2,451 research outputs found
Audit of surgical delay in relationship to outcome after proximal femoral fracture.
To ascertain the influence of surgical delay on outcome after proximal femoral fracture in elderly females, a cohort study of patients presenting in 1987 was compared to 1989/90. Organisational changes in the intervening period were introduced to reduce delay to surgical intervention. Two hundred and eighty females aged 65 years and over presenting from the local catchment area of an acute inner-city teaching hospital were enrolled in the study. Seventy-nine patients received surgery in 1987 and 186 in 1989/90. The one year mortality was 34% and 26% respectively. The proportion receiving surgery within 24 hours rose from 34% in 1987 to 57% in 1989/90. The relative hazard of the group receiving surgery on day 2 in comparison to day 1 was 1.7 (95% CI 1.0 to 2.9) when adjusted for co-variance of age and mental score. Medically fit elderly patients presenting with proximal femoral fracture have improved survival with early surgery within 24 hours of admission. Improvements in the organisation of hospital care will result in important benefits for the increasing number of elderly females presenting with proximal femoral fracture
The Formation of the Collisional Family around the Dwarf Planet Haumea
Haumea, a rapidly rotating elongated dwarf planet (~ 1500 km in diameter),
has two satellites and is associated with a "family" of several smaller Kuiper
Belt objects (KBOs) in similar orbits. All members of the Haumea system share a
water ice spectral feature that is distinct from all other KBOs. The relative
velocities between the Haumea family members are too small to have formed by
catastrophic disruption of a large precursor body, which is the process that
formed families around much smaller asteroids in the Main Belt. Here we show
that all of the unusual characteristics of the Haumea system are explained by a
novel type of giant collision: a graze-and-merge impact between two comparably
sized bodies. The grazing encounter imparted the high angular momentum that
spun off fragments from the icy crust of the elongated merged body. The
fragments became satellites and family members. Giant collision outcomes are
extremely sensitive to the impact parameters. Compared to the Main Belt, the
largest bodies in the Kuiper Belt are more massive and experience slower
velocity collisions; hence, outcomes of giant collisions are dramatically
different between the inner and outer solar system. The dwarf planets in the
Kuiper Belt record an unexpectedly large number of giant collisions, requiring
a special dynamical event at the end of solar system formation.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ, 12 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables
The experience of patients with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and advance care-planning: a South Australian perspective
Advance care-planning conversations with people who have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are important because of the severity of the disease and the unpredictable timing of death. Advance care-planning is a process involving conversations about future wishes, including end-of-life care and the appointment of a substitute decision-maker. This qualitative research explored issues relating to end-of-life decisions with 15 individuals and their carers living in the community who had severe COPD. Findings indicated that, although patients and carers would welcome the opportunity to discuss end-of-life decisions, almost no conversation about care-planning had been initiated by health professionals with any of the participants. It also demonstrated that professional support is required to assist with advance care-planning and the completion of the legal advance directive documents.M. Brown, M.A. Brooksbank, T.A. Burgess, M. Young and G.B. Crawfordhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2343185
Observation of isotonic symmetry for enhanced quadrupole collectivity in neutron-rich 62,64,66Fe isotopes at N=40
The transition rates for the 2_{1}^{+} states in 62,64,66Fe were studied
using the Recoil Distance Doppler-Shift technique applied to projectile Coulomb
excitation reactions. The deduced E2 strengths illustrate the enhanced
collectivity of the neutron-rich Fe isotopes up to N=40. The results are
interpreted by the generalized concept of valence proton symmetry which
describes the evolution of nuclear structure around N=40 as governed by the
number of valence protons with respect to Z~30. The deformation suggested by
the experimental data is reproduced by state-of-the-art shell calculations with
a new effective interaction developed for the fpgd valence space.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Thermal Hadron Production in High Energy Heavy Ion Collisions
We provide a method to test if hadrons produced in high energy heavy ion
collisions were emitted at freeze-out from an equilibrium hadron gas. Our
considerations are based on an ideal gas at fixed temperature , baryon
number density , and vanishing total strangeness. The constituents of this
gas are all hadron resonances up to a mass of 2 GeV; they are taken to decay
according to the experimentally observed branching ratios. The ratios of the
various resulting hadron production rates are tabulated as functions of
and . These tables can be used for the equilibration analysis of any heavy
ion data; we illustrate this for some specific cases.Comment: 12 pages (not included :13 figures + tables) report CERN-TH 6523/92
and Bielefeld preprint BI-TP 92/0
Beta-delayed proton emission in the 100Sn region
Beta-delayed proton emission from nuclides in the neighborhood of 100Sn was
studied at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory. The nuclei were
produced by fragmentation of a 120 MeV/nucleon 112Sn primary beam on a Be
target. Beam purification was provided by the A1900 Fragment Separator and the
Radio Frequency Fragment Separator. The fragments of interest were identified
and their decay was studied with the NSCL Beta Counting System (BCS) in
conjunction with the Segmented Germanium Array (SeGA). The nuclei 96Cd, 98Ing,
98Inm and 99In were identified as beta-delayed proton emitters, with branching
ratios bp = 5.5(40)%, 5.5+3 -2%, 19(2)% and 0.9(4)%, respectively. The bp for
89Ru, 91,92Rh, 93Pd and 95Ag were deduced for the first time with bp = 3+1.9
-1.7%, 1.3(5)%, 1.9(1)%, 7.5(5)% and 2.5(3)%, respectively. The bp = 22(1)% for
101Sn was deduced with higher precision than previously reported. The impact of
the newly measured bp values on the composition of the type-I X-ray burst ashes
was studied.Comment: 15 pages, 14 Figures, 4 Table
Who does not gain weight? Prevalence and predictors of weight maintenance in young women
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence and predictors of weight maintenance over time in a large sample of young Australian women. DESIGN: This population study examined baseline and 4 y follow-up data from the cohort of young women participating in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women\u27s Health. SUBJECTS: A total of 8726 young women aged 18-23 y at baseline. MEASURES: Height, weight and body mass index (BMI); physical activity; time spent sitting; selected eating behaviours (eg dieting, disordered eating, takeaway food consumption); cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption; parity; and sociodemographic characteristics. RESULTS: Only 44% of the women reported their BMI at follow-up to be within 5% of their baseline BMI (maintainers); 41% had gained weight and 15% had lost weight. Weight maintainers were more likely to be in managerial or professional occupations; to have never married; to be currently studying; and not to be mothers. Controlling for sociodemographic factors, weight maintainers were more likely to be in a healthy weight range at baseline, and to report that they spent less time sitting, and consumed less takeaway food, than women who gained weight. CONCLUSIONS: Fewer than half the young women in this community sample maintained their weight over this 4 y period in their early twenties. Findings of widespread weight gain, particularly among those already overweight, suggest that early adulthood, which is a time of significant life changes for many women, may be an important time for implementing strategies to promote maintenance of healthy weight. Strategies which encourage decreased sitting time and less takeaway food consumption may be effective for encouraging weight maintenance at this life stage.<br /
Young Stars and Protostellar Cores near NGC 2023
We investigate the young (proto)stellar population in NGC 2023 and the L 1630
molecular cloud bordering the HII region IC 434, using Spitzer IRAC and MIPS
archive data, JCMT SCUBA imaging and spectroscopy as well as targeted BIMA
observations of one of the Class 0 protostars, NGC 2023 MM1. We have performed
photometry of all IRAC and MIPS images, and used color-color diagrams to
identify and classify all young stars seen within a 22'x26' field along the
boundary between IC 434 and L 1630. For some stars, which have sufficient
optical, IR, and/or sub-millimeter data we have also used the online SED
fitting tool for a large 2D archive of axisymmetric radiative transfer models
to perform more detailed modeling of the observed SEDs. We identify 5
sub-millimeter cores in our 850 and 450 micron SCUBA images, two of which have
embedded class 0 or I protostars. Observations with BIMA are used to refine the
position and characteristics of the Class 0 source NGC 2023 MM 1. These
observations show that it is embedded in a very cold cloud core, which is
strongly enhanced in NH2D. We find that HD 37903 is the most massive member of
a cluster with 20 -- 30 PMS stars. We also find smaller groups of PMS stars
formed from the Horsehead nebula and another elephant trunk structure to the
north of the Horsehead. We refine the spectral classification of HD 37903 to B2
Ve. Our study shows that the expansion of the IC 434 HII region has triggered
star formation in some of the dense elephant trunk structures and compressed
gas inside the L 1630 molecular cloud. This pre-shock region is seen as a
sub-millimeter ridge in which stars have already formed. The cluster associated
with NGC 2023 is very young, and has a large fraction of Class I sources.Comment: 21 pages, 11 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A Replaced with
higher resolution figure
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