There is an increasing incidence of overweight/obesity and mental health disorders in young adults and the two conditions often coexist. We aimed to investigate the influence of antenatal and postnatal factors that may underlie this association with a focus on maternal prenatal smoking, socio-economic status and gender. Data from the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study (women enrolled 1989–1991) including 1056 offspring aged 20 years (cohort recalled 2010–2012) were analyzed (2015–2016) using multivariable models for associations between offspring depression scores (DASS-21 Depression-scale) and body mass index (BMI), adjusting for pregnancy and early life factors and offspring behaviours. There was a significant positive relationship between offspring depression-score and BMI independent of gender and other psychosocial covariates. There was a significant interaction between maternal prenatal smoking and depression-score (interaction coefficient=0.096; 95% CI: 0.006, 0.19, P=0.037), indicating the relationship between depression-score and BMI differed according to maternal prenatal smoking status. In offspring of maternal prenatal smokers, a positive association between BMI and depression-score (coefficient=0.133; 95% CI: 0.05, 0.21, P=0.001) equated to 1.1 kg/m2 increase in BMI for every 1standard deviation (8 units) increase in depression-score. Substituting low family income during pregnancy for maternal prenatal smoking in the interaction (interaction coefficient=0.091; 95% CI: 0.01, 0.17, P=0.027) showed a positive association between BMI and depression score only among offspring of mothers with a low family income during pregnancy (coefficient=0.118; 95% CI: 0.06, 0.18, P<0.001). There were no significant effects of gender on these associations. Whilst further studies are needed to determine whether these associations are supported in other populations, they suggest potentially important maternal behavioural and socio-economic factors that identify individuals vulnerable to the coexistence of obesity and depression in early adulthood.

We compared the cost-effectiveness (CE) of an active case-finding (ACF) programme for household contacts of tuberculosis (TB) cases enrolled in first-line treatment to routine passive case-finding (PCF) within an established national TB programme in Peru. Decision analysis was used to model detection of TB in household contacts through: (1) self-report of symptomatic cases for evaluation (PCF), (2) a provider-initiated ACF programme, (3) addition of an Xpert MTB/RIF diagnostic test for a single sputum sample from household contacts, and (4) all strategies combined. CE was calculated as the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) in terms of US dollars per disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) averted. Compared to PCF alone, ACF for household contacts resulted in an ICER of $2155 per DALY averted. The addition of the Xpert MTB/RIF diagnostic test resulted in an ICER of $3275 per DALY averted within a PCF programme and $3399 per DALY averted when an ACF programme was included. Provider-initiated ACF of household contacts in an urban setting of Lima, Peru can be highly cost-effective, even including costs to seek out contacts and perform an Xpert/MTB RIF test. ACF including Xpert MTB/RIF was not cost-effective if TB cases detected had high rates of default from treatment or poor outcomes.

We report detections of thermal X-ray line emission and proper motions in the supernova remnant (SNR) RX J1713.7-3946, the prototype of the small class of synchrotron dominated SNRs. Based on deep XMM-Newton observations, we find clear line features including Ne Lyα, Mg Heα, and Si Heα from the central portion of the remnant. The metal abundance ratios suggest that the thermal emission originates from core-collapse SN ejecta arising from a relatively low-mass (≲20 M⊙) progenitor. In addition, using XMM-Newton observations on a 13 yr time interval, we have measured expansion in the southeastern rim to be ~0.75″ yr−1 or ~3500 km s−1 at a distance of 1 kpc. Given this, we derive an upstream density to be ~0.01 cm−3, compatible with the lack of thermal X-rays from the shocked ambient medium. We also estimate the age of the remnant to be ~1200–1600 yr, roughly consistent with the idea that RX J1713.7-3946 is the remnant of SN 393.

Japanese cedar rings sampled from Aomori Prefecture, Japan, were measured to obtain tree-ring radiocarbon data covering a period of the latter half of the 20th century in the northernmost area of Honshu (mainland Japan), to obtain records of variation in atmospheric 14C concentration caused by past atmospheric nuclear testing, and to study any possible local effects. This work, carried out on a partial disk, was also intended to provide a reference for data obtained by core sampling of live, standing Japanese black pines as a part of marine environmental studies.

Enhancement of the quality of laser wake-field accelerated (LWFA) electron beams implies the improvement and controllability of the properties of the wake waves generated by ultra-short pulse lasers in underdense plasmas. In this work we present a compendium of useful formulas giving relations between the laser and plasma target parameters allowing one to obtain basic dependences, e.g. the energy scaling of the electrons accelerated by the wake field excited in inhomogeneous media including multi-stage LWFA accelerators. Consideration of the effects of using the chirped laser pulse driver allows us to find the regimes where the chirp enhances the wake field amplitude. We present an analysis of the three-dimensional effects on the electron beam loading and on the unlimited LWFA acceleration in inhomogeneous plasmas. Using the conditions of electron trapping to the wake-field acceleration phase we analyse the multi-equal stage and multiuneven stage LWFA configurations. In the first configuration the energy of fast electrons is a linear function of the number of stages, and in the second case, the accelerated electron energy grows exponentially with the number of stages. The results of the two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations presented here show the high quality electron acceleration in the triple stage injection–acceleration configuration.

Several weeks after the explosion of supernova (SN) SN1987A, the UV flash of the SN illuminated a ring-like structure in the circumstellar material at about 0.65 ly from the SN. The interaction between the stellar winds from the SN progenitor is considered to be the candidate for the formation of the circumstellar structure. In the case that the stellar winds are spherically symmetric, the interaction should result in a shell-like structure. However, Washimi, Shibata & Mori (1996) show that the magnetic field in the winds causes an anisotropy which leads to the formation of a ring-like structure. When the fast wind of the blue supergiant phase of the progenitor sweeps up the surrounding slow wind of the red-supergiant phase, the magnetic field as well as the wind material are piled up in the interaction region. Since the magnetic energy increases in proportion to the square of the amplitude, the magnetic field exhibits its effect prominently at the interaction region; due to the magnetic pressure force the material at lower latitudes is compressed into a ring-like structure. It is suggested that this magnetic process can also explain the newly observed pair of rings of the SN1987A nebula. We note that the idea of a magnetic field effect is consistent with the radio observation of a supernova remnant, detected by Staveley-Smith et al. (1992) at about 1200 days after the explosion. This radio emission is explained by the collision of the supernova blast wave with the shocked blue wind. This position corresponds to the averaged expansion speed of the supernova ejecta ∼ 0.08 ly which is consistent with the estimation by Shigeyama and Nomoto (1990). The estimated magnetic-energy density by the minimum-energy argument is ∼ 4 × 10–8 f –4/7 N m –2, where f is the fractional volume of the radiating acceleration region, suggesting a magnetic field of a few milli-Gauss or more (Chevalier 1992). This field intensity is consistent with an intensity of ≈ 2 · 10–4 Gauss obtained between the reverse shock and the contact surface shown, if one takes into account a further enhancement of the field due to the sweeping-up process by the supernova blast wave. When the SN ejector collides with the ring at the end of this century or at the beginning of the next one, we can also expect more intense radio emission at rather middle and high latitudes where the magnetic intensity is greater, rather than at the equator where the ring-like structure is located.

The observation of 8B solar Neutrinos in the Kamiokande-II detector is presented. Based on 450 days of data in the time period of January 1987 through May 1988, the measured flux obtained with Ee ≥ 9.3 MeV was 0.46 ± 0.13 (stat) ± 0.08 (sys) of the value predicted by the standard solar model. The detector and analysis methods were improved since June 1988 and the background level has been decreased by a factor of about three since then.

The Collaboration of Australia and Nippon for a GAmma Ray Observatory in the Outback operates two large telescopes at Woomera (South Australia), which detect the Čerenkov light images produced in the atmosphere by electronpositron cascades initiated by very high energy (~1 TeV or 1012 eV) gamma rays. These gamma rays arise from a different mechanism than at EGRET energies: inverse Compton (IC) emission from relativistic electrons.

The spoke-like images are recorded by a multi-pixel camera which facilitates the rejection of the large numbers of oblique and ragged cosmic ray images. A field of view ~3.5° is required. The Australian team operates a triple 4 m diameter mirror telescope, BIGRAT, with a 37 photomultiplier tube camera and energy threshold 600 GeV. The Japanese operate a single, highly accurate 3.8 m diameter f/1 telescope and high resolution 256 photomultipler tube camera. In 1998 a new 7 m telescope is planned for Woomera with a design threshold ~;200GeV.

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) is one of the most commonly identified infectious aetiologies of encephalitis in North America and Europe. The epidemiology of encephalitis beyond these regions, however, is poorly defined. During 2009–2012 we enrolled 313 patients in a multicentre prospective study of encephalitis in Peru, 45 (14·4%) of whom had confirmed HSV infection. Of 38 patients with known HSV type, 84% had HSV-1 and 16% had HSV-2. Patients with HSV infection were significantly more likely to present in the summer months (44·4% vs. 20·0%, P = 0·003) and have nausea (60·0% vs. 39·8%, P = 0·01) and rash (15·6% vs. 5·3%, P = 0·01) compared to patients without HSV infection. These findings highlight differences in the epidemiology and clinical presentation of HSV encephalitis outside of the Northern Hemisphere that warrant further investigation. Furthermore, there is an urgent need for improved HSV diagnostic capacity and availability of intravenous acyclovir in Peru.

Preparation of a sigma-CrFe single-phase specimen was achieved by arc melting of pure Fe and Cr, cold rolling, and subsequent annealing at 973 K or 1073 K in vacuum. Cold rolling before annealing is effective for the annealing-induced formation of sigma-CrFe from the bcc solid-solution phase. The phase stability and the structural change from sigma-CrFe to a bcc solid-solution phase under fast electron irradiation were investigated by in situ transmission electron microscope (TEM) observation in the temperature range between 22 K and 473 K by using an ultra-high voltage electron microscope (UHVEM). The phase transition of sigma-CrFe by fast electron irradiation was found to occur at a particular temperature.

The existence of Pt7Cu ordering phase (intermetallic compound) was investigated by ab initio calculations and high voltage electron microscopy (HVEM) focusing on irradiation-induced ordering. The Pt7Cu ordering phase (cF32, prototype Ca7Ge) was predicted at 0 K through density functional theory (DFT), and using cluster expansion (CE) method and grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulation, the ordering temperature of fcc-based Pt7Cu ordering phase was estimated to be above room temperature. The formation of Pt7Cu ordering phase was confirmed by a short-time irradiation for 3.6×103 s at 600 K. MeV electron irradiation can reduce drastically the annealing time for the ordering in the Pt-Cu alloy system, indicating that the combination of the prediction by ab initio calculations and HVEM can offer the unique opportunity to investigate the existence of ordering phase in alloys.

An outbreak of leptospirosis occurred in the South of Belgium, during August 2012, in teenagers who participated in two consecutive adventure scout camps near the Semois river. Among the symptomatic patient population (ten scouts), clinical manifestations included headache (70%), myalgia (50%), fever (50%), bilateral conjunctival injection (50%), general malaise (30%), vomiting (20%), anorexia (20%) and cough (20%). Some of the cases presented elevated blood creatinine (40%), or proteinuria (30%). Three patients were confirmed by serology and one by polymerase chain reaction. Potential risk factors included direct contact with a muskrat and indirect contact with potentially contaminated environments including the river water. Prospective environmental investigation carried out near the river banks 2 weeks after the outbreak identified Ondatra zibethicus (muskrat) as one Leptospira sp. reservoir.

Evidence suggests that breastfeeding during infancy lowers the risk of metabolic syndrome (MS) and its attendant risk factors in adult life. To investigate the influence of feeding type on the risk factors of MS, we assessed insulin sensitivity and lipid and apolipoprotein metabolism in preterm infants. Blood samples were collected from preterm infants at the time of discharge. Infants were separated into two groups: a breast milk (BM) group receiving ⩾90% of their intake from BM, and a mixed-fed (MF) group receiving ⩾50% of their intake from formula. The following indices were then compared between the two groups. Blood glucose and serum insulin levels were used to calculate the quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI). We also measured serum total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLc), apolipoprotein-A1 (apoA1) and apolipoprotein-B (apoB) levels, and the ratios of TC/HDLc, LDLc/HDLc and apoB/apoA1. The mean gestational age was 32.9 weeks at birth, and blood samples were collected at a mean corrected age of 37.4 weeks. There were 22 infants in the BM group and 19 in the MF group. QUICKI was significantly higher in the BM group. TC, HDLc and apoA1 were not significantly different between the groups, but LDLc and apoB levels were significantly higher in the BM group. The TC/HDLc, LDLc/HDLc and apoB/apoA1 ratios were significantly higher in the BM group. In preterm infants, the type of feeding exposure in the early postnatal period may influence glucose, lipid and apolipoprotein metabolism, and affect markers of MS.

The thermopower properties of GaN nanowires with transitional metal impurities are investigated in the framework of constrained spin density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The nanowires are connected to nanoscopic Al[111] electrodes, which ensure a natural coupling to the wurtzite structure of the nanowires. We investigate the thermoelectric properties comparatively for the pristine GaN nanowire and the system with one Mn adatom. Our study points out the predicted qualitative behavior for systems with a peak in the total transmission, as well as the sign change in the thermopower. For the system with the magnetic impurity we find an enhanced conductance, thermopower and figure of merit. The detectable spin current polarization suggests the device structure may be also used in low temperature sensing applications.

We have prepared 2% Al doped ZnO (AZO) thin films on SrTiO3 and Al2O3 substrates by Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) technique at various deposition temperatures (Tdep = 300 °C – 600 °C). Transport and thermoelectric properties of AZO thin films were studied in low temperature range (300 K - 600 K). AZO/STO films present superior performance respect to AZO/Al2O3 films deposited at the same temperature, except for films deposited at 400 °C. Best film is the fully c-axis oriented AZO/STO deposited at 300 °C, with electrical conductivity 310 S/cm, Seebeck coefficient -65 μV/K and power factor 0.13 × 10-3 Wm-1K-2 at 300 K. Its performance increases with temperature. For instance, power factor is enhanced up to × 10-3 Wm-1K-2 at 600 K, surpassing the best AZO film previously reported in literature.