Electromagnetic transition from the 4+ to 2+ resonance in 8Be measured via the radiative capture in 4He + 4He

An earlier measurement on the 4+ to 2+ radiative transition in 8Be provided the first electromagnetic signature of its dumbbell-like shape. However, the large uncertainty in the measured cross section does not allow a stringent test of nuclear structure models. This Letter reports a more elaborate and precise measurement for this transition, via the radiative capture in the 4He + 4He reaction, improving the accuracy by about a factor of 3. Ab initio calculations of the radiative transition strength with improved three-nucleon forces are also presented. The experimental results are compared with the predictions of the alpha cluster model and ab initio calculations.

Well developed deformation in 42Si

Excited states in (38,40,42) Si nuclei have been studied via in-beam γ-ray spectroscopy with multinucleon removal reactions. Intense radioactive beams of ^{40}S and (44)S provided at the new facility of the RIKEN Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory enabled γ-γ coincidence measurements. A prominent γ line observed with an energy of 742(8) keV in (42) Si confirms the 2(+) state reported in an earlier study. Among the γ lines observed in coincidence with the 2^{+} → 0+ transition, the most probable candidate for the transition from the yrast 4(+) state was identified, leading to a 4(1)+) energy of 2173(14) keV. The energy ratio of 2.93(5) between the 2(1)+ and 4(1)(+) states indicates well-developed deformation in (42) Si at N = 28 and Z = 14. Also for 38,40)Si energy ratios with values of 2.09(5) and 2.56(5) were obtained. Together with the ratio for (42)Si, the results show a rapid deformation development of Si isotopes from N = 24 to N = 28.

State-of-the-art chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension diagnosis and management

Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) is a debilitating disease caused by chronic obstruction of pulmonary artery branches following episodes of pulmonary embolism and incomplete thrombus resolution. The prognosis of patients with CTEPH is poor unless an early diagnosis is made and treatment is initiated. Chest radiography and echocardiography are used in the initial assessment of suspected pulmonary hypertension. A diagnosis of CTEPH may be confirmed by the presence of a mismatched wedge-shaped perfusion deficit during ventilation/perfusion scintigraphy or characteristic findings during multi-slice computed tomography (CT) angiography, including a mosaic perfusion pattern, dilatation of proximal pulmonary arteries and right heart chambers, and the presence of vascular stenosis or obstruction. Prior to possible surgery, pulmonary angiography remains the definitive diagnostic technique, indicating the site and accessibility of the obstruction. However, many centres utilise CT and magnetic resonance imaging following recent advances in these noninvasive techniques. Haemodynamic evaluation via right heart catheterisation is also mandatory, as pulmonary vascular resistance is the most important determinant of both prognosis and the risk associated with pulmonary endarterectomy surgery. Accurate CTEPH diagnosis and characterisation of its extent and distribution are imperative to allow the prompt initiation of treatment, particularly surgical pulmonary endarterectomy in eligible patients.

Evidence for a smooth onset of deformation in the neutron-rich Kr isotopes

The neutron-rich nuclei 94,96Kr were studied via projectile Coulomb excitation at the REX-ISOLDE facility at CERN. Level energies of the first excited 2(+) states and their absolute E2 transition strengths to the ground state are determined and discussed in the context of the E(2(1)(+)) and B(E2;2(1)(+)→0(1)(+)) systematics of the krypton chain. Contrary to previously published results no sudden onset of deformation is observed. This experimental result is supported by a new proton-neutron interacting boson model calculation based on the constrained Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov approach using the microscopic Gogny-D1M energy density functional.

High-resolution temporal profiling of transcripts during Arabidopsis leaf senescence reveals a distinct chronology of processes and regulation

Leaf senescence is an essential developmental process that impacts dramatically on crop yields and involves altered regulation of thousands of genes and many metabolic and signaling pathways, resulting in major changes in the leaf. The regulation of senescence is complex, and although senescence regulatory genes have been characterized, there is little information on how these function in the global control of the process. We used microarray analysis to obtain a high-resolution time-course profile of gene expression during development of a single leaf over a 3-week period to senescence. A complex experimental design approach and a combination of methods were used to extract high-quality replicated data and to identify differentially expressed genes. The multiple time points enable the use of highly informative clustering to reveal distinct time points at which signaling and metabolic pathways change. Analysis of motif enrichment, as well as comparison of transcription factor (TF) families showing altered expression over the time course, identify clear groups of TFs active at different stages of leaf development and senescence. These data enable connection of metabolic processes, signaling pathways, and specific TF activity, which will underpin the development of network models to elucidate the process of senescence.

How do ward pharmacists spend their time?: An activity sampling study

A regular clinical pharmacy service to wards is well established in Britain, yet there has been little practice research in this area. In this study, we established how pharmacists distribute their time between different activities on all the wards. All 28 pharmacists in two London hospitals were observed. The observer recorded their activities at one minute intervals and categorised the activity. Thirty-three hours and five minutes of observations were made. The pharmacists visited a total of 55 wards, and checked 982 drug charts.

The major activities were prescription monitoring, which accounted for 31 per cent ± 2 per cent, of the time (mean of pooled data ± 95 per cent confidence intervals), travel to wards 21 per cent ± 2 per cent, stock control 12 per cent ± 1 per cent, transcription 8 per cent ± 1 per cent and clinical monitoring (such as checking giving sets) 7 per cent ± 1 per cent.

The proportion of time spent on each activity was very similar between the two sites, except for the category “transcription”, which took 11 per cent ± 2 per cent of the time in one hospital, where all discharge prescriptions were transcribed onto ward pharmacy sheets (allowing processing in the pharmacy without the need for drug charts to leave the ward), and 3 per cent ± 1 per cent at the other site, in which they were not transcribed.

These results demonstrate that, when on the ward, pharmacists spend the majority of their time in a clinical role. The methodology is simple to use and appears reproducible. This work, if repeated locally, could be used to highlight areas of inefficiency, and could be used to test and predict the impact of other methods of delivery of clinical pharmacy.

Costing inpatient drug treatment

The aim of this study was to examine costs of charted drugs by using three data capture techniques. Data were manually extracted retrospectively from drug charts for a stratified sample of 200 inpatient stays at each of two London hospitals — a teaching hospital (St George's) and a district general hospital (Kingston). Specialties where costing was not feasible were excluded. These were: intensive care, oncology, dermatology and paediatrics. Three costs were calculated: nonstock drugs administered (the capability of traditional pharmacy computer systems), drugs prescribed (the data captured by a basic computerised prescribing system) and drugs administered (the data captured by a drug administration recording system). Pharmaceuticals not prescribed on the drug chart, such as anaesthetics, contrast media and disinfectants, were not included.

At St George's 2,739 and at Kingston 2,843 prescription entries were recorded, amounting to costs of £2,940 and £2,327, respectively, for drugs administered. A range of £0.01 to £171 per patient (median £4.67) at St George's and £0.00 to £122.66 (median £2.88) at Kingston demonstrates a skewed distribution, with most patients incurring low costs. Non-stock drugs accounted for 21 per cent of the cost of drugs administered at St George's and 15 per cent at Kingston. Twenty-four patients incurred costs above £50, their non-stock drugs being a mean of 21 per cent of their total costs. The cost of drugs administered at both hospitals was found to be 95 per cent of the cost of drugs prescribed.

Computerised prescribing and drug administration recording systems would significantly improve cost allocation. However, it is unlikely that the expense could be justified on the basis of the low value of drugs received by most patients.

The role of dispersed nocardioform filaments in activated sludge foaming

Activated sludge foaming caused by filamentous microorganisms is a major wastewater treatment plant operating problem. This paper presents the results of an investigation of the role of dispersed nocardioforms in activated sludge foaming. Dispersed nocardioforms had a greater propensity for foaming than floc-bound nocardioforms. The mode of effluent withdrawal from an aeration basin plays a major role in determining the relative proportion of dispersed and floc-bound nocardioforms in the activated sludge. Reactors with "trapping" features (sub-surface mixed liquor withdrawal) had significantly higher dispersed nocardioform populations than reactors with "non-trapping" features (surface mixed liquor withdrawal). High dispersed nocardioform filament concentrations were correlated with a high propensity for foaming. Cationic polymer and polyaluminum chloride reduced foaming by flocculating dispersed nocardioforms, thereby converting them to floc-bound nocardioforms. Low non-ionic surfactant concentrations changed the relative proportions of dispersed and floc-bound nocardioforms by deflocculating floc-bound filaments and converting them to the dispersed growth form. This could act as a trigger for initiating the rapid-onset nocardioform foaming events observed at activated sludge plants.