Median Nerve Mobility Measurement using a Motion Tracking Analysis Program: A Reliability Study

Objective: To evaluate relative and absolute reliability and repeatability in assessing median nerve mobility at the level of the wrist and distal upper arm of the right upper extremity during wrist extension. Methods: Six healthy participants participated in the study. Median nerve mobility was captured three times at both sites using Sonocyte Turbo by two sonologists for a total of 72 video clips (36 for each site and 18 by each sonologist). Longitudinal movement was measured using Motion Tracking Analysis Program (MTAP) by the two assessors who were rehabilitation medicine residents. After one month, the assessors remeasured the longitudinal excursion of the median nerve of the previous video clips. Results: There was moderate agreement between the two sonologists of the median nerve mobility at the level of the distal upper arm and the wrist respectively. There was a moderate to almost perfect agreement between the two assessors’ readings in the mobility of the nerve at level of the distal upper arm and wrist for the first and second readings. Repeatability testing showed that there was variable agreement at the level of the distal upper arm and at the wrist. Conclusion: MTAP using fast template tracking with an adaptive template is a reliable tool that can be employed in the accurate assessment of median nerve mobility at the distal upper arm and wrist

Maternal dietary intake of nitrates, nitrites and nitrosamines and selected birth defects in offspring: a case-control study

BACKGROUND: Dietary intake of nitrates, nitrites, and nitrosamines can increase the endogenous formation of N-nitroso compounds in the stomach. Results from animal studies suggest that these compounds might be teratogenic. We examined the relationship between maternal dietary intake of nitrates, nitrites (including plant and animal sources as separate groups), and nitrosamines and several types of birth defects in offspring. METHODS: For this population-based case–control study, data from a 58-question food frequency questionnaire, adapted from the short Willett Food Frequency Questionnaire and administered as part of the National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS), were used to estimate daily intake of dietary nitrates, nitrites, and nitrosamines in a sample of 6544 mothers of infants with neural tube defects (NTD)s, oral clefts (OC)s, or limb deficiencies (LD)s and 6807 mothers of unaffected control infants. Total daily intake of these compounds was divided into quartiles based on the control mother distributions. Odds ratios (OR)s and 95% confidence intervals (CI)s were estimated using logistic regression; estimates were adjusted for maternal daily caloric intake, maternal race-ethnicity, education, dietary folate intake, high fat diet (> 30% of calories from fat), and state of residence. RESULTS: While some unadjusted ORs for NTDS had 95% (CI)s that excluded the null value, none remained significant after adjustment for covariates, and the effect sizes were small (adjusted odds ratios [aOR] <1.12). Similar results were found for OCs and LDs with the exception of animal nitrites and cleft lip with/without cleft palate (aORs and CIs for quartile 4 compared to quartile 1 =1.24; CI=1.05-1.48), animal nitrites and cleft lip (4th quartile aOR=1.32; CI=1.01-1.72), and total nitrite and intercalary LD (4th quartile aOR=4.70; CI=1.23-17.93). CONCLUSIONS: Overall, odds of NTDs, OCs or LDs did not appear to be significantly associated with estimated dietary intake of nitrate, nitrite, and nitrosamines

Synthesis and Single-Molecule Conductance Study of Redox-Active Ruthenium Complexes with Pyridyl and Dihydrobenzo[b]thiophene Anchoring Groups

The ancillary ligands 4′-(4-pyridyl)-2,2′:6′,2′′-terpyridine and 4′-(2,3-dihydrobenzo[b]thiophene)-2,2′-6′,2“-terpyridine were used to synthesize two series of mono- and dinuclear ruthenium complexes differing in their lengths and anchoring groups. The electrochemical and single-molecular conductance properties of these two series of ruthenium complexes were studied experimentally by means of cyclic voltammetry and the scanning tunneling microscopy-break junction technique (STM-BJ) and theoretically by means of density functional theory (DFT). Cyclic voltammetry data showed clear redox peaks corresponding to both the metal- and ligand-related redox reactions. Single-molecular conductance demonstrated an exponential decay of the molecular conductance with the increase in molecular length for both the series of ruthenium complexes, with decay constants of βPY=2.07±0.1 nm−1 and βBT=2.16±0.1 nm−1, respectively. The contact resistance of complexes with 2,3-dihydrobenzo[b]thiophene (BT) anchoring groups is found to be smaller than the contact resistance of ruthenium complexes with pyridine (PY) anchors. DFT calculations support the experimental results and provided additional information on the electronic structure and charge transport properties in those metal|ruthenium complex|metal junctions

Energy Estimation of Cosmic Rays with the Engineering Radio Array of the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) is part of the Pierre Auger Observatory and is used to detect the radio emission of cosmic-ray air showers. These observations are compared to the data of the surface detector stations of the Observatory, which provide well-calibrated information on the cosmic-ray energies and arrival directions. The response of the radio stations in the 30 to 80 MHz regime has been thoroughly calibrated to enable the reconstruction of the incoming electric field. For the latter, the energy deposit per area is determined from the radio pulses at each observer position and is interpolated using a two-dimensional function that takes into account signal asymmetries due to interference between the geomagnetic and charge-excess emission components. The spatial integral over the signal distribution gives a direct measurement of the energy transferred from the primary cosmic ray into radio emission in the AERA frequency range. We measure 15.8 MeV of radiation energy for a 1 EeV air shower arriving perpendicularly to the geomagnetic field. This radiation energy -- corrected for geometrical effects -- is used as a cosmic-ray energy estimator. Performing an absolute energy calibration against the surface-detector information, we observe that this radio-energy estimator scales quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy as expected for coherent emission. We find an energy resolution of the radio reconstruction of 22% for the data set and 17% for a high-quality subset containing only events with at least five radio stations with signal.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Measurement of the cosmic ray spectrum above 4×10184{\times}10^{18} eV using inclined events detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory

A measurement of the cosmic-ray spectrum for energies exceeding $4{\times}10^{18}$ eV is presented, which is based on the analysis of showers with zenith angles greater than $60^{\circ}$ detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2013. The measured spectrum confirms a flux suppression at the highest energies. Above $5.3{\times}10^{18}$ eV, the "ankle", the flux can be described by a power law $E^{-\gamma}$ with index $\gamma=2.70 \pm 0.02 \,\text{(stat)} \pm 0.1\,\text{(sys)}$ followed by a smooth suppression region. For the energy ($E_\text{s}$) at which the spectral flux has fallen to one-half of its extrapolated value in the absence of suppression, we find $E_\text{s}=(5.12\pm0.25\,\text{(stat)}^{+1.0}_{-1.2}\,\text{(sys)}){\times}10^{19}$ eV.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Measurement of the Radiation Energy in the Radio Signal of Extensive Air Showers as a Universal Estimator of Cosmic-Ray Energy

We measure the energy emitted by extensive air showers in the form of radio emission in the frequency range from 30 to 80 MHz. Exploiting the accurate energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory, we obtain a radiation energy of 15.8 \pm 0.7 (stat) \pm 6.7 (sys) MeV for cosmic rays with an energy of 1 EeV arriving perpendicularly to a geomagnetic field of 0.24 G, scaling quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy. A comparison with predictions from state-of-the-art first-principle calculations shows agreement with our measurement. The radiation energy provides direct access to the calorimetric energy in the electromagnetic cascade of extensive air showers. Comparison with our result thus allows the direct calibration of any cosmic-ray radio detector against the well-established energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DOI. Supplemental material in the ancillary file

The Aqua-Planet Experiment (APE): CONTROL SST Simulation

Climate simulations by 16 atmospheric general circulation models (AGCMs) are compared on an aqua-planet, a water-covered Earth with prescribed sea surface temperature varying only in latitude. The idealised configuration is designed to expose differences in the circulation simulated by different models. Basic features of the aqua-planet climate are characterised by comparison with Earth. The models display a wide range of behaviour. The balanced component of the tropospheric mean flow, and mid-latitude eddy covariances subject to budget constraints, vary relatively little among the models. In contrast, differences in damping in the dynamical core strongly influence transient eddy amplitudes. Historical uncertainty in modelled lower stratospheric temperatures persists in APE.Aspects of the circulation generated more directly by interactions between the resolved fluid dynamics and parameterized moist processes vary greatly. The tropical Hadley circulation forms either a single or double inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ) at the equator, with large variations in mean precipitation. The equatorial wave spectrum shows a wide range of precipitation intensity and propagation characteristics. Kelvin mode-like eastward propagation with remarkably constant phase speed dominates in most models. Westward propagation, less dispersive than the equatorial Rossby modes, dominates in a few models or occurs within an eastward propagating envelope in others. The mean structure of the ITCZ is related to precipitation variability, consistent with previous studies.The aqua-planet global energy balance is unknown but the models produce a surprisingly large range of top of atmosphere global net flux, dominated by differences in shortwave reflection by clouds. A number of newly developed models, not optimised for Earth climate, contribute to this. Possible reasons for differences in the optimised models are discussed.The aqua-planet configuration is intended as one component of an experimental hierarchy used to evaluate AGCMs. This comparison does suggest that the range of model behaviour could be better understood and reduced in conjunction with Earth climate simulations. Controlled experimentation is required to explore individual model behavior and investigate convergence of the aqua-planet climate with increasing resolution

Validating AU Microscopii d with Transit Timing Variations

AU Mic is a young (22 Myr) nearby exoplanetary system that exhibits excess TTVs that cannot be accounted for by the two known transiting planets nor stellar activity. We present the statistical "validation" of the tentative planet AU Mic d (even though there are examples of "confirmed" planets with ambiguous orbital periods). We add 18 new transits and nine midpoint times in an updated TTV analysis to prior work. We perform the joint modeling of transit light curves using EXOFASTv2 and extract the transit midpoint times. Next, we construct an O-C diagram and use Exo-Striker to model the TTVs. We generate TTV log-likelihood periodograms to explore possible solutions for the period of planet d and then follow those up with detailed TTV and RV MCMC modeling and stability tests. We find several candidate periods for AU Mic d, all of which are near resonances with AU Mic b and c of varying order. Based on our model comparisons, the most-favored orbital period of AU Mic d is 12.73596+/-0.00793 days (T_{C,d}=2458340.55781+/-0.11641 BJD), which puts the three planets near a 4:6:9 mean-motion orbital resonance. The mass for d is 1.053+/-0.511 M_E, making this planet Earth-like in mass. If confirmed, AU Mic d would be the first known Earth-mass planet orbiting a young star and would provide a valuable opportunity in probing a young terrestrial planet's atmosphere. Additional TTV observation of the AU Mic system are needed to further constrain the planetary masses, search for possible transits of AU Mic d, and detect possible additional planets beyond AU Mic c.Comment: 89 pages, 35 figures, 34 tables. Redid EXOFASTv2 transit modeling to recover more reasonable stellar posteriors, so redid Exo-Striker TTV modeling for consistency. Despite these changes, the overall results remain unchanged: the 12-7-day case is still the most favored. Submitted to AAS Journals on 2023 Feb 9t