Magnetic control assembly qualification model

Fabrication and testing of the magnetic control assembly (MCA) are summarized. The MCA was designed as an add-on unit for certain existing components of the Nimbus and ERTS attitude control system. The MCA system consists of three orthogonal electromagnets; a magnetometer probe capable of sensing external fields in the X, Y, and Z axes; and the control electronics. An operational description of the system is given along with all major drawings and photographs. Manufacturing and inspection procedures are outlined and a chronological list of events is included with the fabrication summary

Long-term safety and efficacy of trifarotene 50 μg/g cream, a first-in-class RAR-γ selective topical retinoid, in patients with moderate facial and truncal acne.

BackgroundTreatment for both facial and truncal acne has not sufficiently been studied.ObjectivesTo evaluate the long-term safety and efficacy of trifarotene in both facial and truncal acne.MethodsIn a multicentre, open-label, 52-week study, patients with moderate facial and truncal acne received trifarotene 50 μg/g cream (trifarotene). Assessments included local tolerability, safety, investigator and physician's global assessments (IGA, PGA) and quality of life (QOL). A validated QOL questionnaire was completed by the patient at Baseline, Week 12, 26 and 52/ET.ResultsOf 453 patients enrolled, 342 (75.5%) completed the study. Trifarotene-related treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) were reported in 12.6% of patients, and none was serious. Most related TEAEs were cutaneous and occurred during the first 3 months. Signs and symptoms of local tolerability were mostly mild or moderate and severe signs, and symptoms were reported for 2.2% to 7.1% of patients for the face and 2.5% to 5.4% for the trunk. Local irritation increased during the first week of treatment on the face and up to Weeks 2 to 4 on the trunk with both decreasing thereafter. At Week 12, IGA and PGA success rates were 26.6% and 38.6%, respectively. Success rates increased to 65.1% and 66.9%, respectively at Week 52. Overall success (both IGA and PGA success in the same patient) was 57.9% at Week 52. At Week 52 visit, 92/171 (53.8%) patients who had completed their assessments had scores from 0 to 1 (i.e. no effect of acne on their QOL) vs. 47/208 (22.6%) patients at Baseline visit.ConclusionIn this 52-week study, trifarotene was safe, well tolerated and effective in moderate facial and truncal acne

Total Cross Section, Inelasticity and Multiplicity Distributions in Proton -- Proton Collisions

Multiparticle production in high energy proton -- proton collisions has been analysed in the frame of Strongly Correlated Quark Model (SCQM) of the hadron structure elaborated by the author. It is shown that inelasticity decreases at high energies and this effect together with the total cross section growth and the increasing with collision energy the masses of intermediate clusters result in the violation of KNO -- scaling.Comment: 21 pages, 11 figures, submitted to Yad. Fisik

Health Resource Utilisation and Disparities: an Ecological Study of Admission Patterns Across Ethnicity in England Between 2017 and 2020.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted adverse outcomes in Asian, Black, and ethnic minority groups. More research is required to explore underlying ethnic health inequalities. In this study, we aim to examine pre-COVID ethnic inequalities more generally through healthcare utilisation to contextualise underlying inequalities that were present before the pandemic. DESIGN: This was an ecological study exploring all admissions to NHS hospitals in England from 2017 to 2020. METHODS: The primary outcomes were admission rates within ethnic groups. Secondary outcomes included age-specific and age-standardised admission rates. Sub-analysis of admission rates across an index of multiple deprivation (IMD) deciles was also performed to contextualise the impact of socioeconomic differences amongst ethnic categories. Results were presented as a relative ratio (RR) with 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: Age-standardised admission rates were higher in Asian (RR 1.40 [1.38-1.41] in 2019) and Black (RR 1.37 [1.37-1.38]) and lower in Mixed groups (RR 0.91 [0.90-0.91]) relative to White. There was significant missingness or misassignment of ethnicity in NHS admissions: with 11.7% of admissions having an unknown/not-stated ethnicity assignment and 'other' ethnicity being significantly over-represented. Admission rates did not mirror the degree of deprivation across all ethnic categories. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows Black and Asian ethnic groups have higher admission rates compared to White across all age groups and when standardised for age. There is evidence of incomplete and misidentification of ethnicity assignment in NHS admission records, which may introduce bias to work on these datasets. Differences in admission rates across individual ethnic categories cannot solely be explained by socioeconomic status. Further work is needed to identify ethnicity-specific factors of these inequalities to allow targeted interventions at the local level

Epistasis not needed to explain low dN/dS

An important question in molecular evolution is whether an amino acid that occurs at a given position makes an independent contribution to fitness, or whether its effect depends on the state of other loci in the organism's genome, a phenomenon known as epistasis. In a recent letter to Nature, Breen et al. (2012) argued that epistasis must be "pervasive throughout protein evolution" because the observed ratio between the per-site rates of non-synonymous and synonymous substitutions (dN/dS) is much lower than would be expected in the absence of epistasis. However, when calculating the expected dN/dS ratio in the absence of epistasis, Breen et al. assumed that all amino acids observed in a protein alignment at any particular position have equal fitness. Here, we relax this unrealistic assumption and show that any dN/dS value can in principle be achieved at a site, without epistasis. Furthermore, for all nuclear and chloroplast genes in the Breen et al. dataset, we show that the observed dN/dS values and the observed patterns of amino acid diversity at each site are jointly consistent with a non-epistatic model of protein evolution.Comment: This manuscript is in response to "Epistasis as the primary factor in molecular evolution" by Breen et al. Nature 490, 535-538 (2012

Liver imaging reporting and data system: An expert consensus statement

The increasing incidence and high morbidity and mortality of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have inspired the creation of the Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (LI-RADS). LI-RADS aims to reduce variability in exam interpretation, improve communication, facilitate clinical therapeutic decisions, reduce omission of pertinent information, and facilitate the monitoring of outcomes. LI-RADS is a dynamic process, which is updated frequently. In this article, we describe the LI-RADS 2014 version (v2014), which marks the second update since the initial version in 2011

Stellar Abundances in the Early Galaxy and Two r-Process Components

We present quantitative predictions for the abundances of r-process elements in stars formed very early in the Galactic history using a phenomenological two-component r-process model based on the I129 and Hf182 inventory in the early solar system. This model assumes that a standard mass of the ISM dilutes the debris from an individual supernova. High frequency supernova H events and low frequency supernova L events are proposed in the model with characteristics determined by the meteoritic data on I129 and Hf182. The yields in an H or L event are obtained from these characteristics and the solar r-process abundances under the assumption that the yield template for the high mass (A > 130) nuclei associated with W182 or the low mass (A < or = 130) nuclei associated with I127 is the same for both the H and L events and follows the corresponding solar r-pattern in each mass region. The abundance of Eu, not Fe, is proposed as a key guide to the age of very metal-poor stars. We predict that stars with log epsilon (Eu) = -2.98 to -2.22 were formed from an ISM contaminated most likely by a single H event within the first 10**7 yr of the Galactic history and should have an Ag/Eu abundance ratio less than the corresponding solar r-process value by a factor of at least 10. Many of the very metal-poor stars observed so far are considered here to have been formed from an ISM contaminated by many (about 10) r-process events. Stars formed from an ISM contaminated only by a pure L event would have an Ag/Eu ratio higher than the corresponding solar r-process value but would be difficult to find due to the low frequency of the L events. However, variations in the relative abundances of the low and high mass regions should be detectable in very metal-poor stars.Comment: 46 pages, 19 figures, to appear in the Schramm Memorial Volume of Physics Report

Measurements of Gd 152 (p,γ) Tb 153 and Gd 152 (p,n) Tb 152 reaction cross sections for the astrophysical γ process

The total cross sections for the Gd152(p,γ)Tb153 and Gd152(p,n)152Tb reactions have been measured by the activation method at effective center-of-mass energies 3.47≤Ec.m.eff≤7.94 MeV and 4.96≤Ec.m.eff≤7.94 MeV, respectively. The targets were prepared by evaporation of 30.6% isotopically enriched Gd152 oxide on aluminum backing foils, and bombarded with proton beams provided by a cyclotron accelerator. The cross sections were deduced from the observed γ-ray activity, which was detected off-line by an HPGe detector in a low background environment. The results are presented and compared with predictions of statistical model calculations. This comparison supports a modified optical proton+Gd152 potential suggested earlier.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio