Temporal Evolution Of Universal Performance Indicators For Academic Publication

We show universal behaviour for two indicators of the quality of publications taken from two different data sets, papers from a single institution and those on arXiv. We demonstrate this universality for different years and subjects. This distribution is well fitted by a lognormal with a variance of around 1.3, consistent with Radicchi et al (2008). We will also discuss the evolution over time of our measures describing the data and note that simple models do not have the correct temporal behaviour for our parameters. Based on arXiv:1110.3271 with additional new material. Poster given at ECCS 201

Supermassive black holes do not correlate with dark matter halos of galaxies

Supermassive black holes have been detected in all galaxies that contain bulge components when the galaxies observed were close enough so that the searches were feasible. Together with the observation that bigger black holes live in bigger bulges, this has led to the belief that black hole growth and bulge formation regulate each other. That is, black holes and bulges "coevolve". Therefore, reports of a similar correlation between black holes and the dark matter halos in which visible galaxies are embedded have profound implications. Dark matter is likely to be nonbaryonic, so these reports suggest that unknown, exotic physics controls black hole growth. Here we show - based in part on recent measurements of bulgeless galaxies - that there is almost no correlation between dark matter and parameters that measure black holes unless the galaxy also contains a bulge. We conclude that black holes do not correlate directly with dark matter. They do not correlate with galaxy disks, either. Therefore black holes coevolve only with bulges. This simplifies the puzzle of their coevolution by focusing attention on purely baryonic processes in the galaxy mergers that make bulges.Comment: 12 pages, 9 Postscript figures, 1 table; published in Nature (20 January 2011

Prevalence of asthma, aspirin sensitivity and allergy in chronic rhinosinusitis: data from the UK National Chronic Rhinosinusitis Epidemiology Study

Background: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a common disorder associated with other respiratory tract diseases such as asthma and inhalant allergy. However, the prevalence of these co-morbidities varies considerably in the existing medical literature and by phenotype of CRS studied. The study objective was to identify the prevalence of asthma, inhalant allergy and aspirin sensitivity in CRS patients referred to secondary care and establish any differences between CRS phenotypes. Methods: All participants were diagnosed in secondary care according to international guidelines and invited to complete a questionnaire including details of co-morbidities and allergies. Data were analysed for differences between controls and CRS participants and between phenotypes using chi-squared tests. Results: The final analysis included 1470 study participants: 221 controls, 553 CRS without nasal polyps (CRSsNPs), 651 CRS with nasal polyps (CRSwNPs) and 45 allergic fungal rhinosinusitis (AFRS). The prevalence of asthma was 9.95, 21.16, 46.9 and 73.3% respectively. The prevalence of self-reported confirmed inhalant allergy was 13.1, 20.3, 31.0 and 33.3% respectively; house dust mite allergy was significantly higher in CRSwNPs (16%) compared to CRSsNPs (9%, p < 0.001). The prevalence of self- reported aspirin sensitivity was 2.26, 3.25, 9.61 and 40% respectively. The odds ratio for aspirin sensitivity amongst those with AFRS was 28.8 (CIs 9.9, 83.8) p < 0.001. Conclusions: The prevalence of asthma and allergy in CRS varies by phenoytype, with CRSwNPs and AFRS having a stronger association with both. Aspirin sensitivity has a highly significant association with AFRS. All of these comorbidities are significantly more prevalent than in non-CRS controls and strengthen the need for a more individualised approach to the combined airway

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb−1 of √ s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente

Assessing lead exposure sources at the property scale in Indianapolis

Background and Hypothesis:&nbsp; Lead (Pb) was phased out of&nbsp;paint and&nbsp;gasoline&nbsp;over 40 years ago&nbsp;due to&nbsp;neurotoxicity in humans, but&nbsp;has&nbsp;persisted&nbsp;in soils&nbsp;and&nbsp;poses a&nbsp;legacy&nbsp;threat to many.&nbsp;&nbsp;The&nbsp;Indianapolis&nbsp;46218 zip code&nbsp;has had&nbsp;&gt;10%&nbsp;children exhibiting&nbsp;Pb&nbsp;poisoning.&nbsp;This zip code has had historically high&nbsp;soil&nbsp;Pb&nbsp;levels,&nbsp;and is&nbsp;undergoing&nbsp;redevelopment.&nbsp;We hypothesize that redevelopment will act to re-expose new&nbsp;populations&nbsp;of people to the legacy&nbsp;Pb&nbsp;present in the area.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Experimental Design or Project Methods:&nbsp; We sampled&nbsp;5&nbsp;parks and&nbsp;7&nbsp;playgrounds.&nbsp;&nbsp;Stratified random sampling based on permit type&nbsp;was&nbsp;used to select&nbsp;properties from&nbsp;25 issued and&nbsp;25&nbsp;closed permits&nbsp;from&nbsp;527 identified demolition permits.&nbsp;&nbsp;Nearby residential properties&nbsp;were selected, with&nbsp;permission of residents.&nbsp;Samples&nbsp;were taken near the dripline of the house, front yard, and&nbsp;street,&nbsp;or&nbsp;from each quadrant&nbsp;at sites without&nbsp;houses.&nbsp;Samples were dried, crushed,&nbsp;sieved&nbsp;to 150 microns, and&nbsp;assessed using X-Ray&nbsp;Fluorescence.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Results:&nbsp; Mean&nbsp;Pb&nbsp;levels&nbsp;from driplines (1026&nbsp;ppm) were significantly higher than&nbsp;streets&nbsp;(p=0.001), parks (p=0.002),&nbsp;yards (p=0.001),&nbsp;and demolition sites&nbsp;(p=0.000).&nbsp;&nbsp;Pb&nbsp;concentrations for&nbsp;playgrounds had the lowest&nbsp;median lead levels (42&nbsp;ppm), while dripline samples had the&nbsp;highest&nbsp;(289 ppm).&nbsp;&nbsp;The&nbsp;EPA standard for children’s play areas is 400 ppm.&nbsp; Conclusion and Potential Impact:&nbsp; While&nbsp;all samples from playgrounds were below&nbsp;400 ppm,&nbsp;children are also likely&nbsp;playing at their homes,&nbsp;where no legislation&nbsp;effectively protects&nbsp;them from potential&nbsp;Pb&nbsp;poisoning&nbsp;and values were found above 400 ppm.&nbsp;&nbsp;An&nbsp;immediate outcome from this project is the education.&nbsp; Residents who agreed&nbsp;to testing (n=42) received&nbsp;results of the test&nbsp;and&nbsp;guidelines to prevent&nbsp;Pb&nbsp;poisoning.&nbsp;&nbsp;More work remains to ensure&nbsp;preventive rather than reactive strategies are employed to protect children’s health

Assessing Lead Exposure Sources at the Property Scale in Indianapolis

Background: Lead (Pb) was phased out of paint and gasoline over 40 years ago due to neurotoxicity in humans, but has persisted in soils and poses a legacy threat to many. The Indianapolis 46218 zip code has had &gt;10% children exhibiting Pb poisoning. This zip code has had historically high soil Pb levels, and is undergoing redevelopment. We hypothesize that redevelopment will act to re-expose new populations of people to the legacy Pb present in the area. Methods: We sampled 5 parks and 7 playgrounds. Stratified random sampling based on permit type was used to select properties from 25 issued and 25 closed permits from 527 identified demolition permits. Nearby residential properties were selected, with permission of residents. Samples were taken near the dripline of the house, front yard, and street, or from each quadrant at sites without houses. Samples were dried, crushed, sieved to 150 microns, and assessed using X-Ray Fluorescence. Results: Mean Pb levels from driplines (1026 ppm) were significantly higher than streets (p=0.001), parks (p=0.002), yards (p=0.001), and demolition sites (p=0.000). Pb concentrations for playgrounds had the lowest median lead levels (42 ppm), while dripline samples had the highest (289 ppm). The EPA standard for children’s play areas is 400 ppm. Conclusion: While all samples from playgrounds were below 400 ppm, children are also likely playing at their homes, where no legislation effectively protects them from potential Pb poisoning and values were found above 400 ppm. An immediate outcome from this project is the education. Residents who agreed to testing (n=42) received results of the test and guidelines to prevent Pb poisoning. More work remains to ensure preventive rather than reactive strategies are employed to protect children’s health

Search for direct pair production of the top squark in all-hadronic final states in proton-proton collisions at s√=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The results of a search for direct pair production of the scalar partner to the top quark using an integrated luminosity of 20.1fb−1 of proton–proton collision data at √s = 8 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC are reported. The top squark is assumed to decay via t˜→tχ˜01 or t˜→ bχ˜±1 →bW(∗)χ˜01 , where χ˜01 (χ˜±1 ) denotes the lightest neutralino (chargino) in supersymmetric models. The search targets a fully-hadronic final state in events with four or more jets and large missing transverse momentum. No significant excess over the Standard Model background prediction is observed, and exclusion limits are reported in terms of the top squark and neutralino masses and as a function of the branching fraction of t˜ → tχ˜01 . For a branching fraction of 100%, top squark masses in the range 270–645 GeV are excluded for χ˜01 masses below 30 GeV. For a branching fraction of 50% to either t˜ → tχ˜01 or t˜ → bχ˜±1 , and assuming the χ˜±1 mass to be twice the χ˜01 mass, top squark masses in the range 250–550 GeV are excluded for χ˜01 masses below 60 GeV

Extragalactic Radio Continuum Surveys and the Transformation of Radio Astronomy

Next-generation radio surveys are about to transform radio astronomy by discovering and studying tens of millions of previously unknown radio sources. These surveys will provide new insights to understand the evolution of galaxies, measuring the evolution of the cosmic star formation rate, and rivalling traditional techniques in the measurement of fundamental cosmological parameters. By observing a new volume of observational parameter space, they are also likely to discover unexpected new phenomena. This review traces the evolution of extragalactic radio continuum surveys from the earliest days of radio astronomy to the present, and identifies the challenges that must be overcome to achieve this transformational change.Comment: To be published in Nature Astronomy 18 Sept 201

Does Habitual Physical Activity Increase the Sensitivity of the Appetite Control System? A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: It has been proposed that habitual physical activity improves appetite control; however, the evidence has never been systematically reviewed. OBJECTIVE: To examine whether appetite control (e.g. subjective appetite, appetite-related peptides, food intake) differs according to levels of physical activity. DATA SOURCES: Medline, Embase and SPORTDiscus were searched for articles published between 1996 and 2015, using keywords pertaining to physical activity, appetite, food intake and appetite-related peptides. STUDY SELECTION: Articles were included if they involved healthy non-smoking adults (aged 18-64 years) participating in cross-sectional studies examining appetite control in active and inactive individuals; or before and after exercise training in previously inactive individuals. STUDY APPRAISAL AND SYNTHESIS: Of 77 full-text articles assessed, 28 studies (14 cross-sectional; 14 exercise training) met the inclusion criteria. RESULTS: Appetite sensations and absolute energy intake did not differ consistently across studies. Active individuals had a greater ability to compensate for high-energy preloads through reductions in energy intake, in comparison with inactive controls. When physical activity level was graded across cross-sectional studies (low, medium, high, very high), a significant curvilinear effect on energy intake (z-scores) was observed. LIMITATIONS: Methodological issues existed concerning the small number of studies, lack of objective quantification of food intake, and various definitions used to define active and inactive individuals. CONCLUSION: Habitually active individuals showed improved compensation for the energy density of foods, but no consistent differences in appetite or absolute energy intake, in comparison with inactive individuals. This review supports a J-shaped relationship between physical activity level and energy intake. Further studies are required to confirm these findings. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42015019696

Extreme behavioural shifts by baboons exploiting risky, resource-rich, human-modified environments

Abstract A range of species exploit anthropogenic food resources in behaviour known as ‘raiding’. Such behavioural flexibility is considered a central component of a species’ ability to cope with human-induced environmental changes. Here, we study the behavioural processes by which raiding male chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) exploit the opportunities and mitigate the risks presented by raiding in the suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa. Ecological sampling and interviews conducted with ‘rangers’ (employed to manage the baboons’ space use) revealed that baboons are at risk of being herded out of urban spaces that contain high-energy anthropogenic food sources. Baboon-attached motion/GPS tracking collars showed that raiding male baboons spent almost all of their time at the urban edge, engaging in short, high-activity forays into the urban space. Moreover, activity levels were increased where the likelihood of deterrence by rangers was greater. Overall, these raiding baboons display a time-activity balance that is drastically altered in comparison to individuals living in more remote regions. We suggest our methods can be used to obtain precise estimates of management impact for this and other species in conflict with people