Accretion in Evolved and Transitional Disks in Cep OB2: Looking for the Origin of the Inner Holes

We present accretion rates for a large number of solar-type stars in the Cep OB2 region, based on U band observations. Our study comprises 95 members of the ~4 Myr-old cluster Tr 37 (including 20 "transition" objects; TO), as well as the only CTTS in the ~12 Myr-old cluster NGC 7160. The stars show different disk morphologies, with the majority of them having evolved and flattened disks. The typical accretion rates are about one order of magnitude lower than in regions aged 1-2 Myr, and we find no strong correlation between disk morphology and accretion rates. Although half of the TO are not accreting, the median accretion rates of normal CTTS and accreting "transition" disks are similar (~3 10^{-9} and 2 10^{-9} Msun/yr, respectively). Comparison with other regions suggests that the TO observed at different ages do not necessarily represent the same type of objects, which is consistent with the fact that the different processes that can lead to reduced IR excess/inner disk clearing (e.g., binarity, dust coagulation/settling, photoevaporation, giant planet formation) do not operate on the same timescales. Accreting TO in Tr 37 are probably suffering strong dust coagulation/settling. Regarding the equally large number of non-accreting TO in the region, other processes, like photoevaporation, the presence of stellar/substellar companions, and/or giant planet formation may account for their "transitional" SEDs and negligible accretion rates.Comment: 37 pages, 5 figures, 6 tables Accepted by Ap

A General Theory of Oscillon Dynamics

We present a comprehensive, nonperturbative analytical method to investigate the dynamics of time-dependent oscillating scalar field configurations. The method is applied to oscillons in a double well Klein-Gordon model in two and three spatial dimensions, yielding high accuracy results in the characterization of all aspects of the complex oscillon dynamics. In particular, we show how oscillons can be interpreted as long-lived perturbations about an attractor in field configuration space. By investigating their radiation rate as they approach the attractor, we obtain an accurate estimate of their lifetimes in d=3 and explain why they seem to be perturbatively stable in d=2, where d is the number of spatial dimensions.Comment: 15 pages, 17 figures, RevTe

The Transitional Protoplanetary Disk Frequency as a Function of Age: Disk Evolution in the Coronet Cluster, Taurus, and Other 1--8 Myr-old Regions

We present Spitzer 3.6--24 micron photometry and spectroscopy for stars in the 1--3 Myr-old Coronet Cluster, expanding upon the survey of Sicilia-Aguilar et al. (2008). Using sophisticated radiative transfer models, we analyze these new data and those from Sicilia-Aguilar et al. (2008) to identify disks with evidence for substantial dust evolution consistent with disk clearing: transitional disks. We then analyze data in Taurus and others young clusters -- IC 348, NGC 2362, and eta Cha -- to constrain the transitional disk frequency as a function of time. Our analysis confirms previous results finding evidence for two types of transitional disks -- those with inner holes and those that are homologously depleted. The percentage of disks in the transitional phase increases from ~ 15--20% at 1--2 Myr to > 50% at 5--8 Myr; the mean transitional disk lifetime is closer to ~ 1 Myr than 0.1--0.5 Myr, consistent with previous studies by Currie et al. (2009) and Sicilia-Aguilar et al. (2009). In the Coronet Cluster and IC 348, transitional disks are more numerous for very low-mass M3--M6 stars than for more massive K5--M2 stars, while Taurus lacks a strong spectral type-dependent frequency. Assuming standard values for the gas-to-dust ratio and other disk properties, the lower limit for the masses of optically-thick primordial disks is Mdisk ~ 0.001--0.003 M*. We find that single color-color diagrams do not by themselves uniquely identify transitional disks or primordial disks. Full SED modeling is required to accurately assess disk evolution for individual sources and inform statistical estimates of the transitional disk population in large samples using mid-IR colors.Comment: 43 pages in emulateapj format, Accepted for publication in Ap

Mid-morning Break and Poster Sessions: Comorbidity among pathological gamblers seeking treatment

Context of the study Pathological gambling prevalence in the general population: United States 0.42% (Petry et al., 2005), Canada 0.5% (Rush et al., 2008), Quebec 0.7% (Kairouz et al., 2011) Epidemiological surveys (i.e. NESARC) indicate that pathological gambling is usually accompanied by other comorbid disorders, such as: Alcohol and drug abuse (prevalence of 25 and 27%, respectively), alcohol and drug dependence (48 and 11%), mood disorders (50%), anxiety disorders (41%), personality disorders (61%). (Petry et al., 2005) The comorbidity found in clinical samples is usually higher than that in the general population because it is more likely for a person to seek professional help when presenting more symptoms or more psychiatric disorders compared to individuals with only one condition or a less severe problem. (Petry et al., 2005) Importance of assessing the prevalence of comorbid disorders in pathological gamblers in treatment, in order to better address their needs and reduce the risk of recurrence

Between patronage and good governance: organizational arrangements in (local) public appointment processes

This article investigates whether certain organizational arrangements in (local) public appointment processes could encourage the use of appointments as a tool of good governance rather than as a tool of patronage. Specifically, we studied the role of six organizational arrangements in 10 case studies of intra- and inter-organizational public appointment processes held in Italian local government. We found that good governance (in terms of perception of overall integrity and fairness) was found in processes of public appointments where there was independent scrutiny, and when the process involved local councillors and/or external stakeholders – that is, actors beyond those with the formal power to appoint. In these cases, making appointments was seen as a tool of good governance rather than of patronage. These organizational arrangements were more relevant than other ones such as the transparency of public advertisements, job descriptions and educational/professional requirements, and media and public awareness. The article describes the relevant literature and the research study, and discusses implications for research, policy and management

Is the European Central Bank (and the United States Federal Reserve) predictable?

The objective of this paper is to examine the predictability of the monetary policy decisions of the Governing Council of the ECB and the transmission of the unexpected component of the monetary policy decisions to the yield curve. We find, using new methodologies, that markets do not fully predict the ECB decisions but the lack of perfect predictability is comparable with the results found for the United States Federal Reserve. We also find that the impact of monetary policy shocks on bond yields declines with the maturity of the bonds, and that this impact is significantly lower when the shock stems from a monetary policy meeting of the ECB. Using implicit rates instead of bond yields, we find evidence that the market views the ECB as credible. JEL Classification: C22, E52

Protostars and stars in the Coronet cluster: Age, evolution, and cluster structure

We present new optical spectroscopy with FLAMES/VLT, near-IR imaging with HAWK-I/VLT, and 870 micron mapping with APEX/LABOCA of the Coronet cluster. The optical data allow to estimate spectral types, extinction and the presence of accretion in 6 more M-type members, in addition to the 12 that we had previously studied. The submillimeter maps and near-IR data reveal the presence of nebular structures and high extinction regions, which are in some cases associated to known IR, optical, and X-ray sources. Most star formation is associated to two elongated structures crossing in the central part of the cluster. Placing all the 18 objects with known spectral types and extinction in the HR diagram suggests that the cluster is younger than previously thought (<2 Myr, and probably ~0.5-1 Myr). The new age estimate is in agreement with the evolutionary status of the various protostars in the region and with its compactness (<1.3 pc across), but results in a conflict with the low disk and accretion fraction (only 50-65% of low-mass stars appear to have protoplanetary disks, and most transitional and homologously depleted disks are consistent with no accretion) and with the evolutionary features observed in the mid-IR spectra and spectral energy distributions of the disks.Comment: 30 pages, 9 figures, 6 tables, ApJ in pres

Does legal literacy mediate the relationship between compliance and family reunification in dependency cases and does self-efficacy moderate this relationship?

A dependency case results in removal of a child from their parent whereas the parent is required to comply with court mandates to reunify with their child including participation in classes, therapy, and visitations yet parents frequently battle with mental health, addiction, and partial understanding of legal systems (Stephens et al. 2018; Cleveland & Quas 2020). Research shows that less than 50% of chil­dren who leave fos­ter care return to their par­ents therefore, reunification attempts need improvement (KIDS COUNT Data Center, n.d.). This proposed study will utilize an experimental design applying legal intervention videos to address a system wide lapse