Qubit Residence Time Measurements with a Bose-Einstein Condensate

We show that an electrostatic qubit located near a Bose-Einstein condensate trapped in a symmetric double-well potential can be used to measure the duration the qubit has spent in one of its quantum states. The strong, medium, and weak measurement regimes are analyzed. The analogy between the residence and the traversal (tunnelling) times is highlighted.

Area of residence and alcohol-related mortality risk: a five-year follow-up study

Aims

Relationship between socioeconomic deprivation or urban/rural residence and visual acuity before cataract surgery in Northern Scotland

Purpose: To evaluate the influence of socioeconomic factors on visual acuity before cataract surgery. ?Methods: The medical case notes of 240 consecutive patients listed for cataract surgery from January 1, 2010, at Grampian University Hospital, Aberdeen, were reviewed retrospectively. Patients with ocular comorbidity were excluded. Demographics, postal codes, and visual acuity were recorded. Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation was used to determine the deprivation rank. Home location was classified as urban or rural. The effect of these parameters on preoperative visual acuity was investigated using chi-square tests or Fisher exact test as appropriate. ?Results: A total of 184 patients (mean 75 years) were included. A total of 127 (69%) patients had visual acuity of 6/12 or better. An association was found between affluence and preoperative visual acuity of 6/12 or better (?2trend = 4.97, p = 0.03), with a significant rising trend across quintile of deprivation. There was no evidence to suggest association between geographical region and preoperative visual acuity (p = 0.63). ?Conclusion: Affluence was associated with good visual acuity (6/12 or better) before cataract surgery. There was no difference in preoperative visual acuity between rural and urban populations.

A cross-sectional study of neuropsychiatric symptoms in 435 patients with Alzheimer's disease

OBJECTIVES: The behavioral and psychological symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are associated with significant patient and caregiver distress and increased likelihood of institutionalization. We attempted to characterize in detail these symptoms and the distress they cause to caregivers. METHODS: Patients with probable AD were assessed with the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE), Functional Assessment Staging (FAST), and the Neuropsychiatric Inventory With Caregiver Distress (NPI-D). RESULTS: Four hundred and thirty-five patients were recruited. Neuropsychiatric symptoms of all types were highly prevalent. The most common and most persistent symptom was apathy (75%). Delusional symptoms were the least persistent. Depressive and apathetic symptoms were the earliest to appear, and hallucinations, elation/euphoria, and aberrant motor behavior were the latest symptoms to emerge. Hallucinations were significantly more common in severe dementia. Symptoms of irritability were most prevalent in early disease. Total Neuropsychiatric Symptom score was significantly correlated with MMSE and FAST score. Caregivers rated their own emotional distress levels as moderate or severe for 10 out of 12 symptom domains. The sum total of caregiver distress was strongly correlated with total NPI-D but not cognition or functional state. Distress levels did not vary when analyzed according to the patients' place of residence. CONCLUSIONS: Potentially treatable neuropsychiatric symptoms are common in AD and represent a major source of distress among caregivers. The extent of neuropsychiatric symptomatology is seen to correlate with the level of functional and cognitive disability although some symptoms are variably persistent and related to disease stage.

Performance of a Sequential Reactive Barrier for Bioremediation of Coal Tar Contaminated Groundwater

Following a thorough site investigation, a biological Sequential Reactive Barrier (SEREBAR), designed to remove Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and BTEX compounds, was installed at a Former Manufactured Gas Plant (FMGP) site. The novel design of the barrier comprises, in series, an interceptor and six reactive chambers. The first four chambers (2 nonaerated-2 aerated) were filled with sand to encourage microbial colonization. Sorbant Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) was present in the final two chambers in order to remove any recalcitrant compounds. The SEREBAR has been in continuous operation for 2 years at different operational flow rates (ranging from 320 L/d to 4000 L/d, with corresponding residence times in each chamber of 19 days and 1.5 days, respectively). Under low flow rate conditions (320-520 L/d) the majority of contaminant removal (>93%) occurred biotically within the interceptor and the aerated chambers. Under high flow rates (1000-4000 L/d) and following the installation of a new interceptor to prevent passive aeration, the majority of contaminant removal (>80%) again occurred biotically within the aerated chambers. The sorption zone (GAC) proved to be an effective polishing step, removing any remaining contaminants to acceptable concentrations before discharge down-gradient of the SEREBAR (overall removals >95%).

A Census-based longitudinal study of variations in survival amongst residents of nursing and residential homes in Northern Ireland

Background: despite the intensive services provided to residents of care homes, information on death rates is not routinely available for this population in the UK. Objective: to quantify mortality rates across the care home population of Northern Ireland, and assess variation by type of care home and resident characteristics. Design: a prospective, Census-based cohort study, with 5-year follow-up. Participants: all 9,072 residents of care homes for people aged 65 and over at the time of the 2001 census with a special emphasis on the 2,112 residents admitted during the year preceding census day. Measurements: age, sex, self-reported health, marital status, residence (not in care home, residential home, dual registered home, nursing home), elderly mentally infirm care provision. Results: the median survival among nursing home residents was 2.33 years (95% CI 2.25–2.59), for dual registered homes 2.75 (95% CI 2.42–3.17) and for residential homes 4.51 (95% CI 3.92–4.92) years. Age, sex and self-reported health showed weaker associations in the sicker populations in nursing homes compared to those in residential care or among the non-institutionalised. Conclusions: the high mortality in care homes indicates that places in care homes are reserved for the most severely ill and dependent. Death rates may not be an appropriate care quality measure for this population, but may serve as a useful adjunct for clinical staff and the planning of care home provision.

House value as an indicator of cumulative wealth is strongly related to morbidity and mortality risk in older people: a census-based cross-sectional and longitudinal study

Background: There has been relatively little research into health inequalities in older populations. This may be partly explained by the difficulty in identifying appropriate indicators of socio-economic status for older people. Ideally, indicators of socio-economic status to be used in studies of health inequalities in older populations should incorporate some measure of life-time socio-economic standing, and house value may fill this role. This study examined whether an indicator of accumulated wealth based on a combination of housing tenure and house value was a strong predictor of ill-health in older populations.
Methods: A total of 191 848 people aged =65 years and not living in communal establishments were identified from the 2001 Northern Ireland Census and followed for 5 years. Self-reported health and mortality risk by housing tenure/house value groupings were examined while controlling for a range of other demographic and socio-economic characteristics.
Results: Housing tenure/house value was highly correlated with other indicators of socio-economic status. Public-sector renters had worse self-reported health and higher mortality rates than owner occupiers but significant gradients were also found between those living in the highest-and lowest-valued owner-occupier properties. The relationship between housing tenure and value was unchanged by adjustment for indicators of social support and quality of the physical environment. Adjustment for limiting long-term illness and self-reported health at baseline narrowed but did not eliminate the health gains associated with living in more expensive housing.
Conclusions: House value of residence is an accessible and powerful indicator of accumulated wealth that is highly correlated with current health status and predictive of future mortality risk in older populations.

Who goes where? Young children's pathways through care in Northern Ireland

This is one of a series of articles reporting on the large-scale ‘Northern Ireland Care Pathways and Outcomes Study’ (McSherry et al, 2008). The study has been examining a population of young children (n=374) who were in care under five years of age in Northern Ireland, and initially followed them across a four-year period (2000-2004). It has mapped these young children’s care careers, and explored factors relating to five care pathways that these children progressed along, i.e. towards adoption; long-term non-relative foster care; long-term relative foster care; Residence Order; and return to birth parent/s. This paper will examine the children’s care pathway patterns from 2000 to 2004, and will identify the background factors that appear to have influenced their specific care pathway. These background factors relate to the age of child, length of time in care, the child’s health, the child’s behaviour and regional variation. The findings indicate that although the care pathway patterns were to some extent similar to England and Wales, there were differences apparent to the Northern Ireland context.

Freeze-dried, mucoadhesive system for vaginal delivery of the HIV microbicide, dapivirine: Optimisation by an artificial neural network

Dapivirine mucoadhesive gels and freeze-dried tablets were prepared using a 3 x 3 x 2 factorial design. An artificial neural network (ANN) with multi-layer perception was used to investigate the effect of hydroxypropyl-methylcellulose (HPMC): polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) ratio (XI), mucoadhesive concentration (X2) and delivery system (gel or freeze-dried mucoadhesive tablet, X3) on response variables; cumulative release of dapivirine at 24 h (Q(24)), mucoadhesive force (F-max) and zero-rate viscosity. Optimisation was performed by minimising the error between the experimental and predicted values of responses by ANN. The method was validated using check point analysis by preparing six formulations of gels and their corresponding freeze-dried tablets randomly selected from within the design space of contour plots. Experimental and predicted values of response variables were not significantly different (p > 0.05, two-sided paired t-test). For gels, Q(24) values were higher than their corresponding freeze-dried tablets. F-max values for freeze-dried tablets were significantly different (2-4 times greater, p > 0.05, two-sided paired t-test) compared to equivalent gets. Freeze-dried tablets having lower values for X1 and higher values for X2 components offered the best compromise between effective dapivirine release, mucoadhesion and viscosity such that increased vaginal residence time was likely to be achieved. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Distance between home and work: A multilevel analysis of individual workers, neighbourhoods, and employment sites in Northern Ireland

Abstract. We explore the distances between home and work for employees at twenty-eight different employment sites across Northern Ireland. Substantively, this is important for better understanding the geography of labour catchments. Methodologically, with data on the distances between place of residence (566 wards) and place of work for some 15 000 workers, and the use of multilevel modelling (MLM), the analysis adds to the evidence derived from other census-based and survey-based studies. Descriptive analysis is supplemented with MLM that simultaneously explores individual, neighbourhood, and site variations in travel-to-work patterns using hierarchical and cross-classified model specifications, including individual and ecological predictor variables (and their cross-level interactions). In doing so we apportion variability to different levels and spatial contexts, and also outline the factors that shape spatial mobility. We find, as expected, that factors such as gender and occupation influence the distance between home and work, and also confirm the importance of neighbourhood characteristics (such as population density observed in ecological analyses at ward level) in shaping individual outcomes, with major differences found between urban and rural locations. Beyond this, the analysis of variability also points to the relative significance of residential location, with less individual variability in travel-to-work distance between workers within wards than within employment sites. We conclude by suggesting that, whilst some general ‘rules’ about the factors that shape labour catchments are possible (eg workers in rural areas and in higher occupations travel further than others), the complex variability between places highlighted by the MLM analysis illustrates the salience of place-specific uniqueness.

Phase-Transfer Catalysis in Segmented Flow in a Microchannel: Fluidic Control of Selectivity and Productivity

Precise control over the interfacial area of aqueous and organic slugs in segmented flow in a microchannel reactor provides an attractive means to optimize the yield and productivity of a phase-transfer-catalyzed reaction. Herein, we report the selective alkylation of phenylacetonitrile to the monoalkylated product in a microchannel of 250-mu m internal diameter operated in a continuous and solvent-free manner in the slug-flow regime. The conversion of phenylacetonitrile increased from 40% to 99% as a result of a 97% larger slug surface-to-volume ratio when the volumetric aqueous-to-organic phase flow ratio was raised from 1.0 to 6.1 at the same residence time. The larger surface-to-volume ratio significantly promoted catalyst phase transfer but decreased selectivity because of the simultaneous increase of the rate of the consecutive reaction to the dialkylated product. There exists all Optimum flow ratio with a maximum productivity. Conversion and selectivity in the microchannel reactor were both found to be significantly larger than in a stirred reactor.

Socio-economic inequalities in cerebral palsy prevalence in the United Kingdom: a register-based study

Evidence is unclear as to whether there is a socio-economic gradient in cerebral palsy (CP) prevalence beyond what would be expected from the socio-economic gradient for low birthweight, a strong risk factor for CP. We conducted a population-based study in five regions of the UK with CP registers, to investigate the relationship between CP prevalence and socio-economic deprivation, and how it varies by region, by birthweight and by severity and type of CP. The total study population was 1 657 569 livebirths, born between 1984 and 1997. Wards of residence were classified into five quintiles according to a census-based deprivation index, from Q1 (least deprived) to Q5 (most deprived). Socio-economic gradients were modelled by Poisson regression, and region-specific estimates combined by meta-analysis.

The prevalence of postneonatally acquired CP was 0.14 per 1000 livebirths overall. The mean deprivation gradient, expressed as the relative risk in the most deprived vs. the least deprived quintile, was 1.86 (95% confidence interval [95% CI 1.19, 2.88]). The prevalence of non-acquired CP was 2.22 per 1000 livebirths. For non-acquired CP the gradient was 1.16 [95% CI 1.00, 1.35]. Evidence for a socio-economic gradient was strongest for spastic bilateral cases (1.32 [95% CI 1.09, 1.59]) and cases with severe intellectual impairment (1.59 [95% CI 1.06, 2.39]). There was evidence for differences in gradient between regions. The gradient of risk of CP among normal birthweight births was not statistically significant overall (1.21 [95% CI 0.95, 1.54]), but was significant in two regions. There was non-significant evidence of a reduction in gradients over time.

The reduction of the higher rates of postneonatally acquired CP in the more socioeconomically deprived areas is a clear goal for prevention. While we found evidence for a socio-economic gradient for non-acquired CP of antenatal or perinatal origin, the picture was not consistent across regions, and there was some evidence of a decline in inequalities over time. The steeper gradients in some regions for normal birthweight cases and cases with severe intellectual impairment require further investigation.