JAPAN'S DEFLATIONARY HANGOVER: WAGE STAGNATION AND THE SYNDROME OF THE EVER-WEAKER YEN

OpenAIRE

RONALD MCKINNON

2007-01-01

Japan still suffers a deflationary hangover from the great episodic yen appreciations of the 1980s into the mid-1990s. Money wages are still declining, and short-term interest rates remain trapped near zero. After Japan's 'lost decade' from 1992 to 2002, however, output has begun to grow modestly-but through export expansion and associated investment rather than domestic consumption. This export-led growth has been helped by a passive real depreciation of the yen: prices and wages in Europe a...

Hangover free! The social and material trajectories of PartySmart.

Science.gov (United States)

Pordié, Laurent

2015-04-01

This paper presents three embedded episodes in the life of a polyherbal drug indicated as a preventative measure for hangovers. Invented and marketed in 2005 by a leading ayurvedic pharmaceutical company in India, PartySmart is a reformulated compound based on ayurvedic, biomedical and phytochemical sources. This creative process has involved multiple translations, resulting in hybrid pharmacological models, including, for instance, ayurvedic post-digestive tastes and biomedical effects on enzymatic activities. These modes of therapeutic action are conceptualizations of an active drug-- i.e., a digested and metabolized drug. A problem arises, however, in the fact that the ingestion of this drug is linked to alcohol consumption in a country where it is widely considered in negative terms. For this reason, PartySmart was seen as an ambivalent presence in the firm's catalogue and thus a series of interventions aiming to uphold the image of this drug transformed both its social inscription and its materiality. This transformation also took a different, global trajectory as the drug gradually developed as a transnational pharmaceutical commodity and became a new object in new latitudes. By focusing on the social and material dimensions of this drug in these contexts, this paper calls upon science studies to expand the scope of pharmaceutical anthropology. It brings together various layers of analysis to offer new perspectives on contemporary herbal formulations as they traverse material cultures, medical epistemologies, sociopolitical borders, legal environments and social practices.

Early Maternal Time Investment and Early Child Outcomes

OpenAIRE

Del Bono, Emilia; Francesconi, Marco; Kelly, Yvonne; Sacker, Amanda

2014-01-01

Using large longitudinal survey data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study, this paper estimates the relationship between maternal time inputs and early child development. We find that maternal time is a quantitatively important determinant of skill formation and that its effect declines with child age. There is evidence of long-term effects of early maternal time inputs on later outcomes, especially in the case of cognitive skill development. In the case of non-cognitive development, the evide...

Time in Early Childhood: Creative Possibilities with Different Conceptions of Time

Science.gov (United States)

Farquhar, Sandy

2016-01-01

Time is an important driver of pedagogy which is often overlooked in the busy atmosphere of an early childhood centre. Engaging philosophically with three different concepts of time, and drawing examples from literature and art to focus attention on how time is constituted in early childhood centres, this article argues that we inhabit the…

Investing in Early Human Development: Timing and Economic Efficiency

Science.gov (United States)

Doyle, Orla; Harmon, Colm P.; Heckman, James J.; Tremblay, Richard E.

2010-01-01

Policy discussions to ameliorate socioeconomic (SES) inequalities are increasingly focused on investments in early childhood. Yet such interventions are costly to implement, and clear evidence on the optimal time to intervene to yield a high economic and social return in the future is meagre. The majority of successful early childhood interventions start in the preschool years. However socioeconomic gradients in cognitive skills, socio-emotional functioning and health can be observed by age three, suggesting that preventative programmes starting earlier in childhood may be even more effective. We discuss the optimal timing of early childhood intervention with reference to recent research in developmental neuroscience. We motivate the need for early intervention by providing an overview of the impact of adverse risk factors during the antenatal and early childhood periods on outcomes later in life. We provide a brief review of the economic rationale for investing early in life and propose the “antenatal investment hypothesis”. We conclude by discussing a suite of new European interventions that will inform this optimal timing debate. PMID:19213617

Timely Healthcare Checkup Catches Melanoma Early

Science.gov (United States)

... please turn Javascript on. Feature: Skin Cancer Timely Healthcare Checkup Catches Melanoma Early Past Issues / Summer 2013 ... left the Congress and starting working as a healthcare consultant, when I finally decided to have a ...

Influence of first-time mothers' early employment on severe early childhood caries in their child.

Science.gov (United States)

Plutzer, Kamila; Keirse, Marc J N C

2012-01-01

Aim. To examine whether mothers' early employment status is related to the development of severe early childhood caries in their child. Methods. Questionnaire survey of 429 first-time mothers in metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia, and dental examinations of their child at 20 months of age. Results. At 20 ± 2.5 months of age, 5.6% of children exhibited caries defined as one or more demineralized or cavitated lesions on the upper incisors. Of the mothers, 52.2% had no paid employment, 39.6% were part-time and 8.2% full-time employed. Overall, mothers' participation in the workforce had no influence on the frequency of severe early childhood caries in their child, but there was a significant interaction with family structure. For mothers without employment there was no difference between single, and two-parent families, but children with an employed single mother more frequently had caries than those with a working mother in a two-parent family (P early childhood caries in their child.

Hangovers

Science.gov (United States)

... than eight breaths a minute) Irregular breathing (a gap of more than 10 seconds between breaths) Blue- ... drinking. Having a family history of alcoholism. Having close relatives with a history of alcoholism may suggest ...

Early Earth(s) Across Time and Space

Science.gov (United States)

Mojzsis, S.

2014-04-01

The geochemical and cosmochemical record of our solar system is the baseline for exploring the question: "when could life appear on a world similar to our own?" Data arising from direct analysis of the oldest terrestrial rocks and minerals from the first 500 Myr of Earth history - termed the Hadean Eon - inform us about the timing for the establishment of a habitable silicate world. Liquid water is the key medium for life. The origin of water, and its interaction with the crust as revealed in the geologic record, guides our exploration for a cosmochemically Earth-like planets. From the time of primary planetary accretion to the start of the continuous rock record on Earth at ca. 3850 million years ago, our planet experienced a waning bolide flux that partially or entirely wiped out surface rocks, vaporized oceans, and created transient serpentinizing atmospheres. Arguably, "Early Earths" across the galaxy may start off as ice planets due to feeble insolation from their young stars, occasionally punctuated by steam atmospheres generated by cataclysmic impacts. Alternatively, early global environments conducive to life spanned from a benign surface zone to deep into crustal rocks and sediments. In some scenarios, nascent biospheres benefit from the exogenous delivery of essential bio-elements via leftovers of accretion, and the subsequent establishment of planetary-scale hydrothermal systems. If what is now known about the early dynamical regime of the Earth serves as any measure of the potential habitability of worlds across space and time, several key boundary conditions emerge. These are: (i) availability and long-term stability of liquid water; (ii) presence of energy resources; (iii) accessibility of organic raw materials; (iv) adequate inventory of radioisotopes to drive internal heating; (v) gross compositional parameters such as mantle/core mass ratio, and (vi) P-T conditions at or near the surface suitable for sustaining biological activity. Life could

Influence of First-Time Mothers' Early Employment on Severe Early Childhood Caries in Their Child

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kamila Plutzer

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Aim. To examine whether mothers' early employment status is related to the development of severe early childhood caries in their child. Methods. Questionnaire survey of 429 first-time mothers in metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia, and dental examinations of their child at 20 months of age. Results. At months of age, 5.6% of children exhibited caries defined as one or more demineralized or cavitated lesions on the upper incisors. Of the mothers, 52.2% had no paid employment, 39.6% were part-time and 8.2% full-time employed. Overall, mothers' participation in the workforce had no influence on the frequency of severe early childhood caries in their child, but there was a significant interaction with family structure. For mothers without employment there was no difference between single, and two-parent families, but children with an employed single mother more frequently had caries than those with a working mother in a two-parent family (. However, there were no significant differences in children's reported general health. Conclusions. The data indicate a need to explore strategies that may assist single mothers and especially those in the workforce to prevent severe early childhood caries in their child.

Time Development in the Early History of Social Networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bruun, Jesper; Bearden, Ian

2014-01-01

Studies of the time development of empirical networks usually investigate late stages where lasting connections have already stabilized. Empirical data on early network history are rare but needed for a better understanding of how social network topology develops in real life. Studying students who...... are beginning their studies at a university with no or few prior connections to each other offers a unique opportunity to investigate the formation and early development of link patterns and community structure in social networks. During a nine week introductory physics course, first year physics students were...... asked to identify those with whom they communicated about problem solving in physics during the preceding week. We use these students' self reports to produce time dependent student interaction networks. We investigate these networks to elucidate possible effects of different student attributes in early...

[Relevant factors of early puberty timing in urban primary schools in Chongqing].

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Yan; Liu, Qin; Wen, Yi; Liu, Shudan; Lei, Xun; Wang, Hong

2016-05-01

To investigate the status of puberty timing and relevant factors of early puberty timing in children from grade one to four in urban primary schools of Chongqing. According to the purposive sample method, four urban primary schools in Chongqing were selected and of which 1471 children from grade one to four who have obtained informed consent were recruited. Questionnaire survey on social-demographic characteristics and family environment (e.g., age, parents' relationship, diet and lifestyle, etc), and Pubertal Development Scale (PDS) survey and physical examination (measurements of height, weight, pubertal development status, etc) were conducted. P25, P50, P75 ages of each important pubertal event were calculated by probit regression. Univariate and multivariate analysis were used to analyze relevant factors. The detection rate of early puberty timing was 17.7%, and the median ages of the onset of breast and testicular development were 10.77 and 11.48 years old, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression showed that early puberty timing occurred more likely in girls than in boys (OR = 0.561, 95% CI 0.406-0.774), and bad relationship between parents (OR = 1.320, 95% CI 1.007-1.729) and hair-products-use (OR = 1.685, 95%, CI 1.028-2.762) were risk factors of early puberty timing. Early onset of puberty in urban Chongqing is still exist. Gender, parents' relationship, and hair-products-use have an essential impact on early puberty timing.

Timing variability in children with early-treated congenital hypothyroidism

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kooistra, L.; Snijders, T.A.B.; Schellekens, J.M.H.; Kalverboer, A.F.; Geuze, R.H.

This study reports on central and peripheral determinants of timing variability in self-paced tapping by children with early-treated congenital hypothyroidism (CH). A theoretical model of the timing of repetitive movements developed by Wing and Kristofferson was applied to estimate the central

Boost-invariant early time dynamics from AdS/CFT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beuf, Guillaume; Peschanski, Robi; Heller, Michal P.; Janik, Romuald A.

2009-01-01

Boost-invariant dynamics of a strongly-coupled conformal plasma is studied in the regime of early proper-time using the AdS/CFT correspondence. It is shown, in contrast with the late-time expansion, that a scaling solution does not exist. The boundary dynamics in this regime depends on initial conditions encoded in the bulk behavior of a Fefferman-Graham metric coefficient at initial proper-time. The relation between the early-time expansion of the energy density and initial conditions in the bulk of AdS is provided. As a general result it is proven that a singularity of some metric coefficient in Fefferman-Graham frame exists at all times. Requiring that this singularity at τ = 0 is a mere coordinate singularity without the curvature blow-up gives constraints on the possible boundary dynamics. Using a simple Pade resummation for solutions satisfying the regularity constraint, the features of a transition to local equilibrium, and thus to the hydrodynamical late-time regime, have been observed. The impact of this study on the problem of thermalization is discussed.

First-Time Mothers' Knowledge and Beliefs Regarding Early Communication Development

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Vicki; Pearce, Wendy M.; Devine, Sue

2014-01-01

Limited literature exists in the Australian context about first-time mothers' knowledge of early communication milestones, their strategies to facilitate speech and language development and understanding of the relationship between early communication skills and future development. A cross-sectional online survey was administered to 53 first-time…

Background experiences, time allocation, time on teaching and perceived support of early-career college science faculty

Science.gov (United States)

Sagendorf, Kenneth S.

The purposes of this research were to create an inventory of the research, teaching and service background experiences of and to document the time allocation and time spent on teaching by early-career college science faculty members. This project is presented as three distinct papers. Thirty early-career faculty in the science disciplines from sixteen different institutions in their first year of employment participated in this study. For the first two papers, a new survey was developed asking participants to choose which experiences they had acquired prior to taking their current faculty position and asking them to document their time allocation and time spent on teaching activities in an average work week. In addition, a third component documents the support early-career college faculty in the sciences are receiving from the perspective of faculty members and their respective department chairpersons and identifies areas of disagreement between these two different groups. Twenty early-career college science faculty and their respective department chairpersons completed a newly-designed survey regarding the support offered to new faculty. The survey addressed the areas of feedback on performance, clarity of tenure requirements, mentoring, support for teaching and scholarship and balancing faculty life. This dissertation presents the results from these surveys, accounting for different demographic variables such as science discipline, gender and institutional category.

GRB 090727 AND GAMMA-RAY BURSTS WITH EARLY-TIME OPTICAL EMISSION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kopač, D.; Gomboc, A.; Japelj, J.; Kobayashi, S.; Mundell, C. G.; Bersier, D.; Cano, Z.; Smith, R. J.; Steele, I. A.; Virgili, F. J.; Guidorzi, C.; Melandri, A.

2013-01-01

We present a multi-wavelength analysis of Swift gamma-ray burst GRB 090727, for which optical emission was detected during the prompt gamma-ray emission by the 2 m autonomous robotic Liverpool Telescope and subsequently monitored for a further two days with the Liverpool and Faulkes Telescopes. Within the context of the standard fireball model, we rule out a reverse shock origin for the early-time optical emission in GRB 090727 and instead conclude that the early-time optical flash likely corresponds to emission from an internal dissipation process. Putting GRB 090727 into a broader observational and theoretical context, we build a sample of 36 gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) with contemporaneous early-time optical and gamma-ray detections. From these GRBs, we extract a sub-sample of 18 GRBs, which show optical peaks during prompt gamma-ray emission, and perform detailed temporal and spectral analysis in gamma-ray, X-ray, and optical bands. We find that in most cases early-time optical emission shows sharp and steep behavior, and notice a rich diversity of spectral properties. Using a simple internal shock dissipation model, we show that the emission during prompt GRB phase can occur at very different frequencies via synchrotron radiation. Based on the results obtained from observations and simulation, we conclude that the standard external shock interpretation for early-time optical emission is disfavored in most cases due to sharp peaks (Δt/t < 1) and steep rise/decay indices, and that internal dissipation can explain the properties of GRBs with optical peaks during gamma-ray emission

Effectiveness of early part-time sick leave in musculoskeletal disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Martimo, Kari-Pekka; Kaila-Kangas, Leena; Kausto, Johanna; Takala, Esa-Pekka; Ketola, Ritva; Riihimäki, Hilkka; Luukkonen, Ritva; Karppinen, Jaro; Miranda, Helena; Viikari-Juntura, Eira

2008-02-25

The importance of staying active instead of bed rest has been acknowledged in the management of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). This emphasizes the potential benefits of adjusting work to fit the employee's remaining work ability. Despite part-time sick leave being an official option in many countries, its effectiveness has not been studied yet. We have designed a randomized controlled study to assess the health effects of early part-time sick leave compared to conventional full-day sick leave. Our hypothesis is that if work time is temporarily reduced and work load adjusted at the early stages of disability, employees with MSDs will have less disability days and faster return to regular work duties than employees on a conventional sick leave. The study population will consist of 600 employees, who seek medical advice from an occupational physician due to musculoskeletal pain. The inclusion requires that they have not been on a sick leave for longer than 14 days prior to the visit. Based on the physician's judgement, the severity of the symptoms must indicate a need for conventional sick leave, but the employee is considered to be able to work part-time without any additional risk. Half of the employees are randomly allocated to part-time sick leave group and their work time is reduced by 40-60%, whereas in the control group work load is totally eliminated with conventional sick leave. The main outcomes are the number of days from the initial visit to return to regular work activities, and the total number of sick leave days during 12 and 24 months of follow-up. The costs and benefits as well as the feasibility of early part-time sick leave will also be evaluated. This is the first randomised trial to our knowledge on the effectiveness of early part-time sick leave compared to conventional full-time sick leave in the management of MSDs. The data collection continues until 2011, but preliminary results on the feasibility of part-time sick leave will be available

Optimal timing for early surgery in infective endocarditis: a meta-analysis†

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Fuxiang; Song, Bing; Liu, Ruisheng; Yang, Liu; Tang, Hanbo; Li, Yuanming

2016-01-01

To systematically review early surgery and the optimal timing of surgery in patients with infective endocarditis (IE), a search for foreign and domestic articles on cohort studies about the association between early surgery and infective endocarditis published from inception to January 2015 was conducted in the PubMed, EMBASE, Chinese Biomedical Literature (CBM), Wanfang and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases. The studies were screened according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, the data were extracted and the quality of the method of the included studies was assessed. Then, the meta-analysis was performed using the Stata 12.0 software. Sixteen cohort studies, including 8141 participants were finally included. The results of the meta-analysis revealed that, compared with non-early surgery, early surgery in IE lowers the incidence of in-hospital mortality [odds ratio (OR) = 0.57, 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.42, 0.77); P = 0.000, I2 = 73.1%] and long-term mortality [OR = 0.57, 95% CI (0.43, 0.77); P = 0.001, I2 = 67.4%]. Further, performing operation within 2 weeks had a more favourable effect on long-term mortality [OR = 0.63, 95% CI (0.41, 0.97); P = 0.192, I2 = 39.4%] than non-early surgery. In different kinds of IE, we found that early surgery for native valve endocarditis (NVE) had a lower in-hospital [OR = 0.46, 95% CI (0.31, 0.69); P = 0.001, I2 = 73.0%] and long-term [OR = 0.57, 95% CI (0.40, 0.81); P = 0.001, I2 = 68.9%] mortality than the non-early surgery group. However, for prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE), in-hospital mortality did not differ significantly [OR = 0.83, 95% CI (0.65, 1.06); P = 0.413, I2 = 0.0%] between early and non-early surgery. We concluded that early surgery was associated with lower in-hospital and long-term mortality compared with non-early surgical treatment for IE, especially in NVE. However, the optimal timing of surgery remains unclear. Additional larger prospective clinical trials will be

Time and Temporality in Early Childhood Educators' Work

Science.gov (United States)

Nuttall, Joce; Thomas, Louise

2015-01-01

This article reports on the persistence and significance of notions of time and temporality in interviews with early childhood educators in Victoria and Queensland, Australia, in two studies designed to explore the concept of "pedagogical leadership". Interpretive analysis of the interview transcripts of the 19 participants identified…

Time scale controversy: Accurate orbital calibration of the early Paleogene

Science.gov (United States)

Roehl, U.; Westerhold, T.; Laskar, J.

2012-12-01

Timing is crucial to understanding the causes and consequences of events in Earth history. The calibration of geological time relies heavily on the accuracy of radioisotopic and astronomical dating. Uncertainties in the computations of Earth's orbital parameters and in radioisotopic dating have hampered the construction of a reliable astronomically calibrated time scale beyond 40 Ma. Attempts to construct a robust astronomically tuned time scale for the early Paleogene by integrating radioisotopic and astronomical dating are only partially consistent. Here, using the new La2010 and La2011 orbital solutions, we present the first accurate astronomically calibrated time scale for the early Paleogene (47-65 Ma) uniquely based on astronomical tuning and thus independent of the radioisotopic determination of the Fish Canyon standard. Comparison with geological data confirms the stability of the new La2011 solution back to 54 Ma. Subsequent anchoring of floating chronologies to the La2011 solution using the very long eccentricity nodes provides an absolute age of 55.530 ± 0.05 Ma for the onset of the Paleocene/Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), 54.850 ± 0.05 Ma for the early Eocene ash -17, and 65.250 ± 0.06 Ma for the K/Pg boundary. The new astrochronology presented here indicates that the intercalibration and synchronization of U/Pb and 40Ar/39Ar radioisotopic geochronology is much more challenging than previously thought.

Pubertal timing and early sexual intercourse in the offspring of teenage mothers.

Science.gov (United States)

De Genna, Natacha M; Larkby, Cynthia; Cornelius, Marie D

2011-10-01

Early puberty is associated with stressful family environments, early sexual intercourse, and teenage pregnancy. We examined pubertal timing and sexual debut among the 14-year-old offspring of teenage mothers. Mothers (71% Black, 29% White) were recruited as pregnant teenagers (12-18 years old). Data were collected during pregnancy and when offspring were 6, 10 and 14 years old (n = 318). Adolescents (50% male) compared the timing of their pubertal maturation to same-sex peers. There was a significant 3-way interaction effect of race, sex, and pubertal timing on sexual debut (n = 305). This effect remained significant in a model controlling for maternal age at first intercourse, substance use, exposure to trauma, authoritative parenting, and peer sexual activity (n = 255). Early maturation was associated with early sex in daughters, and may be one pathway for the inter-generational transfer of risk for teenage pregnancy among daughters of teenage mothers.

Influence of First-Time Mothers' Early Employment on Severe Early Childhood Caries in Their Child

OpenAIRE

Plutzer, Kamila; Keirse, Marc J. N. C.

2012-01-01

Aim. To examine whether mothers' early employment status is related to the development of severe early childhood caries in their child. Methods. Questionnaire survey of 429 first-time mothers in metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia, and dental examinations of their child at 20 months of age. Results. At 20 ± 2.5 months of age, 5.6% of children exhibited caries defined as one or more demineralized or cavitated lesions on the upper incisors. Of the mothers, 52.2% had no paid employment, 39.6%...

Optimal timing for early surgery in infective endocarditis: a meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Fuxiang; Song, Bing; Liu, Ruisheng; Yang, Liu; Tang, Hanbo; Li, Yuanming

2016-03-01

To systematically review early surgery and the optimal timing of surgery in patients with infective endocarditis (IE), a search for foreign and domestic articles on cohort studies about the association between early surgery and infective endocarditis published from inception to January 2015 was conducted in the PubMed, EMBASE, Chinese Biomedical Literature (CBM), Wanfang and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases. The studies were screened according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, the data were extracted and the quality of the method of the included studies was assessed. Then, the meta-analysis was performed using the Stata 12.0 software. Sixteen cohort studies, including 8141 participants were finally included. The results of the meta-analysis revealed that, compared with non-early surgery, early surgery in IE lowers the incidence of in-hospital mortality [odds ratio (OR) = 0.57, 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.42, 0.77); P = 0.000, I(2) = 73.1%] and long-term mortality [OR = 0.57, 95% CI (0.43, 0.77); P = 0.001, I(2) = 67.4%]. Further, performing operation within 2 weeks had a more favourable effect on long-term mortality [OR = 0.63, 95% CI (0.41, 0.97); P = 0.192, I(2) = 39.4%] than non-early surgery. In different kinds of IE, we found that early surgery for native valve endocarditis (NVE) had a lower in-hospital [OR = 0.46, 95% CI (0.31, 0.69); P = 0.001, I(2) = 73.0%] and long-term [OR = 0.57, 95% CI (0.40, 0.81); P = 0.001, I(2) = 68.9%] mortality than the non-early surgery group. However, for prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE), in-hospital mortality did not differ significantly [OR = 0.83, 95% CI (0.65, 1.06); P = 0.413, I(2) = 0.0%] between early and non-early surgery. We concluded that early surgery was associated with lower in-hospital and long-term mortality compared with non-early surgical treatment for IE, especially in NVE. However, the optimal timing of surgery remains unclear. Additional larger prospective clinical

Effectiveness of early part-time sick leave in musculoskeletal disorders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karppinen Jaro

2008-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The importance of staying active instead of bed rest has been acknowledged in the management of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs. This emphasizes the potential benefits of adjusting work to fit the employee's remaining work ability. Despite part-time sick leave being an official option in many countries, its effectiveness has not been studied yet. We have designed a randomized controlled study to assess the health effects of early part-time sick leave compared to conventional full-day sick leave. Our hypothesis is that if work time is temporarily reduced and work load adjusted at the early stages of disability, employees with MSDs will have less disability days and faster return to regular work duties than employees on a conventional sick leave. Methods/Design The study population will consist of 600 employees, who seek medical advice from an occupational physician due to musculoskeletal pain. The inclusion requires that they have not been on a sick leave for longer than 14 days prior to the visit. Based on the physician's judgement, the severity of the symptoms must indicate a need for conventional sick leave, but the employee is considered to be able to work part-time without any additional risk. Half of the employees are randomly allocated to part-time sick leave group and their work time is reduced by 40–60%, whereas in the control group work load is totally eliminated with conventional sick leave. The main outcomes are the number of days from the initial visit to return to regular work activities, and the total number of sick leave days during 12 and 24 months of follow-up. The costs and benefits as well as the feasibility of early part-time sick leave will also be evaluated. Conclusion This is the first randomised trial to our knowledge on the effectiveness of early part-time sick leave compared to conventional full-time sick leave in the management of MSDs. The data collection continues until 2011, but preliminary

Delay differential equations and the dose-time dependence of early radiotherapy reactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fenwick, John D.

2006-01-01

The dose-time dependence of early radiotherapy reactions impacts on the design of accelerated fractionation schedules--oral mucositis, for example, can be dose limiting for short treatments designed to avoid tumor repopulation. In this paper a framework for modeling early reaction dose-time dependence is developed. Variation of stem cell number with time after the start of a radiation schedule is modeled using a first-order delay differential equation (DDE), motivated by experimental observations linking the speed of compensatory proliferation in early reacting tissues to the degree of tissue damage. The modeling suggests that two types of early reaction radiation response are possible, stem cell numbers either monotonically approaching equilibrium plateau levels or overshooting before returning to equilibrium. Several formulas have been derived from the delay differential equation, predicting changes in isoeffective total radiation dose with schedule duration for different types of fractionation scheme. The formulas have been fitted to a wide range of published animal early reaction data, the fits all implying a degree of overshoot. Results are presented illustrating the scope of the delay differential model: most of the data are fitted well, although the model struggles with a few datasets measured for schedules with distinctive dose-time patterns. Ways of extending the current model to cope with these particular dose-time patterns are briefly discussed. The DDE approach is conceptually more complex than earlier descriptive dose-time models but potentially more powerful. It can be used to study issues not addressed by simpler models, such as the likely effects of increasing or decreasing the dose-per-day over time, or of splitting radiation courses into intense segments separated by gaps. It may also prove useful for modeling the effects of chemoirradiation

Delay differential equations and the dose-time dependence of early radiotherapy reactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Fenwick, John D

2006-09-01

The dose-time dependence of early radiotherapy reactions impacts on the design of accelerated fractionation schedules--oral mucositis, for example, can be dose limiting for short treatments designed to avoid tumor repopulation. In this paper a framework for modeling early reaction dose-time dependence is developed. Variation of stem cell number with time after the start of a radiation schedule is modeled using a first-order delay differential equation (DDE), motivated by experimental observations linking the speed of compensatory proliferation in early reacting tissues to the degree of tissue damage. The modeling suggests that two types of early reaction radiation response are possible, stem cell numbers either monotonically approaching equilibrium plateau levels or overshooting before returning to equilibrium. Several formulas have been derived from the delay differential equation, predicting changes in isoeffective total radiation dose with schedule duration for different types of fractionation scheme. The formulas have been fitted to a wide range of published animal early reaction data, the fits all implying a degree of overshoot. Results are presented illustrating the scope of the delay differential model: most of the data are fitted well, although the model struggles with a few datasets measured for schedules with distinctive dose-time patterns. Ways of extending the current model to cope with these particular dose-time patterns are briefly discussed. The DDE approach is conceptually more complex than earlier descriptive dose-time models but potentially more powerful. It can be used to study issues not addressed by simpler models, such as the likely effects of increasing or decreasing the dose-per-day over time, or of splitting radiation courses into intense segments separated by gaps. It may also prove useful for modeling the effects of chemoirradiation.

Early time evolution of high-energy heavy-ion collisions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fries, Rainer J [Cyclotron Institute and Department of Physics, Texas A and M University, College Station, TX 77843 (United States); RIKEN/BNL Research Center, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973 (United States)

2007-08-15

We solve the Yang-Mills equations in the framework of the McLerran-Venugopalan model for small times {tau} after a collision of two nuclei. An analytic expansion around {tau} = 0 leads to explicit results for the field strength and the energy-momentum tensor of the gluon field at early times. We then discuss constraints for the energy density, pressure and flow of the plasma phase that emerges after thermalization of the gluon field.

Area/latency optimized early output asynchronous full adders and relative-timed ripple carry adders.

Science.gov (United States)

Balasubramanian, P; Yamashita, S

2016-01-01

This article presents two area/latency optimized gate level asynchronous full adder designs which correspond to early output logic. The proposed full adders are constructed using the delay-insensitive dual-rail code and adhere to the four-phase return-to-zero handshaking. For an asynchronous ripple carry adder (RCA) constructed using the proposed early output full adders, the relative-timing assumption becomes necessary and the inherent advantages of the relative-timed RCA are: (1) computation with valid inputs, i.e., forward latency is data-dependent, and (2) computation with spacer inputs involves a bare minimum constant reverse latency of just one full adder delay, thus resulting in the optimal cycle time. With respect to different 32-bit RCA implementations, and in comparison with the optimized strong-indication, weak-indication, and early output full adder designs, one of the proposed early output full adders achieves respective reductions in latency by 67.8, 12.3 and 6.1 %, while the other proposed early output full adder achieves corresponding reductions in area by 32.6, 24.6 and 6.9 %, with practically no power penalty. Further, the proposed early output full adders based asynchronous RCAs enable minimum reductions in cycle time by 83.4, 15, and 8.8 % when considering carry-propagation over the entire RCA width of 32-bits, and maximum reductions in cycle time by 97.5, 27.4, and 22.4 % for the consideration of a typical carry chain length of 4 full adder stages, when compared to the least of the cycle time estimates of various strong-indication, weak-indication, and early output asynchronous RCAs of similar size. All the asynchronous full adders and RCAs were realized using standard cells in a semi-custom design fashion based on a 32/28 nm CMOS process technology.

Near real-time GPS applications for tsunami early warning systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Falck

2010-02-01

Full Text Available GPS (Global Positioning System technology is widely used for positioning applications. Many of them have high requirements with respect to precision, reliability or fast product delivery, but usually not all at the same time as it is the case for early warning applications. The tasks for the GPS-based components within the GITEWS project (German Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System, Rudloff et al., 2009 are to support the determination of sea levels (measured onshore and offshore and to detect co-seismic land mass displacements with the lowest possible latency (design goal: first reliable results after 5 min. The completed system was designed to fulfil these tasks in near real-time, rather than for scientific research requirements. The obtained data products (movements of GPS antennas are supporting the warning process in different ways. The measurements from GPS instruments on buoys allow the earliest possible detection or confirmation of tsunami waves on the ocean. Onshore GPS measurements are made collocated with tide gauges or seismological stations and give information about co-seismic land mass movements as recorded, e.g., during the great Sumatra-Andaman earthquake of 2004 (Subarya et al., 2006. This information is important to separate tsunami-caused sea height movements from apparent sea height changes at tide gauge locations (sensor station movement and also as additional information about earthquakes' mechanisms, as this is an essential information to predict a tsunami (Sobolev et al., 2007.

This article gives an end-to-end overview of the GITEWS GPS-component system, from the GPS sensors (GPS receiver with GPS antenna and auxiliary systems, either onshore or offshore to the early warning centre displays. We describe how the GPS sensors have been installed, how they are operated and the methods used to collect, transfer and process the GPS data in near real-time. This includes the sensor system design, the communication

Timing of Childhood Events and Early-Adult Household Formation.

Science.gov (United States)

Hill, Martha S.; And Others

1996-01-01

Identified a number of risk factors contributing to early household formation. Found that for girls, factors included mother's educational level and birth order; for boys, parental divorce at any stage of childhood. Risk factors common to boys and girls were age of mother at time of child's birth and race. (HTH)

Pubertal Timing and Early Sexual Intercourse in the Offspring of Teenage Mothers

Science.gov (United States)

De Genna, Natacha M.; Larkby, Cynthia; Cornelius, Marie D.

2011-01-01

Early puberty is associated with stressful family environments, early sexual intercourse, and teenage pregnancy. We examined pubertal timing and sexual debut among the 14-year-old offspring of teenage mothers. Mothers (71% Black, 29% White) were recruited as pregnant teenagers (12-18 years old). Data were collected during pregnancy and when…

ON THE EARLY-TIME EXCESS EMISSION IN HYDROGEN-POOR SUPERLUMINOUS SUPERNOVAE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vreeswijk, Paul M.; Leloudas, Giorgos; Gal-Yam, Avishay; De Cia, Annalisa; Waldman, Roni; Ofek, Eran O.; Yaron, Ofer [Department of Particle Physics and Astrophysics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001 (Israel); Perley, Daniel A. [Dark Cosmology Centre, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Juliane Maries Vej 30, DK-2100 København Ø (Denmark); Quimby, Robert M. [Department of Astronomy, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182 (United States); Sullivan, Mark [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ (United Kingdom); Yan, Lin [Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Fremling, Christoffer; Taddia, Francesco; Sollerman, Jesper [The Oskar Klein Centre, Department of Astronomy, Stockholm University, AlbaNova, SE-10691 Stockholm (Sweden); Valenti, Stefano [Department of Physics, University of California, Davis, CA 95616 (United States); Arcavi, Iair; Howell, D. Andrew [Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 (United States); Filippenko, Alexei V. [Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411 (United States); Cenko, S. Bradley [Astrophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Mail Code 661, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Kasliwal, Mansi M., E-mail: paul.vreeswijk@weizmann.ac.il [Cahill Center for Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); and others

2017-01-20

We present the light curves of the hydrogen-poor superluminous supernovae (SLSNe I) PTF 12dam and iPTF 13dcc, discovered by the (intermediate) Palomar Transient Factory. Both show excess emission at early times and a slowly declining light curve at late times. The early bump in PTF 12dam is very similar in duration (∼10 days) and brightness relative to the main peak (2–3 mag fainter) compared to that observed in other SLSNe I. In contrast, the long-duration (>30 days) early excess emission in iPTF 13dcc, whose brightness competes with that of the main peak, appears to be of a different nature. We construct bolometric light curves for both targets, and fit a variety of light-curve models to both the early bump and main peak in an attempt to understand the nature of these explosions. Even though the slope of the late-time decline in the light curves of both SLSNe is suggestively close to that expected from the radioactive decay of {sup 56}Ni and {sup 56}Co, the amount of nickel required to power the full light curves is too large considering the estimated ejecta mass. The magnetar model including an increasing escape fraction provides a reasonable description of the PTF 12dam observations. However, neither the basic nor the double-peaked magnetar model is capable of reproducing the light curve of iPTF 13dcc. A model combining a shock breakout in an extended envelope with late-time magnetar energy injection provides a reasonable fit to the iPTF 13dcc observations. Finally, we find that the light curves of both PTF 12dam and iPTF 13dcc can be adequately fit with the model involving interaction with the circumstellar medium.

Early tumour detection: a transillumination, time-resolved technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Behin-Ain, S.; Van Doorn, T.; Patterson, J.

2000-01-01

Full text: Research into transillumination techniques for the detection of tumours in soft tissue has been ongoing for over 70 years. The resolution and contrast, however, remain severely limited by scatter. Single photon detection techniques, with ideally infinite extinction coefficients, have been proposed to accumulate sub-hertz photon transmitted frequencies in the early part of a transmitted pulse. Computer based simulations have been undertaken to examine the theoretical performance requirements of the detector and the resultant image qualities that may be expected with this imaging technique. This paper reports on the computational techniques required for implementing these simulations in an efficient manner. Controlled Monte Carlo (CMC) and Convolution of Layers (CL) techniques were employed to constrain the photon to those having more chance of detection and hence enhance the detection statistics. Extrapolation techniques are proposed to reconstruct the early part of the temporal profile. Computational methods were implemented to evaluate Path Integrals, which are otherwise overly complex to evaluate. CMC and CL reduce the computational time by more than 10 orders of magnitude by only tracking those photons more likely to reach the detector. In the case of an optically thick medium with high scattering coefficient, extrapolation techniques are used to reconstruct the early part of temporal profile. Analytical solutions were found to be too involved for the simplest geometries. However the CL and implementation of computational techniques make Path integrals a useful analytical tool to compliment full Monte Carlo techniques. Results have shown that these methods collectively enable detection of small inhomogeneites within soft tissues. Reduced computation times and full reconstruction of the temporal profile of transmitted photons through optically thick medium enable fast simulations of single photon detectors to be achieved with the above described

A Literature Survey of Early Time Series Classification and Deep Learning

OpenAIRE

Santos, Tiago; Kern, Roman

2017-01-01

This paper provides an overview of current literature on time series classification approaches, in particular of early time series classification. A very common and effective time series classification approach is the 1-Nearest Neighbor classier, with different distance measures such as the Euclidean or dynamic time warping distances. This paper starts by reviewing these baseline methods. More recently, with the gain in popularity in the application of deep neural networks to the eld of...

Early diastolic time intervals during hypertensive pregnancy.

Science.gov (United States)

Spinelli, L; Ferro, G; Nappi, C; Farace, M J; Talarico, G; Cinquegrana, G; Condorelli, M

1987-10-01

Early diastolic time intervals have been assessed by means of the echopolycardiographic method in 17 pregnant women who developed hypertension during pregnancy (HP) and in 14 normal pregnant women (N). Systolic time intervals (STI), stroke volume (SV), ejection fraction (EF), and mean velocity of myocardial fiber shortening (VCF) were also evaluated. Recordings were performed in the left lateral decubitus (LLD) and then in the supine decubitus (SD). In LLD, isovolumic relaxation period (IRP) was prolonged in the hypertensive pregnant women compared with normal pregnant women (HP 51 +/- 12.5 ms, N 32.4 +/- 15 ms p less than 0.05), whereas time of the mitral valve maximum opening (DE) was not different in the groups. There was no difference in SV, EF, and mean VCF, whereas STI showed only a significant (p less than 0.05) lengthening of pre-ejection period (PEP) in HP. When the subjects shifted from the left lateral to the supine decubitus position, left ventricular ejection time index (LVETi) and SV decreased significantly (p less than 0.05) in both normotensive hypertensive pregnant women. IRP and PEP lengthened significantly (p less than 0.05) only in normals, whereas they were unchanged in HP. DE time did not vary in either group. In conclusion, hypertension superimposed on pregnancy induces lengthening of IRP, as well as of PEP, and minimizes the effects of the postural changes in preload on the above-mentioned time intervals.

First-time mothers' experiences of early labour in Italian maternity care services.

Science.gov (United States)

Cappelletti, Giulia; Nespoli, Antonella; Fumagalli, Simona; Borrelli, Sara E

2016-03-01

The aim of this study is to explore first-time mothers' experiences of early labour in Italian maternity care services when admitted to hospital or advised to return home after maternity triage assessment. The study was conducted in a second-level maternity hospital in northern Italy with an obstetric unit for both low- and high-risk women. The participants included 15 first-time mothers in good general health with spontaneous labour at term of a low-risk pregnancy who accessed maternity triage during early labour, and were either admitted to hospital or advised to return home. A qualitative interpretive phenomenological study was conducted. A face-to-face recorded semi-structured interview was conducted with each participant 48-72h after birth. Four key themes emerged from the interviews: (a) recognising signs of early labour; (b) coping with pain at home; (c) seeking reassurance from healthcare professionals; and (d) being admitted to hospital versus returning home. Uncertainty about the progression of labour and the need for reassurance were cited by women as the main reasons for hospital visit in early labour. An ambivalent feeling was reported by the participants when admitted to hospital in early labour. In fact, while the women felt reassured in the first instance, some women subsequently felt dissatisfied due to the absence of one-to-one dedicated care during early labour. When advised to return home, a number of women reported feelings of disappointment, anger, fear, discouragement and anxiety about not being admitted to hospital; however, some of these women reported a subsequent feeling of comfort due to being at home and putting in place the suggestions made by the midwives during the maternity triage assessment. The guidance provided by midwives during triage assessment seemed to be the key factor influencing women׳s satisfaction when advised either to return home or to stay at the hospital during early labour. During antenatal classes and clinics

Exploring the utility of real-time hydrologic data for landslide early warning

Science.gov (United States)

Mirus, B. B.; Smith, J. B.; Becker, R.; Baum, R. L.; Koss, E.

2017-12-01

Early warning systems can provide critical information for operations managers, emergency planners, and the public to help reduce fatalities, injuries, and economic losses due to landsliding. For shallow, rainfall-triggered landslides early warning systems typically use empirical rainfall thresholds, whereas the actual triggering mechanism involves the non-linear hydrological processes of infiltration, evapotranspiration, and hillslope drainage that are more difficult to quantify. Because hydrologic monitoring has demonstrated that shallow landslides are often preceded by a rise in soil moisture and pore-water pressures, some researchers have developed early warning criteria that attempt to account for these antecedent wetness conditions through relatively simplistic storage metrics or soil-water balance modeling. Here we explore the potential for directly incorporating antecedent wetness into landslide early warning criteria using recent landslide inventories and in-situ hydrologic monitoring near Seattle, WA, and Portland, OR. We use continuous, near-real-time telemetered soil moisture and pore-water pressure data measured within a few landslide-prone hillslopes in combination with measured and forecasted rainfall totals to inform easy-to-interpret landslide initiation thresholds. Objective evaluation using somewhat limited landslide inventories suggests that our new thresholds based on subsurface hydrologic monitoring and rainfall data compare favorably to the capabilities of existing rainfall-only thresholds for the Seattle area, whereas there are no established rainfall thresholds for the Portland area. This preliminary investigation provides a proof-of-concept for the utility of developing landslide early warning criteria in two different geologic settings using real-time subsurface hydrologic measurements from in-situ instrumentation.

Treatment-time-dependence models of early and delayed radiation injury in rat small intestine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Denham, James W.; Hauer-Jensen, Martin; Kron, Tomas; Langberg, Carl W.

2000-01-01

Background: The present study modeled data from a large series of experiments originally designed to investigate the influence of time, dose, and fractionation on early and late pathologic endpoints in rat small intestine after localized irradiation. The objective was to obtain satisfactory descriptions of the regenerative response to injury together with the possible relationships between early and late endpoints. Methods: Two- and 26-week pathologic radiation injury data in groups of Sprague-Dawley rats irradiated with 27 different fractionation schedules were modeled using the incomplete repair (IR) version of the linear-quadratic model with or without various time correction models. The following time correction models were tested: (1) No time correction; (2) A simple exponential (SE) regenerative response beginning at an arbitrary time after starting treatment; and (3) A bi-exponential response with its commencement linked to accumulated cellular depletion and fraction size (the 'intelligent response model' [INTR]). Goodness of fit of the various models was assessed by correlating the predicted biological effective dose for each dose group with the observed radiation injury score. Results: (1) The incomplete repair model without time correction did not provide a satisfactory description of either the 2- or 26-week data. (2) The models using SE time correction performed better, providing modest descriptions of the data. (3) The INTR model provided reasonable descriptions of both the 2- and 26-week data, confirming a treatment time dependence of both early and late pathological endpoints. (4) The most satisfactory descriptions of the data by the INTR model were obtained when the regenerative response was assumed to cease 2 weeks after irradiation rather than at the end of irradiation. A fraction-size-dependent delay of the regenerative response was also suggested in the best fitting models. (5) Late endpoints were associated with low-fractionation sensitivity

The concept of time in early twentieth-century philosophy a philosophical thematic atlas

CERN Document Server

2016-01-01

This book presents a collection of authoritative contributions on the concept of time in early twentieth-century philosophy. It is structured in the form of a thematic atlas: each section is accompanied by relevant elementary logic maps that reproduce in a “spatial” form the directionalities (arguments and/or discourses) reported on in the text. The book is divided into three main sections, the first of which covers phenomenology and the perception of time by analyzing the works of Bergson, Husserl, Sartre, Merleau-Ponty, Deleuze, Guattari and Derrida. The second section focuses on the language and conceptualization of time, examining the works of Cassirer, Wittgenstein, Heidegger, Lacan, Ricoeur and Foucault, while the last section addresses the science and logic of time as they appear in the works of Guillaume, Einstein, Reichenbach, Prigogine and Barbour. The purpose of the book is threefold: to provide readers with a comprehensive overview of the concept of time in early twentieth-century philosophy; ...

Effects of harsh parenting and positive parenting practices on youth aggressive behavior: The moderating role of early pubertal timing.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Frances R; Raine, Adrian

2018-01-01

Prior research indicates that early pubertal timing is associated with aggressive behavior, particularly in the context of adversity as postulated in the contextual amplification hypothesis. However, few studies have examined harsh parenting as the context for the effect of early pubertal timing. Even fewer studies have tested the interactive effect of early pubertal timing and positive parenting on aggressive behavior. In this study, we tested the proposition that early pubertal timing, contrary to the general conception of it as a vulnerability, indexed susceptibility, and thus early maturing individuals were affected more by their environment in a "for better and for worse" manner. The sample consisted of 411 community-recruited youth aged 11-12 years (51% boys, 80% African Americans). Participants reported Tanner Stages of pubertal development, aggressive behavior and harsh parenting practice of their parents. Puberty scores were standardized with groups of the same age, sex, and ethnicity, and those that scored the top one-third were defined as early maturing individuals. Parents reported youth's aggressive behavior and their parenting practices towards the youth, including harsh parenting and positive parenting. Early pubertal timing significantly moderated the relationship between harsh/positive parenting and aggressive behavior. Specifically, harsh parenting was positively associated with aggressive behavior to a larger degree among early maturing individuals than among on-time/late-maturing individuals. Positive parenting was inversely associated with aggressive behavior but only among early maturing individuals. This study is the first to document support for early pubertal timing as susceptibility to the environmental influences in relation to aggressive behavior. Theoretical and intervention implications are discussed. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Time-Dependent Behavior of Shrinkage Strain for Early Age Concrete Affected by Temperature Variation

OpenAIRE

Qin, Yu; Yi, Zhijian; Wang, Weina; Wang, Di

2017-01-01

Shrinkage has been proven to be an important property of early age concrete. The shrinkage strain leads to inherent engineering problems, such as cracking and loss of prestress. Atmospheric temperature is an important factor in shrinkage strain. However, current research does not provide much attention to the effect of atmospheric temperature on shrinkage of early age concrete. In this paper, a laboratory study was undertaken to present the time-dependent shrinkage of early age concrete under...

Early years neurosurgical training in the era of the European Working Time Directive.

Science.gov (United States)

Kirkman, Matthew A; Watkins, Laurence D; Kitchen, Neil D; Sethi, Huma

2013-10-01

The past decade has seen significant changes to the face of neurosurgical training in the United Kingdom, driven in part by an increasing focus on patient safety and the introduction of Modernising Medical Careers and the European Working Time Directive (EWTD). Recent reforms to neurosurgical training over the past few years have resulted in creation of an 8-year 'run-through' training programme. In this programme, early years (ST1 and ST2) trainees often lack dedicated time for elective theatre lists and outpatient clinics. Further, any time spent in theatre and clinics is often with different teams. Here we describe a training model for early years trainees at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, who are given the responsibilities traditionally associated with a more senior trainee including dedicated weekly theatre and clinic time under the supervision of a single consultant, in addition to out of hours experience. The advantages and considerations for implementing this model are discussed, including the benefit of guidance under a single consultant in the early stages of training, along with key educational concepts necessary for understanding its utility. We feel that this is an effective model for junior neurosurgical training in the EWTD era, expediting the trainee's development of key technical and non-technical skills, with potentially significant rewards for patient, trainee and trainer. National implementation of this model should be considered.

Standardized Symptom Measurement of Individuals with Early Lyme Disease Over Time.

Science.gov (United States)

Bechtold, Kathleen T; Rebman, Alison W; Crowder, Lauren A; Johnson-Greene, Doug; Aucott, John N

2017-03-01

Understanding the Lyme disease (LD) literature is challenging given the lack of consistent methodology and standardized measurement of symptoms and the impact on functioning. This prospective study incorporates well-validated measures to capture the symptom picture of individuals with early LD from time of diagnosis through 6-months post-treatment. One hundred seven patients with confirmed early LD and 26 healthy controls were evaluated using standardized instruments for pain, fatigue, depressive symptoms, functional impact, and cognitive functioning. Prior to antibiotic treatment, patients experience notable symptoms of fatigue and pain statistically higher than controls. After treatment, there are no group differences, suggesting that symptoms resolve and that there are no residual cognitive impairments at the level of group analysis. However, using subgroup analyses, some individuals experience persistent symptoms that lead to functional decline and these individuals can be identified immediately post-completion of standard antibiotic treatment using well-validated symptom measures. Overall, the findings suggest that ideally-treated early LD patients recover well and experience symptom resolution over time, though a small subgroup continue to suffer with symptoms that lead to functional decline. The authors discuss use of standardized instruments for identification of individuals who warrant further clinical follow-up. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Early Life Factors and Adult Leisure Time Physical Inactivity Stability and Change.

Science.gov (United States)

Pinto Pereira, Snehal M; Li, Leah; Power, Chris

2015-09-01

Physical inactivity has a high prevalence and associated disease burden. A better understanding of influences on sustaining and changing inactive lifestyles is needed. We aimed to establish whether leisure time inactivity was stable in midadulthood and whether early life factors were associated with inactivity patterns. In the 1958 British birth cohort (n = 12,271), leisure time inactivity (frequency, less than once a week) assessed at 33 and 50 yr was categorized as "never inactive," "persistently inactive," "deteriorating," or "improving." Early life factors (birth to 16 yr) were categorized into three (physical, social, and behavioral) domains. Using multinomial logistic regression, we assessed associations with inactivity persistence and change of factors within each early life domain and the three domains combined with and without adjustment for adult factors. Inactivity prevalence was similar at 33 and 50 yr (approximately 31%), but 17% deteriorated and 18% improved with age. In models adjusted for all domains simultaneously, factors associated with inactivity persistence versus never inactive were prepubertal stature (8% lower risk/height SD), poor hand control/coordination (17% higher risk/increase on four-point scale), cognition (16% lower/SD in ability) (physical); parental divorce (25% higher), class at birth (7% higher/reduction on four-point scale), minimal parental education (16% higher), household amenities (2% higher/increase in 19-point score (high = poor)) (social); and inactivity (22% higher/reduction in activity on four-point scale), low sports aptitude (47% higher), smoking (30% higher) (behavioral). All except stature, parental education, sports aptitude, and smoking were associated also with inactivity deterioration. Poor hand control/coordination was the only factor associated with improved status (13% lower/increase on four-point scale) versus persistently inactive. Adult leisure time inactivity is moderately stable. Early life factors are

Towards a High-resolution Time Scale for the Early Devonian

Science.gov (United States)

Dekkers, M. J.; da Silva, A. C.

2017-12-01

High-resolution time scales are crucial to understand Earth's history in detail. The construction of a robust geological time scale, however, inevitably becomes increasingly harder further back in time. Uncertainties associated with anchor radiometric ages increase in size, not speaking of the mere presence of suitable datable strata. However, durations of stages can be tightly constrained by making use of cyclic expressions in sediments, an approach that revolutionized the Cenozoic time scale. When precisely determined durations are stitched together, ultimately, a very precise time scale is the result. For the Mesozoic and Paleozoic an astronomical solution as a tuning target is not available but the dominant periods of eccentricity, obliquity and precession are reasonably well constrained for the entire Phanerozoic which enables their detection by means of spectral analysis. Eccentricity is time-invariant and is used as the prime building block. Here we focus on the Early Devonian, on its lowermost three stages: the Lochkovian, Pragian and Emsian. The uncertainties on the Devonian stage boundaries are currently in the order of several millions of years. The preservation of climatic cycles in diagenetically or even anchimetamorphically affected successions, however, is essential. The fit of spectral peak ratios with those calculated for orbital cycles, is classically used as a strong argument for a preserved climatic signal. Here we use primarily the low field magnetic susceptibility (MS) as proxy parameter, supported by gamma-ray spectrometry to test for consistency. Continuous Wavelet Transform, Evolutive Harmonic Analysis, Multitaper Method, and Average Spectral Misfit are used to reach an optimal astronomical interpretation. We report on classic Early Devonian sections from the Czech Republic: the Pozar-CS (Lochkovian and Pragian), Pod Barrandovem (Pragian and Lower Emsian), and Zlichov (Middle-Upper Emsian). Also a Middle-Upper Emsian section from the US

Timing of First Antenatal Care (ANC) and Inequalities in Early Initiation of ANC in Nepal.

Science.gov (United States)

Paudel, Yuba Raj; Jha, Trishna; Mehata, Suresh

2017-01-01

The provision and uptake of quality and timely antenatal care (ANC) is an essential element of efforts to improve health outcomes for women and newborn babies. Antenatal consultations assist in early identification and treatment of complications during pregnancy. This study aimed to provide an information on distribution and inequalities in early initiation of ANC in Nepal. The distribution and inequalities in the early initiation of ANC were examined using Nepal Demographic and Health Surveys 2011. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression was used to assess inequalities. Overall, 70% of the women had started their first ANC at 4 month or earlier. Among participants who had never attended school, just more than half (52%) received first ANC at 4 months or earlier, while majority of participants (97%) who had received higher education received first ANC at recommended time. Similarly, 89% of those from richest quintile and 48% of those from poorest quintile received first ANC at recommended time. In adjusted analysis, women from richest wealth quintile were significantly more likely to initiate ANC early (AOR: 3.74, 95% CI: 2.31-6.05) compared to the poorest. Similarly, women with higher level education were significantly more likely (AOR: 11.40, 95% CI: 5.05-25.73) to initiate ANC early compared to women who had never attended school. A significantly lower odds of early ANC take up was observed among madhesi other caste (AOR: 0.56, 95% CI: 0.35-0.90) compared to brahmin/chhetri women. Women whose pregnancy was unwanted were significantly less likely to attend first ANC at 4 months or early (AOR: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.58-0.93) in comparison to women whose pregnancy was wanted. The differences in the recommended timing of initiation of ANC were evident among women with different educational, economic levels, and caste/ethnic groups. Rural women were less likely to have checkups as per guidelines. The findings suggest to a need of interventions to raise female

Timing of First Antenatal Care (ANC and Inequalities in Early Initiation of ANC in Nepal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuba Raj Paudel

2017-09-01

Full Text Available BackgroundThe provision and uptake of quality and timely antenatal care (ANC is an essential element of efforts to improve health outcomes for women and newborn babies. Antenatal consultations assist in early identification and treatment of complications during pregnancy. This study aimed to provide an information on distribution and inequalities in early initiation of ANC in Nepal.MethodsThe distribution and inequalities in the early initiation of ANC were examined using Nepal Demographic and Health Surveys 2011. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression was used to assess inequalities.FindingsOverall, 70% of the women had started their first ANC at 4 month or earlier. Among participants who had never attended school, just more than half (52% received first ANC at 4 months or earlier, while majority of participants (97% who had received higher education received first ANC at recommended time. Similarly, 89% of those from richest quintile and 48% of those from poorest quintile received first ANC at recommended time. In adjusted analysis, women from richest wealth quintile were significantly more likely to initiate ANC early (AOR: 3.74, 95% CI: 2.31–6.05 compared to the poorest. Similarly, women with higher level education were significantly more likely (AOR: 11.40, 95% CI: 5.05–25.73 to initiate ANC early compared to women who had never attended school. A significantly lower odds of early ANC take up was observed among madhesi other caste (AOR: 0.56, 95% CI: 0.35–0.90 compared to brahmin/chhetri women. Women whose pregnancy was unwanted were significantly less likely to attend first ANC at 4 months or early (AOR: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.58–0.93 in comparison to women whose pregnancy was wanted.ConclusionThe differences in the recommended timing of initiation of ANC were evident among women with different educational, economic levels, and caste/ethnic groups. Rural women were less likely to have checkups as per guidelines. The findings

Coil response inversion for very early time modelling of helicopter-borne time-domain electromagnetic data and mapping of near-surface geological layers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schamper, Cyril Noel Clarence; Auken, Esben; Sørensen, Kurt Ingvard K.I.

2014-01-01

Very early times in the order of 2-3 μs from the end of the turn-off ramp for time-domain electromagnetic systems are crucial for obtaining a detailed resolution of the near-surface geology in the depth interval 0-20 m. For transient electromagnetic systems working in the off time, an electric cu...... resolution of shallow geological layers in the depth interval 0-20 m. This is proved by comparing results from the airborne electromagnetic survey to more than 100 km of Electrical Resistivity Tomography measured with 5 m electrode spacing.......Very early times in the order of 2-3 μs from the end of the turn-off ramp for time-domain electromagnetic systems are crucial for obtaining a detailed resolution of the near-surface geology in the depth interval 0-20 m. For transient electromagnetic systems working in the off time, an electric...

Timing of examinations affects school performance differently in early and late chronotypes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Vinne, Vincent; Zerbini, Giulia; Siersema, Anne; Pieper, Amy; Merrow, Martha; Hut, Roelof A.; Roenneberg, Till; Kantermann, Thomas

Circadian clocks of adolescents typically run lateincluding sleep timesyet adolescents generally are expected at school early in the morning. Due to this mismatch between internal (circadian) and external (social) times, adolescents suffer from chronic sleep deficiency, which, in turn, affects

Early sexual intercourse: Prospective associations with adolescents physical activity and screen time

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Avelar e Silva, R.N. (Raquel Nogueira); A.I. Wijtzes (Anne); Van De Bongardt, D. (Daphne); P.M. van de Looij-Jansen (Petra); R. Bannink (Rienke); H. Raat (Hein)

2016-01-01

textabstractObjectives: To assess the prospective associations of physical activity behaviors and screen time with early sexual intercourse initiation (i.e., before 15 years) in a large sample of adolescents. Methods: We used two waves of data from the Rotterdam Youth Monitor, a longitudinal study

Early Sexual Intercourse : Prospective Associations with Adolescents Physical Activity and Screen Time

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nogueira Avelar e Silva, R.; Wijtzes, A.; van de Bongardt, D.; van de Looij-Jansen, P.; Bannink, R.; Raat, H.

2016-01-01

Objectives: To assess the prospective associations of physical activity behaviors and screen time with early sexual intercourse initiation (i.e., before 15 years) in a large sample of adolescents. Methods: We used two waves of data from the Rotterdam Youth Monitor, a longitudinal study conducted in

Between Charity and Education: Orphans and Orphanages in Early Modern Times

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Jacobi, Juliane

2009-01-01

In early modern times orphans have been children who could not expect sufficient support from their family because of lack of at least one parent, in most cases the father. This article will clarify of whom we are talking if we talk about orphans and what have been the conditions of living in a society which was organised by a high variety of…

The Role of Present Time Perspective in Predicting Early Adolescent Violence.

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Kruger, Daniel J; Carrothers, Jessica; Franzen, Susan P; Miller, Alison L; Reischl, Thomas M; Stoddard, Sarah A; Zimmerman, Marc A

2018-06-01

This study investigated the role of present and future time perspectives, and their relationships with subjective norms and beliefs regarding violence, in predicting violent behaviors among urban middle school students in the Midwestern United States. Although present time perspective covaried with subjective norms and beliefs, each made a unique prediction of self-reported violent behaviors. Future time perspective was not a significant predictor when accounting for these relationships. In addition, present orientation moderated the relationship between subjective norms and beliefs and rates of violent behaviors; those with higher present orientations exhibited stronger associations. We replicated this pattern of results in data from new participants in a subsequent wave of the study. Interventions that explicitly address issues related to time perspective may be effective in reducing early adolescent violence.

Time to hospitalization for suicide attempt by the timing of parental suicide during offspring early development

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Kuramoto, S. Janet; Runeson, Bo; Stuart, Elizabeth A.; Lichtenstein, Paul; Wilcox, Holly C.

2013-01-01

Context Previous studies have suggested that children who experience parental suicide at earlier ages are at higher risk of future hospitalization for suicide attempt. However, how the trajectories of risk differ by offspring age at the time of parental suicide is currently unknown. Objective To study time at risk to hospitalization for suicide attempt among offspring after experiencing parental suicide or accidental death by offspring developmental period at the time of parental death. Design Population-based retrospective cohort study Setting Sweden Participants 26,096 offspring who experienced parental suicide and 32,395 offspring of accident decedents prior to age 25 from 1973-2003. Main Outcome Measures Hospitalization for suicide attempt. Parametric survival analysis was used to model the time to hospitalization for suicide attempt across offspring who lost a parent during early childhood (0-5 years old), later childhood (6-12), adolescence (13-17) and young adulthood (18-24). Results The risk in offspring who lost a parent during early or late childhood surpassed the other two age groups’ hazards approximately 5 years after the origin and, for the youngest group, continued to rise over the course of decades. Offspring who lost a parent during adolescence or young adulthood were at greatest risk within 1 to 2 years after parental suicide, and risk declined over time. The shape of hospitalization risk was similar among those who experienced parental fatal accident. When the shape of hospitalization for suicide attempt at each developmental period was fixed to be the same between the two groups, offspring who lost a parent to suicide had earlier risk to hospitalization for suicide attempt hospitalization than offspring who lost a parent to an accident. Conclusion The hospitalization risk for suicide attempt in offspring who lost a parent during their childhood is different from those who lost a parent during adolescence or young adulthood. The results suggest

Tradeoff analysis for Dependable Real-Time Embedded Systems during the Early Design Phases

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gan, Junhe

Embedded systems are becoming increasingly complex and have tight competing constraints in terms of performance, cost, energy consumption, dependability, flexibility, security, etc. The objective of this thesis is to propose design methods and tools for supporting the tradeoff analysis of competing...... to processing elements, as well as the processor voltage and frequency levels for executing each task, such that transient faults are tolerated, the real-time constraints of the application are satisfied, and the energy consumed is minimized. In this thesis, we target the early design phases, when decisions...... have a high impact on the subsequent implementation choices. However, due to a lack of information, the early design phases are characterized by uncertainties, e.g., in the worst-case execution times (WCETs), in the functionality requirements, or in the hardware component costs. In this context, we...

Early mechanical stimulation only permits timely bone healing in sheep.

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Tufekci, Pelin; Tavakoli, Aramesh; Dlaska, Constantin; Neumann, Mirjam; Shanker, Mihir; Saifzadeh, Siamak; Steck, Roland; Schuetz, Michael; Epari, Devakar

2018-06-01

Bone fracture healing is sensitive to the fixation stability. However, it is unclear which phases of healing are mechano-sensitive and if mechanical stimulation is required throughout repair. In this study, a novel bone defect model, which isolates an experimental fracture from functional loading, was applied in sheep to investigate if stimulation limited to the early proliferative phase is sufficient for bone healing. An active fixator controlled motion in the fracture. Animals of the control group were unstimulated. In the physiological-like group, 1 mm axial compressive movements were applied between day 5 and 21, thereafter the movements were decreased in weekly increments and stopped after 6 weeks. In the early stimulatory group, the movements were stopped after 3 weeks. The experimental fractures were evaluated with mechanical and micro-computed tomography methods after 9 weeks healing. The callus strength of the stimulated fractures (physiological-like and early stimulatory) was greater than the unstimulated control group. The control group was characterized by minimal external callus formation and a lack of bone bridging at 9 weeks. In contrast, the stimulated groups exhibited advanced healing with solid bone formation across the defect. This was confirmed quantitatively by a lower bone volume in the control group compared to the stimulated groups.The novel experimental model permits the application of a well-defined load history to an experimental bone fracture. The poor healing observed in the control group is consistent with under-stimulation. This study has shown early mechanical stimulation only is sufficient for a timely healing outcome. © 2017 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 36:1790-1796, 2018. © 2017 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Hybrid Differential Evolution Optimisation for Earth Observation Satellite Scheduling with Time-Dependent Earliness-Tardiness Penalties

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Guoliang Li

2017-01-01

Full Text Available We study the order acceptance and scheduling (OAS problem with time-dependent earliness-tardiness penalties in a single agile earth observation satellite environment where orders are defined by their release dates, available processing time windows ranging from earliest start date to deadline, processing times, due dates, sequence-dependent setup times, and revenues. The objective is to maximise total revenue, where the revenue from an order is a piecewise linear function of its earliness and tardiness with reference to its due date. We formulate this problem as a mixed integer linear programming model and develop a novel hybrid differential evolution (DE algorithm under self-adaptation framework to solve this problem. Compared with classical DE, hybrid DE employs two mutation operations, scaling factor adaptation and crossover probability adaptation. Computational tests indicate that the proposed algorithm outperforms classical DE in addition to two other variants of DE.

Ultrasonic RF time series for early assessment of the tumor response to chemotherapy.

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Lin, Qingguang; Wang, Jianwei; Li, Qing; Lin, Chunyi; Guo, Zhixing; Zheng, Wei; Yan, Cuiju; Li, Anhua; Zhou, Jianhua

2018-01-05

Ultrasound radio-frequency (RF) time series have been shown to carry tissue typing information. To evaluate the potential of RF time series for early prediction of tumor response to chemotherapy, 50MCF-7 breast cancer-bearing nude mice were randomized to receive cisplatin and paclitaxel (treatment group; n = 26) or sterile saline (control group; n = 24). Sequential ultrasound imaging was performed on days 0, 3, 6, and 8 of treatment to simultaneously collect B-mode images and RF data. Six RF time series features, slope, intercept, S1, S2, S3 , and S4 , were extracted during RF data analysis and contrasted with microstructural tumor changes on histopathology. Chemotherapy administration reduced tumor growth relative to control on days 6 and 8. Compared with day 0, intercept, S1 , and S2 were increased while slope was decreased on days 3, 6, and 8 in the treatment group. Compared with the control group, intercept, S1, S2, S3 , and S4 were increased, and slope was decreased, on days 3, 6, and 8 in the treatment group. Tumor cell density decreased significantly in the latter on day 3. We conclude that ultrasonic RF time series analysis provides a simple way to noninvasively assess the early tumor response to chemotherapy.

Time trends in axilla management among early breast cancer patients

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gondos, Adam; Jansen, Lina; Heil, Joerg

2016-01-01

Background We examined time trends in axilla management among patients with early breast cancer in European clinical settings. Material and methods EUROCANPlatform partners, including population-based and cancer center-specific registries, provided routinely available clinical cancer registry data...... for a comparative study of axillary management trends among patients with first non-metastatic breast cancer who were not selected for neoadjuvant therapy during the last decade. We used an additional short questionnaire to compare clinical care patterns in 2014. Results Patients treated in cancer centers were...... younger than population-based registry populations. Tumor size and lymph node status distributions varied little between settings or over time. In 2003, sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) use varied between 26% and 81% for pT1 tumors, and between 2% and 68% for pT2 tumors. By 2010, SLNB use increased to 79...

Organizational Commitment, Psychological Contract Fulfillment and Job Performance: A Longitudinal Quanti-qualitative Study

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Leticia Gomes Maia

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The goals of this study are to contribute to the understanding of the development of organizational commitment and to explore the relations among psychological contract fulfillment, organizational commitment, and job performance. This paper reports the findings of a longitudinal quanti-qualitative study conducted with newcomers over three years. We identified four trajectories of commitment development: Learning to Love, High Match, Honeymoon Hangover and Learning to Hate. The last one is originally proposed in this study, and it is represented by individuals who began work highly committed to the organization, but then their commitment levels decreased dramatically over time. We discuss some characteristics associated with these trajectories. Our results corroborate the assumption that psychological contract fulfillment is positively related to commitment. Nevertheless, our findings about the relationship between commitment and job performance were different according to the trajectories. The trajectories Learning to Love and Learning to Hate support the assumption that higher commitment levels would lead to better performance, and vice versa; however, the trajectories High Match and Honeymoon Hangover contradict it. We offer and discuss some possible explanations for these findings.

Early hospital discharge and early puerperal complications.

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Ramírez-Villalobos, Dolores; Hernández-Garduño, Adolfo; Salinas, Aarón; González, Dolores; Walker, Dilys; Rojo-Herrera, Guadalupe; Hernández-Prado, Bernardo

2009-01-01

To evaluate the association between time of postpartum discharge and symptoms indicative of complications during the first postpartum week. Women with vaginal delivery at a Mexico City public hospital, without complications before the hospital discharge, were interviewed seven days after delivery. Time of postpartum discharge was classified as early (25 hours). The dependent variable was defined as the occurrence and severity of puerperal complication symptoms. Out of 303 women, 208 (68%) were discharged early. However, women with early discharge and satisfactory prenatal care had lower odds of presenting symptoms in early puerperium than women without early discharge and inadequate prenatal care (OR 0.36; 95% confidence intervals = 0.17-0.76). There was no association between early discharge and symptoms of complications during the first postpartum week; the odds of complications were lower for mothers with early discharge and satisfactory prenatal care.

Just-in-time preemptive single machine problem with costs of earliness/tardiness, interruption and work-in-process

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Mohammad Kazemi

2012-04-01

Full Text Available This paper considers preemption and idle time are allowed in a single machine scheduling problem with just-in-time (JIT approach. It incorporates Earliness/Tardiness (E/T penalties, interruption penalties and holding cost of jobs which are waiting to be processed as work-in-process (WIP. Generally in non-preemptive problems, E/T penalties are a function of the completion time of the jobs. Then, we introduce a non-linear preemptive scheduling model where the earliness penalty depends on the starting time of a job. The model is liberalized by an elaborately–designed procedure to reach the optimum solution. To validate and verify the performance of proposed model, computational results are presented by solving a number of numerical examples.

The Role of Peer Stress and Pubertal Timing on Symptoms of Psychopathology during Early Adolescence

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Sontag, Lisa M.; Graber, Julia A.; Clemans, Katherine H.

2011-01-01

Stress is known to amplify the link between pubertal timing and psychopathology. However, few studies have examined the role of peer stress as a context for this link. The present study examined the interaction between perceived pubertal timing and peer stress on symptoms of psychopathology in early adolescence. The sample consisted of 264…

Time perception impairment in early-to-moderate stages of Huntington's disease is related to memory deficits.

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Righi, Stefania; Galli, Luca; Paganini, Marco; Bertini, Elisabetta; Viggiano, Maria Pia; Piacentini, Silvia

2016-01-01

Huntington's disease (HD) primarily affects striatum and prefrontal dopaminergic circuits which are fundamental neural correlates of the timekeeping mechanism. The few studies on HD mainly investigated motor timing performance in second durations. The present work explored time perception in early-to-moderate symptomatic HD patients for seconds and milliseconds with the aim to clarify which component of the scalar expectancy theory (SET) is mainly responsible for HD timing defect. Eleven HD patients were compared to 11 controls employing two separate temporal bisection tasks in second and millisecond ranges. Our results revealed the same time perception deficits for seconds and milliseconds in HD patients. Time perception impairment in early-to-moderate stages of Huntington's disease is related to memory deficits. Furthermore, both the non-systematical defect of temporal sensitivity and the main impairment of timing performance in the extreme value of the psychophysical curves suggested an HD deficit in the memory component of the SET. This result was further confirmed by the significant correlations between time perception performance and long-term memory test scores. Our findings added important preliminary data for both a deeper comprehension of HD time-keeping deficits and possible implications on neuro-rehabilitation practices.

The Early Time Properties of GRBs - Canonical Afterglows and the Importance of Prolonged Central Engine Activity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Melandri, A.; Mundell, C. G.; Kobayashi, S.; Bersier, D.; Steele, I. A.; Smith, R. J.; Carter, D.; Bode, M. F.; Guidorzi, C.; Gomboc, A.

2009-01-01

Using a new, comprehensive multiwavelength survey of 63 Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) with unprecedented temporal coverage, we classify the observed afterglows into four main classes and discuss the underlying physics that can explain them. The presence or absence of temporal breaks in X-ray and optical bands is used to examine the emission in the context of the standard model; a number of GRBs are shown to deviate from the forward shock model even with the inclusion of energy injection or ambient density gradients. We show that additional emission in the early-time X-ray afterglow due to late-time central engine activity is key and may explain both GRBs whose afterglows do not fit the standard model and those GRBs that appear to be optically dark even at early times.

Early fault detection and on-line diagnosis in real-time environments

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Andreas Bye

1993-01-01

Full Text Available This paper describes an approach to fault detection and diagnosis involving the simultaneous employment of quantitative and qualitative reasoning techniques. We show that early identification of process anomalies by means of a separate fault detection module paves the way for a fast and accuratc follow-up diagnosis. The diagnosis task is dramatically simplified because the diagnostic inferences can be performed at the soonest possible time: when the detection module first spots deviations between its calculated reference points and the corresponding measurements from the process.

Functional imaging of the cerebellum and basal ganglia during predictive motor timing in early Parkinson's disease.

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Husárová, Ivica; Lungu, Ovidiu V; Mareček, Radek; Mikl, Michal; Gescheidt, Tomáš; Krupa, Petr; Bareš, Martin

2014-01-01

The basal ganglia and the cerebellum have both emerged as important structures involved in the processing of temporal information. We examined the roles of the cerebellum and striatum in predictive motor timing during a target interception task in healthy individuals (HC group; n = 21) and in patients with early Parkinson's disease (early stage PD group; n = 20) using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Despite having similar hit ratios, the PD failed more often than the HC to postpone their actions until the right moment and to adapt their behavior from one trial to the next. We found more activation in the right cerebellar lobule VI in HC than in early stage PD during successful trials. Successful trial-by-trial adjustments were associated with higher activity in the right putamen and lobule VI of the cerebellum in HC. We conclude that both the cerebellum and striatum are involved in predictive motor timing tasks. The cerebellar activity is associated exclusively with the postponement of action until the right moment, whereas both the cerebellum and striatum are needed for successful adaptation of motor actions from one trial to the next. We found a general ''hypoactivation'' of basal ganglia and cerebellum in early stage PD relative to HC, indicating that even in early stages of the PD there could be functional perturbations in the motor system beyond striatum. Copyright © 2011 by the American Society of Neuroimaging.

Lesser time of preoperative fasting and early postoperative feeding are safe?

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Ludwig, Raquele Brinckmann; Paludo, Juliana; Fernandes, Daieni; Scherer, Fernanda

2013-01-01

Fasting in the night before elective surgery has been established to prevent pulmonary complications, vomiting, regurgitation and aspiration of gastric contents. The year of 2005 was developed the project ACERTO. It consists in a multidisciplinary team that aims to recover the surgical patient by administering two our six hours before surgery, a carbohydrate-rich beverage (12.5% dextrinomaltose). The multidisciplinary team consists of anesthesiologists, surgeons, nutritionists, nurses and physiotherapists. Literature review of preoperative fasting conducted during September and October of 2011 in Scielo and PubMed. Reducing the time of preoperative fasting with high carbohydrate solution until two hours before the operation as early feeding postoperatively, bring numerous benefits to the patient. The ACERTO project has shown good results and these new behaviors should be encouraged, thereby reducing the recovery time of the surgical patient.

Optimal timing of early versus delayed adjuvant radiotherapy following radical prostatectomy for locally advanced prostate cancer.

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Kowalczyk, Keith J; Gu, Xiangmei; Nguyen, Paul L; Lipsitz, Stuart R; Trinh, Quoc-Dien; Lynch, John H; Collins, Sean P; Hu, Jim C

2014-04-01

Although post-radical prostatectomy (RP) adjuvant radiation therapy (ART) benefits disease that is staged as pT3 or higher, the optimal ART timing remains unknown. Our objective is to characterize the outcomes and optimal timing of early vs. delayed ART. From the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results-Medicare data from 1995 to 2007, we identified 963 men with pT3N0 disease receiving early (statistic approach to determine at what time post-RP ART had the most significant effect on outcomes of interest in men with pT3N0 disease. When compared with delayed ART in men with pT3 disease, early ART was associated with improved PCSM (0.47 vs. 1.02 events per 100 person-years; P = 0.038) and less salvage hormonal therapy (2.88 vs. 4.59 events per 100 person-years; P = 0.001). Delaying ART beyond 5 months is associated with worse PCSM (hazard ratio [HR] 2.3; P = 0.020), beyond 3 months is associated with more BRE (HR 1.6; P = 0.025), and beyond 4 months is associated higher rates of salvage hormonal therapy (HR 1.6; P = 0.002). ART performed after 9 months was associated with fewer urethral strictures (HR 0.6; P = 0.042). Initiating ART less than 5 months after RP for pT3 is associated with improved PCSM. Early ART is also associated with fewer BRE and less use of salvage hormonal therapy if administered earlier than 3 and 4 months after RP, respectively. However, ART administered later than 9 months after RP is associated with fewer urethral strictures. Our population-based findings complement randomized trials designed with fixed ART timing. © 2013 Published by Elsevier Inc.

Return to work after early part-time sick leave due to musculoskeletal disorders: a randomized controlled trial.

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Viikari-Juntura, Eira; Kausto, Johanna; Shiri, Rahman; Kaila-Kangas, Leena; Takala, Esa-Pekka; Karppinen, Jaro; Miranda, Helena; Luukkonen, Ritva; Martimo, Kari-Pekka

2012-03-01

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of early part-time sick leave on return to work (RTW) and sickness absence among patients with musculoskeletal disorders. A randomized controlled trial was conducted in six occupational health units of medium- and large-size enterprises. Patients aged 18-60 years with musculoskeletal disorders (N=63) unable to perform their regular work were randomly allocated to part- or full-time sick leave. In the former group, workload was reduced by restricting work time by about a half. Remaining work tasks were modified when necessary, as specified in a "fit note" from the physician. The main outcomes were time to return to regular work activities and sickness absence during 12-month follow-up. Time to RTW sustained for ≥4 weeks was shorter in the intervention group (median 12 versus 20 days, P=0.10). Hazard ratio of RTW adjusted for age was 1.60 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.98-2.63] and 1.76 (95% CI 1.21-2.56) after further adjustment for pain interference with sleep and previous sickness absence at baseline. Total sickness absence during the 12-month follow-up was about 20% lower in the intervention than the control group. Compliance with the intervention was high with no discontinuations of part-time sick leave due to musculoskeletal reasons. Early part-time sick leave may provide a faster and more sustainable return to regular duties than full-time sick leave among patients with musculoskeletal disorders. This is the first study to show that work participation can be safely increased with early part-time sick leave.

Optimal timing of salvage radiotherapy for biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy: is ultra-early salvage radiotherapy beneficial?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taguchi, Satoru; Shiraishi, Kenshiro; Fukuhara, Hiroshi; Nakagawa, Keiichi; Morikawa, Teppei; Naito, Akihiro; Kakutani, Shigenori; Takeshima, Yuta; Miyazaki, Hideyo; Nakagawa, Tohru; Fujimura, Tetsuya; Kume, Haruki; Homma, Yukio

2016-01-01

The optimal timing of salvage radiotherapy for biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy is controversial. In particular, the prognostic significance of salvage radiotherapy delivered before a current definition of biochemical recurrence, i.e. ultra-early salvage radiotherapy, is unclear. We reviewed 76 patients with pT2-3N0M0 prostate cancer who underwent salvage radiotherapy for post-prostatectomy biochemical recurrence at the following three timings: ultra-early salvage radiotherapy (n = 20) delivered before meeting a current definition of biochemical recurrence (two consecutive prostate-specific antigen [PSA] values ≥0.2 ng/mL); early salvage radiotherapy (n = 40) delivered after meeting the definition but before PSA reached 0.5 ng/mL; and delayed salvage radiotherapy (n = 16) delivered after PSA reached 0.5 ng/mL. The primary endpoint was failure of salvage radiotherapy, defined as a PSA value ≥0.2 ng/mL. The log-rank test and Cox proportional hazards model were used for univariate and multivariate analyses, respectively. During the follow-up period (median: 70 months), four of 20 (20 %), nine of 40 (23 %) and seven of 16 (44 %) patients failed biochemically in the ultra-early, early and delayed salvage radiotherapy groups, respectively. On univariate analyses, the outcome of delayed salvage radiotherapy was worse than the others, while there was no significant difference between ultra-early and early groups. Multivariate analysis demonstrated the presence of Gleason pattern 5, perineural invasion and delayed salvage radiotherapy as independent predictors of poorer survival. No survival benefit of ultra-early salvage radiotherapy was demonstrated, whereas delayed salvage radiotherapy was associated with worse outcome as reported in previous studies. Our results may support the current recommendations that salvage radiotherapy should be undertaken after two consecutive PSA values ≥0.2 ng/mL and before reaching 0.5 ng/mL

Methods for Detecting Early Warnings of Critical Transitions in Time Series Illustrated Using Simulated Ecological Data

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Dakos, Vasilis; Carpenter, Stephen R.; Brock, William A.; Ellison, Aaron M.; Guttal, Vishwesha; Ives, Anthony R.; Kéfi, Sonia; Livina, Valerie; Seekell, David A.; van Nes, Egbert H.; Scheffer, Marten

2012-01-01

Many dynamical systems, including lakes, organisms, ocean circulation patterns, or financial markets, are now thought to have tipping points where critical transitions to a contrasting state can happen. Because critical transitions can occur unexpectedly and are difficult to manage, there is a need for methods that can be used to identify when a critical transition is approaching. Recent theory shows that we can identify the proximity of a system to a critical transition using a variety of so-called ‘early warning signals’, and successful empirical examples suggest a potential for practical applicability. However, while the range of proposed methods for predicting critical transitions is rapidly expanding, opinions on their practical use differ widely, and there is no comparative study that tests the limitations of the different methods to identify approaching critical transitions using time-series data. Here, we summarize a range of currently available early warning methods and apply them to two simulated time series that are typical of systems undergoing a critical transition. In addition to a methodological guide, our work offers a practical toolbox that may be used in a wide range of fields to help detect early warning signals of critical transitions in time series data. PMID:22815897

Bullying Behavior, Parents' Work Hours and Early Adolescents' Perceptions of Time Spent with Parents

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Christie-Mizell, C. Andre; Keil, Jacqueline M.; Laske, Mary Therese; Stewart, Jennifer

2011-01-01

This research investigates the relationships among bullying behavior, mother's and father's work hours, and early adolescents' perceptions of whether they spend sufficient time with their parents. In cross-sectional models, we find maternal work hours are modestly associated with increases in bullying behavior. However, in more rigorous change…

The cosmological slingshot scenario: a stringy early times universe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Germani, Cristiano [D.A.M.T.P., Centre for Mathematical Sciences, University of Cambridge, Wilberforce Road, Cambridge CB3 0WA (United Kingdom); Grandi, Nicolas [SISSA, via Beirut 4, 34014 Trieste (Italy); Kehagias, Alex [Physics Division, National Technical University of Athens, 15780 Zografou Campus, Athens (Greece)], E-mail: Germani@sissa.it, E-mail: grandi@fisica.unlp.edu.ar, E-mail: kehagias@central.ntua.gr

2008-07-07

A cosmological model for the early time universe is proposed. In this model, the universe is a wandering brane moving in a warped throat of a Calabi-Yau space. A nonzero angular momentum induces a turning point in the brane trajectory, and leads to a bouncing cosmology as experienced by an observer living on the brane. The universe undergoes a decelerated contraction followed by an accelerating expansion and no big-bang singularity. Although the number of e-folds of accelerated motion is low (less than 2), standard cosmological problems are not present in our model; thanks to the absence of an initial singularity and the violation of energy conditions of mirage matter at high energies. Density perturbations are also calculated in our model and we find a slightly red spectral index with negligible tensorial perturbations in compatibility with WMAP data.

A short-time scale colloidal system reveals early bacterial adhesion dynamics.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christophe Beloin

2008-07-01

Full Text Available The development of bacteria on abiotic surfaces has important public health and sanitary consequences. However, despite several decades of study of bacterial adhesion to inert surfaces, the biophysical mechanisms governing this process remain poorly understood, due, in particular, to the lack of methodologies covering the appropriate time scale. Using micrometric colloidal surface particles and flow cytometry analysis, we developed a rapid multiparametric approach to studying early events in adhesion of the bacterium Escherichia coli. This approach simultaneously describes the kinetics and amplitude of early steps in adhesion, changes in physicochemical surface properties within the first few seconds of adhesion, and the self-association state of attached and free-floating cells. Examination of the role of three well-characterized E. coli surface adhesion factors upon attachment to colloidal surfaces--curli fimbriae, F-conjugative pilus, and Ag43 adhesin--showed clear-cut differences in the very initial phases of surface colonization for cell-bearing surface structures, all known to promote biofilm development. Our multiparametric analysis revealed a correlation in the adhesion phase with cell-to-cell aggregation properties and demonstrated that this phenomenon amplified surface colonization once initial cell-surface attachment was achieved. Monitoring of real-time physico-chemical particle surface properties showed that surface-active molecules of bacterial origin quickly modified surface properties, providing new insight into the intricate relations connecting abiotic surface physicochemical properties and bacterial adhesion. Hence, the biophysical analytical method described here provides a new and relevant approach to quantitatively and kinetically investigating bacterial adhesion and biofilm development.

The genetic analysis of heading time in hybrid rice IR54 and its early-maturity mutant-5460

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou Yuanchang; Cai Junmai; Li Weiming

1994-01-01

V 20 A, IR 54 and its early mutant line 5460 were used as parents in three crosses. The heading time of radiation induced 5460 was 35(1986)∼40(1989) days earlier than that of IR 54 , and the F 1 plants of 5460/IR 54 showed a heading time close to that of their middle-parent. The segregation ratio of early-, intermediate- and late heading plants are given. From the segregation patterns, it may be assumed that three dominant genes, A,B and C, are involved and when they are combined, their complementary interaction expresses a late-heading phenotype which is strongly sensitive to photo-period. As V 20 A is previously suggested to have abC, it is expected that IR 54 has ABc, and 5460 has Abc. This means that gene b in 5460 is a single locus recessive mutation for early-maturity from gene B in IR 54

Real-time risk assessment in seismic early warning and rapid response: a feasibility study in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan)

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Picozzi, M.; Bindi, D.; Pittore, M.; Kieling, K.; Parolai, S.

2013-04-01

Earthquake early warning systems (EEWS) are considered to be an effective, pragmatic, and viable tool for seismic risk reduction in cities. While standard EEWS approaches focus on the real-time estimation of an earthquake's location and magnitude, innovative developments in EEWS include the capacity for the rapid assessment of damage. Clearly, for all public authorities that are engaged in coordinating emergency activities during and soon after earthquakes, real-time information about the potential damage distribution within a city is invaluable. In this work, we present a first attempt to design an early warning and rapid response procedure for real-time risk assessment. In particular, the procedure uses typical real-time information (i.e., P-wave arrival times and early waveforms) derived from a regional seismic network for locating and evaluating the size of an earthquake, information which in turn is exploited for extracting a risk map representing the potential distribution of damage from a dataset of predicted scenarios compiled for the target city. A feasibility study of the procedure is presented for the city of Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, which is surrounded by the Kyrgyz seismic network by mimicking the ground motion associated with two historical events that occurred close to Bishkek, namely the 1911 Kemin ( M = 8.2; ±0.2) and the 1885 Belovodsk ( M = 6.9; ±0.5) earthquakes. Various methodologies from previous studies were considered when planning the implementation of the early warning and rapid response procedure for real-time risk assessment: the Satriano et al. (Bull Seismol Soc Am 98(3):1482-1494, 2008) approach to real-time earthquake location; the Caprio et al. (Geophys Res Lett 38:L02301, 2011) approach for estimating moment magnitude in real time; the EXSIM method for ground motion simulation (Motazedian and Atkinson, Bull Seismol Soc Am 95:995-1010, 2005); the Sokolov (Earthquake Spectra 161: 679-694, 2002) approach for estimating

Neutron activation analysis of medieval and early modern times ceramics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kies, A.; Reitsamer, G.; Bauer, W.

1985-01-01

Provenience studies of medieval and early modern times ceramics from the Eastern Danube area of Austria have been performed by instrumental neutron activation analysis. All sherds examined were selected from pottery which was specially charactrized by pottery marks ('Cross Potent', 'Crossmark within a circle', 'Latin Cross', 'Cross Paty'). With respect to the chemical composition five different pottery groups could be evaluated by cluster analysis. Archaeological results: The'Cross Patent' was used by different potter's workshops whereas the 'Crossmark within a circle' was more likely restricted to one manufacture entre. The distribution of the 'Latin Cross' and The 'Cross Paty' over all five clusters indicated the usage of clay from different deposits. The assignment of the 'Cross Paty' exclusively to the area of Passau could be disproved. (Author)

Peer substance use as a mediator between early pubertal timing and adolescent substance use: longitudinal associations and moderating effect of maltreatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Negriff, Sonya; Trickett, Penelope K

2012-11-01

Early pubertal timing has received considerable empirical support as a risk for adolescent substance use. However, few studies have examined the mediators linking these variables. Therefore, the aims of this study were (1) to examine peer substance use as a mediator between pubertal timing and adolescent substance use longitudinally and (2) to test gender and maltreatment experience as moderators of the mediational model. Data were obtained from time 1, 2, and 3 of a longitudinal study of maltreatment and development. At time 1 the sample was comprised of 303 maltreated and 151 comparison children aged 9-13 years (213 females and 241 males). Longitudinal mediation was tested using structural equation modeling and moderating effects were tested using multiple group analysis. Peer substance use mediated the relationship between early pubertal timing and later adolescent substance use for the total sample. Moderation analyses indicated this significant indirect effect did not differ for males and females. However, it did differ for maltreated versus comparison adolescents with the mediational effect only remaining significant for the comparison group. This is one of the first studies to examine peer substance use as a mediator of pubertal timing and adolescent substance use using a longitudinal design. Early maturing males are at equal risk to early maturing females for interacting with peers that may draw them into substance use. Additionally, the findings indicate that while peers are mediators for comparison adolescents a different mechanism may link early puberty to substance use for maltreated adolescents. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Early Radiosurgery Improves Hearing Preservation in Vestibular Schwannoma Patients With Normal Hearing at the Time of Diagnosis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Akpinar, Berkcan [University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (United States); Mousavi, Seyed H., E-mail: mousavish@upmc.edu [Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (United States); McDowell, Michael M.; Niranjan, Ajay; Faraji, Amir H. [Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (United States); Flickinger, John C. [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (United States); Lunsford, L. Dade [Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (United States)

2016-06-01

Purpose: Vestibular schwannomas (VS) are increasingly diagnosed in patients with normal hearing because of advances in magnetic resonance imaging. We sought to evaluate whether stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) performed earlier after diagnosis improved long-term hearing preservation in this population. Methods and Materials: We queried our quality assessment registry and found the records of 1134 acoustic neuroma patients who underwent SRS during a 15-year period (1997-2011). We identified 88 patients who had VS but normal hearing with no subjective hearing loss at the time of diagnosis. All patients were Gardner-Robertson (GR) class I at the time of SRS. Fifty-seven patients underwent early (≤2 years from diagnosis) SRS and 31 patients underwent late (>2 years after diagnosis) SRS. At a median follow-up time of 75 months, we evaluated patient outcomes. Results: Tumor control rates (decreased or stable in size) were similar in the early (95%) and late (90%) treatment groups (P=.73). Patients in the early treatment group retained serviceable (GR class I/II) hearing and normal (GR class I) hearing longer than did patients in the late treatment group (serviceable hearing, P=.006; normal hearing, P<.0001, respectively). At 5 years after SRS, an estimated 88% of the early treatment group retained serviceable hearing and 77% retained normal hearing, compared with 55% with serviceable hearing and 33% with normal hearing in the late treatment group. Conclusions: SRS within 2 years after diagnosis of VS in normal hearing patients resulted in improved retention of all hearing measures compared with later SRS.

Early Radiosurgery Improves Hearing Preservation in Vestibular Schwannoma Patients With Normal Hearing at the Time of Diagnosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akpinar, Berkcan; Mousavi, Seyed H.; McDowell, Michael M.; Niranjan, Ajay; Faraji, Amir H.; Flickinger, John C.; Lunsford, L. Dade

2016-01-01

Purpose: Vestibular schwannomas (VS) are increasingly diagnosed in patients with normal hearing because of advances in magnetic resonance imaging. We sought to evaluate whether stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) performed earlier after diagnosis improved long-term hearing preservation in this population. Methods and Materials: We queried our quality assessment registry and found the records of 1134 acoustic neuroma patients who underwent SRS during a 15-year period (1997-2011). We identified 88 patients who had VS but normal hearing with no subjective hearing loss at the time of diagnosis. All patients were Gardner-Robertson (GR) class I at the time of SRS. Fifty-seven patients underwent early (≤2 years from diagnosis) SRS and 31 patients underwent late (>2 years after diagnosis) SRS. At a median follow-up time of 75 months, we evaluated patient outcomes. Results: Tumor control rates (decreased or stable in size) were similar in the early (95%) and late (90%) treatment groups (P=.73). Patients in the early treatment group retained serviceable (GR class I/II) hearing and normal (GR class I) hearing longer than did patients in the late treatment group (serviceable hearing, P=.006; normal hearing, P<.0001, respectively). At 5 years after SRS, an estimated 88% of the early treatment group retained serviceable hearing and 77% retained normal hearing, compared with 55% with serviceable hearing and 33% with normal hearing in the late treatment group. Conclusions: SRS within 2 years after diagnosis of VS in normal hearing patients resulted in improved retention of all hearing measures compared with later SRS.

Wormholes versus black holes: quasinormal ringing at early and late times

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Konoplya, R.A. [Theoretical Astrophysics (TAT), Eberhard-Karls University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 10, Tübingen 72076 (Germany); Zhidenko, A., E-mail: roman.konoplya@uni-tuebingen.de, E-mail: olexandr.zhydenko@ufabc.edu.br [Centro de Matemática, Computação e Cognição, Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC), Rua Abolição, CEP: 09210-180, Santo André, SP (Brazil)

2016-12-01

Recently it has been argued that the phantom thin-shell wormholes matched with the Schwarzschild space-time near the Schwarzschild radius ring like Schwarzschild black holes at early times, but differently at late times [1]. Here we consider perturbations of the wormhole which was constructed without thin-shells: the Bronnikov-Ellis wormhole supported by the phantom matter and electromagnetic field. This wormhole solution is known to be stable under specific equation of state of the phantom matter. We show that if one does not use the above thin-shell matching, the wormhole, depending on the values of its parameters, either rings as the black hole at all times or rings differently also at all times . The wormhole's spectrum, investigated here, posses a number of distinctive features. In the final part we have considered general properties of scattering around arbitrary rotating traversable wormholes. We have found that symmetric and non-symmetric (with respect to the throat) wormholes are qualitatively different in this respect: first, superradiance is allowed only if for those non-symmetric wormholes for which the asymptotic values of the rotation parameters are different on both sides from the throat. Second, the symmetric wormholes cannot mimic effectively the ringing of a black hole at a few various dominant multipoles at the same time, so that the future observations of various events should easily tell the symmetric wormhole from a black hole.

CONSTRAINING GAMMA-RAY BURST EMISSION PHYSICS WITH EXTENSIVE EARLY-TIME, MULTIBAND FOLLOW-UP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cucchiara, A.; Cenko, S. B.; Bloom, J. S.; Morgan, A.; Perley, D. A.; Li, W.; Butler, N. R.; Filippenko, A. V.; Melandri, A.; Kobayashi, S.; Smith, R. J.; Mundell, C. G.; Steele, I. A.; Hora, J. L.; Da Silva, R. L.; Prochaska, J. X.; Worseck, G.; Fumagalli, M.; Milne, P. A.; Cobb, B.

2011-01-01

Understanding the origin and diversity of emission processes responsible for gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) remains a pressing challenge. While prompt and contemporaneous panchromatic observations have the potential to test predictions of the internal-external shock model, extensive multiband imaging has been conducted for only a few GRBs. We present rich, early-time, multiband data sets for two Swift events, GRB 110205A and GRB 110213A. The former shows optical emission since the early stages of the prompt phase, followed by the steep rising in flux up to ∼1000 s after the burst (t –α with α = –6.13 ± 0.75). We discuss this feature in the context of the reverse-shock scenario and interpret the following single power-law decay as being forward-shock dominated. Polarization measurements, obtained with the RINGO2 instrument mounted on the Liverpool Telescope, also provide hints on the nature of the emitting ejecta. The latter event, instead, displays a very peculiar optical to near-infrared light curve, with two achromatic peaks. In this case, while the first peak is probably due to the onset of the afterglow, we interpret the second peak to be produced by newly injected material, signifying a late-time activity of the central engine.

CONSTRAINING GAMMA-RAY BURST EMISSION PHYSICS WITH EXTENSIVE EARLY-TIME, MULTIBAND FOLLOW-UP

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cucchiara, A.; Cenko, S. B.; Bloom, J. S.; Morgan, A.; Perley, D. A.; Li, W.; Butler, N. R.; Filippenko, A. V. [Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411 (United States); Melandri, A. [INAF, Osservatorio Astronomicodi Brera, via E. Bianchi 46, I-23807 Merate (Saint Lucia) (Italy); Kobayashi, S.; Smith, R. J.; Mundell, C. G.; Steele, I. A. [Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, Twelve Quays House, Egerton Wharf, Birkenhead, CH41 1LD (United Kingdom); Hora, J. L. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden St., Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Da Silva, R. L.; Prochaska, J. X.; Worseck, G.; Fumagalli, M. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, UCO/Lick Observatory, University of California, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States); Milne, P. A. [Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, 933 N. Cherry Ave., Tucson, AZ 85719 (United States); Cobb, B., E-mail: acucchia@ucolick.org [Department of Physics, George Washington University, Corcoran 105, 725 21st St, NW, Washington, DC 20052 (United States); and others

2011-12-20

Understanding the origin and diversity of emission processes responsible for gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) remains a pressing challenge. While prompt and contemporaneous panchromatic observations have the potential to test predictions of the internal-external shock model, extensive multiband imaging has been conducted for only a few GRBs. We present rich, early-time, multiband data sets for two Swift events, GRB 110205A and GRB 110213A. The former shows optical emission since the early stages of the prompt phase, followed by the steep rising in flux up to {approx}1000 s after the burst (t{sup -{alpha}} with {alpha} = -6.13 {+-} 0.75). We discuss this feature in the context of the reverse-shock scenario and interpret the following single power-law decay as being forward-shock dominated. Polarization measurements, obtained with the RINGO2 instrument mounted on the Liverpool Telescope, also provide hints on the nature of the emitting ejecta. The latter event, instead, displays a very peculiar optical to near-infrared light curve, with two achromatic peaks. In this case, while the first peak is probably due to the onset of the afterglow, we interpret the second peak to be produced by newly injected material, signifying a late-time activity of the central engine.

Ethanol fuel gets the hangover

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

2007-01-01

Corn, wheat, sugar cane.. The multiplication of biofuel refineries has led to a rise of the prices of agriculture products. The question is: do we need ethanol? The US situation gives an answer: the offer exceeds the demand and ethanol prices have dropped down. Other environmental and socio-economical consequences of biofuels development are put forward by the UNO, the IMF and by non-governmental organizations who foresee a dramatic rise of food products prices and an aggravation of starvation in developing countries. (J.S.)

Integrating real-time subsurface hydrologic monitoring with empirical rainfall thresholds to improve landslide early warning

Science.gov (United States)

Mirus, Benjamin B.; Becker, Rachel E.; Baum, Rex L.; Smith, Joel B.

2018-01-01

Early warning for rainfall-induced shallow landsliding can help reduce fatalities and economic losses. Although these commonly occurring landslides are typically triggered by subsurface hydrological processes, most early warning criteria rely exclusively on empirical rainfall thresholds and other indirect proxies for subsurface wetness. We explore the utility of explicitly accounting for antecedent wetness by integrating real-time subsurface hydrologic measurements into landslide early warning criteria. Our efforts build on previous progress with rainfall thresholds, monitoring, and numerical modeling along the landslide-prone railway corridor between Everett and Seattle, Washington, USA. We propose a modification to a previously established recent versus antecedent (RA) cumulative rainfall thresholds by replacing the antecedent 15-day rainfall component with an average saturation observed over the same timeframe. We calculate this antecedent saturation with real-time telemetered measurements from five volumetric water content probes installed in the shallow subsurface within a steep vegetated hillslope. Our hybrid rainfall versus saturation (RS) threshold still relies on the same recent 3-day rainfall component as the existing RA thresholds, to facilitate ready integration with quantitative precipitation forecasts. During the 2015–2017 monitoring period, this RS hybrid approach has an increase of true positives and a decrease of false positives and false negatives relative to the previous RA rainfall-only thresholds. We also demonstrate that alternative hybrid threshold formats could be even more accurate, which suggests that further development and testing during future landslide seasons is needed. The positive results confirm that accounting for antecedent wetness conditions with direct subsurface hydrologic measurements can improve thresholds for alert systems and early warning of rainfall-induced shallow landsliding.

Banking Time in Head Start: Early Efficacy of an Intervention Designed to Promote Supportive Teacher-Child Relationships

Science.gov (United States)

Driscoll, Katherine C.; Pianta, Robert C.

2010-01-01

Research Findings: This exploratory study encompassed a collaboration to implement and evaluate the early efficacy of Banking Time, a dyadic intervention designed to promote supportive teacher-child relationships. Banking Time is a set of one-on-one meetings between a teacher and a child consisting of child-led play and teacher facilitation…

Stress responsiveness and anxiety-like behavior: The early social environment differentially shapes stability over time in a small rodent.

Science.gov (United States)

Sangenstedt, Susanne; Jaljuli, Iman; Sachser, Norbert; Kaiser, Sylvia

2017-04-01

The early social environment can profoundly affect behavioral and physiological phenotypes. We investigated how male wild cavy offspring, whose mothers had either lived in a stable (SE) or an unstable social environment (UE) during pregnancy and lactation, differed in their anxiety-like behavior and stress responsiveness. At two different time points in life, we tested the offspring's anxiety-like behavior in a dark-light test and their endocrine reaction to challenge in a cortisol reactivity test. Furthermore, we analyzed whether individual traits remained stable over time. There was no effect of the early social environment on anxiety-like behavior and stress responsiveness. However, at an individual level, anxiety-like behavior was stable over time in UE- but not in SE-sons. Stress responsiveness, in turn, was rather inconsistent in UE-sons and temporally stable in SE-sons. Conclusively, we showed for the first time that the early social environment differentially shapes the stability of behavioral and endocrine traits. At first glance, these results may be surprising, but they can be explained by the different functions anxiety-like behavior and stress responsiveness have. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

NGF blockade at early times during bone cancer development attenuates bone destruction and increases limb use.

Science.gov (United States)

McCaffrey, Gwen; Thompson, Michelle L; Majuta, Lisa; Fealk, Michelle N; Chartier, Stephane; Longo, Geraldine; Mantyh, Patrick W

2014-12-01

Studies in animals and humans show that blockade of nerve growth factor (NGF) attenuates both malignant and nonmalignant skeletal pain. While reduction of pain is important, a largely unanswered question is what other benefits NGF blockade might confer in patients with bone cancer. Using a mouse graft model of bone sarcoma, we demonstrate that early treatment with an NGF antibody reduced tumor-induced bone destruction, delayed time to bone fracture, and increased the use of the tumor-bearing limb. Consistent with animal studies in osteoarthritis and head and neck cancer, early blockade of NGF reduced weight loss in mice with bone sarcoma. In terms of the extent and time course of pain relief, NGF blockade also reduced pain 40% to 70%, depending on the metric assessed. Importantly, this analgesic effect was maintained even in animals with late-stage disease. Our results suggest that NGF blockade immediately upon detection of tumor metastasis to bone may help preserve the integrity and use, delay the time to tumor-induced bone fracture, and maintain body weight. ©2014 American Association for Cancer Research.

The Timing of Middle-Childhood Peer Rejection and Friendship: Linking Early Behavior to Early-Adolescent Adjustment

Science.gov (United States)

Pedersen, Sara; Vitaro, Frank; Barker, Edward D.; Borge, Anne I. H.

2007-01-01

This study used a sample of 551 children surveyed yearly from ages 6 to 13 to examine the longitudinal associations among early behavior, middle-childhood peer rejection and friendedness, and early-adolescent depressive symptoms, loneliness, and delinquency. The study tested a sequential mediation hypothesis in which (a) behavior problems in the…

Monitoring cow activity and rumination time for an early detection of heat stress in dairy cow

Science.gov (United States)

Abeni, Fabio; Galli, Andrea

2017-03-01

The aim of this study was to explore the use of cow activity and rumination time by precision livestock farming tools as early alert for heat stress (HS) detection. A total of 58 Italian Friesian cows were involved in this study during summer 2015. Based on the temperature humidity index (THI), two different conditions were compared on 16 primiparous and 11 multiparous, to be representative of three lactation phases: early (15-84 DIM), around peak (85-154 DIM), and plateau (155-224 DIM). A separate dataset for the assessment of the variance partition included all the cows in the herd from June 7 to July 16. The rumination time (RT2h, min/2 h) and activity index (AI2h, bouts/2 h) were summarized every 2-h interval. The raw data were used to calculate the following variables: total daily RT (RTt), daytime RT (RTd), nighttime RT (RTn), total daily AI (AIt), daytime AI (AId), and nighttime AI (AIn). Either AIt and AId increased, whereas RTt, RTd, and RTn decreased with higher THI in all the three phases. The highest decrease was recorded for RTd and ranged from 49 % (early) to 45 % (plateau). The contribution of the cow within lactation phase was above 60 % of the total variance for AI traits and a share from 33.9 % (for RTt) to 54.8 % (RTn) for RT traits. These observations must be extended to different feeding managements and different animal genetics to assess if different thresholds could be identified to set an early alert system for the farmer.

Moving beyond Screen Time: Redefining Developmentally Appropriate Technology Use in Early Childhood Education. Policy Brief

Science.gov (United States)

Daugherty, Lindsay; Dossani, Rafiq; Johnson, Erin-Elizabeth; Wright, Cameron

2014-01-01

Conversations about what constitutes "developmentally appropriate" use of technology in early childhood education have, to date, focused largely on a single, blunt measure--screen time--that fails to capture important nuances, such as what type of media a child is accessing and whether technology use is taking place solo or with peers.…

Early drought detection by spectral analysis of satellite time series of precipitation and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van Hoek, Mattijn; Jia, Li; Zhou, J.; Zheng, Chaolei; Menenti, M.

2016-01-01

The time lag between anomalies in precipitation and vegetation activity plays a critical role in early drought detection as agricultural droughts are caused by precipitation shortages. The aim of this study is to explore a new approach to estimate the time lag between a forcing (precipitation)

Early-time particle dynamics and non-affine deformations during microstructure selection in solids

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sengupta, Surajit [Centre for Advanced Materials, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, 2A and 2B, Raja S C Mullick Road, Jadavpur, Kolkata 700032 (India); Rao, Madan [Raman Research Institute, C V Raman Avenue, Bangalore 560 080 (India); Bhattacharya, Jayee [S N Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Block JD, Sector III, Salt Lake, Kolkata 700 098 (India)

2011-07-27

Solid-solid transitions are invariably associated with groups of particles whose deformations cannot be expressed as an affine strain about a reference configuration. The dynamics of these non-affine zones (NAZ) determine the subsequent microstructure, i.e. the mesoscale patterning resulting from the structural transition. Here, we focus on early-time dynamics of individual particles within an NAZ associated with a nucleation event. We show that the early-time behavior of these particles have distinctive characteristics depending on the transition temperature. The dynamics is heterogeneous, consisting of a few active particles exhibiting complex intermittent jamming and flow in response to internal stresses generated during the transformation. At low temperatures, the dynamics of these active particles is ballistic and the structural transformation proceeds via string-like correlated movement of active particles, along ridges in the potential energy topography set up by inactive particles. On increasing temperature, the dynamics of active particles show an abrupt transition from ballistic to diffusive behavior with a diffusion coefficient which appears to be independent of temperature. This dynamical transition in the nature of the trajectories of particles is coincident with a discontinuous transition in the microstructure of the solid. Finally, we characterize this transition in terms of a dynamical order parameter in the space of trajectories and discuss its connection with the glass transition and rheology of soft and granular matter.

EARLY-TIME VLA OBSERVATIONS AND BROADBAND AFTERGLOW ANALYSIS OF THE FERMI/LAT DETECTED GRB 130907A

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Veres, Péter; Corsi, Alessandra; Frail, Dale A.; Cenko, S. Bradley; Perley, Daniel A.

2015-01-01

We present multi-wavelength observations of the hyper-energetic gamma-ray burst (GRB) 130907A, a Swift-discovered burst with early radio observations starting at ≈4 hr after the γ-ray trigger. GRB 130907A was also detected by the Fermi/LAT instrument and at late times showed a strong spectral evolution in X-rays. We focus on the early-time radio observations, especially at >10 GHz, to attempt to identify reverse shock signatures. While our radio follow-up of GRB 130907A ranks among the earliest observations of a GRB with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array, we did not see an unambiguous signature of a reverse shock. While a model with both reverse and forward shock can correctly describe the observations, the data is not constraining enough to decide upon the presence of the reverse-shock component. We model the broadband data using a simple forward-shock synchrotron scenario with a transition from a wind environment to a constant density interstellar medium (ISM) in order to account for the observed features. Within the confines of this model, we also derive the underlying physical parameters of the fireball, which are within typical ranges except for the wind density parameter (A * ), which is higher than those for bursts with wind-ISM transition, but typical for the general population of bursts. We note the importance of early-time radio observations of the afterglow (and of well-sampled light curves) for unambiguously identifying the potential contribution of the reverse shock

Waiting for the Unicorn: Perception of Time and History in Early Chinese Writings

OpenAIRE

Gibas, Piotr Pawel

2009-01-01

In this dissertation I examine temporality as conceived in early Chinese historiography, through a systematic examination of four key works: the Mozi, the Zuozhuan, the Rishu;, and the Chu Silk Manuscript, all of them written during 4th through 1st century BCE. Each presents from a different perspective ideas about the mechanism of time and history. While only the Zuozhuan is commonly categorized as historical narrative, all four of these texts depend on records of the past to convey their wo...

Early adolescent boys’ exposure to Internet pornography: relationships to pubertal timing, sensation seeking, and academic performance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Beyens, I.; Vandenbosch, L.; Eggermont, S.

2015-01-01

Research has demonstrated that adolescents regularly use Internet pornography. This two-wave panel study aimed to test an integrative model in early adolescent boys (Mage = 14.10; N = 325) that (a) explains their exposure to Internet pornography by looking at relationships with pubertal timing and

Effect of nutrient dilution on feed intake, eating time and performance of hens in early lay.

Science.gov (United States)

van Krimpen, M M; Kwakkel, R P; André, G; van der Peet-Schwering, C M C; den Hartog, L A; Verstegen, M W A

2007-08-01

1. An experiment with 480 ISA Brown layers was conducted to measure the effect of dietary energy (11.8, 11.2 and 10.6 MJ/kg) and non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) (128, 146 and 207 g/kg) concentration, soluble NSP content (64 and 85 g/kg), particle size distribution of the NSP fraction (fine and coarse) and feed form (mash and crumble) on feed intake, eating time and egg performance of laying hens in early lay (from 18 to 26 weeks of age). Twelve experimental diets were tested, each replicated 4 times. 2. Laying hens in early lay that were fed low- or high-NSP diets were able to compensate for 10% dietary dilution by 9.5 and 4.9% higher feed intakes, respectively. Feeding crumble or coarsely ground mash did not affect feed intake. 3. Eating time of the hens fed the undiluted diets increased over the experimental period from 16.4 to 24.6% of the observation period, but was not affected by sand or grit addition, particle size distribution or feed form. Feeding high-NSP diets increased eating time by 22%. 4. Egg performance and body weight gain of the hens that were fed low-NSP or high-NSP diets were similar or better compared to the undiluted diets, whereas coarse grinding of the diets showed 7 to 10% lower egg performance and weight gain. Egg performance and weight gain were not affected by feed form. 5. It is concluded that hens in early lay, fed energy-diluted diets, by adding sand or grit (low-NSP) or NSP-rich raw materials (high-NSP) to the control diet, were able to increase their feed intake, resulting in energy intake and egg performance comparable to the control group. Supplementing diets with insoluble NSP also decreased eating rate. Prolonged eating time using insoluble NSP could be useful in reducing feather pecking behaviour.

VETEM -- a very early time electromagnetic system -- year 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pellerin, L.; Pfeifer, M.C.; Labson, V.F.

1996-01-01

In electrically conductive conditions common in environmental characterization studies the minimum depth of investigation for traditional electromagnetic (EM) sounding techniques is roughly 5 meters, while ground penetrating radar (GPR) systems often investigate no more than the top meter or so when clay minerals are present in the soil. Bridging this gap is essential to the characterization of buried waste, contaminant plumes, and other environmental and hydrogeological targets located in the shallow subsurface. The Very Early Time Electromagnetic (VETEM) system is designed to ascertain the conductivity and dielectric properties of the shallow subsurface in conductive terrain. Hence, the one-dimensional (1-D) and three-dimensional (3-D) numerical modeling algorithms, developed in the first year of the project, contain the full solution to the EM problem including both displacement and conduction currents. The VETEM system fills a gap between EM and GPR, but all three methods are necessary to successfully image the shallow subsurface. To achieve the goal of fully 3-D subsurface imaging, the VETEM project is hosting the Electromagnetic Integrated Demonstration (EMID) at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory's Cold Test Pit (INEL's CTP). Over a dozen EM systems will acquire data over the same survey area for interpretation in conjunction with the VETEM team. The prototype time-domain instrument employs a magnetic dipole transmitter and receiver and operates from 10 nano-second to a micro-second. The USGS high frequency sounder (HFS), which served as the VETEM proof-of-concept, uses the same antenna geometry as the time-domain instrument and acquires data from 30 kHz to 30 MHz. The first VETEM survey was recently conducted at the INEL's CTP as a part of the EMID. The electromagnetic migration technique is being investigated for interpretation of the VETEM data

Real-time PCR for the early detection and quantification of Coxiella burnetii as an alternative to the murine bioassay.

Science.gov (United States)

Howe, Gerald B; Loveless, Bonnie M; Norwood, David; Craw, Philip; Waag, David; England, Marilyn; Lowe, John R; Courtney, Bernard C; Pitt, M Louise; Kulesh, David A

2009-01-01

Real-time PCR was used to analyze archived blood from non-human primates (NHP) and fluid samples originating from a well-controlled Q fever vaccine efficacy trial. The PCR targets were the IS1111 element and the com1 gene of Coxiella burnetii. Data from that previous study were used to evaluate real-time PCR as an alternative to the use of sero-conversion by mouse bioassay for both quantification and early detection of C. burnetii bacteria. Real-time PCR and the mouse bioassay exhibited no statistical difference in quantifying the number of microorganisms delivered in the aerosol challenge dose. The presence of C. burnetii in peripheral blood of non-human primates was detected by real-time PCR as early after exposure as the mouse bioassay with results available within hours instead of weeks. This study demonstrates that real-time PCR has the ability to replace the mouse bioassay to measure dosage and monitor infection of C. burnetii in a non-human primate model.

Breastfeeding Initiation and Duration in First-Time Mothers: Exploring the Impact of Father Involvement in the Early Post-Partum Period

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Theresa Hunter

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Background: The early post-partum period is a crucial time for breastfeeding support. Mothers who have physical and emotional support during this period are more likely to be successful in breastfeeding. This study examined the relationship between father involvement and support for breast feeding initiation and duration in first-time mothers. Methods: Overall, 146 women who attended a childbirth education class or breastfeeding course at BABS were asked to fill out the Childbirth Experiences Survey, which explored key topics such as (1 breastfeeding initiation, (2 early post-partum breastfeeding, (3 breastfeeding plan, (4 post-partum breastfeeding support and (5 breast feeding duration. This was a voluntary self-reported questionnaire. The surveys were completed by the mothers during the post-partum period. Results: 45.9% (n=67 of mothers received helped from their husband or partner with breastfeeding while in the hospital, while 54.1% (n=79 of mothers did not receive support from their partners. Mothers who received early post-partum breastfeeding support were more likely to continue breastfeeding after leaving the hospital. Conclusion: First-time mothers who identified as having breastfeeding support from their partners, the infant’s father, during the early post-partum period were more likely to initiate breastfeeding and had longer breastfeeding durations.

Real-time numerical shake prediction and updating for earthquake early warning

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Tianyun; Jin, Xing; Wei, Yongxiang; Huang, Yandan

2017-12-01

Ground motion prediction is important for earthquake early warning systems, because the region's peak ground motion indicates the potential disaster. In order to predict the peak ground motion quickly and precisely with limited station wave records, we propose a real-time numerical shake prediction and updating method. Our method first predicts the ground motion based on the ground motion prediction equation after P waves detection of several stations, denoted as the initial prediction. In order to correct the prediction error of the initial prediction, an updating scheme based on real-time simulation of wave propagation is designed. Data assimilation technique is incorporated to predict the distribution of seismic wave energy precisely. Radiative transfer theory and Monte Carlo simulation are used for modeling wave propagation in 2-D space, and the peak ground motion is calculated as quickly as possible. Our method has potential to predict shakemap, making the potential disaster be predicted before the real disaster happens. 2008 M S8.0 Wenchuan earthquake is studied as an example to show the validity of the proposed method.

Combining multiple earthquake models in real time for earthquake early warning

Science.gov (United States)

Minson, Sarah E.; Wu, Stephen; Beck, James L; Heaton, Thomas H.

2017-01-01

The ultimate goal of earthquake early warning (EEW) is to provide local shaking information to users before the strong shaking from an earthquake reaches their location. This is accomplished by operating one or more real‐time analyses that attempt to predict shaking intensity, often by estimating the earthquake’s location and magnitude and then predicting the ground motion from that point source. Other EEW algorithms use finite rupture models or may directly estimate ground motion without first solving for an earthquake source. EEW performance could be improved if the information from these diverse and independent prediction models could be combined into one unified, ground‐motion prediction. In this article, we set the forecast shaking at each location as the common ground to combine all these predictions and introduce a Bayesian approach to creating better ground‐motion predictions. We also describe how this methodology could be used to build a new generation of EEW systems that provide optimal decisions customized for each user based on the user’s individual false‐alarm tolerance and the time necessary for that user to react.

Ultra-Fast Flash Observatory: Fast Response Space Missions for Early Time Phase of Gamma Ray Bursts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Park, I.H.; Ahmad, S.; Barrillon, P.

2013-01-01

One of the unexplored domains in the study of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is the early time phase of the optical light curve. We have proposed Ultra-Fast Flash Observatory (UFFO) to address this question through extraordinary opportunities presented by a series of small space missions. The UFFO...

Labour onset and early labour. An exploration of first-time mothers’ and midwives’ experiences

OpenAIRE

Eri, Tine Schauer

2011-01-01

This dissertation is about how women experience waiting for the onset of labour, and how first-time mothers and midwives communicate during the early phases of labour. Most women in Norway give birth in public hospitals, which is the context used for this study, with the experiences explored within a scientific tradition of lifeworld research. Seventeen women and 18 midwives participated in the study. The empirical material stems from diaries, observations of admissions and in-...

Who Gets Early Tracheostomy?

Science.gov (United States)

Shaw, Joshua J.

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND: Although the benefits of early tracheostomy in patients dependent on ventilators are well established, the reasons for variation in time from intubation to tracheostomy remain unclear. We identified clinical and demographic disparities in time to tracheostomy. METHODS: We performed a level 3 retrospective prognostic study by querying the University HealthSystem Consortium (2007-2010) for adult patients receiving a tracheostomy after initial intubation. Time to tracheostomy was designated early ( 10 days). Cohorts were stratified by time to tracheostomy and compared using univariate tests of association and multivariable adjusted models. RESULTS: A total of 49,191 patients underwent tracheostomy after initial intubation: 42% early (n = 21,029) and 58% late (n = 28,162). On both univariate and multivariable analyses, women, blacks, Hispanics, and patients receiving Medicaid were less likely to receive an early tracheostomy. Patients in the early group also experienced lower rates of mortality (OR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.79-0.88). CONCLUSIONS: Early tracheostomy was associated with increased survival. Yet, there were still significant disparities in time to tracheostomy according to sex, race, and type of insurance. Application of evidence-based algorithms for tracheostomy may reduce unequal treatment and improve overall mortality rates. Additional research into this apparent bias in referral/rendering of tracheostomy is needed. PMID:26313324

Early-Time Solution of the Horizontal Unconfined Aquifer in the Buildup Phase

Science.gov (United States)

Gravanis, Elias; Akylas, Evangelos

2017-10-01

We derive the early-time solution of the Boussinesq equation for the horizontal unconfined aquifer in the buildup phase under constant recharge and zero inflow. The solution is expressed as a power series of a suitable similarity variable, which is constructed so that to satisfy the boundary conditions at both ends of the aquifer, that is, it is a polynomial approximation of the exact solution. The series turns out to be asymptotic and it is regularized by resummation techniques that are used to define divergent series. The outflow rate in this regime is linear in time, and the (dimensionless) coefficient is calculated to eight significant figures. The local error of the series is quantified by its deviation from satisfying the self-similar Boussinesq equation at every point. The local error turns out to be everywhere positive, hence, so is the integrated error, which in turn quantifies the degree of convergence of the series to the exact solution.

Early Lance-Adams syndrome after cardiac arrest: Prevalence, time to return to awareness, and outcome in a large cohort.

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Aicua Rapun, Irene; Novy, Jan; Solari, Daria; Oddo, Mauro; Rossetti, Andrea O

2017-06-01

Early myoclonus after cardiac arrest (CA) is traditionally viewed as a poor prognostic sign (status myoclonus). However, some patients may present early Lance-Adams syndrome (LAS): under appropriate treatment, they can reach a satisfactory functional outcome. Our aim was to describe their profile, focusing on pharmacologic management in the ICU, time to return of awareness, and long-term prognosis. Adults with early LAS (defined as generalized myoclonus within 96h, with epileptiform EEG within 48h after CA) were retrospectively identified in our CA registry between 2006 and 2016. Functional outcome was assessed through cerebral performance categories (CPC) at 3 months, CPC 1-2 defined good outcome. Among 458 consecutive patients, 7 (1.5%) developed early LAS (4 women, median age 59 years). Within 72h after CA, in normothemia and off sedation, all showed preserved brainstem reflexes and localized pain. All patients were initially treated with valproate, levetiracetam and clonazepam; additional agents, including propofol and midazolam, were prescribed in the majority. First signs of awareness occurred after 3-23 days (median 11.8); 3/7 reached a good outcome at 3 months. Early after CA, myoclonus together with a reactive, epileptiform EEG, preserved evoked potentials and brainstem reflexes suggests LAS. This condition was managed with a combination of highly dosed, large spectrum antiepileptic agents including propofol and midazolam. Even if awakening was at times delayed, good outcome occurred in a substantial proportion of patients. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Does leisure time physical activity in early pregnancy protect against pre-eclampsia? Prospective cohort in Danish women

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Østerdal, M L; Strøm, M; Klemmensen, A K

2008-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between physical activity in early pregnancy and risk of pre-eclampsia. DESIGN: Prospective cohort. SETTING: Denmark. POPULATION: A total of 85,139 pregnant Danish women, recruited between 1996 and 2002. METHODS: The authors assessed leisure time physical...

Early Adolescent Boys' Exposure to Internet Pornography: Relationships to Pubertal Timing, Sensation Seeking, and Academic Performance

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Beyens, Ine; Vandenbosch, Laura; Eggermont, Steven

2015-01-01

Research has demonstrated that adolescents regularly use Internet pornography. This two-wave panel study aimed to test an integrative model in early adolescent boys (M[subscript age] = 14.10; N = 325) that (a) explains their exposure to Internet pornography by looking at relationships with pubertal timing and sensation seeking, and (b) explores…

Paternal masculinities in early fatherhood: dominant and counter narratives by Finnish first-time fathers

OpenAIRE

Eerola, Petteri; Mykkänen, Johanna

2013-01-01

In this article, we seek to extend understanding of the role of gender in early fatherhood by examining narratives of paternal masculinities, that is, the social and cultural constructions of gendered practices and conventions produced by men on their roles as male parents. The data comprised interviews with 44 Finnish first-time fathers (aged 20-42 years) living in a heterosexual relationship. The narrative of the “decent father,” was identified as the dominant narrative of paternal masculin...

Foundation Content Knowledge: Pre-Service Teachers as Half-Empty or Becoming Fluent?

Science.gov (United States)

Anakin, Megan; Linsell, Chris

2014-01-01

The concept of a growth-oriented disposition framed the analysis of theoretical and practical dimensions of pre-service teachers' mathematics content knowledge. We identify historical hangovers, tacit habits, and pedagogical strangleholds that present challenges to the way mathematics education researchers interact with the mathematics content…

Socio-economic status and time trends associated with early ART initiation following primary HIV infection in Montreal, Canada: 1996 to 2015.

Science.gov (United States)

Mehraj, Vikram; Cox, Joseph; Lebouché, Bertrand; Costiniuk, Cecilia; Cao, Wei; Li, Taisheng; Ponte, Rosalie; Thomas, Réjean; Szabo, Jason; Baril, Jean-Guy; Trottier, Benoit; Côté, Pierre; LeBlanc, Roger; Bruneau, Julie; Tremblay, Cécile; Routy, Jean-Pierre

2018-02-01

Guidelines regarding antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation in HIV infection have varied over time, with the 2015 World Health Organization recommendation suggesting ART initiation at the time of diagnosis regardless of CD4 T-cell counts. Herein, we investigated the influence of socio-demographic and clinical factors in addition to time trends on early ART initiation among participants of the Montreal Primary HIV Infection Study. The Montreal Primary HIV Infection Study is a prospective cohort established in three community medical centres (CMCs) and two university medical centres (UMCs). Recently diagnosed HIV-infected adults were categorized as receiving early (vs. delayed) ART if ART was initiated within 180 days of the baseline visit. Associations between early ART initiation and socio-demographic, socio-economic and behavioural information were examined. Independent associations of factors linked with early ART initiation were determined using multivariable binary logistic regression analysis. A total of 348 participants had a documented date of HIV acquisition of age of participants was 35 (28; 42) years and the majority were male (96%), having paid employment (63%), men who have sex with men (MSM) (78%) and one to four sexual partners in the last three months (70%). Participants presented with a median IQR HIV plasma viral load of 4.6 (3.7; 5.3) log 10 copies/ml, CD4 count of 510 (387; 660) cells/μl and were recruited in CMCs (52%) or UMCs (48%). Early ART initiation was observed in 47% of the participants and the trend followed a V-shaped curve with peaks in 1996 to 1997 (89%) and 2013 to 2015 (88%) with a dip in 2007 to 2009 (22%). Multivariable analyses showed that having a paid employment adjusted odds ratio (aOR: 2.43; 95% CI: 1.19, 4.95), lower CD4 count (aOR per 50 cell increase: 0.93; 95% CI: 0.87, 0.99) and care at UMCs (aOR: 2.03; 95% CI: 1.06 to 3.90) were independently associated with early ART initiation. Early ART initiation during primary

Health-related effects of early part-time sick leave due to musculoskeletal disorders: a randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Shiri, Rahman; Kausto, Johanna; Martimo, Kari-Pekka; Kaila-Kangas, Leena; Takala, Esa-Pekka; Viikari-Juntura, Eira

2013-01-01

Previously we reported that early part-time sick leave enhances return to work (RTW) among employees with musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). This paper assesses the health-related effects of this intervention. Patients aged 18-60 years who were unable to perform their regular work due to MSD were randomized to part- or full-time sick leave groups. In the former, workload was reduced by halving working time. Using validated questionnaires, we assessed pain intensity and interference with work and sleep, region-specific disability due to MSD, self-rated general health, health-related quality of life (measured via EuroQol), productivity loss, depression, and sleep disturbance at baseline, 1, 3, 8, 12, and 52 weeks. We analyzed the repeated measures data (171-356 observations) with the generalized estimating equation approach. The intervention (part-time sick leave) and control (full-time sick leave) groups did not differ with regard to pain intensity, pain interference with work and sleep, region-specific disability, productivity loss, depression, or sleep disturbance. The intervention group reported better self-rated general health (adjusted P=0.07) and health-related quality of life (adjusted P=0.02) than the control group. In subgroup analyses, the intervention was more effective among the patients whose current problem began occurring part-time sick leave did not exacerbate pain-related symptoms and functional disability, but improved self-rated general health and health-related quality of life in the early stage of work disability due to MSD.

Patient satisfaction and barriers to initiating real-time continuous glucose monitoring in early pregnancy in women with diabetes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Secher, A L; Madsen, A B; Nielsen, Lene Ringholm

2012-01-01

of initial monitoring). Ten women (15%) did not wish to use continuous glucose monitoring again in pregnancy. Main causes behind early removal of continuous glucose monitoring were self-reported skin irritation, technical problems and continuous glucose monitoring inaccuracy. No differences were found......Aim: To evaluate self-reported satisfaction and barriers to initiating real-time continuous glucose monitoring in early pregnancy among women with pregestational diabetes. Methods: Fifty-four women with Type 1 diabetes and 14 women with Type 2 diabetes were offered continuous glucose monitoring...

NEAR REAL-TIME DETERMINATION OF EARTHQUAKE SOURCE PARAMETERS FOR TSUNAMI EARLY WARNING FROM GEODETIC OBSERVATIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Manneela

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Exemplifying the tsunami source immediately after an earthquake is the most critical component of tsunami early warning, as not every earthquake generates a tsunami. After a major under sea earthquake, it is very important to determine whether or not it has actually triggered the deadly wave. The near real-time observations from near field networks such as strong motion and Global Positioning System (GPS allows rapid determination of fault geometry. Here we present a complete processing chain of Indian Tsunami Early Warning System (ITEWS, starting from acquisition of geodetic raw data, processing, inversion and simulating the situation as it would be at warning center during any major earthquake. We determine the earthquake moment magnitude and generate the centroid moment tensor solution using a novel approach which are the key elements for tsunami early warning. Though the well established seismic monitoring network, numerical modeling and dissemination system are currently capable to provide tsunami warnings to most of the countries in and around the Indian Ocean, the study highlights the critical role of geodetic observations in determination of tsunami source for high-quality forecasting.

[EARLY RATHER THAN IMMEDIATE PCI IN NSTEMI; IS TIME EQUAL TO MUSCLE ONCE AGAIN?

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Carasso, Shemy; Nassar, Ali; Kuzniec, Fabio; Hazanov, Yevgeni; Salman, Nabeeh; Halhla, Yussra; Amir, Offer; Ghanem, Diab

2017-10-01

Current guidelines advocate immediate vs. non-immediate percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) strategy in ST elevation vs. non ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI, NSTEMI). There is however increasing concern that "next-day PCI" in NSTEMI may adversely affect LV systolic and/or diastolic function and a more urgent aggressive approach should be taken in NSTEMI, similar to that in STEMI. In the current study we compared echocardiographic data between patients with STEMI and NSTEMI who had either primary or early PCI respectively. Prospective data of 165 consecutive patients with an acute MI were analyzed. Patients had primary PCI if they had STEMI and non-emergent PCI if they had NSTEMI. Demographic information, laboratory test results, procedure time and post-PCI echocardiographic assessment were compared between the two groups. Patients with STEMI were younger compared to patients with NSTEMI. Time to intervention was significantly longer in NSTEMI, reflecting guideline derived intervention strategy (1.9±1.7days, (median 1day) vs. 30±15min, for NSTEMI and STEMI, respectively, pPCI up to 72 hours in patients with NSTEMI did not adversely affect left ventricular systolic and/or diastolic function compared to immediate PCI in patients with STEMI. Based on current data, we conclude that early PCI intervention rather than an immediate one is appropriate in NSTEMI patients.

Influence of timing of hard palate repair in a two-stage procedure on early language development in Danish children with cleft palate

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Willadsen, Elisabeth

2012-01-01

Objective: to investigate the influence of timing of hard palate closure on early language development from 18 months to 3 years of age. Design: a prospective, randomized clinical trial. Participants: thirty-four children with UCLP with velum closure at 4 months of age, and hard palate closure...... language development in cleft palate children. Key words: cleft palate, phonological development, lexical development, surgical timing....... at 12 months (EarlyHPR (Early hard palate repair)) or 36 months (LateHPU (Late hard palate Unrepaired)) by random assignment. Thirty-five control children matched for gender and age. Methods: all children were video recorded during a play interaction with a parent at 18 months of age. These recordings...

Total donor ischemic time: relationship to early hemodynamics and intensive care morbidity in pediatric cardiac transplant recipients.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodrigues, Warren; Carr, Michelle; Ridout, Deborah; Carter, Katherine; Hulme, Sara Louise; Simmonds, Jacob; Elliott, Martin; Hoskote, Aparna; Burch, Michael; Brown, Kate L

2011-11-01

Single-center studies have failed to link modest increases in total donor ischemic time to mortality after pediatric orthotopic heart transplant. We aimed to investigate whether prolonged total donor ischemic time is linked to pediatric intensive care morbidity after orthotopic heart transplant. Retrospective cohort review. Tertiary pediatric transplant center in the United Kingdom. Ninety-three pediatric orthotopic heart transplants between 2002 and 2006. Total donor ischemic time was investigated for association with early post-orthotopic heart transplant hemodynamics and intensive care unit morbidities. Of 43 males and 50 females with median age 7.2 (interquartile range 2.2, 13.0) yrs, 62 (68%) had dilated cardiomyopathy, 20 (22%) had congenital heart disease, and nine (10%) had restrictive cardiomyopathy. The mean total donor ischemic time was 225.9 (sd 65.6) mins. In the first 24 hrs after orthotopic heart transplant, age-adjusted mean arterial blood pressure increased (p total donor ischemic time was significantly associated with lower mean arterial blood pressure (p care unit (p = .004), and longer post-orthotopic heart transplant stay in hospital (p = .02). Total donor ischemic time was not related to levels of mean pulmonary arterial pressure (p = .62), left atrial pressure (p = .38), or central venous pressure (p = .76) early after orthotopic heart transplant. Prolonged total donor ischemic time has an adverse effect on the donor organ, contributing to lower mean arterial blood pressure, as well as more prolonged ventilation and intensive care unit and hospital stays post-orthotopic heart transplant, reflecting increased morbidity.

A Randomized Trial of Time-Limited Antiretroviral Therapy in Acute/Early HIV Infection.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joseph B Margolick

Full Text Available It has been proposed that initiation of antiretroviral treatment (ART very soon after establishment of HIV infection may be beneficial by improving host control of HIV replication and delaying disease progression.People with documented HIV infection of less than 12 months' duration in Baltimore MD and seven Canadian sites were randomized to either a observation and deferred ART, or b immediate treatment with ART for 12 months. All subjects not receiving ART were followed quarterly and permanent ART was initiated according to contemporaneous treatment guidelines. The endpoint of the trial was total ART-free time from study entry until initiation of permanent ART.One hundred thirteen people were randomized, 56 to the observation arm and 57 to the immediate treatment arm. Twenty-three had acute (<2 months infection and 90 early (2-12 months infection. Of those randomized to the immediate treatment arm, 37 completed 12 months of ART according to protocol, 9 declined to stop ART after 12 months, and 11 were nonadherent to the protocol or lost to follow-up. Comparing those in the observation arm to either those who completed 12 months of ART or all 56 who were randomized to immediate ART, there was no significant difference between the arms in treatment-free interval after study entry, which was about 18 months in both arms.This study did not find a benefit from administration of a brief, time-limited (12-month course of ART in acute or early HIV infection.ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00106171.

Time-window of early detection of response to concurrent chemoradiation in cervical cancer by using diffusion-weighted MR imaging: a pilot study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Ying; Sun, Haoran; Bai, Renju; Ye, Zhaoxiang

2015-01-01

To investigate the feasibility of DWI in evaluating early therapeutic response of uterine cervical cancer to concurrent chemoradiation (CCR) and establish optimal time window for early detection of treatment response. This was a prospective study and informed consent was obtained from all patients. Thirty-three patients with uterine cervical cancer who received CCR underwent conventional MRI and DWI examinations prior to therapy (base-line) and at 3 days (postT1), 7 days (postT2), 14 days (postT3), 1 month (postT4) and 2 months (postT5) after the therapy initiated. Tumor response was determined by comparing the base-line and postT5 MRI by using RECIST criterion. Percentage ADC change (γADC) of complete response (CR) group at each follow up time was greater than that of partial response (PR) group, and the differences were significant at postT3 (p = 0.007), postT4 (p = 0.001), and postT5 (p = 0.019). There was positive correlation between γADC at each follow-up time and percentage size reduction at postT5. The day of 14 after the therapy initiated can be considered as the optimal time for monitoring early treatment response of uterine cervical cancer to CCR, and the representative and sensitive index was γADC. With the cut-off value of 35.4 %, the sensitivity and specificity for prediction of CR group were 100 % and 73.1 %, respectively. It is feasible to use DWI to predict and monitor early treatment response in patients with uterine cervical cancer that undergoing CCR, and optimal time window for early detection of tumor response is the day of 14 after therapy initiated

Deep brain stimulation effects in dystonia: time course of electrophysiological changes in early treatment.

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Ruge, Diane; Tisch, Stephen; Hariz, Marwan I; Zrinzo, Ludvic; Bhatia, Kailash P; Quinn, Niall P; Jahanshahi, Marjan; Limousin, Patricia; Rothwell, John C

2011-08-15

Deep brain stimulation to the internal globus pallidus is an effective treatment for primary dystonia. The optimal clinical effect often occurs only weeks to months after starting stimulation. To better understand the underlying electrophysiological changes in this period, we assessed longitudinally 2 pathophysiological markers of dystonia in patients prior to and in the early treatment period (1, 3, 6 months) after deep brain stimulation surgery. Transcranial magnetic stimulation was used to track changes in short-latency intracortical inhibition, a measure of excitability of GABA(A) -ergic corticocortical connections and long-term potentiation-like synaptic plasticity (as a response to paired associative stimulation). Deep brain stimulation remained on for the duration of the study. Prior to surgery, inhibition was reduced and plasticity increased in patients compared with healthy controls. Following surgery and commencement of deep brain stimulation, short-latency intracortical inhibition increased toward normal levels over the following months with the same monotonic time course as the patients' clinical benefit. In contrast, synaptic plasticity changed rapidly, following a nonmonotonic time course: it was absent early (1 month) after surgery, and then over the following months increased toward levels observed in healthy individuals. We postulate that before surgery preexisting high levels of plasticity form strong memories of dystonic movement patterns. When deep brain stimulation is turned on, it disrupts abnormal basal ganglia signals, resulting in the absent response to paired associative stimulation at 1 month. Clinical benefit is delayed because engrams of abnormal movement persist and take time to normalize. Our observations suggest that plasticity may be a driver of long-term therapeutic effects of deep brain stimulation in dystonia. Copyright © 2011 Movement Disorder Society.

Neighborhood Poverty Impacts Children's Physical Health and Well-Being over Time: Evidence from the Early Development Instrument

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Cushon, Jennifer A.; Vu, Lan T. H.; Janzen, Bonnie L.; Muhajarine, Nazeem

2011-01-01

Research Findings: The purpose of this study was to investigate how neighborhoods and neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage impact school readiness over time. School readiness was measured using the Early Development Instrument (EDI) for 3 populations of kindergartners in 2001, 2003, and 2005 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. EDI results…

Advances in the early diagnosis of congenital hip dysplasia by real-time sonography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brockmann, W.P.; Wilmsdorf, H.v.; Weh, L.; Korn, U.

1984-05-01

Twenty-four infants and children aged five days to three years had their hips examined by ultrasound, and in 17 the findings were compared with the radiographic appearances. Real-time sonography, because of its flexibility, is a suitable screening method for the early diagnosis of hip dysplasia. It has the typical characteristics of a screening method: so far there have been no false negative findings. False positive results are rare, but cannot be completely excluded. The patients examined so far were mostly abnormal, and a final assessment of false positive findings will have to await larger clinical material, including normals. 6 figs.

Influences of spawning timing, water temperature, and climatic warming on early life history phenology in western Alaska sockeye salmon

Science.gov (United States)

Sparks, Morgan M.; Falke, Jeffrey A.; Quinn, Thomas P.; Adkison, Milo D.; Schindler, Daniel E.; Bartz, Krista K.; Young, Daniel B.; Westley, Peter A. H.

2018-01-01

We applied an empirical model to predict hatching and emergence timing for 25 western Alaska sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) populations in four lake-nursery systems to explore current patterns and potential responses of early life history phenology to warming water temperatures. Given experienced temperature regimes during development, we predicted hatching to occur in as few as 58 d to as many as 260 d depending on spawning timing and temperature. For a focal lake spawning population, our climate-lake temperature model predicted a water temperature increase of 0.7 to 1.4 °C from 2015 to 2099 during the incubation period, which translated to a 16 d to 30 d earlier hatching timing. The most extreme scenarios of warming advanced development by approximately a week earlier than historical minima and thus climatic warming may lead to only modest shifts in phenology during the early life history stage of this population. The marked variation in the predicted timing of hatching and emergence among populations in close proximity on the landscape may serve to buffer this metapopulation from climate change.

Conserved relative timing of cranial ossification patterns in early mammalian evolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Sánchez-Villagra, Marcelo R; Goswami, Anjali; Weisbecker, Vera; Mock, Orin; Kuratani, Shigeru

2008-01-01

We analyzed a comprehensive data set of ossification sequences including seven marsupial, 13 placental and seven sauropsid species. Data are provided for the first time for two major mammalian clades, Chiroptera and Soricidae, and for two rodent species; the published sequences of three species were improved with additional sampling. The relative timing of the onset of ossification in 17 cranial elements was recorded, resulting in 136 event pairs, which were treated as characters for each species. Half of these characters are constant across all taxa, 30% are variable but phylogenetically uninformative, and 19% potentially deliver diagnostic features for clades of two or more taxa. Using the conservative estimate of heterochronic changes provided by the program Parsimov, only a few heterochronies were found to diagnose mammals, marsupials, or placentals. A later onset of ossification of the pterygoid with respect to six other cranial bones characterizes therian mammals. This result may relate to the relatively small size of this bone in this clade. One change in relative onset of ossification is hypothesized as a potential human autapomorphy in the context of the sampling made: the earlier onset of the ossification of the periotic with respect to the lacrimal and to three basicranial bones. Using the standard error of scaled ranks across all species as a measure of each element's lability in developmental timing, we found that ossification of early, middle, and late events are similarly labile, with basicranial traits the most labile in timing of onset of ossification. Despite marsupials and placental mammals diverging at least 130 Ma, few heterochronic shifts in cranial ossification diagnose these clades.

Real-time 3-D space numerical shake prediction for earthquake early warning

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Tianyun; Jin, Xing; Huang, Yandan; Wei, Yongxiang

2017-12-01

In earthquake early warning systems, real-time shake prediction through wave propagation simulation is a promising approach. Compared with traditional methods, it does not suffer from the inaccurate estimation of source parameters. For computation efficiency, wave direction is assumed to propagate on the 2-D surface of the earth in these methods. In fact, since the seismic wave propagates in the 3-D sphere of the earth, the 2-D space modeling of wave direction results in inaccurate wave estimation. In this paper, we propose a 3-D space numerical shake prediction method, which simulates the wave propagation in 3-D space using radiative transfer theory, and incorporate data assimilation technique to estimate the distribution of wave energy. 2011 Tohoku earthquake is studied as an example to show the validity of the proposed model. 2-D space model and 3-D space model are compared in this article, and the prediction results show that numerical shake prediction based on 3-D space model can estimate the real-time ground motion precisely, and overprediction is alleviated when using 3-D space model.

Time development in the early history of social networks: link stabilization, group dynamics, and segregation.

Science.gov (United States)

Bruun, Jesper; Bearden, Ian G

2014-01-01

Studies of the time development of empirical networks usually investigate late stages where lasting connections have already stabilized. Empirical data on early network history are rare but needed for a better understanding of how social network topology develops in real life. Studying students who are beginning their studies at a university with no or few prior connections to each other offers a unique opportunity to investigate the formation and early development of link patterns and community structure in social networks. During a nine week introductory physics course, first year physics students were asked to identify those with whom they communicated about problem solving in physics during the preceding week. We use these students' self reports to produce time dependent student interaction networks. We investigate these networks to elucidate possible effects of different student attributes in early network formation. Changes in the weekly number of links show that while roughly half of all links change from week to week, students also reestablish a growing number of links as they progress through their first weeks of study. Using the Infomap community detection algorithm, we show that the networks exhibit community structure, and we use non-network student attributes, such as gender and end-of-course grade to characterize communities during their formation. Specifically, we develop a segregation measure and show that students structure themselves according to gender and pre-organized sections (in which students engage in problem solving and laboratory work), but not according to end-of-coure grade. Alluvial diagrams of consecutive weeks' communities show that while student movement between groups are erratic in the beginning of their studies, they stabilize somewhat towards the end of the course. Taken together, the analyses imply that student interaction networks stabilize quickly and that students establish collaborations based on who is immediately

Famines in Africa: is early warning early enough?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeeyon Janet Kim

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Following the second Sahelian famine in 1984–1985, major investments were made to establish Early Warning Systems. These systems help to ensure that timely warnings and vulnerability information are available to decision makers to anticipate and avert food crises. In the recent crisis in the Horn of Africa, alarming levels of acute malnutrition were documented from March 2010, and by August 2010, an impending food crisis was forecast. Despite these measures, the situation remained unrecognised, and further deteriorated causing malnutrition levels to grow in severity and scope. By the time the United Nations officially declared famine on 20 July 2011, and the humanitarian community sluggishly went into response mode, levels of malnutrition and mortality exceeded catastrophic levels. At this time, an estimated 11 million people were in desperate and immediate need for food. With warnings of food crises in the Sahel, South Sudan, and forecast of the drought returning to the Horn, there is an immediate need to institutionalize change in the health response during humanitarian emergencies. Early warning systems are only effective if they trigger an early response.

Early-life predictors of leisure-time physical inactivity in midadulthood: findings from a prospective British birth cohort.

Science.gov (United States)

Pinto Pereira, Snehal M; Li, Leah; Power, Chris

2014-12-01

Much adult physical inactivity research ignores early-life factors from which later influences may originate. In the 1958 British birth cohort (followed from 1958 to 2008), leisure-time inactivity, defined as activity frequency of less than once a week, was assessed at ages 33, 42, and 50 years (n = 12,776). Early-life factors (at ages 0-16 years) were categorized into 3 domains (i.e., physical, social, and behavioral). We assessed associations of adult inactivity 1) with factors within domains, 2) with the 3 domains combined, and 3) allowing for adult factors. At each age, approximately 32% of subjects were inactive. When domains were combined, factors associated with inactivity (e.g., at age 50 years) were prepubertal stature (5% lower odds per 1-standard deviation higher height), hand control/coordination problems (14% higher odds per 1-point increase on a 4-point scale), cognition (10% lower odds per 1-standard deviation greater ability), parental divorce (21% higher odds), institutional care (29% higher odds), parental social class at child's birth (9% higher odds per 1-point reduction on a 4-point scale), minimal parental education (13% higher odds), household amenities (2% higher odds per increase (representing poorer amenities) on a 19-point scale), inactivity (8% higher odds per 1-point reduction in activity on a 4-point scale), low sports aptitude (13% higher odds), and externalizing behaviors (i.e., conduct problems) (5% higher odds per 1-standard deviation higher score). Adjustment for adult covariates weakened associations slightly. Factors from early life were associated with adult leisure-time inactivity, allowing for early identification of groups vulnerable to inactivity. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Short communication. Harvest time in hedgerow Arbequina olive orchards in areas with early frosts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gracia, P.; Sanchez-Gimeno, A. C.; Benito, M.; Oria, R.; Lasa, J. M.

2012-11-01

The shortening of harvest time attained in hedgerow olive (Olea europaea L.) orchards represents an advantage for the adoption of this cropping system in areas that are prone to suffer frost during the harvest period. To establish an optimal harvesting window, we carried out a study of the fruit ripening process on a hedgerow orchard of Arbequina olive trees, located in Zaragoza (Spain). From 2007 to 2009, oil accumulation on the fruit (% of dry weight) and oil yield (grams of oil per 100 fruits) were monitored, from early September to late November. Over the three years both variables peaked around November 15th, indicating that Arbequina reached full ripening earlier than has been reported previously for this variety. In two of the three seasons the orchard suffered several frosts during November. Long term climatic data from this area indicated that the risk of early frosts (< -2 degree centigrade) increases as November progresses with a high risk after November 20{sup t}h. In conclusion, the optimal harvesting period for Arbequina in this area should not extend beyond November 20{sup t}h. A rapid harvesting before this date is advisable to avoid the risk of damage caused by early frost in Zaragoza. Hedgerow planting provides an additional advantage in frost-prone areas, because mechanization of operations permits a short harvest period, easier to fit into the optimal harvesting window. (Author) 20 refs.

The breathtaking truth about breath alcohol readings of zero

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verster, Joris C; Mackus, Marlou; van de Loo, Aurora Jae; Garssen, Johan; Scholey, Andrew

INTRODUCTION: It has been postulated that the hangover state starts when breath alcohol concentration is zero. METHODS: Data from 2 studies that assessed ethanol in breath, blood and urine were compared. RESULTS: The data revealed that ethanol may still be present in the blood and urine during the

The importance of confronting a colonial, patriarchal and racist past ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The importance of confronting a colonial, patriarchal and racist past in addressing post-apartheid sexual violence. ... It also needs to redress problems of social and economic inequality that exist in South Africa as hangovers from this country's colonial and apartheid-era past. Keywords: Zuma, rape, Kipling, colonialism, ...

Christopher Kamlongera, Theatre for Development in Africa With ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This argument is forcefully expressed, particularly in a section linking the deficiencies of extension workers' communication skills with a hangover of colonial elitism. Here Kamlongera is venturing into the more complex and controversial arena of neocolonial ideology. He is obviously aware (for example in chapter 9) of the ...

Statistical process control: A feasibility study of the application of time-series measurement in early neurorehabilitation after acquired brain injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Markovic, Gabriela; Schult, Marie-Louise; Bartfai, Aniko; Elg, Mattias

2017-01-31

Progress in early cognitive recovery after acquired brain injury is uneven and unpredictable, and thus the evaluation of rehabilitation is complex. The use of time-series measurements is susceptible to statistical change due to process variation. To evaluate the feasibility of using a time-series method, statistical process control, in early cognitive rehabilitation. Participants were 27 patients with acquired brain injury undergoing interdisciplinary rehabilitation of attention within 4 months post-injury. The outcome measure, the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test, was analysed using statistical process control. Statistical process control identifies if and when change occurs in the process according to 3 patterns: rapid, steady or stationary performers. The statistical process control method was adjusted, in terms of constructing the baseline and the total number of measurement points, in order to measure a process in change. Statistical process control methodology is feasible for use in early cognitive rehabilitation, since it provides information about change in a process, thus enabling adjustment of the individual treatment response. Together with the results indicating discernible subgroups that respond differently to rehabilitation, statistical process control could be a valid tool in clinical decision-making. This study is a starting-point in understanding the rehabilitation process using a real-time-measurements approach.

Poor sleep quality predicts deficient emotion information processing over time in early adolescence.

Science.gov (United States)

Soffer-Dudek, Nirit; Sadeh, Avi; Dahl, Ronald E; Rosenblat-Stein, Shiran

2011-11-01

There is deepening understanding of the effects of sleep on emotional information processing. Emotion information processing is a key aspect of social competence, which undergoes important maturational and developmental changes in adolescence; however, most research in this area has focused on adults. Our aim was to test the links between sleep and emotion information processing during early adolescence. Sleep and facial information processing were assessed objectively during 3 assessment waves, separated by 1-year lags. Data were obtained in natural environments-sleep was assessed in home settings, and facial information processing was assessed at school. 94 healthy children (53 girls, 41 boys), aged 10 years at Time 1. N/A. Facial information processing was tested under neutral (gender identification) and emotional (emotional expression identification) conditions. Sleep was assessed in home settings using actigraphy for 7 nights at each assessment wave. Waking > 5 min was considered a night awakening. Using multilevel modeling, elevated night awakenings and decreased sleep efficiency significantly predicted poor performance only in the emotional information processing condition (e.g., b = -1.79, SD = 0.52, confidence interval: lower boundary = -2.82, upper boundary = -0.076, t(416.94) = -3.42, P = 0.001). Poor sleep quality is associated with compromised emotional information processing during early adolescence, a sensitive period in socio-emotional development.

The application of T1 and T2 relaxation time and magnetization transfer ratios to the early diagnosis of patellar cartilage osteoarthritis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yao, Weiwu; Qu, Nan; Lu, Zhihua; Yang, Shixun [Shanghai Jiaotong University, Department of Radiology, Shanghai (China)

2009-11-15

We compare the T1 and T2 relaxation times and magnetization transfer ratios (MTRs) of normal subjects and patients with osteoarthritis (OA) to evaluate the ability of these techniques to aid in the early diagnosis and treatment of OA. The knee joints in 11 normal volunteers and 40 patients with OA were prospectively evaluated using T1 relaxation times as measured using delayed gadolinium-enhanced MRI of cartilage (dGEMRIC), T2 relaxation times (multiple spin-echo sequence, T2 mapping), and MTRs. The OA patients were further categorized into mild, moderate, and severe OA. The mean T1 relaxation times of the four groups (normal, mild OA, moderate OA, and severe OA) were: 487.3{+-}27.7, 458.0{+-}55.9, 405.9{+-}57.3, and 357.9{+-}36.7 respectively (p<0.001). The mean T2 relaxation times of the four groups were: 37.8{+-}3.3, 44.0{+-}8.5, 50.9{+-}9.5, and 57.4{+-}4.8 respectively (p<0.001). T1 relaxation time decreased and T2 relaxation time increased with worsening degeneration of patellar cartilage. The result of the covariance analysis showed that the covariate age had a significant influence on T2 relaxation time (p<0.001). No significant differences between the normal and OA groups using MTR were noted. T1 and T2 relaxation times are relatively sensitive to early degenerative changes in the patellar cartilage, whereas the MTR may have some limitations with regard to early detection of OA. In addition, The T1 and T2 relaxation times negatively correlate with each other, which is a novel finding. (orig.)

Performance Analysis of a Citywide Real-time Landslide Early Warning System in Korea

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Joon-Young; Lee, Seung-Rae; Kang, Sinhang; Lee, Deuk-hwan; Nedumpallile Vasu, Nikhil

2017-04-01

Rainfall-induced landslide has been one of the major disasters in Korea since the beginning of 21st century when the global climate change started to give rise to the growth of the magnitude and frequency of extreme precipitation events. In order to mitigate the increasing damage to properties and loss of lives and to provide an effective tool for public officials to manage the landslide disasters, a real-time landslide early warning system with an advanced concept has been developed by taking into account for Busan, the second largest metropolitan city in Korea, as an operational test-bed. The system provides with warning information based on a five-level alert scheme (Normal, Attention, Watch, Alert, and Emergency) using the forecasted/observed rainfall data or the data obtained from ground monitoring (volumetric water content and matric suction). The alert levels are determined by applying seven different thresholds in a step-wise manner following a decision tree. In the pursuit of improved reliability of an early warning level assigned to a specific area, the system makes assessments repetitively using the thresholds of different theoretical backgrounds including statistical(empirical), physically-based, and mathematical analyses as well as direct measurement-based approaches. By mapping the distribution of the five early warning levels determined independently for each of tens of millions grids covering the entire mountainous area of Busan, the regional-scale system can also provide with the early warning information for a specific local area. The fact that the highest warning level is determined by using a concept of a numerically-modelled potential debris-flow risk is another distinctive feature of the system. This study tested the system performance by applying it for four previous rainy seasons in order to validate the operational applicability. During the rainy seasons of 2009, 2011, and 2014, the number of landslides recorded throughout Busan's territory

Rumination time around calving: an early signal to detect cows at greater risk of disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Calamari, L; Soriani, N; Panella, G; Petrera, F; Minuti, A; Trevisi, E

2014-01-01

The main objective of this experiment was to evaluate the use of rumination time (RT) during the peripartum period as a tool for early disease detection. The study was carried out in an experimental freestall barn and involved 23 Italian Friesian cows (9 primiparous and 14 multiparous). The RT was continuously recorded by using an automatic system (Hr-Tag, SCR Engineers Ltd., Netanya, Israel), and data were summarized in 2-h intervals. Blood samples were collected from 30 d before calving to 42 d in milk (DIM) to assess biochemical indicators related to energy, protein, and mineral metabolism, as well as markers of inflammation and some enzyme activities. The liver functionality index, which includes some negative acute-phase proteins and related parameters (albumin, cholesterol, and bilirubin), was used to evaluate the severity of inflammatory conditions occurring around calving. The cows were retrospectively categorized according to RT observed between 3 and 6 DIM into those with the lowest (L) and highest (H) RT. The average RT before calving (-20 to -2d) was 479 min/d (range 264 to 599), reached a minimum value at calving (30% of RT before calving), and was nearly stable after 15 DIM (on average 452 min/d). Milk yield in early lactation (on average 26.8 kg/d) was positively correlated with RT (r = 0.33). After calving, compared with H cows, the L cows had higher values of haptoglobin (0.61 and 0.34 g/L at 10 DIM in L and H, respectively) for a longer time, had a greater increase in total bilirubin (9.5 and 5.7 μmol/L at 5 DIM in L and H), had greater reductions of albumin (31.2 and 33.5 g/L at 10 DIM in L and H) and paraoxonase (54 and 76 U/ml at 10 DIM in L and H), and had a slower increase of total cholesterol (2.7 and 3.2 mmol/L at 20 DIM in L and H). Furthermore, a lower average value of liver functionality index was observed in L (-6.97) compared with H (-1.91) cows. These results suggest that severe inflammation around parturition is associated with a

General dental practitioners' views on early childhood caries and timing of the first dental visit in Selangor, Malaysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Hussein, Alaa S; Schroth, Robert J; Abu-Hassan, Mohamed I

2015-03-01

This survey evaluated the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of general dental practitioners (GDPs) in Selangor regarding early childhood caries (ECC) prevention and the recommended timing of a child's first dental visit. A questionnaire was mailed to 521 licensed GDPs. Descriptive statistics were used, and bivariate and logistic regression analyses were performed. The response rate was 52.6%. Although 89.8% mentioned counseling parents and caregivers, only 44.2% were familiar with anticipatory guidance. Whereas 98.2% agreed that early examinations are important to prevent ECC, only 51.8% were aware of the recommendation for a first visit by 12 months of age. GDPs who recommended early dental visits were significantly more likely to be recent graduates, more familiar with professional guidelines, and less likely to be deterred by a child's crying or behavior. In conclusion, GDPs in Selangor are aware about the importance of early dental visits in ECC prevention. However, a considerable number of them are still not aware of the recommendation that children must first visit the dentist by 12 months of age. Furthermore, some of their current practices in ECC management and prevention do not match professional recommendations. © 2013 APJPH.

ANTHEM simulation of the early time magnetic field penetration of the plasma surrounding a high density Z-pinch

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mason, R.J.

1989-01-01

The early time penetration of magnetic field into the low density coronal plasma of a Z-pinch fiber is studied with the implicit plasma simulation code ANTHEM. Calculations show the emission of electrons from the cathode, pinching of the electron flow, magnetic insulation of the electrons near the anode, and low density ion blow off. PIC-particle ion calculations show a late time clumping of the ion density not seen with a fluid ion treatment. 4 refs., 4 figs

Aetiology, timing and clinical predictors of early vs. late readmission following index hospitalization for acute heart failure: insights from ASCEND-HF.

Science.gov (United States)

Fudim, Marat; O'Connor, Christopher M; Dunning, Allison; Ambrosy, Andrew P; Armstrong, Paul W; Coles, Adrian; Ezekowitz, Justin A; Greene, Stephen J; Metra, Marco; Starling, Randall C; Voors, Adriaan A; Hernandez, Adrian F; Michael Felker, G; Mentz, Robert J

2018-02-01

Patients hospitalized for heart failure (HF) are at high risk for 30-day readmission. This study sought to examine the timings and causes of readmission within 30 days of an HF hospitalization. Timing and cause of readmission in the ASCEND-HF (Acute Study of Clinical Effectiveness of Nesiritide and Decompensated Heart Failure) trial were assessed. Early and late readmissions were defined as admissions occurring within 0-7 days and 8-30 days post-discharge, respectively. Patients who died in hospital or remained hospitalized at day 30 post-randomization were excluded. Patients were compared by timing and cause of readmission. Logistic and Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were used to identify independent risk factors for early vs. late readmission and associations with 180-day outcomes. Of the 6584 patients (92%) in the ASCEND-HF population included in this analysis, 751 patients (11%) were readmitted within 30 days for any cause. Overall, 54% of readmissions were for non-HF causes. The median time to rehospitalization was 11 days (interquartile range: 6-18 days) and 33% of rehospitalizations occurred by day 7. Rehospitalization within 30 days was independently associated with increased risk for 180-day all-cause death [hazard ratio (HR) 2.38, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.93-2.94; P readmission (HR 0.99, 95% CI 0.67-1.45; P = 0.94). In this hospitalized HF trial population, a significant majority of 30-day readmissions were for non-HF causes and one-third of readmissions occurred in the first 7 days. Early and late readmissions within the 30-day timeframe were associated with similarly increased risk for death. Continued efforts to optimize multidisciplinary transitional care are warranted to improve rates of early readmission. © 2017 The Authors. European Journal of Heart Failure © 2017 European Society of Cardiology.

Early diagnosis of dengue in travelers: comparison of a novel real-time RT-PCR, NS1 antigen detection and serology.

Science.gov (United States)

Huhtamo, Eili; Hasu, Essi; Uzcátegui, Nathalie Y; Erra, Elina; Nikkari, Simo; Kantele, Anu; Vapalahti, Olli; Piiparinen, Heli

2010-01-01

The increased traveling to dengue endemic regions and the numerous epidemics have led to a rise in imported dengue. The laboratory diagnosis of acute dengue requires several types of tests and often paired samples are needed for obtaining reliable results. Although several diagnostic methods are available, proper comparative data on their performance are lacking. To compare the performance of novel methods including a novel pan-DENV real-time RT-PCR and a commercially available NS1 capture-EIA in regard to IgM detection for optimizing the early diagnosis of DENV in travelers. A panel of 99 selected early phase serum samples of dengue patients was studied by real-time RT-PCR, NS1 antigen ELISA, IgM-EIA, IgG-IFA and cell culture virus isolation. The novel real-time RT-PCR was shown specific and sensitive for detection of DENV-1-4 RNA and suitable for diagnostic use. The diagnostic rate using combination of RNA and IgM detection was 99% and using NS1 and IgM detection 95.9%. The results of RNA and NS1 antigen detection disagreed in 15.5% of samples that had only RNA or NS1 antigen detected. The diagnostic rates of early samples are higher when either RNA or NS1 antigen detection is combined with IgM detection. Besides the differences in the RNA and NS1 detection assays, the observed discrepancy of results could suggest individual variation or differences in timing of these markers in patient serum. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Refining the Early Devonian time scale using Milankovitch cyclicity in Lochkovian–Pragian sediments (Prague Synform, Czech Republic)

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

da Silva, A.C.; Hladil, Jindřich; Chadimová, Leona; Slavík, Ladislav; Hilgen, F. J.; Bábek, O.; Dekkers, M. J.

2016-01-01

Roč. 455, 1 December (2016), s. 125-139 ISSN 0012-821X R&D Projects: GA ČR GA14-18183S Institutional support: RVO:67985831 Keywords : orbital time scale * spectral analysis * Devonian * magnetic susceptibility * gamma ray spectrometry * limestone * Early Devonian * Lochkovian * Pragian * Emsian * Barrandian * peri-Gondwanan basins Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy Impact factor: 4.409, year: 2016

Transformation and time-out: the role of alcohol in identity construction among Scottish women in early midlife.

Science.gov (United States)

Emslie, Carol; Hunt, Kate; Lyons, Antonia

2015-05-01

Despite the increase in drinking by women in early midlife, little alcohol research has focused on this group. We explore how alcohol is associated with the construction of gender identities among women aged 30-50 years in the west of Scotland, United Kingdom. We draw on qualitative data from 11 focus groups (five all-female, six mixed-sex) with pre-existing groups of friends and work colleagues in which women and men discuss their drinking behaviours. Analysis demonstrated how alcohol represented a time and space away from paid and unpaid work for women in a range of domestic circumstances, allowing them to relax and unwind. While women used alcohol to construct a range of identities, traditional notions of femininity remained salient (e.g. attention to appearance, drinking 'girly' drinks). Drinking enabled women to assert their identity beyond the roles and responsibilities often associated with being a woman in early midlife. For example, some respondents with young children described the transformative effects of excessive drinking which allowed them to return temporarily to a younger, carefree version of themselves. Thus, our data suggest that women's drinking in early midlife revolves around notions of 'idealised' femininity but simultaneously represents a way of achieving 'time out' from traditional female responsibilities such as caring for others. We consider these findings within a broader social and cultural context including alcohol marketing, domestic roles and motherhood and their implications for health promotion. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Technical Note: An operational landslide early warning system at regional scale based on space-time-variable rainfall thresholds

Science.gov (United States)

Segoni, S.; Battistini, A.; Rossi, G.; Rosi, A.; Lagomarsino, D.; Catani, F.; Moretti, S.; Casagli, N.

2015-04-01

We set up an early warning system for rainfall-induced landslides in Tuscany (23 000 km2). The system is based on a set of state-of-the-art intensity-duration rainfall thresholds (Segoni et al., 2014b) and makes use of LAMI (Limited Area Model Italy) rainfall forecasts and real-time rainfall data provided by an automated network of more than 300 rain gauges. The system was implemented in a WebGIS to ease the operational use in civil protection procedures: it is simple and intuitive to consult, and it provides different outputs. When switching among different views, the system is able to focus both on monitoring of real-time data and on forecasting at different lead times up to 48 h. Moreover, the system can switch between a basic data view where a synoptic scenario of the hazard can be shown all over the region and a more in-depth view were the rainfall path of rain gauges can be displayed and constantly compared with rainfall thresholds. To better account for the variability of the geomorphological and meteorological settings encountered in Tuscany, the region is subdivided into 25 alert zones, each provided with a specific threshold. The warning system reflects this subdivision: using a network of more than 300 rain gauges, it allows for the monitoring of each alert zone separately so that warnings can be issued independently. An important feature of the warning system is that the visualization of the thresholds in the WebGIS interface may vary in time depending on when the starting time of the rainfall event is set. The starting time of the rainfall event is considered as a variable by the early warning system: whenever new rainfall data are available, a recursive algorithm identifies the starting time for which the rainfall path is closest to or overcomes the threshold. This is considered the most hazardous condition, and it is displayed by the WebGIS interface. The early warning system is used to forecast and monitor the landslide hazard in the whole region

Timing of intermittent preventive treatment for malaria during pregnancy and the implications of current policy on early uptake in north-east Tanzania

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chambo Pili

2008-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Intermittent preventive treatment (IPTp is efficacious in reducing the adverse outcomes associated with pregnancy-associated malaria, however uptake of the recommended two doses is low in Tanzania, and little is known of the timepoint during pregnancy at which it is delivered. This study investigated the timing of delivery of IPTp to pregnant women attending antenatal clinics (ANC, and the potential determinants of timely uptake. Methods Structured interviews were conducted with staff and pregnant women at antenatal clinics in northeast Tanzania, and antenatal consultations were observed. Facility-based and individual factors were analysed for any correlation with timing of IPTp uptake. Results Almost half the women interviewed first attended ANC during or before the fourth month of gestation, however 86% of these early attendees did not receive IPTp on their first visit. The timing of IPTp delivery complied closely with the national guidelines which stipulate giving the first dose at 20–24 weeks gestation. Uptake of at least one dose of IPTp among women who had reached this gestation age was 67%, although this varied considerably between clinics. At one facility, IPTp was not delivered because SP was out of stock. Conclusion Early uptake of IPTp was found to be hampered by factors external to health worker performance or women's individual preferences. These include insufficient drug stocks and an apparent lack of information to health workers on the reasoning for continued use of SP for IPTp when it has been replaced as a first-line treatment. In addition, an unexpectedly high proportion of women attend antenatal clinics before 20 weeks of pregnancy. While current policy denies the use of IPTp at this time, there is emerging, but incomplete, evidence that malaria in early pregnancy may contribute considerably to the burden of pregnancy-related malaria. Current policy may thus result in a missed opportunity for maximising

Legislative change enabling use of early part-time sick leave enhanced return to work and work participation in Finland.

Science.gov (United States)

Viikari-Juntura, Eira; Virta, Lauri J; Kausto, Johanna; Autti-Rämö, Ilona; Martimo, Kari-Pekka; Laaksonen, Mikko; Leinonen, Taina; Husgafvel-Pursiainen, Kirsti; Burdorf, Alex; Solovieva, Svetlana

2017-09-01

Objectives The aim of the study was to assess the effectiveness of the use of part-time sick leave at the early (first 12 weeks) stage of work disability due to mental disorder or musculoskeletal disease on sustained return to work (RTW) and overall work participation. Methods In a nation-wide register-based quasi-experimental study, we compared sustained RTW (ie, ≥28 consecutive days at work) and 2-year work participation between the part- and full-time sickness absence (SA) benefit groups (N=1878 in each group) using propensity-score matching. Persons who received partial or full SA benefit due to musculoskeletal diseases or mental disorders between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2011 were eligible as cases or controls, respectively. Results A higher proportion showed sustained RTW after part- compared to full-time sick leave [absolute risk difference 8.0%, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 5.3-10.9]. Moreover, the proportion of time at work was at a 10.5% higher level in the part- compared to full-time sick leave group. The prevalence of full disability retirement was almost three-fold among the full- compared to part-time sick leave group, whereas partial disability retirement was 4.5-fold more prevalent in the part- compared to full-time sick leave group. Conclusions The use of part-time sick leave during the first three months of SA enhances RTW and overall work participation during two years among persons with mental disorders and musculoskeletal diseases. The prescription of part-time sick leave can be recommended at an early stage of work disability.

Real-Time Integration of Positioning and Accelerometer Data for Early Earthquake Warning on Canada's West Coast

Science.gov (United States)

Biffard, B.; Rosenberger, A.; Pirenne, B.; Valenzuela, M.; MacArthur, M.

2017-12-01

Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) operates ocean and coastal observatories on all three of Canada's coasts, and more particularly across the Cascadia subduction zone. The data are acquired, parsed, calibrated and archived by ONC's data management system (Oceans 2.0), with real-time event detection, reaction and access capabilities. As such, ONC is in a unique position to develop early warning systems for earthquakes, near- and far-field tsunamis and other events. ONC is leading the development of a system to alert southwestern British Columbia of an impending Cascadia subduction zone earthquake on behalf of the provincial government and with the support of the Canadian Federal Government. Similarly to other early earthquake warning systems, an array of accelerometers is used to detect the initial earthquake p-waves. This can provide 5-60 seconds of warning to subscribers who can then take action, such as stopping trains and surgeries, closing valves, taking cover, etc. To maximize the detection capability and the time available to react to a notification, instruments are placed both underwater and on land on Vancouver Island. A novel feature of ONC's system is, for land-based sites, the combination of real-time satellite positioning (GNSS) and accelerometer data in the calculations to improve earthquake intensity estimates. This results in higher accuracy, dynamic range and responsiveness than either type of sensor is capable of alone. P-wave detections and displacement data are sent from remote stations to a data centre that must calculate epicentre locations and magnitude. The latter are then delivered to subscribers with client software that, given their position, will calculate arrival time and intensity. All of this must occur with very high standards for latency, reliability and accuracy.

Early detection of metabolic and energy disorders by thermal time series stochastic complexity analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lutaif, N.A. [Departamento de Clínica Médica, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, SP (Brazil); Palazzo, R. Jr [Departamento de Telemática, Faculdade de Engenharia Elétrica e Computação, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, SP (Brazil); Gontijo, J.A.R. [Departamento de Clínica Médica, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, SP (Brazil)

2014-01-17

Maintenance of thermal homeostasis in rats fed a high-fat diet (HFD) is associated with changes in their thermal balance. The thermodynamic relationship between heat dissipation and energy storage is altered by the ingestion of high-energy diet content. Observation of thermal registers of core temperature behavior, in humans and rodents, permits identification of some characteristics of time series, such as autoreference and stationarity that fit adequately to a stochastic analysis. To identify this change, we used, for the first time, a stochastic autoregressive model, the concepts of which match those associated with physiological systems involved and applied in male HFD rats compared with their appropriate standard food intake age-matched male controls (n=7 per group). By analyzing a recorded temperature time series, we were able to identify when thermal homeostasis would be affected by a new diet. The autoregressive time series model (AR model) was used to predict the occurrence of thermal homeostasis, and this model proved to be very effective in distinguishing such a physiological disorder. Thus, we infer from the results of our study that maximum entropy distribution as a means for stochastic characterization of temperature time series registers may be established as an important and early tool to aid in the diagnosis and prevention of metabolic diseases due to their ability to detect small variations in thermal profile.

Early detection of metabolic and energy disorders by thermal time series stochastic complexity analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lutaif, N.A.; Palazzo, R. Jr; Gontijo, J.A.R.

2014-01-01

Maintenance of thermal homeostasis in rats fed a high-fat diet (HFD) is associated with changes in their thermal balance. The thermodynamic relationship between heat dissipation and energy storage is altered by the ingestion of high-energy diet content. Observation of thermal registers of core temperature behavior, in humans and rodents, permits identification of some characteristics of time series, such as autoreference and stationarity that fit adequately to a stochastic analysis. To identify this change, we used, for the first time, a stochastic autoregressive model, the concepts of which match those associated with physiological systems involved and applied in male HFD rats compared with their appropriate standard food intake age-matched male controls (n=7 per group). By analyzing a recorded temperature time series, we were able to identify when thermal homeostasis would be affected by a new diet. The autoregressive time series model (AR model) was used to predict the occurrence of thermal homeostasis, and this model proved to be very effective in distinguishing such a physiological disorder. Thus, we infer from the results of our study that maximum entropy distribution as a means for stochastic characterization of temperature time series registers may be established as an important and early tool to aid in the diagnosis and prevention of metabolic diseases due to their ability to detect small variations in thermal profile

Early detection of cardiac ischemia using a conductometric pCO2 sensor: real-time drift correction and parameterization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tronstad, Christian; Martinsen, Ørjan G; Grimnes, Sverre; Pischke, Soeren E; Holhjem, Lars; Tønnessen, Tor Inge

2010-01-01

For detection of cardiac ischemia based on regional pCO 2 measurement, sensor drift becomes a problem when monitoring over several hours. A real-time drift correction algorithm was developed based on utilization of the time-derivative to distinguish between physiological responses and the drift, customized by measurements from a myocardial infarction porcine model (6 pigs, 23 sensors). IscAlert(TM) conductometric pCO 2 sensors were placed in the myocardial regions supplied by the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) and the left circumflex artery (LCX) while the LAD artery was fully occluded for 1, 3, 5 and 15 min leading to ischemia in the LAD-dependent region. The measured pCO 2 , the drift-corrected pCO 2 (ΔpCO 2 ) and its time-derivative (TDpCO 2 ) were compared with respect to detection ability. Baseline stability in the ΔpCO 2 led to earlier, more accurate detection. The TDpCO 2 featured the earliest sensitivity, but with a lower specificity. Combining ΔpCO 2 and TDpCO 2 enables increased accuracy. Suggestions are given for the utilization of the parameters for an automated early warning and alarming system. In conclusion, early detection of cardiac ischemia is feasible using the conductometric pCO 2 sensor together with parameterization methods

Hip Dislocation and Dystocia in Early Medieval Times: Possible Evidence of Labor Maneuver.

Science.gov (United States)

Malgosa, Assumpció; Carrascal, Susana; Piga, Giampaolo; Isidro, Albert

2016-12-01

In ancient times, maternal mortality would occur frequently, particularly during labor. Evidence of dystocia resulting in the death of a pregnant woman is very infrequent in paleopathologic literature, with only a few cases being demonstrated. In the early medieval site of Casserres, the skeleton of a young woman with a fetus in the pelvic region was found. Some abnormal findings of the maternal skeleton were evaluated, including a sacral anomaly, femoral head wound, the rare position of the lower left limb with the femoral head dislodged anteriorly and cephalad from the socket, and a fibular fracture. Examining the anomalies all together, a case of anterior hip dislocation related to a McRoberts-like maneuver performed during labor is a plausible explanation of the findings.

The quantum cosmological wavefunction at very early times for a quadratic gravity theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davis, Simon

2003-01-01

The quantum cosmological wavefunction for a quadratic gravity theory derived from the heterotic string effective action is obtained near the inflationary epoch and during the initial Planck era. Neglecting derivatives with respect to the scalar field, the wavefunction would satisfy a third-order differential equation near the inflationary epoch which has a solution that is singular in the scale factor limit a(t) → 0. When scalar field derivatives are included, a sixth-order differential equation is obtained for the wavefunction and the solution by Mellin transform is regular in the a → 0 limit. It follows that inclusion of the scalar field in the quadratic gravity action is necessary for consistency of the quantum cosmology of the theory at very early times

Understanding time use, stress and recovery practices among early career physicians: an exploratory study.

Science.gov (United States)

Cranley, Nicole M; Cunningham, Christopher J L; Panda, Mukta

2016-01-01

Early career physicians (ECPs) work an average of 80 h per week, and at times may approach 24 continuous hours working. These hours, combined with a stressful work environment, and an inability to physically and psychologically detach from work make ECPs likely to experience burnout and other negative health-related consequences. This study provides insight into the stress and recovery challenges faced by ECPs in a typical hospital environment. Rich qualitative and quantitative data were gathered from participants regarding daily time usage, and recovery practices and needs. ECPs report longer working hours, less leisure time and shorter amounts of sleep than average working adults. ECPs do not participate in many resource-replenishing activities while at work, and when out of work, they tend to participate in more passive than active forms of recovery. Resource-draining activities were identified as requiring much of ECP's nonwork time, further limiting recovery. The prevention of burnout and other negative health consequences among ECPs requires the building of a workplace and educational culture that supports regular resource replenishment. This includes the need for a curriculum of medical education that teaches ECPs to identify the signs of stress and recovery needs, and how to effectively address these needs.

Investigation of Effectiveness of Some Vibration-Based Techniques in Early Detection of Real-Time Fatigue Failure in Gears

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hasan Ozturk

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Bending fatigue crack is a dangerous and insidious mode of failure in gears. As it produces no debris in its early stages, it gives little warning during its progression, and usually results in either immediate loss of serviceability or greatly reduced power transmitting capacity. This paper presents the applications of vibration-based techniques (i.e. conventional time and frequency domain analysis, cepstrum, and continuous wavelet transform to real gear vibrations in the early detection, diagnosis and advancement monitoring of a real tooth fatigue crack and compares their detection and diagnostic capabilities on the basis of experimental results. Gear fatigue damage is achieved under heavy-loading conditions and the gearbox is allowed to run until the gears suffer badly from complete tooth breakage. It has been found that the initiation and progression of fatigue crack cannot be easily detected by conventional time and frequency domain approaches until the fault is significantly developed. On the contrary, the wavelet transform is quite sensitive to any change in gear vibration and reveals fault features earlier than other methods considered.

Influence of timing of two-stage palate closure on early phonological and lexical development in children with cleft palate

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Willadsen, Elisabeth

  BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Numerous studies have indicated that early closure of the palatal cleft has a positive influence on the phonological development in children with cleft palate. So far, however, substantial evidence for this assumption has been lacking due to a variety of weaknesses...... of the studies conducted, including the lack of randomized clinical trials (RCT) (Peterson-Falzone 1996). A  prospective RCT was conducted to add to the knowledge of the influence of timing of hard palate closure on early phonological and lexical development from 1 to 3 years. METHODS Fourty-one children...... were video-recorded during a play interaction with a parent, and the video-recordings were transcribed in IPA. At 36 months, a naming test was administered. RESULTS At 18 months, the phonological development in the early group was more similar to that of the control group, than that of the late group...

Pain-to-hospital times, cardiovascular risk factors, and early intrahospital mortality in patients with acute myocardial infarction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brković E

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Eliana Brković,1 Katarina Novak,2,3 Livia Puljak3 1Department of Psychiatry, 2Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiology, 3Laboratory for Pain Research, University of Split School of Medicine, Split, Croatia Background: The aim of the study was to analyze the most recent trends in myocardial infarction (MI care, the number of patients treated for MI and their outcomes, cardiovascular disease risk factors, and pain-to-hospital times in MI patients. Subjects and methods: For 778 patients treated for acute MI at the Coronary Care Unit (CCU of University Hospital Split, Croatia the following data were acquired: outcome during hospitalization (survived, deceased, cardiovascular risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, previous MI, smoking, and pain-to-CCU time. Results: Among 778 patients treated for acute MI, there were 291 (37% women and 487 (63% men. Forty-five patients (6% died during hospitalization, mostly due to cardiogenic shock. An association was found between early intrahospital mortality and the following risk factors: age >70 years, female sex, previous MI, and smoking. Median pain-to-call time was 2 hours, and median time from the onset of pain to arrival into the CCU was 4 hours. There were 59 (7.6% patients admitted to the CCU within recommended 90 minutes. Diabetic comorbidity was not associated with early death or with longer time from pain to emergency calls. Conclusion: Some of the risk factors associated with adverse outcomes in MI are modifiable. Prehospital delay of 4 hours observed in patients who suffered an MI is too long, and more effort should be devoted to investments in health care and education of the general public regarding chest pain symptoms. Keywords: prehospital delay, ischemic heart disease

Abnormal early cleavage events predict early embryo demise: sperm oxidative stress and early abnormal cleavage.

Science.gov (United States)

Burruel, Victoria; Klooster, Katie; Barker, Christopher M; Pera, Renee Reijo; Meyers, Stuart

2014-10-13

Human embryos resulting from abnormal early cleavage can result in aneuploidy and failure to develop normally to the blastocyst stage. The nature of paternal influence on early embryo development has not been directly demonstrated although many studies have suggested effects from spermatozoal chromatin packaging, DNA damage, centriolar and mitotic spindle integrity, and plasma membrane integrity. The goal of this study was to determine whether early developmental events were affected by oxidative damage to the fertilizing sperm. Survival analysis was used to compare patterns of blastocyst formation based on P2 duration. Kaplan-Meier survival curves demonstrate that relatively few embryos with short (P2 times reached blastocysts, and the two curves diverged beginning on day 4, with nearly all of the embryos with longer P2 times reaching blastocysts by day 6 (p < .01). We determined that duration of the 2nd to 3rd mitoses were sensitive periods in the presence of spermatozoal oxidative stress. Embryos that displayed either too long or too short cytokineses demonstrated an increased failure to reach blastocyst stage and therefore survive for further development. Although paternal-derived gene expression occurs later in development, this study suggests a specific role in early mitosis that is highly influenced by paternal factors.

The effects of early time laser drive on hydrodynamic instability growth in National Ignition Facility implosions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peterson, J. L.; Clark, D. S.; Suter, L. J. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States); Masse, L. P. [CEA, DAM, DIF, 91297 Arpajon (France)

2014-09-15

Defects on inertial confinement fusion capsule surfaces can seed hydrodynamic instability growth and adversely affect capsule performance. The dynamics of shocks launched during the early period of x-ray driven National Ignition Facility (NIF) implosions determine whether perturbations will grow inward or outward at peak implosion velocity and final compression. In particular, the strength of the first shock, launched at the beginning of the laser pulse, plays an important role in determining Richtmyer-Meshkov (RM) oscillations on the ablation front. These surface oscillations can couple to the capsule interior through subsequent shocks before experiencing Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) growth. We compare radiation hydrodynamic simulations of NIF implosions to analytic theories of the ablative RM and RT instabilities to illustrate how early time laser strength can alter peak velocity growth. We develop a model that couples the RM and RT implosion phases and captures key features of full simulations. We also show how three key parameters can control the modal demarcation between outward and inward growth.

The presence of p53 influences the expression of multiple human cytomegalovirus genes at early times postinfection.

Science.gov (United States)

Hannemann, Holger; Rosenke, Kyle; O'Dowd, John M; Fortunato, Elizabeth A

2009-05-01

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a common cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised and immunosuppressed individuals. During infection, HCMV is known to employ host transcription factors to facilitate viral gene expression. To further understand the previously observed delay in viral replication and protein expression in p53 knockout cells, we conducted microarray analyses of p53(+/+) and p53(-/-) immortalized fibroblast cell lines. At a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 1 at 24 h postinfection (p.i.), the expression of 22 viral genes was affected by the absence of p53. Eleven of these 22 genes (group 1) were examined by real-time reverse transcriptase, or quantitative, PCR (q-PCR). Additionally, five genes previously determined to have p53 bound to their nearest p53-responsive elements (group 2) and three control genes without p53 binding sites in their upstream sequences (group 3) were also examined. At an MOI of 1, >3-fold regulation was found for five group 1 genes. The expression of group 2 and 3 genes was not changed. At an MOI of 5, all genes from group 1 and four of five genes from group 2 were found to be regulated. The expression of control genes from group 3 remained unchanged. A q-PCR time course of four genes revealed that p53 influences viral gene expression most at immediate-early and early times p.i., suggesting a mechanism for the reduced and delayed production of virions in p53(-/-) cells.

Time trends in alcohol intake in early pregnancy and official recommendations in Denmark, 1998-2013

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kesmodel, Ulrik S; Petersen, Gitte L; Henriksen, Tine B

2016-01-01

INTRODUCTION: In 1999, Danish health authorities modified their recommendation to pregnant women, condoning some alcohol intake. In 2007, the recommendation was changed to one of alcohol abstention. We aimed to assess changes in average alcohol intake (drinks/week) and alcohol binge drinking...... in early pregnancy from 1998 to 2013 in relation to the changes in official recommendations in 1999 (condoning some intake) and 2007 (abstention). MATERIAL AND METHODS: All Danish-speaking pregnant women attending routine antenatal care at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Aarhus University...... on a single occasion), and the timing (gestational week) of these episodes. Additional questions on binge drinking defined as ≥3 drinks on a single occasion were asked separately from 2000. A question assessed the average number of alcohol-containing drinks per week the woman consumed currently at the time...

Novel scenarios of early animal evolution--is it time to rewrite textbooks?

Science.gov (United States)

Dohrmann, Martin; Wörheide, Gert

2013-09-01

Understanding how important phenotypic, developmental, and genomic features of animals originated and evolved is essential for many fields of biological research, but such understanding depends on robust hypotheses about the phylogenetic interrelationships of the higher taxa to which the studied species belong. Molecular approaches to phylogenetics have proven able to revolutionize our knowledge of organismal evolution. However, with respect to the deepest splits in the metazoan Tree of Life-the relationships between Bilateria and the four non-bilaterian phyla (Porifera, Placozoa, Ctenophora, and Cnidaria)-no consensus has been reached yet, since a number of different, often contradictory, hypotheses with sometimes spectacular implications have been proposed in recent years. Here, we review the recent literature on the topic and contrast it with more classical perceptions based on analyses of morphological characters. We conclude that the time is not yet ripe to rewrite zoological textbooks and advocate a conservative approach when it comes to developing scenarios of the early evolution of animals.

Low to Moderate Average Alcohol Consumption and Binge Drinking in Early Pregnancy: Effects on Choice Reaction Time and Information Processing Time in Five-Year-Old Children.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tina R Kilburn

Full Text Available Deficits in information processing may be a core deficit after fetal alcohol exposure. This study was designed to investigate the possible effects of weekly low to moderate maternal alcohol consumption and binge drinking episodes in early pregnancy on choice reaction time (CRT and information processing time (IPT in young children.Participants were sampled based on maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy. At the age of 60-64 months, 1,333 children were administered a modified version of the Sternberg paradigm to assess CRT and IPT. In addition, a test of general intelligence (WPPSI-R was administered.Adjusted for a wide range of potential confounders, this study showed no significant effects of average weekly maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy on CRT or IPT. There was, however, an indication of slower CRT associated with binge drinking episodes in gestational weeks 1-4.This study observed no significant effects of average weekly maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy on CRT or IPT as assessed by the Sternberg paradigm. However, there were some indications of CRT being associated with binge drinking during very early pregnancy. Further large-scale studies are needed to investigate effects of different patterns of maternal alcohol consumption on basic cognitive processes in offspring.

Early-time radiation flux symmetry optimization and its effect on gas-filled hohlraum ignition targets on the National Ignition Facility

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Milovich, J. L., E-mail: milovich1@llnl.gov; Dewald, E. L.; Pak, A.; Michel, P.; Town, R. P. J.; Bradley, D. K.; Landen, O.; Edwards, M. J. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States)

2016-03-15

Achieving ignition on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) is tied to our ability to control and minimize deviations from sphericity of the capsule implosion. Low-mode asymmetries of the hot spot result from the combined effect of radiation drive asymmetries throughout the laser pulse and initial roughness on the capsule surface. In this paper, we report on simulations and experiments designed to assess, measure, and correct the drive asymmetries produced by the early-time (≈first 2 ns or “picket”) period of the laser pulse. The drive asymmetry during the picket is commonly thought to introduce distortions in the hot-spot shape at ignition time. However, a more subtle effect not previously considered is that it also leads to an asymmetry in shock velocity and timing, thereby increasing the fuel adiabat and reducing the margin for ignition. It is shown via hydrodynamic simulations that minimizing this effect requires that the early-time asymmetry be kept below 7.5% in the second Legendre mode (P{sub 2}), thus keeping the loss of performance margin below ≈10% for a layered implosion. Asymmetries during the picket of the laser pulse are measured using the instantaneous self-emission of a high-Z re-emission sphere in place of an ignition capsule in a hohlraum with large azimuthal diagnostic windows. Three dimensional simulations using the code HYDRA (to capture the effect of non-azimuthal hohlraum features) coupled to a cross-beam energy transfer model [Michel et al., Phys. Plasmas 17, 056305 (2010)] are used to establish the surrogacy of the re-emit target and to assess the early-time drive symmetry. Calculations using this model exhibit the same sensitivity to variations in the relative input powers between the different cones of NIF beams as measured for the “Rev5” CH target [Haan et al., Phys Plasmas 18, 051001 (2011)] and reported by Dewald et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 235001 (2013)]. The same methodology applied to recently improved implosions

Early-time radiation flux symmetry optimization and its effect on gas-filled hohlraum ignition targets on the National Ignition Facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Milovich, J. L.; Dewald, E. L.; Pak, A.; Michel, P.; Town, R. P. J.; Bradley, D. K.; Landen, O.; Edwards, M. J.

2016-01-01

Achieving ignition on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) is tied to our ability to control and minimize deviations from sphericity of the capsule implosion. Low-mode asymmetries of the hot spot result from the combined effect of radiation drive asymmetries throughout the laser pulse and initial roughness on the capsule surface. In this paper, we report on simulations and experiments designed to assess, measure, and correct the drive asymmetries produced by the early-time (≈first 2 ns or “picket”) period of the laser pulse. The drive asymmetry during the picket is commonly thought to introduce distortions in the hot-spot shape at ignition time. However, a more subtle effect not previously considered is that it also leads to an asymmetry in shock velocity and timing, thereby increasing the fuel adiabat and reducing the margin for ignition. It is shown via hydrodynamic simulations that minimizing this effect requires that the early-time asymmetry be kept below 7.5% in the second Legendre mode (P_2), thus keeping the loss of performance margin below ≈10% for a layered implosion. Asymmetries during the picket of the laser pulse are measured using the instantaneous self-emission of a high-Z re-emission sphere in place of an ignition capsule in a hohlraum with large azimuthal diagnostic windows. Three dimensional simulations using the code HYDRA (to capture the effect of non-azimuthal hohlraum features) coupled to a cross-beam energy transfer model [Michel et al., Phys. Plasmas 17, 056305 (2010)] are used to establish the surrogacy of the re-emit target and to assess the early-time drive symmetry. Calculations using this model exhibit the same sensitivity to variations in the relative input powers between the different cones of NIF beams as measured for the “Rev5” CH target [Haan et al., Phys Plasmas 18, 051001 (2011)] and reported by Dewald et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 235001 (2013)]. The same methodology applied to recently improved implosions using

Early-time radiation flux symmetry optimization and its effect on gas-filled hohlraum ignition targets on the National Ignition Facility

Science.gov (United States)

Milovich, J. L.; Dewald, E. L.; Pak, A.; Michel, P.; Town, R. P. J.; Bradley, D. K.; Landen, O.; Edwards, M. J.

2016-03-01

Achieving ignition on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) is tied to our ability to control and minimize deviations from sphericity of the capsule implosion. Low-mode asymmetries of the hot spot result from the combined effect of radiation drive asymmetries throughout the laser pulse and initial roughness on the capsule surface. In this paper, we report on simulations and experiments designed to assess, measure, and correct the drive asymmetries produced by the early-time (≈first 2 ns or "picket") period of the laser pulse. The drive asymmetry during the picket is commonly thought to introduce distortions in the hot-spot shape at ignition time. However, a more subtle effect not previously considered is that it also leads to an asymmetry in shock velocity and timing, thereby increasing the fuel adiabat and reducing the margin for ignition. It is shown via hydrodynamic simulations that minimizing this effect requires that the early-time asymmetry be kept below 7.5% in the second Legendre mode (P2), thus keeping the loss of performance margin below ≈10% for a layered implosion. Asymmetries during the picket of the laser pulse are measured using the instantaneous self-emission of a high-Z re-emission sphere in place of an ignition capsule in a hohlraum with large azimuthal diagnostic windows. Three dimensional simulations using the code HYDRA (to capture the effect of non-azimuthal hohlraum features) coupled to a cross-beam energy transfer model [Michel et al., Phys. Plasmas 17, 056305 (2010)] are used to establish the surrogacy of the re-emit target and to assess the early-time drive symmetry. Calculations using this model exhibit the same sensitivity to variations in the relative input powers between the different cones of NIF beams as measured for the "Rev5" CH target [Haan et al., Phys Plasmas 18, 051001 (2011)] and reported by Dewald et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 235001 (2013)]. The same methodology applied to recently improved implosions using different

Telomere length and early severe social deprivation: linking early adversity and cellular aging

Science.gov (United States)

Drury, SS; Theall, K; Gleason, MM; Smyke, AT; De Vivo, I; Wong, JYY; Fox, NA; Zeanah, CH; Nelson, CA

2012-01-01

Accelerated telomere length attrition has been associated with psychological stress and early adversity in adults; however, no studies have examined whether telomere length in childhood is associated with early experiences. The Bucharest Early Intervention Project is a unique randomized controlled trial of foster care placement compared with continued care in institutions. As a result of the study design, participants were exposed to a quantified range of time in institutional care, and represented an ideal population in which to examine the association between a specific early adversity, institutional care and telomere length. We examined the association between average relative telomere length, telomere repeat copy number to single gene copy number (T/S) ratio and exposure to institutional care quantified as the percent of time at baseline (mean age 22 months) and at 54 months of age that each child lived in the institution. A significant negative correlation between T/S ratio and percentage of time was observed. Children with greater exposure to institutional care had significantly shorter relative telomere length in middle childhood. Gender modified this main effect. The percentage of time in institutional care at baseline significantly predicted telomere length in females, whereas the percentage of institutional care at 54 months was strongly predictive of telomere length in males. This is the first study to demonstrate an association between telomere length and institutionalization, the first study to find an association between adversity and telomere length in children, and contributes to the growing literature linking telomere length and early adversity. PMID:21577215

Real-Time Detection of Rupture Development: Earthquake Early Warning Using P Waves From Growing Ruptures

Science.gov (United States)

Kodera, Yuki

2018-01-01

Large earthquakes with long rupture durations emit P wave energy throughout the rupture period. Incorporating late-onset P waves into earthquake early warning (EEW) algorithms could contribute to robust predictions of strong ground motion. Here I describe a technique to detect in real time P waves from growing ruptures to improve the timeliness of an EEW algorithm based on seismic wavefield estimation. The proposed P wave detector, which employs a simple polarization analysis, successfully detected P waves from strong motion generation areas of the 2011 Mw 9.0 Tohoku-oki earthquake rupture. An analysis using 23 large (M ≥ 7) events from Japan confirmed that seismic intensity predictions based on the P wave detector significantly increased lead times without appreciably decreasing the prediction accuracy. P waves from growing ruptures, being one of the fastest carriers of information on ongoing rupture development, have the potential to improve the performance of EEW systems.

Detorsion night-time bracing for the treatment of early onset idiopathic scoliosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Moreau, S; Lonjon, G; Mazda, K; Ilharreborde, B

2014-12-01

Management for early onset scoliosis has recently changed, with the development of new surgical procedures. However, multiple surgeries are often required and high complication rates are still reported. Conservative management remains an alternative, serial casting achieving excellent results in young children. Better compliance and improvement over natural history have been reported with night-time bracing in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), but this treatment has never been reported in early onset idiopathic scoliosis (EIOS). All patients treated for progressive EOIS by detorsion night-time bracing (DNB), and meeting the Scoliosis Research Society (SRS) criteria for brace studies were reviewed. Recommendations were given to wear the DNB 8h/night and no restriction was given regarding sports activities. Radiological parameters were compared between referral and latest follow-up. Based on the SRS criteria defined for AIS, a similar classification was used as follows to analyze the course of the curves: success group: patients with a progression of 5° or less; unsuccess group (progression or failure): patients with a progression>5°, patients with curves exceeding 45° at maturity, or who have had recommendation for/undergone surgery, or patients who changed orthopaedic treatment, or who were lost to follow-up. Thirty-three patients were included (21 girls and 12 boys), with a median Cobb angle of 31° (Q1-Q3: 22-40). Age at brace initiation averaged 50months (Q1-Q3: 25-60). Median follow-up was 102-months (Q1-Q3: 63-125). Fifteen patients (45.5%) had reached skeletal maturity at last follow-up. The success rate was 67% (22 patients), with a median Cobb angle reduction of 15° (P<0.001). Four patients stopped DNB due to an important regression. Eleven patients were in the unsuccessful group (33%). Only one had surgery. All patients remained balanced in the frontal plane and normokyphotic. Initial curve magnitude and age at brace initiation appeared to be

Frequency and developmental timing of linear enamel hypoplasia defects in Early Archaic Texan hunter-gatherers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Colette Berbesque

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Digital photographs taken under controlled conditions were used to examine the incidence of linear enamel hypoplasia defects (LEHs in burials from the Buckeye Knoll archaeological site (41VT98 Victoria county, Texas, which spans the Early to Late Archaic Period (ca. 2,500–6,500 BP uncorrected radiocarbon. The majority (68 of 74 burials date to the Texas Early Archaic, including one extremely early burial dated to 8,500 BP. The photogrammetric data collection method also results in an archive for Buckeye Knoll, a significant rare Archaic period collection that has been repatriated and reinterred. We analyzed the incidence and developmental timing of LEHs in permanent canines. Fifty-nine percent of permanent canines (n = 54 had at least one defect. There were no significant differences in LEH frequency between the maxillary and mandibular canines (U = 640.5, n1 = 37, n2 = 43, p = .110. The sample studied (n = 92 permanent canines had an overall mean of 0.93 LEH defect per tooth, with a median of one defect, and a mode of zero defects. Average age at first insult was 3.92 (median = 4.00, range = 2.5–5.4 and the mean age of all insults per individual was 4.18 years old (range = 2.5–5.67. Age at first insult is consistent with onset of weaning stress—the weaning age range for hunter-gatherer societies is 1–4.5. Having an earlier age of first insult was associated with having more LEHs (n = 54, rho = −0.381, p = 0.005.

Comparative study of the sensitivity of ADC value and T2 relaxation time for early detection of Wallerian degeneration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Fan; Lu Guangming; Zee Chishing

2011-01-01

Background and purpose: Wallerian degeneration (WD), the secondary degeneration of axons from cortical and subcortical injuries, is associated with poor neurological outcome. There is some quantitative MR imaging techniques used to estimate the biologic changes secondary to delayed neuronal and axonal losses. Our purpose is to assess the sensitivity of ADC value and T 2 relaxation time for early detection of WD. Methods: Ten male Sprague-Dawley rats were used to establish in vivo Wallerian degeneration model of CNS by ipsilateral motor-sensory cortex ablation. 5 days after cortex ablation, multiecho-T 2 relaxometry and multi-b value DWI were acquired by using a 7 T MR imaging scanner. ADC-map and T 2 -map were reconstructed by post-processing. ROIs are selected according to pathway of corticospinal tract from cortex, internal capsule, cerebral peduncle, pons, medulla oblongata to upper cervical spinal cord to measure ADC value and T 2 relaxation time of healthy side and affected side. The results were compared between the side with cortical ablation and the side without ablation. Results: Excluding ablated cortex, ADC values of the corticospinal tract were significantly increased (P 2 relaxation time was observed between the affected and healthy sides. Imaging findings were correlated with histological examinations. Conclusion: As shown in this animal experiment, ADC values could non-invasively demonstrate the secondary degeneration involving descending white matter tracts. ADC values are more sensitive indicators for detection of early WD than T 2 relaxation time.

Development of earthquake early warning system using real time signal of broadband seismogram

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gunawan, Hendar; Puspito, Nanang T.; Ibrahim, Gunawan; Harjadi, Prih

2012-01-01

Earthquake pose serious threat of live and properties for urban area near subduction zone offshore and active fault on land. Jakarta and Bandung is an example of big city that no system of Earthquake early warning (EEW) event very high urbanization, and has many important infra structure in the area. The capital city is potentially high risk ground shaking. EEW can be usefull tool for reducing earthquake hazard, if spatial relation between cities and earthquake source is favorable for such warning and their citizens are properly trained to response early warning message. An EEW and rapid response system can provide the critical information needed to minimized lost of live and property and direct rescue. Earthquake ground shaking with magnitude M>6.0 from zone of Megathrust, southern of West Java should potentially damage in the area of west java especially Bandung and Jakarta City. This research development of EEW parameter such as amplitude displacement (Pd), rapid magnitude determination (M) and Peak ground Velocity (PGV). We explore the practical approach to EEW with the use of Broadband seismogram signal. Time effective EEW which epicenter from megathrust zone has potential to provide EEW in the area of west java such as Jakarta first ground shaking more or less 60 second later and strong shaking 118 second after EEW Alarm on CISI Station. EEW notification at potentially damage in the area of west java can be predicted from the characteristic of Pd > 0.5 cm, M> 6 and PGV > 10 cm/sec. GIS as a tool for presentation of hazard mapping in the affected area.

The Classification of the Real-Time Interaction-Based Behavior of Online Game Addiction in Children and Early Adolescents in Thailand

OpenAIRE

Kongkarn Vachirapanang; Sakoontip Tuisima; Sukree Sinthupinyo; Puntip Sirivunnabood

2012-01-01

This paper aims to study actual behaviors of Thai children and early adolescents with different levels of game addiction while playing online games from an angle of the interaction between a user and computer. Real-time interaction-based behavior data from a program agent installed in personal computers in 20 sample houses were screened along with consent given by children and their parents. Collection of data about game-playing periods, frequency, game-playing times, text-based chatting, mou...

A time and motion study of subcutaneous versus intravenous trastuzumab in patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

De Cock, Erwin; Pivot, Xavier; Hauser, Nik

2016-01-01

Within PrefHer (NCT01401166), patients and healthcare professionals (HCPs) preferred subcutaneous (SC) over intravenous (IV) trastuzumab. We undertook a prospective, observational time and motion study to quantify patients' time in infusion chairs and active HCP time in PrefHer. Patients with HER2......-positive early breast cancer received four adjuvant cycles of SC trastuzumab (600 mg fixed dose via SC single-use injection device [SID, Cohort 1] or SC handheld syringe [HHS, Cohort 2]) then four cycles of standard IV trastuzumab or the reverse sequence. Generic case report forms for IV and SC management...... (range across countries: 4-16; P trastuzumab, delivered via SID or HHS, saved patient chair and active HCP times versus IV infusion, supporting a transition to either SC method....

Investigating the early snowmelt of 2015 in the Cascade Mountains using new MODIS-based snowmelt timing maps

Science.gov (United States)

O'Leary, D., III; Hall, D. K.; Medler, M. J.; Flower, A.; Matthews, R.

2017-12-01

The spring of 2015 brought an alarmingly early snowmelt to the Cascade Mountains, impacting flora, fauna, watersheds, and wildfire activity. It is important that we understand these events because model-based projections suggest that snowmelt may arrive an average of 10-40 days earlier across the continental US by the year 2100. Available snow measurement methods including SNOTEL stations and stream gauges offer insights into point locations and individual watersheds, but lack the detail needed to assess snowmelt anomalies across the landscape. In this study we describe our new MODIS-based snowmelt timing maps (STMs), validate them with SNOTEL measurements, then use them to explore the spatial patterns of the 2015 snowmelt in the Cascades. We found that the Cascade Mountains experienced snowmelt 41 days earlier than the 2001-2015 average, with many areas melting >70 days early. Of concern to land managers, these events may be the `new normal' in the decades to come.

Early diagnosis and early intervention in cerebral palsy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mijna eHadders-Algra

2014-09-01

Full Text Available This paper reviews the opportunities and challenges for early diagnosis and early intervention in cerebral palsy (CP. CP describes a group of disorders of the development of movement and posture, causing activity limitation, that are attributed to disturbances that occurred in the fetal or infant brain. Therefore the paper starts with a summary of relevant information from developmental neuroscience. Most lesions underlying CP occur in the second half of gestation, when developmental activity in the brain reaches its summit. Variations in timing of the damage not only result in different lesions, but also in different neuroplastic reactions and different associated neuropathologies. This turns CP into a heterogeneous entity. This may mean that the best early diagnostics and the best intervention methods may differ for various subgroups of children with CP. Next, the paper addresses possibilities for early diagnosis. It discusses the predictive value of neuromotor and neurological exams, neuro-imaging techniques and neurophysiological assessments. Prediction is best when complementary techniques are used in longitudinal series. Possibilities for early prediction of CP differ for infants admitted to neonatal intensive care and other infants. In the former group best prediction is achieved with the combination of neuro-imaging and the assessment of general movements, in the latter group best prediction is based on carefully documented milestones and neurological assessment. The last part reviews early intervention in infants developing CP. Most knowledge on early intervention is based on studies in high risk infants without CP. In these infants early intervention programs promote cognitive development until preschool age; motor development profits less. The few studies on early intervention in infants developing CP suggest that programs that stimulate all aspects of infant development by means of family coaching are most promising. More research is

Time for My Life Now: Early Boomer Women's Anticipation of Volunteering in Retirement

Science.gov (United States)

Seaman, Patricia M.

2012-01-01

Purpose: This study explored to what extent early Boomer women who work for pay will be interested in and committed to formal volunteering during retirement. Method: Data for this hermeneutic study were gathered through 2 in-depth conversational interviews of 19 English-speaking early Boomer women living in New Brunswick, Canada. Results:…

Regional dependence in earthquake early warning and real time seismology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caprio, M.

2013-01-01

An effective earthquake prediction method is still a Chimera. What we can do at the moment, after the occurrence of a seismic event, is to provide the maximum available information as soon as possible. This can help in reducing the impact of the quake on population or and better organize the rescue operations in case of post-event actions. This study strives to improve the evaluation of earthquake parameters shortly after the occurrence of a major earthquake, and the characterization of regional dependencies in Real-Time Seismology. The recent earthquake experience from Tohoku (M 9.0, 11.03.2011) showed how an efficient EEW systems can inform numerous people and thus potentially reduce the economic and human losses by distributing warning messages several seconds before the arrival of seismic waves. In the case of devastating earthquakes, usually, in the first minutes to days after the main shock, the common communications channels can be overloaded or broken. In such cases, a precise knowledge of the macroseismic intensity distribution will represent a decisive contribution in help management and in the valuation of losses. In this work, I focused on improving the adaptability of EEW systems (chapters 1 and 2) and in deriving a global relationship for converting peak ground motion into macroseismic intensity and vice versa (chapter 3). For EEW applications, in chapter 1 we present an evolutionary approach for magnitude estimation for earthquake early warning based on real-time inversion of displacement spectra. The Spectrum Inversion (SI) method estimates magnitude and its uncertainty by inferring the shape of the entire displacement spectral curve based on the part of the spectra constrained by available data. Our method can be applied in any region without the need for calibration. SI magnitude and uncertainty estimates are updated each second following the initial P detection and potentially stabilize within 10 seconds from the initial earthquake detection

Regional dependence in earthquake early warning and real time seismology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Caprio, M.

2013-07-01

An effective earthquake prediction method is still a Chimera. What we can do at the moment, after the occurrence of a seismic event, is to provide the maximum available information as soon as possible. This can help in reducing the impact of the quake on population or and better organize the rescue operations in case of post-event actions. This study strives to improve the evaluation of earthquake parameters shortly after the occurrence of a major earthquake, and the characterization of regional dependencies in Real-Time Seismology. The recent earthquake experience from Tohoku (M 9.0, 11.03.2011) showed how an efficient EEW systems can inform numerous people and thus potentially reduce the economic and human losses by distributing warning messages several seconds before the arrival of seismic waves. In the case of devastating earthquakes, usually, in the first minutes to days after the main shock, the common communications channels can be overloaded or broken. In such cases, a precise knowledge of the macroseismic intensity distribution will represent a decisive contribution in help management and in the valuation of losses. In this work, I focused on improving the adaptability of EEW systems (chapters 1 and 2) and in deriving a global relationship for converting peak ground motion into macroseismic intensity and vice versa (chapter 3). For EEW applications, in chapter 1 we present an evolutionary approach for magnitude estimation for earthquake early warning based on real-time inversion of displacement spectra. The Spectrum Inversion (SI) method estimates magnitude and its uncertainty by inferring the shape of the entire displacement spectral curve based on the part of the spectra constrained by available data. Our method can be applied in any region without the need for calibration. SI magnitude and uncertainty estimates are updated each second following the initial P detection and potentially stabilize within 10 seconds from the initial earthquake detection

Numerical modeling of an enhanced very early time electromagnetic (VETEM) prototype system

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, T.J.; Chew, W.C.; Aydiner, A.A.; Wright, D.L.; Smith, D.V.; Abraham, J.D.

2000-01-01

In this paper, two numerical models are presented to simulate an enhanced very early time electromagnetic (VETEM) prototype system, which is used for buried-object detection and environmental problems. Usually, the VETEM system contains a transmitting loop antenna and a receiving loop antenna, which run on a lossy ground to detect buried objects. In the first numerical model, the loop antennas are accurately analyzed using the Method of Moments (MoM) for wire antennas above or buried in lossy ground. Then, Conjugate Gradient (CG) methods, with the use of the fast Fourier transform (FFT) or MoM, are applied to investigate the scattering from buried objects. Reflected and scattered magnetic fields are evaluated at the receiving loop to calculate the output electric current. However, the working frequency for the VETEM system is usually low and, hence, two magnetic dipoles are used to replace the transmitter and receiver in the second numerical model. Comparing these two models, the second one is simple, but only valid for low frequency or small loops, while the first modeling is more general. In this paper, all computations are performed in the frequency domain, and the FFT is used to obtain the time-domain responses. Numerical examples show that simulation results from these two models fit very well when the frequency ranges from 10 kHz to 10 MHz, and both results are close to the measured data.

Early life stress as an influence on limbic epilepsy: an hypothesis whose time has come?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amelia S Koe

2009-10-01

Full Text Available The pathogenesis of mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE, the most prevalent form of refractory focal epilepsy in adults, is thought to begin in early life, even though seizures may not commence until adolescence or adulthood. Amongst the range of early life factors implicated in MTLE causation (febrile seizures, traumatic brain injury, etc., stress may be one important contributor. Early life stress is an a priori agent deserving study because of the large amount of neuroscientific data showing enduring effects on structure and function in hippocampus and amygdala, the key structures involved in MTLE. An emerging body of evidence directly tests hypotheses concerning early life stress and limbic epilepsy: early life stressors, such as maternal separation, have been shown to aggravate epileptogenesis in both status epilepticus and kindling models of limbic epilepsy. In addition to elucidating its influence on limbic epileptogenesis itself, the study of early life stress has the potential to shed light on the psychiatric disorder that accompanies MTLE. For many years, psychiatric comorbidity was viewed as an effect of epilepsy, mediated psychologically and/or neurobiologically. An alternative – or complementary – perspective is that of shared causation. Early life stress, implicated in the pathogenesis of several psychiatric disorders, may be one such causal factor. This paper aims to critically review the body of experimental evidence linking early life stress and epilepsy; to discuss the direct studies examining early life stress effects in current models of limbic seizures/epilepsy; and to suggest priorities for future research.

Time-resolved small-angle x-ray scattering study of the early stage of amyloid formation of an apomyoglobin mutant

Science.gov (United States)

Ortore, Maria Grazia; Spinozzi, Francesco; Vilasi, Silvia; Sirangelo, Ivana; Irace, Gaetano; Shukla, Anuj; Narayanan, Theyencheri; Sinibaldi, Raffaele; Mariani, Paolo

2011-12-01

The description of the fibrillogenesis pathway and the identification of “on-pathway” or “off-pathway” intermediates are key issues in amyloid research as they are concerned with the mechanism for onset of certain diseases and with therapeutic treatments. Recent results on the fibril formation process revealed an unexpected complexity both in the number and in the types of species involved, but the early aggregation events are still largely unknown, mainly because of their experimental inaccessibility. To provide information on the early stage events of self-assembly of an amyloidogenic protein, during the so-called lag phase, stopped-flow time-resolved small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) experiments were performed. Using a global fitting analysis, the structural and aggregation properties of the apomyoglobin W7FW14F mutant, which is monomeric and partly folded at acidic pH but forms amyloid fibrils after neutralization, were derived from the first few milliseconds onward. SAXS data indicated that the first aggregates appear in less than 20 ms after the pH jump to neutrality and further revealed the simultaneous presence of diverse species. In particular, worm-like unstructured monomers, very large assemblies, and elongated particles were detected, and their structural features and relative concentrations were derived as a function of time on the basis of our model. The final results show that, during the lag phase, early assembling occurs due to the presence of transient monomeric species very prone to association and through successive competing aggregation and rearrangement processes leading to coexisting on-pathway and off-pathway transient species.

Timing of Early Aptian demise of northern Tethyan carbonate platforms - chemostratigraphic versus biostratigraphic evidence

Science.gov (United States)

Huck, Stefan; Immenhauser, Adrian; Heimhofer, Ulrich; Rameil, Niels

2010-05-01

A lively controversy still exists between different authors dealing with the timing of northern Tethyan platform drowning and the Early Aptian oceanic anoxic event (OAE 1a). To the present day, there is no consensus if the OAE 1a black shales must be attributed to the Deshayesites weissi or the Deshayesites deshayesi zone (see discussion in Moreno-Bedmar et al., 2009). OAE 1a black shale deposition has been traditionally attributed to the Deshayesites weissi zone (Gradstein et al., 2004). Despite this disagreement about the biostratigraphic timing, several authors postulate a relation between biotic perturbations and environmental changes linked to OAE 1a, e. g. the disappearance of coral-rudist reefs related with the demise of the northern Tethyan Urgonian platforms in the Helvetic Alps (Weissert et al., 1998; Föllmi et al., 2008). In the central and southern Tethyan realm (Istria, Oman), OAE 1a is likely expressed as the transient mass occurrence of microencrusters (Lithocodium-Bacinella) and the coeval demise of the characteristic mid-Cretaceous framework-builders (rudists, corals). Chemostratigraphic data indicate that these microbial blooms coincide with the Deshayesites weissi zone (Huck et al., 2010, Rameil et al, 2010). These observations raise the question whether northern Tethyan platform drowning is coeval to microbial bloom periods in the central and southern Tethys? The analysis of all available literature and unpublished evidence demonstrates that well constrained age data are surprisingly scarce and controversial. The goal of the present research project is to compile a chemostratigraphic framework for the northern Tethyan platform drowning (Haute-Savoie, SE France) in order to shed light on the temporal constraints of platform drowning versus pelagic black shale deposition versus microbial blooms. Two Barremian to Aptian shoalwater sections (Cluses section, Grande Forclaz section) in the Subalpine Chains were investigated applying chemostratigraphy

Coupled Nd-142, Nd-143 and Hf-176 Isotopic Data from 3.6-3.9 Ga Rocks: New Constraints on the Timing of Early Terrestrial Chemical Reservoirs

Science.gov (United States)

Bennett, Vickie C.; Brandon, alan D.; Hiess, Joe; Nutman, Allen P.

2007-01-01

Increasingly precise data from a range of isotopic decay schemes, including now extinct parent isotopes, from samples of the Earth, Mars, Moon and meteorites are rapidly revising our views of early planetary differentiation. Recognising Nd-142 isotopic variations in terrestrial rocks (which can only arise from events occurring during the lifetime of now extinct Sm-146 [t(sub 1/2)=103 myr]) has been an on-going quest starting with Harper and Jacobsen. The significance of Nd-142 variations is that they unequivocally reflect early silicate differentiation processes operating in the first 500 myr of Earth history, the key time period between accretion and the beginning of the rock record. The recent establishment of the existence of Nd-142 variations in ancient Earth materials has opened a new range of questions including, how widespread is the evidence of early differentiation, how do Nd-142 compositions vary with time, rock type and geographic setting, and, combined with other types of isotopic and geochemical data, what can Nd-142 isotopic variations reveal about the timing and mechanisms of early terrestrial differentiation? To explore these questions we are determining high precision Nd-142, Nd-143 and Hf-176 isotopic compositions from the oldest well preserved (3.63- 3.87 Ga), rock suites from the extensive early Archean terranes of southwest Greenland and western Australia.

Early cosmology constrained

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Verde, Licia; Jimenez, Raul [Institute of Cosmos Sciences, University of Barcelona, IEEC-UB, Martí Franquès, 1, E08028 Barcelona (Spain); Bellini, Emilio [University of Oxford, Denys Wilkinson Building, Keble Road, Oxford, OX1 3RH (United Kingdom); Pigozzo, Cassio [Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, BA (Brazil); Heavens, Alan F., E-mail: liciaverde@icc.ub.edu, E-mail: emilio.bellini@physics.ox.ac.uk, E-mail: cpigozzo@ufba.br, E-mail: a.heavens@imperial.ac.uk, E-mail: raul.jimenez@icc.ub.edu [Imperial Centre for Inference and Cosmology (ICIC), Imperial College, Blackett Laboratory, Prince Consort Road, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom)

2017-04-01

We investigate our knowledge of early universe cosmology by exploring how much additional energy density can be placed in different components beyond those in the ΛCDM model. To do this we use a method to separate early- and late-universe information enclosed in observational data, thus markedly reducing the model-dependency of the conclusions. We find that the 95% credibility regions for extra energy components of the early universe at recombination are: non-accelerating additional fluid density parameter Ω{sub MR} < 0.006 and extra radiation parameterised as extra effective neutrino species 2.3 < N {sub eff} < 3.2 when imposing flatness. Our constraints thus show that even when analyzing the data in this largely model-independent way, the possibility of hiding extra energy components beyond ΛCDM in the early universe is seriously constrained by current observations. We also find that the standard ruler, the sound horizon at radiation drag, can be well determined in a way that does not depend on late-time Universe assumptions, but depends strongly on early-time physics and in particular on additional components that behave like radiation. We find that the standard ruler length determined in this way is r {sub s} = 147.4 ± 0.7 Mpc if the radiation and neutrino components are standard, but the uncertainty increases by an order of magnitude when non-standard dark radiation components are allowed, to r {sub s} = 150 ± 5 Mpc.

Early lymphocyte recovery after intensive timed sequential chemotherapy for acute myelogenous leukemia: peripheral oligoclonal expansion of regulatory T cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Kanakry, Christopher G; Hess, Allan D; Gocke, Christopher D; Thoburn, Christopher; Kos, Ferdynand; Meyer, Christian; Briel, Janet; Luznik, Leo; Smith, B Douglas; Levitsky, Hyam; Karp, Judith E

2011-01-13

Few published studies characterize early lymphocyte recovery after intensive chemotherapy for acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). To test the hypothesis that lymphocyte recovery mirrors ontogeny, we characterized early lymphocyte recovery in 20 consecutive patients undergoing induction timed sequential chemotherapy for newly diagnosed AML. Recovering T lymphocytes were predominantly CD4(+) and included a greatly expanded population of CD3(+)CD4(+)CD25(+)Foxp3(+) T cells. Recovering CD3(+)CD4(+)CD25(+)Foxp3(+) T cells were phenotypically activated regulatory T cells and showed suppressive activity on cytokine production in a mixed lymphocyte reaction. Despite an initial burst of thymopoiesis, most recovering regulatory T cells were peripherally derived. Furthermore, regulatory T cells showed marked oligoclonal skewing, suggesting that their peripheral expansion was antigen-driven. Overall, lymphocyte recovery after chemotherapy differs from ontogeny, specifically identifying a peripherally expanded oligoclonal population of activated regulatory T lymphocytes. These differences suggest a stereotyped immunologic recovery shared by patients with newly diagnosed AML after induction timed sequential chemotherapy. Further insight into this oligoclonal regulatory T-cell population will be fundamental toward developing effective immunomodulatory techniques to improve survival for patients with AML.

Time course for memory dysfunction in early-life and late-life major depression: a longitudinal study from the Juntendo University Mood Disorder Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Maeshima, Hitoshi; Baba, Hajime; Nakano, Yoshiyuki; Satomura, Emi; Namekawa, Yuki; Takebayashi, Naoko; Nomoto, Hiroshi; Suzuki, Toshihito; Mimura, Masaru; Arai, Heii

2013-10-01

Previous studies have demonstrated that patients with depression also have memory dysfunctions during depressive episodes. These dysfunctions partially remain immediately after remission from a depressive state; however, it is unclear whether these residual memory dysfunctions may disappear through long-term remission from depression. The present study compared patients during early-life (agelife (age ≥ 60) depression while in their remitted stage with healthy controls to elucidate the impact of a long-term course on memory. Logical memory from the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised was administered to 67 patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) (47 patients with early-life depression and residual 20 patients with late-life depression) and 50 healthy controls. MDD patients received memory assessments at the time of their initial remission and at a follow-up three years after remission. At the time of initial remission, scores for logical memory were significantly lower in both patient groups compared to matched controls. At follow-up, memory dysfunction for early-life MDD patients disappeared, whereas scores in the late-life MDD group remained significantly lower than those of matched controls. All patients in the present study were on antidepressant medications. Our findings suggested that the progress of memory performance in late-life MDD patients may be different from early-life MDD patients. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Detection of early gamma-postirradiation effects in murine spleen by proton NMR relaxation times.

Science.gov (United States)

Zebrowska, G; Lewa, C J; Ramee, M P; Husson, F; De Certaines, J D

2001-01-01

It was our aim to evaluate the potential of proton relaxation times for the early detection of radiation-induced spleen changes. Female Swiss mice were irradiated with doses ranging from 0.05 Gy to 4 Gy. The body weight, the spleen weight and the spleen water content of single animals were determined. Measurements of longitudinal (T1) and transversal (T2) proton relaxation times of the spleen samples were performed in a 0.47 T spectrometer. Histological examinations of the control and irradiated organs were performed. NMR measurements during the first five days after irradiation showed that total body gamma-irradiation with doses from 1.5 Gy to 4 Gy results in decreasing T1 of the murine spleen. Significant shortening in T2 was observed for the spleen of animals irradiated with a dose of 4 Gy. Histological examinations demonstrated subnormal architecture in slices derived from animals irradiated with 2 Gy and 4 Gy. The fluctuations of the spleen T1 and T2 of irradiated mice are correlated with relative spleen weight and can be used to estimate radiation induced changes in this organ.

Reliability, Convergent Validity and Time Invariance of Default Mode Network Deviations in Early Adult Major Depressive Disorder

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katie L. Bessette

2018-06-01

Full Text Available There is substantial variability across studies of default mode network (DMN connectivity in major depressive disorder, and reliability and time-invariance are not reported. This study evaluates whether DMN dysconnectivity in remitted depression (rMDD is reliable over time and symptom-independent, and explores convergent relationships with cognitive features of depression. A longitudinal study was conducted with 82 young adults free of psychotropic medications (47 rMDD, 35 healthy controls who completed clinical structured interviews, neuropsychological assessments, and 2 resting-state fMRI scans across 2 study sites. Functional connectivity analyses from bilateral posterior cingulate and anterior hippocampal formation seeds in DMN were conducted at both time points within a repeated-measures analysis of variance to compare groups and evaluate reliability of group-level connectivity findings. Eleven hyper- (from posterior cingulate and 6 hypo- (from hippocampal formation connectivity clusters in rMDD were obtained with moderate to adequate reliability in all but one cluster (ICC's range = 0.50 to 0.76 for 16 of 17. The significant clusters were reduced with a principle component analysis (5 components obtained to explore these connectivity components, and were then correlated with cognitive features (rumination, cognitive control, learning and memory, and explicit emotion identification. At the exploratory level, for convergent validity, components consisting of posterior cingulate with cognitive control network hyperconnectivity in rMDD were related to cognitive control (inverse and rumination (positive. Components consisting of anterior hippocampal formation with social emotional network and DMN hypoconnectivity were related to memory (inverse and happy emotion identification (positive. Thus, time-invariant DMN connectivity differences exist early in the lifespan course of depression and are reliable. The nuanced results suggest a ventral

Human Dose-Response Data for Francisella tularensis and a Dose- and Time-Dependent Mathematical Model of Early-Phase Fever Associated with Tularemia After Inhalation Exposure.

Science.gov (United States)

McClellan, Gene; Coleman, Margaret; Crary, David; Thurman, Alec; Thran, Brandolyn

2018-04-25

Military health risk assessors, medical planners, operational planners, and defense system developers require knowledge of human responses to doses of biothreat agents to support force health protection and chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear (CBRN) defense missions. This article reviews extensive data from 118 human volunteers administered aerosols of the bacterial agent Francisella tularensis, strain Schu S4, which causes tularemia. The data set includes incidence of early-phase febrile illness following administration of well-characterized inhaled doses of F. tularensis. Supplemental data on human body temperature profiles over time available from de-identified case reports is also presented. A unified, logically consistent model of early-phase febrile illness is described as a lognormal dose-response function for febrile illness linked with a stochastic time profile of fever. Three parameters are estimated from the human data to describe the time profile: incubation period or onset time for fever; rise time of fever; and near-maximum body temperature. Inhaled dose-dependence and variability are characterized for each of the three parameters. These parameters enable a stochastic model for the response of an exposed population through incorporation of individual-by-individual variability by drawing random samples from the statistical distributions of these three parameters for each individual. This model provides risk assessors and medical decisionmakers reliable representations of the predicted health impacts of early-phase febrile illness for as long as one week after aerosol exposures of human populations to F. tularensis. © 2018 Society for Risk Analysis.

A time effect in the early stages of a surface oxidation of a Pt(111 plane in alkaline solution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. D. LOVIC

2001-12-01

Full Text Available A time effect in the early stages of surface oxidation of a Pt(111 plane in 0.1 M NaOH solution was studied by examining the reduction parts of the j/E profile recorded after holding the potential for various times at several values at the end of anodic-going sweeps. The processes associated with the two peaks, which appear in the anodic part of the voltammogram, are assigned to the early stages of a surface oxidation. Two OHad states are suggested based on the existence of reversibly or weakly bound OHad species and irreversibly or strongly bound OHad species. The reversibly bound OHad species are involved in the “normal” structure of the butterfly peak, while the irreversibly adsorbed OHad species can be obtained only by the slow diffusion of a part of the initially electrosorbed OH species from sites with low to sites with higher binding energies. The irreversibly reduced OHad species cannot be completely removed from the surface causing, therefore, some permanent transformation of the initial state of the surface. This kind of species was not detected in the area of the second oxidation peak. The phenomena observed in the reduction part of the j/E profile induced by a time effect in the second peak could be associated with a place-exchange mechanism between oxygen containing species, whatever they are, and the platinum surface.

ABCD3-I score and the risk of early or 3-month stroke recurrence in tissue- and time-based definitions of TIA and minor stroke.

Science.gov (United States)

Mayer, Lukas; Ferrari, Julia; Krebs, Stefan; Boehme, Christian; Toell, Thomas; Matosevic, Benjamin; Tinchon, Alexander; Brainin, Michael; Gattringer, Thomas; Sommer, Peter; Thun, Peter; Willeit, Johann; Lang, Wilfried; Kiechl, Stefan; Knoflach, Michael

2018-03-01

Changing definition of TIA from time to a tissue basis questions the validity of the well-established ABCD3-I risk score for recurrent ischemic cerebrovascular events. We analyzed patients with ischemic stroke with mild neurological symptoms arriving TIA or minor stroke, in the prospective multi-center Austrian Stroke Unit Registry. Patients were retrospectively categorized according to a time-based (symptom duration below/above 24 h) and tissue-based (without/with corresponding brain lesion on CT or MRI) definition of TIA or minor stroke. Outcome parameters were early stroke during stroke unit stay and 3-month ischemic stroke. Of the 5237 TIA and minor stroke patients with prospectively documented ABCD3-I score, 2755 (52.6%) had a TIA by the time-based and 2183 (41.7%) by the tissue-based definition. Of the 2457 (46.9%) patients with complete 3-month followup, corresponding numbers were 1195 (48.3%) for the time- and 971 (39.5%) for the tissue-based definition of TIA. Early and 3-month ischemic stroke occurred in 1.1 and 2.5% of time-based TIA, 3.8 and 5.9% of time-based minor stroke, 1.2 and 2.3% of tissue-based TIA as well as in 3.1 and 5.5% of tissue-based minor stroke patients. Irrespective of the definition of TIA and minor stroke, the risk of early and 3-month ischemic stroke steadily increased with increasing ABCD3-I score points. The ABCD3-I score performs equally in TIA patients in tissue- as well as time-based definition and the same is true for minor stroke patients.

Robust and flexible mapping for real-time distributed applications during the early design phases

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gan, Junhe; Pop, Paul; Gruian, Flavius

2012-01-01

has a high chance of being schedulable, considering the wcet uncertainties, whereas a flexible mapping has a high chance to successfully accommodate the future scenarios. We propose a Genetic Algorithm-based approach to solve this optimization problem. Extensive experiments show the importance......We are interested in mapping hard real-time applications on distributed heterogeneous architectures. An application is modeled as a set of tasks, and we consider a fixed-priority preemptive scheduling policy. We target the early design phases, when decisions have a high impact on the subsequent...... in the functionality requirements are captured using “future scenarios”, which are task sets that model functionality likely to be added in the future. In this context, we derive a mapping of tasks in the application, such that the resulted implementation is both robust and flexible. Robust means that the application...

Gauge theories, time-dependence of the gravitational constant and antigravity in the early universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Linde, A.D.

1980-01-01

It is shown that the interaction of the gravitational field with matter leads to a strong modification of the effective gravitational constant in the early universe. In certain cases this leads even to the change of sign of the gravitational constant, i.e. to antigravity in the early universe. (orig.)

Interpretable Early Classification of Multivariate Time Series

Science.gov (United States)

Ghalwash, Mohamed F.

2013-01-01

Recent advances in technology have led to an explosion in data collection over time rather than in a single snapshot. For example, microarray technology allows us to measure gene expression levels in different conditions over time. Such temporal data grants the opportunity for data miners to develop algorithms to address domain-related problems,…

Melatonin and its analogs in insomnia and depression.

Science.gov (United States)

Cardinali, Daniel P; Srinivasan, Venkataramanujan; Brzezinski, Amnon; Brown, Gregory M

2012-05-01

Benzodiazepine sedative-hypnotic drugs are widely used for the treatment of insomnia. Nevertheless, their adverse effects, such as next-day hangover, dependence and impairment of memory, make them unsuitable for long-term treatment. Melatonin has been used for improving sleep in patients with insomnia mainly because it does not cause hangover or show any addictive potential. However, there is a lack of consistency on its therapeutic value (partly because of its short half-life and the small quantities of melatonin employed). Thus, attention has been focused either on the development of more potent melatonin analogs with prolonged effects or on the design of slow release melatonin preparations. The MT(1) and MT(2) melatonergic receptor ramelteon was effective in increasing total sleep time and sleep efficiency, as well as in reducing sleep latency, in insomnia patients. The melatonergic antidepressant agomelatine, displaying potent MT(1) and MT(2) melatonergic agonism and relatively weak serotonin 5HT(2C) receptor antagonism, was found effective in the treatment of depressed patients. However, long-term safety studies are lacking for both melatonin agonists, particularly considering the pharmacological activity of their metabolites. In view of the higher binding affinities, longest half-life and relative higher potencies of the different melatonin agonists, studies using 2 or 3mg/day of melatonin are probably unsuitable to give appropriate comparison of the effects of the natural compound. Hence, clinical trials employing melatonin doses in the range of 50-100mg/day are warranted before the relative merits of the melatonin analogs versus melatonin can be settled. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Multiple Time-Point 68Ga-PSMA I&T PET/CT for Characterization of Primary Prostate Cancer: Value of Early Dynamic and Delayed Imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmuck, Sebastian; Mamach, Martin; Wilke, Florian; von Klot, Christoph A; Henkenberens, Christoph; Thackeray, James T; Sohns, Jan M; Geworski, Lilli; Ross, Tobias L; Wester, Hans-Juergen; Christiansen, Hans; Bengel, Frank M; Derlin, Thorsten

2017-06-01

The aims of this study were to gain mechanistic insights into prostate cancer biology using dynamic imaging and to evaluate the usefulness of multiple time-point Ga-prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) I&T PET/CT for the assessment of primary prostate cancer before prostatectomy. Twenty patients with prostate cancer underwent Ga-PSMA I&T PET/CT before prostatectomy. The PET protocol consisted of early dynamic pelvic imaging, followed by static scans at 60 and 180 minutes postinjection (p.i.). SUVs, time-activity curves, quantitative analysis based on a 2-tissue compartment model, Patlak analysis, histopathology, and Gleason grading were compared between prostate cancer and benign prostate gland. Primary tumors were identified on both early dynamic and delayed imaging in 95% of patients. Tracer uptake was significantly higher in prostate cancer compared with benign prostate tissue at any time point (P ≤ 0.0003) and increased over time. Consequently, the tumor-to-nontumor ratio within the prostate gland improved over time (2.8 at 10 minutes vs 17.1 at 180 minutes p.i.). Tracer uptake at both 60 and 180 minutes p.i. was significantly higher in patients with higher Gleason scores (P dynamic and static delayed Ga-PSMA ligand PET images. The tumor-to-nontumor ratio in the prostate gland improves over time, supporting a role of delayed imaging for optimal visualization of prostate cancer.

Early failure analysis of machining centers: a case study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Yiqiang; Jia Yazhou; Jiang Weiwei

2001-01-01

To eliminate the early failures and improve the reliability, nine ex-factory machining centers are traced under field conditions in workshops. Their early failure information throughout the ex-factory run-in test is collected. The field early failure database is constructed based on the collection of field early failure data and the codification of data. Early failure mode and effects analysis is performed to indicate the weak subsystem of a machining center or the troublemaker. The distribution of the time between early failures is analyzed and the optimal ex-factory run-in test time for machining center that may expose sufficiently the early failures and cost minimum is discussed. Suggestions how to arrange ex-factory run-in test and how to take actions to reduce early failures for machining center is proposed

Comparative study of the sensitivity of ADC value and T{sub 2} relaxation time for early detection of Wallerian degeneration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang Fan [Department of Radiology, Nanjing Jinling Hospital, Clinical School of Medical College of Nanjing University, Nanjing 210002 (China); Lu Guangming, E-mail: cjr.luguangming@vip.163.com [Department of Radiology, Nanjing Jinling Hospital, Clinical School of Medical College of Nanjing University, Nanjing 210002 (China); Zee Chishing, E-mail: chishing@usc.edu [Department of Radiology, USC Keck School of Medicine (United States)

2011-07-15

Background and purpose: Wallerian degeneration (WD), the secondary degeneration of axons from cortical and subcortical injuries, is associated with poor neurological outcome. There is some quantitative MR imaging techniques used to estimate the biologic changes secondary to delayed neuronal and axonal losses. Our purpose is to assess the sensitivity of ADC value and T{sub 2} relaxation time for early detection of WD. Methods: Ten male Sprague-Dawley rats were used to establish in vivo Wallerian degeneration model of CNS by ipsilateral motor-sensory cortex ablation. 5 days after cortex ablation, multiecho-T{sub 2} relaxometry and multi-b value DWI were acquired by using a 7 T MR imaging scanner. ADC-map and T{sub 2}-map were reconstructed by post-processing. ROIs are selected according to pathway of corticospinal tract from cortex, internal capsule, cerebral peduncle, pons, medulla oblongata to upper cervical spinal cord to measure ADC value and T{sub 2} relaxation time of healthy side and affected side. The results were compared between the side with cortical ablation and the side without ablation. Results: Excluding ablated cortex, ADC values of the corticospinal tract were significantly increased (P < 0.05) in affected side compared to the unaffected, healthy side; no difference in T{sub 2} relaxation time was observed between the affected and healthy sides. Imaging findings were correlated with histological examinations. Conclusion: As shown in this animal experiment, ADC values could non-invasively demonstrate the secondary degeneration involving descending white matter tracts. ADC values are more sensitive indicators for detection of early WD than T{sub 2} relaxation time.

Factors associated with long turnaround time for early infant diagnosis of HIV in Myanmar.

Science.gov (United States)

Thiha, Soe; Shewade, Hemant Deepak; Philip, Sairu; Aung, Thet Ko; Kyaw, Nang Thu Thu; Oo, Myo Minn; Kyaw, Khine Wut Yee; Wint War, May; Oo, Htun Nyunt

2017-01-01

A previous review of early infant diagnosis (EID) using polymerase chain reaction technology (PCR) under integrated HIV care (IHC) program in Myanmar revealed a low uptake of timely (within 6 to 8 weeks of babies' age) EID and a long turnaround time (TAT) of receiving results. This study aimed to determine the proportion and factors associated with the composite outcome of a long TAT (≥7 weeks; from sample collection to receipt of result by mother) or nonreceipt of result among HIV-exposed babies whose blood samples were collected for PCR at mother's CD4 count of 100-350 cells/mm 3 at enrollment [adjusted RR (0.95 confidence intervals, CI): 0.8 (0.7, 0.9)] had a 20% lower risk of long TAT or nonreceipt of results when compared with ≥350 cells/mm 3 . Distance between ART center and PCR facility ≥105 km [adjusted RR (0.95 CI): 1.2 (1.1, 1.4)], when compared with mother was high. Point-of-care testing for EID may reduce TAT/nonreceipt of results by the mother. Health system, laboratory, and logistic factors such as sample transportation, laboratory procedures, and result dispatching associated with long TAT should be further explored.

[Early detection of cervical cancer in Chile: time for change].

Science.gov (United States)

Léniz Martelli, Javiera; Van De Wyngard, Vanessa; Lagos, Marcela; Barriga, María Isabel; Puschel Illanes, Klaus; Ferreccio Readi, Catterina

2014-08-01

Mortality rates for cervical cancer (CC) in Chile are higher than those of developed countries and it has an unequal socioeconomic distribution. The recognition of human papilloma virus (HPV) as the causal agent of cervical cancer in the early 80's changed the prevention paradigms. Current goals are to prevent HPV infection by vaccination before the onset of sexual activity and to detect HPV infection in women older than 30 years. This article reviews CC prevention and early detection methods, discusses relevant evidence to support a change in Chile and presents an innovation proposal. A strategy of primary screening based on HPV detection followed by triage of HPV-positive women by colposcopy in primary care or by cytological or molecular reflex testing is proposed. Due to the existence in Chile of a well-organized nationwide CC prevention program, the replacement of a low-sensitivity screening test such as the Papanicolau test with a highly sensitive one such as HPV detection, could quickly improve the effectiveness of the program. The program also has a network of personnel qualified to conduct naked-eye inspections of the cervix, who could easily be trained to perform triage colposcopy. The incorporation of new prevention strategies could reduce the deaths of Chilean women and correct inequities.

Early Flood Detection for Rapid Humanitarian Response: Harnessing Near Real-Time Satellite and Twitter Signals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brenden Jongman

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Humanitarian organizations have a crucial role in response and relief efforts after floods. The effectiveness of disaster response is contingent on accurate and timely information regarding the location, timing and impacts of the event. Here we show how two near-real-time data sources, satellite observations of water coverage and flood-related social media activity from Twitter, can be used to support rapid disaster response, using case-studies in the Philippines and Pakistan. For these countries we analyze information from disaster response organizations, the Global Flood Detection System (GFDS satellite flood signal, and flood-related Twitter activity analysis. The results demonstrate that these sources of near-real-time information can be used to gain a quicker understanding of the location, the timing, as well as the causes and impacts of floods. In terms of location, we produce daily impact maps based on both satellite information and social media, which can dynamically and rapidly outline the affected area during a disaster. In terms of timing, the results show that GFDS and/or Twitter signals flagging ongoing or upcoming flooding are regularly available one to several days before the event was reported to humanitarian organizations. In terms of event understanding, we show that both GFDS and social media can be used to detect and understand unexpected or controversial flood events, for example due to the sudden opening of hydropower dams or the breaching of flood protection. The performance of the GFDS and Twitter data for early detection and location mapping is mixed, depending on specific hydrological circumstances (GFDS and social media penetration (Twitter. Further research is needed to improve the interpretation of the GFDS signal in different situations, and to improve the pre-processing of social media data for operational use.

The potential role of real-time geodetic observations in tsunami early warning

Science.gov (United States)

Tinti, Stefano; Armigliato, Alberto

2016-04-01

Tsunami warning systems (TWS) have the final goal to launch a reliable alert of an incoming dangerous tsunami to coastal population early enough to allow people to flee from the shore and coastal areas according to some evacuation plans. In the last decade, especially after the catastrophic 2004 Boxing Day tsunami in the Indian Ocean, much attention has been given to filling gaps in the existing TWSs (only covering the Pacific Ocean at that time) and to establishing new TWSs in ocean regions that were uncovered. Typically, TWSs operating today work only on earthquake-induced tsunamis. TWSs estimate quickly earthquake location and size by real-time processing seismic signals; on the basis of some pre-defined "static" procedures (either based on decision matrices or on pre-archived tsunami simulations), assess the tsunami alert level on a large regional scale and issue specific bulletins to a pre-selected recipients audience. Not unfrequently these procedures result in generic alert messages with little value. What usually operative TWSs do not do, is to compute earthquake focal mechanism, to calculate the co-seismic sea-floor displacement, to assess the initial tsunami conditions, to input these data into tsunami simulation models and to compute tsunami propagation up to the threatened coastal districts. This series of steps is considered nowadays too time consuming to provide the required timely alert. An equivalent series of steps could start from the same premises (earthquake focal parameters) and reach the same result (tsunami height at target coastal areas) by replacing the intermediate steps of real-time tsunami simulations with proper selection from a large archive of pre-computed tsunami scenarios. The advantage of real-time simulations and of archived scenarios selection is that estimates are tailored to the specific occurring tsunami and alert can be more detailed (less generic) and appropriate for local needs. Both these procedures are still at an

THERMAL EMISSION IN THE EARLY X-RAY AFTERGLOWS OF GAMMA-RAY BURSTS: FOLLOWING THE PROMPT PHASE TO LATE TIMES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Friis, Mette [Centre for Astrophysics and Cosmology, Science Institute, University of Iceland, Dunhagi 5, 107 Reykjavik (Iceland); Watson, Darach, E-mail: mef4@hi.is, E-mail: darach@dark-cosmology.dk [Dark Cosmology Centre, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Juliane Maries Vej 30, DK-2100 Copenhagen O (Denmark)

2013-07-01

Thermal radiation, peaking in soft X-rays, has now been detected in a handful of gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows and has to date been interpreted as shock break-out of the GRB's progenitor star. We present a search for thermal emission in the early X-ray afterglows of a sample of Swift bursts selected by their brightness in X-rays at early times. We identify a clear thermal component in eight GRBs and track the evolution. We show that at least some of the emission must come from highly relativistic material since two show an apparent super-luminal expansion of the thermal component. Furthermore, we determine very large luminosities and high temperatures for many of the components-too high to originate in a supernova shock break-out. Instead, we suggest that the component may be modeled as late photospheric emission from the jet, linking it to the apparently thermal component observed in the prompt emission of some GRBs at gamma-ray and hard X-ray energies. By comparing the parameters from the prompt emission and the early afterglow emission, we find that the results are compatible with the interpretation that we are observing the prompt quasi-thermal emission component in soft X-rays at a later point in its evolution.

Development of an Earthquake Early Warning System Using Real-Time Strong Motion Signals.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Yih-Min; Kanamori, Hiroo

2008-01-09

As urbanization progresses worldwide, earthquakes pose serious threat to livesand properties for urban areas near major active faults on land or subduction zonesoffshore. Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) can be a useful tool for reducing earthquakehazards, if the spatial relation between cities and earthquake sources is favorable for suchwarning and their citizens are properly trained to respond to earthquake warning messages.An EEW system forewarns an urban area of forthcoming strong shaking, normally with afew sec to a few tens of sec of warning time, i.e., before the arrival of the destructive Swavepart of the strong ground motion. Even a few second of advanced warning time willbe useful for pre-programmed emergency measures for various critical facilities, such asrapid-transit vehicles and high-speed trains to avoid potential derailment; it will be alsouseful for orderly shutoff of gas pipelines to minimize fire hazards, controlled shutdown ofhigh-technological manufacturing operations to reduce potential losses, and safe-guardingof computer facilities to avoid loss of vital databases. We explored a practical approach toEEW with the use of a ground-motion period parameter τc and a high-pass filtered verticaldisplacement amplitude parameter Pd from the initial 3 sec of the P waveforms. At a givensite, an earthquake magnitude could be determined from τ c and the peak ground-motionvelocity (PGV) could be estimated from Pd. In this method, incoming strong motion acceleration signals are recursively converted to ground velocity and displacement. A Pwavetrigger is constantly monitored. When a trigger occurs, τ c and Pd are computed. Theearthquake magnitude and the on-site ground-motion intensity could be estimated and thewarning could be issued. In an ideal situation, such warnings would be available within 10sec of the origin time of a large earthquake whose subsequent ground motion may last fortens of seconds.

Links between sex-typed time use in middle childhood and gender development in early adolescence.

Science.gov (United States)

McHale, Susan M; Kim, Ji-Yeon; Whiteman, Shawn; Crouter, Ann C

2004-09-01

The authors studied sex-typing in the kinds (e.g., sports, handicrafts) and social contexts (same- vs. other-sex companions) of children's free time activities, and the links between sex-typed activities and gender development over 2 years. Participants were 200 White, working- and middle-class children (103 girls, 97 boys; mean age = 10.86 years). In annual home interviews, children rated their self-esteem, gender role attitudes and sex-typed personality qualities, academic interests, and school grades. During 7 nightly phone interviews each year, children reported on their activities. Boys were more sex-typed than girls in their peer activities, and children were least sex-typed in their activities with siblings. Sex-typed activities in middle childhood predicted individual differences in gender development in early adolescence. Copyright 2004 American Psychological Association

Marital conflict and early adolescents' self-evaluation: the role of parenting quality and early adolescents' appraisals.

Science.gov (United States)

Siffert, Andrea; Schwarz, Beate; Stutz, Melanie

2012-06-01

Cognitive appraisals and family dynamics have been identified as mediators of the relationship between marital conflict and children's adjustment. Surprisingly little research has investigated both meditational processes in the same study. Guided by the cognitive-contextual framework and the spillover hypothesis, the present study integrated factors from both theories early adolescents' appraisals of threat and self-blame, as well as perceived parenting quality as mediators of the link between early adolescents' perception of marital conflict and their self-evaluations (self-esteem and scholastic competence). Analyses were based on the first two waves of an ongoing longitudinal study. Participants were 176 two-parent families, and their early adolescents (50.5% girls) whose mean age was 10.61 years at Time 1 (SD =0.40) and 11.63 years at Time 2 (SD=0.39). Structural equation modeling analyses indicated that parenting quality and early adolescents' perceived threat provided indirect pathways between marital conflict and early adolescents' self-esteem 1 year later when controlling for their initial level of self-esteem. With respect to scholastic competence, only fathers' parenting was an indirect link. Self-blame did not play a role. Implications for understanding the mechanisms by which exposure to marital conflict predicts early adolescents' maladjustment are discussed.

Paleo-environment in the upper amazon basin during early to middle Miocene times

Science.gov (United States)

van Soelen, Els; Hoorn, Carina; Santos, Roberto V.; Dantas, Elton L.; Sinninghe Damsté, Jaap S.; Kim, Jung-Hyun

2014-05-01

rivers during early-middle Miocene. The younger Los Chorros sediments show Sr and Nd values comparable to those nowadays found in the Solimões region, indicating an Andean source existed already during early-middle Miocene times. Lipid biomarkers were identified and quantified and carbon isotopic compositions of organic matter for whole samples were determined to identify the sources of organic matter. Ratio's between typically terrestrial and aquatic GDGTs indicate shifts between more terrestrial settings and more aquatic settings. Intervals which suggest a more aquatic setting often contain marine palynomorphs and thus could result from a marine incursion at the time. Changes in the overall composition of biomarker lipids at each site reflects the diversity and dynamic features of the wetland. Differences in both provenance and biomarker composition between the two sites demonstrate the diversity within the basin. This diversity could either be geographical diversity since the two sites are located about 380 km from each other. Or, considering the differences in age between the two sites of 2-5 Myrs, it could also reflect the fast changing environmental conditions as a result of Andean uplift. Hoorn, C. et al (2010). The Development of the Amazonian Mega-Wetland (Miocene; Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia). In: C. Hoorn and F. Wesselingh (eds) Amazonia: Landscape and Species Evolution: A look into the past. Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd., pp. 123- 142. Marshall, L.G., Lundberg, J.G. (1996) Miocene deposits in the Amazonian Foreland Basin. Science 273, 123-124.

Galaxies in the Early Universe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krogager, Jens-Kristian

Understanding how galaxies evolved from the early Universe through cosmic time is a fundamental part of modern astrophysics. In order to study this evolution it is important to sample the galaxies at various times in a consistent way through time. In regular luminosity selected samples, our...

Combining Real-Time Seismic and GPS Data for Earthquake Early Warning (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Boese, M.; Heaton, T. H.; Hudnut, K. W.

2013-12-01

Scientists at Caltech, UC Berkeley, the Univ. of SoCal, the Univ. of Washington, the US Geological Survey, and ETH Zurich have developed an earthquake early warning (EEW) demonstration system for California and the Pacific Northwest. To quickly determine the earthquake magnitude and location, 'ShakeAlert' currently processes and interprets real-time data-streams from ~400 seismic broadband and strong-motion stations within the California Integrated Seismic Network (CISN). Based on these parameters, the 'UserDisplay' software predicts and displays the arrival and intensity of shaking at a given user site. Real-time ShakeAlert feeds are currently shared with around 160 individuals, companies, and emergency response organizations to educate potential users about EEW and to identify needs and applications of EEW in a future operational warning system. Recently, scientists at the contributing institutions have started to develop algorithms for ShakeAlert that make use of high-rate real-time GPS data to improve the magnitude estimates for large earthquakes (M>6.5) and to determine slip distributions. Knowing the fault slip in (near) real-time is crucial for users relying on or operating distributed systems, such as for power, water or transportation, especially if these networks run close to or across large faults. As shown in an earlier study, slip information is also useful to predict (in a probabilistic sense) how far a fault rupture will propagate, thus enabling more robust probabilistic ground-motion predictions at distant locations. Finally, fault slip information is needed for tsunami warning, such as in the Cascadia subduction-zone. To handle extended fault-ruptures of large earthquakes in real-time, Caltech and USGS Pasadena are currently developing and testing a two-step procedure that combines seismic and geodetic data; in the first step, high-frequency strong-motion amplitudes are used to rapidly classify near-and far-source stations. Then, the location and

Risk of early surgery for Crohn's disease: implications for early treatment strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Sands, Bruce E; Arsenault, Joanne E; Rosen, Michael J; Alsahli, Mazen; Bailen, Laurence; Banks, Peter; Bensen, Steven; Bousvaros, Athos; Cave, David; Cooley, Jeffrey S; Cooper, Herbert L; Edwards, Susan T; Farrell, Richard J; Griffin, Michael J; Hay, David W; John, Alex; Lidofsky, Sheldon; Olans, Lori B; Peppercorn, Mark A; Rothstein, Richard I; Roy, Michael A; Saletta, Michael J; Shah, Samir A; Warner, Andrew S; Wolf, Jacqueline L; Vecchio, James; Winter, Harland S; Zawacki, John K

2003-12-01

In this study we aimed to define the rate of early surgery for Crohn's disease and to identify risk factors associated with early surgery as a basis for subsequent studies of early intervention in Crohn's disease. We assembled a retrospective cohort of patients with Crohn's disease diagnosed between 1991 and 1997 and followed for at least 3 yr, who were identified in 16 community and referral-based practices in New England. Chart review was performed for each patient. Details of baseline demographic and disease features were recorded. Surgical history including date of surgery, indication, and procedure were also noted. Risk factors for early surgery (defined as major surgery for Crohn's disease within 3 yr of diagnosis, exclusive of major surgery at time of diagnosis) were identified by univariate analysis. Multiple logistic regression was used to identify independent risk factors. Of 345 eligible patients, 69 (20.1%) required surgery within 3 yr of diagnosis, excluding the 14 patients (4.1%) who had major surgery at the time of diagnosis. Overall, the interval between diagnosis and surgery was short; one half of all patients who required surgery underwent operation within 6 months of diagnosis. Risk factors identified by univariate analysis as significantly associated with early surgery included the following: smoking; disease of small bowel without colonic involvement; nausea and vomiting or abdominal pain on presentation; neutrophil count; and steroid use in the first 6 months. Disease localized to the colon only, blood in the stool, use of 5-aminosalicylate, and lymphocyte count were inversely associated with risk of early surgery. Logistic regression confirmed independent associations with smoking as a positive risk factor and involvement of colon without small bowel as a negative risk factor for early surgery. The rate of surgery is high in the first 3 yr after diagnosis of Crohn's disease, particularly in the first 6 months. These results suggest that

Bursts from the very early universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silk, J.; Stodolsky, L.

2006-01-01

Bursts of weakly interacting particles such as neutrinos or even more weakly interacting particles such as wimps and gravitons from the very early universe would offer a much deeper 'look back time' to early epochs than is possible with photons. We consider some of the issues related to the existence of such bursts and their detectability. Characterizing the burst rate by a probability P per Hubble four-volume we find, for events in the radiation-dominated era, that the natural unit of description is the present intensity of the CMB times P. The existence of such bursts would make the observation of phenomena associated with very early times in cosmology at least conceptually possible. One might even hope to probe the transplanckian epoch if complexes more weakly interacting than the graviton can exist. Other conceivable applications include the potential detectability of the formation of 'pocket universes' in a multiverse

Effects of emergence time and early social rearing environment on behaviour of Atlantic salmon: consequences for juvenile fitness and smolt migration.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin H Larsen

Full Text Available Consistent individual differences in behaviour have been well documented in a variety of animal taxa, but surprisingly little is known about the fitness and life-history consequences of such individual variation. In wild salmonids, the timing of fry emergence from gravel spawning nests has been suggested to be coupled with individual behavioural traits. Here, we further investigate the link between timing of spawning nest emergence and behaviour of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar, test effects of social rearing environment on behavioural traits in fish with different emergence times, and assess whether behavioural traits measured in the laboratory predict growth, survival, and migration status in the wild. Atlantic salmon fry were sorted with respect to emergence time from artificial spawning nest into three groups: early, intermediate, and late. These emergence groups were hatchery-reared separately or in co-culture for four months to test effects of social rearing environment on behavioural traits. Twenty fish from each of the six treatment groups were then subjected to three individual-based behavioural tests: basal locomotor activity, boldness, and escape response. Following behavioural characterization, the fish were released into a near-natural experimental stream. Results showed differences in escape behaviour between emergence groups in a net restraining test, but the social rearing environment did not affect individual behavioural expression. Emergence time and social environment had no significant effects on survival, growth, and migration status in the stream, although migration propensity was 1.4 to 1.9 times higher for early emerging individuals that were reared separately. In addition, despite individuals showing considerable variation in behaviour across treatment groups, this was not translated into differences in growth, survival, and migration status. Hence, our study adds to the view that fitness (i.e., growth and survival and

Effects of emergence time and early social rearing environment on behaviour of Atlantic salmon: consequences for juvenile fitness and smolt migration.

Science.gov (United States)

Larsen, Martin H; Johnsson, Jörgen I; Winberg, Svante; Wilson, Alexander D M; Hammenstig, David; Thörnqvist, Per-Ove; Midwood, Jonathan D; Aarestrup, Kim; Höglund, Erik

2015-01-01

Consistent individual differences in behaviour have been well documented in a variety of animal taxa, but surprisingly little is known about the fitness and life-history consequences of such individual variation. In wild salmonids, the timing of fry emergence from gravel spawning nests has been suggested to be coupled with individual behavioural traits. Here, we further investigate the link between timing of spawning nest emergence and behaviour of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), test effects of social rearing environment on behavioural traits in fish with different emergence times, and assess whether behavioural traits measured in the laboratory predict growth, survival, and migration status in the wild. Atlantic salmon fry were sorted with respect to emergence time from artificial spawning nest into three groups: early, intermediate, and late. These emergence groups were hatchery-reared separately or in co-culture for four months to test effects of social rearing environment on behavioural traits. Twenty fish from each of the six treatment groups were then subjected to three individual-based behavioural tests: basal locomotor activity, boldness, and escape response. Following behavioural characterization, the fish were released into a near-natural experimental stream. Results showed differences in escape behaviour between emergence groups in a net restraining test, but the social rearing environment did not affect individual behavioural expression. Emergence time and social environment had no significant effects on survival, growth, and migration status in the stream, although migration propensity was 1.4 to 1.9 times higher for early emerging individuals that were reared separately. In addition, despite individuals showing considerable variation in behaviour across treatment groups, this was not translated into differences in growth, survival, and migration status. Hence, our study adds to the view that fitness (i.e., growth and survival) and life

Prediction of in-vitro developmental competence of early cleavage-stage mouse embryos with compact time-lapse equipment.

Science.gov (United States)

Pribenszky, Csaba; Losonczi, Eszter; Molnár, Miklós; Lang, Zsolt; Mátyás, Szabolcs; Rajczy, Klára; Molnár, Katalin; Kovács, Péter; Nagy, Péter; Conceicao, Jason; Vajta, Gábor

2010-03-01

Single blastocyst transfer is regarded as an efficient way to achieve high pregnancy rates and to avoid multiple pregnancies. Risk of cancellation of transfer due to a lack of available embryos may be reduced by early prediction of blastocyst development. Time-lapse investigation of mouse embryos shows that the time of the first and second cleavage (to the 2- and 3-cell stages, respectively) has a strong predictive value for further development in vitro, while cleavage from the 3-cell to the 4-cell stage has no predictive value. In humans, embryo fragmentation during preimplantation development has been associated with lower pregnancy rates and a higher incidence of developmental abnormalities. Analysis of time-lapse records shows that most fragmentation is reversible in the mouse and is resorbed in an average of 9 h. Daily or bi-daily microscopic checks of embryo development, applied routinely in human IVF laboratories, would fail to detect 36 or 72% of these fragmentations, respectively. Fragmentation occurring in a defined time frame has a strong predictive value for in-vitro embryo development. The practical compact system used in the present trial, based on the 'one camera per patient' principle, has eliminated the usual disadvantages of time-lapse investigations and is applicable for the routine follow-up of in-vitro embryo development. Copyright 2009 Reproductive Healthcare Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The contribution of former work-related activity levels to predict physical activity and sedentary time during early retirement: moderating role of educational level and physical functioning.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Delfien Van Dyck

Full Text Available The transition to retirement introduces a decline in total physical activity and an increase in TV viewing time. Nonetheless, as more time becomes available, early retirement is an ideal stage to implement health interventions. Therefore, knowledge on specific determinants of physical activity and sedentary time is needed. Former work-related physical activity has been proposed as a potential determinant, but concrete evidence is lacking. The aim of this study was to examine if former work-related sitting, standing, walking or vigorous activities predict physical activity and sedentary time during early retirement. Additionally, moderating effects of educational level and physical functioning were examined.In total, 392 recently retired Belgian adults (>6 months, <5 years completed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, the SF-36 Health Survey and a questionnaire on sociodemographics and former work-related activities. Generalized linear regression analyses were conducted in R. Moderating effects were examined by adding cross-products to the models.More former work-related sitting was predictive of more screen time during retirement. Lower levels of former work-related vigorous activities and higher levels of former work-related walking were associated with respectively more cycling for transport and more walking for transport during retirement. None of the predictors significantly explained passive transportation, cycling and walking for recreation, and leisure-time moderate-to-vigorous physical activity during retirement. Several moderating effects were found, but the direction of the interactions was not univocal.Former-work related behaviors are of limited importance to explain physical activity during early retirement, so future studies should focus on other individual, social and environmental determinants. Nonetheless, adults who previously had a sedentary job had higher levels of screen time during retirement, so this is an

The contribution of former work-related activity levels to predict physical activity and sedentary time during early retirement: moderating role of educational level and physical functioning.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Dyck, Delfien; Cardon, Greet; Deforche, Benedicte; De Bourdeaudhuij, Ilse

2015-01-01

The transition to retirement introduces a decline in total physical activity and an increase in TV viewing time. Nonetheless, as more time becomes available, early retirement is an ideal stage to implement health interventions. Therefore, knowledge on specific determinants of physical activity and sedentary time is needed. Former work-related physical activity has been proposed as a potential determinant, but concrete evidence is lacking. The aim of this study was to examine if former work-related sitting, standing, walking or vigorous activities predict physical activity and sedentary time during early retirement. Additionally, moderating effects of educational level and physical functioning were examined. In total, 392 recently retired Belgian adults (>6 months, Physical Activity Questionnaire, the SF-36 Health Survey and a questionnaire on sociodemographics and former work-related activities. Generalized linear regression analyses were conducted in R. Moderating effects were examined by adding cross-products to the models. More former work-related sitting was predictive of more screen time during retirement. Lower levels of former work-related vigorous activities and higher levels of former work-related walking were associated with respectively more cycling for transport and more walking for transport during retirement. None of the predictors significantly explained passive transportation, cycling and walking for recreation, and leisure-time moderate-to-vigorous physical activity during retirement. Several moderating effects were found, but the direction of the interactions was not univocal. Former-work related behaviors are of limited importance to explain physical activity during early retirement, so future studies should focus on other individual, social and environmental determinants. Nonetheless, adults who previously had a sedentary job had higher levels of screen time during retirement, so this is an important subgroup to focus on during interventions

Near Real-time Operational Use of eMODIS Expedited NDVI for Monitoring Applications and Famine Early Warning

Science.gov (United States)

Rowland, J.; Budde, M. E.

2010-12-01

The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) has requirements for near real-time monitoring of vegetation conditions for food security applications. Accurate and timely assessments of crop conditions are an important element of food security decision making. FEWS NET scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center are utilizing a new Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) dataset for operational monitoring of crop and pasture conditions in parts of the world where food availability is highly dependent on subsistence agriculture and animal husbandry. The expedited MODIS, or eMODIS, production system processes NDVI data using MODIS surface reflectance provided by the Land Atmosphere Near-real-time Capability for EOS (LANCE). Benefits of this production system include customized compositing schedules, near real-time data availability, and minimized re-sampling. FEWS NET has implemented a 10-day compositing scheme every five days to accommodate the need for timely information on vegetation conditions. The data are currently being processed at 250-meter spatial resolution for Central America, Hispaniola, and Africa. Data are further enhanced by the application of a temporal smoothing filter which helps remove contamination due to clouds and other atmospheric effects. The results of this near real-time monitoring capability have been the timely provision of NDVI and NDVI anomaly maps for each of the FEWS NET monitoring regions and the availability of a consistently processed dataset to aid crop assessment missions and to facilitate customized analyses of crop production, drought, and agro-pastoral conditions.

STUDYING OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT IN THE TIMES OF UNR BY MEANS OF ELECTRONIC PRESENTATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L.V. Artemova

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Development of the students’ competences which consist of the three main groups (general, instrumental, interpersonal provides education of high quality. The instrumental one means “computer skills and information management abilities”. That is the reason why pedagogical staff and students have to master information technologies on the appropriate level. Structural and methodological peculiarities of e-presentations usage on “Early Childhood Education Development in the Times of UNR” topic at lectures, seminars and students’ individual work are considered in the article. The represented methodology of e-presentations usage supplies interactive educational activities of students and teachers. It is considered as a complex of different tasks. It promotes cognitive activities, encourages interest for mastering the content, directs students to use active methods of teaching.

Bursts from the very early universe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Silk, J. [Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RH (United Kingdom); Stodolsky, L. [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Physik, Foehringer Ring 6, 80805 Munich (Germany)]. E-mail: les@mppmu.mpg.de

2006-07-27

Bursts of weakly interacting particles such as neutrinos or even more weakly interacting particles such as wimps and gravitons from the very early universe would offer a much deeper 'look back time' to early epochs than is possible with photons. We consider some of the issues related to the existence of such bursts and their detectability. Characterizing the burst rate by a probability P per Hubble four-volume we find, for events in the radiation-dominated era, that the natural unit of description is the present intensity of the CMB times P. The existence of such bursts would make the observation of pheno associated with very early times in cosmology at least conceptually possible. One might even hope to probe the transplanckian epoch if complexes more weakly interacting than the graviton can exist. Other conceivable applications include the potential detectability of the formation of 'pocket universes' in a multiverse.

Revised magnetic polarity time scale for the Paleocene and early Eocene and implications for Pacific plate motion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Butler, R.F.; Coney, P.J.

1981-01-01

Magnetostratiographic studies of a continental sedimentary sequence in the Clark's Fork Basin, Wyoming and a marine sedimentary sequence at Gubbio, Italy indicate that the Paleocene--Eocene boundary occurs just stratigraphically above normal polarity zones correlative with magnetic anomaly 25 chron. These data indicate that the older boundary of anomaly 24 chron is 52.5 Ma. This age is younger than the late Paleocene age assigned by LaBrecque et al. [1977] and also younger than the basal Eocene age assigned by Ness et al. [1980]. A revised magnetic polarity time scale for the Paleocene and early Eocene is presented in this paper. Several changes in the relative motion system between the Pacific plate and neighboring plates occurred in the interval between anomaly 24 and anomaly 21. A major change in absolute motion of the Pacific plate is indicated by the bend in the Hawaiian--Emperor Seamount chain at approx.43 Ma. The revised magnetic polarity time scale indicates that the absolute motion change lags the relative motion changes by only approx.3--5 m.y. rather than by >10 m.y. as indicated by previous polarity time scales

Early Specialization in Youth Sport: A Biomechanical Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Mattson, Jeffrey M.; Richards, Jim

2010-01-01

This article examines, from a biomechanical perspective, three issues related to early specialization: overuse injuries, the developmental aspects, and the performance aspects. It concludes that "there is no evidence that early specialization causes overuse injuries or hinders growth and maturation." At the same time, early specialization has…

Early detection of ecosystem regime shifts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lindegren, Martin; Dakos, Vasilis; Groeger, Joachim P.

2012-01-01

methods may have limited utility in ecosystem-based management as they show no or weak potential for early-warning. We therefore propose a multiple method approach for early detection of ecosystem regime shifts in monitoring data that may be useful in informing timely management actions in the face...

Individual differences in early adolescents' latent trait cortisol: Interaction of early adversity and 5-HTTLPR.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Frances R; Stroud, Catherine B; Vrshek-Schallhorn, Suzanne; Doane, Leah D; Granger, Douglas A

2017-10-01

The present study aimed to examine the interaction of 5-HTTLPR and early adversity on trait-like levels of cortisol. A community sample of 117 early adolescent girls (M age=12.39years) provided DNA samples for 5-HTTLPR genotyping, and saliva samples for assessing cortisol 3 times a day (waking, 30min post-waking, and bedtime) over a three-day period. Latent trait cortisol (LTC) was modeled using the first 2 samples of each day. Early adversity was assessed with objective contextual stress interviews with adolescents and their mothers. A significant 5-HTTLPR×early adversity interaction indicated that greater early adversity was associated with lower LTC levels, but only among individuals with either L/L or S/L genotype. Findings suggest that serotonergic genetic variation may influence the impact of early adversity on individual differences in HPA-axis regulation. Future research should explore whether this interaction contributes to the development of psychopathology through HPA axis functioning. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Dasukigate and peace building: hangover of military ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Such notable characteristics are professionalism, hierarchy of command, discipline, solidarity and cohesion (esprit de corps). These are the attributes that retired military men are expected to exhibit in their new status and responsibilities in the civil society by fair distribution of the wealth of the nation in order to meet the ...

Beyond Hangovers: Understanding Alcohol's Impact on Your Health

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... a villain. And what wedding concludes without a champagne toast? Alcohol is part of our culture—it ... and a waitress comes around with glasses of champagne. You drink one, then another, maybe even a ...

Monitoring slope movement using time domain reflectometry (TDR) technology and early warning system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wan Zakaria Wan Muhamad Tahir, Lakam Mejus; Johari Abd Latif

2006-01-01

Many options of electronic instrumentation are available for monitoring unstable and/or potentially unstable slopes. One of the tools is applying TDR technology which is now regarded as a cost effective and alternative means for locating the depth to a shear plane or zone in a landslide. TDR uses an electronic voltage pulse that is reflected like radar from a damaged or deformed location in a coaxial cable. To monitor slope movement, coaxial cables are grouted in boreholes and interrogated using a TDR cable tester, which is attached to a programmed data logger. Characteristic cable signatures can be stored and compared over time for any changes indicating slope movement. This paper describes a case study documenting TDR installation procedure, data acquisition system and on-site TDR data collection of an unstable hill slope in Kampong Bharu -Bukit Tinggi, Bentong. A possibility of using a remotely automated monitoring system (advanced telemetry and data logger) that can incorporate with other types of sensors (e.g. rain gauge, vibrating wire piezometer, in-place inclinometer) together with many TDR sensor cables as an integrated package for early-warning of potential unstable slope movement around the area was highlighted and proposed. (Author)

Transactional relations between caregiving stress, executive functioning, and problem behavior from early childhood to early adolescence

Science.gov (United States)

LaGasse, Linda L.; Conradt, Elisabeth; Karalunas, Sarah L.; Dansereau, Lynne M.; Butner, Jonathan E.; Shankaran, Seetha; Bada, Henrietta; Bauer, Charles R.; Whitaker, Toni M.; Lester, Barry M.

2016-01-01

Developmental psychopathologists face the difficult task of identifying the environmental conditions that may contribute to early childhood behavior problems. Highly stressed caregivers can exacerbate behavior problems, while children with behavior problems may make parenting more difficult and increase caregiver stress. Unknown is: (1) how these transactions originate, (2) whether they persist over time to contribute to the development of problem behavior and (3) what role resilience factors, such as child executive functioning, may play in mitigating the development of problem behavior. In the present study, transactional relations between caregiving stress, executive functioning, and behavior problems were examined in a sample of 1,388 children with prenatal drug exposures at three developmental time points: early childhood (birth-age 5), middle childhood (ages 6 to 9), and early adolescence (ages 10 to 13). Transactional relations differed between caregiving stress and internalizing versus externalizing behavior. Targeting executive functioning in evidence-based interventions for children with prenatal substance exposure who present with internalizing problems and treating caregiving psychopathology, depression, and parenting stress in early childhood may be particularly important for children presenting with internalizing behavior. PMID:27427803

Integrated stratigraphy of the Smirra Core (Umbria-Marche Basin, Apennines, Italy) : A new early Paleogene reference section and implications for the geologic time scale

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Turtù, Antonio; Lauretano, Vittoria; Catanzariti, Rita; Hilgen, Frits J.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/102639876; Galeotti, Simone; Lanci, Luca; Moretti, Matteo; Lourens, Lucas J.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/125023103

2017-01-01

Pelagic sections of the Umbria-Marche Basin, in the Northern Apennines (Italy), have provided key geological archives for studying critical intervals of early Paleogene time. In addition to classical sections, the Smirra Coring project provides a new record of relatively undisturbed sediments (~ 120

A real-time PCR approach to detect predation on anchovy and sardine early life stages

Science.gov (United States)

Cuende, Elsa; Mendibil, Iñaki; Bachiller, Eneko; Álvarez, Paula; Cotano, Unai; Rodriguez-Ezpeleta, Naiara

2017-12-01

Recruitment of sardine (Sardina pilchardus Walbaum, 1792) and anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus Linnaeus, 1758) is thought to be regulated by predation of their eggs and larvae. Predators of sardine and anchovy can be identified by visual taxonomic identification of stomach contents, but this method is time consuming, tedious and may underestimate predation, especially in small predators such as fish larvae. Alternatively, genetic tools may offer a more cost-effective and accurate alternative. Here, we have developed a multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay based on TaqMan probes to simultaneously detect sardine and anchovy remains in gut contents of potential predators. The assay combines previously described and newly generated species-specific primers and probes for anchovy and sardine detection respectively, and allows the detection of 0,001 ng of target DNA (which corresponds to about one hundredth of the total DNA present in a single egg). We applied the method to candidate anchovy and sardine egg predators in the Bay of Biscay, Atlantic Mackerel (Scomber scombrus) larvae. Egg predation observed was limited primarily to those stations where sardine and/or anchovy eggs were present. Our developed assay offers a suitable tool to understand the effects of predation on the survival of anchovy and sardine early life stages.

Abundance of early functional HIV-specific CD8+ T cells does not predict AIDS-free survival time.

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Ingrid M M Schellens

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: T-cell immunity is thought to play an important role in controlling HIV infection, and is a main target for HIV vaccine development. HIV-specific central memory CD8(+ and CD4(+ T cells producing IFNgamma and IL-2 have been associated with control of viremia and are therefore hypothesized to be truly protective and determine subsequent clinical outcome. However, the cause-effect relationship between HIV-specific cellular immunity and disease progression is unknown. We investigated in a large prospective cohort study involving 96 individuals of the Amsterdam Cohort Studies with a known date of seroconversion whether the presence of cytokine-producing HIV-specific CD8(+ T cells early in infection was associated with AIDS-free survival time. METHODS AND FINDINGS: The number and percentage of IFNgamma and IL-2 producing CD8(+ T cells was measured after in vitro stimulation with an overlapping Gag-peptide pool in T cells sampled approximately one year after seroconversion. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox proportional hazard models showed that frequencies of cytokine-producing Gag-specific CD8(+ T cells (IFNgamma, IL-2 or both shortly after seroconversion were neither associated with time to AIDS nor with the rate of CD4(+ T-cell decline. CONCLUSIONS: These data show that high numbers of functional HIV-specific CD8(+ T cells can be found early in HIV infection, irrespective of subsequent clinical outcome. The fact that both progressors and long-term non-progressors have abundant T cell immunity of the specificity associated with low viral load shortly after seroconversion suggests that the more rapid loss of T cell immunity observed in progressors may be a consequence rather than a cause of disease progression.

Early diagenesis of recently deposited organic matter: A 9-yr time-series study of a flood deposit

Science.gov (United States)

Tesi, T.; Langone, L.; Goñi, M. A.; Wheatcroft, R. A.; Miserocchi, S.; Bertotti, L.

2012-04-01

In Fall 2000, the Po River (Italy) experienced a 100-yr return period flood that resulted in a 1-25 cm-thick deposit in the adjacent prodelta (10-25 m water depth). In the following years, numerous post-depositional perturbations occurred including bioturbation, reworking by waves with heights exceeding 5 m, as well as periods of extremely high and low sediment supply. Cores collected in the central prodelta after the Fall 2000 flood and over the following 9 yr, allowed characterization of the event-strata in their initial state and documentation of their subsequent evolution. Sedimentological characteristics were investigated using X-radiographs and sediment texture analyses, whereas the composition of sedimentary organic matter (OM) was studied via bulk and biomarker analyses, including organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen (TN), carbon stable isotope composition (δ13C), lignin phenols, cutin-products, p-hydroxy benzenes, benzoic acids, dicarboxylic acids, and fatty acids. The 9-yr time-series analysis indicated that roughly the lower half of the original event bed was preserved in the sediment record. Conversely, the upper half of the deposit experienced significant alterations including bioturbation, addition of new material, as well as coarsening. Comparison of the recently deposited material with 9-yr old preserved strata represented a unique natural laboratory to investigate the diagenesis of sedimentary OM in a non-steady system. Bulk data indicated that OC and TN were degraded at similar rates (loss ∼17%) whereas biomarkers exhibited a broad spectrum of reactivities (loss from ∼6% to ∼60%) indicating selective preservation during early diagenesis. Given the relevance of episodic sedimentation in several margins, this study has demonstrated the utility of event-response and time-series sampling of the seabed for understanding the early diagenesis in non-steady conditions.

Development of an Earthquake Early Warning System Using Real-Time Strong Motion Signals

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Hiroo Kanamori

2008-01-01

Full Text Available As urbanization progresses worldwide, earthquakes pose serious threat to livesand properties for urban areas near major active faults on land or subduction zonesoffshore. Earthquake Early Warning (EEW can be a useful tool for reducing earthquakehazards, if the spatial relation between cities and earthquake sources is favorable for suchwarning and their citizens are properly trained to respond to earthquake warning messages.An EEW system forewarns an urban area of forthcoming strong shaking, normally with afew sec to a few tens of sec of warning time, i.e., before the arrival of the destructive Swavepart of the strong ground motion. Even a few second of advanced warning time willbe useful for pre-programmed emergency measures for various critical facilities, such asrapid-transit vehicles and high-speed trains to avoid potential derailment; it will be alsouseful for orderly shutoff of gas pipelines to minimize fire hazards, controlled shutdown ofhigh-technological manufacturing operations to reduce potential losses, and safe-guardingof computer facilities to avoid loss of vital databases. We explored a practical approach toEEW with the use of a ground-motion period parameter τc and a high-pass filtered verticaldisplacement amplitude parameter Pd from the initial 3 sec of the P waveforms. At a givensite, an earthquake magnitude could be determined from τc and the peak ground-motionvelocity (PGV could be estimated from Pd. In this method, incoming strong motion acceleration signals are recursively converted to ground velocity and displacement. A Pwavetrigger is constantly monitored. When a trigger occurs, τc and Pd are computed. Theearthquake magnitude and the on-site ground-motion intensity could be estimated and thewarning could be issued. In an ideal situation, such warnings would be available within 10sec of the origin time of a large earthquake whose subsequent ground motion may last fortens of seconds.

Time-Lag between Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder and Onset of Publicly-Funded Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention: Do Race-Ethnicity and Neighborhood Matter?

Science.gov (United States)

Yingling, Marissa E.; Hock, Robert M.; Bell, Bethany A.

2018-01-01

Health coverage of early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is rapidly expanding across the United States. Yet we know little about the time-lag between diagnosis and treatment onset. We integrated administrative, Medicaid claims, and Census data for children in an EIBI Medicaid waiver (n =…

Regulatory T cells predict the time to initial treatment in early stage chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Science.gov (United States)

Weiss, Lukas; Melchardt, Thomas; Egle, Alexander; Grabmer, Christoph; Greil, Richard; Tinhofer, Inge

2011-05-15

Early stage chronic lymphocytic leukemia is characterized by a highly variable course of disease. Because it is believed that regulatory T cells (T(regs) ) are potent suppressors of antitumor immunity, the authors hypothesized that increased T(regs) may favor disease progression. T(reg) levels (cluster of differentiation 3 [CD3]-positive, [CD4]-positive, CD25-positive, and CD127-negative) in peripheral blood from 102 patients were analyzed by flow cytometry. Statistical analysis was used to evaluate correlations with clinical data. The relative T(reg) numbers in CD4-positive T cells were significantly greater in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia compared with the numbers in a control group of 170 healthy individuals (P = .001). Patients were divided into 2 groups using a median T(reg) value of 9.7% (the percentage of CD4-positive T cells). Patients with higher T(reg) levels had a significantly shorter time to initial treatment (median, 5.9 years) compared with patients who had lower T(reg) levels (median, 11.7 years; log-rank P = .019). Furthermore, T(reg) levels (the percentage of CD4-positive T cells) had significant prognostic power to predict the time to initial treatment in univariate analysis (P = .023) and in multivariate Cox regression analysis that included the variables Rai stage, immunoglobulin heavy-chain variable region gene mutational status, chromosomal aberrations, and CD38 expression (P = .028). Higher T(reg) levels had significant and independent prognostic power for predicting the time to initial treatment in patients with low to intermediate stage chronic lymphocytic leukemia. 2010 American Cancer Society.

Early time interaction of lithium ions with the solar wind in the AMPTE mission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lui, A.T.Y.; Goodrich, C.C.; Mankofsky, A.; Papadopoulos, K.

1986-01-01

The early time interaction of an artificially injected lithium cloud with the solar wind is simulated with a one-dimensional hybrid code. Simulation results indicate that the lithium cloud presents an obstacle to the solar wind flow, forming a shock-like interaction region. Several notable features are found: (1) The magnetic field is enhanced up to a factor of about 6 followed by a magnetic cavity downstream. (2) Solar wind ions are slowed down inside the lithium cloud, with substantial upstream reflection. (3) Most of the lithium ions gradually pick up the velocity of the solar wind and move downstream. (4) Intense and short-wavelength electric fields exist ahead of the interaction region. (5) Strong electron heating occurs within the lithium clouds. (6) The convection electric field in the in the solar wind is modulated in the interaction region. The simulation results are in remarkable agreement with in situ spacecraft measurements made during lithium releases in the solar wind by the AMPTE (Active magnetospheric Particle Tracer Explorers) Program

Adverse Housing Conditions and Early-Onset Delinquency.

Science.gov (United States)

Jackson, Dylan B; Newsome, Jamie; Lynch, Kellie R

2017-09-01

Housing constitutes an important health resource for children. Research has revealed that, when housing conditions are unfavorable, they can interfere with child health, academic performance, and cognition. Little to no research, however, has considered whether adverse housing conditions and early-onset delinquency are significantly associated with one another. This study explores the associations between structural and non-structural housing conditions and delinquent involvement during childhood. Data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS) were employed in this study. Each adverse housing condition was significantly associated with early-onset delinquency. Even so, disarray and deterioration were only significantly linked to early delinquent involvement in the presence of health/safety hazards. The predicted probability of early-onset delinquency among children exposed to housing risks in the presence of health/safety hazards was nearly three times as large as the predicted probability of early-onset delinquency among children exposed only to disarray and/or deterioration, and nearly four times as large as the predicted probability of early-onset delinquency among children exposed to none of the adverse housing conditions. The findings suggest that minimizing housing-related health/safety hazards among at-risk subsets of the population may help to alleviate other important public health concerns-particularly early-onset delinquency. Addressing household health/safety hazards may represent a fruitful avenue for public health programs aimed at the prevention of early-onset delinquency. © Society for Community Research and Action 2017.

A Simulation-Based Study on the Comparison of Statistical and Time Series Forecasting Methods for Early Detection of Infectious Disease Outbreaks.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Eunjoo; Park, Hyun Woo; Choi, Yeon Hwa; Kim, Jusim; Munkhdalai, Lkhagvadorj; Musa, Ibrahim; Ryu, Keun Ho

2018-05-11

Early detection of infectious disease outbreaks is one of the important and significant issues in syndromic surveillance systems. It helps to provide a rapid epidemiological response and reduce morbidity and mortality. In order to upgrade the current system at the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), a comparative study of state-of-the-art techniques is required. We compared four different temporal outbreak detection algorithms: the CUmulative SUM (CUSUM), the Early Aberration Reporting System (EARS), the autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA), and the Holt-Winters algorithm. The comparison was performed based on not only 42 different time series generated taking into account trends, seasonality, and randomly occurring outbreaks, but also real-world daily and weekly data related to diarrhea infection. The algorithms were evaluated using different metrics. These were namely, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), F1 score, symmetric mean absolute percent error (sMAPE), root-mean-square error (RMSE), and mean absolute deviation (MAD). Although the comparison results showed better performance for the EARS C3 method with respect to the other algorithms, despite the characteristics of the underlying time series data, Holt⁻Winters showed better performance when the baseline frequency and the dispersion parameter values were both less than 1.5 and 2, respectively.

A SVDD and K-Means Based Early Warning Method for Dual-Rotor Equipment under Time-Varying Operating Conditions

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Zhinong Jiang

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Under frequently time-varying operating conditions, equipment with dual rotors like gas turbines is influenced by two rotors with different rotating speeds. Alarm methods of fixed threshold are unable to consider the influences of time-varying operating conditions. Hence, those methods are not suitable for monitoring dual-rotor equipment. An early warning method for dual-rotor equipment under time-varying operating conditions is proposed in this paper. The influences of time-varying rotating speeds of dual rotors on alarm thresholds have been considered. Firstly, the operating conditions are divided into several limited intervals according to rotating speeds of dual rotors. Secondly, the train data within each interval is processed by SVDD and the allowable ranges (i.e., the alarm threshold of the vibration are determined. The alarm threshold of each interval of operating conditions is obtained. The alarm threshold can be expressed as a sphere, whose controlling parameters are the coordinate of the center and the radius. Then, the cluster center of the test data, whose alarm state is to be judged, can be extracted through K-means. Finally, the alarm state can be obtained by comparing the cluster center with the corresponding sphere. Experiments are conducted to validate the proposed method.

Pathways of early fatherhood, marriage, and employment: a latent class growth analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Dariotis, Jacinda K; Pleck, Joseph H; Astone, Nan M; Sonenstein, Freya L

2011-05-01

In the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79), young fathers include heterogeneous subgroups with varying early life pathways in terms of fatherhood timing, the timing of first marriage, and holding full-time employment. Using latent class growth analysis with 10 observations between ages 18 and 37, we derived five latent classes with median ages of first fatherhood below the cohort median (26.4), constituting distinct early fatherhood pathways representing 32.4% of NLSY men: (A) Young Married Fathers, (B) Teen Married Fathers, (C) Young Underemployed Married Fathers, (D) Young Underemployed Single Fathers, and (E) Young Later-Marrying Fathers. A sixth latent class of men who become fathers around the cohort median, following full-time employment and marriage (On-Time On-Sequence Fathers), is the comparison group. With sociodemographic background controlled, all early fatherhood pathways show disadvantage in at least some later-life circumstances (earnings, educational attainment, marital status, and incarceration). The extent of disadvantage is greater when early fatherhood occurs at relatively younger ages (before age 20), occurs outside marriage, or occurs outside full-time employment. The relative disadvantage associated with early fatherhood, unlike early motherhood, increases over the life course.

Intelligence in early adulthood and midlife physical performance in men

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Meincke, Rikke Hodal; Hansen, Åse Marie; Mortensen, Laust Hvas

2016-01-01

The objective of this study was to examine whether associations between intelligence in early adulthood and midlife physical performance in men were mediated by education and leisure-time physical activity. Intelligence correlated positively with later education (r = 0.47) and negatively with phy......The objective of this study was to examine whether associations between intelligence in early adulthood and midlife physical performance in men were mediated by education and leisure-time physical activity. Intelligence correlated positively with later education (r = 0.47) and negatively...... performance, but because intelligence in early adulthood was inversely associated with physical activity, the indirect effects through physical activity were negative. Overall, education and leisure-time physical activity were not strong mediators of the association between early adult intelligence...

Simulation-Based Early Prediction of Rocket, Artillery, and Mortar Trajectories and Real-Time Optimization for Counter-RAM Systems

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Arash Ramezani

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The threat imposed by terrorist attacks is a major hazard for military installations, for example, in Iraq and Afghanistan. The large amounts of rockets, artillery projectiles, and mortar grenades (RAM that are available pose serious threats to military forces. An important task for international research and development is to protect military installations and implement an accurate early warning system against RAM threats on conventional computer systems in out-of-area field camps. This work presents a method for determining the trajectory, caliber, and type of a projectile based on the estimation of the ballistic coefficient. A simulation-based optimization process is presented that enables iterative adjustment of predicted trajectories in real time. Analytical and numerical methods are used to reduce computing time for out-of-area missions and low-end computer systems. A GUI is programmed to present the results. It allows for comparison between predicted and actual trajectories. Finally, different aspects and restrictions for measuring the quality of the results are discussed.

Amino Acid Stability in the Early Oceans

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, E. T.; Brinton, K. L.; Burton, A. S.; Glavin, D. P.; Dworkin, J. P.; Bada, J. L.

2015-01-01

It is likely that a variety of amino acids existed in the early oceans of the Earth at the time of the origin and early evolution of life. "Primordial soup", hydrothermal vent, and meteorite based processes could have contributed to such an inventory. Several "protein" amino acids were likely present, however, based on prebiotic synthesis experiments and carbonaceous meteorite studies, non-protein amino acids, which are rare on Earth today, were likely the most abundant. An important uncertainty is the length of time these amino acids could have persisted before their destruction by abiotic and biotic processes. Prior to life, amino acid concentrations in the oceans were likely regulated by circulation through hydro-thermal vents. Today, the entire ocean circulates through vent systems every 10(exp 7) years. On the early Earth, this value was likely smaller due to higher heat flow and thus marine amino acid life-time would have been shorter. After life, amino acids in the oceans could have been assimilated by primitive organisms.

Early experience in centralized real time energy market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alaywan, Z.; Hernandez, L.; Martin, M.

2005-01-01

The current structure of the California Independent System Operator (ISO) was described. The study provided an outline of California's transition from a decentralized pool operation to a forward bilateral market through the implementation of a centralized real time market. Details of the institutional, economic and technological history of the power system were provided. Although the California real time market was implemented in order to simplify the power system, a number of operational challenges were observed. Discontinuities in the energy curve resulted in the implementation of a target price process, which aimed to resolve the overlap in energy bids. The design of the ISO's real time market did not provide a mechanism for bidders to execute real time energy trades. Regulation bidders also internalized energy in their regulation capacity bids. The real time market application (RTMA) provided the ISO with a substantial computer program to determine and account for nearly all aspects of generation unit scheduling and physical characteristics with a multiple ramp rate. The program combined optimal power flow (OPF) logic for energy flows in addition to mixed-integer nonlinear optimization of trading schedules, and system and security constraints. The RTMA used a multi-period security constrained economic dispatch (SCED) function to optimize energy dispatch schedules. Other features of the RTMA included security constrained unit commitment, security constrained economic dispatch, and dispatch schedule post processes. It was concluded that implementation of the RTMA has increased the efficiency of the ISO. A case study of the RTMA during an outage in November 2004 was provided. 5 refs., 1 tab., 2 figs

Drinking motives moderate the impact of pre-drinking on heavy drinking on a given evening and related adverse consequences-an event-level study

OpenAIRE

Kuntsche Emmanuel; Labhart Florian

2013-01-01

Aims: To test whether (i) drinking motives predict the frequency of pre drinking (i.e. alcohol consumption before going out); (ii) drinking motives predict HDGE (heavy drinking on a given evening: 4+ for women 5+ for men) and related adverse consequences (hangover injuries blackouts etc.) even when pre drinking is accounted for and (iii) drinking motives moderate the impact of pre drinking on HDGE and consequences. Design: Using the internet based cellphone optimized assessment technique (ICA...

The Sail-Backed Reptile Ctenosauriscus from the Latest Early Triassic of Germany and the Timing and Biogeography of the Early Archosaur Radiation

Science.gov (United States)

Butler, Richard J.; Brusatte, Stephen L.; Reich, Mike; Nesbitt, Sterling J.; Schoch, Rainer R.; Hornung, Jahn J.

2011-01-01

Background Archosaurs (birds, crocodilians and their extinct relatives including dinosaurs) dominated Mesozoic continental ecosystems from the Late Triassic onwards, and still form a major component of modern ecosystems (>10,000 species). The earliest diverse archosaur faunal assemblages are known from the Middle Triassic (c. 244 Ma), implying that the archosaur radiation began in the Early Triassic (252.3–247.2 Ma). Understanding of this radiation is currently limited by the poor early fossil record of the group in terms of skeletal remains. Methodology/Principal Findings We redescribe the anatomy and stratigraphic position of the type specimen of Ctenosauriscus koeneni (Huene), a sail-backed reptile from the Early Triassic (late Olenekian) Solling Formation of northern Germany that potentially represents the oldest known archosaur. We critically discuss previous biomechanical work on the ‘sail’ of Ctenosauriscus, which is formed by a series of elongated neural spines. In addition, we describe Ctenosauriscus-like postcranial material from the earliest Middle Triassic (early Anisian) Röt Formation of Waldhaus, southwestern Germany. Finally, we review the spatial and temporal distribution of the earliest archosaur fossils and their implications for understanding the dynamics of the archosaur radiation. Conclusions/Significance Comprehensive numerical phylogenetic analyses demonstrate that both Ctenosauriscus and the Waldhaus taxon are members of a monophyletic grouping of poposauroid archosaurs, Ctenosauriscidae, characterised by greatly elongated neural spines in the posterior cervical to anterior caudal vertebrae. The earliest archosaurs, including Ctenosauriscus, appear in the body fossil record just prior to the Olenekian/Anisian boundary (c. 248 Ma), less than 5 million years after the Permian–Triassic mass extinction. These earliest archosaur assemblages are dominated by ctenosauriscids, which were broadly distributed across northern Pangea and which

The sail-backed reptile Ctenosauriscus from the latest Early Triassic of Germany and the timing and biogeography of the early archosaur radiation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard J Butler

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Archosaurs (birds, crocodilians and their extinct relatives including dinosaurs dominated Mesozoic continental ecosystems from the Late Triassic onwards, and still form a major component of modern ecosystems (>10,000 species. The earliest diverse archosaur faunal assemblages are known from the Middle Triassic (c. 244 Ma, implying that the archosaur radiation began in the Early Triassic (252.3-247.2 Ma. Understanding of this radiation is currently limited by the poor early fossil record of the group in terms of skeletal remains. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We redescribe the anatomy and stratigraphic position of the type specimen of Ctenosauriscus koeneni (Huene, a sail-backed reptile from the Early Triassic (late Olenekian Solling Formation of northern Germany that potentially represents the oldest known archosaur. We critically discuss previous biomechanical work on the 'sail' of Ctenosauriscus, which is formed by a series of elongated neural spines. In addition, we describe Ctenosauriscus-like postcranial material from the earliest Middle Triassic (early Anisian Röt Formation of Waldhaus, southwestern Germany. Finally, we review the spatial and temporal distribution of the earliest archosaur fossils and their implications for understanding the dynamics of the archosaur radiation. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Comprehensive numerical phylogenetic analyses demonstrate that both Ctenosauriscus and the Waldhaus taxon are members of a monophyletic grouping of poposauroid archosaurs, Ctenosauriscidae, characterised by greatly elongated neural spines in the posterior cervical to anterior caudal vertebrae. The earliest archosaurs, including Ctenosauriscus, appear in the body fossil record just prior to the Olenekian/Anisian boundary (c. 248 Ma, less than 5 million years after the Permian-Triassic mass extinction. These earliest archosaur assemblages are dominated by ctenosauriscids, which were broadly distributed across northern Pangea and

The sail-backed reptile Ctenosauriscus from the latest Early Triassic of Germany and the timing and biogeography of the early archosaur radiation.

Science.gov (United States)

Butler, Richard J; Brusatte, Stephen L; Reich, Mike; Nesbitt, Sterling J; Schoch, Rainer R; Hornung, Jahn J

2011-01-01

Archosaurs (birds, crocodilians and their extinct relatives including dinosaurs) dominated Mesozoic continental ecosystems from the Late Triassic onwards, and still form a major component of modern ecosystems (>10,000 species). The earliest diverse archosaur faunal assemblages are known from the Middle Triassic (c. 244 Ma), implying that the archosaur radiation began in the Early Triassic (252.3-247.2 Ma). Understanding of this radiation is currently limited by the poor early fossil record of the group in terms of skeletal remains. We redescribe the anatomy and stratigraphic position of the type specimen of Ctenosauriscus koeneni (Huene), a sail-backed reptile from the Early Triassic (late Olenekian) Solling Formation of northern Germany that potentially represents the oldest known archosaur. We critically discuss previous biomechanical work on the 'sail' of Ctenosauriscus, which is formed by a series of elongated neural spines. In addition, we describe Ctenosauriscus-like postcranial material from the earliest Middle Triassic (early Anisian) Röt Formation of Waldhaus, southwestern Germany. Finally, we review the spatial and temporal distribution of the earliest archosaur fossils and their implications for understanding the dynamics of the archosaur radiation. Comprehensive numerical phylogenetic analyses demonstrate that both Ctenosauriscus and the Waldhaus taxon are members of a monophyletic grouping of poposauroid archosaurs, Ctenosauriscidae, characterised by greatly elongated neural spines in the posterior cervical to anterior caudal vertebrae. The earliest archosaurs, including Ctenosauriscus, appear in the body fossil record just prior to the Olenekian/Anisian boundary (c. 248 Ma), less than 5 million years after the Permian-Triassic mass extinction. These earliest archosaur assemblages are dominated by ctenosauriscids, which were broadly distributed across northern Pangea and which appear to have been the first global radiation of archosaurs.

Explaining the apparent paradox of persistent selection for early flowering.

Science.gov (United States)

Austen, Emily J; Rowe, Locke; Stinchcombe, John R; Forrest, Jessica R K

2017-08-01

Decades of observation in natural plant populations have revealed pervasive phenotypic selection for early flowering onset. This consistent pattern seems at odds with life-history theory, which predicts stabilizing selection on age and size at reproduction. Why is selection for later flowering rare? Moreover, extensive evidence demonstrates that flowering time can and does evolve. What maintains ongoing directional selection for early flowering? Several non-mutually exclusive processes can help to reconcile the apparent paradox of selection for early flowering. We outline four: selection through other fitness components may counter observed fecundity selection for early flowering; asymmetry in the flowering-time-fitness function may make selection for later flowering hard to detect; flowering time and fitness may be condition-dependent; and selection on flowering duration is largely unaccounted for. In this Viewpoint, we develop these four mechanisms, and highlight areas where further study will improve our understanding of flowering-time evolution. © 2017 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2017 New Phytologist Trust.

Ultrasonographic findings of early abortion: suggested predictors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jun, Soon Ae; Ahn, Myoung Ock; Cha, Kwang Yul; Lee, Young Doo

1992-01-01

To investigate predictable ultrasonographic findings of early abortion. To investigate objective rules for the screening of abortion. Ultrasonographic examination of 111 early pregnancies between the sixth and ninth week in women who had regular 28 day menstrual cycles was performed. Ultrasonographic measurements of the gestational sac, crown rump length and fetal heart rate were performed using a linear array real time transducer with doppler ultrasonogram. All measurements of 17 early abortions were compared to those of 94 normal pregnancies. Most of early aborted pregnancies were classified correctly by discriminant analysis with G-SAC and CRL (G-SAC=0.5 CRL + 15, sensitivity 76.5%, specificity 96.8%). With the addition of FHR, 94.1% of early abortions could be predicted. In conclusion, ultrasonographic findings of early intrauterine growth retardation, small gestational sac and bradycardia can be predictable signs suggestive of poor prognosis of early pregnancies

Influences on Turkish Early Childhood Teachers' Science Teaching Practices and the Science Content Covered in the Early Years

Science.gov (United States)

Olgan, Refika

2015-01-01

The first rationale of the study was not only to determine the topics taught in Turkish early childhood settings but also to define the frequency and time allocation for teaching science (n?=?382). In the second phase, through semi-structured interview questions, the aim was to gain detailed information about Turkish early childhood teachers'…

Motor impairment factors related to brain injury timing in early hemiparesis. Part I: expression of upper-extremity weakness.

Science.gov (United States)

Sukal-Moulton, Theresa; Krosschell, Kristin J; Gaebler-Spira, Deborah J; Dewald, Julius P A

2014-01-01

Extensive neuromotor development occurs early in human life, but the time that a brain injury occurs during development has not been rigorously studied when quantifying motor impairments. This study investigated the impact of timing of brain injury on the magnitude and distribution of weakness in the paretic arm of individuals with childhood-onset hemiparesis. A total of 24 individuals with hemiparesis were divided into time periods of injury before birth (PRE-natal, n = 8), around the time of birth (PERI-natal, n = 8), or after 6 months of age (POST-natal, n = 8). They, along with 8 typically developing peers, participated in maximal isometric shoulder, elbow, wrist, and finger torque generation tasks using a multiple-degree-of-freedom load cell to quantify torques in 10 directions. A mixed-model ANOVA was used to determine the effect of group and task on a calculated relative weakness ratio between arms. There was a significant effect of both time of injury group (P < .001) and joint torque direction (P < .001) on the relative weakness of the paretic arm. Distal joints were more affected compared with proximal joints, especially in the POST-natal group. The distribution of weakness provides evidence for the relative preservation of ipsilateral corticospinal motor pathways to the paretic limb in those individuals injured earlier, whereas those who sustained later injury may rely more on indirect ipsilateral corticobulbospinal projections during the generation of torques with the paretic arm.

Motor impairment factors related to brain injury timing in early hemiparesis Part I: expression of upper extremity weakness

Science.gov (United States)

Sukal-Moulton, Theresa; Krosschell, Kristin J.; Gaebler-Spira, Deborah J.; Dewald, Julius P.A.

2014-01-01

Background Extensive neuromotor development occurs early in human life, but the time that a brain injury occurs during development has not been rigorously studied when quantifying motor impairments. Objective This study investigated the impact of timing of brain injury on magnitude and distribution of weakness in the paretic arm of individuals with childhood-onset hemiparesis. Methods Twenty-four individuals with hemiparesis were divided into time periods of injury before birth (PRE-natal, n=8), around the time of birth (PERI-natal, n=8) or after 6 months of age (POST-natal, n=8). They, along with 8 typically developing peers, participated in maximal isometric shoulder, elbow, wrist, and finger torque generation tasks using a multiple degree-of-freedom load cell to quantify torques in 10 directions. A mixed model ANOVA was used to determine the effect of group and task on a calculated relative weakness ratio between arms. Results There was a significant effect of both time of injury group (p<0.001) and joint torque direction (p<0.001) on the relative weakness of the paretic arm. Distal joints were more affected compared to proximal joints, especially in the POST-natal group. Conclusions The distribution of weakness provides evidence for the relative preservation of ipsilateral corticospinal motor pathways to the paretic limb in those individuals injured earlier, while those who sustained later injury may rely more on indirect ipsilateral cortico-bulbospinal projections during the generation of torques with the paretic arm. PMID:24009182

Aiming for a simpler early arthritis MRI protocol

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stomp, Wouter; Krabben, Annemarie; van der Heijde, Désirée

2015-01-01

PURPOSE: To evaluate whether intravenous gadolinium (Gd) contrast administration can be eliminated when evaluating synovitis and tenosynovitis in early arthritis patients, thereby decreasing imaging time, cost, and invasiveness. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Wrist MRIs of 93 early arthritis patients wer...

Real-Time Surveillance in Emergencies Using the Early Warning Alert and Response Network.

Science.gov (United States)

Cordes, Kristina M; Cookson, Susan T; Boyd, Andrew T; Hardy, Colleen; Malik, Mamunur Rahman; Mala, Peter; El Tahir, Khalid; Everard, Marthe; Jasiem, Mohamad; Husain, Farah

2017-11-01

Humanitarian emergencies often result in population displacement and increase the risk for transmission of communicable diseases. To address the increased risk for outbreaks during humanitarian emergencies, the World Health Organization developed the Early Warning Alert and Response Network (EWARN) for early detection of epidemic-prone diseases. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has worked with the World Health Organization, ministries of health, and other partners to support EWARN through the implementation and evaluation of these systems and the development of standardized guidance. Although protocols have been developed for the implementation and evaluation of EWARN, a need persists for standardized training and additional guidance on supporting these systems remotely when access to affected areas is restricted. Continued collaboration between partners and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for surveillance during emergencies is necessary to strengthen capacity and support global health security.

Personalisation of breast cancer follow-up: a time-dependent prognostic nomogram for the estimation of annual risk of locoregional recurrence in early breast cancer patients

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Witteveen, Annemieke; Vliegen, Ingrid; Sonke, Gabe S.; Klaase, Joost M.; IJzerman, Maarten Joost; Siesling, Sabine

2015-01-01

The objective of this study was to develop and validate a time-dependent logistic regression model for prediction of locoregional recurrence (LRR) of breast cancer and a web-based nomogram for clinical decision support. Women first diagnosed with early breast cancer between 2003 and 2006 in all

Early onset type 2 diabetes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bo, A; Thomsen, R W; Nielsen, J S

2018-01-01

was more frequent and meeting physical activity recommendations less likely in persons with early-onset type 2 DM. CONCLUSIONS: We found a clear age-gradient, with increasing prevalence of clinical and behavioural risk factors the younger the onset age of type 2 DM. Younger persons with early-onset type 2......AIM: To examine the association between early onset of type 2 diabetes (DM) and clinical and behavioural risk factors for later diabetes complications. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 5115 persons with incident type 2 DM enrolled during 2010-2015 in the Danish Centre for Strategic...... Research in Type 2 Diabetes-cohort. We compared risk factors at time of diagnosis among those diagnosed at ≤45 years (early-onset) with diagnosis age 46-55, 56-65 (average-onset = reference), 66-75, and >75 years (late-onset). Prevalence ratios (PRs) were computed using Poisson regression. RESULTS: Poor...

Mapping the Z-Axis: Early Archaeological Engagement with Time and Space in the Ancient Near East

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Susan Cohen

2014-08-01

Full Text Available The development of the archaeology of the ancient Near East as an independent discipline in the nineteenth century, with its focus on uncovering the peoples and places of the past, particularly from the biblical world, contributed to a visual tradition that presented the time and space of an idealized historical past often influenced by religious preconceptions. Using the physical materials from excavated sites, and linking these discoveries with literal and uncritical readings of the Bible, European and American scholars in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries created maps for the public showing peoples, places, routes, and events from the past imposed on the contemporary landscape of the present. In so doing, the archaeology of the ancient Near East helped to define and create visual presentations of a particularized view of the past that continues to hold significance for common understandings of history in the present.

Born a bit too early: A study of early planned birth and child development at school age

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jason Bentley

2017-04-01

Early (<39 weeks gestation planned birth is associated with an increased risk of poor development in children starting school. Given the timing of planned birth is modifiable, delaying birth for an additional week or more may improve child development. Strategies and interventions to inform more judicious decision making, weighing all the risks and benefits for early planned birth are required to ensure optimal child health and development.

Real-time earthquake monitoring: Early warning and rapid response

Science.gov (United States)

1991-01-01

A panel was established to investigate the subject of real-time earthquake monitoring (RTEM) and suggest recommendations on the feasibility of using a real-time earthquake warning system to mitigate earthquake damage in regions of the United States. The findings of the investigation and the related recommendations are described in this report. A brief review of existing real-time seismic systems is presented with particular emphasis given to the current California seismic networks. Specific applications of a real-time monitoring system are discussed along with issues related to system deployment and technical feasibility. In addition, several non-technical considerations are addressed including cost-benefit analysis, public perceptions, safety, and liability.

Early Age Fracture Mechanics and Cracking of Concrete

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Østergaard, Lennart

2003-01-01

. The reasons are the increased autogenous deformation, the high rate of heat evolution and a higher brittleness of these concretes. Due to these adverse mechanisms the interest in the full description of the behavior of early age concrete has increased dramatically in the last two or three decades. Almost all...... the fictitious crack model and the aim has been experimentally to determine the fracture mechanical properties related to this model. The results provide interesting and important insight into the development of the fracture properties in early age. It is found that the characteristic length has moments of low...... values in early age, which means that the cracking sensibility is higher at those time points. The possible influence of time-dependent effects in the fracture mechanical properties on the cracking behavior in early age has also been investigated. The reason for this has been the known fact...

Sleep, sleepiness and school start times: a preliminary study.

Science.gov (United States)

Dexter, Donn; Bijwadia, Jagdeep; Schilling, Dana; Applebaugh, Gwendolyn

2003-01-01

High school students are reported to be excessively sleepy, resulting in decreased academic performance, increased psycho-social problems and increased risk of morbidity and mortality from accidents. Early school start times have been noted to contribute to this problem. This report attempts to confirm the relationship of early school start times with decreased sleep and increased sleepiness. We examined sophomore and junior students in 2 local high schools with different start times and measured the amount of time slept and sleepiness. We found that students at the early start school reported reduced sleep time and more sleepiness than their counterparts at the later starting school. Early school start times are associated with student reports of less sleep and increased sleepiness. Further studies in larger groups are recommended in view of the potential significant impact of sleep deprivation in this age group.

A high-level dynamic analysis approach for studying global process plant availability and production time in the early stages of mining projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dennis Travagini Cremonese

Full Text Available Abstract In the early stage of front-end studies of a Mining Project, the global availability (i.e. number of hours a plant is available for production and production (number of hours a plant is actually operated with material time of the process plant are normally assumed based on the experience of the study team. Understanding and defining the availability hours at the early stages of the project are important for the future stages of the project, as drastic changes in work hours will impact the economics of the project at that stage. An innovative high-level dynamic modeling approach has been developed to assist in the rapid evaluation of assumptions made by the study team. This model incorporates systems or equipment that are commonly used in mining projects from mine to product stockyard discharge after the processing plant. It includes subsystems that will simulate all the component handling, and major process plant systems required for a mining project. The output data provided by this high-level dynamic simulation approach will enhance the confidence level of engineering carried out during the early stage of the project. This study discusses the capabilities of the approach, and a test case compared with standard techniques used in mining project front-end studies.

So Close, yet So Far Away: Early vs. Late Dropouts

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Yanli; Cragg, Kristina M.

2013-01-01

While some students drop out early in their academic career, others drop out close to completion. What similarities and differences exist between these early and late dropouts? Using a sample 3,520 first-time, full-time (FTFT) students seeking a bachelor's degree at a state university, this study employs multinomial logistic regression to model…

Redefining early gastric cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Barreto, Savio G; Windsor, John A

2016-01-01

The problem is that current definitions of early gastric cancer allow the inclusion of regional lymph node metastases. The increasing use of endoscopic submucosal dissection to treat early gastric cancer is a concern because regional lymph nodes are not addressed. The aim of the study was thus to critically evaluate current evidence with regard to tumour-specific factors associated with lymph node metastases in "early gastric cancer" to develop a more precise definition and improve clinical management. A systematic and comprehensive search of major reference databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed and the Cochrane Library) was undertaken using a combination of text words "early gastric cancer", "lymph node metastasis", "factors", "endoscopy", "surgery", "lymphadenectomy" "mucosa", "submucosa", "lymphovascular invasion", "differentiated", "undifferentiated" and "ulcer". All available publications that described tumour-related factors associated with lymph node metastases in early gastric cancer were included. The initial search yielded 1494 studies, of which 42 studies were included in the final analysis. Over time, the definition of early gastric cancer has broadened and the indications for endoscopic treatment have widened. The mean frequency of lymph node metastases increased on the basis of depth of infiltration (mucosa 6% vs. submucosa 28%), presence of lymphovascular invasion (absence 9% vs. presence 53%), tumour differentiation (differentiated 13% vs. undifferentiated 34%) and macroscopic type (elevated 13% vs. flat 26%) and tumour diameter (≤2 cm 8% vs. >2 cm 25%). There is a need to re-examine the diagnosis and staging of early gastric cancer to ensure that patients with one or more identifiable risk factor for lymph node metastases are not denied appropriate chemotherapy and surgical resection.

Early Diagnosis of Breast Cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Lulu

2017-07-05

Early-stage cancer detection could reduce breast cancer death rates significantly in the long-term. The most critical point for best prognosis is to identify early-stage cancer cells. Investigators have studied many breast diagnostic approaches, including mammography, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound, computerized tomography, positron emission tomography and biopsy. However, these techniques have some limitations such as being expensive, time consuming and not suitable for young women. Developing a high-sensitive and rapid early-stage breast cancer diagnostic method is urgent. In recent years, investigators have paid their attention in the development of biosensors to detect breast cancer using different biomarkers. Apart from biosensors and biomarkers, microwave imaging techniques have also been intensely studied as a promising diagnostic tool for rapid and cost-effective early-stage breast cancer detection. This paper aims to provide an overview on recent important achievements in breast screening methods (particularly on microwave imaging) and breast biomarkers along with biosensors for rapidly diagnosing breast cancer.

Motor impairments related to brain injury timing in early hemiparesis. Part II: abnormal upper extremity joint torque synergies.

Science.gov (United States)

Sukal-Moulton, Theresa; Krosschell, Kristin J; Gaebler-Spira, Deborah J; Dewald, Julius P A

2014-01-01

Extensive neuromotor development occurs early in human life, and the timing of brain injury may affect the resulting motor impairment. In Part I of this series, it was demonstrated that the distribution of weakness in the upper extremity depended on the timing of brain injury in individuals with childhood-onset hemiparesis. The goal of this study was to characterize how timing of brain injury affects joint torque synergies, or losses of independent joint control. Twenty-four individuals with hemiparesis were divided into 3 groups based on the timing of their injury: before birth (PRE-natal, n = 8), around the time of birth (PERI-natal, n = 8), and after 6 months of age (POST-natal, n = 8). Individuals with hemiparesis and 8 typically developing peers participated in maximal isometric shoulder, elbow, wrist, and finger torque generation tasks while their efforts were recorded by a multiple degree-of-freedom load cell. Motor output in 4 joints of the upper extremity was concurrently measured during 8 primary torque generation tasks to quantify joint torque synergies. There were a number of significant coupling patterns identified in individuals with hemiparesis that differed from the typically developing group. POST-natal differences were most noted in the coupling of shoulder abductors with elbow, wrist, and finger flexors, while the PRE-natal group demonstrated significant distal joint coupling with elbow flexion. The torque synergies measured provide indirect evidence for the use of bulbospinal pathways in the POST-natal group, while those with earlier injury may use relatively preserved ipsilateral corticospinal motor pathways.

Early metabolic programming of puberty onset: impact of changes in postnatal feeding and rearing conditions on the timing of puberty and development of the hypothalamic kisspeptin system

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Castellano, Juan M; Bentsen, Agnete H; Sánchez-Garrido, Miguel A

2011-01-01

the timing of puberty; however, the potential underlying mechanisms remain poorly defined. Here we report how changes in the pattern of postnatal feeding affect the onset of puberty and evaluate key hormonal and neuropeptide [Kiss1/kisspeptin (Kp)] alterations linked to these early nutritional manipulations...... of puberty, together with higher levels of leptin and hypothalamic Kiss1 mRNA. Conversely, postnatal underfeeding caused a persistent reduction in body weight, lower ovarian and uterus weights, and delayed vaginal opening, changes that were paralleled by a decrease in leptin and Kiss1 mRNA levels. Kisspeptin...... at puberty were similar in all groups, except for enhanced responsiveness to low doses of Kp-10 in postnatally underfed rats. In conclusion, our data document that the timing of puberty is sensitive to both overfeeding and subnutrition during early (postnatal) periods and suggest that alterations...

Emerging inequality in effort: A longitudinal investigation of parental involvement and early elementary school-aged children's learning time in Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Matsuoka, Ryoji; Nakamuro, Makiko; Inui, Tomohiko

2015-11-01

While studies on effort (e.g., Carbonaro, 2005; Kariya, 2000, 2013) have revealed relationships among students' effort (e.g., self-reported learning time), socioeconomic status, and school-related factors (e.g., tracking) through secondary education data, whether and how the effort gap emerges and widens in the early years of compulsory education have not been researched. This study investigates the beginning of inequality in effort by using four waves (from first- to fourth-grade students) of the Longitudinal Survey of Babies in the 21st Century, collected in Japan. The results indicate that college-educated parents tend to employ parenting practices that directly and indirectly shape children's learning time; inequality in effort exists, and it becomes exacerbated partly because of parenting differences in a society with a relatively equal elementary education system. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Impact of operative time on early joint infection and deep vein thrombosis in primary total hip arthroplasty.

Science.gov (United States)

Wills, B W; Sheppard, E D; Smith, W R; Staggers, J R; Li, P; Shah, A; Lee, S R; Naranje, S M

2018-03-22

Infections and deep vein thrombosis (DVT) after total hip arthroplasty (THA) are challenging problems for both the patient and surgeon. Previous studies have identified numerous risk factors for infections and DVT after THA but have often been limited by sample size. We aimed to evaluate the effect of operative time on early postoperative infection as well as DVT rates following THA. We hypothesized that an increase in operative time would result in increased odds of acquiring an infection as well as a DVT. We conducted a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data using the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database from 2006 to 2015 for all patients undergoing primary THA. Associations between operative time and infection or DVT were evaluated with multivariable logistic regressions controlling for demographics and several known risks factors for infection. Three different types of infections were evaluated: (1) superficial surgical site infection (SSI), an infection involving the skin or subcutaneous tissue, (2) deep SSI, an infection involving the muscle or fascial layers beneath the subcutaneous tissue, and (3) organ/space infection, an infection involving any part of the anatomy manipulated during surgery other than the incisional components. In total, 103,044 patients who underwent THA were included in our study. Our results suggested a significant association between superficial SSIs and operative time. Specifically, the adjusted odds of suffering a superficial SSI increased by 6% (CI=1.04-1.08, ptime. When using dichotomized operative time (90minutes), the adjusted odds of suffering a superficial SSI was 56% higher for patients with prolonged operative time (CI=1.05-2.32, p=0.0277). The adjusted odds of suffering a deep SSI increased by 7% for every 10-minute increase in operative time (CI=1.01-1.14, p=0.0335). No significant associations were detected between organ/space infection, wound

Causes and treatment of periorbital hyperchromia

OpenAIRE

Glauber Alcântara Oliveira; Andres Raimundo Paiva

2016-01-01

The periorbital region is one of the first areas to demonstrate signs of aging such as wrinkling, skin laxity and periorbital hyperpigmentation (HPO). The HPO interferes in the facial appearance resulting on a tired, sadness or hangover aspects. It has a complex etiopathogenesis with factors that could be by primary or secondary cause. The genetic factors are stated as a primary cause and the environmental factors are stated as a secondary cause. In that way, there are many examples of enviro...

Detection of early metabolic alterations in the ocular fundus of diabetic patients by time-resolved autofluorescence of endogenous fluorophores

Science.gov (United States)

Schweitzer, D.; Klemm, M.; Quick, S.; Deutsch, L.; Jentsch, S.; Hammer, M.; Dawczynski, J.; Kloos, C. H.; Mueller, U. A.

2011-07-01

Measurements of time-resolved autofluorescence (FLIM) at the human ocular fundus of diabetic patients permit the detection of early pathologic alterations before signs of diabetic retinopathy are visible. The measurements were performed by the Jena Fluorescence Lifetime Laser Scanner Ophthalmoscope applying time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) in two spectral channels (K1: 490-560 nm, K2:560-700ps). The fluorescence was excited by 70 ps pulses (FWHM) at 448 nm. The decay of fluorescence intensity was triple-exponentially approximated. The frequency of amplitudes, lifetimes, and relative contributions was compared in fields of the same size and position in healthy subjects and in diabetic patients. The most sensitive parameter was the lifetime T2 in the short-wavelength channel, which corresponds to the neuronal retina. The changes in lifetime point to a loss of free NADH and an increased contribution of protein-bound NADH in the pre-stage of diabetic retinopathy.

Early life adversity: Lasting consequences for emotional learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Harm J. Krugers

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The early postnatal period is a highly sensitive time period for the developing brain, both in humans and rodents. During this time window, exposure to adverse experiences can lastingly impact cognitive and emotional development. In this review, we briefly discuss human and rodent studies investigating how exposure to adverse early life conditions – mainly related to quality of parental care - affects brain activity, brain structure, cognition and emotional responses later in life. We discuss the evidence that early life adversity hampers later hippocampal and prefrontal cortex functions, while increasing amygdala activity, and the sensitivity to stressors and emotional behavior later in life. Exposure to early life stress may thus on the one hand promote behavioral adaptation to potentially threatening conditions later in life –at the cost of contextual memory formation in less threatening situations- but may on the other hand also increase the sensitivity to develop stress-related and anxiety disorders in vulnerable individuals.

Early hearing screening in South Africa – time to get real about context

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Review of published literature related to early hearing detection and intervention (EHDI) services in South Africa (SA) between 1995 and 2014 has highlighted progress in terms of the journey toward implementation of paediatric hearing screening services.[1] However, in contrast to developed contexts, there are very few ...

Subcutaneous blood flow in early male pattern baldness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klemp, P.; Peters, K.; Hansted, B.

1989-01-01

The subcutaneous blood flow (SBF) was measured by the 133 Xe washout method in the scalp of 14 patients with early male pattern baldness. Control experiments were performed in 14 normal haired men matched for age. The SBF in the scalp of the normal individuals was about 10 times higher than previously reported SBF values in other anatomical regions. In patients with early male pattern baldness, SBF was 2.6 times lower than the values found in the normal individuals (13.7 +/- 9.6 vs 35.7 +/- 10.5 ml/100 g/min-1). This difference was statistically significant (p much less than 0.001). A reduced nutritive blood flow to the hair follicles might be a significant event in the pathogenesis of early male pattern baldness

Use of red ochre by early Neanderthals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Trine Kellberg

2012-01-01

The use of manganese and iron oxides by late Neandertals is well documented in Europe, especially for the period 60–40 kya. Such finds often have been interpreted as pigments even though their exact function is largely unknown. Here we report significantly older iron oxide finds that constitute t...... dozens of kilometers. Identification of the Maastricht-Belvédère finds as hematite pushes the use of red ochre by (early) Neandertals back in time significantly, to minimally 200–250 kya (i.e., to the same time range as the early ochre use in the African record)....

Early Brain and Child Development: Connections to Early Education and Child Care

Science.gov (United States)

Romano, Judith T.

2013-01-01

The vast majority of young children spend time in settings outside of the home, and the nature of those settings directly impacts the child's health and development. The ecobiodevelopmental framework of early brain and child development serve as the backdrop for establishing quality. This article describes the use of quality rating systems,…

Transarterial chemoembolization in very early and early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma patients excluded from curative treatment: A prospective cohort study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bargellini, Irene; Sacco, Rodolfo; Bozzi, Elena; Bertini, Marco; Ginanni, Barbara; Romano, Antonio; Cicorelli, Antonio; Tumino, Emanuele; Federici, Graziana; Cioni, Roberto; Metrangolo, Salvatore; Bertoni, Michele; Bresci, Giampaolo; Parisi, Giuseppe; Altomare, Emanuele; Capria, Alfonso; Bartolozzi, Carlo

2012-01-01

Aim: To assess clinical outcome of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in a series of patients with early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), within Milan criteria, but clinically unfit for liver transplantation (OLT). Methods: From January 2006 to May 2009, 67 patients (43 males, mean age 70 ± 7.6 years) with very early or early-stage unresectable HCC, within Milan selection criteria but clinically unfit for OLT, underwent TACE. The primary endpoint of the study was overall survival. Secondary endpoints were: safety, liver toxicity, 1-month tumour response according to the amended RECIST criteria, time to local and distant intrahepatic tumour recurrence and time to radiological progression. Results: Two major periprocedural complications occurred (3%), consisting of liver failure. Periprocedural mortality rate was 1.5% (1 patient). A significant increase in ALT and bilirubin levels 24 h after treatment was reported, with progressive decrease at discharge. At 1-month follow-up, complete and partial tumour response rates were 67.2% and 29.8%, respectively, with two cases of progressive disease. Mean follow-up was 37.3 ± 15 months. The 1-, 2-, and 3-year overall survival rates were 90.9%, 86.1%, and 80.5%, respectively. Median expected time to local tumour recurrence and intrahepatic tumour recurrence were 7.9 and 13.8 months, respectively. Radiological disease progression was observed in 12 patients (17.9%) with a mean expected time of 26.5 months. Conclusion: In patients with early-stage HCC, clinically excluded from OLT and unfit for surgery or percutaneous ablation, TACE is a safe and effective option, with favourable long-term survival.

Developing a dengue early warning system using time series model: Case study in Tainan, Taiwan

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Chen, Xiao-Wei; Jan, Chyan-Deng; Wang, Ji-Shang

2017-04-01

analyzed using a contingency table. The 4 weeks-ahead approach was the most appropriate for an operational public health response with a 78.7% hit rate and 0.7% false alarm rate. Our findings indicate that SARIMA model is an ideal model for detecting outbreaks as it has high sensitivity and low risk of false alarms. Accurately forecasting future trends will provide valuable time to activate dengue surveillance and control in Tainan, Taiwan. We conclude that this timely dengue early warning system will enable public health services to allocate limited resources more effectively, and public health officials to adjust dengue emergency response plans to their maximum capabilities.

A low-volume polyethylene glycol solution was associated with an increased suboptimal bowel preparation rate but had similar recommendations for an early repeat colonoscopy, procedure times, and adenoma detection rates.

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Sam C Hankins

Full Text Available Low-volume polyethylene glycol (PEG bowel preparations are better tolerated by patients than high-volume preparations and may achieve similar preparation quality. However, there is little data comparing their effects on a recommendation for an early repeat colonoscopy (because of a suboptimal preparation, procedure times, adenoma detection rate (ADR, and advanced adenoma detection rate (AADR.This is a retrospective cohort study of outpatient colonoscopies performed during a one-year period at a single academic medical center in which low-volume MoviPrep® (n = 1841 or high-volume Colyte® (n = 1337 was used. All preparations were split-dosed. Appropriate covariates were included in regression models assessing suboptimal preparation quality (fair, poor, or inadequate, procedure times, recommendation for an early repeat colonoscopy, ADR, and AADR.MoviPrep® was associated with an increase in having a suboptimal bowel preparation (OR 1.36; 95% CI: 1.06-1.76, but it was not associated with differences in insertion (p = 0.43, withdrawal (p = 0.22, or total procedure times (p = 0.10. The adjusted percentage with a suboptimal preparation was 11.7% for patients using MoviPrep® and 8.8% for patients using Colyte®. MoviPrep® was not associated with a significant difference in overall ADR (OR 0.93; 95% CI: 0.78-1.11, AADR (OR 1.18; 95% CI: 0.87-1.62, or recommendation for early repeat colonoscopy (OR 1.16; 95% CI: 0.72-1.88.MoviPrep® was associated with a small absolute increase in having a suboptimal preparation, but did not affect recommendations for an early repeat colonoscopy, procedure times, or adenoma detection rates. Mechanisms to reduce financial barriers limiting low-volume preparations should be considered because of their favorable tolerability profile.

Snow occurrence time on the Russia’s territory in the early 21st century (from satellite data

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T. B. Titkova

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Time of the snow cover appearance, existence and disappearance on the Russia’s territory in the early 21st century (2000–2015 was corrected using the MODIS/Terra satellite data (the 8-day discreteness, and the 0.5×0.5° resolution. The satellite data errors were estimated from data of the ground stations observations. The errors were found to be maximal in autumn and minimal in spring. The relationship between the snow cover characteristics and the climate ones was investigated using data obtained at the ground-based stations together with correlation between dates of snow appearance and loss and the climate parameters. The dependences obtained were tested by means of correlation and regression analysis over the longitudinal sectors. Significant coefficients of correlation (the Student criterion of probability was equal to 0.95 were found between time of the snow cover presence and dates of the temperature drop below 0 °С and the amount of days with negative temperatures. Changes in the climate characteristics result in that due to decreasing of the solid precipitation in winter time the snow presence duration becomes shorter over the European part of Russia and in the Western Siberia. The shortening in the Middle Siberia is caused by the spring warming. Durations of the snow occurrence in the Far East area are different. On the Chukotka peninsula the duration is longer because of the autumn fall in temperature while in the Kamchatka region the snow occurrence time is shorter due to significant decrease of a period with negative temperatures in both the autumn and spring seasons.

Case for a wet, warm climate on early Mars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pollack, J.B.; Kasting, J.F.; Richardson, S.M.; Poliakoff, K.

1987-01-01

Arguments are presented in support of the idea that Mars possessed a dense CO 2 atmosphere and a wet, warm climate early in its history. The plausibility of a CO 2 greenhouse is tested by formulating a simple model of the CO 2 geochemical cycle on early Mars. By scaling the rate of silicate weathering on Earth, researchers estimated a weathering time constant of the order of several times 10 to the 7th power years for early Mars. Thus, a dense atmosphere could have existed for a geologically significant time period (approx. 10 to the 9th power years) only if atmospheric CO 2 was being continuously resupplied. The most likely mechanism by which this could have been accomplished is the thermal decomposition of carbonate rocks induced directly or indirectly by intense, global scale volcanism

Evaluation of Real-Time Performance of the Virtual Seismologist Earthquake Early Warning Algorithm in Switzerland and California

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Behr, Y.; Cua, G. B.; Clinton, J. F.; Heaton, T. H.

2012-12-01

The Virtual Seismologist (VS) method is a Bayesian approach to regional network-based earthquake early warning (EEW) originally formulated by Cua and Heaton (2007). Implementation of VS into real-time EEW codes has been an on-going effort of the Swiss Seismological Service at ETH Zürich since 2006, with support from ETH Zürich, various European projects, and the United States Geological Survey (USGS). VS is one of three EEW algorithms - the other two being ElarmS (Allen and Kanamori, 2003) and On-Site (Wu and Kanamori, 2005; Boese et al., 2008) algorithms - that form the basis of the California Integrated Seismic Network (CISN) ShakeAlert system, a USGS-funded prototype end-to-end EEW system that could potentially be implemented in California. In Europe, VS is currently operating as a real-time test system in Switzerland. As part of the on-going EU project REAKT (Strategies and Tools for Real-Time Earthquake Risk Reduction), VS will be installed and tested at other European networks. VS has been running in real-time on stations of the Southern California Seismic Network (SCSN) since July 2008, and on stations of the Berkeley Digital Seismic Network (BDSN) and the USGS Menlo Park strong motion network in northern California since February 2009. In Switzerland, VS has been running in real-time on stations monitored by the Swiss Seismological Service (including stations from Austria, France, Germany, and Italy) since 2010. We present summaries of the real-time performance of VS in Switzerland and California over the past two and three years respectively. The empirical relationships used by VS to estimate magnitudes and ground motion, originally derived from southern California data, are demonstrated to perform well in northern California and Switzerland. Implementation in real-time and off-line testing in Europe will potentially be extended to southern Italy, western Greece, Istanbul, Romania, and Iceland. Integration of the VS algorithm into both the CISN Advanced

Reducing process delays for real-time earthquake parameter estimation - An application of KD tree to large databases for Earthquake Early Warning

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Yin, Lucy; Andrews, Jennifer; Heaton, Thomas

2018-05-01

Earthquake parameter estimations using nearest neighbor searching among a large database of observations can lead to reliable prediction results. However, in the real-time application of Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) systems, the accurate prediction using a large database is penalized by a significant delay in the processing time. We propose to use a multidimensional binary search tree (KD tree) data structure to organize large seismic databases to reduce the processing time in nearest neighbor search for predictions. We evaluated the performance of KD tree on the Gutenberg Algorithm, a database-searching algorithm for EEW. We constructed an offline test to predict peak ground motions using a database with feature sets of waveform filter-bank characteristics, and compare the results with the observed seismic parameters. We concluded that large database provides more accurate predictions of the ground motion information, such as peak ground acceleration, velocity, and displacement (PGA, PGV, PGD), than source parameters, such as hypocenter distance. Application of the KD tree search to organize the database reduced the average searching process by 85% time cost of the exhaustive method, allowing the method to be feasible for real-time implementation. The algorithm is straightforward and the results will reduce the overall time of warning delivery for EEW.

A web-based Tamsui River flood early-warning system with correction of real-time water stage using monitoring data

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Liao, H. Y.; Lin, Y. J.; Chang, H. K.; Shang, R. K.; Kuo, H. C.; Lai, J. S.; Tan, Y. C.

2017-12-01

Taiwan encounters heavy rainfalls frequently. There are three to four typhoons striking Taiwan every year. To provide lead time for reducing flood damage, this study attempt to build a flood early-warning system (FEWS) in Tanshui River using time series correction techniques. The predicted rainfall is used as the input for the rainfall-runoff model. Then, the discharges calculated by the rainfall-runoff model is converted to the 1-D river routing model. The 1-D river routing model will output the simulating water stages in 487 cross sections for the future 48-hr. The downstream water stage at the estuary in 1-D river routing model is provided by storm surge simulation. Next, the water stages of 487 cross sections are corrected by time series model such as autoregressive (AR) model using real-time water stage measurements to improve the predicted accuracy. The results of simulated water stages are displayed on a web-based platform. In addition, the models can be performed remotely by any users with web browsers through a user interface. The on-line video surveillance images, real-time monitoring water stages, and rainfalls can also be shown on this platform. If the simulated water stage exceeds the embankments of Tanshui River, the alerting lights of FEWS will be flashing on the screen. This platform runs periodically and automatically to generate the simulation graphic data of flood water stages for flood disaster prevention and decision making.

Early adulthood determinants of mid-life leisure-time physical inactivity stability and change: Findings from a prospective birth cohort.

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Pinto Pereira, Snehal M; Power, Chris

2018-07-01

Physical inactivity is highly prevalent. Knowledge is needed of influences on inactive lifestyles. We aimed to establish whether early adult factors predict subsequent inactivity patterns in mid-adulthood. Leisure-time inactivity (activity frequencyphysical status, mental function, social, family and neighbourhood circumstances with four 33-50y patterns (never inactive, persistently inactive, deteriorating or improving) using multinomial logistic regression with and without adjustment for childhood factors (e.g. social class). Inactivity prevalence was similar at 33y and 50y (∼31%), but 17% deteriorated and 18% improved with age. Factors associated with persistent vs never inactive were: limiting illness (relative risk ratio (RRR):1.21(1.04,1.42) per number of ages exposed (0,1 or 2 times across ages 23y and 33y), obesity (1.33(1.16,1.54) per number of ages exposed), height (0.93(0.89,0.98) per 5cm), depression (1.32(1.19,1.47) per number of ages exposed); education (1.28(1.20,1.38) per decrease on 5-point scale) and neighbourhood (1.59(1.37,1.86) in 'industrial/local authority housing areas' and 1.33(1.12,1.58) in 'growth/metropolitan inner areas' vs 'suburbs, service, rural or seaside areas'). Associations were broadly similar for inactivity deterioration. Industrial/local authority housing areas (0.75(0.61,0.91)) and longer obesity exposure (0.78(0.64,0.95)) were associated with lower RRRs for improvement. Number of children was associated with improvement, although associations varied by age. Associations remained after adjustment for childhood factors. Several early adult factors are associated with inactivity persistence and deterioration; fewer with improvement. Obesity duration and neighbourhood lived in during young adulthood had long-lasting associations with inactivity patterns in mid-life. Copyright © 2017 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Farm exposure and time trends in early childhood may influence DNA methylation in genes related to asthma and allergy.

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Michel, S; Busato, F; Genuneit, J; Pekkanen, J; Dalphin, J-C; Riedler, J; Mazaleyrat, N; Weber, J; Karvonen, A M; Hirvonen, M-R; Braun-Fahrländer, C; Lauener, R; von Mutius, E; Kabesch, M; Tost, J

2013-03-01

Genetic susceptibility and environmental influences are important contributors to the development of asthma and atopic diseases. Epigenetic mechanisms may facilitate gene by environment interactions in these diseases. We studied the rural birth cohort PASTURE (Protection against allergy: study in rural environments) to investigate (a) whether epigenetic patterns in asthma candidate genes are influenced by farm exposure in general, (b) change over the first years of life, and (c) whether these changes may contribute to the development of asthma. DNA was extracted from cord blood and whole blood collected at the age of 4.5 years in 46 samples per time point. DNA methylation in 23 regions in ten candidate genes (ORMDL1, ORMDL2, ORMDL3, CHI3L1, RAD50, IL13, IL4, STAT6, FOXP3, and RUNX3) was assessed by pyrosequencing, and differences between strata were analyzed by nonparametric Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney tests. In cord blood, regions in ORMDL1 and STAT6 were hypomethylated in DNA from farmers' as compared to nonfarmers' children, while regions in RAD50 and IL13 were hypermethylated (lowest P-value (STAT6) = 0.001). Changes in methylation over time occurred in 15 gene regions (lowest P-value (IL13) = 1.57*10(-8)). Interestingly, these differences clustered in the genes highly associated with asthma (ORMDL family) and IgE regulation (RAD50, IL13, and IL4), but not in the T-regulatory genes (FOXP3, RUNX3). In this first pilot study, DNA methylation patterns change significantly in early childhood in specific asthma- and allergy-related genes in peripheral blood cells, and early exposure to farm environment seems to influence methylation patterns in distinct genes. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Modeling and simulation of blast-induced, early-time intracranial wave physics leading to traumatic brain injury.

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Ford, Corey C. (University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM); Taylor, Paul Allen

2008-02-01

The objective of this modeling and simulation study was to establish the role of stress wave interactions in the genesis of traumatic brain injury (TBI) from exposure to explosive blast. A high resolution (1 mm{sup 3} voxels), 5 material model of the human head was created by segmentation of color cryosections from the Visible Human Female dataset. Tissue material properties were assigned from literature values. The model was inserted into the shock physics wave code, CTH, and subjected to a simulated blast wave of 1.3 MPa (13 bars) peak pressure from anterior, posterior and lateral directions. Three dimensional plots of maximum pressure, volumetric tension, and deviatoric (shear) stress demonstrated significant differences related to the incident blast geometry. In particular, the calculations revealed focal brain regions of elevated pressure and deviatoric (shear) stress within the first 2 milliseconds of blast exposure. Calculated maximum levels of 15 KPa deviatoric, 3.3 MPa pressure, and 0.8 MPa volumetric tension were observed before the onset of significant head accelerations. Over a 2 msec time course, the head model moved only 1 mm in response to the blast loading. Doubling the blast strength changed the resulting intracranial stress magnitudes but not their distribution. We conclude that stress localization, due to early time wave interactions, may contribute to the development of multifocal axonal injury underlying TBI. We propose that a contribution to traumatic brain injury from blast exposure, and most likely blunt impact, can occur on a time scale shorter than previous model predictions and before the onset of linear or rotational accelerations traditionally associated with the development of TBI.

Early menarche, nulliparity and the risk for premature and early natural menopause.

Science.gov (United States)

Mishra, Gita D; Pandeya, Nirmala; Dobson, Annette J; Chung, Hsin-Fang; Anderson, Debra; Kuh, Diana; Sandin, Sven; Giles, Graham G; Bruinsma, Fiona; Hayashi, Kunihiko; Lee, Jung Su; Mizunuma, Hideki; Cade, Janet E; Burley, Victoria; Greenwood, Darren C; Goodman, Alissa; Simonsen, Mette Kildevæld; Adami, Hans-Olov; Demakakos, Panayotes; Weiderpass, Elisabete

2017-03-01

Are parity and the timing of menarche associated with premature and early natural menopause? Early menarche (≤11 years) is a risk factor for both premature menopause (final menstrual period, FMP menopause (FMP 40-44 years), a risk that is amplified for nulliparous women. Women with either premature or early menopause face an increased risk of chronic conditions in later life and of early death. Findings from some studies suggest that early menarche and nulliparity are associated with early menopause, however overall the evidence is mixed. Much of the evidence for a direct relationship is hampered by a lack of comparability across studies, failure to adjust for confounding factors and inadequate statistical power. This pooled study comprises 51 450 postmenopausal women from nine observational studies in the UK, Scandinavia, Australia and Japan that contribute to the International collaboration for a Life course Approach to reproductive health and Chronic disease Events (InterLACE). Age at menarche (categorized as ≤11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 or more years) and parity (categorized as no children, one child and two or more children) were exposures of interest. Age at FMP was confirmed by at least 12 months of cessation of menses where this was not the result of an intervention (such as surgical menopause due to bilateral oophorectomy or hysterectomy) and categorized as premature menopause (FMP before age 40), early menopause (FMP 40-44 years), 45-49 years, 50-51 years, 52-53 years and 54 or more years. We used multivariate multinomial logistic regression models to estimate relative risk ratio (RRR) and 95% CI for associations between menarche, parity and age at FMP adjusting for within-study correlation. The median age at FMP was 50 years (interquartile range 48-53 years), with 2% of the women experiencing premature menopause and 7.6% early menopause. Women with early menarche (≤11 years, compared with 12-13 years) were at higher risk of premature menopause (RRR 1

Time-Series Interactions of Gene Expression, Vascular Growth and Hemodynamics during Early Embryonic Arterial Development.

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Selda Goktas

Full Text Available The role of hemodynamic forces within the embryo as biomechanical regulators for cardiovascular morphogenesis, growth, and remodeling is well supported through the experimental studies. Furthermore, clinical experience suggests that perturbed flow disrupts the normal vascular growth process as one etiology for congenital heart diseases (CHD and for fetal adaptation to CHD. However, the relationships between hemodynamics, gene expression and embryonic vascular growth are poorly defined due to the lack of concurrent, sequential in vivo data. In this study, a long-term, time-lapse optical coherence tomography (OCT imaging campaign was conducted to acquire simultaneous blood velocity, pulsatile micro-pressure and morphometric data for 3 consecutive early embryonic stages in the chick embryo. In conjunction with the in vivo growth and hemodynamics data, in vitro reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR analysis was performed to track changes in transcript expression relevant to histogenesis and remodeling of the embryonic arterial wall. Our non-invasive extended OCT imaging technique for the microstructural data showed continuous vessel growth. OCT data coupled with the PIV technique revealed significant but intermitted increases in wall shear stress (WSS between first and second assigned stages and a noticeable decrease afterwards. Growth rate, however, did not vary significantly throughout the embryonic period. Among all the genes studied, only the MMP-2 and CASP-3 expression levels remained unchanged during the time course. Concurrent relationships were obtained among the transcriptional modulation of the genes, vascular growth and hemodynamics-related changes. Further studies are indicated to determine cause and effect relationships and reversibility between mechanical and molecular regulation of vasculogenesis.

Aspherical Supernovae: Effects on Early Light Curves

Science.gov (United States)

Afsariardchi, Niloufar; Matzner, Christopher D.

2018-04-01

Early light from core-collapse supernovae, now detectable in high-cadence surveys, holds clues to a star and its environment just before it explodes. However, effects that alter the early light have not been fully explored. We highlight the possibility of nonradial flows at the time of shock breakout. These develop in sufficiently nonspherical explosions if the progenitor is not too diffuse. When they do develop, nonradial flows limit ejecta speeds and cause ejecta–ejecta collisions. We explore these phenomena and their observational implications using global, axisymmetric, nonrelativistic FLASH simulations of simplified polytropic progenitors, which we scale to representative stars. We develop a method to track photon production within the ejecta, enabling us to estimate band-dependent light curves from adiabatic simulations. Immediate breakout emission becomes hidden as an oblique flow develops. Nonspherical effects lead the shock-heated ejecta to release a more constant luminosity at a higher, evolving color temperature at early times, effectively mixing breakout light with the early light curve. Collisions between nonradial ejecta thermalize a small fraction of the explosion energy; we will address emission from these collisions in a subsequent paper.

Factors associated with timing of early neurological improvement after thrombolysis for ischaemic stroke.

Science.gov (United States)

Guettier, S; Cogez, J; Bonnet, A-L; Dean, P; Apoil, M; Tchoumi, T; Dubuc, L; Arzur, J; de la Sayette, V; Kouassi, L-K; Viader, F; Touzé, E

2016-03-01

Early neurological improvement (ENI) after fibrinolysis for ischaemic stroke is strongly associated with recanalization and favourable outcome. However, it remains unknown why some patients recover within the first hour after treatment (very ENI, VENI) whereas others recover later within 24 h. The factors associated with the timing of ENI were assessed. Consecutive stroke patients treated with intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) within 4.5 h after onset in four stroke centres of our geographical area were retrospectively studied. VENI assessed at 1 h and ENI assessed at 24 h post-treatment were defined by National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) improvement by 40% from baseline. Of 421 patients, 65 (15%) had VENI and 110 (26%) had ENI. Patients with VENI had significantly lower serum creatinine level than patients with ENI (79 ± 19 vs. 91 ± 35 μmol/l; P = 0.01). After adjustment for age, sex, baseline NIHSS, hypertension and blood glucose level, patients with low serum creatinine level were more likely to have VENI (lowest tertile, odds ratio 3.8, 95% confidence interval 1.5-9.7; intermediate tertile, odds ratio 1.8, 95% confidence interval 0.8-4.3; P for trend ENI patients to have a modified Rankin scale score ≤2 at 3 months. Low serum creatinine levels are associated with VENI, suggesting that swiftness of the efficacy of rt-PA or of neurological recovery may depend on renal function. © 2016 EAN.

Causes and Timing of Unplanned Early Readmission After Neurosurgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Blake E S; Youngerman, Brett E; Goldstein, Hannah; Kabat, Daniel H; Appelboom, Geoffrey; Gold, William E; Connolly, Edward Sander

2016-09-01

Reducing the rate of 30-day hospital readmission has become a priority in healthcare quality improvement policy, with a focus on better characterizing the reasons for unplanned readmission. In neurosurgery, however, peer-reviewed analyses describing the patterns of readmission have been limited in their number and generalizability. To determine the incidence, timing, and causes of 30-day readmission after neurosurgical procedures. We conducted a retrospective longitudinal study from 2009 to 2012 using the Statewide Planning And Research Cooperative System, which collects patient-level details for all admissions and discharges within New York. We identified patients readmitted within 30 days of initial discharge. The rate of, reasons for, and time to readmission were determined overall and within 4 subgroups: craniotomies, cranial surgery without craniotomy, spine, and neuroendovascular procedures. There were 163 743 index admissions, of whom 14 791 (9.03%) were readmitted. The most common reasons for unplanned readmission were infection (29.52%) and medical complications (19.22%). Median time to readmission was 11 days, with hemorrhagic strokes and seizures occurring earlier, and medical complications and infections occurring later. Readmission rates were highest among patients undergoing cerebrospinal fluid shunt revision and malignant tumor resection (15.57%-22.60%). Spinal decompressions, however, accounted for the largest volume of readmissions (33.13%). Many readmissions may be preventable and occur at predictable time intervals. The causes and timing of readmission vary significantly across neurosurgical subgroups. Future studies should focus on detecting specific complications in select cohorts at predefined time points, which may allow for interventions to lower costs and reduce patient morbidity. CSF, cerebrospinal fluidIQR, interquartile rangeSPARCS, Statewide Planning And Research Cooperative System.

Early Puberty, Negative Peer Influence, and Problem Behaviors in Adolescent Girls

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Elliott, Marc N.; Davies, Susan; Tortolero, Susan R.; Cuccaro, Paula; Schuster, Mark A.

2014-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To determine how early puberty and peer deviance relate to trajectories of aggressive and delinquent behavior in early adolescence and whether these relationships differ by race/ethnicity. METHODS: In this longitudinal study, 2607 girls from 3 metropolitan areas and their parents were interviewed at ages 11, 13, and 16 years. Girls reported on their age of onset of menarche, best friend’s deviant behavior, delinquency, and physical, relational, and nonphysical aggression. Parents provided information on family sociodemographic characteristics and girls’ race/ethnicity. RESULTS: Sixteen percent of girls were classified as early maturers (defined by onset of menarche before age 11 years). Overall, relational and nonphysical aggression increased from age 11 to age 16, whereas delinquency and physical aggression remained stable. Early puberty was associated with elevated delinquency and physical aggression at age 11. The relationship with early puberty diminished over time for physical aggression but not for delinquency. Best friend’s deviant behavior was linked with higher levels of all problem behaviors, but the effect lessened over time for most outcomes. Early puberty was associated with a stronger link between best friend’s deviance and delinquency, suggesting increased vulnerability to negative peer influences among early-maturing girls. A similar vulnerability was observed for relational and nonphysical aggression among girls in the “other” racial/ethnic minority group only. CONCLUSIONS: Early puberty and friends’ deviance may increase the risk of problem behavior in young adolescent girls. Although many of these associations dissipate over time, early-maturing girls are at risk of persistently higher delinquency and stronger negative peer influences. PMID:24324002

Early puberty, negative peer influence, and problem behaviors in adolescent girls.

Science.gov (United States)

Mrug, Sylvie; Elliott, Marc N; Davies, Susan; Tortolero, Susan R; Cuccaro, Paula; Schuster, Mark A

2014-01-01

To determine how early puberty and peer deviance relate to trajectories of aggressive and delinquent behavior in early adolescence and whether these relationships differ by race/ethnicity. In this longitudinal study, 2607 girls from 3 metropolitan areas and their parents were interviewed at ages 11, 13, and 16 years. Girls reported on their age of onset of menarche, best friend's deviant behavior, delinquency, and physical, relational, and nonphysical aggression. Parents provided information on family sociodemographic characteristics and girls' race/ethnicity. Sixteen percent of girls were classified as early maturers (defined by onset of menarche before age 11 years). Overall, relational and nonphysical aggression increased from age 11 to age 16, whereas delinquency and physical aggression remained stable. Early puberty was associated with elevated delinquency and physical aggression at age 11. The relationship with early puberty diminished over time for physical aggression but not for delinquency. Best friend's deviant behavior was linked with higher levels of all problem behaviors, but the effect lessened over time for most outcomes. Early puberty was associated with a stronger link between best friend's deviance and delinquency, suggesting increased vulnerability to negative peer influences among early-maturing girls. A similar vulnerability was observed for relational and nonphysical aggression among girls in the "other" racial/ethnic minority group only. Early puberty and friends' deviance may increase the risk of problem behavior in young adolescent girls. Although many of these associations dissipate over time, early-maturing girls are at risk of persistently higher delinquency and stronger negative peer influences.

Sterile neutrinos in the early universe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Malaney, R.A. (Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (USA)); Fuller, G.M. (California Univ., San Diego, La Jolla, CA (USA). Dept. of Physics)

1990-11-14

We discuss the role played by right-handed sterile neutrinos in the early universe. We show how well known {sup 4}He constraint on the number of relativistic degrees of freedom at early times limits the equilibration of the right handed neutrino sea with the background plasma. We discuss how this allows interesting constraints to be placed on neutrino properties. In particular, a new limit on the Dirac mass of the neutrino is presented. 12 refs.

CLINICAL STUDY OF EARLY BREAST CARCINOMA

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Kiran Kumar

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Carcinoma of the breast is one of the commonest cancers occurring in female and accounts for 1/3rd of all the malignant diseases occurring in them. It is mainly a disease of the developed countries and accounts for 1,00,000 deaths annually. Breast carcinoma is classified as Early breast cancer, Locally advanced breast cancer and Metastatic breast cancer. By definition early stage breast cancer constitutes breast tumors of clinical stages I, IIa and T2N1M0. Early breast cancer is the one diagnosed by mammography. Women when approaches at this stage, they can go for breast conservation surgery. Not all women are candidates for this approach, and some require mastectomy as part of their treatment. AIM To observe the incidence of early breast carcinoma with particular reference to the time taken by the patients to seek medical advice after the symptoms have developed i.e. the average time taken by the patients to seek medical advice, their appropriate management and prognosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS This prospective study was conducted over a period of 2 years from Oct-2012 to Oct-2014 in 30 female patients aged between 25-65 years who were presented with lump in breast of size ≤5cms with or without pain, with or without lymph nodes to the outpatient department. All the patients were thoroughly asked about history, examined clinically, investigated, staged and managed by surgery either Breast Conservation Surgery or Modified Radical Mastectomy. Postoperative complications were recorded and followed up regularly. RESULTS The incidence of early breast cancer in this study was 0.98% with peak age incidence between 40-60 years and duration of symptoms <6 months in 18 patients. Breast Conservation Surgery + axillary dissection + Radiotherapy was done in 23%. Prognosis was good in these patients with no local recurrence and death. CONCLUSION The prognosis of early stage breast carcinoma patients in this study was good. To have long term tumor free and

Meeting the challenge of new fatherhood during the early weeks.

Science.gov (United States)

St John, Winsome; Cameron, Catherine; McVeigh, Carol

2005-01-01

To explore new/subsequent Australian fathers' perspectives on the experiences, processes, and life changes in the early weeks of fatherhood. Interpretive study using in-depth interviews and grounded theory analysis techniques, based on a symbolic interactionist framework. Participants were recruited from the postnatal wards of a major public hospital, early discharge program, and early childhood centers in southeast Queensland, Australia. Eighteen first-time/subsequent fathers interviewed 6 to 12 weeks after the birth. Although rewarding, fathers found new or expanding fatherhood to be a significant challenge and time of change. Major themes included making a commitment, taking responsibility, negotiating responsibilities, developing and maintaining relationships, maintaining family integrity, balancing activities, and perceiving the self as father. Work had a major impact on fathers' ability to participate with their family and newborn. To manage, fathers sought to balance the demands of work and home, deal with stressors, manage their time, develop routines, and reprioritize. Fathers developed a sense of themselves as fathers over time, building confidence and deriving satisfaction from their fathering role. A range of competing factors affected fathers' ability to participate in the home with their newborn in the early weeks after birth.

The evolution of Early Cretaceous shallow-water carbonate platforms in times of frequent oceanic anoxia

Science.gov (United States)

Föllmi, Karl; Morales, Chloé; Stein, Melody; Bonvallet, Lucie; Antoine, Pictet

2014-05-01

The Early Cretaceous greenhouse world witnessed different episodes of pronounced paleoenvironmental change, which were associated with substantial shifts in the global carbon and phosphorus cycles. They impacted the growth of carbonate platforms on the shelf, lead to the development of widespread anoxic zones in deeper water, and influenced evolutionary pattern in general. A first phase (the Weissert episode) occurred during the Valanginian, which is indicated by a positive shift in the carbon-isotope record, widespread platform drowning, and evolutionary change. The spreading of anoxic conditions was limited to marginal basins and the positive change in carbon isotopes is linked to the storage of vegetal carbon in coal deposits rather than to organic matter in marine sediments. A second phase (the Faraoni episode) of important environmental change is observed near the end of the Hauterivian, where short and repetitive episodes of anoxia occurred in the Tethyan realm. This phase goes along with a decline in platform growth, but is barely documented in the carbon-isotope record. A third and most important episode (the Selli episode) took place in the early Aptian, and resulted in the widespread deposition of organic-rich sediments, a positive carbon-isotope excursion and the disappearance of Urgonian-type carbonate platforms. Often considered to represent short and singular events, these Early Cretaceous phases are in fact preceded by periods of warming, increased continental weathering, and increased nutrient throughput. These preludes in environmental change are important in that they put these three Early Cretaceous episodes into a longer-term, historic perspective, which allow us to better understand the mechanisms leading to these periods of pronounced global change.

The Slow Developmental Time Course of Real-Time Spoken Word Recognition

Science.gov (United States)

Rigler, Hannah; Farris-Trimble, Ashley; Greiner, Lea; Walker, Jessica; Tomblin, J. Bruce; McMurray, Bob

2015-01-01

This study investigated the developmental time course of spoken word recognition in older children using eye tracking to assess how the real-time processing dynamics of word recognition change over development. We found that 9-year-olds were slower to activate the target words and showed more early competition from competitor words than…

Comparison of early versus delayed timing of left ventricular assist device implantation as a bridge-to-transplantation: An analysis of the UNOS dataset.

Science.gov (United States)

Kitada, Shuichi; Schulze, P Christian; Jin, Zhezhen; Clerkin, Kevin; Homma, Shunichi; Mancini, Donna M

2016-01-15

Placement of left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) as a bridge-to-heart transplantation (HTx) has rapidly expanded due to organ donor shortage. However, the timing of LVAD implantation is variable and it remains unclear if earlier implantation improves survival. We analyzed 14,187 adult candidates from the United Network of Organ Sharing database. Patients were classified by 3 treatment strategies including patients medically treated alone (MED, n=11,009), patients on LVAD support at listing (Early-LVAD, n=1588) and patients undergoing LVAD placement while awaiting HTx (Delayed-LVAD, n=1590). Likelihood of HTx and event-free survival were assessed in patients subcategorized by clinical strategies and UNOS status at listing. The device support strategy, despite the timing of placement, was not associated with increased likelihood of HTx compared to MED group. However, both LVAD implantation strategies showed better survival compared to MED group (Early-LVAD: HR 0.811 and 0.633, 95% CI 0.668-0.984 and 0.507-0.789, for 1A and 1B; p=0.034 and p<0.001, Delayed-LVAD: HR 0.553 and 0.696, 95% CI 0.415-0.736 and 0.571-0.847, for 1A and 1B; both p<0.001, respectively). Furthermore, there was no significant difference in survival between these LVAD implantation strategies in patients listed as 1B (p=0.500), although Early-LVAD implantation showed worse survival in patients listed as 1A (HR 1.467, 95% CI 1.076-2.000; p=0.015). LVAD support strategies offer a safe bridge-to-HTx. Those candidates who receive urgent upfront LVAD implantation for HTx, and improve to 1B status, would achieve competitive survival with those who receive elective LVAD implantation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Early diagnosis of autism: Phenotype-endophenotype].

Science.gov (United States)

Kotsopoulos, S

2015-01-01

Autism Spectrum Disorders have for some time been the focus of intense interest for clinicians and researchers because of the high prevalence of the disorders among children in the community (approximately 1%), their severity and pervasiveness. Particular attention has been paid to the early diagnosis of the disorder and to the intensive therapeutic intervention. Currently the best prognosis for autism lays in the early diagnosis and intervention. Postponing the diagnosis and the intervention beyond infancy is considered loss of precious time. The diagnosis of autism, which begins early in life, was until recently considered that could be reliability made at the age of 3 years. Recent follow up studies however on children at risk for autism (children who had an older sibling with autism) have shown that the clinical signs of autism emerge at the end of the first year and become distinct by the end of the second year when the diagnosis can reliably be made. From a clinical perspective it is noted that the early clinical signs of risk for autism are related to social communication (e.g. limited or absent response when calling his/her name and to joint attention), stereotype behaviours and body movements or unusual handling of objects (e.g. intensive observation of objects and stereotype movements of hands and tapping or spinning), incongruent regulation of emotions (reduced positive and increased negative emotion). There is also delay in developmental characteristics such as the language (both receptive and expressive) and motor (particularly in postural control - characteristic is the drop of the head backwards when the infant is held in horizontal position). Studies on various aspects of the endophenotype of certain clinical signs among infants at risk for Autism Spectrum Disorders, such as avoidance of eye contact, delay in verbal communication and increase of the head circumference, may provide useful information and may assist the clinician on follow up in the

Anti-early pregnancy by PDT

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Ai-Hua; Chen, Hui-Ling

1993-03-01

The effect of laser on anti-early pregnancy in rabbits showed that laser in combination with HPD could induce necrosis of blastocysts and complete absorption. The anti-fertility efficiency of the combined treatment was more effective than that of the He-Ne laser or the HPD treatment alone. The fluorescence spectrum of HPD determined by PNQ3 showed that its affinity to embryonic tissue was about 4 times greater than that to uterine tissue. This may underlie the mechanisms of anti-early pregnancy of the laser. The operation of artificial abortion is a routine method to terminate early pregnancy. Though it is simple and easy, its syndrome and complications can not be absolutely avoided. Many antifertility drugs have been reported, however, they often bring in general reaction. Our present work is to explore a new way of anti-early pregnancy in rabbits by means of the light inhibitory and light sensitive effects of laser. It is a quite safe and painless treatment without expanding and scraping of the uterus.

The Role of Early Maternal Support in Balancing Full-Time Work and Infant Exclusive Breastfeeding: A Qualitative Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Pounds, Lea; Fisher, Christopher M; Barnes-Josiah, Debora; Coleman, Jason D; Lefebvre, R Craig

Support of others is a key factor for mothers who choose to breastfeed their infants, including those who balance work outside the home and breastfeeding. However, little research has been done to understand how maternal support during the postpartum period impacts mothers' ability to later balance work and breastfeeding, in particular full-time work and exclusive breastfeeding. The results of this qualitative study indicate that the timing of support plays a key role in mothers' ability to successfully overcome barriers during the early postpartum period, thus building maternal self-efficacy in addressing problems encountered when they return to work. To understand the experience of low-income women who successfully balance full-time work and exclusive breastfeeding for the recommended 6 months, interviews were conducted with women who met study criteria for income level, work status, and exclusive breastfeeding. Breastfeeding peer counselors were also interviewed as key informants. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded for themes. The results of both sets of interviews were triangulated with a focused literature review to assure the soundness of the qualitative analysis. Timing of support included acute support, such as help establishing a successful latch needed during the first 2 weeks after delivery, to deal with breastfeeding problems that mothers perceived as being mentally and emotionally overwhelming and longer-term support needed to overcome problems perceived as being less intense. The research invites further exploration into the relationship between breastfeeding support provided by mothers' support system, including healthcare professionals, during the postpartum period and rates of breastfeeding duration and exclusivity.

Understanding utilitarian and hedonic values determining the demand for rhino horn in Vietnam

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dang Vu, Hoai Nam; Nielsen, Martin Reinhardt

2018-01-01

indicating utilitarian values, although difficult to separate from the hedonic value in projecting success in business. A ritualized way of honoring terminally ill relatives represented a hedonic value replacing belief in effective treatment. Demand reduction campaigns need to appropriately reflect all......We examined utilitarian and hedonic values as motivations for rhino horn use in Vietnam. We also evaluated consumers’ response to consequences of the illegal trade in behavior modification campaigns and the likely outcome of a legalized trade. The most prevalent use was for treatment of hangovers...

Which behavioral, emotional and school problems in middle-childhood predict early sexual behavior?

Science.gov (United States)

Parkes, Alison; Waylen, Andrea; Sayal, Kapil; Heron, Jon; Henderson, Marion; Wight, Daniel; Macleod, John

2014-04-01

Mental health and school adjustment problems are thought to distinguish early sexual behavior from normative timing (16-18 years), but little is known about how early sexual behavior originates from these problems in middle-childhood. Existing studies do not allow for co-occurring problems, differences in onset and persistence, and there is no information on middle-childhood school adjustment in relationship to early sexual activity. This study examined associations between several middle-childhood problems and early sexual behavior, using a subsample (N = 4,739, 53 % female, 98 % white, mean age 15 years 6 months) from a birth cohort study, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Adolescents provided information at age 15 on early sexual behavior (oral sex and/or intercourse) and sexual risk-taking, and at age 13 on prior risk involvement (sexual behavior, antisocial behavior and substance use). Information on hyperactivity/inattention, conduct problems, depressive symptoms, peer relationship problems, school dislike and school performance was collected in middle-childhood at Time 1 (6-8 years) and Time 2 (10-11 years). In agreement with previous research, conduct problems predicted early sexual behavior, although this was found only for persistent early problems. In addition, Time 2 school dislike predicted early sexual behavior, while peer relationship problems were protective. Persistent early school dislike further characterized higher-risk groups (early sexual behavior preceded by age 13 risk, or accompanied by higher sexual risk-taking). The study establishes middle-childhood school dislike as a novel risk factor for early sexual behavior and higher-risk groups, and the importance of persistent conduct problems. Implications for the identification of children at risk and targeted intervention are discussed, as well as suggestions for further research.

Real-time earthquake data feasible

Science.gov (United States)

Bush, Susan

Scientists agree that early warning devices and monitoring of both Hurricane Hugo and the Mt. Pinatubo volcanic eruption saved thousands of lives. What would it take to develop this sort of early warning and monitoring system for earthquake activity?Not all that much, claims a panel assigned to study the feasibility, costs, and technology needed to establish a real-time earthquake monitoring (RTEM) system. The panel, drafted by the National Academy of Science's Committee on Seismology, has presented its findings in Real-Time Earthquake Monitoring. The recently released report states that “present technology is entirely capable of recording and processing data so as to provide real-time information, enabling people to mitigate somewhat the earthquake disaster.” RTEM systems would consist of two parts—an early warning system that would give a few seconds warning before severe shaking, and immediate postquake information within minutes of the quake that would give actual measurements of the magnitude. At this time, however, this type of warning system has not been addressed at the national level for the United States and is not included in the National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program, according to the report.

Early and late humoral rejection: a clinicopathologic entity in two times.

Science.gov (United States)

Péfaur, J; Díaz, P; Panace, R; Salinas, P; Fiabane, A; Quinteros, N; Chea, R; Naranjo, E; Wurgaft, A; Beltran, E; Elgueta, S; Wegmann, M E; Gajardo, J G; Contreras, L

2008-11-01

Humoral rejection is an important cause of early and late graft loss. The late variant is difficult to diagnose and treat. There is a close correlation between sclerosing nephropathy and anti-HLA antibodies. We analyzed 113 renal allograft recipients between August 2004 and April 2007. Acute humoral rejection was defined as acute graft dysfunction in presence of donor-specific antibodies (DSA) detected by flow panel reactive antibodies (PRA) and/or C4d positive pericapilary tubules (PTC) detected histopathologically by immunofluorescent or immunoperoxidase at less than 3 months postransplantation. Late humoral rejection was defined as dysfunction occurring after 3 months postransplantation with histopathologic glomerulopathy or vasculopathy and positive C4d PTC. We included all patients who were diagnosed with early or late graft dysfunction and underwent biopsy, all of which were examined for C4d. Four patients had acute humoral rejection treated with IVIG or plasmapheresis. The patient and graft survivals were 100% and serum creatinine averaged 1.7 mg/dL. Three recipients experienced late humoral rejection at 3 to 10 years posttransplantation All received high-dose IVIG; one also was treated with thymoglobulin. Immunosuppression was switched to tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, and steroids. Only one patient recovered renal function; the others returned to dialysis. Among seven patients only one had an actual PRA (>20%) and three showed 10% to 20%. However, six had a positive historical PRA of 10% to 50%. In conclusion, Recognition of acute humoral rejection has contributed to graft rescue by controlling alloantibody production through new specific immunosuppressive therapies in contrast with the clinical response to acute therapy, treatment of a chronic entity has shown poor outcomes, probably because antibody mediated chronic graft damage is already present when the late diagnosis is established by biopsy.

Active Early: one-year policy intervention to increase physical activity among early care and education programs in Wisconsin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tara L. LaRowe

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Early childcare and education (ECE is a prime setting for obesity prevention and the establishment of healthy behaviors. The objective of this quasi-experimental study was to examine the efficacy of the Active Early guide, which includes evidenced-based approaches, provider resources, and training, to improve physical activity opportunities through structured (i.e. teacher-led activity and environmental changes thereby increasing physical activity among children, ages 2–5 years, in the ECE setting. Methods Twenty ECE programs in Wisconsin, 7 family and 13 group, were included. An 80-page guide, Active Early, was developed by experts and statewide partners in the fields of ECE, public health, and physical activity and was revised by ECE providers prior to implementation. Over 12 months, ECE programs received on-site training and technical assistance to implement the strategies and resources provided in the Active Early guide. Main outcome measures included observed minutes of teacher-led physical activity, physical activity environment measured by the Environment and Policy Assessment and Observation (EPAO instrument, and child physical activity levels via accelerometry. All measures were collected at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months and were analyzed for changes over time. Results Observed teacher-led physical activity significantly increased from 30.9 ± 22.7 min at baseline to 82.3 ± 41.3 min at 12 months. The change in percent time children spent in sedentary activity decreased significantly after 12 months (−4.4 ± 14.2 % time, −29.2 ± 2.6 min, p < 0.02. Additionally, as teacher led-activity increased, percent time children were sedentary decreased (r = −0.37, p < 0.05 and percent time spent in light physical activity increased (r = 0.35, p < 0.05. Among all ECE programs, the physical activity environment improved significantly as indicated by multiple sub-scales of

Couple Leisure Time: Building Bonds Early in Marriage Through Leisure

OpenAIRE

Chavez, Joy Lynne

2015-01-01

Participation in couple leisure is related to marital satisfaction as well as lower divorce rates; however, Americans seem to have less time available to participate in couple leisure and may have a harder time attaining role balance. There is currently limited research about how role balance may affect leisure as well as how couples manage to balance their leisure time with their other responsibilities, ensuring they have time to spend together in high interaction leisure. We also know very ...

Early diagnosis and Early Start Denver Model intervention in autism spectrum disorders delivered in an Italian Public Health System service.

Science.gov (United States)

Devescovi, Raffaella; Monasta, Lorenzo; Mancini, Alice; Bin, Maura; Vellante, Valerio; Carrozzi, Marco; Colombi, Costanza

2016-01-01

Early diagnosis combined with an early intervention program, such as the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM), can positively influence the early natural history of autism spectrum disorders. This study evaluated the effectiveness of an early ESDM-inspired intervention, in a small group of toddlers, delivered at low intensity by the Italian Public Health System. Twenty-one toddlers at risk for autism spectrum disorders, aged 20-36 months, received 3 hours/wk of one-to-one ESDM-inspired intervention by trained therapists, combined with parents' and teachers' active engagement in ecological implementation of treatment. The mean duration of treatment was 15 months. Cognitive and communication skills, as well as severity of autism symptoms, were assessed by using standardized measures at pre-intervention (Time 0 [T0]; mean age =27 months) and post-intervention (Time 1 [T1]; mean age =42 months). Children made statistically significant improvements in the language and cognitive domains, as demonstrated by a series of nonparametric Wilcoxon tests for paired data. Regarding severity of autism symptoms, younger age at diagnosis was positively associated with greater improvement at post-assessment. Our results are consistent with the literature that underlines the importance of early diagnosis and early intervention, since prompt diagnosis can reduce the severity of autism symptoms and improve cognitive and language skills in younger children. Particularly in toddlers, it seems that an intervention model based on the ESDM principles, involving the active engagement of parents and nursery school teachers, may be effective even when the individual treatment is delivered at low intensity. Furthermore, our study supports the adaptation and the positive impact of the ESDM entirely sustained by the Italian Public Health System.

On the time behaviour of the concentration of pyrazinium radical cations in the early stage of the Maillard reaction

Science.gov (United States)

Stoesser, Reinhard; Klein, Jeannette; Peschke, Simone; Zehl, Andrea; Cämmerer, Bettina; Kroh, Lothar W.

2007-08-01

During the early stage of the Maillard reaction pyrazinium radical cations were detected by ESR within the reaction system D-glucose/glycine. The spectra were characterized by completely resolved hyperfine structure. The partial pressure of oxygen and the radical concentrations were measured directly in the reaction mixture by ESR using solutions of the spin probe TEMPOL and of DPPH, respectively. There are quantitative and qualitative relations of the actual concentration of the radical ions to the partial pressure of oxygen, the temperature-time regime and the mechanical mixing of the reaction system. These macroscopic parameters significantly affect both the induction period and the velocity of the time-dependent formation of free radicals. From in situ variations of p(O 2) and p(Ar) including the connected mixing effects caused by the passing the gases through the reaction mixture, steric and chemical effects of the stabilization of the radical ions were established. The determination of suitable and relevant conditions for stabilization and subsequent radical reactions contributes to the elucidation of the macroscopically known antioxidant activity of Maillard products.

Costs of travel time uncertainty and benefits of travel time information: Conceptual model and numerical examples

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ettema, D.F.; Timmermans, H.J.P.

2006-01-01

A negative effect of congestion that tends to be overlooked is travel time uncertainty. Travel time uncertainty causes scheduling costs due to early or late arrival. The negative effects of travel time uncertainty can be reduced by providing travellers with travel time information, which improves

Learning to eat vegetables in early life: the role of timing, age and individual eating traits.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samantha J Caton

Full Text Available Vegetable intake is generally low among children, who appear to be especially fussy during the pre-school years. Repeated exposure is known to enhance intake of a novel vegetable in early life but individual differences in response to familiarisation have emerged from recent studies. In order to understand the factors which predict different responses to repeated exposure, data from the same experiment conducted in three groups of children from three countries (n = 332 aged 4-38 m (18.9±9.9 m were combined and modelled. During the intervention period each child was given between 5 and 10 exposures to a novel vegetable (artichoke puree in one of three versions (basic, sweet or added energy. Intake of basic artichoke puree was measured both before and after the exposure period. Overall, younger children consumed more artichoke than older children. Four distinct patterns of eating behaviour during the exposure period were defined. Most children were "learners" (40% who increased intake over time. 21% consumed more than 75% of what was offered each time and were labelled "plate-clearers". 16% were considered "non-eaters" eating less than 10 g by the 5th exposure and the remainder were classified as "others" (23% since their pattern was highly variable. Age was a significant predictor of eating pattern, with older pre-school children more likely to be non-eaters. Plate-clearers had higher enjoyment of food and lower satiety responsiveness than non-eaters who scored highest on food fussiness. Children in the added energy condition showed the smallest change in intake over time, compared to those in the basic or sweetened artichoke condition. Clearly whilst repeated exposure familiarises children with a novel food, alternative strategies that focus on encouraging initial tastes of the target food might be needed for the fussier and older pre-school children.

Reversing Early Retirement in GermanyA Longitudinal Analysis of the Effects of Recent Pension Reforms on the Timing of the Transition to Retirement and on Pension Incomes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandra Buchholz

2013-12-01

Full Text Available This article investigates the effects and risks of recent pension reforms in Germany. While German pension policy systematically supported early retirement for many years in order to relieve the regulated labour market in times of economic stagnation, there has been a substantial change of the pension policy paradigm in the more recent past. Latest reforms expect older people to prolong working life. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP and applying micro-level longitudinal research methods, this contribution shows that the recent reversal of early retirement in Germany has been at the price of growing social inequalities in old age.

Electromigration early resistance increase measurements

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Niehof, J.; Flinn, P.A.; Maloney, T.J.

1993-01-01

An early resistance change measurement set-up, using an AC bridge technique, has been developed, and measurements have been performed. Large sample-to-sample variations occur. The characteristic time for the resistance change curve is shorter for resistance increase (under current stress) than for

Evaluation of Real-Time and Off-Line Performance of the Virtual Seismologist Earthquake Early Warning Algorithm in Switzerland

Science.gov (United States)

Behr, Yannik; Clinton, John; Cua, Georgia; Cauzzi, Carlo; Heimers, Stefan; Kästli, Philipp; Becker, Jan; Heaton, Thomas

2013-04-01

The Virtual Seismologist (VS) method is a Bayesian approach to regional network-based earthquake early warning (EEW) originally formulated by Cua and Heaton (2007). Implementation of VS into real-time EEW codes has been an on-going effort of the Swiss Seismological Service at ETH Zürich since 2006, with support from ETH Zürich, various European projects, and the United States Geological Survey (USGS). VS is one of three EEW algorithms that form the basis of the California Integrated Seismic Network (CISN) ShakeAlert system, a USGS-funded prototype end-to-end EEW system that could potentially be implemented in California. In Europe, VS is currently operating as a real-time test system in Switzerland. As part of the on-going EU project REAKT (Strategies and Tools for Real-Time Earthquake Risk Reduction), VS installations in southern Italy, western Greece, Istanbul, Romania, and Iceland are planned or underway. In Switzerland, VS has been running in real-time on stations monitored by the Swiss Seismological Service (including stations from Austria, France, Germany, and Italy) since 2010. While originally based on the Earthworm system it has recently been ported to the SeisComp3 system. Besides taking advantage of SeisComp3's picking and phase association capabilities it greatly simplifies the potential installation of VS at networks in particular those already running SeisComp3. We present the architecture of the new SeisComp3 based version and compare its results from off-line tests with the real-time performance of VS in Switzerland over the past two years. We further show that the empirical relationships used by VS to estimate magnitudes and ground motion, originally derived from southern California data, perform well in Switzerland.

Properties of early-stage concrete with setting-accelerating tablet in cold weather

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ryou, Jae-Suk; Lee, Yong-Soo

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Tablets were used as accelerators, which have a merit in cold weather. ► Tablets are almost not used at all as construction materials (powdered admixtures). ► 0.5 and 1.0% tablets satisfied workability and strength for early-frost prevention. ► It was found that it is possible for the 0.5 and 1.0% tablets in cold weather. - Abstract: Various methods are used at the early stages to control setting-time and strength of concrete, when cold-weather concrete is utilized. Among these methods is one that involves the use of an accelerator. Although economical, accelerators have difficulty securing workability because their early hydration makes them react rapidly. Therefore, how to make a tablet for cold-weather concrete, as with the existing medicines and foods, is discussed in this study, including the following items: mortar setting-time, workability by elapsed time, early strength to assure the development of adequate strength, and freezing–thawing resistance. As a result, both the 0.5 and 1.0% tablets were found to be superior. Thus, workability can be secured, as well as the development of early strength to prevent early frost.

Comparison between linear quadratic and early time dose models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chougule, A.A.; Supe, S.J.

1993-01-01

During the 70s, much interest was focused on fractionation in radiotherapy with the aim of improving tumor control rate without producing unacceptable normal tissue damage. To compare the radiobiological effectiveness of various fractionation schedules, empirical formulae such as Nominal Standard Dose, Time Dose Factor, Cumulative Radiation Effect and Tumour Significant Dose, were introduced and were used despite many shortcomings. It has been claimed that a recent linear quadratic model is able to predict the radiobiological responses of tumours as well as normal tissues more accurately. We compared Time Dose Factor and Tumour Significant Dose models with the linear quadratic model for tumour regression in patients with carcinomas of the cervix. It was observed that the prediction of tumour regression estimated by the Tumour Significant Dose and Time Dose factor concepts varied by 1.6% from that of the linear quadratic model prediction. In view of the lack of knowledge of the precise values of the parameters of the linear quadratic model, it should be applied with caution. One can continue to use the Time Dose Factor concept which has been in use for more than a decade as its results are within ±2% as compared to that predicted by the linear quadratic model. (author). 11 refs., 3 figs., 4 tabs

Monitoring Regional Forest Disturbances across the US with Near Real Time MODIS NDVI Products included in the ForWarn Forest Threat Early Warning System

Science.gov (United States)

Spruce, Joseph; Hargrove, William W.; Gasser, Gerald; Norman, Steve

2013-01-01

U.S. forests occupy approx.1/3 of total land area (approx. 304 million ha). Since 2000, a growing number of regionally evident forest disturbances have occurred due to abiotic and biotic agents. Regional forest disturbances can threaten human life and property, bio-diversity and water supplies. Timely regional forest disturbance monitoring products are needed to aid forest health management work. Near Real Time (NRT) twice daily MODIS NDVI data provide a means to monitor U.S. regional forest disturbances every 8 days. Since 2010, these NRT forest change products have been produced and posted on the US Forest Service ForWarn Early Warning System for Forest Threats.

Early language development in children with profound hearing loss fitted with a device at a young age: part I--the time period taken to acquire first words and first word combinations.

Science.gov (United States)

Nott, Pauline; Cowan, Robert; Brown, P Margaret; Wigglesworth, Gillian

2009-10-01

Increasing numbers of infants and young children are now presenting to implantation centers and early intervention programs as the impact of universal newborn hearing screening programs is felt worldwide. Although results of a number of studies have highlighted the benefit of early identification and early fitting of hearing devices, there is relatively little research on the impact of early fitting of these devices on first language milestones. The aim of this study was to investigate the early spoken language milestones of young children with hearing loss (HL) from two perspectives: first, the acquisition of the first lexicon (i.e., the first 100 words) and second, the emergence of the first word combinations. Two groups of participants, one comprising 24 participants with profound HL and a second comprising 16 participants with normal hearing, were compared. Twenty-three participants in the HL group were fitted with a cochlear implant and one with bilateral hearing aids. All of these were "switched-on" or fitted before 30 months of age and half at words and any word combinations produced while reaching this single-word target. Acquisition of single words was compared by using the time period (in days) taken to reach several single-word targets (e.g., 50 words, 100 words) from the date of production of the first word. The emergence of word combinations was analyzed from two perspectives: first, the time (in days) from the date of production of the first word to the emergence of the first word combinations and second, the size of the single-word lexicon when word combinations emerged. The normal-hearing group required a significantly shorter time period to acquire the first 50 (mean words than the HL group. Although both groups demonstrated acceleration in lexical acquisition, the hearing group took significantly fewer days to reach the second 50 words relative to the first 50 words than did the HL group. Finally, the hearing group produced word combinations

Early vocabulary development in children with bilateral cochlear implants.

Science.gov (United States)

Välimaa, Taina; Kunnari, Sari; Laukkanen-Nevala, Päivi; Lonka, Eila

2018-01-01

Children with unilateral cochlear implants (CIs) may have delayed vocabulary development for an extended period after implantation. Bilateral cochlear implantation is reported to be associated with improved sound localization and enhanced speech perception in noise. This study proposed that bilateral implantation might also promote early vocabulary development. Knowledge regarding vocabulary growth and composition in children with bilateral CIs and factors associated with it may lead to improvements in the content of early speech and language intervention and family counselling. To analyse the growth of early vocabulary and its composition during the first year after CI activation and to investigate factors associated with vocabulary growth. The participants were 20 children with bilateral CIs (12 boys; eight girls; mean age at CI activation = 12.9 months). Vocabulary size was assessed with the Finnish version of the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories (CDI) Infant Form and compared with normative data. Vocabulary composition was analysed in relation to vocabulary size. Growth curve modelling was implemented using a linear mixed model to analyse the effects of the following variables on early vocabulary growth: time, gender, maternal education, residual hearing with hearing aids, age at first hearing aid fitting and age at CI activation. Despite clear vocabulary growth over time, children with bilateral CIs lagged behind their age norms in receptive vocabulary during the first 12 months after CI activation. In expressive vocabulary, 35% of the children were able to catch up with their age norms, but 55% of the children lagged behind them. In receptive and expressive vocabularies of 1-20 words, analysis of different semantic categories indicated that social terms constituted the highest proportion. Nouns constituted the highest proportion in vocabularies of 101-400 words. The proportion of verbs remained below 20% and the proportion of function words and

Pedagogical Change at Times of Change in the Higher Education System: An Exploration of Early Career Mentoring, Co-publication and Teaching & Learning Insights

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bill Boyd

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Universities are at a time of change. Their social, political and economic conditions are under challenge, while technological change challenges curriculum design and implementation, requiring reconsiderations of teaching and learning practices. In this context, and as part of the conference session on Higher education in 2014: threshold, watershed or business as usual?, I reviewed an approach I have been trialing to supporting early- and mid-career academics to navigate through this changing environment. This paper presents an illustrated essay on a human-scale approach to early- and mid-career mentoring through the establishment of small team-based research and writing projects. The essay provides examples of activities that, on the one hand, assist academics to develop the tools they need to navigate the new and evolving environment of higher education, while on the other hand directly addresses key pedagogical issues and provides new insight into teaching and learning in higher education.

Cognitive Advantages and Disadvantages in Early and Late Bilinguals

Science.gov (United States)

Pelham, Sabra D.; Abrams, Lise

2014-01-01

Previous research has documented advantages and disadvantages of early bilinguals, defined as learning a 2nd language by school age and using both languages since that time. Relative to monolinguals, early bilinguals manifest deficits in lexical access but benefits in executive function. We investigated whether becoming bilingual "after"…

Role and time of brachytherapy (BT) in the radiosurgical treatment of early endometrial cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poitevin, A; Gerbaulet, A; Rey, A; Albano, M

1996-01-01

Introduction: Endometrial carcinoma is the most frequent gynecological cancer in developed countries. Until the latest FIGO classification on 1988, the times of BT and surgery were uncertain for early stages. This paper reviews the results of the retrospective analysis of patients with early endometrial carcinoma (stages I and II) treated with pre- or postoperative BT +/- external radiotherapy (ERT) at the Institute Gustave Roussy from january 1985 to december 1989. Materials and Methods: 220 patients stage I and 21 patients stage II were eligible. The protocol was primary BT (106 patients) 50 Gy to the upper third of the vagina, an immediate radical hysterectomy with pelvic lymph node picking and according to the histological results, ERT (33 patients). After the surgical classification, postop BT was performed in 47 patients. 55 patients received another radiosurgical treatment. Results: With a follow-up of 3 years, the results were: after primary BT, the dose to pelvic walls, the kerma, the volume thickness and the reference isodose volume were higher. Surgery post BT was performed on a mean of 12 days, and postop BT on a mean of 97 days. Among 181 lymph node dissections, only 5 patients had N+, 38 histologies showed no myometrial invasion: 112, (1(3)); 64, (2(2)); and 20, (3(3)). The differentiation of the tumor was indirectly correlated with myometrial invasion. 88 patients received ERT, to a mean dose of 45 Gy. The overall survival was 91% at 2 years and 81% at 5 years. For patients with primary BT, the survival was 96% at 2 and 5 years. For primary surgery was 98 and 88% at 2 and 5 years DFS at 2 and 5 years for preop BT was 85% and 76%, for postop BT 95% and 92%, 5 patients had grade 3 complications. The metastases, including paraaortic lymph nodes were 6. 14 recurrences occurred, in external iliac nodes, common iliacs, pelvis, abdomen, and 4 in vagina. The prognostic factors were in univariate study, the surgical stage. In multivariate, myometrial invasion

Early and late motherhood

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christoffersen, Mogens; Lausten, Mette

2009-01-01

The study investigates parental child rearing methods, structural factors relating to the family during adolescence geographic segregation, individual resource deficits and social background of first time late live births among 32 to 37 years old women and compare to teenagers before becoming...... economic and social gradient for first-time teenage mothers. Teenagers who had experienced family separation or who were formerly in out-of-home care in particular had an increased risk of early childbearing. Results showed that teenage mothers were in every respect in a more disadvantaged position than...

Influence of timing of chest tube removal on early outcome of patients underwent lung resection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmed Labib Dokhan

2016-05-01

Conclusion: Early removal of chest tube may have beneficial effect on control of post-thoracotomy pain, improvement of pulmonary functions and decreasing the risk of complications after lung resection.

Netrin-1, a urinary proximal tubular injury marker, is elevated early in the time course of human diabetes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jayakumar, Calpurnia; Nauta, Ferdau L.; Bakker, Stephan J. L.; Bilo, Henk; Gansevoort, Ron T.; Johnson, Maribeth H.; Ramesh, Ganesan

Netrin-1 was recently identified as an early diagnostic biomarker of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in an experimental animal model. However, its usefulness for early diagnosis of CKD in humans is unknown. The current study evaluated whether netrin-1 is increased in urine from human diabetic patients.

Early and Late Retirement Exits

Science.gov (United States)

Brougham, Ruby R.; Walsh, David A.

2009-01-01

The current study proposes that personal need fulfillment (relatedness, generativity, identity, growth, and finances) predicts early and late retirement intentions. The personal needs of 160 full-time older employees were measured by personal goals, job satisfactions, job characteristics, and intrinsic motivation. Results suggest that the personal…

Biogeography in deep time - What do phylogenetics, geology, and paleoclimate tell us about early platyrrhine evolution?

Science.gov (United States)

Kay, Richard F

2015-01-01

Molecular data have converged on a consensus about the genus-level phylogeny of extant platyrrhine monkeys, but for most extinct taxa and certainly for those older than the Pleistocene we must rely upon morphological evidence from fossils. This raises the question as to how well anatomical data mirror molecular phylogenies and how best to deal with discrepancies between the molecular and morphological data as we seek to extend our phylogenies to the placement of fossil taxa. Here I present parsimony-based phylogenetic analyses of extant and fossil platyrrhines based on an anatomical dataset of 399 dental characters and osteological features of the cranium and postcranium. I sample 16 extant taxa (one from each platyrrhine genus) and 20 extinct taxa of platyrrhines. The tree structure is constrained with a "molecular scaffold" of extant species as implemented in maximum parsimony using PAUP with the molecular-based 'backbone' approach. The data set encompasses most of the known extinct species of platyrrhines, ranging in age from latest Oligocene (∼26 Ma) to the Recent. The tree is rooted with extant catarrhines, and Late Eocene and Early Oligocene African anthropoids. Among the more interesting patterns to emerge are: (1) known early platyrrhines from the Late Oligocene through Early Miocene (26-16.5Ma) represent only stem platyrrhine taxa; (2) representatives of the three living platyrrhine families first occur between 15.7 Ma and 13.5 Ma; and (3) recently extinct primates from the Greater Antilles (Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola) are sister to the clade of extant platyrrhines and may have diverged in the Early Miocene. It is probable that the crown platyrrhine clade did not originate before about 20-24 Ma, a conclusion consistent with the phylogenetic analysis of fossil taxa presented here and with recent molecular clock estimates. The following biogeographic scenario is consistent with the phylogenetic findings and climatic and geologic evidence: Tropical South

Non-linear shape functions over time in the space-time finite element method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kacprzyk Zbigniew

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This work presents a generalisation of the space-time finite element method proposed by Kączkowski in his seminal of 1970’s and early 1980’s works. Kączkowski used linear shape functions in time. The recurrence formula obtained by Kączkowski was conditionally stable. In this paper, non-linear shape functions in time are proposed.

Radiolysis of liquid water: an attempt to reconcile Monte-Carlo calculations with new experimental hydrated electron yield data at early times

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muroya, Y.; Meesungnoen, J.; Jay-Gerin, J.-P.; Filali-Mouhim, A.; Goulet, T.; Katsumura, Y.; Mankhetkorn, S.

2002-01-01

A re-examination of our Monte-Carlo modeling of the radiolysis of liquid water by low linear-energy-transfer (LET ∼ 0.3 keV μm -1 ) radiation is undertaken herein in an attempt to reconcile the results of our simulation code with recently revised experimental hydrated electron (e aq - ) yield data at early times. The thermalization distance of subexcitation electrons, the recombination cross section of the electrons with their water parent cations prior to thermalization, and the branching ratios of the different competing mechanisms in the dissociative decay of vibrationally excited states of water molecules were taken as adjustable parameters in our simulations. Using a global-fit procedure, we have been unable to find a set of values for those parameters to simultaneously reproduce (i) the revised e aq - yield of 4.0 ± 0.2 molecules per 100 eV at 'time zero' (that is, a reduction of ∼20% over the hitherto accepted value of 4.8 molecules per 100 eV), (ii) the newly measured e aq - decay kinetic profile from 100 ps to 10 ns, and (iii) the time-dependent yields of the other radiolytic species H . , . OH, H 2 , and H 2 O 2 (up to ∼1 μs). The lowest possible limiting 'time-zero' yield of e aq - that we could in fact obtain, while ensuring an acceptable agreement between all computed and experimental yields, was ∼4.4 to 4.5 molecules per 100 eV. Under these conditions, the mean values of the electron thermalization distance and of the geminate electron-cation recombination probability, averaged over the subexcitation electron 'entry spectrum,' are found to be equal to ∼139 A and ∼18%, respectively. These values are to be compared with those obtained in our previous simulations of liquid water radiolysis, namely ∼88 A and ∼5.5%, respectively. Our average electron thermalization distance is also to be compared with the typical size (∼64-80 A) of the initial hydrated electron distributions estimated in current deterministic models of 'spur' chemistry

Reduplication Facilitates Early Word Segmentation

Science.gov (United States)

Ota, Mitsuhiko; Skarabela, Barbora

2018-01-01

This study explores the possibility that early word segmentation is aided by infants' tendency to segment words with repeated syllables ("reduplication"). Twenty-four nine-month-olds were familiarized with passages containing one novel reduplicated word and one novel non-reduplicated word. Their central fixation times in response to…

[The effect of breast massage at different time in the early period after cesarean section].

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, J Y; Zhang, L; Zhang, Y J; Yang, M J; Li, X W; Sun, L L

2017-11-06

Objective: To evaluate the effect of breast massage at different time in the early period on maternal lactation after cesarean section. Methods: 80 women delivered by cesarean section were randomly selected from maternity ward of a hospital in Shandong province during Jan. 2013 to Jan. 2015; which were divided into four groups, with 20 patients in each. Three groups received 3 times of breast massage every 24 hoursbeginning from 2, 12 and 24 h after cesarean section, respectively. The control group didn't receive any breast massage. The starting time and status of lactation were observed and recorded after cesarean section. 5 ml venous blood sample was drawn from each patient respectively at 2 h before cesarean, 6, 12, 24, 48 and 72 h after cesarean to test the level of serum prolactin. The lactation status of each group was compared. Results: The P (50) ( P (25)- P (75)) of starting time of lactation of the three massage groups and control group were 3 (2-6) h, 4 (2-8) h, 4 (3-12) h and 4 (2-12) h, respectively, whose differences showed no statistical significance ( H =3.32, P= 0.345).The number of delivered women with adequate lactation 24 hours after cesarean was 10 in the group who received massage beginning from 2 h after cesarean; while the number was only 2 in the control group. The number of delivered women with adequate lactation 48 hours after cesarean was 18 in the group who received massage beginning from 2 h after cesarean; while the number was 8 in the control group. The differences showed statistical significances ( P values were 0.021 and 0.008, respectively). The serum prolactin level in the group of delivered women who received massage from 2 h after cesarean was separately (195.9±78.5), (176.0±96.5), (216.4±110.0), (190.0±56.8) and (184.8±69.6) μg/L at 2, 12, 24, 48 and 72 h after cesarean, which were significantly higher than those in the control group (which were (128.8±40.6), (127.3±66.8), (162.2±58.8), (145.1±64.7) and (141.7±49

Maximizing Partnerships with Parents and Pediatricians: The Role of Early Childhood Specialists

Science.gov (United States)

Shah, Prachi E.

2010-01-01

The early childhood provider, because of the consistent contact over time with infants, toddlers, and their families, is well positioned to observe the nuances of the early caregiving relationship; monitor early child behavior and development; identify deviances; and offer support, guidance, and intervention when families struggle. This…

Early morning awakening and nonrestorative sleep are associated with increased minor non-fatal accidents during work and leisure time.

Science.gov (United States)

Chiu, Hsiao-Yean; Wang, Mei-Yeh; Chang, Cheng-Kuei; Chen, Ching-Min; Chou, Kuei-Ru; Tsai, Jen-Chen; Tsai, Pei-Shan

2014-10-01

The relationship between a composite measure of insomnia and occupational or fatal accidents has been investigated previously; however, little is known regarding the effect of various insomnia symptoms on minor non-fatal accidents during work and leisure time. We investigated the predicting role of insomnia symptoms on minor non-fatal accidents during work and leisure time. Data from the 2005 Taiwan Social Development Trend Survey of 36,473 Taiwanese aged ≥18 years were analyzed in 2013. Insomnia symptoms, including difficulty in initiating sleep (DIS), difficulty in maintaining sleep (DMS), early morning awakening (EMA), and nonrestorative sleep (NRS) were investigated. A minor non-fatal accident was defined as any mishap such as forgetting to turn off the gas or faucets, accidental falls, and abrasions or cuts occurring during work and leisure time in the past month that do not require immediate medical attention. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to assess the odds ratios (ORs) and associated 95% confidence interval (CI) of minor non-fatal accidents (as a binary variable) for each insomnia symptom compared with those of people presenting no symptoms, while controlling for possible confounders. EMA and NRS increased the odds of minor non-fatal accidents occurring during work and leisure time (adjusted OR=1.19, 95% CI=1.08-1.32 and adjusted OR=1.27, 95% CI=1.17-1.37, respectively). EMA and NRS are two symptoms that are significantly associated with an increased likelihood of minor non-fatal accidents during work and leisure time after adjusting for of a range of covariates. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Patient-physician discordance in global assessment in early spondyloarthritis and its change over time: the DESIR cohort.

Science.gov (United States)

Desthieux, Carole; Molto, Anna; Granger, Benjamin; Saraux, Alain; Fautrel, Bruno; Gossec, Laure

2016-09-01

To assess patient-physician discordance in global assessment of disease activity in early axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) over time and determinants of discordance. DESIR (Devenir des Spondyloarthropathies Indifférenciées Récentes) is a French, multicentre, longitudinal cohort of patients with early inflammatory back pain suggestive of axSpA. Patient global assessment (PGA) and physician global assessment (PhGA) were rated with a 0-10 numerical rating scale, every 6 months during 2 years then at 3 years. Discordance was defined by the absolute difference |PGA-PhGA|≥3 (range 0-10) and was analysed at each visit. Determinants of (PGA-PhGA) were assessed at the visit level by a generalised linear mixed model. A total of 702 patients were analysed at baseline (401 with complete data over 3 years): mean age 33.8±8.6 years, 379 (54.0%) female, mean symptom duration 18.1±10.5 months. Mean PGA values were always higher than mean PhGA values with a mean absolute difference of 1.8 points. At baseline, 202 (28.8%) patients had discordance mainly by PGA>PhGA; over 3 years the frequency of discordance was stable (range 25.5-28.8%). Discordance was not stable at the patient level, 118 (29.4%) patients were discordant once and 88 (22.0%) twice, and only 92 (22.9%) more than twice. Determinants of (PGA-PhGA) were spine pain (β=0.24, ppatient characteristic. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Time-lapse culture with morphokinetic embryo selection improves pregnancy and live birth chances and reduces early pregnancy loss: a meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Pribenszky, Csaba; Nilselid, Anna-Maria; Montag, Markus

2017-11-01

Embryo evaluation and selection is fundamental in clinical IVF. Time-lapse follow-up of embryo development comprises undisturbed culture and the application of the visual information to support embryo evaluation. A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials was carried out to study whether time-lapse monitoring with the prospective use of a morphokinetic algorithm for selection of embryos improves overall clinical outcome (pregnancy, early pregnancy loss, stillbirth and live birth rate) compared with embryo selection based on single time-point morphology in IVF cycles. The meta-analysis of five randomized controlled trials (n = 1637) showed that the application of time-lapse monitoring was associated with a significantly higher ongoing clinical pregnancy rate (51.0% versus 39.9%), with a pooled odds ratio of 1.542 (P loss (15.3% versus 21.3%; OR: 0.662; P = 0.019) and a significantly increased live birth rate (44.2% versus 31.3%; OR 1.668; P = 0.009). Difference in stillbirth was not significant between groups (4.7% versus 2.4%). Quality of the evidence was moderate to low owing to inconsistencies across the studies. Selective application and variability were also limitations. Although time-lapse is shown to significantly improve overall clinical outcome, further high-quality evidence is needed before universal conclusions can be drawn. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Efficient voice activity detection in reverberant enclosures using far field microphones

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petsatodis, Theodore; Boukis, Christos

2009-01-01

An algorithm suitable for voice activity detection under reverberant conditions is proposed in this paper. Due to the use of far-filed microphones the proposed solution processes speech signals of highly-varying intensity and signal to noise ratio, that are contaminated with several echoes....... The core of the system is a pair of Hidden Markov Models, that effectively model the speech presence and speech absence situations. To minimise mis-detections an adaptive threshold is used, while a hang-over scheme caters for the intra-frame correlation of speech signals. Experimental results conducted...

Music as therapy in early history.

Science.gov (United States)

Thaut, Michael H

2015-01-01

The notion of music as therapy is based on ancient cross-cultural beliefs that music can have a "healing" effect on mind and body. Explanations for the therapeutic mechanisms in music have almost always included cultural and social science-based causalities about the uses and functions of music in society. However, it is also important to note that the view of music as "therapy" was also always strongly influenced by the view and understanding of the concepts and causes of disease. Magical/mystical concepts of illness and "rational" medicine probably lived side by side for thousands of years. Not until the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries were the scientific foundations of medicine established, which allowed the foundations of music in therapy to progress from no science to soft science and most recently to actual brain science. Evidence for "early music therapy" will be discussed in four broad historical-cultural divisions: preliterate cultures; early civilizations in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Israel; Greek Antiquity; Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Baroque. In reviewing "early music therapy" practice, from mostly unknown periods of early history (using preliterate cultures as a window) to increasingly better documented times, including preserved notation samples of actual "healing" music, five theories and applications of early music therapy can be differentiated. © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Using Digital Media Advertising in Early Psychosis Intervention.

Science.gov (United States)

Birnbaum, Michael L; Garrett, Chantel; Baumel, Amit; Scovel, Maria; Rizvi, Asra F; Muscat, Whitney; Kane, John M

2017-11-01

Identifying and engaging youth with early-stage psychotic disorders in order to facilitate timely treatment initiation remains a major public health challenge. Although advertisers routinely use the Internet to directly target consumers, limited efforts have focused on applying available technology to proactively encourage help-seeking in the mental health community. This study explores how one might take advantage of Google AdWords in order to reach prospective patients with early psychosis. A landing page was developed with the primary goal of encouraging help-seeking individuals in New York City to contact their local early psychosis intervention clinic. In order to provide the best opportunity to reach the intended audience, Google AdWords was utilized to link more than 2,000 selected search terms to strategically placed landing page advertisements. The campaign ran for 14 weeks between April 11 and July 18, 2016 and had a total budget of $1,427. The ads appeared 191,313 times and were clicked on 4,350 times, at a per-click cost of $.33. Many users took additional help-seeking steps, including obtaining psychosis-specific information/education (44%), completing a psychosis self-screener (15%), and contacting the local early treatment program (1%). Digital ads appear to be a reasonable and cost-effective method to reach individuals who are searching for behavioral health information online. More research is needed to better understand the many complex steps between online search inquiries and making first clinical contact.

Early Boost and Slow Consolidation in Motor Skill Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Hotermans, Christophe; Peigneux, Philippe; de Noordhout, Alain Maertens; Moonen, Gustave; Maquet, Pierre

2006-01-01

Motor skill learning is a dynamic process that continues covertly after training has ended and eventually leads to delayed increments in performance. Current theories suggest that this off-line improvement takes time and appears only after several hours. Here we show an early transient and short-lived boost in performance, emerging as early as…

Early Childhood Care and Education: A Child Perspective Paradigm

Science.gov (United States)

Sommer, Dion; Pramling Samuelsson, Ingrid; Hundeide, Karsten

2013-01-01

From research we know that there is no specific early childhood education programme that is superior to other approaches (National Research Council. 2001). At the same time, historically it looks like people think there is a specific programme that will solve all problems and guarantee a high quality in early years education, since different…

Early rehabilitation after elective total knee arthroplasty.

Science.gov (United States)

Lisi, Claudio; Caspani, Patrick; Bruggi, Marco; Carlisi, Ettore; Scolè, Donatella; Benazzo, Francesco; Dalla Toffola, Elena

2017-10-18

Outcomes after TKA surgery are supposed to be related to the intensity and type of post-operative rehabilitation. Aim of this paper is to describe our early rehabilitation protocol following TKA with mini-invasive surgery in the immediate post-operative period and analyze functional recovery and changes in pain scores in these patients. in this observational study, data were collected on 215 total knee arthroplasty patients referred to Orthopedics and Traumatology inpatient ward from July 2012 to January 2014, treated with the same early start rehabilitation protocol. We recorded times to reach functional goals (sitting, standing and assisted ambulation) and pain after the treatment. length of hospital stay in TKA was 4.6±1.8 days, with a rehabilitation treatment lenght of 3.3±1.3 days. The mean time needed to achieve the sitting position was 2.3±0.7 days, to reach the standing position was 2.6±1.0 days to reach the walking functional goal was 2.9±1.0 days.  Pain NRS scores remained below 4 in the first and second post-operative day and below 3 from the third post-operative day. Our study confirms that rehabilitation started as soon as 24 hours after surgery with mini-invasive approach, enables early verticalization of patients and early recovery of walking with a good control of pain.

Estimation of left ventricular operating stiffness from Doppler early filling deceleration time in humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia, M J; Firstenberg, M S; Greenberg, N L; Smedira, N; Rodriguez, L; Prior, D; Thomas, J D

2001-02-01

Shortened early transmitral deceleration times (E(DT)) have been qualitatively associated with increased filling pressure and reduced survival in patients with cardiac disease and increased left ventricular operating stiffness (K(LV)). An equation relating K(LV) quantitatively to E(DT) has previously been described in a canine model but not in humans. During several varying hemodynamic conditions, we studied 18 patients undergoing open-heart surgery. Transesophageal echocardiographic two-dimensional volumes and Doppler flows were combined with high-fidelity left atrial (LA) and left ventricular (LV) pressures to determine K(LV). From digitized Doppler recordings, E(DT) was measured and compared against changes in LV and LA diastolic volumes and pressures. E(DT) (180 +/- 39 ms) was inversely associated with LV end-diastolic pressures (r = -0.56, P = 0.004) and net atrioventricular stiffness (r = -0.55, P = 0.006) but had its strongest association with K(LV) (r = -0.81, P < 0.001). K(LV) was predicted assuming a nonrestrictive orifice (K(nonrest)) from E(DT) as K(nonrest) = (0.07/E(DT))(2) with K(LV) = 1.01 K(nonrest) - 0.02; r = 0.86, P < 0.001, DeltaK (K(nonrest) - K(LV)) = 0.02 +/- 0.06 mm Hg/ml. In adults with cardiac disease, E(DT) provides an accurate estimate of LV operating stiffness and supports its application as a practical noninvasive index in the evaluation of diastolic function.

Technical Note: An operational landslide early warning system at regional scale based on space-time variable rainfall thresholds

Science.gov (United States)

Segoni, S.; Battistini, A.; Rossi, G.; Rosi, A.; Lagomarsino, D.; Catani, F.; Moretti, S.; Casagli, N.

2014-10-01

We set up an early warning system for rainfall-induced landslides in Tuscany (23 000 km2). The system is based on a set of state-of-the-art intensity-duration rainfall thresholds (Segoni et al., 2014b), makes use of LAMI rainfall forecasts and real-time rainfall data provided by an automated network of more than 300 rain-gauges. The system was implemented in a WebGIS to ease the operational use in civil protection procedures: it is simple and intuitive to consult and it provides different outputs. Switching among different views, the system is able to focus both on monitoring of real time data and on forecasting at different lead times up to 48 h. Moreover, the system can switch between a very straightforward view where a synoptic scenario of the hazard can be shown all over the region and a more in-depth view were the rainfall path of rain-gauges can be displayed and constantly compared with rainfall thresholds. To better account for the high spatial variability of the physical features, which affects the relationship between rainfall and landslides, the region is subdivided into 25 alert zones, each provided with a specific threshold. The warning system reflects this subdivision: using a network of 332 rain gauges, it allows monitoring each alert zone separately and warnings can be issued independently from an alert zone to another. An important feature of the warning system is the use of thresholds that may vary in time adapting at the conditions of the rainfall path recorded by the rain-gauges. Depending on when the starting time of the rainfall event is set, the comparison with the threshold may produce different outcomes. Therefore, a recursive algorithm was developed to check and compare with the thresholds all possible starting times, highlighting the worst scenario and showing in the WebGIS interface at what time and how much the rainfall path has exceeded or will exceed the most critical threshold. Besides forecasting and monitoring the hazard scenario

Early boost and slow consolidation in motor skill learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Hotermans, Christophe; Peigneux, Philippe; Maertens de Noordhout, Alain; Moonen, Gustave; Maquet, Pierre

2006-01-01

Motorskill learning is a dynamic process that continues covertly after training has ended and eventually leads to delayed increments in performance. Current theories suggest that this off-line improvement takes time and appears only after several hours. Here we show an early transient and short-lived boost in performance, emerging as early as 5-30 min after training but no longer observed 4 h later. This early boost is predictive of the performance achieved 48 h later, suggesting its functional relevance for memory processes.

Is credit for early action credible early action?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rolfe, C.; Michaelowa, A.; Dutschke, M.

1999-12-01

Credit for early action as a tool for greenhouse gas emissions reduction is compared with various market instruments as a means of narrowing the gap between projected emissions and those of the Kyoto Protocol. Market instruments work by creating a market price for emissions and use the market to encourage reductions at the lowest price, which is done by placing limits on greenhouse gas emissions and allowing the market to decide where reductions occur, or by imposing a carbon tax or emissions charge. While they can be applied within a sector, they are usually used to encourage reductions throughout the economy or across large sectors. Credit for early action also creates an incentive for emissions reductions throughout the economy or at least across many sectors. Credit for early action tools do not work by either imposing a carbon tax or emissions charge or placing limits on emissions, rather they promise that entities that take action against greenhouse gases prior to the imposition of a carbon tax or emissions limits will receive a credit against future taxes or limits. An overview is provided of the Kyoto Protocol and the rationale for taking early action, and a review is included of the theory and specific proposals for market instruments and credit for early action. A comparative analysis is provided of these approaches by examining their relative efficiency, environmental effectiveness, and impacts on the redistribution of wealth. Credit for early action is viewed as problematic on a number of counts and is seen as an interim strategy for imposition while political support for market instruments develop. The environmental effectiveness of credit for early action is very difficult to predict, and credit for early action programs do not yield the lowest cost emissions reductions. Credit for early action programs will not achieve compliance with the Kyoto Protocol at the lowest cost, and credits for early action will increase the compliance costs for those who

An early contact with the baby: Benefit for the mother

OpenAIRE

Đorđević Gordana; Jovanović Božidar; Đorđević Momčilo

2008-01-01

Introduction Numerous studies on the early contact between mother and the baby and the time they spend together-common stay stress the fact that these are invaluable for the mothers, infants, family and society in general. The objective of the research. The objective of the research was to establish whether mother benefits from the early contact with her baby and the importance of the time period they spend and share together. Materials and methods The study group consisted of 216 mothers tha...

Similar circuits but different connectivity patterns between the cerebellum, basal ganglia, and supplementary motor area in early Parkinson's disease patients and controls during predictive motor timing.

Science.gov (United States)

Husárová, Ivica; Mikl, Michal; Lungu, Ovidiu V; Mareček, Radek; Vaníček, Jiří; Bareš, Martin

2013-10-01

The cerebellum, basal ganglia (BG), and other cortical regions, such as supplementary motor area (SMA) have emerged as important structures dealing with various aspects of timing, yet the modulation of functional connectivity between them during motor timing tasks remains unexplored. We used dynamic causal modeling to investigate the differences in effective connectivity (EC) between these regions and its modulation by behavioral outcome during a motor timing prediction task in a group of 16 patients with early Parkinson's disease (PD) and 17 healthy controls. Behavioral events (hits and errors) constituted the driving input connected to the cerebellum, and the modulation in connectivity was assessed relative to the hit condition (successful interception of target). The driving input elicited response in the target area, while modulatory input changed the specific connection strength. The neuroimaging data revealed similar structure of intrinsic connectivity in both groups with unidirectional connections from cerebellum to both sides of the BG, from BG to the SMA, and then from SMA to the cerebellum. However, the type of intrinsic connection was different between two groups. In the PD group, the connection between the SMA and cerebellum was inhibitory in comparison to the HC group, where the connection was activated. Furthermore, the modulation of connectivity by the performance in the task was different between the two groups, with decreased connectivity between the cerebellum and left BG and SMA and a more pronounced symmetry of these connections in controls. In the same time, there was an increased EC between the cerebellum and both sides of BG with more pronounced asymmetry (stronger connection with left BG) in patients. In addition, in the PD group the modulatory input strengthened inhibitory connectivity between the SMA and the cerebellum, while in the HC group the excitatory connection was slightly strengthened. Our findings indicate that although early PD

Evolution of the Southern Margin of the Donbas (Ukraine) from Devonian to early Carboniferous Times.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

McCann, T.; Saintot, A.N.

2003-01-01

A Devonian-Early Carboniferous succession comprising thick clastic and carbonate sediments with interbedded volcanics was examined along the southern margin of the Donbas fold belt. Ukraine. Following initial rifting and subsidence, a continental (fluvial, lacustrine) succession was established.

Perfusion of surgical cavity wall enhancement in early post-treatment MR imaging may stratify the time-to-progression in glioblastoma.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ji Eun Park

Full Text Available To determine if perfusion in surgical cavity wall enhancement (SCWE obtained in early post-treatment MR imaging can stratify time-to-progression (TTP in glioblastoma.This study enrolled 60 glioblastoma patients with more than 5-mm-thick SCWEs as detected on contrast-enhanced MR imaging after concurrent chemoradiation therapy. Two independent readers categorized the shape and perfusion state of SCWEs as nodular or non-nodular and as having positive or negative perfusion compared with the contralateral grey matter on arterial spin labeling (ASL. The perfusion fraction on ASL within the contrast-enhancing lesion was calculated. The independent predictability of TTP was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards modelling.The perfusion fraction was higher in the non-progression group, significantly for reader 2 (P = 0.03 and borderline significantly for reader 1 (P = 0.08. A positive perfusion state and (P = 0.02 a higher perfusion fraction of the SCWE were found to become an independent predictor of longer TTP (P = 0.001 for reader 1 and P < 0.001 for reader 2. The contrast enhancement pattern did not become a TTP predictor.Assessment of perfusion in early post-treatment MR imaging can stratify TTP in patients with glioblastoma for adjuvant temozolomide therapy. Positive perfusion in SCWEs can become a predictor of a longer TTP.

Intrinsic Time Quantum Geometrodynamics

OpenAIRE

Ita III, Eyo Eyo; Soo, Chopin; Yu, Hoi-Lai

2015-01-01

Quantum Geometrodynamics with intrinsic time development and momentric variables is presented. An underlying SU(3) group structure at each spatial point regulates the theory. The intrinsic time behavior of the theory is analyzed, together with its ground state and primordial quantum fluctuations. Cotton-York potential dominates at early times when the universe was small; the ground state naturally resolves Penrose's Weyl Curvature Hypothesis, and thermodynamic and gravitational `arrows of tim...

Hormone patterns in early human gestation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mishell, D.R. Jr.; Thorneycroft, I.H.; Nagata, Y.; Murata, T.; Nakamura, R.M.

1974-01-01

Accurate measurement of the low concentration of gonadotropins and steroid hormones present in human serum has been made possible by the development of sensitive radioimmunoassay (RIA) techniques. With the use of RIA FSH and LH, progesterone and 17OH-progesterone have been previously measured in early normal pregnancy. In order to determine the daily pattern of hormone levels in early normal pregnancy, gonadotropins as well as steroid hormone levels were measured in serum samples obtained daily from three women from the time of the last menstrual period prior to conception throughout the first few months of gestation. To further identify the steroid hormone pattern in early normal pregnancy, concentrations of estradiol, progesterone, and 17OH-progesterone were measured in individual serum samples obtained from a group of 158 women with apparently normal gestations who subsequently had therapeutic abortions. (auth)

Early diagnosis and Early Start Denver Model intervention in autism spectrum disorders delivered in an Italian Public Health System service

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Devescovi R

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Raffaella Devescovi,1 Lorenzo Monasta,2 Alice Mancini,3 Maura Bin,1 Valerio Vellante,1 Marco Carrozzi,1 Costanza Colombi4 1Division of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, 2Clinical Epidemiology and Public Health Research Unit, Institute for Maternal and Child Health – IRCCS “Burlo Garofolo”, Trieste, 3Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy; 4Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, MI, USA Background: Early diagnosis combined with an early intervention program, such as the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM, can positively influence the early natural history of autism spectrum disorders. This study evaluated the effectiveness of an early ESDM-inspired intervention, in a small group of toddlers, delivered at low intensity by the Italian Public Health System.Methods: Twenty-one toddlers at risk for autism spectrum disorders, aged 20–36 months, received 3 hours/wk of one-to-one ESDM-inspired intervention by trained therapists, combined with parents’ and teachers’ active engagement in ecological implementation of treatment. The mean duration of treatment was 15 months. Cognitive and communication skills, as well as severity of autism symptoms, were assessed by using standardized measures at pre-intervention (Time 0 [T0]; mean age =27 months and post-intervention (Time 1 [T1]; mean age =42 months.Results: Children made statistically significant improvements in the language and cognitive domains, as demonstrated by a series of nonparametric Wilcoxon tests for paired data. Regarding severity of autism symptoms, younger age at diagnosis was positively associated with greater improvement at post-assessment.Conclusion: Our results are consistent with the literature that underlines the importance of early diagnosis and early intervention, since prompt diagnosis can reduce the severity of autism symptoms and improve cognitive and language skills in younger children

Supersymmetry in the very early universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomas, S.

1995-06-01

Supersymmetric flat directions can have a number of important consequences in the very early universe. Depending on the form of the SUSY breaking potential arising from the finite energy density at early times, coherent production of scalar condensates can result along such directions. This leads a cosmological disaster for Polonyi type flat directions with only Planck suppressed couplings, but can give rise to the baryon asymmetry for standard model flat directions. Flat directions are also natural candidates to act as inflatons. Achieving density fluctuations of the correct magnitude generally requires an additional hidden SUSY breaking sector

Orbital time scale records of Asian eolian dust from the Sea of Japan since the early Pliocene

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Wenfang; De Vleeschouwer, David; Shen, Ji; Zhang, Zeke; Zeng, Lin

2018-05-01

A high-resolution potassium content record of sediments from Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Site U1422 drilled in the northern Sea of Japan was employed to yield an astronomical timescale for this ∼205 m thick sedimentary archive. The K content was quantified using the natural gamma radiation (NGR) data routinely measured on DV JOIDES Resolution. The U1422 K (wt.%) series shows an increasing trend with time, which parallels the growth of North Hemisphere ice sheets since ∼4 Ma, as revealed by the global benthic foraminifer's oxygen isotope stack (LR04). We propose that K content variations reflect changes in the relative contributions of Asian eolian dust and volcanic weathering products, in response to changes in global ice volume. Using the shipboard age model, constrained by palaeomagnetism and nanofossils datums, we tuned the U1422 K content variations to the LR04 stack. Our tuned age model for site U1422 goes back to 3.9 Ma. The studied record indicates that Asian dust generation is enhanced during periods of global cooling. The synchronous variations between the U1422 K record and the LR04 stack also suggest that global cooling played a dominant role in promoting the central Asian aridification since ∼3.9 Ma, while the uplift of Tibetan Plateau plays a secondary role, considering many disagreements still exists between the timing and amplitude of the Qinghai-Tibetan uplift and the evolution of central Asian aridity since the early Pliocene.

The Role of Memory and Integration in Early Time Concepts.

Science.gov (United States)

Levin, Iris; And Others

1984-01-01

A total of 630 boys and girls from kindergarten to second grade were asked to compare durations that differ in beginning times with those that differ in ending times. Possible sources of children's failure to integrate beginning and end points when comparing durations were discussed. (Author/CI)

18F-FET PET prior to recurrent high-grade glioma re-irradiation-additional prognostic value of dynamic time-to-peak analysis and early static summation images?

Science.gov (United States)

Fleischmann, Daniel F; Unterrainer, Marcus; Bartenstein, Peter; Belka, Claus; Albert, Nathalie L; Niyazi, Maximilian

2017-04-01

Most high-grade gliomas (HGG) recur after initial multimodal therapy and re-irradiation (Re-RT) has been shown to be a valuable re-treatment option in selected patients. We evaluated the prognostic value of dynamic time-to-peak analysis and early static summation images in O-(2- 18 F-fluoroethyl)-l-tyrosine ( 18 F-FET) PET for patients treated with Re-RT ± concomitant bevacizumab. We retrospectively analyzed 72 patients suffering from recurrent HGG with 18 F-FET PET prior to Re-RT. PET analysis revealed the maximal tumor-to-background-ratio (TBR max ), the biological tumor volume, the number of PET-foci and pattern of time-activity-curves (TACs; increasing vs. decreasing). Furthermore, the novel PET parameters early TBR max (at 5-15 min post-injection) and minimal time-to-peak (TTP min ) were evaluated. Additional analysis was performed for gender, age, KPS, O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase methylation status, isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 mutational status, WHO grade and concomitant bevacizumab therapy. The influence of PET and clinical parameters on post-recurrence survival (PRS) was investigated. Shorter TTP min was related to shorter PRS after Re-RT with 6 months for TTP min  25 min (p = 0.027). TTP min had a significant impact on PRS both on univariate (p = 0.027; continuous) and multivariate analysis (p = 0.011; continuous). Other factors significantly related to PRS on multivariate analysis were increasing vs. decreasing TACs (p = 0.008) and Karnofsky Performance Score (p = 0.015; PET parameters were not significantly related to PRS on univariate analysis. Dynamic 18 F-FET PET with TTP min provides a high prognostic value for recurrent HGG prior to Re-RT, whereas early TBR max does not. Dynamic 18 F-FET PET using TTP min might help to personalize Re-RT treatment regimens in future through voxelwise TTP min analysis for dose painting purposes and PET-guided dose escalation.

How do you manage early or late clock-ins? .

Science.gov (United States)

Marlowe, Cathy L

2013-08-01

My current practice has historically been very strict with hourly employees. The workday is 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. for most employees. They are to clock in and out at exactly those times unless overtime has been approved. (Staff working with late patients are exempt.) My business manager is constantly fighting over clock-ins 15 to 20 minutes early or late, with similar clock-outs. Staff may have a stop to make and would like to make up those 15 minutes. We do grant paid time off in an initial minimum block of 30 minutes to assist with some of this. ... The issue is not overtime, as we're well aware that we have to pay for it when appropriate. It's simply to streamline our policy and make it fair. ... I'm looking for practice policies that deal with employee variances from the 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. clock-ins. For example, someone wants to come in 30 minutes early in order to leave 30 minutes early for an appointment. Or someone comes in 22 minutes late due to traffic and wants either to make it up or to take the minimal half-hour paid-time-off time.

Effect of early and late rehabilitation onset in a chronic rat model of ischemic stroke- assessment of motor cortex signaling and gait functionality over time.

Science.gov (United States)

Nielsen, Rasmus K; Samson, Katrine L; Simonsen, Daniel; Jensen, Winnie

2013-11-01

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of ischemic stroke and onset of subsequent rehabilitation of gait function in rats. Nine male Sprague-Dawley rats were instrumented with a 16-channel intracortical (IC) electrode array. An ischemic stroke was induced within the hindlimb area of the left motor cortex. The rehabilitation consisted of a repetitive training paradigm over 28 days, initiated on day one ("Early-onset", 5 rats) and on day seven, ("Late-onset", 4 rats). Data were obtained from IC microstimulation tests, treadmill walking tests, and beam walking tests. Results revealed an expansion of the hindlimb representation within the motor cortex area and an increased amount of cortical firing rate modulation for the "Early-onset" group but not for the "Late-onset" group. Kinematic data revealed a significant change for both intervention groups. However, this difference was larger for the "Early-onset" group. Results from the beam walking test showed functional performance deficits following stroke which returned to pre-stroke level after the rehabilitative training. The results from the present study indicate the existence of a critical time period following stroke where onset of rehabilitative training may be more effective and related to a higher degree of true recovery.

Parental experiences of early postnatal discharge

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nilsson, Ingrid; Danbjørg, Dorthe B.; Aagaard, Hanne

2015-01-01

that included both parents, having influence on time of discharge, and getting individualised and available support focused on developing and recognising their own experiences of taking care of the baby. Conclusions and implications for practice the new parents׳ experiences of early discharge and becoming...

A Cost-effectiveness Analysis of Early vs Late Tracheostomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, C Carrie; Rudmik, Luke

2016-10-01

The timing of tracheostomy in critically ill patients requiring mechanical ventilation is controversial. An important consideration that is currently missing in the literature is an evaluation of the economic impact of an early tracheostomy strategy vs a late tracheostomy strategy. To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the early tracheostomy strategy vs the late tracheostomy strategy. This economic analysis was performed using a decision tree model with a 90-day time horizon. The economic perspective was that of the US health care third-party payer. The primary outcome was the incremental cost per tracheostomy avoided. Probabilities were obtained from meta-analyses of randomized clinical trials. Costs were obtained from the published literature and the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project database. A multivariate probabilistic sensitivity analysis was performed to account for uncertainty surrounding mean values used in the reference case. The reference case demonstrated that the cost of the late tracheostomy strategy was $45 943.81 for 0.36 of effectiveness. The cost of the early tracheostomy strategy was $31 979.12 for 0.19 of effectiveness. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio for the late tracheostomy strategy compared with the early tracheostomy strategy was $82 145.24 per tracheostomy avoided. With a willingness-to-pay threshold of $50 000, the early tracheostomy strategy is cost-effective with 56% certainty. The adaptation of an early vs a late tracheostomy strategy depends on the priorities of the decision-maker. Up to a willingness-to-pay threshold of $80 000 per tracheostomy avoided, the early tracheostomy strategy has a higher probability of being the more cost-effective intervention.

Early rehabilitation in Resurfacing, standard and large head THA patients

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Penny, Jeannette Østergaard; Varmarken, Jens-Erik; Ovesen, Ole

2009-01-01

in the resurfacing patient may impair the early rehabilitation. We aimed to investigate early differences in rehabilitation parameters amongst the different groups. Materials and methods We randomized to resurfacing (n=20), standard 28 mm THA (n=19) and large head MoM THA (n=12). We recorded operation time, blood...

Micromorphological Approaches to the Formation and Biographies of Early Medieval Towns in Northwest Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wouters, Barbora

Even after decades of intensive research, the complex stratigraphy of many early medieval and Viking towns in continental Europe remains poorly understood. Debate continues about crucial aspects such as their origins, the changes they underwent through time and, in some cases, their supposed...... on - the youngest early medieval urban phases 7. Post-depositional transformations This framework makes it possible to gain a deeper, more detailed understanding of the sites’ evolution through time as well their spatial organisation, and to mutually compare them without losing sight of their individual...... idiosyncrasies. At the same time, this approach bypasses a generalising discourse of early medieval towns. By juxtaposing the results of these five case studies with existing debates on early medieval towns, a number of set historical narratives can be challenged....

Evaluation of Early-Age Concrete Compressive Strength with Ultrasonic Sensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoon, Hyejin; Kim, Young Jin; Kim, Hee Seok; Kang, Jun Won; Koh, Hyun-Moo

2017-08-07

Surface wave velocity measurement of concrete using ultrasonic sensors requires testing on only one side of a member. Thus, it is applicable to concrete cast inside a form and is often used to detect flaws and evaluate the compressive strength of hardened concrete. Predicting the in situ concrete strength at a very early stage inside the form helps with determining the appropriate form removal time and reducing construction time and costs. In this paper, the feasibility of using surface wave velocities to predict the strength of in situ concrete inside the form at a very early stage was evaluated. Ultrasonic sensors were used to measure a series of surface waves for concrete inside a form in the first 24 h after placement. A continuous wavelet transform was used to compute the travel time of the propagating surface waves. The cylindrical compressive strength and penetration resistance tests were also performed during the test period. Four mixtures and five curing temperatures were used for the specimens. The surface wave velocity was confirmed to be applicable to estimating the concrete strength at a very early age in wall-like elements. An empirical formula is proposed for evaluating the early-age compressive strength of concrete considering the 95% prediction intervals.

Parametric Room Acoustic workflows with real-time acoustic simulation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Parigi, Dario

2017-01-01

The paper investigates and assesses the opportunities that real-time acoustic simulation offer to engage in parametric acoustics workflow and to influence architectural designs from early design stages......The paper investigates and assesses the opportunities that real-time acoustic simulation offer to engage in parametric acoustics workflow and to influence architectural designs from early design stages...

Timing of the Toarcian Ocean Anoxic Event (Early Jurassic) from correlation of astronomically forced global stratigraphic sections

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, C.; Hinnov, L. A.; Hesselbo, S. P.

2012-12-01

The Early Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (OAE) in the Early Jurassic Period is associated with a major negative carbon isotope excursion (CIE), mass extinction, marine transgression and global warming. The Toarcian OAE is thought to have been caused by flood basalt magmatism, and may have been a trigger for mass extinction. However, these proposed causes of the Toarcian OAE and associated biotic crisis are not adequately resolved by a precise chronology. The duration of the Toarcian OAE has been estimated to be anywhere from ~0.12 to ~0.9 Myr, most recently 0.74 to 3.26 Myr from U-Pb dating. The CIE associated with the Toarcian OAE has a similar pattern at numerous localities, and there is evidence for astronomical forcing of marine carbon isotopes. Here we estimate a duration of ~625 kyr for the main negative CIE, ~860 kyr for the polymorphum zone and >1.58 Myr for the levisoni zone based on 405-kyr astronomical eccentricity tuning of the marine section at Peniche (Portugal). This 405-kyr tuned series provides a ~2.5 Myr continuous high-resolution chronology through the Early Toarcian. There are 6, or possibly 7 short eccentricity cycles in the main CIE interval at Peniche. To confirm this astronomically based estimate, we analyzed five other sections at Yorkshire (UK), Dotternhausen (Germany), Valdorbia (Italy), Mechowo (Poland) and Serrucho, Neuquén (Argentina), from marine and terrestrial carbon isotopic series. These six stratigraphic sections from Early Jurassic western Tethys and eastern Panthalassa record the Toarcian OAE with ~6 prominent carbon isotope cycles in the CIE that provide us a 600 ± 100 kyr duration. The Peniche 405 kyr-tuned series indicates that the pre- and post-CIE intervals experienced strong precession-eccentricity-forced climate change, whereas the CIE interval is marked by dominant obliquity forcing. These dramatic and abrupt changes in astronomical response in the carbon isotopes point to fundamental shifting in the Early Toarcian

Defining biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy and timing of early salvage radiotherapy. Informing the debate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Budaeus, Lars; Schiffmann, Jonas; Graefen, Markus; Huland, Hartwig; Tennstedt, Pierre; Siegmann, Alessandra; Boehmer, Dirk; Budach, Volker; Bartkowiak, Detlef; Wiegel, Thomas

2017-01-01

The optimal prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level after radical prostatectomy (RP) for defining biochemical recurrence and initiating salvage radiation therapy (SRT) is still debatable. Whereas adjuvant or extremely early SRT irrespective of PSA progression might be overtreatment for some patients, SRT at PSA >0.2 ng/ml might be undertreatment for others. The current study addresses the optimal timing of radiation therapy after RP. Cohort 1 comprised 293 men with PSA 0.1-0.19 ng/ml after RP. Cohort 2 comprised 198 men with SRT. PSA progression and metastases were assessed in cohort 1. In cohort 2, we compared freedom from progression according to pre-SRT PSA (0.03-0.19 vs. 0.2-0.499 ng/ml). Multivariable Cox regression analyses predicted progression after SRT. In cohort 1, 281 (95.9%) men had further PSA progression ≥0.2 ng/ml and 27 (9.2%) men developed metastases within a median follow-up of 74.3 months. In cohort 2, we recorded improved freedom from progression according to lower pre-SRT PSA (0.03-0.19 vs. 0.2-0.499 ng/ml: 69 vs. 53%; log-rank p = 0.051). Patients with higher pre-SRT PSA ≥0.2 ng/ml were at a higher risk of progression after SRT (hazard ratio: 1.8; p [de

Early resistance change and stress/electromigration evolution in near bamboo interconnects

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Petrescu, V.; Mouthaan, A.J.; Dima, G.; Govoreanu, B.; Mitrea, O.; Profirescu, M.

1997-01-01

A complete description for early resistance change and mechanical stress evolution in near-bamboo interconnects, related to the electromigration, is given in this paper. The proposed model, for the first time, combines the stress/vacancy concentration evolution with the early resistance change of

Keynes' early recognition and use of the concept of time

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Mogens Ove

2011-01-01

Time is of the essence of Keynes work. Of particular interest is that Keynes wrote this paper before he had completed his participation in the lectures of two philosophers, who were both intrigued by notions of time – G. E. Moore and J.M.E. McTaggart – two outstanding representatives of the “Disc...

Early adolescent symptoms of social phobia prospectively predict alcohol use.

Science.gov (United States)

Dahne, Jennifer; Banducci, Anne N; Kurdziel, Gretchen; MacPherson, Laura

2014-11-01

The current study examined whether social phobia (SP) symptoms in early adolescence prospectively predicted alcohol use through middle adolescence in a community sample of youth. Data from an ongoing longitudinal study (N = 277) of mechanisms of HIV-related risk behaviors in youth were used to assess the extent to which SP symptoms in early adolescence (mean [SD] age = 11.00 years [0.81]) would predict alcohol use across five annual assessment waves. Adolescents completed measures of SP symptoms, depressive symptoms, and alcohol use at each wave. Higher SP symptoms at baseline predicted higher average odds of alcohol consumption during subsequent waves but did not significantly predict an increase in the odds of alcohol use as a function of time. Within a lagged model, SP symptoms measured at a prior assessment point (1 year earlier) predicted greater odds of drinking alcohol at the following assessment point. Importantly, alcohol use did not significantly predict SP symptoms over time. These results suggest that early SP symptoms are an important risk factor for increased odds of subsequent alcohol use. The present findings highlight that elevated SP symptoms place adolescents at risk for early alcohol use. Early interventions targeting SP symptoms may be crucial for the prevention of problematic alcohol use in early to mid-adolescence. Implications for prevention and treatment approaches are discussed.

Assessing the Clinical Role of Genetic Markers of Early-Onset Prostate Cancer Among High-Risk Men Enrolled in Prostate Cancer Early Detection

Science.gov (United States)

Hughes, Lucinda; Zhu, Fang; Ross, Eric; Gross, Laura; Uzzo, Robert G.; Chen, David Y. T.; Viterbo, Rosalia; Rebbeck, Timothy R.; Giri, Veda N.

2011-01-01

Background Men with familial prostate cancer (PCA) and African American men are at risk for developing PCA at younger ages. Genetic markers predicting early-onset PCA may provide clinically useful information to guide screening strategies for high-risk men. We evaluated clinical information from six polymorphisms associated with early-onset PCA in a longitudinal cohort of high-risk men enrolled in PCA early detection with significant African American participation. Methods Eligibility criteria include ages 35–69 with a family history of PCA or African American race. Participants undergo screening and biopsy per study criteria. Six markers associated with early-onset PCA (rs2171492 (7q32), rs6983561 (8q24), rs10993994 (10q11), rs4430796 (17q12), rs1799950 (17q21), and rs266849 (19q13)) were genotyped. Cox models were used to evaluate time to PCA diagnosis and PSA prediction for PCA by genotype. Harrell’s concordance index was used to evaluate predictive accuracy for PCA by PSA and genetic markers. Results 460 participants with complete data and ≥1 follow-up visit were included. 56% were African American. Among African American men, rs6983561 genotype was significantly associated with earlier time to PCA diagnosis (p=0.005) and influenced prediction for PCA by the PSA (p<0.001). When combined with PSA, rs6983561 improved predictive accuracy for PCA compared to PSA alone among African American men (PSA= 0.57 vs. PSA+rs6983561=0.75, p=0.03). Conclusions Early-onset marker rs6983561 adds potentially useful clinical information for African American men undergoing PCA risk assessment. Further study is warranted to validate these findings. Impact Genetic markers of early-onset PCA have potential to refine and personalize PCA early detection for high-risk men. PMID:22144497

Vocational Preferences of Early Adolescents: Their Development in Social Context.

Science.gov (United States)

Vondracek, Fred W.; Silbereisen, Rainer K.; Reitzle, Matthias; Wiesner, Margit

1999-01-01

This study compared the timing of early vocational preferences in young adolescents from former East Germany and West Germany. Results suggested that as the memory of the Communist system fades and as younger adolescents have had less exposure to it, East-West differences tend to disappear. The formation of early vocational preferences was…

Decision time horizon for music genre classification using short time features

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ahrendt, Peter; Meng, Anders; Larsen, Jan

2004-01-01

In this paper music genre classification has been explored with special emphasis on the decision time horizon and ranking of tapped-delay-line short-time features. Late information fusion as e.g. majority voting is compared with techniques of early information fusion such as dynamic PCA (DPCA......). The most frequently suggested features in the literature were employed including mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCC), linear prediction coefficients (LPC), zero-crossing rate (ZCR), and MPEG-7 features. To rank the importance of the short time features consensus sensitivity analysis is applied...

English connections in the time of Knut the Great - material from Viborg

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Roesdahl, Else

2007-01-01

On Viborg's English connections - particularly at the time of Knut the Great (early 11th century)......On Viborg's English connections - particularly at the time of Knut the Great (early 11th century)...

Triple diagnostics for early detection of ambivalent necrotizing fasciitis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hietbrink, Falco; Bode, Lonneke G.; Riddez, Louis; Leenen, Luke P H; van Dijk, MR

2016-01-01

Background: Necrotizing fasciitis is an uncommon, rapidly progressive and potential lethal condition. Over the last decade time to surgery decreased and outcome improved, most likely due to increased awareness and more timely referral. Early recognition is key to improve mortality and morbidity.

Early versus late tracheostomy in cardiovascular intensive care patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Puentes, Wilfredo; Jerath, Angela; Djaiani, George; Cabrerizo Sanchez, Rosa; Wąsowicz, Marcin

2016-01-01

Benefits of tracheostomy have been well established. Most of the literature, refers these benefits to general intensive care population, excluding cardiac surgery or including only small number of these patients. On the other hand, there is no clear definition describing the proper time to perform the procedure and defining what are potential benefits of early compared to late tracheostomy. This retrospective cohort aims to assess the potential benefits of early tracheostomy on post-operative outcomes, length of stay and post-tracheostomy complications within cardiac surgical population. After obtaining REB approval, we conducted a retrospective chart review in a single, tertiary care institution, identifying patients who underwent tracheostomy after cardiac surgery from 1999 to 2006. Time-to-tracheostomy was defined as "early" if tracheostomy. 32 (22%) patients underwent early tracheostomy and 115 (78%) late tracheostomy. Incidence of atrial fibrillation (31.2% vs 61.7%; P = 0.003), kidney dysfunction (6.3% vs 27.2%; P=0.015) and kidney failure 18.8% vs 43.5%; P = 0.013) were lower in the early tracheostomy group. There were no differences on post tracheostomy infection or presence of acute respiratory distress syndrome. Both the ICU and hospital length of stay were significantly shorter in early tracheostomy group, 21.5 (ET) vs 36.9 (LT) days and 37.5 (ET) vs 57.6 (LT) days respectively. There were no differences in mortality between groups. There are significant benefits in reduction of postoperative morbidities with overall shorter ICU and hospital stay. These benefits may promote faster patient rehabilitation with reduced healthcare costs.

Early versus late enteral nutrition in intensive care units. Analysis of results

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sara Bermejo de las Heras

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Malnutrition is particularly prevalent in Intensive Care Units (ICU and associated with poor clinical outcomes. Enteral nutrition (EN has multiple benefits in critically ill patients, particularly when started early at the ICU. A series of studies corroborate this fact; however, other studies present conflicting results. Objective: To assess the clinical results of ICU patients receiving EN, according to EN starting time (early versus late. Patients and method: Basic variables were recorded in all ICU patients who received NE along the study period, as well as time from ICU admission to the start of EN, ICU length of stay, characteristic gastrointestinal complications of EN (gastric residue, constipation, diarrhea, vomiting, regurgitation, abdominal distension and bronchoaspiration and mortality. Results: There was a significant association between early EN and mortality reduction. However, there were no differences in ICU length of stay according to EN starting time. The most frequent complications in the sample were high gastric residue (17.9%, abdominal distension (22.5% and constipation (42.2%. However, no significant differences were observed as a function of the EN starting time. Discussion: Our results, although discrepant at times, do not contradict with those of other studies. EN has shown to be effective as a therapeutic strategy. Therefore, it is recommended the early start of EN in the ICU.

Design of flood early warning system with wifi network based on smartphone

Science.gov (United States)

Supani, Ahyar; Andriani, Yuli; Taqwa, Ahmad

2017-11-01

Today, the development using internet of things enables activities surrounding us to be monitored, controlled, predicted and calculated remotely through connections to the internet network such as monitoring activities of long-distance flood warning with information technology. Applying an information technology in the field of flood early warning has been developed in the world, either connected to internet network or not. The internet network that has been done in this paper is the design of WiFi network to access data of rainfall, water level and flood status at any time with a smartphone coming from flood early warning system. The results obtained when test of data accessing with smartphone are in form of rainfall and water level graphs against time and flood status indicators consisting of 3 flood states: Standby 2, Standby 1 and Flood. It is concluded that data are from flood early warning system has been able to accessed and displayed on smartphone via WiFi network in any time and real time.

Early-matter-like dark energy and the cosmic microwave background

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aurich, R.; Lustig, S.

2016-01-01

Early-matter-like dark energy is defined as a dark energy component whose equation of state approaches that of cold dark matter (CDM) at early times. Such a component is an ingredient of unified dark matter (UDM) models, which unify the cold dark matter and the cosmological constant of the ΛCDM concordance model into a single dark fluid. Power series expansions in conformal time of the perturbations of the various components for a model with early-matter-like dark energy are provided. They allow the calculation of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy from the primordial initial values of the perturbations. For a phenomenological UDM model, which agrees with the observations of the local Universe, the CMB anisotropy is computed and compared with the CMB data. It is found that a match to the CMB observations is possible if the so-called effective velocity of sound c eff of the early-matter-like dark energy component is very close to zero. The modifications on the CMB temperature and polarization power spectra caused by varying the effective velocity of sound are studied

Early Self-Regulation, Early Self-Regulatory Change, and Their Longitudinal Relations to Adolescents' Academic, Health, and Mental Well-Being Outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Howard, Steven J; Williams, Kate E

2018-05-16

To evaluate the extent to which early self-regulation and early changes in self-regulation are associated with adolescents' academic, health, and mental well-being outcomes. Data were collected from 1 of the cohorts in a large dual-cohort cross-sequential study of Australian children. This cohort consisted of a nationally representative data set of 4983 Australian children assessed at 4 to 5 years of age, who were followed longitudinally to 14 to 15 years of age. Using regression within a path analysis framework, we first sought to investigate associations of early self-regulation (at 4-5 years and 6-7 years of age) with a broad range of academic, health, and mental well-being outcomes in adolescence (at 14-15 years). We next investigated the extent to which an early change in self-regulation (from 4 to 7 years of age) predicted these adolescents' outcomes. Early self-regulation predicted the full range of adolescents' outcomes considered such that a 1-SD increase in self-regulation problems was associated with a 1.5- to 2.5-times greater risk of more-negative outcomes. An early positive change in self-regulation was associated with a reduced risk of these negative outcomes for 11 of the 13 outcomes considered. These results suggest the potential of early self-regulation interventions, in particular, in influencing long-term academic, health, and well-being trajectories.

Cognitive advantages and disadvantages in early and late bilinguals.

Science.gov (United States)

Pelham, Sabra D; Abrams, Lise

2014-03-01

Previous research has documented advantages and disadvantages of early bilinguals, defined as learning a 2nd language by school age and using both languages since that time. Relative to monolinguals, early bilinguals manifest deficits in lexical access but benefits in executive function. We investigated whether becoming bilingual after childhood (late bilinguals) can produce the cognitive advantages and disadvantages typical of early bilinguals. Participants were 30 monolingual English speakers, 30 late English-Spanish bilinguals, and 30 early Spanish-English bilinguals who completed a picture naming task (lexical access) and an attentional network task (executive function). Late and early bilinguals manifested equivalent cognitive effects in both tasks, demonstrating lexical access deficits and executive function benefits. These findings provide support for the hypothesis that cognitive effects associated with bilingualism arise as the result of proficient, habitual use of 2 languages and not of developmental changes associated with becoming bilingual during childhood.

Healthy Children, Healthy Lives: The Wellness Guide for Early Childhood Programs

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Bergen, Sharon; Robertson, Rachel

2013-01-01

Early childhood is a critical time in human development. Understanding and supporting children's wellness early on can make the greatest impact on physical, social and emotional, and cognitive health throughout childhood and adulthood. "Healthy Children, Healthy Lives" provides a comprehensive collection of checklists and research ­based…

Regional 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Hypometabolism is Associated with Higher Apathy Scores Over Time in Early Alzheimer Disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Gatchel, Jennifer R; Donovan, Nancy J; Locascio, Joseph J; Becker, J Alex; Rentz, Dorene M; Sperling, Reisa A; Johnson, Keith A; Marshall, Gad A

2017-07-01

Apathy is among the earliest and most pervasive neuropsychiatric symptoms in prodromal and mild Alzheimer disease (AD) dementia that correlates with functional impairment and disease progression. We investigated the association of apathy with regional 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) metabolism in cognitively normal, mild cognitive impairment, and AD dementia subjects from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative database. Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. 57 North American research sites. 402 community dwelling elders. Apathy was assessed using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire. Baseline FDG metabolism in five regions implicated in the neurobiology of apathy and AD was investigated in relationship to apathy at baseline (cross-sectional general linear model) and longitudinally (mixed random/fixed effect model). Covariates included age, sex, diagnosis, apolipoprotein E genotype, premorbid intelligence, cognition, and antidepressant use. Cross-sectional analysis revealed that posterior cingulate hypometabolism, diagnosis, male sex, and antidepressant use were associated with higher apathy scores. Longitudinal analysis revealed that the interaction of supramarginal hypometabolism and time, posterior cingulate hypometabolism, and antidepressant use were associated with higher apathy scores across time; only supramarginal hypometabolism was positively related to rate of increase of apathy. Results support an association of apathy with hypometabolism in parietal regions commonly affected in early stages of AD, rather than medial frontal regions implicated in the neurobiology of apathy in later stages. Further work is needed to substantiate whether this localization is specific to apathy rather than to disease stage, and to investigate the potential role of AD proteinopathies in the pathogenesis of apathy. Copyright © 2017 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Roentgenographic diagnosis of early stomach cancer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Suh, Jung Ho; Choi, Byung Sook; Choi, Heung Jai [Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

1970-10-15

The most significant feature of early carcinoma, be defined as the gastric carcinoma confined in mucosa and submucosal regardless of its size and shape, is its excellent prognosis; 5 year survival rate after operation in early stomach carcinoma amounts to 93 percent in comparison with around 25 percent in advanced carcinoma, and so the detection of this early stomach carcinoma is most important subject to minimize the mortality from stomach carcinoma at the present time. For the diagnosis of the early stomach carcinoma the radiographic study, cytology and gastroscopic examination are practised, and of those the radiographic study has been revealed commonly best results, but by usual method of upper G-I study it is often difficult to diagnose accurately. Therefore, we have been employed the barium and air double contrast method by insertion of the gastric tube. This method is simple and by this method, the adequate amount of air may introduced into the stomach for the best visualization of the mucosal pattern and gastric juice may also aspirated in a case of which the stomach wall could not be coated by barium because of excessive gastric juice. Summary of the results of this studies of early carcinoma detection at the department of radiology, Severance Hospital during 6 months since May 1969 are as followings; of 1407 cases taken upper G-I study with double contrast method, 17 cases were diagnosed as possible early stomach carcinoma radiographically, and then only 6 cases had surgical resection of stomach. Of these 2 cases were confirmed pathologically and one was considered as precancerots lesion.

Roentgenographic diagnosis of early stomach cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suh, Jung Ho; Choi, Byung Sook; Choi, Heung Jai

1970-01-01

The most significant feature of early carcinoma, be defined as the gastric carcinoma confined in mucosa and submucosal regardless of its size and shape, is its excellent prognosis; 5 year survival rate after operation in early stomach carcinoma amounts to 93 percent in comparison with around 25 percent in advanced carcinoma, and so the detection of this early stomach carcinoma is most important subject to minimize the mortality from stomach carcinoma at the present time. For the diagnosis of the early stomach carcinoma the radiographic study, cytology and gastroscopic examination are practised, and of those the radiographic study has been revealed commonly best results, but by usual method of upper G-I study it is often difficult to diagnose accurately. Therefore, we have been employed the barium and air double contrast method by insertion of the gastric tube. This method is simple and by this method, the adequate amount of air may introduced into the stomach for the best visualization of the mucosal pattern and gastric juice may also aspirated in a case of which the stomach wall could not be coated by barium because of excessive gastric juice. Summary of the results of this studies of early carcinoma detection at the department of radiology, Severance Hospital during 6 months since May 1969 are as followings; of 1407 cases taken upper G-I study with double contrast method, 17 cases were diagnosed as possible early stomach carcinoma radiographically, and then only 6 cases had surgical resection of stomach. Of these 2 cases were confirmed pathologically and one was considered as precancerots lesion

Increased Pre- and Early-Adolescent Stress in Youth with a Family History of Substance Use Disorder and Early Substance Use Initiation.

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Charles, Nora E; Mathias, Charles W; Acheson, Ashley; Bray, Bethany C; Ryan, Stacy R; Lake, Sarah L; Liang, Yuanyuan; Dougherty, Donald M

2015-10-01

Individuals with a family history of substance use disorders (Family History Positive) are more likely to have early-onset substance use (i.e., prior to age 15), which may contribute to their higher rates of substance use disorders. One factor that may differentiate Family History Positive youth who engage in early-onset substance use from other Family History Positive youth is exposure to stressors. The aim of this study was to quantify how exposure to stressors from age 11-15 varies as a function of family history of substance use disorders and early-onset substance use. Self-reported stressors were prospectively compared in a sample of predominately (78.9%) Hispanic youth that included 68 Family History Positive youth (50% female) who initiated substance use by age 15 and demographically matched non-users with (n = 136; 52.9% female) and without (n = 75; 54.7% female) family histories of substance use disorders. Stressors were assessed at 6-month intervals for up to 4 years. Both the severity of stressors and the degree to which stressors were caused by an individual's own behavior were evaluated. All three groups differed from one another in overall exposure to stressors and rates of increase in stressors over time, with Family History Positive youth who engaged in early-onset substance use reporting the greatest exposure to stressors. Group differences were more pronounced for stressors caused by the participants' behavior. Family History Positive users had higher cumulative severity of stressors of this type, both overall and across time. These results indicate greater exposure to stressors among Family History Positive youth with early-onset substance use, and suggest that higher rates of behavior-dependent stressors may be particularly related to early-onset use.

Identification of early zygotic genes in the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti and discovery of a motif involved in early zygotic genome activation.

Science.gov (United States)

Biedler, James K; Hu, Wanqi; Tae, Hongseok; Tu, Zhijian

2012-01-01

During early embryogenesis the zygotic genome is transcriptionally silent and all mRNAs present are of maternal origin. The maternal-zygotic transition marks the time over which embryogenesis changes its dependence from maternal RNAs to zygotically transcribed RNAs. Here we present the first systematic investigation of early zygotic genes (EZGs) in a mosquito species and focus on genes involved in the onset of transcription during 2-4 hr. We used transcriptome sequencing to identify the "pure" (without maternal expression) EZGs by analyzing transcripts from four embryonic time ranges of 0-2, 2-4, 4-8, and 8-12 hr, which includes the time of cellular blastoderm formation and up to the start of gastrulation. Blast of 16,789 annotated transcripts vs. the transcriptome reads revealed evidence for 63 (P<0.001) and 143 (P<0.05) nonmaternally derived transcripts having a significant increase in expression at 2-4 hr. One third of the 63 EZG transcripts do not have predicted introns compared to 10% of all Ae. aegypti genes. We have confirmed by RT-PCR that zygotic transcription starts as early as 2-3 hours. A degenerate motif VBRGGTA was found to be overrepresented in the upstream sequences of the identified EZGs using a motif identification software called SCOPE. We find evidence for homology between this motif and the TAGteam motif found in Drosophila that has been implicated in EZG activation. A 38 bp sequence in the proximal upstream sequence of a kinesin light chain EZG (KLC2.1) contains two copies of the mosquito motif. This sequence was shown to support EZG transcription by luciferase reporter assays performed on injected early embryos, and confers early zygotic activity to a heterologous promoter from a divergent mosquito species. The results of these studies are consistent with the model of early zygotic genome activation via transcriptional activators, similar to what has been found recently in Drosophila.

Identification of early zygotic genes in the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti and discovery of a motif involved in early zygotic genome activation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James K Biedler

Full Text Available During early embryogenesis the zygotic genome is transcriptionally silent and all mRNAs present are of maternal origin. The maternal-zygotic transition marks the time over which embryogenesis changes its dependence from maternal RNAs to zygotically transcribed RNAs. Here we present the first systematic investigation of early zygotic genes (EZGs in a mosquito species and focus on genes involved in the onset of transcription during 2-4 hr. We used transcriptome sequencing to identify the "pure" (without maternal expression EZGs by analyzing transcripts from four embryonic time ranges of 0-2, 2-4, 4-8, and 8-12 hr, which includes the time of cellular blastoderm formation and up to the start of gastrulation. Blast of 16,789 annotated transcripts vs. the transcriptome reads revealed evidence for 63 (P<0.001 and 143 (P<0.05 nonmaternally derived transcripts having a significant increase in expression at 2-4 hr. One third of the 63 EZG transcripts do not have predicted introns compared to 10% of all Ae. aegypti genes. We have confirmed by RT-PCR that zygotic transcription starts as early as 2-3 hours. A degenerate motif VBRGGTA was found to be overrepresented in the upstream sequences of the identified EZGs using a motif identification software called SCOPE. We find evidence for homology between this motif and the TAGteam motif found in Drosophila that has been implicated in EZG activation. A 38 bp sequence in the proximal upstream sequence of a kinesin light chain EZG (KLC2.1 contains two copies of the mosquito motif. This sequence was shown to support EZG transcription by luciferase reporter assays performed on injected early embryos, and confers early zygotic activity to a heterologous promoter from a divergent mosquito species. The results of these studies are consistent with the model of early zygotic genome activation via transcriptional activators, similar to what has been found recently in Drosophila.

The flip side of “Spice”: The adverse effects of synthetic cannabinoids as discussed on a Swedish Internet forum

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Soussan Christophe

2014-04-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND - Synthetic cannabinoids in smoking mixtures (such as Spice or as raw powder are sold for recreational use as an alternative to herbal cannabis (hashish and marijuana. Although clinical case studies have documented an array of side effects, there is also information available at Internet based drug discussion forums. AIM - Our study investigates experiences of side effects from use of synthetic cannabinoids, as described and anonymously shared on Swedish online discussion forums. METHODS - A systematic search yielded 254 unique and publicly available self-reports from the Swedish forum flashback.org. These texts were analysed thematically, which resulted in 32 sub-themes, which were combined into three overarching themes. RESULTS & CONCLUSION - The experiences of negative side effects were described as (1 Adverse reactions during acute intoxication; (2 Hangover the day after intoxication; (3 Dependency and withdrawal after long-term use. The first theme was characterized by an array of fierce and unpredictable side effects as tachycardia, anxiety, fear and nausea. The acute intoxication reactions were congruent with the side effects published in clinical case studies. The day after intoxication included residual effects of dullness, apathy, nausea and headache. Long-term use resulted in dependency and experiences of being emotionally numb and disconnected. Furthermore, withdrawal was described as sweating, shaking, loss of appetite and insomnia. Both the hangover and the long-term effects have previously been given little scientific attention and need to be investigated further. Drug related Internet discussion forums constitute an overlooked source of information which can aid in the identification of previously unknown risks and effects

Ethnicity, Perceived Pubertal Timing, Externalizing Behaviors, and Depressive Symptoms among Black Adolescent Girls

Science.gov (United States)

Carter, Rona; Caldwell, Cleopatra Howard; Matusko, Niki; Antonucci, Toni; Jackson, James S.

2011-01-01

An accumulation of research evidence suggests that early pubertal timing plays a significant role in girls' behavioral and emotional problems. If early pubertal timing is a problematic event, then early developing Black girls should manifest evidence of this crisis because they tend to be the earliest to develop compared to other girls from…

GAS DEPLETION IN LOCAL GROUP DWARFS ON ∼250 kpc SCALES: RAM PRESSURE STRIPPING ASSISTED BY INTERNAL HEATING AT EARLY TIMES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nichols, Matthew; Bland-Hawthorn, Joss

2011-01-01

A recent survey of the Galaxy and M31 reveals that more than 90% of dwarf galaxies within 270 kpc of their host galaxy are deficient in H I gas. At such an extreme radius, the coronal halo gas is an order of magnitude too low to remove H I gas through ram pressure stripping for any reasonable orbit distribution. However, all dwarfs are known to have an ancient stellar population (∼> 10 Gyr) from early epochs of vigorous star formation which, through heating of H I, could allow the hot halo to remove this gas. Our model looks at the evolution of these dwarf galaxies analytically as the host-galaxy dark matter halo and coronal halo gas build up over cosmic time. The dwarf galaxies-treated as spherically symmetric, smooth distributions of dark matter and gas-experience early star formation, which sufficiently heats the gas, allowing it to be removed easily through tidal stripping by the host galaxy, or ram pressure stripping by a tenuous hot halo (n H = 3 x 10 -4 cm -3 at 50 kpc). This model of evolution is able to explain the observed radial distribution of gas-deficient and gas-rich dwarfs around the Galaxy and M31 if the dwarfs fell in at high redshift (z ∼ 3-10).

Early Childhood Systems: Transforming Early Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Kagan, Sharon Lynn, Ed.; Kauertz, Kristie, Ed.

2012-01-01

In this seminal volume, leading authorities strategize about how to create early childhood systems that transcend politics and economics to serve the needs of all young children. The authors offer different interpretations of the nature of early childhood systems, discuss the elements necessary to support their development, and examine how…

Can We Measure the Transition to Reading? General Outcome Measures and Early Literacy Development From Preschool to Early Elementary Grades

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Scott McConnell

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This study evaluated the extent to which existing measures met standards for a continuous suite of general outcome measures (GOMs assessing children’s early literacy from preschool through early elementary school. The study assessed 316 children from age 3 years (2 years prekindergarten through Grade 2, with 8 to 10 measures of language, alphabetic principle, phonological awareness, and beginning reading. We evaluated measures at each grade group against six standards for GOMs extracted from earlier work. We found that one measure of oral language met five or six standards at all grade levels, and several measures of phonological awareness and alphabetic principle showed promise across all five grade levels. Results are discussed in relation to ongoing research and development of a flexible and seamless system to assess children’s academic progress across time for effective prevention and remediation, as well as theoretical and empirical analyses in early literacy, early reading, and GOMs.

Millennial-scale climate variations recorded in Early Pliocene colour reflectance time series from the lacustrine Ptolemais Basin (NW Greece)

Science.gov (United States)

Steenbrink, J.; Kloosterboer-van Hoeve, M. L.; Hilgen, F. J.

2003-03-01

Quaternary climate proxy records show compelling evidence for climate variability on time scales of a few thousand years. The causes for these millennial-scale or sub-Milankovitch cycles are still poorly understood, not least due to the complex feedback mechanisms of large ice sheets during the Quaternary. We present evidence of millennial-scale climate variability in Early Pliocene lacustrine sediments from the intramontane Ptolemais Basin in northwestern Greece. The sediments are well exposed in a series of open-pit lignite mines and exhibit a distinct millennial-scale sedimentary cyclicity of alternating lignites and lacustrine marl beds that resulted from precession-induced variations in climate. The higher-frequency, millennial-scale cyclicity is particularly prominent within the grey-coloured marl segment of individual cycles. A stratigraphic interval of ˜115 ka, covering five precession-induced sedimentary cycles, was studied in nine parallel sections from two open-pit lignite mines located several km apart. High-resolution colour reflectance records were used to quantify the within-cycle variability and to determine its lateral continuity. Much of the within-cycle variability could be correlated between the parallel sections, even in fine detail, which suggests that these changes reflect basin-wide variations in environmental conditions related to (regional) climate fluctuations. Interbedded volcanic ash beds demonstrate the synchronicity of these fluctuations and spectral analysis of the reflectance time series shows a significant concentration of within-cycle variability at periods of ˜11, ˜5.5 and ˜2 ka. The occurrence of variability at such time scales at times before the intensification of the Northern Hemisphere glaciation suggests that they cannot solely have resulted from internal ice-sheet dynamics. Possible candidates include harmonics or combination tones of the main orbital cycles, variations in solar output or periodic motions of the Earth

Pain Catastrophizing Correlates with Early Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Outcome

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Geneviève Chaput

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Identifying which patients are most likely to be at risk of chronic pain and other postconcussion symptoms following mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI is a difficult clinical challenge. Objectives. To examine the relationship between pain catastrophizing, defined as the exaggerated negative appraisal of a pain experience, and early MTBI outcome. Methods. This cross-sectional design included 58 patients diagnosed with a MTBI. In addition to medical chart review, postconcussion symptoms were assessed by self-report at 1 month (Time 1 and 8 weeks (Time 2 after MTBI. Pain severity, psychological distress, level of functionality, and pain catastrophizing were measured by self-report at Time 2. Results. The pain catastrophizing subscales of rumination, magnification, and helplessness were significantly correlated with pain severity (r=.31 to .44, number of postconcussion symptoms reported (r=.35 to .45, psychological distress (r=.57 to .67, and level of functionality (r=-.43 to -.29. Pain catastrophizing scores were significantly higher for patients deemed to be at high risk of postconcussion syndrome (6 or more symptoms reported at both Time 1 and Time 2. Conclusions. Higher levels of pain catastrophizing were related to adverse early MTBI outcomes. The early detection of pain catastrophizing may facilitate goal-oriented interventions to prevent or minimize the development of chronic pain and other postconcussion symptoms.

Holding the baby: early mother-infant contact after childbirth and outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Redshaw, Maggie; Hennegan, Julie; Kruske, Sue

2014-05-01

to describe the timing, type and duration of initial infant contact and associated demographic and clinical factors in addition to investigating the impact of early contact on breastfeeding and maternal health and well being after birth. data from a recent population survey of women birthing in Queensland, Australia were used to describe the nature of the first hold and associated demographic characteristics. Initial comparisons, with subsequent adjustment for type of birthing facility and mode of childbirth, were used to assess associations between timing, type and duration of initial contact and outcomes. Further analyses were conducted to investigate a dose-response relationship between duration of first contact and outcomes. women who had an unassisted vaginal birth held their infant sooner, and for longer than women who had an assisted vaginal birth or caesarean and were more satisfied with their early contact. Multivariate models showed a number of demographic and clinical interventions contributing to timing, duration and type of first contact with type of birthing facility (public/private), area of residence, and assisted birth as prominent factors. For women who had a vaginal birth; early, skin-to-skin, and longer duration of initial contact were associated with high rates of breastfeeding initiation and breastfeeding at discharge, but not breastfeeding at 13 weeks. Some aspects of early contact were associated with improved maternal well being. However, these associations were not found for women who had a caesarean birth. With longer durations of first contact, a dose-response effect was found for breastfeeding. results of the study provide a description of current practice in Queensland, Australia and factors impacting on early contact. For vaginal births, findings add to the evidence in support of early skin-to-skin contact for an extended period. It is suggested that all research in this area should consider the effects of early contact separately for

Early markets for hydrogen vehicles. Bridging the gap between R and D and commercialisation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Godfroij, P.; Jeeninga, H.; Ros, M.E.; Bunzeck, I.G.

2007-05-01

Early markets for hydrogen vehicles are important to bridge the gap between the phase of R and D and mass-market introduction. New technologies do not necessarily need to comply with the high demanding preference of mass-market users from the start, though they can be first deployed in protected markets where their relative advantage can be utilised most efficiently. Within the EU funded HyLights project the potential of early markets for hydrogen vehicles are assessed by mapping potential users of early market applications and by defining their minimal performance level. To compare this minimal performance level with the current performance level of hydrogen technologies, conclusions can be drawn about potential early markets. As hydrogen technologies will develop in time the type of early markets could change in time as well: early markets will evolve gradually towards mass-market application. In order to describe both the requirements of the potential early market users and the performance of the technology analogously, key performance indicators are defined. These indicators describe those aspects of the technology that are of importance for the end user

Feeding prepubescent gilts a high-fat diet induces molecular changes in the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis and predicts early timing of puberty.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhuo, Yong; Zhou, Dongsheng; Che, Lianqiang; Fang, Zhengfeng; Lin, Yan; Wu, De

2014-01-01

The onset of puberty in females has been occurring earlier over the past decades, presumably as a result of improved nutrition in developed countries. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms responsible for the early attainment of puberty as a result of nutrition fortification remain largely unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the hormone and gene expression changes in prepubescent gilts fed a high-fat diet to investigate whether these changes could predict the early timing of puberty. Forty gilts were fed a daily basal diet (LE) or a basal diet with an additional 270 g/d or 340 g/d of fat (HE) during the prepubescent phase. Blood samples were collected during the prepubescent phase to detect hormone secretion changes in insulin-like growth factor-1, kisspeptin, estradiol, progesterone, and leptin. The gene expressions at the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis were examined on day 73 of the experiment (average age on day 177) during the prepubescent phase. An HE diet resulted in accelerated body weight gain and back-fat thickness at the P2 point compared with LE gilts during the prepubescent phase. Gilts that were fed HE diets attained puberty 12 d earlier than LE gilts, and a larger proportion of HE gilts reached puberty at day 180 or 190 of age. A postmortem analysis revealed a promoted development of the uterus and ovary tissue that was characterized by a 53.7% and 29.5% increase in the uterine and ovary weight, respectively, and an increased length of the uterine horn and oviduct tissue in HE gilts. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction revealed that HE gilts had higher Kiss-1, G protein-coupled receptor 54, gonadotropin-releasing hormone and estrogen receptor α mRNA expression levels in the hypothalamic anteroventral periventricular nucleus; the leptin receptor mRNA expression level was higher in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus and ovary tissue; the insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor expression was higher in the pituitary and

Gender Moderation of the Intergenerational Transmission and Stability of Depressive Symptoms from Early Adolescence to Early Adulthood.

Science.gov (United States)

Mason, W Alex; Chmelka, Mary B; Trudeau, Linda; Spoth, Richard L

2017-01-01

Factors that might exacerbate or mitigate the transmission of depressive symptoms from parents to adolescents and the continuity of depressive symptoms into early adulthood are poorly understood. This study tested the hypothesis that the intergenerational transmission and stability of depressive symptoms would be stronger for girls than boys over adolescence and into early adulthood, while considering the possibility that the pattern of gender moderation might vary depending on parent gender and developmental timing. The participants were 667 rural Midwestern adolescents (52 % female) and their parents. Survey data on maternal and paternal depressive symptoms (at youth age 11) and on adolescent and young adult depressive symptoms (at youth ages 11, 18, and 21) were analyzed via multiple group structural equation modeling. Maternal depressive symptoms predicted increased late adolescent depressive symptoms for girls but not boys, and adolescent depressive symptoms were more stable in girls. Paternal depressive symptoms predicted increased late adolescent depressive symptoms for all youth. The findings suggest the need for early, tailored interventions.

Early Childhood Screen Time and Parental Attitudes Toward Child Television Viewing in a Low-Income Latino Population Attending the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children

OpenAIRE

Asplund, Karin M.; Kair, Laura R.; Arain, Yassar H.; Cervantes, Marlene; Oreskovic, Nicolas M.; Zuckerman, Katharine E.

2015-01-01

Background: Early childhood media exposure is associated with obesity and multiple adverse health conditions. The aims of this study were to assess parental attitudes toward childhood television (TV) viewing in a low-income population and examine the extent to which child BMI, child/parent demographics, and household media environment are associated with adherence to American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidelines for screen time.

Under Cover at Pre-Angiosperm Times: A Cloaked Phasmatodean Insect from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Maomin; Béthoux, Olivier; Bradler, Sven; Jacques, Frédéric M. B.; Cui, Yingying; Ren, Dong

2014-01-01

Background Fossil species that can be conclusively identified as stem-relatives of stick- and leaf-insects (Phasmatodea) are extremely rare, especially for the Mesozoic era. This dearth in the paleontological record makes assessments on the origin and age of the group problematic and impedes investigations of evolutionary key aspects, such as wing development, sexual size dimorphism and plant mimicry. Methodology/Principal Findings A new fossil insect species, Cretophasmomima melanogramma Wang, Béthoux and Ren sp. nov., is described on the basis of one female and two male specimens recovered from the Yixian Formation (Early Cretaceous, ca. 126±4 mya; Inner Mongolia, NE China; known as ‘Jehol biota’). The occurrence of a female abdominal operculum and of a characteristic ‘shoulder pad’ in the forewing allows for the interpretation of a true stem-Phasmatodea. In contrast to the situation in extant forms, sexual size dimorphism is only weakly female-biased in this species. The peculiar wing coloration, viz. dark longitudinal veins, suggests that the leaf-shaped plant organ from the contemporaneous ‘gymnosperm’ Membranifolia admirabilis was used as model for crypsis. Conclusions/Significance As early as in the Early Cretaceous, some stem-Phasmatodea achieved effective leaf mimicry, although additional refinements characteristic of recent forms, such as curved fore femora, were still lacking. The diversification of small-sized arboreal insectivore birds and mammals might have triggered the acquisition of such primary defenses. PMID:24646906

Early Retirement in the Day-Care Sector

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gørtz, Mette

2012-01-01

the child-to-teacher ratio or the size of the institution and early retirement (ERP). However, working conditions measured by the social background of the children and the share of trained day-care teachers have a significant effect on the probability of early retirement. Finally, a poor health condition......This paper studies the role of working conditions and health for elderly female day-care teachers’ decision to enter early retirement. Entry into retirement is analysed in a duration framework that allows for unobserved heterogeneity in the baseline hazard. Data are from a Danish longitudinal data...... set based on administrative register records for 1997-2006. Working conditions is measured by four indicators. First, work pressure is measured by the child-to-teacher ratio, which varies across municipalities and over time. Second, working conditions is measured by the proportion of children...

Early Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease pathology in urban children: Friend versus Foe responses--it is time to face the evidence.

Science.gov (United States)

Calderón-Garcidueñas, Lilian; Franco-Lira, Maricela; Mora-Tiscareño, Antonieta; Medina-Cortina, Humberto; Torres-Jardón, Ricardo; Kavanaugh, Michael

2013-01-01

Chronic exposure to particulate matter air pollution is known to cause inflammation leading to respiratory- and cardiovascular-related sickness and death. Mexico City Metropolitan Area children exhibit an early brain imbalance in genes involved in oxidative stress, inflammation, and innate and adaptive immune responses. Early dysregulated neuroinflammation, brain microvascular damage, production of potent vasoconstrictors, and perturbations in the integrity of the neurovascular unit likely contribute to progressive neurodegenerative processes. The accumulation of misfolded proteins coincides with the anatomical distribution observed in the early stages of both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. We contend misfolding of hyperphosphorylated tau (HPπ), alpha-synuclein, and beta-amyloid could represent a compensatory early protective response to the sustained systemic and brain inflammation. However, we favor the view that the chronic systemic and brain dysregulated inflammation and the diffuse vascular damage contribute to the establishment of neurodegenerative processes with childhood clinical manifestations. Friend turns Foe early; therefore, implementation of neuroprotective measures to ameliorate or stop the inflammatory and neurodegenerative processes is warranted in exposed children. Epidemiological, cognitive, structural, and functional neuroimaging and mechanistic studies into the association between air pollution exposures and the development of neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration in children are of pressing importance for public health.

Early Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease Pathology in Urban Children: Friend versus Foe Responses—It Is Time to Face the Evidence

Science.gov (United States)

Calderón-Garcidueñas, Lilian; Franco-Lira, Maricela; Mora-Tiscareño, Antonieta; Medina-Cortina, Humberto; Torres-Jardón, Ricardo; Kavanaugh, Michael

2013-01-01

Chronic exposure to particulate matter air pollution is known to cause inflammation leading to respiratory- and cardiovascular-related sickness and death. Mexico City Metropolitan Area children exhibit an early brain imbalance in genes involved in oxidative stress, inflammation, and innate and adaptive immune responses. Early dysregulated neuroinflammation, brain microvascular damage, production of potent vasoconstrictors, and perturbations in the integrity of the neurovascular unit likely contribute to progressive neurodegenerative processes. The accumulation of misfolded proteins coincides with the anatomical distribution observed in the early stages of both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. We contend misfolding of hyperphosphorylated tau (HPπ), alpha-synuclein, and beta-amyloid could represent a compensatory early protective response to the sustained systemic and brain inflammation. However, we favor the view that the chronic systemic and brain dysregulated inflammation and the diffuse vascular damage contribute to the establishment of neurodegenerative processes with childhood clinical manifestations. Friend turns Foe early; therefore, implementation of neuroprotective measures to ameliorate or stop the inflammatory and neurodegenerative processes is warranted in exposed children. Epidemiological, cognitive, structural, and functional neuroimaging and mechanistic studies into the association between air pollution exposures and the development of neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration in children are of pressing importance for public health. PMID:23509683

Satisfaction with early retirement: making choices in the auto industry.

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Hardy, M A; Quadagno, J

1995-07-01

In recent decades, the expanded availability of early retirement incentive plans has allowed an increasing number of workers to retire at an age younger than normally allowed by their pension plans. On the surface, these retirement incentives appear to offer older workers more flexibility in deciding when to retire. However, the offer of early retirement incentives frequently occurs when employers are attempting to reduce employment; therefore, the opportunity for early retirement may be counterbalanced by downsizing goals that place older workers' continued employment in jeopardy. Early retirement incentive programs are thereby characterized by an unusual combination of inducement and coercion. In this study, we examined how the structure of the early retirement program shapes the way older male auto workers evaluate their retirement transitions. We conclude that the structure of the early retirement program, the timing of the retirement decision, and job security are important in framing the retirement transition and in distinguishing levels of satisfaction with the retirement experience.

A palaeoequatorial ornithischian and new constraints on early dinosaur diversification.

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Barrett, Paul M; Butler, Richard J; Mundil, Roland; Scheyer, Torsten M; Irmis, Randall B; Sánchez-Villagra, Marcelo R

2014-09-22

Current characterizations of early dinosaur evolution are incomplete: existing palaeobiological and phylogenetic scenarios are based on a fossil record dominated by saurischians and the implications of the early ornithischian record are often overlooked. Moreover, the timings of deep phylogenetic divergences within Dinosauria are poorly constrained owing to the absence of a rigorous chronostratigraphical framework for key Late Triassic-Early Jurassic localities. A new dinosaur from the earliest Jurassic of the Venezuelan Andes is the first basal ornithischian recovered from terrestrial deposits directly associated with a precise radioisotopic date and the first-named dinosaur from northern South America. It expands the early palaeogeographical range of Ornithischia to palaeoequatorial regions, an area sometimes thought to be devoid of early dinosaur taxa, and offers insights into early dinosaur growth rates, the evolution of sociality and the rapid tempo of the global dinosaur radiation following the end-Triassic mass extinction, helping to underscore the importance of the ornithischian record in broad-scale discussions of early dinosaur history. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Pathologic features of early inflammatory bowel disease.

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Finkelstein, Sydney D; Sasatomi, Eizaburo; Regueiro, Miguel

2002-03-01

Often the pathologic changes of IBD are subtle and may not be present in a proportion of biopsy specimens. In cases of early disease, the changes may be missed, and additional specimens should be taken after a period of time. Modifying factors, such as prebiopsy treatment and coexisting disease, should be considered. A forum to review cases and allow for communication between gastroenterologists and pathologists is especially useful for clinicopathologic correlation and assignment of a working diagnosis to each case. Careful attention to the pathologic features of early UC and CD would be most useful when evaluating new therapies for IBD.

WMAP - A Glimpse of the Early Universe

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Wollack, Edward

2009-01-01

The early Universe was incredibly hot, dense, and homogeneous. A powerful probe of this time is provided by the relic radiation which we refer to today as the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). Images produced from this light contain the earliest glimpse of the Universe after the "Big Bang" and the signature of the evolution of its contents. By exploiting these clues, precise constraints on the age, mass density, and geometry of the early Universe can be derived. The history of this intriguing cosmological detective story will be reviewed. Recent results from NASA's Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) will be presented.

Phenolic composition of Tempranillo wines following early defoliation of the vines.

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Diago, Maria P; Ayestarán, Belén; Guadalupe, Zenaida; Garrido, Álvaro; Tardaguila, Javier

2012-03-15

Early defoliation is a viticultural practice aimed at crop control. So far, the impact of early leaf removal on the monomeric phenolic composition of wines has not been explored. This study examines the effects of early defoliation on the phenolic profile and content in Tempranillo wines. The influence of the defoliation method (manual vs mechanical) and the timing of leaf removal (pre-bloom vs fruit set) was investigated. Over two consecutive seasons, 2007 and 2008, the monomeric phenolic composition in Tempranillo wines was studied by high-performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array detection, and 22 compounds were identified and quantified. Overall, early defoliation led to wines more intensely coloured, of higher alcohol content and with larger concentrations of hydroxycinnamic acids, flavonols and anthocyanins (in 2008 only for mechanical treatments). In the absence of fungal infection, resveratrol was found to increase in wines corresponding to early defoliation treatments. The method of leaf removal seemed to be more critical than the timing of intervention, and larger effects on wine phenolic composition were observed for mechanical treatments. Early defoliation proved to be an effective technique for improving the phenolic composition of Tempranillo wines, by favouring the accumulation of hydroxycinnamics, flavonols and anthocyanins. This is an important achievement, as wine quality is often described by its colour and phenolic attributes. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry.

THE TIME COURSE OF ABNORMALITIES IN THE BRAIN SUBCORTICAL VISUAL CENTRE FOLLOWING EARLY IMPAIRMENT OF BINOCULAR EXPERIENCE

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S. V. Alekseenko

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Amblyopia related to congenital strabismus belongs to neurological disorders since it is caused by structural and functional remodeling of the visual parts of the brain without any baseline retinal pathology. Although a large number of animal studies on experimentally induced strabismus, as well as clinical cases have been published, the mechanisms and time course of the processes within the brain structures are not fully understood. Aim: To study the time course of abnormalities in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (LGNd in animals with surgically induced convergent strabismus. LGNd is the structure through which the information from the retina goes to the visual cortex separately for each eye. Materials and methods: 14 strabismic and 17 intact kittens of four age groups were studied. Histochemical method was used to identify cytochrome oxidase which is a  mitochondrial respiratory chain enzyme whose activity correlates with neuronal functional activity. Optical density in eye-specific layers  A  and A1 was measured on the images of stained LGNd sections, with calculation of the contrast difference between them. Results: In strabismic kittens, there were changes in activity of A and A1 layers in the projection of the central part of visual field in LGNd of both hemispheres. At early stages of their formation, a relative decrease in activity was found in both hemispheres in the LGNd layers innervated through non-crossed pathways from both retinae. Thereafter, the time course of abnormalities in LGNd of both hemispheres was different. In the hemisphere ipsilateral to the squinting eye, the difference in layer activity was highest at the age from 3 to 5 months. However, in the opposite hemisphere the same difference indicating a decreased activity in the layer of the squinting eye were observed only at the age of 5 months. Conclusion: The process of amblyopia development during congenital convergent strabismus is

Early Nutrition and Physical Activity Interventions in Childhood Cancer Survivors.

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Zhang, Fang Fang; Kelly, Michael J; Must, Aviva

2017-06-01

Childhood cancer survivors experience excessive weight gain early in treatment. Lifestyle interventions need to be initiated early in cancer care to prevent the early onset of obesity and cardiovascular disease (CVD). We reviewed the existing literature on early lifestyle interventions in childhood cancer survivors and consider implications for clinical care. Few lifestyle interventions focus on improving nutrition in childhood cancer survivors. A consistent effect on reducing obesity and CVD risk factors is not evident from the limited number of studies with heterogeneous intervention characteristics, although interventions with a longer duration and follow-up show more promising trends. Future lifestyle interventions should be of a longer duration and include a nutrition component. Interventions with a longer duration and follow-up are needed to assess the timing and sustainability of the intervention effect. Lifestyle interventions introduced early in cancer care are both safe and feasible.

Signalling fiscal stress in the euro area - a country-specific early warning system

OpenAIRE

Hernández de Cos, Pablo; Koester, Gerrit B.; Moral-Benito, Enrique; Nickel, Christiane

2014-01-01

The sovereign debt crisis in the euro area has increased the interest in early warning indicators, with the aim to indicate the build?up of fiscal stress early on and to facilitate crisis prevention by a timely counteraction of fiscal and macroeconomic policies. This paper presents possible improvements to enhance existing early warning indicators for fiscal stress, especially for the euro area. We show that a country?specific approach could strongly increase the signalling power of early war...

Infusing Early Childhood Mental Health into Early Intervention Services

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Grabert, John C.

2009-01-01

This article describes the process of enhancing early childhood mental health awareness and skills in non-mental health staff. The author describes a pilot training model, conducted the U.S. Army's Early Intervention Services, that involved: (a) increasing early childhood mental health knowledge through reflective readings, (b) enhancing…

CMS experiment at the LHC Commissioning and early physics

CERN Document Server

Safonov, A

2010-01-01

The CMS collaboration used the past year to greatly improve the level of detector readiness for the first collisions data. The acquired operational experience over this year, large gains in understanding the detector and improved preparedness for early physics will be instrumental in minimizing the time from the first collisions to first LHC physics. The following describes the status of the CMS experiment and outlines early physics plans with the first LHC data.

Space-time clusters for early detection of grizzly bear predation.

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Kermish-Wells, Joseph; Massolo, Alessandro; Stenhouse, Gordon B; Larsen, Terrence A; Musiani, Marco

2018-01-01

Accurate detection and classification of predation events is important to determine predation and consumption rates by predators. However, obtaining this information for large predators is constrained by the speed at which carcasses disappear and the cost of field data collection. To accurately detect predation events, researchers have used GPS collar technology combined with targeted site visits. However, kill sites are often investigated well after the predation event due to limited data retrieval options on GPS collars (VHF or UHF downloading) and to ensure crew safety when working with large predators. This can lead to missing information from small-prey (including young ungulates) kill sites due to scavenging and general site deterioration (e.g., vegetation growth). We used a space-time permutation scan statistic (STPSS) clustering method (SaTScan) to detect predation events of grizzly bears ( Ursus arctos ) fitted with satellite transmitting GPS collars. We used generalized linear mixed models to verify predation events and the size of carcasses using spatiotemporal characteristics as predictors. STPSS uses a probability model to compare expected cluster size (space and time) with the observed size. We applied this method retrospectively to data from 2006 to 2007 to compare our method to random GPS site selection. In 2013-2014, we applied our detection method to visit sites one week after their occupation. Both datasets were collected in the same study area. Our approach detected 23 of 27 predation sites verified by visiting 464 random grizzly bear locations in 2006-2007, 187 of which were within space-time clusters and 277 outside. Predation site detection increased by 2.75 times (54 predation events of 335 visited clusters) using 2013-2014 data. Our GLMMs showed that cluster size and duration predicted predation events and carcass size with high sensitivity (0.72 and 0.94, respectively). Coupling GPS satellite technology with clusters using a program based

Early detection of Parkinson’s diseases by using the relation between time response and movement characteristics of human’s arms

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Prasert Namwet

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Parkinson’s and stroke diseases are closely linked to the brain of the elderly. This study was to investigate the early detecting method of Parkinson’s disease by using the relation between the brain time response and the arm movement characteristics. 120 Healthy people were examined and classified into 4 groups of ages (60 years old.The relationship between the two parameters were conducted by using the self-made electronics set which had an accelerometer attached on the hammer; and pattern generator using star-pattern with 9-position lighted keypad. Several simple and complex light patterns were designed to test the brain function of the elderly. The experimental treatments were subjected to 4×2 Factorial Experiment in Completely Randomized Design (CRD. The results showed that the time response of the group of+60’s years old was the longest compared with other group with P<0.01. Based on the experiments on pattern-position approach, those selected samples with 4 groups of age completed the experiment with a sample pattern faster than the complex pattern in all 4 groups of age with P<0.01. The acceleration signal’s patterns in 20-40 years old and +60 years old were found polynomial and linear signal patterns, respectively. The relationship between the time response and acceleration signal were found negative monotonic correlated ( = 0.835, P < 0.01. Therefore, this finding could identify the healthy people without Parkinson’s disease with accuracy of 99.58 %. The results could be concluded that relationship between the time response and the acceleration signal could predict Parkinson’s disease and related diseases in the future.

Flood early warning system: sensors and internet

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pengel, B.E.; Krzhizhanovskaya, V.V.; Melnikova, N.B.; Shirshov, G.S.; Koelewijn, A.R.; Pyayt, A.L.; Mokhov, I.I.; Chavoshian, A.; Takeuchi, K.

2013-01-01

The UrbanFlood early warning system (EWS) is designed to monitor data from very large sensornetworks in flood defences such as embankments, dikes, levees, and dams. The EWS, based on the internet, uses real-time sensor information and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to immediately calculate the

Just Say Yes to Early Algebra!

Science.gov (United States)

Stephens, Ana; Blanton, Maria; Knuth, Eric; Isler, Isil; Gardiner, Angela Murphy

2015-01-01

Mathematics educators have argued for some time that elementary school students are capable of engaging in algebraic thinking and should be provided with rich opportunities to do so. Recent initiatives like the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) (CCSSI 2010) have taken up this call by reiterating the place of early algebra in…

Earthquake early warning system using real-time signal processing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leach, R.R. Jr.; Dowla, F.U.

1996-02-01

An earthquake warning system has been developed to provide a time series profile from which vital parameters such as the time until strong shaking begins, the intensity of the shaking, and the duration of the shaking, can be derived. Interaction of different types of ground motion and changes in the elastic properties of geological media throughout the propagation path result in a highly nonlinear function. We use neural networks to model these nonlinearities and develop learning techniques for the analysis of temporal precursors occurring in the emerging earthquake seismic signal. The warning system is designed to analyze the first-arrival from the three components of an earthquake signal and instantaneously provide a profile of impending ground motion, in as little as 0.3 sec after first ground motion is felt at the sensors. For each new data sample, at a rate of 25 samples per second, the complete profile of the earthquake is updated. The profile consists of a magnitude-related estimate as well as an estimate of the envelope of the complete earthquake signal. The envelope provides estimates of damage parameters, such as time until peak ground acceleration (PGA) and duration. The neural network based system is trained using seismogram data from more than 400 earthquakes recorded in southern California. The system has been implemented in hardware using silicon accelerometers and a standard microprocessor. The proposed warning units can be used for site-specific applications, distributed networks, or to enhance existing distributed networks. By producing accurate, and informative warnings, the system has the potential to significantly minimize the hazards of catastrophic ground motion. Detailed system design and performance issues, including error measurement in a simple warning scenario are discussed in detail.

Learning the language of time: Children's acquisition of duration words.

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Tillman, Katharine A; Barner, David

2015-05-01

Children use time words like minute and hour early in development, but take years to acquire their precise meanings. Here we investigate whether children assign meaning to these early usages, and if so, how. To do this, we test their interpretation of seven time words: second, minute, hour, day, week, month, and year. We find that preschoolers infer the orderings of time words (e.g., hour>minute), but have little to no knowledge of the absolute durations they encode. Knowledge of absolute duration is learned much later in development - many years after children first start using time words in speech - and in many children does not emerge until they have acquired formal definitions for the words. We conclude that associating words with the perception of duration does not come naturally to children, and that early intuitive meanings of time words are instead rooted in relative orderings, which children may infer from their use in speech. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Gene-Environment Interplay in the Association between Pubertal Timing and Delinquency in Adolescent Girls

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Harden, K. Paige; Mendle, Jane

2014-01-01

Early pubertal timing places girls at elevated risk for a breadth of negative outcomes, including involvement in delinquent behavior. While previous developmental research has emphasized the unique social challenges faced by early maturing girls, this relation is complicated by genetic influences for both delinquent behavior and pubertal timing, which are seldom controlled for in existing research. The current study uses genetically informed data on 924 female-female twin and sibling pairs drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to (1) disentangle biological versus environmental mechanisms for the effects of early pubertal timing and (2) test for gene-environment interactions. Results indicate that early pubertal timing influences girls’ delinquency through a complex interplay between biological risk and environmental experiences. Genes related to earlier age at menarche and higher perceived development significantly predict increased involvement in both non-violent and violent delinquency. Moreover, after accounting for this genetic association between pubertal timing and delinquency, the impact of non-shared environmental influences on delinquency are significantly moderated by pubertal timing, such that the non-shared environment is most important among early maturing girls. This interaction effect is particularly evident for non-violent delinquency. Overall, results suggest early maturing girls are vulnerable to an interaction between genetic and environmental risks for delinquent behavior. PMID:21668078

Timing of food intake predicts weight loss effectiveness.

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Garaulet, M; Gómez-Abellán, P; Alburquerque-Béjar, J J; Lee, Y-C; Ordovás, J M; Scheer, F A J L

2013-04-01

There is emerging literature demonstrating a relationship between the timing of feeding and weight regulation in animals. However, whether the timing of food intake influences the success of a weight-loss diet in humans is unknown. To evaluate the role of food timing in weight-loss effectiveness in a sample of 420 individuals who followed a 20-week weight-loss treatment. Participants (49.5% female subjects; age (mean ± s.d.): 42 ± 11 years; BMI: 31.4 ± 5.4 kg m(-2)) were grouped in early eaters and late eaters, according to the timing of the main meal (lunch in this Mediterranean population). 51% of the subjects were early eaters and 49% were late eaters (lunch time before and after 1500 hours, respectively), energy intake and expenditure, appetite hormones, CLOCK genotype, sleep duration and chronotype were studied. Late lunch eaters lost less weight and displayed a slower weight-loss rate during the 20 weeks of treatment than early eaters (P=0.002). Surprisingly, energy intake, dietary composition, estimated energy expenditure, appetite hormones and sleep duration was similar between both groups. Nevertheless, late eaters were more evening types, had less energetic breakfasts and skipped breakfast more frequently that early eaters (all; Pmeal (P=0.015) with a higher frequency of minor allele (C) carriers among the late eaters (P=0.041). Neither sleep duration, nor CLOCK SNPs or morning/evening chronotype was independently associated with weight loss (all; P>0.05). Eating late may influence the success of weight-loss therapy. Novel therapeutic strategies should incorporate not only the caloric intake and macronutrient distribution - as is classically done - but also the timing of food.

A randomized controlled trial evaluating early versus traditional oral feeding after colorectal surgery

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Ahmet Dag

2011-01-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: This prospective randomized clinical study was conducted to evaluate the safety and tolerability of early oral feeding after colorectal operations. METHODS: A total of 199 patients underwent colorectal surgery and were randomly assigned to early feeding (n = 99 or a regular diet (n = 100. Patients’ characteristics, diagnoses, surgical procedures, comorbidity, bowel movements, defecation, nasogastric tube reinsertion, time of tolerance of solid diet, complications, and length of hospitalization were assessed. RESULTS: The two groups were similar in terms of gender, age, diagnosis, surgical procedures, and comorbidity. In the early feeding group, 85.9% of patients tolerated the early feeding schedule. Bowel movements (1.7±0.89 vs. 3.27±1.3, defecation (3.4±0.77 vs. 4.38±1.18 and time of tolerance of solid diet (2.48±0.85 vs. 4.77±1.81 were significantly earlier in the early feeding group. There was no change between the groups in terms of nasogastric tube reinsertion, overall complication or anastomotic leakage. Hospitalization (5.55±2.35 vs. 9.0±6.5 was shorter in the early feeding group. CONCLUSIONS: The present study indicated that early oral feeding after elective colorectal surgery was not only well tolerated by patients but also affected the postoperative outcomes positively. Early postoperative feeding is safe and leads to the early recovery of gastrointestinal functions.

Large-scale Metabolomic Analysis Reveals Potential Biomarkers for Early Stage Coronary Atherosclerosis.

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