829 research outputs found
Glucose Gel as a Potential Alternative Treatment to Infant Formula for Neonatal Hypoglycaemia in Australia
Infant formula is often used as a treatment for neonatal hypoglycaemia in Australia; however, there are concerns that this may jeopardise mother-baby bonding and breastfeeding. Successful use of glucose gel as an alternative treatment for hypoglycaemia has been reported. We wanted to investigate in a pilot study whether the use of glucose gel has the potential to quickly and safely restore normoglycaemia in the infants of diabetic mothers in an Australian setting. Infants with asymptomatic hypoglycaemia were treated with glucose gel (n = 36) and compared to a historical group of infants which had been treated with infant formula (n = 24). Within 15 min of the first treatment, the gel group had a mean blood glucose level (BGL) of 2.6 mmol/L, and 2.7 mmol/L 30 min after the second treatment. This was lower than the BGL after the first treatment for the formula group, which rose to a mean of 2.8 then to 3.2 mmol/L after the second treatment (p = 0.003). In successfully treated infants, administration of the gel resulted in normoglycaemia within 30 min. The likelihood of special care nursery admission was not significantly different between the groups, although we had a small sample size, and our findings should be interpreted with caution. These pilot results provide support for further investigations into the use of glucose gel as an alternative treatment to infant formula
A case study of the effects of gas and oil production on artificial reef and demersal fish and macrocrustacean communities in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico
This report provides a synthesis of the observed effects of the Buccanneer Gas and Oil Field on biological systems and fisheries of the study area. Demersal fishes and macrocrustaceans, the biofouling community, reef and pelagic fishes were used as indicators of impacts. Other biological components (bacteria, plankton and in-faunal benthos) were considered as part of the environment and were addressed only to the extent that they directly impacted or limited the primary indicator groups
High-precision B(E2) measurements of semi-magic Ni 58,60,62,64 by Coulomb excitation
High-precision reduced electric-quadrupole transition probabilities B(E2;01+→21+) have been measured from single-step Coulomb excitation of semi-magic Ni58,60,62,64 (Z=28) beams at 1.8 MeV per nucleon on a natural carbon target. The energy loss of the
A Two-Dimensional Model with Chiral Condensates and Cooper Pairs Having QCD-like Phase Structure
We describe how a generalization of the original Gross-Neveu model from U(N)
to O(N) flavor symmetry leads to the appearance of a pairing condensate at high
density, in agreement with the conjectured phenomenon of color
superconductivity in -dimensional QCD. Moreover, the model displays a
rich phase structure which closely resembles the one expected in two-flavor
QCD.Comment: 11 pages, 1 fugure, Presented at TMU-Yale Symposium on Dynamics of
Gauge Fields: An External Activity of APCTP, Tokyo, Japan, 13-15 Dec 199
A radium assay technique using hydrous titanium oxide adsorbent for the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory
As photodisintegration of deuterons mimics the disintegration of deuterons by
neutrinos, the accurate measurement of the radioactivity from thorium and
uranium decay chains in the heavy water in the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory
(SNO) is essential for the determination of the total solar neutrino flux. A
radium assay technique of the required sensitivity is described that uses
hydrous titanium oxide adsorbent on a filtration membrane together with a
beta-alpha delayed coincidence counting system. For a 200 tonne assay the
detection limit for 232Th is a concentration of 3 x 10^(-16) g Th/g water and
for 238U of 3 x 10^(-16) g U/g water. Results of assays of both the heavy and
light water carried out during the first two years of data collection of SNO
are presented.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure
4pi Models of CMEs and ICMEs
Coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which dynamically connect the solar surface to
the far reaches of interplanetary space, represent a major anifestation of
solar activity. They are not only of principal interest but also play a pivotal
role in the context of space weather predictions. The steady improvement of
both numerical methods and computational resources during recent years has
allowed for the creation of increasingly realistic models of interplanetary
CMEs (ICMEs), which can now be compared to high-quality observational data from
various space-bound missions. This review discusses existing models of CMEs,
characterizing them by scientific aim and scope, CME initiation method, and
physical effects included, thereby stressing the importance of fully 3-D
('4pi') spatial coverage.Comment: 14 pages plus references. Comments welcome. Accepted for publication
in Solar Physics (SUN-360 topical issue
Life path analysis: scaling indicates priming effects of social and habitat factors on dispersal distances
1. Movements of many animals along a life-path can be separated into repetitive ones within home ranges and transitions between home ranges. We sought relationships of social and environmental factors with initiation and distance of transition movements in 114 buzzards Buteo buteo that were marked as nestlings with long-life radio tags.
2. Ex-natal dispersal movements of 51 buzzards in autumn were longer than for 30 later in their first year and than 35 extra-natal movements between home ranges after leaving nest areas. In the second and third springs, distances moved from winter focal points by birds that paired were the same or less than for unpaired birds. No post-nuptial movement exceeded 2 km.
3. Initiation of early ex-natal dispersal was enhanced by presence of many sibs, but also by lack of worm-rich loam soils. Distances travelled were greatest for birds from small broods and with relatively little short grass-feeding habitat near the nest. Later movements were generally enhanced by the absence of loam soils and short grassland, especially with abundance of other buzzards and probable poor feeding habitats (heathland, long grass).
4. Buzzards tended to persist in their first autumn where arable land was abundant, but subsequently showed a strong tendency to move from this habitat.
5. Factors that acted most strongly in ½-km buffers round nests, or round subsequent focal points, usually promoted movement compared with factors acting at a larger scale. Strong relationships between movement distances and environmental characteristics in ½-km buffers, especially during early ex-natal dispersal, suggested that buzzards became primed by these factors to travel far.
6. Movements were also farthest for buzzards that had already moved far from their natal nests, perhaps reflecting genetic predisposition, long-term priming or poor habitat beyond the study area
Physics, Topology, Logic and Computation: A Rosetta Stone
In physics, Feynman diagrams are used to reason about quantum processes. In
the 1980s, it became clear that underlying these diagrams is a powerful analogy
between quantum physics and topology: namely, a linear operator behaves very
much like a "cobordism". Similar diagrams can be used to reason about logic,
where they represent proofs, and computation, where they represent programs.
With the rise of interest in quantum cryptography and quantum computation, it
became clear that there is extensive network of analogies between physics,
topology, logic and computation. In this expository paper, we make some of
these analogies precise using the concept of "closed symmetric monoidal
category". We assume no prior knowledge of category theory, proof theory or
computer science.Comment: 73 pages, 8 encapsulated postscript figure
Stereoscopic Analysis of the 19 May 2007 Erupting Filament
A filament eruption, accompanied by a B9.5 flare, coronal dimming and an EUV
wave, was observed by the Solar TERrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) on
19 May 2007, beginning at about 13:00 UT. Here, we use observations from the
SECCHI/EUVI telescopes and other solar observations to analyze the behavior and
geometry of the filament before and during the eruption. At this time, STEREO A
and B were separated by about 8.5 degrees, sufficient to determine the
three-dimensional structure of the filament using stereoscopy. The filament
could be followed in SECCHI/EUVI 304 A stereoscopic data from about 12 hours
before to about 2 hours after the eruption, allowing us to determine the 3D
trajectory of the erupting filament. From the 3D reconstructions of the
filament and the chromospheric ribbons in the early stage of the eruption,
simultaneous heating of both the rising filamentary material and the
chromosphere directly below is observed, consistent with an eruption resulting
from magnetic reconnection below the filament. Comparisons of the filament
during eruption in 304 A and Halpha show that when it becomes emissive in He
II, it tends to disappear in Halpha, indicating that the disappearance probably
results from heating or motion, not loss, of filamentary material.Comment: Accepted for publication in Solar Physic
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