Pulsed-laser studies on the free-radical polymerization kinetics of styrene in microemulsion

A mean value of 339 L mol-1 s-1 was obtained for the propagation const. derived from pulsed-laser polymn. (PLP) of styrene in aq. AOT microemulsions. For accurate detns., simulations accounting for the esp. high radical concn. after the laser pulse in microemulsions were recommended. PLP with microemulsions apparently permitted specific kinetic aspects such as transfer to monomer and influence of droplet size on bimol. termination to be studied in detai

Psychological stress and lower-back injuries in mental health professionals : an experiential exploration

viii, 86 leaves ; 29 cm. --Psychological stress, lower back injuries (LBI), and lower back pain (LBP) are prevalent problems in society today. Research on the psychological factors involved stress and lower back injuries has been diverse. The proposed project will endeavour to answer to following questions: Do mental health professionals experience symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, or lower-back injuries? What etiological work or non work-related factors do these individuals believe contribute to and/or detract from their difficulties? What interventions do these individuals utilize to alleviate their symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, and/or lower-back injuries? These questions were addressed via the use of a semi-structured interview adapted from a formal psychological assessment scale (The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 42 or DASS 42). The interview results will be reported in a case-by-case format and general thematic format. This project will conclude with a review of the author's recommendations for further research, as well as a brief examination of his personal learning statement

Multiplicity and transverse momentum fluctuations in inelastic proton-proton interactions at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron

Measurements of multiplicity and transverse momentum fluctuations of charged particles were performed in inelastic p+p interactions at 20, 31, 40, 80 and 158 GeV/c beam momentum. Results for the scaled variance of the multiplicity distribution and for three strongly intensive measures of multiplicity and transverse momentum fluctuations \$\Delta[P_{T},N]\$, \$\Sigma[P_{T},N]\$ and \$\Phi_{p_T}\$ are presented. For the first time the results on fluctuations are fully corrected for experimental biases. The results on multiplicity and transverse momentum fluctuations significantly deviate from expectations for the independent particle production. They also depend on charges of selected hadrons. The string-resonance Monte Carlo models EPOS and UrQMD do not describe the data. The scaled variance of multiplicity fluctuations is significantly higher in inelastic p+p interactions than in central Pb+Pb collisions measured by NA49 at the same energy per nucleon. This is in qualitative disagreement with the predictions of the Wounded Nucleon Model. Within the statistical framework the enhanced multiplicity fluctuations in inelastic p+p interactions can be interpreted as due to event-by-event fluctuations of the fireball energy and/or volume.Comment: 18 pages, 12 figure

Measurements of π±\pi^\pm, K±K^\pm, KS0K^0_S, Λ\Lambda and proton production in proton-carbon interactions at 31 GeV/cc with the NA61/SHINE spectrometer at the CERN SPS

Measurements of hadron production in p+C interactions at 31 GeV/c are performed using the NA61/ SHINE spectrometer at the CERN SPS. The analysis is based on the full set of data collected in 2009 using a graphite target with a thickness of 4% of a nuclear interaction length. Inelastic and production cross sections as well as spectra of $\pi^\pm$, $K^\pm$, p, $K^0_S$ and $\Lambda$ are measured with high precision. These measurements are essential for improved calculations of the initial neutrino fluxes in the T2K long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment in Japan. A comparison of the NA61/SHINE measurements with predictions of several hadroproduction models is presented.Comment: v1 corresponds to the preprint CERN-PH-EP-2015-278; v2 matches the final published versio

Epidemiology, clinical features, and antimicrobial resistance of invasive Escherichia coli disease in patients admitted in tertiary care hospitals

Background Invasive Escherichia coli disease (IED), including bloodstream infection, sepsis, and septic shock, can lead to high hospitalization and mortality rates. This multinational study describes the clinical profile of IED in tertiary care hospital patients. Methods We applied clinical criteria of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), sepsis, or septic shock to hospitalized patients with culture-confirmed E. coli from urine or a presumed sterile site. We assessed a proposed clinical case definition against physician diagnoses. Results Most IED patients (N=902) were adults aged ≥60 years (76.5%); 51.9%, 25.1%, and 23.0% of cases were community-acquired (CA), hospital-acquired (HA), and healthcare-associated (HCA), respectively. The urinary tract was the most common source of infection (52.3%). SIRS, sepsis, and septic shock were identified in 77.4%, 65.3% and 14.1% of patients, respectively. Patients >60 years were more likely to exhibit organ dysfunction than those ≤60 years; this trend was not observed for SIRS. The case fatality rate (CFR) was 20.0% (60–75 years, 21.5%; ≥75 years, 22.2%), with an increase across IED acquisition settings (HA, 28.3%; HCA, 21.7% vs. CA, 15.2%). Noticeably, 77.8% of patients initiated antibiotic use on the day of culture sample collection. 65.6% and 40.8% of E. coli isolates were resistant to ≥1 agent in ≥1 or ≥2 drug class(es). A 96.1% agreement was seen between the proposed clinical case definition and physician’s diagnoses of IED. Conclusion This study contributes valuable real-world data about IED severity. An accepted case definition could promote timely and accurate diagnosis of IED and inform the development of novel preventative strategies

Measurements of π± differential yields from the surface of the T2K replica target for incoming 31 GeV/c protons with the NA61/SHINE spectrometer at the CERN SPS

Measurements of particle emission from a replica of the T2K 90 cm-long carbon target were performed in the NA61/SHINE experiment at CERN SPS, using data collected during a high-statistics run in 2009. An efficient use of the long-target measurements for neutrino flux predictions in T2K requires dedicated reconstruction and analysis techniques. Fully-corrected differential yields of π ± -mesons from the surface of the T2K replica target for incoming 31 GeV/c protons are presented. A possible strategy to implement these results into the T2K neutrino beam predictions is discussed and the propagation of the uncertainties of these results to the final neutrino flux is performed

Factorial validity of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) in clinical samples: A critical examination of the literature and a psychometric study in anorexia nervosa

There is extensive use of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) in research and clinical practice in anorexia nervosa (AN), though it is not empirically established in this population. This study aims to examine the factorial validity of the TAS-20 in a Portuguese AN sample (N = 125), testing four different models (ranging from 1 to 4 factors) that were identified in critical examination of existing factor analytic studies. Results of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) suggested that the three-factor solution, measuring difficulty identifying (DIF) and describing feelings (DDF), and externally oriented thinking (EOT), was the best fitting model. The quality of measurement improves if two EOT items (16 and 18) are eliminated. Internal consistency of EOT was low and decreased with age. The results provide support for the factorial validity of the TAS-20 in AN. Nevertheless, the measurement of EOT requires some caution and may be problematic in AN adolescents.Center for Psychology at the University of Porto, Portuguese Science Foundation (FCT UID/PSI/00050/2013) and EU FEDER through COMPETE 2020 program (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007294info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio