LabView Interface for School-Network DAQ Card

A low-cost DAQ card has been developed for school-network cosmic ray detector projects, providing digitized data from photomultiplier tubes via a standard serial interface. To facilitate analysis of these data and to provide students with a starting point for custom readout systems, a model interface has been developed using the National Instruments LabVIEW(R) system. This user-friendly interface allows one to initialize the trigger coincidence conditions for data-taking runs and to monitor incoming or pre-recorded data sets with updating singles- and coincidence-rate plots and other user-selectable histograms.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures. Presented as Paper NS26-119 at IEEE-NSS 2003, Portland, OR, by R. J. Wilke

Radio and X-rays From SN 2013df Enlighten Progenitors of Type IIb Supernovae

We present radio and X-ray observations of the nearby Type IIb Supernova 2013df in NGC4414 from 10 to 250 days after the explosion. The radio emission showed a peculiar soft-to-hard spectral evolution. We present a model in which inverse Compton cooling of synchrotron emitting electrons can account for the observed spectral and light curve evolution. A significant mass loss rate, $\dot{M} \approx 8 \times 10^{-5}\,\rm M_{\odot}/yr$ for a wind velocity of 10 km/s, is estimated from the detailed modeling of radio and X-ray emission, which are primarily due to synchrotron and bremsstrahlung, respectively. We show that SN 2013df is similar to SN 1993J in various ways. The shock wave speed of SN 2013df was found to be average among the radio supernovae; $v_{sh}/c \sim 0.07$. We did not find any significant deviation from smooth decline in the light curve of SN 2013df. One of the main results of our self-consistent multiband modeling is the significant deviation from energy equipartition between magnetic fields and relativistic electrons behind the shock. We estimate $\epsilon_{e} = 200 \epsilon_{B}$. In general for Type IIb SNe, we find that the presence of bright optical cooling envelope emission is linked with free-free radio absorption and bright thermal X-ray emission. This finding suggests that more extended progenitors, similar to that of SN 2013df, suffer from substantial mass loss in the years before the supernova.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, 1 table; Submitted to The Astrophysical Journa

High Density Circumstellar Interaction in the Luminous Type IIn SN 2010jl: The first 1100 days

HST and ground based observations of the Type IIn SN 2010jl are analyzed, including photometry, spectroscopy in the ultraviolet, optical and NIR bands, 26-1128 days after first detection. At maximum the bolometric luminosity was $\sim 3\times10^{43}$ erg/s and even at 850 days exceeds $10^{42}$ erg/s. A NIR excess, dominating after 400 days, probably originates in dust in the circumstellar medium (CSM). The total radiated energy is $> 6.5\times10^{50}$ ergs, excluding the dust component. The spectral lines can be separated into one broad component due to electron scattering, and one narrow with expansion velocity $\sim 100$ km/s from the CSM. The broad component is initially symmetric around zero velocity but becomes blueshifted after $\sim 50$ days, while remaining symmetric about a shifted centroid velocity. Dust absorption in the ejecta is unlikely to explain the line shifts, and we attribute the shift instead to acceleration by the SN radiation. From the optical lines and the X-ray and dust properties, there is strong evidence for large scale asymmetries in the CSM. The ultraviolet lines indicate CNO processing in the progenitor, while the optical shows a number of narrow coronal lines excited by the X-rays. The bolometric light curve is consistent with a radiative shock in an $r^{-2}$ CSM with a mass loss rate of $\sim 0.1$ M_sun/yr. The total mass lost is $> 3$ M_sun. These properties are consistent with the SN expanding into a CSM characteristic of an LBV progenitor with a bipolar geometry. The apparent absence of nuclear processing is attributed to a CSM still opaque to electron scattering.Comment: ApJ in press. Updated and changed after referees comment

What factors affects a dairy farms growth? : a comparison between Sweden and Denmark

Dairy farms have during a long time been under pressure and this situation was aggravated during the spring and summer of 2009, when profitability declined to historically low levels. Lower milk price and relatively high input prices have caused Swedish dairy farms great liquidity concerns and profitability problems. For a long time, Denmark has been identified as a leading country for the agrarian development with a leading structural rationalization and willingness to grow. In 2009, it was shown that the Danish agriculture, which is generally more leveraged, has difficulties in maintaining profitability and when market price of land started to fall, the proportion of technically insolvent agricultural enterprises rose dramatically. In light of this prevailing situation, this study highlights differences between Denmark and Sweden with the hope to learn from each other. The study aims to identify the main factors influencing the Swedish and Danish dairy farmers decision making about their farm development and thereby contributes to the different rates of development between the countries. The study has adapted an exploratory approach, which means that the study seeks broad, and focuses on identifying the areas where differences exist. The explorative approach and geographical distance contributed to the choice of a quantitative survey, in form of a mail questionnaire. With four hypotheses, several aspects of the purpose are tested and the results of the study show that two could be rejected. These were the hypotheses that the Danish dairy farms experienced a more favorable business environment and that they have more business-oriented motivations and values. The hypotheses concerning Danish dairy farmers experiencing more strength in their farms and that Danish dairy farmers are more active in their role as managers are supported by empirical evidence, where there were significant differences on several points. Dairy farms in both countries have similar motivations and values in their business, but the Danish dairy farmers have a higher drive to continue developing because of their personal characteristics, farm conditions, interest, business confidence and use of strategic management. The strongest reason for Swedish and Danish dairy farmers deciding to phase out their production is the lack of successors. The Swedish dairy farmers who plan to develop their business feel hindered by the difficulty of finding additional land, while the Danish dairy farmers planning to develop their business feel that laws and rules are the strongest hindrance. Since the survey results are analyzed country by country it has a large degree of generalization and it is likely that there are relatively large groups of dairy farms who are more or less effective, have a greater or lesser confidence, and so on in each country. This means that the result's explanatory power varies between individual dairy farms. An analysis of the dairy farms, which have more than 100 cows, was also carried out. This analysis was based on the difference in mean values without going through statistical tests, because only 14% of Swedish respondents had over 100 cows. The result shows that it is no longer any differences in educational level between the groups, the Swedish dairy farmers are younger, have similar farm size, but still has a less positive view of their business, not as much interest in the production and are not as active in their use of strategic management compared to the Danish famers with a head size over 100 cows.Mjölkbranschen har länge varit pressad och denna situation förvärrades under våren och sommaren 2009, när lönsamheten sjönk till historiskt låga nivåer. Sänkta avräkningspriser och relativt höga priser på insatsvaror gjorde att svenska mjölkföretagare fick stora likviditetsbekymmer och lönsamhetsproblem. Under lång tid har Danmark angivits som ett föregångsland för den agrara utvecklingen med en långt gången strukturrationalisering och utvecklingsbenägna lantbrukare. Under 2009 har det dock visat sig att de danska mjölkföretagarna, som generellt sett är högt belånade, har svårt att upprätthålla lönsamheten. När markvärdena sjunker ökar andelen tekniskt insolventa lantbruksföretag drastiskt. Mot bakgrund av denna rådande situation belyser denna studie skillnader mellan Danmark och Sverige med förhoppningen att ta lärdom av varandra. Studien syftar till att finna de huvudsakliga faktorer som påverkar svenska och danska mjölkföretagares beslutsfattande kring företagens utveckling och därigenom leder till skillnader i utvecklingstakt länderna emellan. Studien har en explorativ ansats, vilket innebär att studien söker brett, och fokus ligger på att identifiera de områden, där skillnader föreligger. Den explorativa ansatsen och de geografiska avstånden bidrog till valet av en kvantitativ undersökning, i form av postenkät. Med fyra hypoteser har flera aspekter av syftet testats, och resultatet av studien visar att två kunde förkastas. Dessa var hypoteserna kring att danska mjölkföretagare upplever ett gynnsammare företagsklimat samt att de har fler företagsinriktade drivkrafter och egenskaper. Hypoteserna att danska mjölkföretagare upplever fler styrkor i sina företag och att danska mjölkföretagare är mer aktiva i sin roll som företagsledare stöds av empirin, då det på flera punkter fanns signifikanta skillnader. Studien visar att danska mjölkföretagare har en högre utvecklingsvilja på grund av personlig karaktäristika, gårdsförutsättningar, intresse, tilltro och användning av företagsstyrning. Det som starkast påverkar både de svenska och danska mjölkföretagarna i beslutet att avveckla sin produktion, är avsaknaden av en efterträdare som vill driva mjölkproduktionen vidare. De svenska mjölkföretagare som planerar att fortsätta eller utveckla sina mjölkföretag känner sig mest hindrade av svårigheten att finna ytterligare mark samtidigt som de danska mjölkföretagarna, som planerar att fortsätta eller utveckla anser att lagar och regler är mest hindrande. Då studiens resultat analyseras landsvis finns en viss grad av förenkling, och det är tänkbart att det finns förhållandevis stora grupper av mjölkföretagare, som är mer eller mindre effektiva, har en större eller mindre framtidstro och så vidare i respektive land. Detta innebär att resultatets förklaringsvärde varierar mellan varje enskild mjölkföretagare. Det genomförs också en analys med de mjölkföretagare som uppger att de har över 100 årskor. I denna dataanalys analyseras endast skillnader i medelvärden utan att genomgå statistiska test, detta då endast 14 % av de svenska respondenterna har över 100 årskor. Resultatet visar att det inte längre går att se några skillnader i utbildningsnivå mellan grupperna, att de svenska mjölkföretagarna är yngre, har liknande driftsenheter men fortfarande har en mindre positiv syn på sitt företagande. Vidare har de inte lika stort intresse för mjölkproduktionen och använder heller inte företagsstyrning lika aktivt som de danska mjölkföretagarna med en besättning över 100 kor

Young adult male patients with childhood-onset IBD have increased risks of compromised cortical and trabecular bone microstructures

Background Young adults with childhood-onset inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have increased risks of low areal bone mineral density and low skeletal muscle mass. Volumetric BMD (vBMD), bone geometry and microstructures, in addition to possible associations with skeletal muscle index (SMI) and physical exercise have been scarcely studied in this patient group. Patients and methods In total, 49 young adult male patients with childhood-onset IBD and 245 age- and height-matched young adult male controls were scanned with high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography. Bone geometry, vBMD, and bone microstructures were calculated as median values and compared between the patients and controls. Multivariable linear regression analyses were performed to determine the independent associations among IBD diagnosis, SMI (kg/m2), and physical exercise. Results The group of young adult patients had, in comparison with the controls, significantly smaller median cortical area (126.1 mm2 vs151.1 mm2, P < .001), lower median total vBMD (296.7 mg/cm3 vs 336.7 mg/cm3, P < .001), and lower median cortical vBMD (854.4 mg/cm3 vs 878.5 mg/cm3, P < .001). Furthermore, the patients compared with the controls had lower median trabecular volume fraction (16.8% vs 18.2%, P < .001) and thinner median trabeculae (0.084 mm vs 0.089 mm, P < .001). The differences between the patients with IBD and controls persisted in multivariable analyses that included adjustments for SMI and physical exercise. Conclusions Young adult men with childhood-onset IBD are at increased risk of having reduced bone quality in both the cortical and trabecular bone structures compared with normative matched controls

Type IIb Supernova SN 2011dh: Spectra and Photometry from the Ultraviolet to the Near-Infrared

We report spectroscopic and photometric observations of the Type IIb SN 2011dh obtained between 4 and 34 days after the estimated date of explosion (May 31.5 UT). The data cover a wide wavelength range from 2,000 Angstroms in the UV to 2.4 microns in the NIR. Optical spectra provide line profiles and velocity measurements of HI, HeI, CaII and FeII that trace the composition and kinematics of the SN. NIR spectra show that helium is present in the atmosphere as early as 11 days after the explosion. A UV spectrum obtained with the STIS reveals that the UV flux for SN 2011dh is low compared to other SN IIb. The HI and HeI velocities in SN 2011dh are separated by about 4,000 km/s at all phases. We estimate that the H-shell of SN 2011dh is about 8 times less massive than the shell of SN 1993J and about 3 times more massive than the shell of SN 2008ax. Light curves (LC) for twelve passbands are presented. The maximum bolometric luminosity of $1.8 \pm 0.2 \times 10^{42}$ erg s$^{-1}$ occurred about 22 days after the explosion. NIR emission provides more than 30% of the total bolometric flux at the beginning of our observations and increases to nearly 50% of the total by day 34. The UV produces 16% of the total flux on day 4, 5% on day 9 and 1% on day 34. We compare the bolometric light curves of SN 2011dh, SN 2008ax and SN 1993J. The LC are very different for the first twelve days after the explosions but all three SN IIb display similar peak luminosities, times of peak, decline rates and colors after maximum. This suggests that the progenitors of these SN IIb may have had similar compositions and masses but they exploded inside hydrogen shells that that have a wide range of masses. The detailed observations presented here will help evaluate theoretical models for this supernova and lead to a better understanding of SN IIb.Comment: 23 pages, 14 figures, 9 tables, accepted by Ap

Low Serum Levels of Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate Predict All-Cause and Cardiovascular Mortality in Elderly Swedish Men.

Context: The age-related decline in dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) levels is thought to be of importance for general and vascular aging. However, data on the association between DHEA and mortality are conflicting. Objectives: We tested the hypothesis that low serum DHEA and DHEA sulfate (DHEA-S) levels predict all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) death in elderly men. Design, Setting, and Participants: We used gas/liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to analyze baseline levels of DHEA and DHEA-S in the prospective population-based MrOS Sweden study (2644 men, aged 69-81 yr). Mortality data were obtained from central registers and analyzed using Cox proportional hazards regressions. Main Outcome Measures: All-cause and CVD mortality by serum DHEA(-S) levels. Results: During a mean 4.5-yr follow-up, 328 deaths occurred. Low levels of DHEA-S (quartile 1 vs. quartiles 2-4), predicted death from all causes [hazard ratio (HR) 1.54, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.21-1.96; adjusted for traditional cardiovascular risk factors], from CVD (n = 123 deaths; HR 1.61, 95% CI 1.10-2.37) and ischemic heart disease (n = 73; HR 1.67, 95% CI 1.02-2.74) but not cancer. Analyses with DHEA gave similar results. The association between low DHEA-S and CVD death remained after adjustment for C-reactive protein and circulating estradiol and testosterone levels. When stratified by the median age of 75.4 yr, the mortality prediction by low DHEA-S was more pronounced among younger (age adjusted HR for CVD death 2.64, 95% CI 1.37-5.09) than older men (HR 1.30, 95% CI 0.83-2.04). Conclusions: Low serum levels of DHEA(-S) predict death from all causes, CVD, and ischemic heart disease in older men

Higher serum free thyroxine levels are associated with increased risk of hip fractures in older men

Overt and subclinical hyperthyroidism are associated with an increased fracture risk, but whether thyroid hormones are associated with fracture risk in individuals with normal thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) has mostly been investigated in women. Therefore, we investigated if serum levels of free thyroxine (FT4) or TSH are associated with fracture risk in Swedish men. We followed (median 12.2 yr) elderly men (n = 1825; mean age 75, range 69–81 yr) participating in the Gothenburg and Malmö subcohorts of the prospective, population-based MrOS-Sweden study. The statistical analyses included Cox proportional hazards regression. Men receiving levothyroxine treatment were excluded. In our total cohort, serum FT4 (per SD increase) was associated with increased risk of major osteoporotic fractures (MOFs; n = 479; fully adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 1.14, 95% CI, 1.05–1.24) and hip fractures (n = 207; HR 1.18, 95% CI, 1.04–1.33). Also, in men with normal TSH (n = 1658), FT4 (per SD increase) was significantly associated with increased risk of MOF and hip fractures. Furthermore, men in the highest FT4 quartile had a 1.5-fold increase in hip fracture risk compared with men in the three lower FT4 quartiles, both in the total population and in men with normal TSH (fully adjusted: HR 1.45, 95% CI, 1.04–2.02 and HR 1.51, 95% CI, 1.07–2.12, respectively). In contrast, the risk of MOF was not statistically different in the highest FT4 quartile compared with the three lower FT4 quartiles. Finally, serum TSH was not associated with fracture risk after full adjustment for covariates. In conclusion, serum FT4, but not serum TSH, is a predictor of hip fracture risk in elderly Swedish men. Additionally, there was an association between FT4 (per SD increase) and the risk of MOF

Low-Cost Data Acquisition Card for School-Network Cosmic Ray Detectors

The Cosmic Ray Observatory Project (CROP) at University of Nebraska/Lincoln and the Washington Area Large-scale Time coincidence Array (WALTA) at University of Washington/Seattle are among several outreach projects siting cosmic-ray detectors at local high schools in cities around North America, to study the origins and interactions of high-energy cosmic rays. In a collaboration between QuarkNet, the outreach program based at Fermilab, CROP, and WALTA, a low-cost data acquisition electronics card has been developed to collect and synchronize the data from each detector site. The cost for each card is under US$500 for parts, functionally replacing much more expensive electronics crates and modules at each high school site. The card has 4 analog discriminator inputs for photo-multiplier tube signals, a 4-channel Time-to-Digital converter for local coincidence and time-over-threshold measurements at 0.75 ns resolution, programmable trigger logic via a CPLD and microcontroller, and a built-in low-cost GPS receiver/antenna module (via external cable) to provide event trigger time stamps at better than 100 ns accuracy. Temperature sensors and a barometer are also integrated to record environmental data along with the counter data. The card connects to any PC or laptop via a standard RS-232 serial port for data output and control. The microcontroller and CPLD are field programmable and therefore make the card functionality flexible and easy to upgrade.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, 1 table. Presented by R. J. Wilkes at "IEEE-NSS 2003", Paper N8-1, Portland, OR, November 2003. Submitted to Trans. IEE