1,417 research outputs found
Zinc Gluconate in the Treatment of Dysgeusia—a Randomized Clinical Trial
In the treatment of dysgeusia, the use of zinc has been frequently tried, with equivocal results. The aim of the present randomized clinical trial, which involved a sufficiently large sample, was therefore to determine the efficacy of zinc treatment. Fifty patients with idiopathic dysgeusia were carefully selected. Zinc gluconate (140 mg/day; n = 26) or placebo (lactose; n = 24) was randomly assigned to the patients. The patients on zinc improved in terms of gustatory function (p < 0.001) and rated the dysgeusia as being less severe (p < 0.05). Similarly, signs of depression in the zinc group were less severe (Beck Depression Inventory, p < 0.05; mood scale, p < 0.05). With the exception of the salivary calcium level, which was higher in the zinc patients (p < 0.05), no other significant group differences were found. In conclusion, zinc appears to improve general gustatory function and, consequently, general mood scores in dysgeusia patients
Newtonian and Post-Newtonian approximations of the k = 0 Friedmann Robertson Walker Cosmology
In a previous paper we derived a post-Newtonian approximation to cosmology
which, in contrast to former Newtonian and post-Newtonian cosmological
theories, has a well-posed initial value problem. In this paper, this new
post-Newtonian theory is compared with the fully general relativistic theory,
in the context of the k = 0 Friedmann Robertson Walker cosmologies. It is found
that the post-Newtonian theory reproduces the results of its general
relativistic counterpart, whilst the Newtonian theory does not.Comment: 11 pages, Latex, corrected typo
Acute dizziness in rural practice: Proposal of a diagnostic procedure
Acute dizziness is a frequent index symptom in the emergency department as well as in the rural practice office. Most acute dizziness, however, is not dangerous, but some types are highly dangerous. Clinical routine acute dizziness can be separated into frequent benign syndromes including benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), vestibular neuritis, Meniθre's disease or vestibular migraine, and what is here referred to as the «white shark» of dizziness, i.e. a stroke in the posterior circulation or more rarely a tumor in the posterior fossa. A practical concept is presented to clarify most frequent acute dizziness syndromes using clinical and low budget methods
On the Significance of the Weyl Curvature in a Relativistic Cosmological Model
The Weyl curvature includes the Newtonian field and an additional field, the
so-called anti-Newtonian. In this paper, we use the Bianchi and Ricci
identities to provide a set of constraints and propagations for the Weyl
fields. The temporal evolutions of propagations manifest explicit solutions of
gravitational waves. We see that models with purely Newtonian field are
inconsistent with relativistic models and obstruct sounding solutions.
Therefore, both fields are necessary for the nonlocal nature and radiative
solutions of gravitation.Comment: 15 pages, incorporating proof correction
On Shear-Free perturbations of FLRW Universes
A surprising exact result for the Einstein Field Equations is that if
pressure-free matter is moving in a shear-free way, then it must be either
expansion-free or rotation-free. It has been suggested this result is also true
for any barotropic perfect fluid, but a proof has remained elusive. We consider
the case of barotropic perfect fluid solutions linearized about a
Robertson-Walker geometry, and prove that the result remains true except for
the case of a specific highly non-linear equation of state. We argue that this
equation of state is non-physical, and hence the result is true in the
linearized case for all physically realistic barotropic perfect fluids. This
result, which is not true in Newtonian cosmology, demonstrates that the
linearized solutions, believed to result in standard local Newtonian theory, do
not always give the usual behaviour of Newtonian solutions
Relativistic fine structure oscillator strengths for Li-like ions: C IV - Si XII, S XIV, Ar XVI, Ca XVIII, Ti XX, Cr XXII, and Ni XXVI
Ab initio calculations including relativistic effects employing the
Breit-Pauli R-matrix (BPRM) method are reported for fine structure energy
levels and oscillator strengths upto n = 10 and 0.leq. l .leq.9 for 15 Li-like
ions: C IV, N V, O VI, F VII, Ne VIII, Na IX, Mg X, Al XI, Si XII, S XIV, Ar
XVI, Ca XIII, Ti XX, Cr XXII, and Ni XXVI. About one hundred bound fine
structure energy levels of total angular momenta, 1/2 .leq. J .leq. 17/2 of
even and odd parities, total orbital angular momentum, 0 .leq L .leq. 9 and
spin multiplicity (2S+1) = 2, 4 are considered for each ion. The levels provide
almost 900 dipole allowed and intercombination bound-bound transitions. The
BPRM method enables consideration of large set of transitions with uniform
accuracy compared to the best available theoretical methods. The CC
eigenfunction expansion for each ion includes the lowest 17 fine structure
energy levels of the core configurations 1s^2, 1s2s, 1s2p, 1s3s, 1s3p, and
1s3d. The calculated energies of the ions agree with the measured values to
within 1% for most levels. The transition probabilities show good agreement
with the best available calculated values. The results provide the largest sets
of energy levels and transition rates for the ions and are expected to be
useful in the analysis of X-ray and EUV spectra from astrophysical sources.Comment: 16 pgs., to appear in Astronomy and Astrophysic
Machine learning and structural analysis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis pan-genome identifies genetic signatures of antibiotic resistance.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a serious human pathogen threat exhibiting complex evolution of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Accordingly, the many publicly available datasets describing its AMR characteristics demand disparate data-type analyses. Here, we develop a reference strain-agnostic computational platform that uses machine learning approaches, complemented by both genetic interaction analysis and 3D structural mutation-mapping, to identify signatures of AMR evolution to 13 antibiotics. This platform is applied to 1595 sequenced strains to yield four key results. First, a pan-genome analysis shows that M. tuberculosis is highly conserved with sequenced variation concentrated in PE/PPE/PGRS genes. Second, the platform corroborates 33 genes known to confer resistance and identifies 24 new genetic signatures of AMR. Third, 97 epistatic interactions across 10 resistance classes are revealed. Fourth, detailed structural analysis of these genes yields mechanistic bases for their selection. The platform can be used to study other human pathogens
Risks and risk mitigation in waste-work: A qualitative study of informal waste workers in Nepal
Objectives
To explore how informal waste workers (IWWs) working in Kathmandu Valley perceive risks associated with waste work and what they do to mitigate them.
Study design
Qualitative Study Design.
Methods
A mix of one-to-one semi-structured interviews (n = 18) and focus group discussions (n = 4) with IWWs were undertaken. Participants were recruited purposively using snowball sampling. All interviews and discussions were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, translated and subsequently analysed thematically.
Results
The IWWs perceived discrimination and health risks as the main risks associated with waste work. IWWs reported considerable stigma and discrimination not only from the wider society but also from family members and within their own profession. Similarly, the occupational risks most frequently recognized were physical injuries and cuts from working with waste. However, the potential risks from hazardous chemicals present in or generated from waste were not articulated by participants. Mitigation strategies to combat the risks included avoidance, greater care and the use of informal means of “protection”. Awareness of the importance of personal protective equipment (PPE) was limited. The key barriers to the use of PPE identified included costs, the lack of easy availability of PPE and the inconvenience of working with PPE.
Conclusions
The vulnerability of informal waste workers in Nepal is multifaceted. A range of policy and regulatory measures, along with interventions that promote greater social inclusion and occupational support are needed to promote IWW’s health and safety
The Cosmic No-Hair Theorem and the Nonlinear Stability of Homogeneous Newtonian Cosmological Models
The validity of the cosmic no-hair theorem is investigated in the context of
Newtonian cosmology with a perfect fluid matter model and a positive
cosmological constant. It is shown that if the initial data for an expanding
cosmological model of this type is subjected to a small perturbation then the
corresponding solution exists globally in the future and the perturbation
decays in a way which can be described precisely. It is emphasized that no
linearization of the equations or special symmetry assumptions are needed. The
result can also be interpreted as a proof of the nonlinear stability of the
homogeneous models. In order to prove the theorem we write the general solution
as the sum of a homogeneous background and a perturbation. As a by-product of
the analysis it is found that there is an invariant sense in which an
inhomogeneous model can be regarded as a perturbation of a unique homogeneous
model. A method is given for associating uniquely to each Newtonian
cosmological model with compact spatial sections a spatially homogeneous model
which incorporates its large-scale dynamics. This procedure appears very
natural in the Newton-Cartan theory which we take as the starting point for
Newtonian cosmology.Comment: 16 pages, MPA-AR-94-
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