Bubble curtains are a relatively simple type of behavioral deterrent that produces acoustic and hydrodynamic fields that could serve as a management tool to reduce movement of Asian carp species in ...many locations. In a proof‐of‐concept laboratory study, we tested whether two Asian carp species, the Silver Carp Hypopthalmichthys molitrix and the Bighead Carp H. nobilis, will avoid bubble curtains, and to the same extent as the Common Carp Cyprinus carpio, which has a similarly specialized hearing system. We explored the theory and application of a bubble curtain deflection screen using a split‐passage experimental channel equipped with angled bubble curtains while mapping both pressure and particle motion (sound) fields. The bubble curtain reduced passage of all three species through the experimental channel by 73–80% while producing sound between 100 and 1000 Hz at 145 dB, well within the hearing range of all three carp. While Common Carp were diverted to an unblocked channel, the Asian carp species reduced overall swimming activity, suggesting a slightly greater overall sensitivity. These results suggest bubble curtains could serve as viable and inexpensive deterrent systems to inhibit the movement of both Asian carp and Common Carp into shallow waters while having minimal impacts on other fish.
Received June 10, 2015; accepted November 12, 2015 Published online March 16, 2016
We report the first measurement of discrimination between low-energy helium recoils and electron recoils in liquid xenon. This result is relevant to proposed low-mass dark matter searches which seek ...to dissolve light target nuclei in the active volume of liquid-xenon time projection chambers. Low-energy helium recoils were produced by degrading α particles from ^{210}Po with a gold foil situated on the cathode of a liquid xenon time-projection chamber. The resulting population of helium recoil events is well separated from electron recoils and is also offset from the expected position of xenon nuclear recoil events.
Background and purpose
The social and economic consequences of comorbidity in multiple sclerosis (MS) are largely unexplored. Differences were investigated in income and in the rate of broken ...relationships between cases of MS with and without chronic comorbidity.
Methods
We conducted a nationwide cohort study including all incident cases of MS in Denmark with clinical MS onset between 1980 and 2005. The difference in income was investigated at MS onset and 5 and 10 years after MS onset. The difference in the rate of broken relationships was investigated in subjects who were in a relationship at MS onset or who entered a relationship after MS onset. We used logistic, multiple linear and Poisson regression analyses.
Results
Cases of MS with somatic comorbidity had increased odds of low incomes both 5 years {odds ratio (OR), 1.41 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.19–1.67; P < 0.0005} and 10 years OR, 1.37 (95% CI, 1.17–1.60); P < 0.0005 after MS onset. The odds of a low income with psychiatric comorbidity was increased 10 years after MS onset OR, 3.06 (95% CI, 1.47–6.37); P = 0.003. The rate of broken relationships was increased in cases of MS with any somatic comorbidity incidence rate ratio, 1.46 (95% CI, 1.32–1.61); P < 0.0005.
Conclusions
Our results underscore the burden of comorbidity in MS on patients, their partners and society.
Understanding hydrological processes in wetlands may be complicated by management practices and complex groundwater/surface water interactions. This is especially true for wetlands underlain by ...permeable geology, such as chalk. In this study, the physically based, distributed model MIKE SHE is used to simulate hydrological processes at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology River Lambourn Observatory, Boxford, Berkshire, UK. This comprises a 10‐ha lowland, chalk valley bottom, riparian wetland designated for its conservation value and scientific interest. Channel management and a compound geology exert important, but to date not completely understood, influences upon hydrological conditions. Model calibration and validation were based upon comparisons of observed and simulated groundwater heads and channel stages over an equally split 20‐month period. Model results are generally consistent with field observations and include short‐term responses to events as well as longer‐term seasonal trends. An intrinsic difficulty in representing compressible, anisotropic soils limited otherwise excellent performance in some areas. Hydrological processes in the wetland are dominated by the interaction between groundwater and surface water. Channel stage provides head boundaries for broad water levels across the wetland, whilst areas of groundwater upwelling control discrete head elevations. A relic surface drainage network confines flooding extents and routes seepage to the main channels. In‐channel macrophyte growth and its management have an acute effect on water levels and the proportional contribution of groundwater and surface water. The implications of model results for management of conservation species and their associated habitats are discussed.
The phase III placebo-controlled BRAVO study assessed laquinimod effects in patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), and descriptively compared laquinimod with interferon beta (IFNβ)-1a (Avonex
®
...reference arm). RRMS patients age 18–55 years with Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) scores of 0–5.5 and documented pre-study relapse (≥ 1 in previous year, 2 in previous 2 years, or 1 in previous 1–2 years and ≥ 1 GdE lesion in the previous year) were randomized (1:1:1) to laquinimod 0.6 mg once-daily, matching oral placebo, or IFNβ-1a IM 30 μg once-weekly (rater-blinded design), for 24 months. The primary endpoint was annualized relapse rate (ARR); secondary endpoints included percent brain volume change (PBVC) and 3-month confirmed disability worsening. In all, 1,331 patients were randomized: laquinimod (
n
= 434), placebo (
n
= 450), and IFNβ-1a (
n
= 447). ARR was not significantly reduced with laquinimod −18 %, risk ratio (RR) = 0.82, 95 % CI 0.66–1.02;
p
= 0.075 vs. placebo. Laquinimod significantly reduced PBVC (28 %,
p
< 0.001). Confirmed disability worsening was infrequent (10 % laquinimod, 13 % placebo). The change in confirmed disability worsening with laquinimod measured using EDSS was −31 % hazard ratio (HR) 0.69,
p
= 0.063, and using Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite (MSFC)
z
-score was −77 % (
p
= 0.150), vs. placebo. IFNβ-1a reduced ARR 26 % (RR = 0.74, 95 % CI 0.60–0.92,
p
= 0.007), showed no effect on PBVC loss (+11 %,
p
= 0.14), and changes in disability worsening were −26 and −66 % as measured using the EDSS (HR 0.742,
p
= 0.13) and MSFC (
p
= 0.208), respectively. Adverse events occurred in 75, 82, and 70 % of laquinimod, IFNβ-1a, and placebo patients, respectively. Once-daily oral laquinimod 0.6 mg resulted in statistically nonsignificant reductions in ARR and disability progression, but significant reductions in brain atrophy vs. placebo. Laquinimod was well-tolerated.
We report results of a search for light (≲10 GeV) particle dark matter with the XENON10 detector. The event trigger was sensitive to a single electron, with the analysis threshold of 5 electrons ...corresponding to 1.4 keV nuclear recoil energy. Considering spin-independent dark matter-nucleon scattering, we exclude cross sections σ(n)>7×10(-42) cm(2), for a dark matter particle mass m(χ)=7 GeV. We find that our data strongly constrain recent elastic dark matter interpretations of excess low-energy events observed by CoGeNT and CRESST-II, as well as the DAMA annual modulation signal.
Hypochondriasis is common in the clinic and in the community. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) has been found to be effective in previous trials. Psychodynamic psychotherapy is a treatment ...routinely offered to patients with hypochondriasis in many countries, including Denmark. The aim of this study was to test CBT for hypochondriasis in a centre that was not involved in its development and compare both CBT and short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy (STPP) to a waiting-list control and to each other. CBT was modified by including mindfulness and group therapy sessions, reducing the therapist time required. STPP consisted of individual sessions.
Eighty patients randomized to CBT, STPP and the waiting list were assessed on measures of health anxiety and general psychopathology before and after a 6-month treatment period. Waiting-list patients were subsequently offered one of the two active treatments on the basis of re-randomization, and assessed on the same measures post-treatment. Patients were again assessed at 6- and 12-month follow-up points.
Patients who received CBT did significantly better on all measures relative to the waiting-list control group, and on a specific measure of health anxiety compared with STPP. The STPP group did not significantly differ from the waiting-list group on any outcome measures. Similar differences were observed between CBT and STPP during follow-up, although some of the significant differences between groups were lost.
A modified and time-saving CBT programme is effective in the treatment of hypochondriasis, although the two psychotherapeutic interventions differed in structure.
Background Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cognitive impairment are common in dialysis patients. Given the proposed role of microvascular disease on cognitive function, particularly cognitive ...domains that incorporate executive functions, we hypothesized that prevalent systemic CVD would be associated with worse cognitive performance in hemodialysis patients. Design Cross-sectional cohort. Setting & Participants 200 maintenance hemodialysis patients without prior stroke from 5 Boston-area hemodialysis units. Predictor CVD, defined as history of coronary disease or peripheral vascular disease. Outcome Performance on a detailed neurocognitive battery. Primary analyses quantified cognitive performance using principal components analysis to reduce cognitive tests to a processing speed/executive function domain and a memory domain. Multivariable linear regression models adjusted for age, sex, education, race, and other clinical and demographic characteristics. Results Mean age of participants was 62 ± 18 (standard deviation) years and 75 (38%) had CVD. Individuals with CVD were older and more likely to be men, have diabetes, and be current or former smokers. In adjusted models, individuals with CVD performed 0.50 standard deviation worse ( P < 0.001) on tests assessing processing speed/executive function, whereas there was no difference in performance on tests of memory. Similar results were seen assessing individual tests, with performance on the Block Design, Digit Symbol Coding, and Trail Making Tests A and B significantly associated with CVD in age-, sex-, education-, and race-adjusted analyses and approaching significance in fully adjusted models. Limitations CVD ascertainment dependent on patient recall and dialysis unit documentation. No brain imaging. Conclusions The presence of CVD is associated with worse cognitive performance on tests of processing speed and executive functioning in hemodialysis patients and identifies a high-risk population for greater difficulty with complex tasks.
Groundwater ecosystems remain poorly understood yet may provide ecosystem services, make a unique contribution to biodiversity and contain useful bio-indicators of water quality. Little is known ...about ecosystem variability, the distribution of invertebrates within aquifers, or how representative boreholes are of aquifers. We addressed these issues using borehole imaging and single borehole dilution tests to identify three potential aquifer habitats (fractures, fissures or conduits) intercepted by two Chalk boreholes at different depths beneath the surface (34 to 98 m). These habitats were characterised by sampling the invertebrates, microbiology and hydrochemistry using a packer system to isolate them. Samples were taken with progressively increasing pumped volume to assess differences between borehole and aquifer communities. The study provides a new conceptual framework to infer the origin of water, invertebrates and microbes sampled from boreholes. It demonstrates that pumping 5 m(3) at 0.4-1.8 l/sec was sufficient to entrain invertebrates from five to tens of metres into the aquifer during these packer tests. Invertebrates and bacteria were more abundant in the boreholes than in the aquifer, with associated water chemistry variations indicating that boreholes act as sites of enhanced biogeochemical cycling. There was some variability in invertebrate abundance and bacterial community structure between habitats, indicating ecological heterogeneity within the aquifer. However, invertebrates were captured in all aquifer samples, and bacterial abundance, major ion chemistry and dissolved oxygen remained similar. Therefore the study demonstrates that in the Chalk, ecosystems comprising bacteria and invertebrates extend from around the water table to 70 m below it. Hydrogeological techniques provide excellent scope for tackling outstanding questions in groundwater ecology, provided an appropriate conceptual hydrogeological understanding is applied.
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