We study the effect of electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves on the loss and pitch angle scattering of relativistic and ultrarelativistic electrons during the recovery phase of a moderate ...geomagnetic storm on 11 October 2012. The EMIC wave activity was observed in situ on the Van Allen Probes and conjugately on the ground across the Canadian Array for Real‐time Investigations of Magnetic Activity throughout an extended 18 h interval. However, neither enhanced precipitation of >0.7 MeV electrons nor reductions in Van Allen Probe 90° pitch angle ultrarelativistic electron flux were observed. Computed radiation belt electron pitch angle diffusion rates demonstrate that rapid pitch angle diffusion is confined to low pitch angles and cannot reach 90°. For the first time, from both observational and modeling perspectives, we show evidence of EMIC waves triggering ultrarelativistic (~2–8 MeV) electron loss but which is confined to pitch angles below around 45° and not affecting the core distribution.
Key Points
EMIC wave activity is not associated with precipitation of MeV electrons
EMIC waves do not deplete the ultra‐relativistic belt down to 90°
EMIC waves cause loss of low pitch angle electrons with energies ~2–8 MeV
To understand which organic molecules are capable of binding to gold nanoparticles and/or inducing nanoparticle aggregation, we investigate the interaction of gold nanoparticles with small molecules ...and amino acids at variable pH. Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectra were measured on mixtures of colloidal gold with small molecules to track the progression of the aggregation of gold nanoparticles. We introduce the 522 to 435 nm UV–vis absorbance ratio as a sensitive method for the detection of colloidal gold aggregation, whereby we delineate the ability of thiol, amine, and carboxylic acid functional groups to bind to the surfaces of gold nanoparticles and investigate how combinations of these functional groups affect colloidal stability. We present models for mechanisms of aggregation of colloidal gold, including surface charge reduction and bridging linkers. For all molecules whose addition leads to the aggregation of gold nanoparticles, the aggregation kinetics were accelerated at acidic pH values. Colloidal gold is maintained only in the presence of anionic carboxyl groups, which are neutralized by protonation at lower pH. The overall reduced charge on the stabilizing carboxyl groups accounts for the accelerated aggregation at lower pH values.
By combining the data from surveys for H i 21-cm absorption at various impact parameters in near-by galaxies, we report an anti-correlation between the 21-cm absorption strength (velocity integrated ...optical depth) and the impact parameter. Also, by combining the 21-cm absorption strength with that of the emission, giving the neutral hydrogen column density, $N_{{\rm H\,{\small I}}}$, we find no evidence that the spin temperature of the gas (degenerate with the covering factor) varies significantly across the disc. This is consistent with the uniformity of spin temperature measured across the Galactic disc. Furthermore, comparison with the Galactic $N_{{\rm H\,{\small I}}}$ distribution suggests that intervening 21-cm absorption preferentially arises in discs of high inclinations (near face-on). We also investigate the hypothesis that 21-cm absorption is favourably detected towards compact radio sources. Although there is insufficient data to determine whether there is a higher detection rate towards quasar, rather than radio galaxy, sight-lines, the 21-cm detections intervene objects with a mean turnover frequency of $\langle \nu _{_{\rm TO}}\rangle \approx 5\times 10^{8}$ Hz, compared to $\langle \nu _{_{\rm TO}}\rangle \approx 1\times 10^{8}$ Hz for the non-detections. Since the turnover frequency is anti-correlated with radio source size, this does indicate a preferential bias for detection towards compact background radio sources.
Summary
Background
The burden of psoriasis across many world regions is high and there is a recognized need to better understand the epidemiology of this common skin disorder.
Objectives
To examine ...changes in the prevalence and incidence of psoriasis, and mortality rates over a 15‐year period.
Methods
Cohort study involving analysis of longitudinal electronic health records between 1999 and 2013 using the U.K. Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD).
Results
The prevalence of psoriasis increased steadily from 2·3% (2297 cases per 100 000) in 1999 to 2·8% (2815 per 100 000) in 2013, which does not appear to be attributable to changes in incidence rates. We observed peaks in age bands characteristic of early‐onset (type I) and late‐onset (type II) psoriasis, and changes in incidence and prevalence rates with increasing latitude in the U.K. All‐cause mortality rates for the general population and for patients with psoriasis have decreased over the last 15 years. However, the risk of all‐cause mortality for patients with psoriasis remains elevated compared with people without psoriasis (hazard ratio 1·21; 95% confidence interval 1·13–1·3) and we found no significant change in this relative excess mortality gap over time.
Conclusions
We found an increasing population living longer with psoriasis in the U.K., which has important implications for healthcare service delivery and for resource allocation. Importantly, early mortality in patients with psoriasis remains elevated compared with the general population and we found no evidence of change in this premature mortality gap.
What's already known about this topic?
The burden of psoriasis across many world regions is high and there is a need to better understand the epidemiology of this common skin disorder.
What does this study add?
The prevalence of psoriasis in the U.K. is increasing and is higher than suggested from previous studies.
A key driver to this increase relates to improvements in life expectancy rather than an increase in incidence of psoriasis over time.
Despite improvements in life expectancy, patients with psoriasis remain more likely to die prematurely compared with those without psoriasis with no evidence of change in this premature mortality gap.
Linked Comment: Cust and Murrell. Br J Dermatol 2017; 176:568–569.
Plain language summary available online
Background
The first British Dietetic Association (BDA) guidelines for the dietary management of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in adults were published in 2012. Subsequently, there has been a wealth ...of new research. The aim of this work was to systematically review the evidence for the role of diet in the management of IBS and to update the guidelines.
Methods
Twelve questions relating to diet and IBS were defined based on review of the previous guideline questions, current evidence and clinical practice. Chosen topics were on healthy eating and lifestyle (alcohol, caffeine, spicy food, elimination diets, fat and fluid intakes and dietary habits), milk and dairy, dietary fibre, fermentable carbohydrates, gluten, probiotics and elimination diets/food hypersensitivity. Data sources were CINAHL, Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, Medline, Scopus and Web of Science up to October 2015. Studies were assessed independently in duplicate using risk of bias tools specific to each included study based on inclusion and exclusion criteria for each question. National Health and Medical Research Council grading evidence levels were used to develop evidence statements and recommendations, in accordance with Practice‐based Evidence in Nutrition Global protocol used by the BDA.
Results
Eighty‐six studies were critically appraised to generate 46 evidence statements, 15 clinical recommendations and four research recommendations. The IBS dietary algorithm was simplified to first‐line (healthy eating, provided by any healthcare professional) and second‐line low FODMAP (fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols) to be provided by dietitian dietary advice.
Conclusions
These guidelines provide updated comprehensive evidence‐based details to achieve the successful dietary management of IBS in adults.
Previous research suggests associations of lower alcohol intake and higher tobacco consumption with increased risks of haematological malignancy. The prospective Million Women Study provides ...sufficient power for reliable estimates of subtype-specific associations in women.
Approximately 1.3 million middle-aged women were recruited in the United Kingdom during 1996-2001 and followed for death, emigration and cancer registration until 2009 (mean 10.3 years per woman); potential risk factors were assessed by questionnaire. Adjusted relative risks were estimated by Cox regression.
During follow-up, 9162 incident cases of haematological malignancy were recorded, including 7047 lymphoid and 2072 myeloid cancers. Among predominantly moderate alcohol drinkers, higher intake was associated with lower risk of lymphoid malignancies, in particular diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (relative risk 0.85 per 10 g alcohol per day (95% confidence interval 0.75-0.96)), follicular lymphoma (0.86 (0.76-0.98)) and plasma cell neoplasms (0.86 (0.77-0.96)). Among never- and current smokers, higher cigarette consumption was associated with increased risk of Hodgkin lymphoma (1.45 per 10 cigarettes per day (1.22-1.72)), mature T-cell malignancies (1.38 (1.10-1.73)) and myeloproliferative/myelodysplastic disease (1.42 (1.31-1.55)).
These findings confirm and extend existing evidence for associations of subtypes of haematological malignancy with two common exposures in women.
To describe results of a planned interim analysis of a prospective, randomized clinical trial developed to compare treatment outcomes among patients with newly diagnosed hepatocellular carcinoma ...(HCC).
Eligible subjects had either clinical or pathologic diagnosis of HCC and met either Milan or San Francisco transplant criteria. Patients were randomly assigned to transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) or to proton beam radiation therapy. Patients randomized to TACE received at least 1 TACE with additional TACE for persistent disease. Proton beam radiation therapy was delivered to all areas of gross disease to a total dose of 70.2 Gy in 15 daily fractions over 3 weeks. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival, with secondary endpoints of overall survival, local tumor control, and treatment-related toxicities as represented by posttreatment days of hospitalization.
At the time of this analysis 69 subjects were available for analysis. Of these, 36 were randomized to TACE and 33 to proton. Total days of hospitalization within 30 days of TACE/proton was 166 and 24 days, respectively (P<.001). Ten TACE and 12 proton patients underwent liver transplantation after treatment. Viable tumor identified in the explanted livers after TACE/proton averaged 2.4 and 0.9 cm, respectively. Pathologic complete response after TACE/proton was 10%/25% (P=.38). The 2-year overall survival for all patients was 59%, with no difference between treatment groups. Median survival time was 30 months (95% confidence interval 20.7-39.3 months). There was a trend toward improved 2-year local tumor control (88% vs 45%, P=.06) and progression-free survival (48% vs 31%, P=.06) favoring the proton beam treatment group.
This interim analysis indicates similar overall survival rates for proton beam radiation therapy and TACE. There is a trend toward improved local tumor control and progression-free survival with proton beam. There are significantly fewer hospitalization days after proton treatment, which may indicate reduced toxicity with proton beam therapy.
We present the results of a targeted search for intervening H i absorption in six nearby, gas-rich galaxies using the Australia Telescope Compact Array. The sightlines searched have impact parameters ...of 10–20 kpc. By targeting nearby galaxies, we are also able to map their H i emission, allowing us to directly relate the absorption-line detection rate to the extended H i distribution. The continuum sightlines intersect the H i disc in four of the six galaxies, but no intervening absorption was detected. Of these four galaxies, we find that three of the non-detections are the result of the background source being too faint. In the fourth case, we find that the ratio of the spin temperature to the covering factor (T
S/f) must be much higher than expected (≳5700 K) in order to explain the non-detection. We discuss how the structure of the background continuum sources may have affected the detection rate of H i absorption in our sample, and the possible implications for future surveys. Future work including an expanded sample, and very long baseline interferometry observations, would allow us to better investigate the expected detection rate, and influence of background source structure, on the results of future surveys.
Multi-center, prospective, cohort study.
To assess the validity and reliability of the Spinal Cord Independence Measure (SCIM III) in measuring functional ability in persons with spinal cord injury ...(SCI).
Inpatient rehabilitation hospitals in the United States (US).
Functional ability was measured with the SCIM III during the first week of admittance into inpatient acute rehabilitation and within one week of discharge from the same rehabilitation program. Motor and sensory neurologic impairment was measured with the American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale. The Functional Independence Measure (FIM), the default functional measure currently used in most US hospitals, was used as a comparison standard for the SCIM III. Statistical analyses were used to test the validity and reliability of the SCIM III.
Total agreement between raters was above 70% on most SCIM III tasks and all κ-coefficients were statistically significant (P<0.001). The coefficients of Pearson correlation between the paired raters were above 0.81 and intraclass correlation coefficients were above 0.81. Cronbach's-α was above 0.7, with the exception of the respiration task. The coefficient of Pearson correlation between the FIM and SCIM III was 0.8 (P<0.001). For the respiration and sphincter management subscale, the SCIM III was more responsive to change, than the FIM (P<0.0001).
Overall, the SCIM III is a reliable and valid measure of functional change in SCI. However, improved scoring instructions and a few modifications to the scoring categories may reduce variability between raters and enhance clinical utility.
We present the results of a survey for intervening 21 cm H i absorption in a sample of 10 nearby, gas-rich galaxies selected from the H i Parkes All-Sky Survey (HIPASS). This follows the six HIPASS ...galaxies searched in previous work and completes our full sample. In this paper, we searched for absorption along 17 sightlines with impact parameters between 6 and 46 kpc, making one new detection. We also obtained simultaneous H i emission-line data, allowing us to directly relate the absorption-line detection rate to the H i distribution. From this, we find the majority of the non-detections in the current sample are because sightline does not intersect the H i disc of the galaxy at sufficiently high column density, but that source structure is also an important factor. The detected absorption-line arises in the galaxy NGC 5156 (z = 0.01) at an impact parameter of 19 kpc. The line is deep and narrow with an integrated optical depth of 0.82 km s−1. High-resolution Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) images at 5 and 8 GHz reveal that the background source is resolved into two components with a separation of 2.6 arcsec (500 pc at the redshift of the galaxy), with the absorption likely occurring against a single component. We estimate that the ratio of the spin temperature and covering factor, T
S/f, is approximately 950 K in the outer disc of NGC 5156, but further observations using very long baseline interferometry would allow us to accurately measure the covering factor and spin temperature of the gas.
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