A renewed search for water maser emission from Mira variables

There is an approximately 60% detection rate for 1612 MHz masers in association with red, color-selected IRAS sources, though few are detected from the bluer circumstellar shells of Mira variables. On the other hand and complementarily, past, pre-IRAS 22 GHz surveys detected many water masers in association with Mira variables. This paper reports on a 22 GHz survey of blue, color-selected Miras at Haystack, wherein 18 new detections are found from 238 searched objects.Comment: submitted to Astronomical J., 18 pages, 3 figs, 2 table

Architectural aspects of self-aware and self-expressive computing systems: from psychology to engineering

Work on human self-Awareness is the basis for a framework to develop computational systems that can adaptively manage complex dynamic tradeoffs at runtime. An architectural case study in cloud computing illustrates the framework's potential benefits

Providing Self-Aware Systems with Reflexivity

We propose a new type of self-aware systems inspired by ideas from higher-order theories of consciousness. First, we discussed the crucial distinction between introspection and reflexion. Then, we focus on computational reflexion as a mechanism by which a computer program can inspect its own code at every stage of the computation. Finally, we provide a formal definition and a proof-of-concept implementation of computational reflexion, viewed as an enriched form of program interpretation and a way to dynamically "augment" a computational process.Comment: 12 pages plus bibliography, appendices with code description, code of the proof-of-concept implementation, and examples of executio

Measurement properties of quality of life measurement instruments for infants, children and adolescents with eczema: protocol for a systematic review

Background: Eczema is a common chronic or chronically relapsing skin disease that has a substantial impact on quality of life (QoL). By means of a consensus-based process, the Harmonising Outcome Measures in Eczema (HOME) initiative has identified QoL as one of the four core outcome domains to be assessed in all eczema trials. Few measurement instruments exist to measure QoL in infants and children with eczema, but there is a great variability in both content and quality (for example, reliability and validity) of the instruments used, and it is not always clear if the best instrument is being used. Therefore, the aim of the proposed research is a comprehensive systematic assessment of the measurement properties of the existing measurement instruments that were developed and/or validated for the measurement of patient-reported QoL in infants and children with eczema. Methods/Design: This study is a systematic review of the measurement properties of patient-reported measures of QoL developed and/or validated for infants and children with eczema. Medline via PubMed and EMBASE will be searched using a selection of relevant search terms. Eligible studies will be primary empirical studies evaluating, describing, or comparing measurement properties of QoL instruments for infants and children with eczema. Eligibility assessment and data abstraction will be performed independently by two reviewers. Evidence tables will be generated for study characteristics, instrument characteristics, measurement properties, and interpretability. The adequacy of the measurement properties will be assessed using predefined criteria. Methodological quality of studies will be assessed using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist. A best evidence synthesis will be undertaken if more than one study has investigated a particular measurement property. Discussion: The proposed systematic review will produce a comprehensive assessment of measurement properties of existing QoL instruments in infants and children with eczema. We aim to identify one best currently available instrument to measure QoL in infants and/or children with eczema

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibition for Skeletal Muscle Dysfunction in COPD

BACKGROUND: Skeletal muscle impairment is a recognized complication of COPD, predicting mortality in severe disease. Increasing evidence implicates the renin-angiotensin system in control of muscle phenotype. We hypothesized that angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition would improve quadriceps function and exercise performance in COPD. METHODS: This double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial investigated the effect of the ACE inhibitor, fosinopril, on quadriceps function in patients with COPD with quadriceps weakness. Primary outcomes were change in quadriceps endurance and atrophy signaling at 3 months. Quadriceps maximum voluntary contraction (QMVC), mid-thigh CT scan of the cross-sectional area (MTCSA), and incremental shuttle walk distance (ISWD) were secondary outcomes. RESULTS: Eighty patients were enrolled (mean [SD], 65 [8] years, FEV1 43% [21%] predicted, 53% men). Sixty-seven patients (31 fosinopril, 36 placebo) completed the trial. The treatment group demonstrated a significant reduction in systolic BP (Δ−10.5 mm Hg; 95% CI, −19.9 to −1.1; P = .03) and serum ACE activity (Δ−20.4 IU/L; 95% CI, −31.0 to −9.8; P < .001) compared with placebo. No significant between-group differences were observed in the primary end points of quadriceps endurance half-time (Δ0.5 s; 95% CI, −13.3-14.3; P = .94) or atrogin-1 messenger RNA expression (Δ−0.03 arbitrary units; 95% CI, −0.32-0.26; P = .84). QMVC improved in both groups (fosinopril: Δ1.1 kg; 95% CI, 0.03-2.2; P = .045 vs placebo: Δ3.6 kg; 95% CI, 2.1-5.0; P < .0001) with a greater increase in the placebo arm (between-group, P = .009). No change was shown in the MTCSA (P = .09) or ISWD (P = .51). CONCLUSIONS: This randomized controlled trial found that ACE inhibition, using fosinopril for 3 months, did not improve quadriceps function or exercise performance in patients with COPD with quadriceps weakness

Designing tools to predict and mitigate impacts on water quality following the Australian 2019/2020 wildfires: Insights from Sydney's largest water supply catchment

The 2019/20 Australian bushfires (or wildfires) burned the largest forested area in Australia's recorded history, with major socio‐economic and environmental consequences. Among the largest fires was the 280,000 ha Green Wattle Creek Fire which burned large forested areas of the Warragamba catchment. This protected catchment provides critical ecosystem services for Lake Burragorang, one of Australia's largest urban supply reservoirs delivering ~85 % of the water used in Greater Sydney. WaterNSW is the utility responsible for managing water quality in Lake Burragorang. Its postfire risk assessment, carried out in collaboration with researchers in Australia, the UK and USA, involved i) identifying pyrogenic contaminants in ash and soil; ii) quantifying ash loads and contaminant concentrations across the burned area; and iii) estimating the probability and quantity of soil, ash and associated contaminants entrainment for different rainfall scenarios. The work included refining the capabilities of the new WEPPcloud‐WATAR‐AU model (Water Erosion Prediction Project cloud‐Wildfire Ash Transport And Risk‐Australia) for predicting sediment, ash and contaminants transport, aided by outcomes from previous collaborative post‐fire research in the catchment. Approximately two weeks after the Green Wattle Creek Fire was contained, an extreme rainfall event (~276 mm in 72 h), caused extensive ash and sediment delivery into the reservoir. The risk assessment informed on‐ground monitoring and operational mitigation measures (deployment of debris‐catching booms and adjustment of the water supply system configuration), ensuring the continuity of safe water supply to Sydney. WEPPcloud‐WATAR‐AU outputs can prioritize recovery interventions for managing water quality risks by quantifying contaminants on the hillslopes, anticipating water contamination risk, and identifying areas with high susceptibility to ash and sediment transport. This collaborative interaction among scientists and water managers, aimed also at refining model capabilities and outputs to meet managers’ needs, exemplifies the successful outcomes that can be achieved at the interface of industry and science

On the Banach lattice structure of L-w(1) of a vector measure on a delta-ring

We study some Banach lattice properties of the space L-w(1)(v) of weakly integrable functions with respect to a vector measure v defined on a delta-ring. Namely, we analyze order continuity, order density and Fatou type properties. We will see that the behavior of L-w(1)(v) differs from the case in which is defined on a sigma-algebra whenever does not satisfy certain local sigma-finiteness property.J. M. Calabuig and M. A. Juan were supported by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (project MTM2008-04594). O. Delgado was supported by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (project MTM2009-12740-C03-02). E. A. Sanchez Perez was supported by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (project MTM2009-14483-C02-02).Calabuig Rodriguez, JM.; Delgado Garrido, O.; Juan Blanco, MA.; Sánchez Pérez, EA. (2014). On the Banach lattice structure of L-w(1) of a vector measure on a delta-ring. Collectanea Mathematica. 65(1):67-85. doi:10.1007/s13348-013-0081-8S6785651Brooks, J.K., Dinculeanu, N.: Strong additivity, absolute continuity and compactness in spaces of measures. J. Math. Anal. Appl. 45, 156–175 (1974)Calabuig, J.M., Delgado, O., Sánchez Pérez, E.A.: Factorizing operators on Banach function spaces through spaces of multiplication operators. J. Math. Anal. Appl. 364, 88–103 (2010)Calabuig, J.M., Juan, M.A., Sánchez Pérez, E.A.: Spaces of $$p$$ -integrable functions with respect to a vector measure defined on a $$\delta$$ -ring. Oper. Matrices 6, 241–262 (2012)Curbera, G.P.: El espacio de funciones integrables respecto de una medida vectorial. Ph. D. thesis, University of Sevilla, Sevilla (1992)Curbera, G.P.: Operators into $$L^1$$ of a vector measure and applications to Banach lattices. Math. Ann. 293, 317–330 (1992)Curbera, G.P., Ricker, W.J.: Banach lattices with the Fatou property and optimal domains of kernel operators. Indag. Math. (N.S.) 17, 187–204 (2006)G. P. Curbera and W. J. Ricker, Vector measures, integration and applications. In: Positivity (in Trends Math.), Birkhäuser, Basel, pp. 127–160 (2007)Curbera, G.P., Ricker, W.J.: The Fatou property in $$p$$ -convex Banach lattices. J. Math. Anal. Appl. 328, 287–294 (2007)Delgado, O.: $$L^1$$ -spaces of vector measures defined on $$\delta$$ -rings. Arch. Math. 84, 432–443 (2005)Delgado, O.: Optimal domains for kernel operators on $$[0,\infty )\times [0,\infty )$$ . Studia Math. 174, 131–145 (2006)Delgado, O., Soria, J.: Optimal domain for the Hardy operator. J. Funct. Anal. 244, 119–133 (2007)Delgado, O., Juan, M.A.: Representation of Banach lattices as $$L_w^1$$ spaces of a vector measure defined on a $$\delta$$ -ring. Bull. Belg. Math. Soc. Simon Stevin 19(2), 239–256 (2012)Diestel, J., Uhl, J.J.: Vector measures (Am. Math. Soc. surveys 15). American Mathematical Society, Providence (1997)Dinculeanu, N.: Vector measures, Hochschulbcher fr Mathematik, vol. 64. VEB Deutscher Verlag der Wissenschaften, Berlin (1966)Fernández, A., Mayoral, F., Naranjo, F., Sáez, C., Sánchez Pérez, E.A.: Spaces of $$p$$ -integrable functions with respect to a vector measure. Positivity 10, 1–16 (2006)Fremlin, D.H.: Measure theory, broad foundations, vol. 2. Torres Fremlin, Colchester (2001)Jiménez Fernández, E., Juan, M.A., Sánchez Pérez, E.A.: A Komlós theorem for abstract Banach lattices of measurable functions. J. Math. Anal. Appl. 383, 130–136 (2011)Lewis, D.R.: On integrability and summability in vector spaces. Ill. J. Math. 16, 294–307 (1972)Lindenstrauss, J., Tzafriri, L.: Classical Banach spaces II. Springer, Berlin (1979)Luxemburg, W.A.J., Zaanen, A.C.: Riesz spaces I. North-Holland, Amsterdam (1971)Masani, P.R., Niemi, H.: The integration theory of Banach space valued measures and the Tonelli-Fubini theorems. I. Scalar-valued measures on $$\delta$$ -rings. Adv. Math. 73, 204–241 (1989)Masani, P.R., Niemi, H.: The integration theory of Banach space valued measures and the Tonelli-Fubini theorems. II. Pettis integration. Adv. Math. 75, 121–167 (1989)Thomas, E.G.F.: Vector integration (unpublished) (2013)Turpin, Ph.: Intégration par rapport à une mesure à valeurs dans un espace vectoriel topologique non supposé localement convexe, Intègration vectorielle et multivoque, (Colloq., University Caen, Caen, 1975), experiment no. 8, Dèp. Math., UER Sci., University Caen, Caen (1975)Okada, S., Ricker, W.J., Sánchez Pérez, E.A.: Optimal domain and integral extension of operators acting in function spaces (Oper. Theory Adv. Appl.), vol. 180. Birkhäuser, Basel (2008)Zaanen, A.C.: Riesz spaces II. North-Holland, Amsterdam (1983

Activation of Ventral Tegmental Area 5-HT2C Receptors Reduces Incentive Motivation

FUNDING AND DISCLOSURE The research was funded by Wellcome Trust (WT098012) to LKH; and National Institute of Health (DK056731) and the Marilyn H. Vincent Foundation to MGM. The University of Michigan Transgenic Core facility is partially supported by the NIH-funded University of Michigan Center for Gastrointestinal Research (DK034933). The remaining authors declare no conflict of interest. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We thank Dr Celine Cansell, Ms Raffaella Chianese and the staff of the Medical Research Facility for technical assistance. We thank Dr Vladimir Orduña for the scientific advice and technical assistance.Peer reviewedPublisher PD