1,959 research outputs found
Session 1-4-B: Gambling and Marijuana Use in the Netherlands: Is Legalization the Best Tool for Dealing With Naughty Habits?
In 1976, the Netherlands embraced two policy initiatives which encompassed similar objectives. The policies sought to control âundesired substancesâ via the process of legalization. One legalization process involved casino gambling. The policies have sometimes led to desired results (the right road), while at other times they have led to undesirable results (the wrong road). Now in 2013, without an observable crossroad or even fork in the road, The Netherlands is poised to deviate from a right road to travel down a wrong road by placing rather severe restrictions upon the operations of âCoffee Housesâ which have been âservingâ customers measured amounts of cannabis. This paper examines the experiences with the policies over the past 36 years, and speculates upon the effects of the new policies for the âCoffee Houses.â We ask if what is happening is âkindaâ like an old Crystal Gayle song from the 1970s: âDown that Wrong Road Againâ
On Odd Radio Circles as Supernova Remnants
The origin of arcmin-sized Odd Radio Circles (ORCs) found in modern all-sky
radio surveys remain uncertain, with explanations ranging from
starburst/AGN-driven shocks to supernova remnants (SNRs) in the low-density
ambient medium. Using well-calibrated radio light curve models, we assess the
possibility that ORCs are radio SNRs evolving in low ambient densities. Our
models imply that ORCs 1-5 and J0624-6948 (near the LMC) as SNRs must be within
200 kpc and 100 kpc from the Sun respectively, given their observed flux
densities and angular sizes. To be evolving in the circumgalactic medium of the
Milky Way, our models require ORCs 1-5 to be ejecta-dominated SNRs within 50
kpc, evolving in ambient densities of cm.
However, this is statistically unlikely because ORCs 1-5 would have ages
yrs, much smaller than their expected lifetimes of 10 yrs at these
densities, and because the low SN rate and steep profile of the stellar halo
imply a negligible number of ORC-like SNRs within 50 kpc. The circumgalactic
medium SNR scenario for J0624-6948 is more likely (though still low
probability) compared to ORCs 1-5, as our models allow J0624-6948 to be
3000 yrs. On the other hand, the interpretation of J0624-6948 as a
Sedov-Taylor SNR at 50 kpc (LMC) distance is possible for a wide range of
ambient densities ( cm) and ages
yr, while also being consistent with the local HI
environment.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures. Submitted to MNRAA
Motor unit discharge variability is increased in mild-to-moderate Parkinson\u27s disease
Individuals with Parkinson\u27s disease (PD) demonstrate deficits in muscle activation such as decreased amplitude and inappropriate bursting. There is evidence that some of these disturbances are more pronounced in extensor vs. flexor muscles. Surface EMG has been used widely to quantify muscle activation deficits in PD, but analysis of discharge of the underlying motor units may provide greater insight and be more sensitive to changes early in the disease. Of the few studies that have examined motor unit discharge in PD, the majority were conducted in the first dorsal interosseous, and no studies have measured motor units from extensor and flexor muscles within the same cohort. The objective of this study was to characterize the firing behavior of single motor units in the elbow flexor and extensor muscles during isometric contractions in people with mild-to-moderate PD. Ten individuals with PD (off-medication) and nine healthy controls were tested. Motor unit spike times were recorded via intramuscular EMG from the biceps and triceps brachii muscles during 30-s isometric contractions at 10% maximum voluntary elbow flexion and elbow extension torque, respectively. We selected variables of mean motor unit discharge rate, discharge variability, and torque variability to evaluate motor abnormalities in the PD group. The effects of group, muscle, and group-by-muscle on each variable were determined using separate linear mixed models. Discharge rate and torque variability were not different between groups, but discharge variability was significantly higher in the PD group for both muscles combined
Well-managed grazing systems: A forgotten hero of conservation
Ecologically sound grazing management is an underused and underappreciated conservation tool in the eastern United States. We contend that significant policy and educational barriers stand in the way of expanding the use of this conservation tool. Well-managed pasture systems combine vigorous perennial vegetation cover, reduced pesticide and fertilizer inputs, and lower costs of production using ecological approaches to generate ecosystem services for society, as well as economic sustainability for the producer. The majority of currently available conservation policy tools were designed to address either rangeland grazing situations in the western United States or conservation cropping in the eastern United States. To promote well-managed pastures in the eastern United States, resource managers and government agencies struggle to adapt programs that are really designed for annual row crop systems. Additional educational and technical assistance resources are needed for promoting well-managed pasture-based farming in the region. This paper summarizes the potential of well-managed pasture systems to provide ecosystem services, provides thoughts for discussion on the barriers to adoption of such systems in the eastern United States, and offers some solutions to move such systems forward through policy and educational efforts. These ideas were first presented at a symposium as part of the 2011 Annual Conference of the Soil and Water Conservation Society in Washington, DC
The Husband: Navigating the Relational Challenge Of Her Institutionalization Or His Widowerhood
Discovery and Early Evolution of ASASSN-19bt, the First TDE Detected by TESS
We present the discovery and early evolution of ASASSN-19bt, a tidal
disruption event (TDE) discovered by the All-Sky Automated Survey for
Supernovae (ASAS-SN) at a distance of Mpc and the first TDE to be
detected by TESS. As the TDE is located in the TESS Continuous Viewing Zone,
our dataset includes 30-minute cadence observations starting on 2018 July 25,
and we precisely measure that the TDE begins to brighten days before
its discovery. Our dataset also includes 18 epochs of Swift UVOT and XRT
observations, 2 epochs of XMM-Newton observations, 13 spectroscopic
observations, and ground data from the Las Cumbres Observatory telescope
network, spanning from 32 days before peak through 37 days after peak.
ASASSN-19bt thus has the most detailed pre-peak dataset for any TDE. The TESS
light curve indicates that the transient began to brighten on 2019 January 21.6
and that for the first 15 days its rise was consistent with a flux power-law model. The optical/UV emission is well-fit by a blackbody SED,
and ASASSN-19bt exhibits an early spike in its luminosity and temperature
roughly 32 rest-frame days before peak and spanning up to 14 days that has not
been seen in other TDEs, possibly because UV observations were not triggered
early enough to detect it. It peaked on 2019 March 04.9 at a luminosity of
ergs s and radiated
ergs during the 41-day rise to peak. X-ray observations after peak indicate a
softening of the hard X-ray emission prior to peak, reminiscent of the
hard/soft states in X-ray binaries.Comment: 23 pages, 14 figures, 5 tables. A machine-readable table containing
the host-subtracted photometry presented in this manuscript is included as an
ancillary fil
Intratumor Heterogeneity of the Estrogen Receptor and the Long-term Risk of Fatal Breast Cancer.
Background:Breast cancer patients with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive disease have a continuous long-term risk for fatal breast cancer, but the biological factors influencing this risk are unknown. We aimed to determine whether high intratumor heterogeneity of ER predicts an increased long-term risk (25 years) of fatal breast cancer. Methods:The STO-3 trial enrolled 1780 postmenopausal lymph node-negative breast cancer patients randomly assigned to receive adjuvant tamoxifen vs not. The fraction of cancer cells for each ER intensity level was scored by breast cancer pathologists, and intratumor heterogeneity of ER was calculated using Rao's quadratic entropy and categorized into high and low heterogeneity using a predefined cutoff at the second tertile (67%). Long-term breast cancer-specific survival analyses by intra-tumor heterogeneity of ER were performed using Kaplan-Meier and multivariable Cox proportional hazard modeling adjusting for patient and tumor characteristics. Results:A statistically significant difference in long-term survival by high vs low intratumor heterogeneity of ER was seen for all ER-positive patients (P < .001) and for patients with luminal A subtype tumors (P = .01). In multivariable analyses, patients with high intratumor heterogeneity of ER had a twofold increased long-term risk as compared with patients with low intratumor heterogeneity (ER-positive: hazard ratio [HR] = 1.98, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.31 to 3.00; luminal A subtype tumors: HRâ=â2.43, 95% CIâ=â1.18 to 4.99). Conclusions:Patients with high intratumor heterogeneity of ER had an increased long-term risk of fatal breast cancer. Interestingly, a similar long-term risk increase was seen in patients with luminal A subtype tumors. Our findings suggest that intratumor heterogeneity of ER is an independent long-term prognosticator with potential to change clinical management, especially for patients with luminal A tumors
Multidimensional quantum entanglement with large-scale integrated optics
The ability to control multidimensional quantum systems is key for the
investigation of fundamental science and for the development of advanced
quantum technologies. Here we demonstrate a multidimensional integrated quantum
photonic platform able to robustly generate, control and analyze
high-dimensional entanglement. We realize a programmable bipartite entangled
system with dimension up to on a large-scale silicon-photonics
quantum circuit. The device integrates more than 550 photonic components on a
single chip, including 16 identical photon-pair sources. We verify the high
precision, generality and controllability of our multidimensional technology,
and further exploit these abilities to demonstrate key quantum applications
experimentally unexplored before, such as quantum randomness expansion and
self-testing on multidimensional states. Our work provides a prominent
experimental platform for the development of multidimensional quantum
technologies.Comment: Science, (2018
Maximum Upper Esophageal Sphincter (UES) Admittance: A Non-Specific Marker of UES Dysfunction
This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving'.© 2015 John Wiley & Sons LtdBackground
Assessment of upper esophageal sphincter (UES) motility is challenging, as functionally, UES relaxation and opening are distinct. We studied novel parameters, UES admittance (inverse of nadir impedance), and 0.2-s integrated relaxation pressure (IRP), in patients with cricopharyngeal bar (CPB) and motor neuron disease (MND), as predictors of UES dysfunction.
Methods
Sixty-six healthy subjects (n = 50 controls 20â80 years; n = 16 elderly >80 years), 11 patients with CPB (51â83 years) and 16 with MND (58â91 years) were studied using pharyngeal high-resolution impedance manometry. Subjects received 5 Ă 5 mL liquid (L) and viscous (V) boluses. Admittance and IRP were compared by age and between groups. A p < 0.05 was considered significant.
Key Results
In healthy subjects, admittance was reduced (L: p = 0.005 and V: p = 0.04) and the IRP higher with liquids (p = 0.02) in older age. Admittance was reduced in MND compared to both healthy groups (Young: p < 0.0001 for both, Elderly L: p < 0.0001 and V: p = 0.009) and CPB with liquid (p = 0.001). Only liquid showed a higher IRP in MND patients compared to controls (p = 0.03), but was similar to healthy elderly and CPB patients. Only admittance differentiated younger controls from CPB (L: p = 0.0002 and V: p < 0.0001), with no differences in either parameter between CPB and elderly subjects.
Conclusions & Inferences
The effects of aging and pathology were better discriminated by UES maximum admittance, demonstrating greater statistical confidence across bolus consistencies as compared to 0.2-s IRP. Maximum admittance may be a clinically useful determinate of UES dysfunction
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