The Star Cluster Systems of the Magellanic Clouds

The characteristics of the cluster systems of the Magellanic Clouds, as inferred from integrated properties, are compared with those from individual cluster studies and from the field population. The agreement is generally satisfactory though in the case of the LMC, the lack of clusters older than ~3 Gyr is not reflected in the field population. The possible origin(s) for this cluster ``age-gap'' are discussed. The SMC cluster age-metallicity relation is also presented and discussed.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures. To appear in the Proceedings of IAU Symposium 207, "Extragalactic Star Clusters", eds E. Grebel, D. Geisler and D. Minnit

Public Health Powers in Relation to Tuberculosis in England and France: A Comparison of Approaches

Peer reviewe

Lie algebras with given properties of subalgebras and elements

Results about the following classes of finite-dimensional Lie algebras over a field of characteristic zero are presented: anisotropic (i.e., Lie algebras for which each adjoint operator is semisimple), regular (i.e., Lie algebras in which each nonzero element is regular in the sense of Bourbaki), minimal nonabelian (i.e., nonabelian Lie algebras all whose proper subalgebras are abelian), and algebras of depth 2 (i.e., Lie algebras all whose proper subalgebras are abelian or minimal nonabelian).Comment: 8 pages; v3: added proofs; fixed a list of algebras of depth 2 in Theorem 7; the statement of Theorem 5 is weakened, the former statement added as conjecture; to appear in Proceedings of the Conference "Algebra - Geometry - Mathematical Physics" (Mulhouse, 2011), Springer Proc. Math. Sta

Assessment of maximum inspiratory pressure: Prior submaximal respiratory muscle activity (‘warm-up’) enhances maximum inspiratory activity and attenuates the learning effect of repeated measurement

The official published version can be obtained from the link belowBackground: The variability of maximal inspiratory pressure (PImax) in response to repeated measurement affects its reliability; published studies have used between three and twenty PImax measurements on a single occasion. Objective: This study investigated the influence of a specific respiratory ‘warm-up’ upon the repeated measurement of inspiratory muscle strength and attempts to establish a procedure by which PImax can be assessed with maximum reliability using the smallest number of manoeuvres. Methods: Fourteen healthy subjects, familiar with the Mueller manoeuvre, were studied. The influence of repeated testing on a single occasion was assessed using an 18-measurement protocol. Using a randomised cross-over design, subjects performed the protocol, preceded by a specific respiratory warm-up (RWU) and on another occasion, without any preliminary activity (control). Comparisons were made amongst ‘baseline’ (best of the first 3 measurements), ‘short’ series (best of 7th to 9th measurement) and ‘long’ series (best of the last 3 measurements). Results: Under control conditions, the mean increase (‘baseline’ vs. ‘long’ series) was 11.4 (5.8)%; following the RWU, the increase (post RWU ‘baseline’ vs. ‘long’ series) was 3.2 (10.0)%. There were statistically significant differences between measurements made at all 3 protocol stages (‘baseline’, ‘short’ and ‘long’ series) under control conditions, but none following the RWU. Conclusions: The present data suggest that a specific RWU may attenuate the ‘learning effect’ during repeated PImax measurements, which is one of the main contributors of the test variability. The use of a RWU may provide a means of obtaining reliable values of PImax following just 3 measurements.This work was partially supported by a grant from the University of Wolverhampton, UK