Gamma Ray Bursts and Bursters

Major advances have been made in the field of gamma-ray bursts in the last two years. The successful discovery of X-ray, optical and radio afterglows, which were predicted by theory, has made possible the identification of host galaxies at cosmological distances. The energy release inferred in these outbursts place them among the most energetic and violent events in the Universe. Current models envisage this to be the outcome of a cataclysmic event leading to a relativistically expanding fireball, in which particles are accelerated at shocks and produce nonthermal radiation. The substantial agreement between observations and the theoretical predictions of the standard fireball shock model provide confirmation of the basic aspects of this scenario. The continued observations show a diversity of behavior, providing valuable constraints for more detailed, post-standard models which incorporate more realistic physical features. Crucial questions being now addressed are the beaming at different energies and its implications for the energetics, the time structure of the afterglow, its dependence on the central engine or progenitor system behavior, and the role of the environment on the evolution of the afterglow.Comment: Invited talk at the 19th Texas Symposium on Relativistic Astrophysics and Cosmology, Paris, Dec. 1998. To appear in Nuclear Phys. B, (Proceedings Supplements), Elsevier Science; latex file, 15 pages, 6 figures, uses espcrc2.sty, included; minor revision

Multi-wavelength observations of afterglow of GRB 080319B and the modeling constraints

We present observations of the afterglow of GRB 080319B at optical, mm and radio frequencies from a few hours to 67 days after the burst. Present observations along with other published multi-wavelength data have been used to study the light-curves and spectral energy distributions of the burst afterglow. The nature of this brightest cosmic explosion has been explored based on the observed properties and it's comparison with the afterglow models. Our results show that the observed features of the afterglow fits equally good with the Inter Stellar Matter and the Stellar Wind density profiles of the circum-burst medium. In case of both density profiles, location of the maximum synchrotron frequency $\nu_m$ is below optical and the value of cooling break frequency $\nu_c$ is below $X-$rays, $\sim 10^{4}$s after the burst. Also, the derived value of the Lorentz factor at the time of naked eye brightness is $\sim 300$ with the corresponding blast wave size of $\sim 10^{18}$ cm. The numerical fit to the multi-wavelength afterglow data constraints the values of physical parameters and the emission mechanism of the burst.Comment: 8 Pages, 3 Figures, Accepted for publication to Astronomy and Astrophysics on 02/04/200

Healthcare workers’ views on type 2 diabetes mellitus management at selected clinics in Mthatha

Background: Diabetes is a non-communicable disease of global public health importance. Healthcare workers play a vital role in the management of this disease. Aim: This study aimed to explore healthcare workers’ views on managing patients with type 2 diabetes at primary health care facilities. Setting: The study was conducted at two primary health care facilities in Mthatha, South Africa. Methods: This exploratory descriptive qualitative study included 28 primary health care workers. Data were collected through individual interviews and focus group discussions and analysed using a thematic analysis approach. Results: Study participants’ views of poor control of type 2 diabetes mellitus were categorised under patient- and healthcare system-related factors. The patient-related factors included poor adherence to an ideal diabetic diet, poor medication adherence, a lack of personal glucometers, and dearth of support systems. The healthcare system-related factors identified were inadequate patient education, long waiting times at the health facilities, high patient volumes, limited resources, and delayed service provision. Proposed solutions to address poor control of diabetes included improving patient health education, providing diabetic patients with glucometers, multi-stakeholder management of diabetes, allocating designated areas for patients with chronic illnesses, improved resource allocation, and regular staff training. Conclusion: Study participants perceived an improved level of control of diabetes among patients managed at the Community Health Centres. When designing interventions for the management of diabetes, both patient and healthcare system-related factors and the proposed solutions should be considered. Contribution: This study’s findings could promote better management of diabetes at the primary health care level

Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for C1q Deficiency: A Study on Behalf of the EBMT Inborn Errors Working Party

\ua9 The Author(s) 2024. C1q deficiency is a rare inborn error of immunity characterized by increased susceptibility to infections and autoimmune manifestations mimicking SLE, with an associated morbidity and mortality. Because C1q is synthesized by monocytes, to date, four patients treated with allogeneic HSCT have been reported, with a positive outcome in three. We conducted an international retrospective study to assess the outcome of HSCT in C1q deficiency. Eighteen patients, fourteen previously unreported, from eleven referral centres, were included. Two patients had two HSCTs, thus 20 HSCTs were performed in total, at a median age of 10 years (range 0.9—19). Indications for HSCT were autoimmune manifestations not controlled by ongoing treatment in seventeen, and early development of MALT lymphoma in one patient. Overall survival (OS) was 71% and event-free survival was 59% at two years (considering an event as acute GvHD ≥ grade III, disease recurrence and death). In eleven patients HSCT led to resolution of autoimmune features and discontinuation of immunosuppressive treatments (follow-up time range 3–84 months). Five patients died due to transplant-related complications. Patients with a severe autoimmune phenotype, defined as neurological and/or renal involvement, had the worst OS (40% vs 84%; p = 0.034). Reviewing data of 69 genetically confirmed C1q deficient patients, we found that anti-Ro antibodies are associated with neurologic involvement, and anti-RNP and anti-DNA antibodies with renal involvement. In conclusion, HSCT may be a valid curative option for C1q deficiency, but careful selection of patients, with an accurate assessment of risk and benefit, is mandatory

Community Inquiry Labs as Effective Community Informatics Tools

Meeting these challenges is crucial as we work to address community aspirations, capabilities, and problems. We are contributing to this effort through our current research and development on Community Inquiry Labs (CILs). A CIL is most importantly a concept, although we are developing webbased tools that are freely available to anyone wishing to support community inquiry online (http://inquiry.uiuc.edu/cil). Our ultimate aim is to empower communities by supporting the development of the next generation of creative ICT ideas, people, tools, and designs.unpublishedis peer reviewe

Dynamic Allocation of Cloud Resources Using Skewness and SVM Algorithm

Exploring huge information applications realize huge data and also difficulties to modernize group and so the genius community. Cloud computing with its huge opportunity is the way to deal these issues. Let that be as it is, this cannot play its part on the off beat that we do not expert in fine allocation for cloud foundation resources. In this paper, we introduce a multi-target advancement calculation to exchange off the execution of Big Data and accessibility of Big Data, thereby reducing the cost of application running on Cloud. In the view of splitting and showcasing the interweaved relations among these destinations, we plan and execute our approach on trial condition. At long last, three sets of analyses demonstrate that our approach can keep running our application quicker than other regular improvement techniques and can accomplish the process at an higher execution rate than other heuristic calculations, while also having reduction in the cost of the system due to lesser usage of resources.</jats:p