3,030 research outputs found

    Collisional depolarization of state selected (J,M J ) BaO A 1Σ+ measured by optical–optical double resonance

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    The optical–optical double resonance (OODR) technique is used to investigate the change in magnetic quantum number (M) a state selected molecule undergoes on collision with other molecules. A first linearly polarized dye laser prepares A  1Σ+BaO(v = 1) in the J = 1, M = 0 sublevel. The extent of collisional transfer to other M sublevels of both J = 1 and J = 2 is then probed by a second polarized dye laser which induces fluorescence from the C  1Σ+ state. Elastic collisions (ΔJ = 0) between BaO (A  1Σ+) and CO2 are observed to change M from 0 to ±1 leaving J unchanged. The total elasticM‐changing cross section is σΔM CO2 = 8.4±2.4 Å2. Inelastic collisions (ΔJ = +1’ which transfer molecules to j = 2 also cause M changes. with both Ar and CO2 as collision partners. M, the s p a c e‐f i x e d projection of J, is found to be neither conserved nor randomized. Quantum atom–diatom collision models with quantization axis along the relative velocity vector are considered. Transition amplitudes in this system are evaluated using the l‐dominant and CS approximations

    Cardiac rehabilitation in rural and remote areas of North Queensland: how well are we doing?

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    Objective: To address access to cardiac rehabilitation (CR) for people in R&R areas, this research aimed to investigate: (1) post discharge systems and support for people returning home from hospital following treatment for heart disease (HD). (2) propose changes to improve access to CR in R&R areas of NQ. Setting: Four focus communities in R&R areas of NQ. Participants: Focus communities’ health staff (resident/visiting) (57), community leaders (10) and community residents (44), discharged from hospital in past 5 years following treatment for heart disease (purposeful sampling). Design: A qualitative descriptive case study, with data collection via semi-structured interviews. Inductive/deductive thematic analysis was used to identify primary and secondary themes. Health service audit of selected communities. Results: Health services in the focus communities included multipurpose health services, and primary health care centres staffed by resident and visiting staff that included nurses, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers, medical officers, and allied health professionals. Post-discharge health care for people with HD was predominantly clinical. Barriers to CR included low referrals to community-based health professions by discharging hospitals; poorly defined referral pathways; lack of guidelines; inadequate understanding of holistic, multidisciplinary CR by health staff, community participants and leaders; limited centre-based CR services; lack of awareness, or acceptance of telephone support services. Conclusion: To address barriers identified for CR in R&R areas, health care systems’ revision, including development of referral pathways to local health professionals, CR guidelines and in-service education, is required to developing a model of care that focuses on self-management and education: Heart: Road to Health

    Cardiac rehabilitation services for people in rural and remote areas: an integrative literature review

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    Introduction: Morbidity and mortality from heart disease continues to be high in Australia with cardiac rehabilitation (CR) recognised as best practice for people with heart disease. CR is known to reduce mortality, reoccurrence of heart disease, hospital readmissions and costs, and to improve quality of life. Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (Australian First Peoples or Indigenous peoples) have a greater need for CR due to their higher burden of disease. However, CR referral, access and attendance remain low for all people who live in rural and remote areas. The aim of this integrative review was to identify barriers, enablers and pathways to CR for adults living independently in rural and remote areas of high-income countries, including Australia. Methods: Studies were identified through five online data bases, plus reference lists of the selected studies. The studies focused on barriers and enablers of CR for adults in rural and remote areas of Australia and other high-income countries, in English peer reviewed journals (2007-2016). A mix of qualitative, quantitative and mixed method studies were reviewed through a modified Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta Analyses (PRISMA), followed by a critical review and thematic analysis. Results: Sixteen studies were selected: seven qualitative, four quantitative and five mixed method. Five themes that influence CR attendance were identified: referral, health services pathways and planning; cultural and geographic factors necessitating alternative and flexible programs; professional roles and influence; knowing, valuing, and psychosocial factors; and financial costs - personal and health services. Factors identified that impact on referral and access to CR were hospital inpatient education programs on heart disease and risk factors; discharge processes including CR eligibility criteria and referral to ensure continuum and transition of care; need for improved accessibility of services, both geographically and through alternative programs, including home based with IT and/or telephone support Also, the need to ensure that health professionals understand, value and support CR; the impact of mental health, coping with change and competing priorities; costs including travel, medications and health professional consultations; as well as low levels of involvement of Australian First Peoples in their own care and poor cultural understanding by non-Australian First Peoples staff all negatively impact on CR access and attendance. Conclusion: This study found weak systems with low referral rates and poor access to CR in rural and remote areas. Underlying factors include lack of health professional and public support, often based on poor perception of benefits of CR, compounded by scarce and inflexible services. Low levels of involvement of Australian First Peoples, as well as a lack of cultural understanding by non-Australian First Peoples staff, is evident Overall, the findings demonstrate the need for improved models of referral and access, greater flexibility of programs and professional roles, with management support Further, increased education and involvement of Australian First Peoples, including Indigenous health workers taking a lead in their own people's care, supported by improved education and greater cultural awareness of non Australian First Peoples staff, is required

    Community phylogenetics at the biogeographical scale: cold tolerance, niche conservatism and the structure of North American forests

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    Aim The fossil record has led to a historical explanation for forest diversity gradients within the cool parts of the Northern Hemisphere, founded on a limited ability of woody angiosperm clades to adapt to mid-Tertiary cooling. We tested four predictions of how this should be manifested in the phylogenetic structure of 91,340 communities: (1) forests to the north should comprise species from younger clades (families) than forests to the south; (2) average cold tolerance at a local site should be associated with the mean family age (MFA) of species; (3) minimum temperature should account for MFA better than alternative environmental variables; and (4) traits associated with survival in cold climates should evolve under a niche conservatism constraint. Location The contiguous United States. Methods We extracted angiosperms from the US Forest Service's Forest Inventory and Analysis database. MFA was calculated by assigning age of the family to which each species belongs and averaging across the species in each community. We developed a phylogeny to identify phylogenetic signal in five traits: realized cold tolerance, seed size, seed dispersal mode, leaf phenology and height. Phylogenetic signal representation curves and phylogenetic generalized least squares were used to compare patterns of trait evolution against Brownian motion. Eleven predictors structured at broad or local scales were generated to explore relationships between environment and MFA using random forest and general linear models. Results Consistent with predictions, (1) southern communities comprise angiosperm species from older families than northern communities, (2) cold tolerance is the trait most strongly associated with local MFA, (3) minimum temperature in the coldest month is the environmental variable that best describes MFA, broad-scale variables being much stronger correlates than local-scale variables, and (4) the phylogenetic structures of cold tolerance and at least one other trait associated with survivorship in cold climates indicate niche conservatism. Main conclusions Tropical niche conservatism in the face of long-term climate change, probably initiated in the Late Cretaceous associated with the rise of the Rocky Mountains, is a strong driver of the phylogenetic structure of the angiosperm component of forest communities across the USA. However, local deterministic and/or stochastic processes account for perhaps a quarter of the variation in the MFA of local communities

    Factor analyses differentiate clinical phenotypes of idiopathic and interferon-alpha-induced depression

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    The discovery that prolonged administration of interferon-alpha (a pro-inflammatory cytokine) readily precipitates depressive symptoms has played a key role in development of the inflammation theory of major depressive disorder (MDD). However, it remains unclear whether the clinical phenotype of patients with inflammation-associated depression significantly overlaps with, or can be distinguished from that of patients with ‘idiopathic’ depression. Here we explored the Hamilton depression scale factor structure of 172 patients undergoing interferon-alpha treatment for hepatitis-C at the point of transition to a depressive episode of DSM IV defined major depression severity. The resulting factor structure was first compared with a model derived from 6 previous studies of ‘idiopathic’ MDD (Cole et al., 2004). This confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the factor structure of HAMD scores in our interferon-alpha treated cohort did not plausibly fit that previously described for ‘idiopathic’ MDD. Instead, subsequent exploratory factor analysis revealed a distinct four factor model with a novel primary factor grouping cognitive symptoms of depression and anxiety (HAMD items 1, 2, 9, 10, 11, 15). The second sleep disorder factor (items 4, 5, 6) replicated previous findings in ‘idiopathic’ depression. A third and unique factor grouped somatic symptoms and function (items 7, 12, 13, 14 and item 1). The final factor (also common in idiopathic depression studies), grouped gastrointestinal symptoms and weight loss (items 12 and 16). Severe depression items (3, 8, and 17) were excluded from analysis due to very low variance. At transition, interferon-alpha induced major depressive episodes therefore appears to have more associated anxiety features that covary with depressed mood than classical or ‘idiopathic’ MDD and a low likelihood of severe features such as suicidal ideation. Identification of this clinical phenotype may help identify patients with an inflammatory depression etiology and support the development of more effective and personalized therapies

    Community phylogenetics at the biogeographical scale: cold tolerance, niche conservatism and the structure of North American forests

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    Aim The fossil record has led to a historical explanation for forest diversity gradients within the cool parts of the Northern Hemisphere, founded on a limited ability of woody angiosperm clades to adapt to mid-Tertiary cooling. We tested four predictions of how this should be manifested in the phylogenetic structure of 91,340 communities: (1) forests to the north should comprise species from younger clades (families) than forests to the south; (2) average cold tolerance at a local site should be associated with the mean family age (MFA) of species; (3) minimum temperature should account for MFA better than alternative environmental variables; and (4) traits associated with survival in cold climates should evolve under a niche conservatism constraint. Location The contiguous United States. Methods We extracted angiosperms from the US Forest Service's Forest Inventory and Analysis database. MFA was calculated by assigning age of the family to which each species belongs and averaging across the species in each community. We developed a phylogeny to identify phylogenetic signal in five traits: realized cold tolerance, seed size, seed dispersal mode, leaf phenology and height. Phylogenetic signal representation curves and phylogenetic generalized least squares were used to compare patterns of trait evolution against Brownian motion. Eleven predictors structured at broad or local scales were generated to explore relationships between environment and MFA using random forest and general linear models. Results Consistent with predictions, (1) southern communities comprise angiosperm species from older families than northern communities, (2) cold tolerance is the trait most strongly associated with local MFA, (3) minimum temperature in the coldest month is the environmental variable that best describes MFA, broad-scale variables being much stronger correlates than local-scale variables, and (4) the phylogenetic structures of cold tolerance and at least one other trait associated with survivorship in cold climates indicate niche conservatism. Main conclusions Tropical niche conservatism in the face of long-term climate change, probably initiated in the Late Cretaceous associated with the rise of the Rocky Mountains, is a strong driver of the phylogenetic structure of the angiosperm component of forest communities across the USA. However, local deterministic and/or stochastic processes account for perhaps a quarter of the variation in the MFA of local communities

    An examination of in-season external training load in semi-professional soccer players: considerations of one and two match weekly microcycles

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    The aim of the present study was to firstly, quantify the external training load (TL) of semi-professional soccer players during an annual season and secondly, to examine the influence of one (1MW) and two (2MW) match weekly microcycles. Data were collected from 24 semi-professional outfield soccer players during the 2018-2019 annual season using micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) devices for the following variables: Training duration (min), total distance (TD), Player Load (PL), high speed running (HSR) distance (5.5-7.0 m/s), and acceleration (ACC) efforts (>2 m/s2). Training sessions were defined as days before match day (i.e. MD minus), with match weeks broken down as either 1MW or 2MW. Data revealed higher TD, PL, and HSR distance on MD and MD-5 when compared to all other MD codes. MD-4 displayed significantly higher values compared to MD-1 (mean differences (Mdiff): TD: 785 ± 158 m; PL: 29 ± 9 au; HSR: 192 ± 63 m; ACC: 15 ± 3 #) and MD-2 (Mdiff: TD: 279 ± 137 m; HSR: 127 ± 54 m). During 2MW scenarios, both TD (Mdiff: 685 ± 328 m) and PL (Mdiff: 33 ± 14 au) were higher on MD-1 when compared to 1MW. However, lower values were observed for duration and HSR on MD-2 and MD-4 during 2MW compared to 1MW scenarios. These data suggest that there appears to be a progressive reduction in TD, PL, HSR and ACC leading into competitive matches based on MD- analysis. However, some variability exists in TL prescription as a result of different MW scenarios (i.e. 1MW vs. 2MW)

    Complex Effects Arising in Smoke Plume Simulations due to Inclusion of Direct Emissions of Oxygenated Organic Species from Biomass Combustion

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    Oxygenated volatile organic species (oxygenates), including HCOOH, H2CO, CH3OH, HOCH2CHO (hydroxyacetaldehyde), CH3COOH, and C6H5OH, have recently been identified by Fourier transform infrared measurements as a significant component of the direct emissions from biomass combustion. These oxygenates have not generally been included in the hydrocarbon-based initial emission profiles used in previous photochemical simulations of biomass combustion smoke plumes. We explore the effects of oxygenates on this photochemistry by using an established initial emission hydrocarbon profile and comparing simulation results obtained both with and without addition of the above six oxygenates. Simulations are started at noon and carried out for 30 hours in an expanding Lagrangian plume. After an initial transient period during which [NOx] falls rapidly, conditions within the oxygenated smoke plume are found to be strongly NOx-sensitive, and the simulated final species profile is thus strongly dependent upon the Δ[NO]/Δ[CO] initial emission profile. Oxygenate addition results in very significant and complex effects on net O3 production, as well as on the relative amounts of long-lived HOx and NOx reservoir species (H2O2, organic hydroperoxides, HNO3, and peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN)) that are mixed into the surrounding atmosphere. Oxygenates may either increase or decrease net O3 production (depending upon the initial Δ[NO]/Δ[CO]). However, they always increase H2O2 and organic hydroperoxide production as a result of increased rates of radical + radical reactions. These effects spring largely from accelerated removal of NOx from the smoke plume due to increased radical concentrations resulting both from photolysis of oxygenates (mainly CH2O) and from their relatively high reactivity. Predicted concentrations of H2O2, Δ[O3]/Δ[CO], Δ[NH3]/Δ[CO], and Δ[HCOOH]/Δ[CO] are compared with some available measured values
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