17,297 research outputs found
Health Services in Australia
The establishment of the Federal Health Service stemmed from the need to exclude dangerous infectious diseases from Australia. Disease such as smallpox and plague were constant threats to a country newly settled by Europeans with maritime ties, and cholera was endemic in neighboring countries. There were also the less immediate but acknowledged risks of the introduction into Australia of yellow fever and louse typhus. In other words, the earliest Federal Health Service was essentially a quarantine service -established on the basis of meticulous maritime quarantine and supported by a specially trained staff of quarantine medical officers with a chain of quarantine stations strung around the Australian coastline
Nonelastic nuclear reactions and accompanying gamma radiation
Several aspects of nonelastic nuclear reactions which proceed through the formation of a compound nucleus are dealt with. The full statistical model and the partial statistical model are described and computer programs based on these models are presented along with operating instructions and input and output for sample problems. A theoretical development of the expression for the reaction cross section for the hybrid case which involves a combination of the continuum aspects of the full statistical model with the discrete level aspects of the partial statistical model is presented. Cross sections for level excitation and gamma production by neutron inelastic scattering from the nuclei Al-27, Fe-56, Si-28, and Pb-208 are calculated and compared with avaliable experimental data
Rotational CARS application to simultaneous and multiple-point temperature and concentration determination in a turbulent flow
Coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) from the pure rotational Raman lines of N2 is employed to measure the instantaneous (approximately 10 ns) rotational temperature of N2 gas at room temperature and below with good spatial resolution (0.2 x 0.2 x 3.0 cu mm). A broad bandwidth dye laser is used to obtain the entire rotational spectrum from a single laser pulse; the CARS signal is then dispersed by a spectrograph and recorded on an optical multichannel analyzer. A best fit temperature is found in several seconds with the aid of a computer for each experimental spectrum by a least squares comparison with calculated spectra. The model used to calculate the theoretical spectra incorporates the temperature and pressure dependence of the pressure-broadened rotational Raman lines, includes the nonresonant background susceptibility, and assumes that the pump laser has a finite linewidth. Temperatures are fit to experimental spectra recorded over the temperature range of 135 to 296 K, and over the pressure range of .13 to 15.3 atm
Admission Diagnosis of Cerebral Malaria in Adults in an Endemic Area of Tanzania:Implications and Clinical Description
Cerebralmalariais commonly diagnosed in adults in endemic areas in Africa, both in hospitals and in the community. This presents a paradox inconsistent with the epidemiological understanding that the development of immunity during childhood confers protection against severe disease in adult life. To establish the contribution of Plasmodium falciparum infection in adults admitted with neurological dysfunction in an endemic area, to assess the implications of an admission clinical diagnosis of ‘cerebral malaria’ on the treatment and clinical outcome, and to describe the clinical features of patients with malaria parasitaemia. Prospective observational study. We studied adult patients admitted with neurological dysfunction to Muhimbili National Hospital, Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania from October 2000 to July 2001. A full blood count was done and serum creatinine, blood glucose and P. falciparum parasite load were measured. Of 199 patients (median age 34.5 years), 38% were diagnosed as ‘cerebral malaria’ on admission, but only 7.5% had detectable parasitaemia, giving a positive predictive value of 13.3%. Only 1% fulfilled the WHO criteria for cerebral malaria. The prevalence of parasitaemia (7.5%) was less than that observed in a group of asymptomatic controls (9.3%), but distribution of parasite densities was higher in the patients. Mortality was higher in patients with no parasitaemia (22.3%) than in those with parasitaemia (13%). Cerebral malaria was grossly overdiagnosed, resulting in unnecessary treatment and insufficient investigation of other possible diagnoses, which could lead to higher mortality. Extension of this misperception to the assessment of cause of death in community surveys may lead to an overestimation of the impact of malaria in adults.\u
Unusually Weak Diffuse Interstellar Bands toward HD 62542
As part of an extensive survey of diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs), we have
obtained optical spectra of the moderately reddened B5V star HD 62542, which is
known to have an unusual UV extinction curve of the type usually identified
with dark clouds. The typically strongest of the commonly catalogued DIBs
covered by the spectra -- those at 5780, 5797, 6270, 6284, and 6614 A -- are
essentially absent in this line of sight, in marked contrast with other lines
of sight of similar reddening. We compare the HD 62542 line of sight with
others exhibiting a range of extinction properties and molecular abundances and
interpret the weakness of the DIBs as an extreme case of deficient DIB
formation in a dense cloud whose more diffuse outer layers have been stripped
away. We comment on the challenges these observations pose for identifying the
carriers of the diffuse bands.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figures; aastex; accepted by Ap
VLT/UVES Observations of Interstellar Molecules and Diffuse Bands in the Magellanic Clouds
We discuss the abundances of interstellar CH, CH+, and CN in the Magellanic
Clouds (MC), derived from spectra of 7 SMC and 13 LMC stars obtained (mostly)
with the VLT/UVES. CH and/or CH+ are detected toward 3 SMC and 9 LMC stars; CN
is detected toward 2 stars. In the MC, the CH/H2 ratio is comparable to that
found for diffuse Galactic molecular clouds in some sight lines, but is lower
by factors up to 10-15 in others. The abundance of CH in the MC thus appears to
depend on local physical conditions -- and not just on metallicity. The
observed relationships between the column density of CH and those of CN, CH+,
Na I, and K I in the MC are generally consistent with the trends observed in
our Galaxy. Using existing data for the rotational populations of H2, we
estimate temperatures, radiation field strengths, and local hydrogen densities
for the diffuse molecular gas. Densities estimated from N(CH), assuming that CH
is produced via steady-state gas-phase reactions, are considerably higher; much
better agreement is found by assuming that the CH is made via the (still
undetermined) process(es) responsible for the observed CH+. The UVES spectra
also reveal absorption from the diffuse interstellar bands at 5780, 5797, and
6284 A in the MC. On average, the three DIBs are weaker by factors of 7-9 (LMC)
and about 20 (SMC), compared to those observed in Galactic sight lines with
similar N(H I), and by factors of order 2-6, relative to E(B-V), N(Na I), and
N(K I). The detection of several of the ``C2 DIBs'', with strengths similar to
those in comparable Galactic sight lines, however, indicates that no single,
uniform scaling factor (e.g., one related to metallicity) applies to all DIBs
(or all sight lines) in the MC. (abstract abridged)Comment: 59 pages, 15 figures, 10 tables; aastex; accepted to ApJ
CO and C_2 Absorption Toward W40 IRS 1a
The H II region W40 harbors a small group of young, hot stars behind roughly
9 magnitudes of visual extinction. We have detected gaseous carbon monoxide
(CO) and diatomic carbon (C_2) in absorption toward the star W40 IRS 1a. The
2-0 R0, R1, and R2 lines of 12CO at 2.3 micron were measured using the CSHELL
on the NASA IR Telescope Facility (with upper limits placed on R3, R4, and R5)
yielding an N_CO of (1.1 +/- 0.2) x 10^18 cm^-2. Excitation analysis indicates
T_kin > 7 K. The Phillips system of C_2 transitions near 8775 Ang. was measured
using the Kitt Peak 4-m telescope and echelle spectrometer. Radiative pumping
models indicate a total C_2 column density of (7.0 +/- 0.4) x 10^14 cm^-2, two
excitation temperatures (39 and 126 K), and a total gas density of n ~ 250
cm^-3. The CO ice band at 4.7 micron was not detected, placing an upper limit
on the CO depletion of delta < 1 %. We postulate that the sightline has
multiple translucent components and is associated with the W40 molecular cloud.
Our data for W40 IRS 1a, coupled with other sightlines, shows that the ratio of
CO/C_2 increases from diffuse through translucent environs. Finally, we show
that the hydrogen to dust ratio seems to remain constant from diffuse to dense
environments, while the CO to dust ratio apparently does not.Comment: To appear in The Astrophysical Journal 17 pages total, 5 figures Also
available at http://casa.colorado.edu/~shuping/research/w40/w40.htm
Search for antiproton decay at the Fermilab Antiproton Accumulator
A search for antiproton decay has been made at the Fermilab Antiproton
Accumulator. Limits are placed on thirteen antiproton decay modes. The results
include the first explicit experimental limits on the muonic decay modes of the
antiproton, and the first limits on the decay modes e- gamma gamma, and e-
omega. The most stringent limit is for the decay mode pbar-> e- gamma. At 90%
C.L. we find that tau/B(pbar-> e- gamma) > 7 x 10^5 yr. The most stringent
limit for decay modes with a muon in the final state is for the decay pbar->
mu- gamma. At 90% C.L. we find that tau/B(pbar-> mu- gamma) > 5 x 10^4 yr.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev. D. Final results on 13
channels (was 15) are presente
Observations of rotationally resolved C3 in translucent sight lines
The rotationally resolved spectrum of the A ^1Pi_u <- X ^1Sigma^+_g 000-000
transition of C3, centered at 4051.6A, has been observed along 10 translucent
lines of sight. To interpret these spectra, a new method for the determination
of column densities and analysis of excitation profiles involving the
simulation and fitting of observed spectra has been developed. The populations
of lower rotational levels (J<14) in C3 are best fit by thermal distributions
that are consistent with the kinetic temperatures determined from the
excitation profile of C2. Just as in the case of C2, higher rotational levels
(J>14) of C3 show increased nonthermal population distributions in clouds which
have been determined to have total gas densities below ~500 cm-3.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical
Journa
- …