Deflection of the hypervelocity stars by the pull of the Large Magellanic Cloud on the Milky Way

Stars slingshotted by the supermassive black hole at the Galactic centre escape from the Milky Way so quickly that their trajectories are almost straight lines. Previous works have shown how these `hypervelocity stars' (stars moving faster than the local Galactic escape speed) are subsequently de ected by the gravitational field of the Milky Way and the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), but have neglected to account for the reflex motion of the Milky Way in response to the y-by of the LMC. A consequence of this motion is that the hypervelocity stars we see in the outskirts of the Milky Way today were ejected from where the Milky Way centre was hundreds of millions of years ago. This change in perspective causes large apparent de ections of several degrees in the trajectories of the hypervelocity stars. We quantify these deflections by simulating the ejection of hypervelocity stars from an isolated Milky Way (with a spherical or flattened dark matter halo), from a fixed-in-place Milky Way with a passing LMC, and from a Milky Way which responds to the passage of the LMC, finding that LMC passage causes larger de ections than can be caused by a attened Galactic dark matter halo in �CDM. The 10 �as y

Parameter estimation and inverse problems for reactive transport models in bioirrigated sediments.

Consider a body of marine sediment, which an organism burrows into. Advective transport of water induced by the organism‘s activity is referred to as bioirrigation here. One consequence is that the spatial distribution of oxygen in the sediment can be disturbed. To better understand these effects, further research into estimating flows induced by bioirrigation is conducted given images depicting spatio- temporal distributions of tracers that are carried with flows induced by the organism Arenicola marina in aquaria which are “narrow” in depth [1–3]. The multi- resolution Horn- Schunck method is employed here because it can cope with the sometimes fictitious “large” displacements that fluid deformation seems to produce [2]. But some of the recovered divergences here have unrealistically “large” magnitudes (relative to those near the injection location) where they ought to be comparatively “small” [2]. Quantifying error in flow fields is difficult when the true solution is unknown. One can subjectively define uncertainty in their components, and observations, to follow Gaussian distributions which are updated using Kalman filtering [2]. Given a pair of synthetic images, posterior variances seem to get reduced most where angular errors are comparatively “small” [2]. So posterior variances are used to infer errors when the true solution is unknown here because they are independent of it [2]. Unrealistic “large” divergence magnitudes (relative to those near injection locations) still appear where they ought to be comparatively “small” [2]. In line with previous research, one tries modelling flows induced by bioirrigating Arenicola marina as two- dimensional incompressible point sources. Only three parameters, namely the source strength, x- and y- coordinates, need estimating rather than flow components at each grid cell. A Markov chain Monte- Carlo method is employed for this task, instead of the Kalman filter, because the state being estimated is no longer proportional to observations. Although comparatively “large” divergence magnitudes now only appear near locations of fluid injection, this approach seems computationally expensive on one‘s Dell Optiplex 7010 computer. Outflow appears to be induced at the sediment- water interface by a two- dimensional incompressible point source beneath it. One questions whether there should be a little inflow as well because when an organism burrows forwards, the volume that it previously occupied ought to refill with surrounding fluid. This could be accounted for here by considering an additional two- dimensional incompressible flow at the sediment- water interface, as well as a point source at the injection location. But more parameters would need estimating. In an attempt to reduce computation times, the simulations involving the Markov chain Monte- Carlo method are rerun using two iterative ensemble Kalman filters (respectively)

HDL-apoA-I kinetics in response to 16 wk of exercise training in men with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is characterized by low-circulating concentration of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and raised triacylglycerol (TAG). Exercise reduces hepatic fat content, improves insulin resistance and increases clearance of very-low-density lipoprotein-1 (VLDL1). However, the effect of exercise on TAG and HDL-C metabolism is unknown. We randomized male participants to 16 wk of supervised, moderate-intensity aerobic exercise (n = 15), or conventional lifestyle advice (n = 12). Apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) and VLDL-TAG and apolipoprotein B (apoB) kinetics were investigated using stable isotopes (1-[13C]-leucine and 1,1,2,3,3-2H5 glycerol) pre- and postintervention. Participants underwent MRI/spectroscopy to assess changes in visceral fat. Results are means ± SD. At baseline, there were no differences between exercise and control groups for age (52.4 ± 7.5 vs. 52.8 ± 10.3 yr), body mass index (BMI: 31.6 ± 3.2 vs. 31.7 ± 3.6 kg/m2), and waist circumference (109.3 ± 7.5 vs. 110.0 ± 13.6 cm). Percentage of liver fat was 23.8 (interquartile range 9.8–32.5%). Exercise reduced body weight (101.3 ± 10.2 to 97.9 ± 12.2 kg; P ˂ 0.001) and hepatic fat content [from 19.6%, interquartile range (IQR) 14.6–36.1% to 8.9% (4.4–17.8%); P = 0.001] and increased the fraction HDL-C concentration (measured following ultracentrifugation) and apoA-I pool size with no change in the control group. However, plasma and VLDL1-TAG concentrations and HDL-apoA-I fractional catabolic rate (FCR) and production rate (PR) did not change significantly with exercise. Both at baseline (all participants) and after exercise there was an inverse correlation between apoA-I pool size and VLDL-TAG and -apoB pool size. The modest effect of exercise on HDL metabolism may be explained by the lack of effect on plasma and VLDL1-TAG

Hybrid Beamforming with Switches and Phase Shifters over Frequency-Selective Channels

The recent studies on hybrid beamformers with a combination of switches and phase shifters indicate that such methods can reduce the cost and power consumption of massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems. However, most of the works have focused on the scenarios with frequency-flat channel models. This letter proposes an effective approach for such systems in frequency-selective channels and presents the closed-form expressions of the beamformer and the corresponding sum-rates. Compared to the traditional subconnected structures, our approach with a significantly smaller number of phase shifters results in a promising performance

In vivo imaging of the depth-resolved optic axis of birefringence in human skin

Recent progress has enabled the reconstruction of the local (i.e., depth-resolved) optic axis (OAx) of biological tissue from measurements made with polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT). Here we demonstrate local OAx imaging in healthy human skin in vivo. The images reveal dense, weaving patterns that are imperceptible in OCT intensity tomograms or conventional PS-OCT metrics and that suggest a mesh-like tissue organization, consistent with the morphology of dermal collagen. Using co-registered polarization-sensitive optical coherence microscopy, we furthermore investigated the impact of spatial resolution on the recovered OAx patterns and confirmed their consistency. OAx orientation as a contrast mechanism merits further exploration for applications in dermatology

On the origin of a rotating metal-poor stellar population in the Milky Way Nuclear Cluster

We explore the origin of a population of stars recently detected in the inner parsec of the Milky Way Nuclear Cluster (NC), which exhibit sub-solar metallicity and a higher rotation compared to the dominant population. Using state-of-the-art N-body simulations, we model the infall of massive stellar systems into the Galactic center, both of Galactic and extra-galactic origin. We show that the newly discovered population can either be the remnant of a massive star cluster formed a few kpc away from the Galactic center (Galactic scenario) or be accreted from a dwarf galaxy originally located at 10-100 kpc (extragalactic scenario) and that reached the Galactic center

Triple P for Foster Parents with Young Foster Children: Results of a 1-year Randomized Clinical Trial

Background: Young children with a history of maltreatment or neglect in foster families often confront their caregivers with particularly challenging behaviors. This may lead to more parenting stress, an increased risk for the foster child to experience further maltreatment, and placement disruptions. Objective: We conducted a randomized controlled trial to investigate the efficacy of a parent group training tailored to the special needs of foster families. We hypothesized significant short- and long-term improvements regarding foster parents’ parenting competencies, child mental health problems, and related outcomes. Participants and Setting: Eighty-one families with 87 foster children aged 2-7 years participated in the trial. For the intervention study, 44 randomly selected families (54%) were offered to participate in the parent group training. Intervention and control group families were reassessed three times over a period of one year. Results: Contrary to our expectations, we found no advantages of the intervention group compared to the usual care control group on any outcome measure. Instead, we found some significant changes in both groups across time. Discussion: Placement into foster care is associated with some favorable outcomes for foster children. Additional support for foster families beyond the services delivered in the youth welfare system to foster parents was not associated with more favorable outcomes. The present intervention is likely associated with a low risk of harm but also with a high likelihood of a lack of significant benefits for foster parents and their young foster children going beyond feeling satisfied about the delivered services. Participating foster families showed favorable baseline results on parenting measures which may have impeded intervention effects to unfold on these proximal variables

How additive manufacturing allows products to absorb variety in use: empirical evidence from the defensive industry

The operations and supply chain management the normative assumption holds that a product’s structural and functional elements are fixed pre-production to support efficiency of operations. Firms moving from manufacturing to service are faced with delivering resource for customers in context and absorbing variety in use provides them with a number of challenges. This paper examines AM as a technology that efficiently provides high variety that meets emergent user demand. A single case study is undertaken, drawing upon design change data and in-depth interviews with industry experts. Findings show that in non-digitised environments, introducing design changes to modular products through life creates complexity, where complexity refers to increasing interdependencies between components in the product architecture that lead to increased coordination costs between internal and external supply chains. We find that advances in AM can act as a supply chain solution, managing complexity and allowing products and supply chains to efficiently and effectively adapt close to context of use. Findings suggest that existing theory must expand beyond the normative assumption that the physical product is fixed and the intangible service elements adapt to absorb variety, to include cases where the tangible product can absorb variety to meet emergent need

The Future of EU Development Policy Post-2020

Under the current proposals, the EU development cooperation budget would increase by 30%. This paper explores how this potential increase is designed to assist the EU in consolidating its international identity in line with the aims of the Global Strategy (EUGS) by better aligning the money in the development budget to the global ambitions of the EU. This has reignited concerns that this represents further politicisation of the development activities of the EU beyond the Treaty commitment to poverty reduction and once again highlights the tension between development goals and broader strategic goals. This paper explores this tension between development and strategic goals in what is clearly a moving target area. Comparing how the vision for EU development policy has evolved between the 2006 and 2017 Consensus’ on Development provides the context for a comparison to broader vision for external action set out in the EU’s Global Strategy. The paper then explores the proposed budget reforms in light of this comparison highlighting the implications for the EU as a development actor. It shows how discussions around the size of the EU budget coincide with Brexit and the re-negotiation of the EU’s relationship with a key group of developing countries, the ACP. It shows that the future negotiations will focus on the overall amount of the EU development budget, how the budget will be used and where – decisions that will shine a light onto the priorities of the EU as a development actor

Gut commensal bacteria show beneficial properties as wildlife probiotics

Probiotics represent a non-invasive, environmentally-friendly alternative to reduce infectious diseases in wildlife species. Our aim was to evaluate the potential of typical gut commensals, such as lactic acid bacteria (LAB), as wildlife probiotics. The selected LAB were isolated from European badgers (Meles meles); a wildlife reservoir of bovine tuberculosis, and comprised four different genera: Enterococcus; Weissella; Pediococcus; and Lactobacillus. The enterococci displayed a phenotype and genotype that correlate with the production of antibacterial peptides and stimulation of antiviral responses. However, these isolates carry virulence and antibiotic resistance genes. Weissella showed some anti-mycobacterial activity due to their ability to produce lactate and ethanol. Interestingly, lactobacilli and pediococci modulated pro-inflammatory phagocytic responses that associate with protection against pathogens; and these responses agreed with the presence of immunomodulatory markers in their genomes. Although both lactobacilli and pediococci showed tolerance to antibiotics, this resistance was naturally acquired and almost all isolates possessed a strong phylogenetic relationship with isolates from food and healthy animals. Our results show that LAB display probiotic benefits that depend on the genera. Lactobacilli and pediococci are probably the most interesting candidates as probiotics against infectious diseases in wildlife because of their food-grade status and ability to modulate protective innate immune responses