407 research outputs found
A direct limit on the turbulent velocity of the intracluster medium in the core of Abell 1835 from XMM-Newton
We examine deep XMM-Newton Reflection Grating Spectrometer (RGS) observations
of the X-ray luminous galaxy cluster A1835. For the first time in a galaxy
cluster we place direct limits on turbulent broadening of the emission lines.
This is possible because the coolest X-ray emitting gas in the cluster, which
is responsible for the lines, occupies a small region within the core. The most
conservative determination of the 90 per cent upper limit on line-of-sight,
non-thermal, velocity broadening is 274 km/s, measured from the emission lines
originating within 30 kpc radius. The ratio of turbulent to thermal energy
density in the core is therefore less than 13 per cent. There are no emission
lines in the spectrum showing evidence for gas below ~3.5 keV. We examine the
quantity of gas as a function of temperature and place a limit of 140 Msun/yr
(90 per cent) for gas cooling radiatively below 3.85 keV.Comment: 5 pages, accepted by MNRAS, includes minor change suggested by
refere
A Constant Balancing Act: Delivering Sustainable University Instructional Physical Activity Programs
The goal of university instructional physical activity programs (IPAPs) is to provide quality instruction through best practices to encourage college students to lead healthy and physically active lifestyles. As IPAPs have continued to decline due to enrollment and budgetary concerns, the importance of quality and sustainability has become particularly paramount. Furthermore, it is imperative to the existence of IPAPs that we strive to learn and share with each other in order to independently survive, but more essentially to flourish collectively, as we are better together. In our varied experience, while some IPAPs face unique challenges, many obstacles are common, regardless of institution size and composition. This paper will offer the perspectives of four strikingly different colleges and universities in their quest to navigate challenges in delivery, maintain and support quality instruction, and advocate for IPAPs
âPushing backâ: People newly diagnosed with dementia and their experiences of the Covidâ19 pandemic restrictions in England
Background and Objectives
Research into people with dementia's experiences of the Covid-19 pandemic has tended to focus on vulnerabilities and negative outcomes, with the risk of reproducing a discourse in which people with dementia are positioned as passive. Informed by concepts positioning people with dementia as âactive social agentsâ, we aimed to identify the pandemic-related challenges faced by people recently diagnosed with dementia and examine the ways in which they actively coped with, and adapted to, these challenges.
Research Design and Methods
In-depth interviews with 21 people recently diagnosed with dementia, recruited through an existing national cohort. Data was analysed thematically using Framework.
Findings
Key challenges included reduced social contact, loneliness and loss of social routines; difficulties accessing and trusting health services; dementia-unfriendly practices; and disparate experiences of being able to âget outâ into the physical neighbourhood. People with dementia responded to challenges by maintaining and extending their social networks and making the most of ânodding acquaintancesâ; learning new skills, for communication and hobbies; supporting others, engaging in reciprocal exchange and valuing connection with peers; seeking help and advocacy and challenging and resisting dementia-unfriendly practices; maintaining and adapting habitual spatial practices and being determined to âget outâ; and employing similar emotional coping strategies for the pandemic and dementia.
Conclusions
Support for people with dementia, especially during public health crises when carers and services are under pressure, should involve utilising existing capacities, appropriately supporting the acquisition of new knowledge and skills, âsafety-nettingâ through the availability of a named professional, advocacy and support and use of âcheck-in callsâ and creating supportive social and environmental circumstances for people with dementia to sustain their own well-being
Using digital technologies to facilitate social inclusion during the COVID-19 pandemic: Experiences of co-resident and non-co-resident family carers of people with dementia from DETERMIND-C19
Background
The COVID-19 pandemic triggered rapid and unprecedented changes in the use of digital technologies to support people's social inclusion. We examined whether and how co-resident and non-co-resident family carers of people with dementia engaged with digital technologies during this period.
Methods
Throughout November 2020-February 2021, we interviewed 42 family carers of people with dementia from our DETERMIND-C19 cohort. Preliminary analysis was conducted through Framework analysis, followed by an inductive thematic analysis.
Findings
Digital technologies served as a Facilitator for social inclusion by enabling carers to counter the effects of the differing restrictions imposed on them so they could remain socially connected and form a sense of solidarity, access resources and information, engage in social and cultural activities and provide support and independence in their caring role. However, these experiences were not universal as carers discussed some Challenges for tech inclusion, which included preferences for face-to-face contact, lack of technological literacy and issues associated with the accessibility of the technology.
Conclusion
Many of the carers engaged with Information and Communication Technologies, and to a lesser extent Assistive Technologies, during the pandemic. Whilst carers experienced different challenges due to where they lived, broadly the use of these devices helped them realise important facets of social inclusion as well as facilitated the support they provided to the person with dementia. However, to reduce the âdigital divideâ and support the social inclusion of all dementia carers, our findings suggest it is essential that services are attuned to their preferences, needs and technological abilities
The X-ray luminous cluster underlying the bright radio-quiet quasar H1821+643
We present a Chandra observation of the only low redshift, z=0.299, galaxy
cluster to contain a highly luminous radio-quiet quasar, H1821+643. By
simulating the quasar PSF, we subtract the quasar contribution from the cluster
core and determine the physical properties of the cluster gas down to 3 arcsec
(15 kpc) from the point source. The temperature of the cluster gas decreases
from 9.0\pm0.5 keV down to 1.3\pm0.2 keV in the centre, with a short central
radiative cooling time of 1.0\pm0.1 Gyr, typical of a strong cool-core cluster.
The X-ray morphology in the central 100 kpc shows extended spurs of emission
from the core, a small radio cavity and a weak shock or cold front forming a
semi-circular edge at 15 arcsec radius. The quasar bolometric luminosity was
estimated to be 2 x 10^{47} erg per sec, requiring a mass accretion rate of 40
Msolar per yr, which corresponds to half the Eddington accretion rate. We
explore possible accretion mechanisms for this object and determine that Bondi
accretion, when boosted by Compton cooling of the accretion material, could
provide a significant source of the fuel for this outburst. We consider
H1821+643 in the context of a unified AGN accretion model and, by comparing
H1821+643 with a sample of galaxy clusters, we show that the quasar has not
significantly affected the large-scale cluster gas properties.Comment: 20 pages, 19 figures, accepted by MNRA
A cohort study of the impact of COVID-19 on the quality of life of people newly diagnosed with dementia and their family carers
Introduction
COVID-19 has impacted people with dementia and their family carers, yet little is known about effects on overall quality of life.
Methods
In a UK cohort study, pre- and post-pandemic data were collected from 114 carers and 93 recently diagnosed people with dementia. Latent growth curve modeling examined change in quality of life.
Results
Carers reported significant decline in quality of life, although no change was demonstrated by people with dementia. In multivariable analyses, higher levels of cognitive impairment, deprivation, study site, and lower number of memory clinic contacts were associated with greater decline in carer quality of life.
Discussion
Maintaining life quality for people with dementia during the pandemic appears to have come at the expense of their family carers. This inequity has fallen hardest on those caring for people with more severe dementia, in deprived areas, and with least support from memory services. These effects may be prevented or reversed by post-diagnostic care
CRTAP Is Required for Prolyl 3- Hydroxylation and Mutations Cause Recessive Osteogenesis Imperfecta
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A Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope/Chandra view of IRAS 09104+4109: A type 2 QSO in a cooling flow
IRAS 09104+4109 is a rare example of a dust enshrouded type 2 QSO in the
centre of a cool-core galaxy cluster. Previous observations of this z=0.44
system showed that as well as powering the hyper-luminous infrared emission of
the cluster-central galaxy, the QSO is associated with a double-lobed radio
source. However, the steep radio spectral index and misalignment between the
jets and ionised optical emission suggested that the orientation of the QSO had
recently changed. We use a combination of new, multi-band Giant Metrewave Radio
Telescope observations and archival radio data to confirm that the jets are no
longer powered by the QSO, and estimate their age to be 120-160 Myr. This is in
agreement with the ~70-200 Myr age previously estimated for star-formation in
the galaxy. Previously unpublished Very Long Baseline Array data reveal a 200
pc scale double radio source in the galaxy core which is more closely aligned
with the current QSO axis and may represent a more recent period of jet
activity. These results suggest that the realignment of the QSO, the cessation
of jet activity, and the onset of rapid star-formation may have been caused by
a gas-rich galaxy merger. A Chandra X-ray observation confirms the presence of
cavities associated with the radio jets, and we estimate the energy required to
inflate them to be ~7.7x10^60 erg. The mechanical power of the jets is
sufficient to balance radiative cooling in the cluster, provided they are
efficiently coupled to the intra-cluster medium (ICM). We find no evidence of
direct radiative heating and conclude that the QSO either lacks the radiative
luminosity to heat the ICM, or that it requires longer than 100-200 Myr to
significantly impact its environment. [Abridged]Comment: 23 pages, 18 figures and 7 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRA
Long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the quality of life of people with dementia and their family carers
\ua9 The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Geriatrics Society. INTRODUCTION: Few studies have longitudinally mapped quality of life (QoL) trajectories of newly diagnosed people with dementia and their carers, particularly during coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). METHODS: In a UK cohort study, 261 newly diagnosed people with dementia and 206 family carers were assessed prior to the pandemic (July 2019-March 2020), followed up after the first lockdown (July-October 2020) and then again a year and 2 years later. Latent growth curve modelling examined the level and change of QoL over the four time-points using dementia-specific QoL measures (DEMQOL and C-DEMQOL). RESULTS: Despite variations in individual change scores, our results suggest that generally people with dementia maintained their QoL during the pandemic and experienced some increase towards the end of the period. This contrasted with carers who reported a general deterioration in their QoL over the same period. \u27Confidence in future\u27 and \u27Feeling supported\u27 were the only carer QoL subscales to show some recovery post-pandemic. DISCUSSION: It is positive that even during a period of global disruption, decline in QoL is not inevitable following the onset of dementia. However, it is of concern that carer QoL declined during this same period even after COVID-19 restrictions had been lifted. Carers play an invaluable role in the lives of people with dementia and wider society, and our findings suggest that, post-pandemic, they may require greater support to maintain their QoL
Application of bioinformatics-coupled experimental analysis reveals a new transport-competent nuclear localization signal in the nucleoprotein of Influenza A virus strain
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