Body composition, IGF1 status, and physical functionality in nonagenarians: implications for osteosarcopenia

OBJECTIVES: Body composition alterations occur during aging. The purpose of the present analysis was to explore the functional consequences of the overlap of sarcopenia and osteoporosis, and the potential role of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) in their development in the oldest old. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Eighty-seven nonagenarians from the Louisiana Healthy Aging Study were included. MEASURES: The definition of sarcopenia was based on appendicular lean mass (ALM). Osteoporosis was diagnosed based on bone mineral density (BMD) T score. Four phenotypes were compared: (1) healthy body composition, that is, nonosteoporotic nonsarcopenic (CO, control group), (2) osteoporotic (O, low BMD T score), (3) sarcopenic (S, low ALM), and (4) osteosarcopenic (OS, low BMD T score and low ALM). Sex- and age-specific IGF1-Standard Deviation Scores (SDS) were calculated. The Continuous Scale-Physical Functional Performance (CS-PFP) test was performed. RESULTS: In OS men, IGF1-SDS values (-0.61 ±0.37 vs -0.04 ± 0.52, P = .02) were lower than those in CO males (control group), whereas IGF1-SDS were similar in the 4 body composition phenotypes in women. In men only, ALM was positively associated with IGF1-SDS values (P = .01) independent of age and C-reactive protein concentration. Regarding bone health, we found no association between IGF1-SDS values and BMD. IGF1-SDS was not associated with functional performance (CS-PFP) in men and women. CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS: IGF1 sensitivity in skeletal muscle and bone may differ by sex in the oldest old. IGF1 status did not appear to affect physical functionality. Determinants and clinical and functional characteristics of osteosarcopenia need to be further investigated in order to define conclusive diagnostic criteria

Short-term emission line and continuum variations in Mrk110

We present results of a variability campaign of Mrk110 performed with the 9.2-m Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) at McDonald Observatory. The high S/N spectra cover most of the optical range. They were taken from 1999 November through 2000 May. The average interval between the observations was 7.3 days and the median interval was only 3.0 days. Mrk110 is a narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy. During our campaign the continuum flux was in a historically low stage. Considering the delays of the emission lines with respect to the continuum variations we could verify an ionization stratification of the BLR. We derived virial masses of the central black hole from the radial distances of the different emission lines and from their widths. The calculated central masses agree within 20%. Furthermore, we identified optical HeI singlet emission lines emitted in the broad-line region. The observed line fluxes agree with theoretical predictions. We show that a broad wing on the red side of the [OIII]5007 line is caused by the HeI singlet line at 5016A.Comment: 11 pages, 16 figures, A&A Latex. Accepted for publication in A&A Main Journa

Development of the Barriers to Error Disclosure Assessment Tool

OBJECTIVES: An interprofessional group of health colleges' faculty created and piloted the Barriers to Error Disclosure Assessment tool as an instrument to measure barriers to medical error disclosure among health care providers. METHODS: A review of the literature guided the creation of items describing influences on the decision to disclose a medical error. Local and national experts in error disclosure used a modified Delphi process to gain consensus on the items included in the pilot. After receiving university institutional review board approval, researchers distributed the tool to a convenience sample of physicians (n = 19), pharmacists (n = 20), and nurses (n = 20) from an academic medical center. Means and SDs were used to describe the sample. Intraclass correlation coefficients were used to examine test-retest correspondence between the continuous items on the scale. Factor analysis with varimax rotation was used to determine factor loadings and examine internal consistency reliability. Cronbach α coefficients were calculated during initial and subsequent administrations to assess test-retest reliability. RESULTS: After omitting 2 items with intraclass correlation coefficient of less than 0.40, intraclass correlation coefficients ranged from 0.43 to 0.70, indicating fair to good test-retest correspondence between the continuous items on the final draft. Factor analysis revealed the following factors during the initial administration: confidence and knowledge barriers, institutional barriers, psychological barriers, and financial concern barriers to medical error disclosure. α Coefficients of 0.85 to 0.93 at time 1 and 0.82 to 0.95 at time 2 supported test-retest reliability. CONCLUSIONS: The final version of the 31-item tool can be used to measure perceptions about abilities for disclosing, impressions regarding institutional policies and climate, and specific barriers that inhibit disclosure by health care providers. Preliminary evidence supports the tool's validity and reliability for measuring disclosure variables

On the segmentation of astronomical images via level-set methods

Astronomical images are of crucial importance for astronomers since they contain a lot of information about celestial bodies that can not be directly accessible. Most of the information available for the analysis of these objects starts with sky explorations via telescopes and satellites. Unfortunately, the quality of astronomical images is usually very low with respect to other real images and this is due to technical and physical features related to their acquisition process. This increases the percentage of noise and makes more difficult to use directly standard segmentation methods on the original image. In this work we will describe how to process astronomical images in two steps: in the first step we improve the image quality by a rescaling of light intensity whereas in the second step we apply level-set methods to identify the objects. Several experiments will show the effectiveness of this procedure and the results obtained via various discretization techniques for level-set equations.Comment: 24 pages, 59 figures, paper submitte

Would Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) be welcomed by undergraduate students to support their learning during fieldwork?

This paper reports student perceptions of the benefits and challenges of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) in a fieldwork context. Student perceptions from six field courses across two institutions have been gathered using questionnaires and focus groups. Whilst a number of studies have focused on BYOD in a classroom context, little research has been undertaken about BYOD in a fieldwork context. The key findings suggest that around one fifth of students were not willing to use their own device during fieldwork citing loss or damage as the main reason. This key challenge is different to that which are found in a classroom which generally focus on network security, connectivity etc. The findings also suggest that some students believe that BYOD can have a negative impact on group work. There is a misalignment here between student and practitioner thinking with previous literature which suggests that practitioners believe BYOD and smart devices can enhance group work. The one key challenge which is found regardless of learning environment is inequality between those who have a device and those who do not

Generalized quantum potentials in scale relativity

We first recall that the system of fluid mechanics equations (Euler and continuity) that describes a fluid in irrotational motion subjected to a generalized quantum potential (in which the constant is no longer reduced to the standard quantum constant hbar) is equivalent to a generalized Schrodinger equation. Then we show that, even in the case of the presence of vorticity, it is also possible to obtain, for a large class of systems, a Schrodinger-like equation of the vectorial field type from the continuity and Euler equations including a quantum potential. The same kind of transformation also applies to a classical charged fluid subjected to an electromagnetic field and to an additional potential having the form of a quantum potential. Such a fluid can therefore be described by an equation of the Ginzburg-Landau type, and is expected to show some superconducting-like properties. Moreover, a Schrodinger form can be obtained for the fluctuating rotational motion of a solid. In this case the mass is replaced by the tensor of inertia, and a generalized form of the quantum potential is derived. We finally reconsider the case of a standard diffusion process, and we show that, after a change of variable, the diffusion equation can also be given the form of a continuity and Euler system including an additional potential energy. Since this potential is exactly the opposite of a quantum potential, the quantum behavior may be considered, in this context, as an anti-diffusion.Comment: 33 pages, submitted for publicatio

emiT: an apparatus to test time reversal invariance in polarized neutron decay

We describe an apparatus used to measure the triple-correlation term (\D \hat{\sigma}_n\cdot p_e\times p_\nu) in the beta-decay of polarized neutrons. The \D-coefficient is sensitive to possible violations of time reversal invariance. The detector has an octagonal symmetry that optimizes electron-proton coincidence rates and reduces systematic effects. A beam of longitudinally polarized cold neutrons passes through the detector chamber, where a small fraction beta-decay. The final-state protons are accelerated and focused onto arrays of cooled semiconductor diodes, while the coincident electrons are detected using panels of plastic scintillator. Details regarding the design and performance of the proton detectors, beta detectors and the electronics used in the data collection system are presented. The neutron beam characteristics, the spin-transport magnetic fields, and polarization measurements are also described.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figure

Student perceptions of iPads as mobile learning devices for fieldwork

This paper reports findings from six field courses about student’s perceptions of iPads as mobile learning devices for fieldwork. Data were collected through surveys and focus groups. The key findings suggest that the multi-tool nature of the iPads and their portability were the main strengths. Students had some concerns over the safety of the iPads in adverse weather and rugged environments, though most of these concerns were eliminated after using the devices with protective cases. Reduced connectivity was found to be one of the main challenges for mobile learning. Finally, students and practitioners views of why they used the mobile devices for fieldwork did not align