Observations of the Earth's magnetic field from the Space Station: Measurement at high and extremely low altitude using Space Station-controlled free-flyers

Simulation studies established that the main (core), crustal and electrojet components of the Earth's magnetic field can be observed with greater resolution or over a longer time-base than is presently possible by using the capabilities provided by the space station. Two systems are studied. The first, a large lifetime, magnetic monitor would observe the main field and its time variation. The second, a remotely-piloted, magnetic probe would observe the crustal field at low altitude and the electrojet field in situ. The system design and the scientific performance of these systems is assessed. The advantages of the space station are reviewed

Improved definition of crustal magnetic anomalies for MAGSAT data

The routine correction of MAGSAT vector magnetometer data for external field effects such as the ring current and the daily variation by filtering long wavelength harmonics from the data is described. Separation of fields due to low altitude sources from those caused by high altitude sources is affected by means of dual harmonic expansions in the solution of Dirichlet's problem. This regression/harmonic filter procedure is applied on an orbit by orbit basis, and initial tests on MAGSAT data from orbit 1176 show reduction in external field residuals by 24.33 nT RMS in the horizontal component, and 10.95 nT RMS in the radial component

Women's Experiences of Preeclampsia: Australian Action on Preeclampsia Survey of Women and Their Confidants

Introduction. The experience of normal pregnancy is often disrupted for women with preeclampsia (PE). Materials and Methods. Postal survey of the 112 members of the consumer group, Australian Action on Pre-Eclampsia (AAPEC). Results. Surveys were returned by 68 women (61% response rate) and from 64 (57%) partners, close relatives or friends. Respondents reported experiencing pre-eclampsia (n = 53), eclampsia (n = 5), and/or Hemolysis, Elevated Liver enzymes, and Low Platelets (HELLP syndrome) (n = 26). Many women had no knowledge of PE prior to diagnosis (77%) and, once diagnosed, did not appreciate how serious or life threatening it was (50%). Women wanted access to information about PE. Their experience contributed substantial anxiety towards future pregnancies. Partners/friends/relatives expressed fear for the woman and/or her baby and had no prior understanding of PE. Conclusions. The PE experience had a substantial effect on women, their confidants, and their babies and affected their approach to future pregnancies. Access to information about PE was viewed as very important

Impact parameter dependence of the nuclear modification of J/psi production in d+Au collisions at sqrt(S_NN) = 200 GeV

The centrality dependence of sqrt(s_NN)= 200 GeV d+Au {J/\psi} data, measured in 12 rapidity bins that span -2.2 < y < 2.4, has been fitted using a model containing an effective absorption cross section combined with EPS09 NLO shadowing. The centrality dependence of the shadowing contribution was allowed to vary nonlinearly, employing a variety of assumptions, in an effort to explore the limits of what can be determined from the data. The impact parameter dependencies of the effective absorption cross section and the shadowing parameterization are sufficiently distinct to be determined separately. It is found that the onset of shadowing is a highly nonlinear function of impact parameter. The mid and backward rapidity absorption cross sections are compared with lower energy data and, for times of 0.05 fm/c or greater, data over a broad range of collision energies and rapidities are well described by a model in which the absorption cross section depends only on time spent in the nucleus.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figures. Expanded discussion of methods, and added extensive comparison of effective absorption cross sections with lower energy data, and with theory. Corrected minor typos in table 1, corrected typos in best fit parameters for Fig.

Efficacy of Chinese herbal medicine for stroke modifiable risk factors: A systematic review

© 2017 The Author(s). Background: The vast majority of stroke burden is attributable to its modifiable risk factors. This paper aimed to systematically summarise the evidence of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) interventions on stroke modifiable risk factors for stroke prevention. Methods: A literature search was conducted via the MEDLINE, CINAHL/EBSCO, SCOPUS, and Cochrane Database from 1996 to 2016. Randomised controlled trials or cross-over studies were included. Risk of bias was assessed according to the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. Results: A total of 46 trials (6895 participants) were identified regarding the use of CHM interventions in the management of stroke risk factors, including 12 trials for hypertension, 10 trials for diabetes, eight trials for hyperlipidemia, seven trials for impaired glucose tolerance, three trials for obesity, and six trials for combined risk factors. Amongst the included trials with diverse study design, an intervention of CHM as a supplement to biomedicine and/or a lifestyle intervention was found to be more effective in lowering blood pressure, decreasing blood glucose level, helping impaired glucose tolerance reverse to normal, and/or reducing body weight compared to CHM monotherapy. While no trial reported deaths amongst the CHM groups, some papers do report moderate adverse effects associated with CHM use. However, the findings of such beneficial effects of CHM should be interpreted with caution due to the heterogeneous set of complex CHM studied, the various control interventions employed, the use of different participants' inclusion criteria, and low methodological quality across the published studies. The risk of bias of trials identified was largely unclear in the domains of selection bias and detection bias across the included studies. Conclusion: This study showed substantial evidence of varied CHM interventions improving the stroke modifiable risk factors. More rigorous research examining the use of CHM products for sole or multiple major stroke risk factors are warranted

Is there an association between women's consultations with a massage therapist and health-related quality of life? Analyses of 1800 women aged 56–61 years

© 2016 Elsevier Ltd Background The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is commonplace in Australia with massage being a popular CAM modality. Methods This is a sub-study from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH). A total of 2120 mid-age (56–61 year old) women who consulted a CAM practitioner were invited to participate in this study. The Short-Form (SF-36) questionnaire was used to measure women's health-related quality of life. Results A total of 1800 women returned the questionnaire generating a response rate of 85.0%. Overall, 912 (50.7%) women visited a massage therapist in the previous 12 months. Women with lower quality of life scores in terms of bodily pain (p = 0.012) and/or emotional health (p = 0.029) were more likely to consult a massage therapist than those with higher scores. Conclusion The implications of these associations are important for informing healthcare providers in providing effective and coordinated care for patients with pain and mood symptoms

Efficacy of Tai Chi and qigong for the prevention of stroke and stroke risk factors

Copyright © 2017 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. Background: This review aims to summarize the evidence of Tai Chi and qigong interventions for the primary prevention of stroke, including the effects on populations with major stroke risk factors. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted on January 16, 2017 using the PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and CINAHL databases. Randomized controlled trials examining the efficacy of Tai Chi or qigong for stroke prevention and stroke risk factors were included. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. Results: Twenty-one trials with n = 1604 patients with hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, diabetes, overweight or obesity, or metabolic syndrome were included. No trials were found that examined the effects of Tai Chi/qigong on stroke incidence. Meta-analyses revealed significant, but not robust, benefits of Tai Chi/qigong over no interventions for hypertension (systolic blood pressure: -15.55 mm Hg (95% CI: -21.16; -9.95); diastolic blood pressure: -10.66 mm Hg (95% CI: -14.90, -6.43); the homeostatic model assessment (HOMA) index (-2.86%; 95% CI: -5.35, -0.38) and fasting blood glucose (-9.6 mg/dL; 95% CI: -17.28, -1.91), and for the body mass index compared with exercise controls (-1.65 kg/m 2; 95% CI: -3.11, -0.20). Risk of bias was unclear or high for the majority of trials and domains, and heterogeneity between trials was high. Only 6 trials adequately reported safety. No recommendation for the use of Tai Chi/qigong for the prevention of stroke can be given. Conclusion: Although Tai Chi and qigong show some potential more robust studies are required to provide conclusive evidence on the efficacy and safety of Tai Chi and qigong for reducing major stroke risk factors

An intelligent assistant for exploratory data analysis

In this paper we present an account of the main features of SNOUT, an intelligent assistant for exploratory data analysis (EDA) of social science survey data that incorporates a range of data mining techniques. EDA has much in common with existing data mining techniques: its main objective is to help an investigator reach an understanding of the important relationships ina data set rather than simply develop predictive models for selectd variables. Brief descriptions of a number of novel techniques developed for use in SNOUT are presented. These include heuristic variable level inference and classification, automatic category formation, the use of similarity trees to identify groups of related variables, interactive decision tree construction and model selection using a genetic algorithm

The Hot QCD White Paper: Exploring the Phases of QCD at RHIC and the LHC

The past decade has seen huge advances in experimental measurements made in heavy ion collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and more recently at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). These new data, in combination with theoretical advances from calculations made in a variety of frameworks, have led to a broad and deep knowledge of the properties of thermal QCD matter. Increasingly quantitative descriptions of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) created in these collisions have established that the QGP is a strongly coupled liquid with the lowest value of specific viscosity ever measured. However, much remains to be learned about the precise nature of the initial state from which this liquid forms, how its properties vary across its phase diagram and how, at a microscopic level, the collective properties of this liquid emerge from the interactions among the individual quarks and gluons that must be visible if the liquid is probed with sufficiently high resolution. This white paper, prepared by the Hot QCD Writing Group as part of the U.S. Long Range Plan for Nuclear Physics, reviews the recent progress in the field of hot QCD and outlines the scientific opportunities in the next decade for resolving the outstanding issues in the field.Comment: 110 pages, 33 figures, 429 references. Prepared as part of the U.S. Long-Range Plan for Nuclear Physic