Leakage of long-period oscillations from the chromosphere to the corona

Copyright © 2011 ESO / EDP SciencesLong-period oscillations in a coronal diffuse structure are detected with the Transition Region And Coronal Explorer (TRACE). The EUV images of the NOAA active region 8253 are available in 171 Å and 195 Å bandpasses from 30 June to 4 July 1998. The average intensity variation is found to be connected with the CCD temperature, which varies with the orbital motion of the spacecraft. Hence, oscillations with the orbital period and its higher harmonics appear as artifacts in the light curves. After the exclusion of the orbital effects, we identified several long-period oscillations in the diffuse fan-like structure of the active region. Similar periodicities were detected in the radio emission from the chromospheric part of that active region, observed with the ground-based Nobeyama Radioheliograph (NoRH) in the 17 GHz channel. It was found that 0.221, 0.312 and 0.573 mHz oscillations were present in both EUV emission lines in the corona and the radio signal from the sunspot in the chromosphere, just beneath the active region. From the frequency values, the 1st and 3rd detected oscillations could be associated with the l = 2, n = −3 or l = 3, n = −5 and l = 1 gravity-driven solar interior modes, respectively. The appearance of these oscillations in the coronal part of the active region can be connected with the wave leakage or the evanescence of chromospheric oscillations

Genetic Variation and Antioxidant Response Gene Expression in the Bronchial Airway Epithelium of Smokers at Risk for Lung Cancer

Prior microarray studies of smokers at high risk for lung cancer have demonstrated that heterogeneity in bronchial airway epithelial cell gene expression response to smoking can serve as an early diagnostic biomarker for lung cancer. As a first step in applying functional genomic analysis to population studies, we have examined the relationship between gene expression variation and genetic variation in a central molecular pathway (NRF2-mediated antioxidant response) associated with smoking exposure and lung cancer. We assessed global gene expression in histologically normal airway epithelial cells obtained at bronchoscopy from smokers who developed lung cancer (SC, n=20), smokers without lung cancer (SNC, n=24), and never smokers (NS, n=8). Functional enrichment analysis showed that the NRF2-mediated, antioxidant response element (ARE)-regulated genes, were significantly lower in SC, when compared with expression levels in SNC. Importantly, we found that the expression of MAFG (a binding partner of NRF2) was correlated with the expression of ARE genes, suggesting MAFG levels may limit target gene induction. Bioinformatically we identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in putative ARE genes and to test the impact of genetic variation, we genotyped these putative regulatory SNPs and other tag SNPs in selected NRF2 pathway genes. Sequencing MAFG locus, we identified 30 novel SNPs and two were associated with either gene expression or lung cancer status among smokers. This work demonstrates an analysis approach that integrates bioinformatics pathway and transcription factor binding site analysis with genotype, gene expression and disease status to identify SNPs that may be associated with individual differences in gene expression and/or cancer status in smokers. These polymorphisms might ultimately contribute to lung cancer risk via their effect on the airway gene expression response to tobacco-smoke exposure.Intramural Research Program of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; National Institutes of Health (Z01 ES100475, U01ES016035, R01CA124640

Are you talking to me? An analysis of journalism conversation on social media

Social media has become a key medium for discussion and dissemination of news stories, fuelled by the low barrier to entry and the ease of interaction. News stories may be propagated through these networks either by official news organisation accounts, by individual journalists or by members of the public, through link sharing, endorsing or commenting. This preliminary research aims to show how computational analysis of large-scale data-sets allows us to investigate the means by which news stories are spread through social media, and how the conversation around them is shaped by journalists and news organisations. Through the capture of more than 11 million tweets relating to 2303 Twitter accounts connected to journalism and news organisations, we are able to analyse the conversation within and around journalism, examining who spreads information about news articles and who interacts in the discussion around them. Capturing the tweets of news organisations and journalists and the replies and retweets of these micro-blogs allows us to build a rich picture of interaction around news media

e-Social Science and Evidence-Based Policy Assessment : Challenges and Solutions

Peer reviewedPreprin

A novel technique for post-pyloric feeding tube placement in critically ill patients: A pilot study

Publisher's copy made available with the permission of the publisher © Australian Society of AnaesthetistsDelivery of enteral nutrition in critically ill patients is often hampered by gastric stasis necessitating direct feeding into the small intestine. Current techniques for placement of post-pyloric feeding catheters are complex, time consuming or both, and improvements in feeding tube placement techniques are required. The Cathlocator™ is a novel device that permits real time localisation of the end of feeding tubes via detection of a magnetic field generated by a small electric current in a coil incorporated in the tip of the tube. We performed a pilot study evaluating the feasibility of the Cathlocator™ system to guide and evaluate the placement of (1) nasoduodenal feeding tubes, and (2) nasogastric drainage tubes in critically ill patients with feed intolerance due to slow gastric emptying. A prospective study of eight critically ill patients was undertaken in the intensive care unit of a tertiary hospital. The Cathlocator™ was used to (1) guide the positioning of the tubes post-pylorically and (2) determine whether nasogastric and nasoduodenal tubes were placed correctly. Tube tip position was compared with data obtained by radiology. Data are expressed as median (range). Duodenal tube placement was successful in 7 of 8 patients (insertion time 12.6 min (5.3-34.4)). All nasogastric tube placements were successful (insertion time 3.4 min (0.6-10.0)). The Cathlocator™ accurately determined the position of both tubes without complication in all cases. The Cathlocator™ allows placement and location of an enteral feeding tube in real time in critically ill patients with slow gastric emptying. These findings warrant further studies into the application of this technique for placement of post-pyloric feeding tubes.R. J. Young, M. J. Chapman, R. Fraser, R. Vozzo, D. P. Chorley, S. Creedhttp://www.aaic.net.au/Article.asp?D=200430

Experiences of cervical screening and barriers to participation in the context of an organised programme: a systematic review and thematic synthesis

OBJECTIVE: As uptake of cervical screening continues to decline, this systematic review synthesises the qualitative literature on women's perceptions and experiences of cervical screening in the context of an organised call-recall programme, in order to understand the barriers to informed uptake. METHODS: We searched nine databases for English language peer-reviewed publications reporting on qualitative data from screening-eligible women, exploring barriers to cervical screening in countries that offer a nationally organised call-recall programme. Evidence was integrated using thematic synthesis. RESULTS: Thirty-nine papers from the UK, Australia, Sweden and Korea were included. The majority of participants had attended screening at least once. Two broad themes were identified: (a) should I go for screening? and (b) screening is a big deal. In considering whether to attend, women discussed the personal relevance and value of screening. Women who had previously attended described how it was a big deal, physically and emotionally, and the varied threats that screening presents. Practical barriers affected whether women translated screening intentions into action. CONCLUSIONS: The variation in women's understanding and perceptions of cervical screening suggests that interventions tailored to decisional stage may be of value in increasing engagement with the invitation and uptake of screening in those who wish to take part. There is also a need for further research with women who have never attended screening, especially those who remain unaware or unengaged, as their perspectives are lacking in the existing literature. © 2016 The Authors. Psycho-Oncology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd