An unusual meteor spectrum

An extraordinary spectrum of a meteor at a velocity of about 18.5 + or - 1.0 km/s was observed with an image orthicon camera. The radiant of the meteor was at an altitude of about 49 deg. It was first seen showing a yellow red continuous spectrum alone at a height of 137 + or - 8 km which is ascribed to the first positive group of nitrogen bands. After the meteor had descended to 116 + or - 6 km above sea level it brightened rapidly from its previous threshold brightness into a uniform continuum, the D-line of neutral sodium appeared, and at height 105 + or - 5 km all the other lines of the spectrum also appeared. The continuum remained dominant to the end. Water of hydration and entrained carbon flakes of characteristic dimension about 0.2 micron or less are proposed as constituents of the meteoroid to explain these phenomena

Back-Translation Practices in Organizational Research: Avoiding Loss in Translation

As organizational research continues to globalize, scholars increasingly must translate established scales into languages other than those in which the scales were originally developed. In organizational psychology research, back-translation is the dominant procedure for translating scales. Back-translation has notable strengths in maintaining the psychometric properties of an established scale in a translated version. However, cross-cultural methodologists have argued that in its most basic form, back-translation often does not result in translations with acceptable levels of equivalence between original and translated research materials. Fortunately, there are complementary procedures to back-translation that can evaluate and strengthen the extent to which scale translations have achieved equivalence between original and translated versions of scales. But how often organizational researchers use and report these procedures in tandem with back-translation is unclear. This article aims to address this lack of clarity by evaluating the state of the use of back-translation in organizational psychology research by reviewing every study in Journal of Applied Psychology that has employed translation over the past nearly 25 years (k = 333). Our findings suggest that the majority of the time that researchers engage in translation procedures, they report having done so. At the same time, the details of these procedures are commonly underreported, making it unclear whether additional techniques beyond back-translation have been used to examine and demonstrate equivalence between original and translated versions of scales. Based on the results of our review, we develop a set of recommendations for conducting and reporting scale translations in organizational research

Biomechanics applied to computer-aided diagnosis: examples of orbital and maxillofacial surgeries

This paper introduces the methodology proposed by our group to model the biological soft tissues deformations and to couple these models with Computer-Assisted Surgical (CAS) applications. After designing CAS protocols that mainly focused on bony structures, the Computer Aided Medical Imaging group of Laboratory TIMC (CNRS, France) now tries to take into account the behaviour of soft tissues in the CAS context. For this, a methodology, originally published under the name of the Mesh-Matching method, has been proposed to elaborate patient specific models. Starting from an elaborate manually-built "generic" Finite Element (FE) model of a given anatomical structure, models adapted to the geometries of each new patient ("patient specific" FE models) are automatically generated through a non-linear elastic registration algorithm. This paper presents the general methodology of the Mesh-Matching method and illustrates this process with two clinical applications, namely the orbital and the maxillofacial computer-assisted surgeries

Fast, quantitative, murine cardiac ¹⁹F MRI/MRS of PFCE-labeled progenitor stem cells and macrophages at 9.4T

Purpose: To a) achieve cardiac ¹⁹F-Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of perfluoro-crown-ether (PFCE) labeled cardiac progenitor stem cells (CPCs) and bone-derived bone marrow macrophages, b) determine label concentration and cellular load limits, and c) achieve spectroscopic and image-based quantification. Methods: Theoretical simulations and experimental comparisons of spoiled-gradient echo (SPGR), rapid acquisition with relaxation enhancement (RARE), and steady state at free precession (SSFP) pulse sequences, and phantom validations, were conducted using ¹⁹F MRI/Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) at 9.4 T. Successful cell labeling was confirmed using flow cytometry and confocal microscopy. For CPC and macrophage concentration quantification, in vitro and post-mortem cardiac validations were pursued with the use of the transfection agent FuGENE. Feasibility of fast imaging is demonstrated in murine cardiac acquisitions in vivo, and in post-mortem murine skeletal and cardiac applications. Results: SPGR/SSFP proved favorable imaging sequences yielding good signal-to-noise ratio values. Confocal microscopy confirmed heterogeneity of cellular label uptake in CPCs. ¹⁹F MRI indicated lack of additional benefits upon label concentrations above 7.5–10 mg/ml/million cells. The minimum detectable CPC load was ~500k (~10k/voxel) in two-dimensional (2D) acquisitions (3–5 min) using the butterfly coil. Additionally, absolute ¹⁹F based concentration and intensity estimates (trifluoroacetic-acid solutions, macrophages, and labeled CPCs in vitro and post-CPC injections in the post-mortem state) scaled linearly with fluorine concentrations. Fast, quantitative cardiac ¹⁹F-MRI was demonstrated with SPGR/SSFP and MRS acquisitions spanning 3–5 min, using a butterfly coil. Conclusion: The developed methodologies achieved in vivo cardiac ¹⁹F of exogenously injected labeled CPCs for the first time, accelerating imaging to a total acquisition of a few minutes, providing evidence for their potential for possible translational work

In Vivo Tracking and 1H/19F Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Biodegradable Polyhydroxyalkanoate / Polycaprolactone Blend Scaffolds Seeded with Labeled Cardiac Stem Cells

Medium-chain length Polyhydroxyalkanoates (MCL-PHAs) have demonstrated exceptional properties for cardiac tissue engineering (CTE) applications. Despite prior work on MCL-PHA/Polycaprolactone (PCL) blends, optimal scaffold production and use as an alternative delivery route for controlled release of seeded cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs) in CTE applications in vivo has been lacking, We present herein applicability of MCL-PHA/PCL (95/5 wt%) blends fabricated as thin films with an improved performance compared to the neat MCL-PHA aiming to a) benefit from the material properties of natural and synthetic polymers, b) achieve controlled delivery and increase retention of delivered cells to the murine myocardium, c) extend the temporal window over which the release of labeled CPCs occurs compared to traditional direct injection techniques, and d) use 19F MRI/MRS to noninvasively detect, and longitudinally monitor the seeded scaffolds. Polymer characterization confirmed the chemical structure and composition of the synthesized scaffolds, while thermal, wettability, and mechanical properties were also investigated and compared in neat and porous counterparts. In vitro cytocompatibility studies were performed using perfluorocrown-ether (PFCE)-nanoparticle-labeled murine cardiac progenitor cells (CPC), and studied using confocal microscopy and 19F MRS/MRI. Seeded scaffolds were implanted and studied in the post-mortem murine heart in situ, and in two additional C57BL/6 mice in vivo (using single-layered and double-layered scaffolds) and imaged immediately after and at 7 days post-implantation. Superior MCL-PHA/PCL scaffold performance has been demonstrated compared to MCL-PHA through experimental comparisons of a) morphological data using scanning electron microscopy and b) contact angle measurements attesting to improved CPC adhesion, c) in vitro confocal microscopy showing increased SC proliferative capacity, d) mechanical testing that elicited good overall responses. In vitro MRI results justify the increased seeding density, increased in vitro MRI signal, and improved MRI visibility in vivo, in the double-layered compared to the single-layered scaffolds. Histological evaluations (bright-field, cytoplasmic (Atto647) and nuclear (DAPI) stains) performed in conjunction with confocal microscopy imaging attest to CPC binding within the scaffold, subsequent release and migration to the neighboring myocardium, and to increased retention in the murine myocardium in the case of the double-layered scaffold. Thus MCL-PHA/PCL blends possess tremendous potential for controlled delivery of CPCs and to maximize possible regeneration in myocardial infarction

Improving health and well-being through community health champions: a thematic evaluation of a programme in Yorkshire and Humber.

AIMS: The contribution that lay people can make to the public health agenda is being increasingly recognised in research and policy literature. This paper examines the role of lay workers (referred to as 'community health champions') involved in community projects delivered by Altogether Better across Yorkshire and Humber. The aim of the paper is to describe key features of the community health champion approach and to examine the evidence that this type of intervention can have an impact on health. METHODS: A qualitative approach was taken to the evaluation, with two strands to gathering evidence: interviews conducted with different stakeholder groups including project leads, key partners from community and statutory sectors and community workers, plus two participatory workshops to gather the views of community health champions. Seven projects (from a possible 12) were identified to be involved in the evaluation. Those projects that allowed the evaluation team to explore fully the champion role (training, infrastructure, etc.) and how that works in practice as a mechanism for empowerment were selected. In total, 29 semi-structured interviews were conducted with project staff and partners, and 30 champions, varying in terms of age, gender, ethnicity and disability, took part in the workshops. RESULTS: Becoming a community health champion has health benefits such as increased self-esteem and confidence and improved well-being. For some champions, this was the start of a journey to other opportunities such as education or paid employment. There were many examples of the influence of champions extending to the wider community of family, friends and neighbours, including helping to support people to take part in community life. Champions recognised the value of connecting people through social networks, group activities, and linking people into services and the impact that that had on health and well-being. Project staff and partners also recognised that champions were promoting social cohesiveness and helping to integrate people into their community. CONCLUSIONS: The recent public health White Paper suggested that the Altogether Better programme is improving individual and community health as well as increasing social capital, voluntary activity and wider civic participation. This evaluation supports this statement and suggests that the community health champion role can be a catalyst for change for both individuals and communities

Strategic Behavior in the German Balancing Energy Mechanism: Incentives, Evidence, Costs and Solutions

This paper investigates the incentives market participants have in the German electricity balancing mechanism. Strategic over- and undersupply positions are the result of existing stochastic arbitrage opportunities between the spot market and the balancing mechanism. This strategic behavior can be clearly identified in aggregate market data. These structural imbalances increase the need for reserve capacity, raise system security concerns, and thus burden significant cost on the customers. More effective market designs include changes in the balancing mechanism, the reserve capacity and the intraday spot markets