3,853 research outputs found
Influence of the duration of a treadmill walking bout on heart rate variability at rest in physically active women
Background: Heart rate variability (HRV) has been promoted as a noninvasive method of evaluating autonomic influence on cardiac rhythm. Although female subjects predominate in the walking studies, no study to date has examined the influence of the duration of a moderate intensity walking physical activity bout on HRV in this population. Methods: Twelve healthy physically active middle-aged women undertook 2 conditions; 20min (W20) and 60min (W60) bouts of walking on a treadmill. Resting HRV measures were obtained before (-1 h), and 1 h and 24 h after the walking bouts. Results: Mean NN interval (ie, normal-to-normal intervals between adjacent QRS complexes) was significantly lower (P = .017) at +1 h in W60 (832, 686-979ms) compared with W20 (889, 732-1046ms). A borderline main effect for time was observed for both the SDNN intervals in W60 (P = .056), and for low frequency (LF(abs)) power in W60 (P = .047), with post hoc tests revealing a significant increase between 1 h (51, 33-69 ms and 847, 461-1556 ms(2)) and +1 h (65, 34-97ms and 1316, 569-3042 ms(2)) for SDNN and LF(abs) power, respectively, but no increase at +24h compared with -1 h. Conclusions: It appears that a walking bout of 60 min duration does alter cardiac autonomic influence in healthy active women, and this alteration is not evident after 20 min of walking. Given the rather subtle effect, further studies with larger sample sizes are required to explore the nature of the changes in cardiac autonomic influence following a prolonged bout of walking
Low level of virological failure and drug resistance among patients receiving antiretroviral treatment under programme conditions in Maputo, Mozambique
Mexico AIDS Conference 200
Large-scale Nonlinear Variable Selection via Kernel Random Features
We propose a new method for input variable selection in nonlinear regression.
The method is embedded into a kernel regression machine that can model general
nonlinear functions, not being a priori limited to additive models. This is the
first kernel-based variable selection method applicable to large datasets. It
sidesteps the typical poor scaling properties of kernel methods by mapping the
inputs into a relatively low-dimensional space of random features. The
algorithm discovers the variables relevant for the regression task together
with learning the prediction model through learning the appropriate nonlinear
random feature maps. We demonstrate the outstanding performance of our method
on a set of large-scale synthetic and real datasets.Comment: Final version for proceedings of ECML/PKDD 201
<i>Herschel</i> observations of the debris disc around HIP 92043
Context. Typical debris discs are composed of particles ranging from several micron sized dust grains to km sized asteroidal bodies, and their infrared emission peaks at wavelengths 60-100 μm. Recent Herschel DUNES observations have identified several debris discs around nearby Sun-like stars (F, G and K spectral type) with significant excess emission only at 160 μm.
Aims. We observed HIP 92043 (110 Her, HD 173667) at far-infrared and sub-millimetre wavelengths with Herschel PACS and SPIRE. Identification of the presence of excess emission from HIP 92043 and the origin and physical properties of any excess was undertaken through analysis of its spectral energy distribution (SED) and the PACS images.
Methods. The PACS and SPIRE images were produced using the HIPE photProject map maker routine. Fluxes were measured using aperture photometry. A stellar photosphere model was scaled to optical and near infrared photometry and subtracted from the far-infared and sub-mm fluxes to determine the presence of excess emission. Source radial profiles were fitted using a 2D Gaussian and compared to a PSF model based on Herschel observations of α Boo to check for extended emission.
Results. Clear excess emission from HIP 92043 was observed at 70 and 100 μm. Marginal excess was observed at 160 and 250 μm. Analysis of the images reveals that the source is extended at 160 μm. A fit to the source SED is inconsistent with a photosphere and single temperature black body.
Conclusions. The excess emission from HIP 92043 is consistent with the presence of an unresolved circumstellar debris disc at 70 and 100 μm, with low probability of background contamination. The extended 160 μm emission may be interpreted as an additional cold component to the debris disc or as the result of background contamination along the line of sight. The nature of the 160 μm excess cannot be determined absolutely from the available data, but we favour a debris disc interpretation, drawing parallels with previously identified cold disc sources in the DUNES sample
Interfacial-Redox-Induced Tuning of Superconductivity in YBa2Cu3O7-δ.
Solid-state ionic approaches for modifying ion distributions in getter/oxide heterostructures offer exciting potentials to control material properties. Here, we report a simple, scalable approach allowing for manipulation of the superconducting transition in optimally doped YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) films via a chemically driven ionic migration mechanism. Using a thin Gd capping layer of up to 20 nm deposited onto 100 nm thick epitaxial YBCO films, oxygen is found to leach from deep within the YBCO. Progressive reduction of the superconducting transition is observed, with complete suppression possible for a sufficiently thick Gd layer. These effects arise from the combined impact of redox-driven electron doping and modification of the YBCO microstructure due to oxygen migration and depletion. This work demonstrates an effective step toward total ionic tuning of superconductivity in oxides, an interface-induced effect that goes well into the quasi-bulk regime, opening-up possibilities for electric field manipulation
Incidence of debris discs around FGK stars in the solar neighbourhood
Debris discs are a consequence of the planet formation process and constitute
the fingerprints of planetesimal systems. Their solar system's counterparts are
the asteroid and Edgeworth-Kuiper belts. The aim of this paper is to provide
robust numbers for the incidence of debris discs around FGK stars in the solar
neighbourhood. The full sample of 177 FGK stars with d<20 pc proposed for the
DUNES survey is presented. Herschel/PACS observations at 100 and 160 micron
complemented with data at 70 micron, and at 250, 350 and 500 micron SPIRE
photometry, were obtained. The 123 objects observed by the DUNES collaboration
were presented in a previous paper. The remaining 54 stars, shared with the
DEBRIS consortium and observed by them, and the combined full sample are
studied in this paper. The incidence of debris discs per spectral type is
analysed and put into context together with other parameters of the sample,
like metallicity, rotation and activity, and age.
The subsample of 105 stars with d<15 pc containing 23 F, 33 G and 49 K stars,
is complete for F stars, almost complete for G stars and contains a substantial
number of K stars to draw solid conclusions on objects of this spectral type.
The incidence rates of debris discs per spectral type 0.26 (6 objects with
excesses out of 23 F stars), 0.21 (7 out of 33 G stars) and 0.20 (10 out of 49
K stars), the fraction for all three spectral types together being 0.22 (23 out
of 105 stars). Uncertainties corresponding to a 95% confidence level are given
in the text for all these numbers. The medians of the upper limits of
L_dust/L_* for each spectral type are 7.8E-7 (F), 1.4E-6 (G) and 2.2E-6 (K);
the lowest values being around 4.0E-7. The incidence of debris discs is similar
for active (young) and inactive (old) stars. The fractional luminosity tends to
drop with increasing age, as expected from collisional erosion of the debris
belts.Comment: 31 pages, 15 figures, 10 tables, 2 appendice
Innovation and growth in family-owned Mexican SMEs
This paper studies the relationship between innovation and the level of growth in family-owned small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), this is done within the context of Mexico. The conceptual framework of analysis is based on the hypothesis that innovation in products, processes and management systems contribute to the achievement of growth in family-owned SMEs. To test this hypothesis, a model of structural equation of second order was developed with data collected from 206 family-owned SMEs located in the state of Aguascalientes, Mexico. The empirical evidence provided by the analysis supports the hypothesis, showing that family-owned SMEs that increase their innovation activities will also significantly increase their opportunities for growth. This finding can be used to inform the business growth strategies formulated by the owners, or managers, of family-owned SEMs. These also indicate policy-makers that by designing effective policies and providing incentives to support innovation in family-owned SMEs, the government would not only contribute to the growth of these organisations but also to the growth of their regions and countries. Despite the importance of innovation and family-owned SMEs, evidence suggests that studies focused on investigating innovation in this type of organisations are very limited. This paper fills this gap by providing a refined understanding of the relationship between innovation and growth in family-owned SMEs
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