4% (95% confidence interval (CI): −12.8, −2.8); chair rise, 2.1% (95% CI: −0.1, 4.3)). In addition, area deprivation in childhood was related to balance after adjustment for childhood socioeconomic position (−5.1%, 95% CI: −8.7, −1.6). Interventions aimed at reducing midlife disparities in physical capability should target the socioeconomic environment of individuals—for standing balance, as early as childhood

A Chandra View of the Normal SO Galaxy NGC 1332: II: Solar Abundances in the Hot Gas and Implications for SN Enrichment

We present spectral analysis of the diffuse emission in the normal, isolated, moderate-Lx S0 NGC 1332, constraining both the temperature profile and the metal abundances in the ISM. The characteristics of the point source population and the gravitating matter are discussed in two companion papers. The diffuse emission comprises hot gas, with an ~isothermal temperature profile (~0.5 keV), and emission from unresolved point-sources. In contrast with the cool cores of many groups and clusters, we find a small central temperature peak. We obtain emission-weighted abundance contraints within 20 kpc for several key elements: Fe, O, Ne, Mg and Si. The measured iron abundance (Z_Fe=1.1 in solar units; >0.53 at 99% confidence) strongly excludes the very sub-solar values often historically reported for early-type galaxies but agrees with recent observations of brighter galaxies and groups. The abundance ratios, with respect to Fe, of the other elements were also found to be ~solar, although Z_o/Z_Fe was significantly lower (<0.4). Such a low O abundance is not predicted by simple models of ISM enrichment by Type Ia and Type II supernovae, and may indicate a significant contribution from primordial hypernovae. Revisiting Chandra observations of the moderate-Lx, isolated elliptical NGC 720, we obtain similar abundance constraints. Adopting standard SNIa and SNII metal yields, our abundance ratio constraints imply 73+/-5% and 85+/-6% of the Fe enrichment in NGC 1332 and NGC 720, respectively, arises from SNIa. Although these results are sensitive to the considerable systematic uncertainty in the SNe yields, they are in good agreement with observations of more massive systems. These two moderate-Lx early-type galaxies reveal a consistent pattern of metal enrichment from cluster scales to moderate Lx/Lb galaxies. (abridged)Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ. Minor changes to match published versio

Balance-Related Outcome Measures of Acquired Brain Injury Patients in a Student-Led Onsite Physical Therapy Clinic: A Retrospective Records Review

Title: Balance-Related Outcome Measures of Acquired Brain Injury Patients in a Student-Led Onsite Physical Therapy Clinic: A Retrospective Records Review Authors: Parke Humphrey, SPT; Corey Kaleshnik, SPT; Lauren Wilson, SPT; Ann Wilson, PT, MEd, GCS Affiliation(s): 1. Physical Therapy Program, University of Puget Sound Purpose: Individuals with Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) often have balance impairments. Interventions targeting these impairments may improve balance and thus increase overall societal participation. The purpose of this review was to identify the types of balance-related outcome measures used to assess balance impairments in patients with ABI in a student-led onsite physical therapy clinic. Subjects: 13 individuals with an ABI receiving care at a student-run clinic. Materials & Methods: 23 records were selected for this review; however, only 13 of these met inclusion criteria. 12 subjects had a primary diagnosis of CVA and 1 subject had a primary diagnosis of TBI. The average number of balance measures per subject was 2.25 with all subjects having at least one measure taken. The mean age of the subjects was 59.8 years with a range of 35 to 85 years. The mean amount of time since ABI onset to the episode of care was 5.2 years with a range of 8 months to 21 years and a standard deviation of 4.8 years. The mean number of visits for our subjects in each episode of care was 12.4 with a range of 4 to 19 visits and a standard deviation of 4.9. The named balance measures we evaluated were the Berg Balance Scale, Dynamic Gait Index, Timed Up and Go, and the Mini-BESTest. Additionally there were subjects that were evaluated based on general static and dynamic balance. Results: The most commonly used recognized outcome measures were the Berg Balance Scale (N=8), Dynamic Gait Index (N=3), Timed up and Go (N=2) and the Mini-BESTest (N=2). In addition 8 records identified that either static or dynamic balance or both were assessed using other methods (N=8). Of the 13 subjects, 9 improved by a score greater than or equal to the MDC or MCID. Conclusions: Although the majority of student therapists are using validated measures to assess balance, a number are assessing balance in other ways that make it difficult to determine which components of balance are being assessed or how successful the targeted interventions were. Despite this, meaningful change was seen in 69.2% (N=9) of subjects that were evaluated with recognized outcome measures. Clinical Relevance: Meaningful change can be seen in patients with ABI who may be several years out from their original injury in relatively short episodes of care or with infrequent visits. While general balance measures might be appropriate to help inform a therapist’s decision-making process to work on specific deficits, this review highlights the importance of also including a named outcome measure to detect significant changes across many case studies. References 1. What is the Difference Between an Acquired Brain Injury and a Traumatic Brain Injury. Brain Injury Association of America website. http://www.biausa.org/FAQRetrieve.aspx?ID=43913. Updated 2014. Accessed 8 November 2014. 2. Caeyenberghs K, Leemans A, Geurts M, Taymans T, Vander Linden C, Smits-Engelsman BC, Sunaert S, Swinnen SP. Brain-behavior relationships in young traumatic brain injury patients: fractional anisotropy measures are highly correlated with dynamic visuomotor tracking performance. Neuropsychologia 2010 Apr;48(5):1472-82. Doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2010.01.017. 3. Hoffer ME, Balough BJ, Gottshall KR. Posttraumatic balance disorders. Int Tinnitus J. 2007;13(1):69-72. 4. Perry SB, Woollard J, Little S, Shroyer K. Relationships among measures of balance, gait, and community integration in people with brain injury. J Head Trauma Rehabil 2014;29(2):117-124. doi:10.1097/HTR.0b013e3182864f2f. 5. Sartor-Glittenberg C, Brickner L. A multidimensional physical therapy program for individuals with cerebellar ataxia secondary to traumatic brain injury: a case series. Physiother Theory Pract 2014;30(2):138-148. doi:10.3109/09593985.2013.819952

The Glassy Wormlike Chain

We introduce a new model for the dynamics of a wormlike chain in an environment that gives rise to a rough free energy landscape, which we baptise the glassy wormlike chain. It is obtained from the common wormlike chain by an exponential stretching of the relaxation spectrum of its long-wavelength eigenmodes, controlled by a single stretching parameter. Predictions for pertinent observables such as the dynamic structure factor and the microrheological susceptibility exhibit the characteristics of soft glassy rheology and compare favourably with experimental data for reconstituted cytoskeletal networks and live cells. We speculate about the possible microscopic origin of the stretching, implications for the nonlinear rheology, and the potential physiological significance of our results.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures. Minor correction

Guerrero Accelerograph Array: Status and Selected Results

This paper summarizes the history and rational for installation of the Guerrero accelerograph array. The array is producing unprecedented quantities of high quality digital strong motion data. Recent research using the array data has included studies on attenuation, site effects, scaling of spectra with magnitude, the ratio of vertical to horizontal accelerations, and the source of the September 19, 1985 earthquake

Interactive effects of unpleasant light and unpleasant sound

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The reaction of monkeys to 'fearsome' pictures

Monkeys, given the opportunity to look at a picture which excites both interest and fear, choose first to look at it and only later, once their interest has abated, to avoid it