467 research outputs found
Pain and Function in the Runner a Ten (din) uous Link
A male runner (30 years old; 10-km time: 33 min, 46 sec) had been running with suspected insertional Achilles tendinopathy (AT) for ~2 years when the pain reached a threshold that prevented running. Diagnostic ultrasound (US), prior to a high-volume stripping injection, confirmed right-sided medial insertional AT. The athlete failed to respond to injection therapy and ceased running for a period of 5 weeks. At the beginning of this period, the runner completed the Victoria institute of sports assessment-Achilles questionnaire (VISA-A), the foot and ankle disability index (FADI), and FADI sport prior to undergoing an assessment of bi-lateral gastrocnemius medialis (GM) muscle architecture (muscle thickness (MT) and pennation angle (PA); US), muscle contractile properties (maximal muscle displacement (Dm) and contraction time (Tc); Tensiomyography (TMG)) and calf endurance (40 raises/min). VISA-A and FADI scores were 59%/100% and 102/136 respectively. Compared to the left leg, the right GM had a lower MT (1.60 cm vs. 1.74 cm), a similar PA (22.0° vs. 21.0°), a lower Dm (1.2 mm vs. 2.0 mm) and Tc (16.5 ms vs. 17.7 ms). Calf endurance was higher in the right leg compared to the left (48 vs. 43 raises). The athlete began a metronome-guided (15 BPM), 12-week progressive eccentric training protocol using a weighted vest (1.5 kg increments per week), while receiving six sessions of shockwave therapy concurrently (within 5 weeks). On returning to running, the athlete kept daily pain (Numeric Rating Scale; NRS) and running scores (miles*rate of perceived exertion (RPE)). Foot and ankle function improved according to scores recorded on the VISA-A (59% vs. 97%) and FADI (102 vs. 127/136). Improvements in MT (1.60 cm vs. 1.76 cm) and PA (22.0° vs. 24.8°) were recorded via US. Improvements in Dm (1.15 mm vs. 1.69 mm) and Tc (16.5 ms vs. 15.4 ms) were recorded via TMG. Calf endurance was lower in both legs and the asymmetry between legs remained (L: 31, R: 34). Pain intensity (mean weekly NRS scores) decreased between week 1 and week 12 (6.6 vs. 2.9), while running scores increased (20 vs. 38) during the same period. The program was maintained up to week 16 at which point mean weekly NRS was 2.2 and running score was 47
Measuring subdiffusion parameters
We propose a method to extract from experimental data the subdiffusion
parameter and subdiffusion coefficient which are defined by
means of the relation where
denotes a mean square displacement of a random walker starting from
at the initial time . The method exploits a membrane system where a
substance of interest is transported in a solvent from one vessel to another
across a thin membrane which plays here only an auxiliary role. Using such a
system, we experimentally study a diffusion of glucose and sucrose in a gel
solvent. We find a fully analytic solution of the fractional subdiffusion
equation with the initial and boundary conditions representing the system under
study. Confronting the experimental data with the derived formulas, we show a
subdiffusive character of the sugar transport in gel solvent. We precisely
determine the parameter , which is smaller than 1, and the subdiffusion
coefficient .Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures, revised, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Win-win in distributive negotiations: The economic and relational benefits of strategic offer framing
Bayesian inference for within-herd prevalence of Leptospira interrogans serovar Hardjo using bulk milk antibody testing
Leptospirosis is the most widespread zoonosis throughout the world and human mortality from severe disease forms is high even when optimal treatment is provided. Leptospirosis is also one of the most common causes of reproductive losses in cattle worldwide and is associated with significant economic costs to the dairy farming industry. Herds are tested for exposure to the causal organism either through serum testing of individual animals or through testing bulk milk samples. Using serum results from a commonly used enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test for Leptospira interrogans serovar Hardjo (L. hardjo) on samples from 979 animals across 12 Scottish dairy herds and the corresponding bulk milk results, we develop a model that predicts the mean proportion of exposed animals in a herd conditional on the bulk milk test result. The data are analyzed through use of a Bayesian latent variable generalized linear mixed model to provide estimates of the true (but unobserved) level of exposure to the causal organism in each herd in addition to estimates of the accuracy of the serum ELISA. We estimate 95% confidence intervals for the accuracy of the serum ELISA of (0.688, 0.987) and (0.975, 0.998) for test sensitivity and specificity, respectively. Using a percentage positivity cutoff in bulk milk of at most 41% ensures that there is at least a 97.5% probability of less than 5% of the herd being exposed to L. hardjo. Our analyses provide strong statistical evidence in support of the validity of interpreting bulk milk samples as a proxy for individual animal serum testing. The combination of validity and cost-effectiveness of bulk milk testing has the potential to reduce the risk of human exposure to leptospirosis in addition to offering significant economic benefits to the dairy industry
Dust enshrouded star-forming activity in Arp 299
We present mid-infrared spectro-imaging (5 - 16 microns) observations of the
infrared luminous interacting system Arp 299 (=Mrk171 =IC694+NGC3690) obtained
with the ISOCAM instrument aboard ISO. Our observations show that nearly 40% of
the total emission at 7 and 15 microns is diffuse, originating from the
interacting disks of the galaxies. Moreover, they indicate the presence of
large amounts of hot dust in the main infrared sources of the system and large
extinctions toward the nuclei. While the observed spectra have an overall
similar shape, mainly composed of Unidentified Infrared Bands (UIB) in the
short wavelength domain, a strong continuum at ~ 13 microns and a deep silicate
absorption band at 10 microns, their differences reveal the varying physical
conditions of each component. For each source, the spectral energy distribution
(SED) can be reproduced by a linear combination of a UIB "canonical" spectral
template and a hot dust continuum due to a 230-300 K black body, after
independently applying an extinction correction to both of them. We find that
the UIB extinction does not vary much throughout the system (A_V ~ 5 mag)
suggesting that most UIBs originate from less enshrouded regions. IC694 appears
to dominate the infrared emission of the system and our observations support
the interpretation of a deeply embedded nuclear starburst located behind an
absorption of about 40 mag. The central region of NGC3690 displays a hard
radiation field characterized by a [NeIII]/[NeII] ratio > 1.8. It also hosts a
strong continuum from 5 to 16 microns which can be explained as thermal
emission from a deeply embedded (A_V ~ 60 mag) compact source, consistent with
the mid-infrared signature of an active galactic nucleus (AGN), and in
agreement with recent X-ray findings.Comment: to be published in Astronomy and Astrophysics - 12 page
The Spitzer View of Low-Metallicity Star Formation: III. Fine Structure Lines, Aromatic Features, and Molecules
We present low- and high-resolution Spitzer/IRS spectra, supplemented by IRAC
and MIPS measurements, of 22 blue compact dwarf (BCD) galaxies. The BCD sample
spans a wide range in oxygen abundance [12+Log(O/H) between 7.4 and 8.3], and
hardness of the interstellar radiation field (ISRF). The IRS spectra provide us
with a rich set of diagnostics to probe the physics of star and dust formation
in very low-metallicity environments. We find that metal-poor BCDs have harder
ionizing radiation than metal-rich galaxies: [OIV] emission is roughly 4 times
as common as [FeII] emission. They also have a more intense ISRF, as indicated
by the 71 to 160micron luminosity ratio. Two-thirds of the sample (15 BCDs)
show PAH features, although the fraction of PAH emission normalized to the
total infrared (IR) luminosity is considerably smaller in metal-poor BCDs
(~0.5%) than in metal-rich star-forming galaxies (~10%). We find several lines
of evidence for a deficit of small PAH carriers at low metallicity, and
attribute this to destruction by a hard, intense ISRF, only indirectly linked
to metal abundance. Our IRS spectra reveal a variety of H2 rotational lines,
and more than a third of the objects in our sample (8 BCDs) have >=3sigma
detections in one or more of the four lowest-order transitions. The warm gas
masses in the BCDs range from 10^3 to 10^8 Msun, and can be comparable to the
neutral hydrogen gas mass; relative to their total IR luminosities, some BCDs
contain more H2 than SINGS galaxies.Comment: Accepted by ApJ: 70 pages in draft form, 6 tables, 22 figure
The Fine-Scale Structure of the neutral Interstellar Medium in nearby Galaxies
We present an analysis of the properties of HI holes detected in 20 galaxies
that are part of "The HI Nearby Galaxy Survey" (THINGS). We detected more than
1000 holes in total in the sampled galaxies. Where they can be measured, their
sizes range from about 100 pc (our resolution limit) to about 2 kpc, their
expansion velocities range from 4 to 36 km/s, and their ages are estimated to
range between 3 and 150 Myr. The holes are found throughout the disks of the
galaxies, out to the edge of the HI; 23% of the holes fall outside R25. We find
that shear limits the age of holes in spirals (shear is less important in dwarf
galaxies) which explains why HI holes in dwarfs are rounder, on average than in
spirals. Shear, which is particularly strong in the inner part of spiral
galaxies, also explains why we find that holes outside R25 are larger and
older. We derive the scale height of the HI disk as a function of
galactocentric radius and find that the disk flares up in all galaxies. We
proceed to derive the surface and volume porosity (Q2D and Q3D) and find that
this correlates with the type of the host galaxy: later Hubble types tend to be
more porous. The size distribution of the holes in our sample follows a power
law with a slope of a ~ -2.9. Assuming that the holes are the result of massive
star formation, we derive values for the supernova rate (SNR) and star
formation rate (SFR) which scales with the SFR derived based on other tracers.
If we extrapolate the observed number of holes to include those that fall below
our resolution limit, down to holes created by a single supernova, we find that
our results are compatible with the hypothesis that HI holes result from star
formation.Comment: 142 pages, 55 figures, accepted for publication in the Astronomical
Journa
MOA-2011-BLG-293Lb: A test of pure survey microlensing planet detections
Because of the development of large-format, wide-field cameras, microlensing
surveys are now able to monitor millions of stars with sufficient cadence to
detect planets. These new discoveries will span the full range of significance
levels including planetary signals too small to be distinguished from the
noise. At present, we do not understand where the threshold is for detecting
planets. MOA-2011-BLG-293Lb is the first planet to be published from the new
surveys, and it also has substantial followup observations. This planet is
robustly detected in survey+followup data (Delta chi^2 ~ 5400). The planet/host
mass ratio is q=5.3+/- 0.2*10^{-3}. The best fit projected separation is
s=0.548+/- 0.005 Einstein radii. However, due to the s-->s^{-1} degeneracy,
projected separations of s^{-1} are only marginally disfavored at Delta
chi^2=3. A Bayesian estimate of the host mass gives M_L = 0.43^{+0.27}_{-0.17}
M_Sun, with a sharp upper limit of M_L < 1.2 M_Sun from upper limits on the
lens flux. Hence, the planet mass is m_p=2.4^{+1.5}_{-0.9} M_Jup, and the
physical projected separation is either r_perp = ~1.0 AU or r_perp = ~3.4 AU.
We show that survey data alone predict this solution and are able to
characterize the planet, but the Delta chi^2 is much smaller (Delta chi^2~500)
than with the followup data. The Delta chi^2 for the survey data alone is
smaller than for any other securely detected planet. This event suggests a
means to probe the detection threshold, by analyzing a large sample of events
like MOA-2011-BLG-293, which have both followup data and high cadence survey
data, to provide a guide for the interpretation of pure survey microlensing
data.Comment: 29 pages, 6 figures, Replaced 7/3/12 with the version accepted to Ap
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