252 research outputs found

    Three species of Mastophora (Rhodophyta: Corallinales, Corallinaceae) in the tropical Indo-Pacific Ocean: M. rosea (C. Agardh) Setchell, M. pacifica (Heydrich) Foslie, and M. multistrata sp. nov

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    Three species of Mastophora (Corallinaceae, Corallinales, Rhodophyta) were found in extensive studies of nongeniculate coralline algae in various areas of the tropical Indo-Pacific, including French Polynesia, Fiji, Ryukyu Islands (Japan), and Taiwan. Two species are delicate and leafy but are distinguishable on morphological grounds. Mastophora rosea plants are taeniform, dichotomously branched, and weakly calcified and have rolled margins. Their thalli show very little secondary growth, with only occasional small round patches at the surface. Tetrasporangial and carposporangial conceptacles are very high (330–640 mm) and dome-shaped to almost spherical. Mastophora rosea plants collected during this study stand out in the water because of their bluish-purple colour. Mastophora pacifica has more strongly calcified thalli that are irregularly branched, with abundant secondary growth and the development of loosely attached, crispy layers. Tetrasporangial and carposporangial conceptacles are conical (280–550 mm high). Thallus colour in M. pacifica varies substantially depending on where it is growing, ranging from violet brown to dark red to greyish ruby, but are mostly pale-pink to reddish-purple in their submerged living state. Mastophora multistrata sp. nov. plants are hard and robust. Their thalli are made up of tightly packed layers that are evident only in section. Tetrasporangial conceptacles are generally low (315–490 mm high) and dome-shaped. In their living state, M. multistrata plants are usually deep-purple plum coloured.Web of Scienc

    Neutrinos in Non-linear Structure Formation - The Effect on Halo Properties

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    We use N-body simulations to find the effect of neutrino masses on halo properties, and investigate how the density profiles of both the neutrino and the dark matter components change as a function of the neutrino mass. We compare our neutrino density profiles with results from the N-one-body method and find good agreement. We also show and explain why the Tremaine-Gunn bound for the neutrinos is not saturated. Finally we study how the halo mass function changes as a function of the neutrino mass and compare our results with the Sheth-Tormen semi-analytic formulae. Our results are important for surveys which aim at probing cosmological parameters using clusters, as well as future experiments aiming at measuring the cosmic neutrino background directly.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figure

    The impact of changing cigarette smoking habits and smoke-free legislation on orofacial cleft incidence in the United Kingdom: Evidence from two time-series studies

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    BACKGROUND: Both active and passive cigarette smoking have previously been associated with orofacial cleft aetiology. We aimed to analyse the impact of declining active smoking prevalence and the implementation of smoke-free legislation on the incidence of children born with a cleft lip and/or palate within the United Kingdom. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We conducted regression analysis using national administrative data in the United Kingdom between 2000–2018. The main outcome measure was orofacial cleft incidence, reported annually for England, Wales and Northern Ireland and separately for Scotland. First, we conducted an ecological study with longitudinal time-series analysis using smoking prevalence data for females over 16 years of age. Second, we used a natural experiment design with interrupted time-series analysis to assess the impact of smoke-free legislation. Over the study period, the annual incidence of orofacial cleft per 10,000 live births ranged from 14.2–16.2 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and 13.4–18.8 in Scotland. The proportion of active smokers amongst females in the United Kingdom declined by 37% during the study period. Adjusted regression analysis did not show a correlation between the proportion of active smokers and orofacial cleft incidence in either dataset, although we were unable to exclude a modest effect of the magnitude seen in individual-level observational studies. The data in England, Wales and Northern Ireland suggested an 8% reduction in orofacial cleft incidence (RR 0.92, 95%CI 0.85 to 0.99; P = 0.024) following the implementation of smoke-free legislation. In Scotland, there was weak evidence for an increase in orofacial cleft incidence following smoke-free legislation (RR 1.16, 95%CI 0.94 to 1.44; P = 0.173). CONCLUSIONS: These two ecological studies offer a novel insight into the influence of smoking in orofacial cleft aetiology, adding to the evidence base from individual-level studies. Our results suggest that smoke-free legislation may have reduced orofacial cleft incidence in England, Wales and Northern Ireland

    Ethanol reversal of tolerance to the respiratory depressant effects of morphine

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    Opioids are the most common drugs associated with unintentional drug overdose. Death results from respiratory depression. Prolonged use of opioids results in the development of tolerance but the degree of tolerance is thought to vary between different effects of the drugs. Many opioid addicts regularly consume alcohol (ethanol), and post-mortem analyses of opioid overdose deaths have revealed an inverse correlation between blood morphine and ethanol levels. In the present study, we determined whether ethanol reduced tolerance to the respiratory depressant effects of opioids. Mice were treated with opioids (morphine, methadone, or buprenorphine) for up to 6 days. Respiration was measured in freely moving animals breathing 5% CO(2) in air in plethysmograph chambers. Antinociception (analgesia) was measured as the latency to remove the tail from a thermal stimulus. Opioid tolerance was assessed by measuring the response to a challenge dose of morphine (10 mg/kg i.p.). Tolerance developed to the respiratory depressant effect of morphine but at a slower rate than tolerance to its antinociceptive effect. A low dose of ethanol (0.3 mg/kg) alone did not depress respiration but in prolonged morphine-treated animals respiratory depression was observed when ethanol was co-administered with the morphine challenge. Ethanol did not alter the brain levels of morphine. In contrast, in methadone- or buprenorphine-treated animals no respiratory depression was observed when ethanol was co-administered along with the morphine challenge. As heroin is converted to morphine in man, selective reversal of morphine tolerance by ethanol may be a contributory factor in heroin overdose deaths

    Gaining insight into how women conceptualize satisfaction: Western Australian women's perception of their maternity care experiences

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    BACKGROUND: The concept of maternal satisfaction is challenging, as women's and clinicians' expectations and experiences can differ. Our aim was to investigate women's experiences of maternity care in an urban tertiary obstetric setting, to gain insight into conceptualization of satisfaction across the childbirth continuum. METHODS: This mixed method study was conducted at a public maternity hospital in Western Australia. A questionnaire was sent to 733 women two weeks post birth, which included an invitation for an audio-recorded, telephone interview. Frequency distributions and univariate comparisons were employed for quantitative data. Thematic analysis of interview transcripts was undertaken to extract common themes. RESULTS: A total of 54 % (399 of 733) returned the questionnaire. Quantitative results indicated that women were less likely to feel: involved if they did not have a spontaneous vaginal birth (P?=?0.020); supported by a midwife if they had a caesarean (P?=?<0.001); or supported by an obstetrician if they had a spontaneous vaginal birth (P?=?<0.001). Qualitative findings emerged from 63 interviews which highlighted the influence that organization of care, resources and facilities had on women's satisfaction. These paradigms unfolded as three broad themes constructed by four sub-themes, each illustrating a dichotomy of experiences. The first theme 'how care was provided' encompassed: familiar faces versus a different one every time and the best place to be as opposed to so disappointed. The second theme 'attributes of staff' included: above and beyond versus caring without caring and in good hands as opposed to handled incorrectly. The third theme 'engaged in care' incorporated: explained everything versus did not know why and had a choice as opposed to did not listen to my needs. CONCLUSIONS: Quantitative analysis confirmed that the majority of women surveyed were satisfied. Mode of birth influenced women's perception of being involved with their birth. Being able to explore the diversity of women's experiences in relation to satisfaction with their maternity care in an urban, tertiary obstetric setting has offered greater insight into what women value: a sensitive, respectful, shared relationship with competent clinicians who recognise and strive to provide woman focused care across the childbirth continuum
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