Reflection of underwater sound from surface waves

Author Posting. © Acoustical Society of America, 2009. This article is posted here by permission of Acoustical Society of America for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 125 (2009): 66-72, doi:10.1121/1.3035828.A tank experiment has been conducted to measure reflection of underwater sound from surface waves. Reflection from a wave crest leads to focusing and caustics and results in rapid variation in the received waveform as the surface wave moves. Theoretical results from wavefront modeling show that interference of three surface reflected eigenrays for each wave crest produces complicated interference waveforms. There is good agreement between theory and experiment even on the shadow side of caustics where there are two surface reflected arrivals but only one eigenray.The support of the Office of Naval Research, Grant No. N00014-04-1-0728, is gratefully acknowledge

A Titan exploration study: Science, technology, and mission planning options, volume 2

For abstract, see Vol.

A Titan exploration study: Science, technology and mission planning options, volume 1

Mission concepts and technology advancements that can be used in the exploration of the outer planet satellites were examined. Titan, the seventh satellite of Saturn was selected as the target of interest. Science objectives for Titan exploration were identified, and recommended science payloads for four basic mission modes were developed (orbiter, atmospheric probe, surface penetrator and lander). Trial spacecraft and mission designs were produced for the various mission modes. Using these trial designs as a base, technology excursions were then made to find solutions to the problems resulting from these conventional approaches and to uncover new science, technology and mission planning options. Several mission modes were developed that take advantage of the unique conditions expected at Titan. They include a combined orbiter, atmosphere probe and lander vehicle, a combined probe and surface penetrator configuration and concepts for advanced remote sensing orbiters

The E5 oncoprotein of BPV-4 does not interfere with the biosynthetic pathway of non-classical MHC class I

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I region in mammals contains both classical and non-classical MHC class I genes. Classical MHC class I molecules present antigenic peptides to cytotoxic T lymphocytes, whereas non-classical MHC class I molecules have a variety of functions. Both classical and non-classical MHC molecules interact with natural killer cell receptors and may under some circumstances prevent cell death by natural killer cytotoxicity. The E5 oncoprotein of BPV-4 down-regulates the expression of classical MHC class I on the cell surface and retains the complex in the Golgi apparatus. The inhibition of classical MHC class I to the cell surface results from both the impaired acidification of the Golgi, due to the interaction of E5 with subunit c of the H+ V-ATPase, and to the physical binding of E5 to the heavy chain of MHC class I. Despite the profound effect of E5 on classical MHC class I, E5 does not retain a non-classical MHC class I in the Golgi, does not inhibit its transport to the cell surface and does not bind its heavy chain. We conclude that, as is the case for HPV-16 E5, BPV-4 E5 does not down-regulate certain non-classical MHC class I, potentially providing a mechanism for the escape of the infected cell from attack by both cytotoxic T lymphocytes and NK cells

Prevalence and Predictors of Herbal Medicine Use Among Adults in the United States

Objective: To describe the prevalence of herbal medicine use among US adults and to assess factors associated with and predictors of herbal use. Design: The data for herbal products use were collected from the 2015 National Consumer Survey on the Medication Experience and Pharmacists’ Roles. Chi-square test was used to analyz factors associated with herbal use, and predictors of herbal use were assessed with logistic regression analysis. Results: Factors associated with herbal supplement use include age older than 70, having a higher than high school education, using prescription medications or over-thecounter (OTC) medications, and using a mail-order pharmacy.” All Disease state associated significantly with herbal use. Approximately thirty-eight percent of those who used herbals used prescription medications and 42% of those who used herbals also used an OTC medication. The most frequent conditions associated with herbal supplement use were a stroke (48.7%), cancer (43.1%), and arthritis (43.0%). Among herbal product users, factors that predicted use included having higher than school education, using OTC medications, using mail-order pharmacy, stroke, obesity, arthritis, and breathing problems. Conclusions: More than one-third of respondents reported using herbal supplements. Older age and higher education were associated with a higher use of herbal supplements. People with chronic diseases are more likely to use herbal medicines than others. OTC drug users and patients with stroke are more likely to use herbal medicines than others

Optimism may moderate screening mammogram frequency in Medicare: A longitudinal study

Higher trait optimism and/or lower cynical hostility are associated with healthier behaviors and lower risk of morbidity and mortality, yet their association with health care utilization has been understudied. Whether these psychological attitudes are associated with breast cancer screening behavior is unknown. To assess the association of optimism and cynical hostility with screening mammography in older women and whether sociodemographic factors acted as mediators of these relationships, we used Women\u27s Health Initiative (WHI) observational cohort survey data linked to Medicare claims. The sample includes WHI participants without history of breast cancer who were enrolled in Medicare Parts A and B for \u3e /=2 years from 2005-2010, and who completed WHI baseline attitudinal questionnaires (n = 48,291). We used survival modeling to examine whether screening frequency varied by psychological attitudes (measured at study baseline) after adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, health conditions, and healthcare-related variables. Psychological attitudes included trait optimism (Life Orientation Test-Revised) and cynical hostility (Cook Medley subscale), which were self-reported at study baseline. Sociodemographic, health conditions, and healthcare variables were self-reported at baseline and updated through 2005 as available. Contrary to our hypotheses, repeated events survival models showed that women with the lowest optimism scores (i.e., more pessimistic tendencies) received 5% more frequent screenings after complete covariate adjustment (p \u3c .01) compared to the most optimistic group, and showed no association between cynical hostility and frequency of screening mammograms. Sociodemographic factors did not appear to mediate the relationship between optimism and screenings. However, higher levels of education and higher levels of income were associated with more frequent screenings (both p \u3c .01). We also found that results for optimism were primarily driven by women who were aged 75 or older after January 2009, when changes to clinical guidelines lead to uncertainty about risks and benefits of screening in this age group. The study demonstrated that lower optimism, higher education, and higher income were all associated with more frequent screening mammograms in this sample after repeated events survival modeling and covariate adjustment

Cardiovascular Health and Incident Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer

The American Heart Association's “Simple 7” offers a practical public health conceptualization of cardiovascular health (CVH). CVH predicts incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) in younger populations, but has not been studied in a large, diverse population of aging postmenopausal women. The extent to which CVH predicts cancer in postmenopausal women is unknown

CAMbase – A XML-based bibliographical database on Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)

The term "Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)" covers a variety of approaches to medical theory and practice, which are not commonly accepted by representatives of conventional medicine. In the past two decades, these approaches have been studied in various areas of medicine. Although there appears to be a growing number of scientific publications on CAM, the complete spectrum of complementary therapies still requires more information about published evidence. A majority of these research publications are still not listed in electronic bibliographical databases such as MEDLINE. However, with a growing demand by patients for such therapies, physicians increasingly need an overview of scientific publications on CAM. Bearing this in mind, CAMbase, a bibliographical database on CAM was launched in order to close this gap. It can be accessed online free of charge or additional costs. The user can peruse more than 80,000 records from over 30 journals and periodicals on CAM, which are stored in CAMbase. A special search engine performing syntactical and semantical analysis of textual phrases allows the user quickly to find relevant bibliographical information on CAM. Between August 2003 and July 2006, 43,299 search queries, an average of 38 search queries per day, were registered focussing on CAM topics such as acupuncture, cancer or general safety aspects. Analysis of the requests led to the conclusion that CAMbase is not only used by scientists and researchers but also by physicians and patients who want to find out more about CAM. Closely related to this effort is our aim to establish a modern library center on Complementary Medicine which offers the complete spectrum of a modern digital library including a document delivery-service for physicians, therapists, scientists and researchers

Changes among male and female visitors to practitioners of complementary and alternative medicine in a large adult Norwegian population from 1997 to 2008 (The HUNT studies)

Background The aim was to investigate changes in the prevalence and characteristics of male and female visitors to practitioners of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in a large adult population from 1997 to 2008. Methods Two cross sectional adult total population health surveys from Central Norwegian (the Nord-Trøndelag Health Studies (HUNT)). In 1997 42,277 and in 2008 50,713 respondents were included. Variables included demographics (age, education, working status), lifestyle (daily smoker, did hard physical activities), health status (self-rated health status, recent complaints, chronic complaints, psychiatric complaints, a range of diseases) and health care use (visit general practitioner, chiropractor). A test of difference between the results of multivariable logistic regression models for each year, including all variables, was used to analyse changes from 1997 to 2008. Results In 1997 9.4% (95%CI 9.1-9.6) of the population had visited a CAM practitioner in the last 12 months and this increased to 12.6% (12.3-12.9) in 2008 (p < 0.001 for difference). Prevalence of CAM use in females was almost twice as high as that in males both years. For males, the significant changes from 1997 to 2008 (p < 0.05) were an increase in odds of visiting for those under 50 years, who had a recent complaint, were widower or did hard physical activities. There was a decrease for males who had a university degree, psychiatric complaint or hay fever. For females there was an increase in the odds for those under 50 years, who had a recent complaint or chronic complaint. It was a decrease for females with reported fair global health, psychiatric complaint, hay fever or if they had visited a chiropractor. Conclusion The increase in visits was mainly among younger people of both genders with more limited complaints. A larger proportion of the more healthy part of the population is increasing their visits to CAM practitioners