An acoustic image-source characterisation of surface profiles

The image-source method models the specular reflection from a plane by means of a secondary source positioned at the source's reflected image. The method has been widely used in acoustics to model the reverberant field of rectangular rooms, but can also be used for general-shaped rooms and non-flat reflectors. This paper explores the relationship between the physical properties of a non-flat reflector and the statistical properties of the associated cloud of image-sources. It is shown here that the standard deviation of the image-sources is strongly correlated with the ratio between depth and width of the reflector's spatial features

Microenterprise development coupled with nutrition education can help increase caregivers’ incomes and household accessibility to animal source foods

Low income and lack of knowledge about child nutrition have been identified as key constraints to the use of Animal Source Foods (ASF) in the diets of young Ghanaian children. To improve ASF consumption among children in Ghana, the Enhancing Child Nutrition through Animal Source Food Management (ENAM) project introduced an intervention that combined women’s microenterprise development activities with nutrition education on the importance of ASF in children’s diets. The present study assessed the effects of the intervention on the participants’ enterprise performance, their contribution to key household and child-related expenditures as well as their households’ purchases of ASF. Additionally, household ASF consumption was assessed in monetary terms (measured in Ghana cedis (GH¢):1GH¢ = US$ 0.92).A structured questionnaire was used to interview 80 caregivers who participated in the ENAM project activities in four intervention communities and 80 non-participant caregivers in four control communities. Information solicited included household characteristics, profits from microenterprises and contributions to household food and non-food expenditures. Significantly more participant caregivers expanded (P=0.004) and diversified (P=0.004) their enterprises and, as a result, tended to have higher average enterprise profits (GH¢19.3 ± 2.2 vs. GH¢12.2 ± 1.9; P=0.08) and significantly higher savings (GH¢62.9 ± 2.2 vs. GH¢26.3 ± 1.9; P<0.05) than non-participant caregivers. In addition, the intervention was associated with significantly higher percentage of monetary contributions by caregivers towards children’s health expenses (P<0.05), school expenses (P<0.01) as well as expenses on clothing and footwear (P<0.01). Caregivers’ mean percentage contribution to household food expenses also tended to be higher (P<0.1) for participants (50.8 ± 3.5%) then for non-participants (41.8 ± 4.1%). Participant households also tended to spend more money (P<0.10) and consumed significantly more amounts (in monetary value) of ASF (P<0.01) than non-participant households. Being a participant in the ENAM project’s microenterprise development and nutrition education activities was associated with higher enterprise profits, savings deposits, contributions to householdand children-related expenditures, and ASF consumption at the household level

Vacuum ultraviolet photochemical selectivearea atomic layer deposition of Al2O3 dielectrics

We report the photochemical atomic layer deposition of Al2O3 thin films and the use of this process to achieve area-selective film deposition. A shuttered vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) light source is used to excite molecular oxygen and trimethyl aluminum to deposit films at 60 degrees C. In-situ QCM and post-deposition ellipsometric measurements both show that the deposition rate is saturative as a function of irradiation time. Selective area deposition was achieved by projecting the VUV light through a metalized magnesium fluoride photolithographic mask and the selectivity of deposition on the illuminated and masked regions of the substrate is a logarithmic function of the UV exposure time. The Al2O3 films exhibit dielectric constants of 8 - 10 at 1 MHz after forming gas annealing, similar to films deposited by conventional thermal ALD. (C) 2015 Author(s). All article content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License

Methods to Assess the Direct Interaction of C. Jejuni With Mucins

Studies of the interaction of bacteria with mucus secreting cells can be complemented at a more mechanistic level by exploring the interaction of bacteria with purified mucins. Here we describe a far western blotting approach to show how C. jejuni proteins separated by SDS PAGE and transferred to a membrane or slot blotted directly onto a membrane can be probed biotinylated mucin. In addition we describe the use of novel mucin microarrays to assess bacterial interactions with mucins in a high throughput manner

Foot pain and foot health in an educated population of adults: results from the Glasgow Caledonian University Alumni Foot Health Survey

Abstract Background Foot pain is common amongst the general population and impacts negatively on physical function and quality of life. Associations between personal health characteristics, lifestyle/behaviour factors and foot pain have been studied; however, the role of wider determinants of health on foot pain have received relatively little attention. Objectives of this study are i) to describe foot pain and foot health characteristics in an educated population of adults; ii) to explore associations between moderate-to-severe foot pain and a variety of factors including gender, age, medical conditions/co-morbidity/multi-morbidity, key indicators of general health, foot pathologies, and social determinants of health; and iii) to evaluate associations between moderate-to-severe foot pain and foot function, foot health and health-related quality-of-life. Methods Between February and March 2018, Glasgow Caledonian University Alumni with a working email address were invited to participate in the cross-sectional electronic survey (anonymously) by email via the Glasgow Caledonian University Alumni Office. The survey was constructed using the REDCap secure web online survey application and sought information on presence/absence of moderate-to-severe foot pain, patient characteristics (age, body mass index, socioeconomic status, occupation class, comorbidities, and foot pathologies). Prevalence data were expressed as absolute frequencies and percentages. Multivariate logistic and linear regressions were undertaken to identify associations 1) between independent variables and moderate-to-severe foot pain, and 2) between moderate-to-severe foot pain and foot function, foot health and health-related quality of life. Results Of 50,228 invitations distributed, there were 7707 unique views and 593 valid completions (median age [inter-quartile range] 42 [31–52], 67.3% female) of the survey (7.7% response rate). The sample was comprised predominantly of white Scottish/British (89.4%) working age adults (95%), the majority of whom were overweight or obese (57.9%), and in either full-time or part-time employment (82.5%) as professionals (72.5%). Over two-thirds (68.5%) of the sample were classified in the highest 6 deciles (most affluent) of social deprivation. Moderate-to-severe foot pain affected 236/593 respondents (39.8%). High body mass index, presence of bunions, back pain, rheumatoid arthritis, hip pain and lower occupation class were included in the final multivariate model and all were significantly and independently associated with moderate-to-severe foot pain (p < 0.05), except for rheumatoid arthritis (p = 0.057). Moderate-to-severe foot pain was significantly and independently associated lower foot function, foot health and health-related quality of life scores following adjustment for age, gender and body mass index (p < 0.05). Conclusions Moderate-to-severe foot pain was highly prevalent in a university-educated population and was independently associated with female gender, high body mass index, bunions, back pain, hip pain and lower occupational class. Presence of moderate-to-severe foot pain was associated with worse scores for foot function, foot health and health-related quality-of-life. Education attainment does not appear to be protective against moderate-to-severe foot pain

In search of innovative capabilities of communities of practice : a systematic review and typology for future research

The concept of communities of practice has generated considerable debate among scholars of management. Attention has shifted from a concern with the transmission and reproduction of knowledge towards their utility for enhancing innovative potential. Questions of governance, power, collaboration and control have all entered the debate with different theorizations emerging from a wide mix of empirical research. We appraise these key findings through a critical review of the literature. From a divergent range of findings, we identify four main ways in which communities of practice enable and constrain innovative capabilities as (a) enablers of learning for innovation, (b) situated platforms for professional occupations, (c) dispersed collaborative environments and (d) governance structures designed for purpose. Our conclusion signals the way forward for further research that could be used to improve our understanding of different contextual forms and how they may align with organizations in enabling rather than constraining innovative capabilities

RELICS: The Reionization Lensing Cluster Survey and the Brightest High-z Galaxies

Massive foreground galaxy clusters magnify and distort the light of objects behind them, permitting a view into both the extremely distant and intrinsically faint galaxy populations. We present here the z ~ 6-8 candidate high-redshift galaxies from the Reionization Lensing Cluster Survey (RELICS), a Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescope survey of 41 massive galaxy clusters spanning an area of ≈200 arcmin². These clusters were selected to be excellent lenses, and we find similar high-redshift sample sizes and magnitude distributions as the Cluster Lensing And Supernova survey with Hubble (CLASH). We discover 257, 57, and eight candidate galaxies at z ~ 6, 7, and 8 respectively, (322 in total). The observed (lensed) magnitudes of the z ~ 6 candidates are as bright as AB mag ~23, making them among the brightest known at these redshifts, comparable with discoveries from much wider, blank-field surveys. RELICS demonstrates the efficiency of using strong gravitational lenses to produce high-redshift samples in the epoch of reionization. These brightly observed galaxies are excellent targets for follow-up study with current and future observatories, including the James Webb Space Telescope

Chiral Extrapolation of the Strangeness Changing K pi Form Factor

We perform a chiral extrapolation of lattice data on the scalar K pi form factor and the ratio of the kaon and pion decay constants within Chiral Perturbation Theory to two loops. We determine the value of the scalar form factor at zero momentum transfer, at the Callan-Treiman point and at its soft kaon analog as well as its slope. Results are in good agreement with their determination from experiment using the standard couplings of quarks to the W boson. The slope is however rather large. A study of the convergence of the chiral expansion is also performed.Comment: few minor change

Spontaneous rupture of the extensor pollicis brevis tendon in a baseball pitcher: A case report

A 15-year-old pitcher on a boys’ Little League baseball team suffered spontaneous rupture of the extensor pollicis brevis (EPB) tendon. Since the EPB tendon was, at surgery, found hypoplastic and non-functional, transfer of the extensor indicis proprius (EIP) tendon was carried out. After a 6-month period of rehabilitation and follow-up, the patient was able to resume playing baseball. Although rupture of the EPB is rare, transfer of the EIP tendon is one of the treatments of choice for such injuries