3-Dimensional Kinematics in low foreground extinction windows of the Galactic Bulge: Radial Velocities for 6 bulge fields

The detailed structure of the Galactic bulge still remain uncertain. The strong difficulties of obtaining observations of stars in the Galactic bulge have hindered the acquisition of a kinematic representation for the inner kpc of the Milky Way. The observation of the 3-d kinematics in several low foreground extinction windows can solve this problem. We have developed a new technique, which combines precise stellar HST positions and proper motions with integral field spectroscopy, in order to obtain reliable 3-d stellar kinematics in crowded fields of the Galactic center. In addition, we present results using the new techniques for six fields in our project. A significant vertex deviation has been found in some of the fields in agreement with previous determinations. This result confirms the presence of a stellar bar in the Galactic bulge.Comment: 14 pages, 15 figures, Accepted for publication in A&

The Poet/Practitioner: A Paradigm for the Profession

This article explores a new paradigm or model for the professional social worker: The poet/practitioner. The training and practice of the poet are congruent with many aspects of social work practice. An examination of the practice of the poet, and the congruence of these practices to social work, reveals a paradigm with the capacity to focus social workers on the essential values of our profession. This paradigm, which highlights the humanistic, creative, and socially conscience role of the social work practitioner, may be particularly important today given the medicalization of social problems and the conservitization of society

A Double Main Sequence in the Globular Cluster NGC 6397

High-precision multi-band HST photometry reveals that the main sequence (MS) of the globular cluster NGC 6397 splits into two components, containing ~30% and ~70% of the stars. This double sequence is consistent with the idea that the cluster hosts two stellar populations: (i) a primordial population that has a composition similar to field stars, and containing ~30% of the stars, and (ii) a second generation with enhanced sodium and nitrogen, depleted carbon and oxygen, and a slightly enhanced helium abundance (Delta Y~0.01). We examine the color difference between the two sequences across a variety of color baselines and find that the second sequence is anomalously faint in m_F336W. Theoretical isochrones indicate that this could be due to NH depletion.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures, accepted for pubblication in Ap

Deep HST Imaging in NGC 6397: Stellar Dynamics

Multi-epoch observations with ACS on HST provide a unique and comprehensive probe of stellar dynamics within NGC 6397. We are able to confront analytic models of the globular cluster with the observed stellar proper motions. The measured proper motions probe well along the main sequence from 0.8 to below 0.1 M$_\odot$ as well as white dwarfs younger than one gigayear. The observed field lies just beyond the half-light radius where standard models of globular cluster dynamics (e.g. based on a lowered Maxwellian phase-space distribution) make very robust predictions for the stellar proper motions as a function of mass. The observed proper motions show no evidence for anisotropy in the velocity distribution; furthermore, the observations agree in detail with a straightforward model of the stellar distribution function. We do not find any evidence that the young white dwarfs have received a natal kick in contradiction with earlier results. Using the observed proper motions of the main-sequence stars, we obtain a kinematic estimate of the distance to NGC 6397 of $2.2^{+0.5}_{-0.7}$ kpc and a mass of the cluster of $1.1 \pm 0.1 \times 10^5 \mathrm{M}_\odot$ at the photometric distance of 2.53 kpc. One of the main-sequence stars appears to travel on a trajectory that will escape the cluster, yielding an estimate of the evaporation timescale, over which the number of stars in the cluster decreases by a factor of e, of about 3 Gyr. The proper motions of the youngest white dwarfs appear to resemble those of the most massive main-sequence stars, providing the first direct constraint on the relaxation time of the stars in a globular cluster of greater than or about 0.7 Gyr.Comment: 25 pages, 20 figures, accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journa

Feedstock blending as a strategy for hydrothermal liquefaction: lipid-rich scum from primary sedimentation and wastewater sludge

One salient advantage of hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) is the ability to process diverse feedstocks individually or as blends. This creates an opportunity for using wet organic waste feedstocks that in many cases pose a disposal liability. The low cost associated with the feedstock enables cost-effective deployment of smaller, decentralized processing plants that match the geographic availability of wet waste resources. Two underutilized sources of wet waste biomass are wastewater sludge and fats, oils, and greases (FOG). In the United States, these each represent about 20% of the total HTL biocrude production potential from wet wastes. In this study, the selected FOG stream is decanted scum from the primary sedimentation operation of the same wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) that provided the sludge. Among the types of FOG, wastewater scum is one of the more complex and challenging. Scum contains entrained water, plant matter like leaves and seeds, and bits of garbage (paper and plastic). For most other processes to access the lipids in scum, some combination of heating, filtering, and solvent extraction would be required, leading to costly and/or inefficient recovery. HTL is preferable because it is a wet process and the scum can be blended directly to capture the whole energy content in the blended feed. Using a blend of primary and secondary sludge from Central Contra Costa Sanitary District (CCCSD) and decanted scum from CCCSD primary sedimentation as the source of FOG, a blend of sludge and scum was successfully prepared and processed in a bench scale continuous flow HTL system. A total of 54 L of blended slurry was converted to 4.2 L of biocrude oil. The scum was blended with the sludge such that it represented 20 wt% of the total dry, ash-free (daf) solids in the feed. The resulting biocrude had a much lower density (0.95 g/cm3) than the biocrude from CCCSD sludge alone (0.99 g/cm3) leading to improved gravity separation from the aqueous phase. The biocrude was also lower in moisture. During the oral presentation, the focus will be on the process of feedstock selection, evaluation, and characteristics including detailed steps and equipment used to format the blended feedstock for use in the HTL reactor system. The poster will include data for the integrated process including mass balance, yields, and characterization of products

MCAO near-IR photometry of the Globular Cluster NGC 6388: MAD observations in crowded fields

Deep photometry of crowded fields, such as Galactic Globular Clusters, is severely limited by the actual resolution of ground-based telescopes. On the other hand, the Hubble Space Telescope does not provide the near-infrared (NIR) filters needed to allow large color baselines. In this work we aim at demonstrating how ground based observations can reach the required resolution when using Multi-Conjugated Adaptive Optic (MCAO) devices in the NIR, such as the experimental infrared camera (MAD) available on the VLT. This is particularly important since these corrections are planned to be available on all ground--based telescopes in the near future. We do this by combining the infrared photometry obtained by MAD/VLT with ACS/HST optical photometry of our scientific target, the bulge globular cluster NGC 6388, in which we imaged two fields. In particular, we constructed color-magnitude diagrams with an extremely wide color baseline in order to investigate the presence of multiple stellar populations in this cluster. From the analysis of the external field, observed with better seeing conditions, we derived the deepest optical-NIR CMD of NGC 6388 to date. The high-precision photometry reveals that two distinct sub-giant branches are clearly present in this cluster. We also use the CMD from the central region to estimate the distance ((m-M)=15.33) and the reddening (E(B-V)=0.38) for this cluster. We estimate the age to be ~11.5+/- 1.5 Gyr. The large relative-age error reflects the bimodal distribution of the SGB stars. This study clearly demonstrates how MCAO correction in the NIR bands implemented on ground based telescopes can complement the high-resolution optical data from HST.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures. Accepted for publication on A. &

Assessing Wellbeing in People Living with Dementia Using Reminiscence Music with a Mobile App (Memory Tracks): A Mixed Methods Cohort Study

The number of people living with dementia is growing, leading to increasing pressure upon care providers. The mechanisms to reduce symptoms of dementia can take many forms and have the aim of improving the wellbeing and quality of life of the person living with dementia and those who care for them. Besides the person who has dementia, the condition has a profound impact upon their loved ones and carers. One therapeutic approach is the use of music, an area recognised as having potential benefit, but requiring further research. The present paper reports upon a mixed methods cohort study that examines the use of a musical mobile app as a way to promote song-task association in people living with dementia. The study took place in care home environments in the UK. A total of fourteen participants (N = 14) were recruited. Quantitative measurements were taken on a daily basis prior to, and during, use of the mobile app over several weeks. Metrics came from the complete Self-Assessment Manikin scale (arousal, valence, and dominance), and a subset of three from the Quality of Life in Alzheimer’s Disease questionnaire (physical health, memory, and life as a whole). Subsequently, semistructured interviews were conducted with staff at the care home to assess the impact of the app upon their role and the residents they care for. No significant differences were found in the combined quantitative measures for the ten (n = 10) sets of responses sufficient to be analysed. However, the qualitative results suggest that use of the mobile app produced positive changes in terms of behaviour, ability, and routine in the life of residents living with dementia. These findings contribute to the growing body of evidence-based research in the field of musical therapies for reducing symptoms of dementia and highlight elements where further study is warranted