Annual seasonal influenza vaccination is recommended for individuals at high risk of developing post-infection complications in many locations. However, reduced vaccine immunogenicity and effectiveness have been observed among repeat vaccinees in some influenza seasons. We investigated the impact of repeated influenza vaccination on relative vaccine effectiveness (VE) among individuals who were recommended for influenza vaccination in the United Kingdom with a retrospective cohort study using primary healthcare data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink, a primary care database in the United Kingdom. Relative VE was estimated against general practitioner-diagnosed influenza-like illnesses (GP-ILI) and medically attended acute respiratory illnesses (MAARI) among participants who have been repeatedly vaccinated compared with first-time vaccinees using proportional hazards models. Relative VE against MAARI may be reduced for individuals above 65 years old who were vaccinated in the current and previous influenza seasons for some influenza seasons. However, these findings were not conclusive as we could not exclude the possibility of residual confounding in our dataset. The use of routinely collected data from electronic health records to examine the effects of repeated vaccination needs to be complemented with sufficient efforts to include negative control outcomes to rule out residual confounding.

Because they lose tremendous amounts of mass, cool evolved stars are major sources of dust and molecules for the interstellar medium. Spectro-imaging of the dust-driven winds around these stars has enabled us to identify recurring nonspherical patterns (e.g. spirals, arcs, compressed wind). We use radiative-hydrodynamic simulations of dust-driven winds to study the imprints left in the wind by an orbiting stellar or sub-stellar companion. We designed 3D numerical setup to solve the wind dynamics beyond the dust condensation radius and follow the flow up to several hundreds of stellar radii. Non-uniform grids enable us to capture small scale features such as shocks or disks forming around the orbiting object. Depending on its mass and orbital parameters, we reproduced typical non-spherical features such as arcs, spirals, petals and orbital density enhancements, and identified patterns associated to eccentric orbits.

While neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) are highly heritable, several environmental risk factors have also been suggested. However, the role of familial confounding is unclear. To shed more light on this, we reviewed the evidence from twin and sibling studies. A systematic review was performed on case control and cohort studies including a twin or sibling within-pair comparison of neurodevelopmental outcomes, with environmental exposures until the sixth birthday. From 7,315 screened abstracts, 140 eligible articles were identified. After adjustment for familial confounding advanced paternal age, low birth weight, birth defects, and perinatal hypoxia and respiratory stress were associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and low birth weight, gestational age and family income were associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), categorically and dimensionally. Several previously suspected factors, including pregnancy-related factors, were deemed due to familial confounding. Most studies were conducted in North America and Scandinavia, pointing to a global research bias. Moreover, most studies focused on ASD and ADHD. This genetically informed review showed evidence for a range of environmental factors of potential casual significance in NDDs, but also points to a critical need of more genetically informed studies of good quality in the quest of the environmental causes of NDDs.

Lysorophus, a serpentiform, nearly limbless, aquatic Paleozoic amphibian was described in detail by Sollas in 1920. Although Sollas did not discuss cranial kinesis, his original reconstructions suggest that Lysorophus had an unusually kinetic skull for an amphibian. We have reexamined the skull of Lysorophus and find that kinesis, if present, was slight. The maxillae, premaxillae, and vomers might have moved in limited protraction and retraction, with the premaxillae rotating about their contacts with the nasals. There is a possibility of small medio-lateral movements of the lacrimal and maxilla as a unit at the lacrimal-prefrontal joint. The skull of Lysorophus shows many features convergent with the skulls of burrowing reptiles, such as amphisbaenians. Modifications in the skull of Lysorophus from a more primitive tetrapod condition seem associated with burrowng in a soft substratum rather than with kinesis per se.

Children born preterm are at risk for experiencing significant deleterious developmental outcomes throughout their childhood and adolescence. However, individual variation and resilience are hallmarks of the preterm population. The present study examined pathways to resilience across multiple domains (e.g., social activities, peer relations, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptomology, externalizing and internalizing behavior, and sleep quality) as children born preterm reached school age. The study also examined early child and family predictors of resilience. Using a prospective longitudinal design, 173 infants born preterm and without significant neurological complications were assessed at five time points: neonatal intensive care unit discharge, 9 months, 16 months, 24 months, and 6 years. Three pathways of adaptation emerged at 6 years: children who were resilient, those who remained at-risk, and children who exhibited significant difficulties. Resilient children were less likely to have experienced negative parenting at 9 and 16 months, more likely to delay gratification at 24 months, and more likely to experience neonatal health complications than nonresilient children.

For every mill the ideal roll can be considered as one that can be used in a mill stand indefinitely. Unfortunately for the roll user, such ideal rolls do not exist. One major reason for work roll changes (planned or unplanned) is “wear”. In the context of cold rolling and temper rolling, “wear” primarily refers to loss of roughness and/or surface texture. Another limitation to roll performance is the fact that mill incidents – minor as well as major incidents – inflict damage on the work rolls, requiring redressing in the roll shop. If a major defect is present in a forged roll, e.g. due to a mill incident, catastrophic roll failure may occur in a violent, explosive manner. Improvement of the value-in-use of a work roll implies a superior wear resistance, a superior damage resistance, and elimination of the safety risks associated with explosive roll failures. In order to deal with this in a concerted R&D approach, a consortium of two roll users in the steel industry, a leading roll manufacturer, a high-tech supplier of roll damage detection equipment, and specialised research institutes have joined forces. Cold rolling trials have been performed, using pilot mills as well as industrial mills, with both novel forged HSS work rolls and conventional forged 3–5%Cr steel work rolls. Separate trials have been designed to focus on either the aspect of roughness evolution or damage resistance. Complementary data from various laboratory tests and industrial mill and roll shop data have been collected. Models have been developed for damage evolution in a roll, and for roughness evolution of the roll surface. In addition, novel non-destructive detection systems and sensors have been designed and tested. This paper provides a concise overview of the results achieved.

Color-magnitude diagrams reaching from the giant branches to Vlim ~ 27.0, or about three magnitudes fainter than the turnoff, have been obtained in V and I with WFPC2 on HST for NGC 2419, Pal 3, Pal 4 and Eridanus, whose relative ages are discussed.

HST V, I color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) of four outer-halo clusters, NGC 2419, Pa13, Pal4 and Eridanus, provide insight into the relative ages of old star clusters throughout the 200 kpc diameter volume sampled, and thus into the formation epoch of the Milky Way galaxy.

Deviations from ellipticity in the bulges of edge-on disk galaxies, seen as ”boxy“, ”peanut-shaped“, or “X-shaped“ isophotes, have been known for some time (Jarvis 1986, Whitmore & Bell 1988). Contrary to earlier proposals that these features represent accreted material, recent numerical work (Combes et al. 1990; Raha et al. 1991) suggests that they form when the bars in barred galaxies experience a vertical bending instability and deform out of the disk plane. We have found this latter mechanism at work in simulations in which a bar is induced when a large disk galaxy accretes a small companion galaxy, thus incorporating the mechanism into the evolutionary framework of galaxy interactions. In support of this picture we present observations of Hickson 87a, an edge-on S0 galaxy whose morphological peculiarities exactly match those seen in the simulation.

An important cause of deactivation of alumina supported transition metal (oxide) catalysts is a solid state reaction between the active component and the support. We therefore studied the hightemperature behavior of Me layers (Me = Co, Ni, Cu and Fe) on polycrystalline α-A12O3 and γ- Al2O3 substrates. The samples were first oxidized at moderate temperatures and then annealed at high temperatures (up to 1000 °C) in O2, N2, or N2/O2 mixtures. The interfacial reaction to MeA12O4 was assessed using Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry and X-ray diffraction. The reaction rate strongly depends on the transition metal element Me: Fe < Ni < Co < Cu. Low oxygen pressures favour spinel formation. γ-A12O3 shows a much higher reactivity towards the MeOx overlayers than α-Al2O3.

A melt-spinnable precursor of aluminum nitride fibers derived from triethylaluminum and ammonia contains AlNH, AlNH2 groups, and a small number of AlN units characteristic of aluminum nitride. The molecular weight of a spinnable composition is 070, corresponding to an average molecular weight of 13 organoaluminum groups. Ammonia, a curing agent for the fibers, accelerates elimination of ethane from the material, and decreases its solubility in toluene.

The recent discovery of high temperature superconductivity in YBa2Cu3O7 has led to intense activity in the processing of these oxides. The earliest attempts to synthesize these materials were based on solid state routes. These routes do not produce highly sinterable powders. Solution routes can potentially produce much more sinterable powders. We have investigated several synthesis routes - both solid state and solution. The details of these will be presented elsewhere(1). Here, we contrast the physical properties and the densification behavior of powders made via solid state and solution routes. We also present preliminary results on the microstructural characterization and electrical properties of the sintered samples.