Testing the Feasibility of a Passive and Active Case Ascertainment System for Multiple Rare Conditions Simultaneously: The Experience in Three US States

Background: Owing to their low prevalence, single rare conditions are difficult to monitor through current state passive and active case ascertainment systems. However, such monitoring is important because, as a group, rare conditions have great impact on the health of affected individuals and the well-being of their caregivers. A viable approach could be to conduct passive and active case ascertainment of several rare conditions simultaneously. This is a report about the feasibility of such an approach. Objective: To test the feasibility of a case ascertainment system with passive and active components aimed at monitoring 3 rare conditions simultaneously in 3 states of the United States (Colorado, Kansas, and South Carolina). The 3 conditions are spina bifida, muscular dystrophy, and fragile X syndrome. Methods: Teams from each state evaluated the possibility of using current or modified versions of their local passive and active case ascertainment systems and datasets to monitor the 3 conditions. Together, these teams established the case definitions and selected the variables and the abstraction tools for the active case ascertainment approach. After testing the ability of their local passive and active case ascertainment system to capture all 3 conditions, the next steps were to report the number of cases detected actively and passively for each condition, to list the local barriers against the combined passive and active case ascertainment system, and to describe the experiences in trying to overcome these barriers. Results: During the test period, the team from South Carolina was able to collect data on all 3 conditions simultaneously for all ages. The Colorado team was also able to collect data on all 3 conditions but, because of age restrictions in its passive and active case ascertainment system, it was able to report few cases of fragile X syndrome. The team from Kansas was able to collect data only on spina bifida. For all states, the implementation of an active component of the ascertainment system was problematic. The passive component appears viable with minor modifications. Conclusions: Despite evident barriers, the joint passive and active case ascertainment of rare disorders using modified existing surveillance systems and datasets seems feasible, especially for systems that rely on passive case ascertainment

Signatures of Dark Matter Scattering Inelastically Off Nuclei

Direct dark matter detection focuses on elastic scattering of dark matter particles off nuclei. In this study, we explore inelastic scattering where the nucleus is excited to a low-lying state of 10-100 keV, with subsequent prompt de-excitation. We calculate the inelastic structure factors for the odd-mass xenon isotopes based on state-of-the-art large-scale shell-model calculations with chiral effective field theory WIMP-nucleon currents. For these cases, we find that the inelastic channel is comparable to or can dominate the elastic channel for momentum transfers around 150 MeV. We calculate the inelastic recoil spectra in the standard halo model, compare these to the elastic case, and discuss the expected signatures in a xenon detector, along with implications for existing and future experiments. The combined information from elastic and inelastic scattering will allow to determine the dominant interaction channel within one experiment. In addition, the two channels probe different regions of the dark matter velocity distribution and can provide insight into the dark halo structure. The allowed recoil energy domain and the recoil energy at which the integrated inelastic rates start to dominate the elastic channel depend on the mass of the dark matter particle, thus providing a potential handle to constrain its mass.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures. Matches resubmitted version to Phys. Rev. D. One figure added; supplemental material (fits to the structure functions) added as an Appendi

Adolescent Cardiovascular Fitness Changes One Year Post Gastric-Band Surgery

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Soil erosion evaluation in a small watershed in Brazil through 137 Cs fallout redistribution analysis and conventional models

An investigation of rates and patterns of soil erosion on agricultural land cultivated with sugarcane was undert a ken using the 137Cs technique, USLE (Universal Soil Loss Equation) and WEPP (Water Erosion Prediction Project) model. The study was carried out on a representative catchment of a small watershed of the Piracicaba river basin, State of São Paulo, Brazil, called Ceveiro watershed, well known for its severe soil degradation caused by erosion. The results from the 137Cs technique indicate that most part of the studied area (94%) are eroded at erosion rates that go up to 59 Mg ha-1 y-1, with a weighted average rate of 23 Mg ha-1 y-1 . The weighted average rate of infield deposition and sediment retrieval that occurs in only 6% of the total area was estimated to be around 12 Mg ha-1 y-1 . These values led to very high net soil loss from the field, with rates of the order of 21 Mg ha-1 y-1 , which represents a sediment delive ry ratio of 97%. A linear correlation between soil erosion rate estimated by the 137Cs technique and the amount of available K in the top soil layer (0-20 cm) was observed. Based on this correlation the estimated amounts of net and gross K loss in the grid area due to soil erosion were of 0.2 and 1.52 kg ha-1 y-1, respectively. The erosion rate estimated by USLE was 39 Mg ha-1 y-1 and by WEPP model 16.5 Mg ha-1 y-1 with a sediment delivery of 12.4 Mg ha-1 y-1 (75%). The results are a confirmation that the soil conservation practices adopted in the area are very poor and can explain the high siltation level of water reservoirs in the watershed

Adolescent Strength and Body Composition Changes One Year Post Gastric-Band Surgery

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The Lopsidedness of Present-Day Galaxies: Results from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

Large-scale asymmetries in the stellar mass distribution in galaxies are believed to trace non-equilibrium situations in the luminous and/or dark matter component. These may arise in the aftermath of events like mergers, accretion, and tidal interactions. These events are key in the evolution of galaxies. In this paper we quantify the large-scale lopsidedness of light distributions in 25155 galaxies at z < 0.06 from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 4 using the m = 1 azimuthal Fourier mode. We show that the lopsided distribution of light is primarily due to a corresponding lopsidedness in the stellar mass distribution. Observational effects, such as seeing, Poisson noise, and inclination, introduce only small errors in lopsidedness for the majority of this sample. We find that lopsidedness correlates strongly with other basic galaxy structural parameters: galaxies with low concentration, stellar mass, and stellar surface mass density tend to be lopsided, while galaxies with high concentration, mass, and density are not. We find that the strongest and most fundamental relationship between lopsidedness and the other structural parameters is with the surface mass density. We also find, in agreement with previous studies, that lopsidedness tends to increase with radius. Both these results may be understood as a consequence of several factors. The outer regions of galaxies and low-density galaxies are more susceptible to tidal perturbations, and they also have longer dynamical times (so lopsidedness will last longer). They are also more likely to be affected by any underlying asymmetries in the dark matter halo.Comment: 42 pages, 13 figures, 3 tables, accepted to Ap