2,651 research outputs found
Speech and language therapy versus placebo or no intervention for speech problems in Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease patients commonly suffer from speech and vocal problems including dysarthric speech, reduced loudness and loss of articulation. These symptoms increase in frequency and intensity with progression of the disease). Speech and language therapy (SLT) aims to improve the intelligibility of speech with behavioural treatment techniques or instrumental aids
Spontaneous Chelation-Driven Reduction of the Neptunyl Cation in Aqueous Solution.
Octadentate hydroxypyridinone (HOPO) and catecholamide (CAM) siderophore analogues are known to be efficacious chelators of the actinide cations, and these ligands are also capable of facilitating both activation and reduction of actinyl species. Utilizing X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopies, as well as cyclic voltammetry measurements, herein, we elucidate chelation-based mechanisms for driving reactivity and initiating redox processes in a family of neptunyl-HOPO and CAM complexes. Based on the selected chelator, the ability to control the oxidation state of neptunium and the speed of reduction and concurrent oxo group activation was demonstrated. Most notably, reduction kinetics for the NpV O2 +/ /NpIV redox couple upon chelation by the ligands 3,4,3-LI(1,2-HOPO) and 3,4,3-LI(CAM)2 (1,2-HOPO)2 was observed to be faster than ever reported, and in fact quicker than we could measure using either X-ray absorption spectroscopy or electrochemical techniques
Drip Paintings and Fractal Analysis
It has been claimed [1-6] that fractal analysis can be applied to
unambiguously characterize works of art such as the drip paintings of Jackson
Pollock. This academic issue has become of more general interest following the
recent discovery of a cache of disputed Pollock paintings. We definitively
demonstrate here, by analyzing paintings by Pollock and others, that fractal
criteria provide no information about artistic authenticity. This work has also
led to two new results in fractal analysis of more general scientific
significance. First, the composite of two fractals is not generally scale
invariant and exhibits complex multifractal scaling in the small distance
asymptotic limit. Second the statistics of box-counting and related staircases
provide a new way to characterize geometry and distinguish fractals from
Euclidean objects
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Relevant Recruiting for Online Survey Participation
Administering a survey online has a number of practical benefits including lower costs, reductions in paper use and data entry time, and a faster data collection time period. A significant challenge, however, entails creating and recruiting a relevant sample of respondents with specific characteristics when email lists are unavailable. In this case, we seek to encourage researcher conversation about relevant and effective recruitment strategies by describing the extensive pretesting process we undertook to develop our survey sampling and recruitment strategy for a study of wildfire mitigation behaviors in Western Colorado. Pretesting response rates varied from 3% to 30%, with the inclusion of a US$2 billion in the recruitment envelope yielding the highest response rate. The actual study subsequently used this approach and resulted in a 35% response rate
The core minimum dataset for measuring pain outcomes in pain services across Scotland. Developing and testing a brief multi-dimensional questionnaire
BACKGROUND: There is currently no agreed minimum dataset to inform specialist chronic pain service provision. We aimed to develop a Core Minimum Dataset (CMD) for pain services in Scotland and perform preliminary analysis to evaluate its psychometric properties in adults with chronic pain. METHODS: The questionnaire was developed following a review of existing relevant data collection instruments and national consultation. The CMD questionnaire was completed alongside a routine pre-clinic questionnaire by patients attending two pain services over 3 months. Concurrent validity was tested by comparing scores between the CMD and pre-existing questionnaires. Reliability was assessed by test-retest and discriminative validity via receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. RESULTS: The final CMD questionnaire consisted of five questions on four domains: pain severity (Chronic Pain Grade [CPG] Q1); pain interference (CPG Q5); emotional impact (Patient Health Questionnaire-2 [PHQ-2], two questions); and quality of life (Short Form Health Survey-36 [SF-36] Q1). 530 patients completed the questionnaire. Strong correlation was found with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (r(s) = 0.753, p < 0.001). Moderate correlations were found with the Brief Pain Inventory for pain interference (r(s) = 0.585, p < 0.001) and pain severity (r(s) = 0.644, p < 0.001). Moderate to good reliability was demonstrated (Intra-class Correlation Coefficient = 0.572–0.845). All items indicated good discrimination for relevant health states. CONCLUSIONS: The findings represent initial steps towards developing an accurate questionnaire that is feasible for assessing chronic pain in adults attending specialist pain clinics and measuring service improvements in Scotland. Further validation testing, in clinical settings, is now required
On the Morphology and Chemical Composition of the HR 4796A Debris Disk
[abridged] We present resolved images of the HR 4796A debris disk using the
Magellan adaptive optics system paired with Clio-2 and VisAO. We detect the
disk at 0.77 \microns, 0.91 \microns, 0.99 \microns, 2.15 \microns, 3.1
\microns, 3.3 \microns, and 3.8 \microns. We find that the deprojected center
of the ring is offset from the star by 4.761.6 AU and that the deprojected
eccentricity is 0.060.02, in general agreement with previous studies. We
find that the average width of the ring is 14, also comparable to
previous measurements. Such a narrow ring precludes the existence of
shepherding planets more massive than \about 4 \mj, comparable to hot-start
planets we could have detected beyond \about 60 AU in projected separation.
Combining our new scattered light data with archival HST/STIS and HST/NICMOS
data at \about 0.5-2 \microns, along with previously unpublished Spitzer/MIPS
thermal emission data and all other literature thermal data, we set out to
constrain the chemical composition of the dust grains. After testing 19
individual root compositions and more than 8,400 unique mixtures of these
compositions, we find that good fits to the scattered light alone and thermal
emission alone are discrepant, suggesting that caution should be exercised if
fitting to only one or the other. When we fit to both the scattered light and
thermal emission simultaneously, we find mediocre fits (reduced chi-square
\about 2). In general, however, we find that silicates and organics are the
most favored, and that water ice is usually not favored. These results suggest
that the common constituents of both interstellar dust and solar system comets
also may reside around HR 4796A, though improved modeling is necessary to place
better constraints on the exact chemical composition of the dust.Comment: Accepted to ApJ on October 27, 2014. 21 pages, 12 figures, 4 table
Tobacco industry attempts to undermine Article 5.3 and the "good governance" trap
No abstract available
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