601 research outputs found
Simulated forecasts for primordial B-mode searches in ground-based experiments
Detecting the imprint of inflationary gravitational waves on the -mode
polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) is one of the main
science cases for current and next-generation CMB experiments. In this work we
explore some of the challenges that ground-based facilities will have to face
in order to carry out this measurement in the presence of Galactic foregrounds
and correlated atmospheric noise. We present forecasts for Stage-3 (S3) and
planned Stage-4 (S4) experiments based on the analysis of simulated sky maps
using a map-based Bayesian foreground cleaning method. Our results thus
consistently propagate the uncertainties on foreground parameters such as
spatially-varying spectral indices, as well as the bias on the measured
tensor-to-scalar ratio caused by an incorrect modelling of the foregrounds.
We find that S3 and S4-like experiments should be able to put constraints on
of the order and
respectively, assuming instrumental
systematic effects are under control. We further study deviations from the
fiducial foreground model, finding that, while the effects of a second
polarized dust component would be minimal on both S3 and S4, a 2\% polarized
anomalous dust emission (AME) component would be clearly detectable by Stage-4
experiments.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figure
The internal and external loading differences between part-time (U16) and full-time (U18) elite English academy footballers
The aim of this study was to quantify and compare total loading (TL) of part and full- time elite English academy footballers over a 10-week period. Nineteen male youth players were categorised into their age groups; U18’s (17.7 ± 0.6 years) and U16’s (16.1 ± 0.4 years). Global
Positioning Systems (GPS) and Session-Rate of Perceived Exertion (SRPE) were used to assess the external and internal measures of TL. The U18’s participated in 45 sessions as opposed to 30 for the U16’s. The U16’s (n = 48) had 22% more unexplained absences compared to the
U18’s (n = 0). The TL was greater for the U18’s over a 10-week period. For the U18’s, Total Distance Covered was likely greater (54%; Moderate ES; ± 90% CL) and possibly greater for HSR (160%; Large ES; ± 90% CL) and SRPE (50%; Large ES; ± 90% CL). It was unclear if there was a difference in ACC and DEC between the ages. This study also assessed the intensities of two separate drills, session 1 (TS1) in respective age groups and session 2 (TS2) in mixed age groups. During TS1 and TS2 it was difficult to distinguish whether there were
external loading differences between the age groups. Whereas, internal load was very likely greater (TS1, 18%; TS2, 22%; Large ES; 90% CL) suggesting that the U16’s perceived the drills to be harder than the U18’s. The main finding was that the U16’s had less compliance to
sessions, indicating a variability in TL, which could put them at greater risk of injury. Practitioners must ensure that appropriate loading strategies are in place so that part-time
players are prepared to step up to the demands of a full-time environment
Finding the chiral gravitational wave background of an axion-SU(2) inflationary model using CMB observations and laser interferometers
A detection of B-mode polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB)
anisotropies would confirm the presence of a primordial gravitational wave
background (GWB). In the inflation paradigm this would be an unprecedented
probe of the energy scale of inflation as it is directly proportional to the
power spectrum of the GWB. However, similar tensor perturbations can be
produced by the matter fields present during inflation, breaking this simple
relationship. It is therefore important to be able to distinguish between
different generation mechanisms of the GWB. In this paper, we analyse the
detectability of a new axion-SU(2) gauge field model using its chiral,
scale-dependent tensor spectrum. We forecast the detectability of the resulting
CMB TB and EB cross-correlations by the LiteBIRD satellite, considering the
effects of residual foregrounds, gravitational lensing, and for the first time
assess the ability of such an experiment to jointly detect primordial TB and EB
spectra and self-calibrate its polarimeter. We find that LiteBIRD will be able
to detect the chiral signal for with denoting the
tensor-to-scalar ratio at the peak scale, and that the maximum signal-to-noise
for is . We go on to consider an advanced stage of a
LISA-like mission, and find that such experiments would complement CMB
observations by providing sensitivity to GWB chirality on scales inaccessible
to the CMB. We conclude that in order to use the CMB to distinguish this model
from a conventional vacuum fluctuation model two-point statistics provide some
power, but to achieve high statistical significance we would require higher
order statistics which take advantage of the model's non-Gaussianity. On the
other hand, in the case of a spectrum peaked at very small scales, inaccessible
to the CMB, a highly significant detection could be made using space-based
laser interferometers.Comment: 24 pages, 12 figures, accepted by PhysRev
An Analysis of European Shale Gas Policies: Why EU Member States are Pursuing Divergent 'Fracking' Strategies
The recent progression in hydraulic fracturing or `fracking' has enabled energy companies to extract once-considered, inaccessible hydrocarbons. The United States has been at the forefront of this controversial industry, revolutionizing the energy market by becoming the world's largest oil and natural gas producer as a result of its vast shale deposits. Shale oil and gas deposits are not unique to North America, however. EU member states are faced with the dilemma of whether to permit fracking domestically or suspend operations. The United Kingdom and Romania have issued concessions for exploring their reserves, while France and Bulgaria have halted all drilling efforts, citing environmental concerns. This paper evaluates why these four European countries pursued divergent fracking policies, arguing that energy security and Russian-relations are more relevant and powerful explanatory factors than a country's commitment to protecting the environment.Master of Art
Bio-SIEVE: Exploring Instruction Tuning Large Language Models for Systematic Review Automation
Medical systematic reviews can be very costly and resource intensive. We
explore how Large Language Models (LLMs) can support and be trained to perform
literature screening when provided with a detailed set of selection criteria.
Specifically, we instruction tune LLaMA and Guanaco models to perform abstract
screening for medical systematic reviews. Our best model, Bio-SIEVE,
outperforms both ChatGPT and trained traditional approaches, and generalises
better across medical domains. However, there remains the challenge of adapting
the model to safety-first scenarios. We also explore the impact of multi-task
training with Bio-SIEVE-Multi, including tasks such as PICO extraction and
exclusion reasoning, but find that it is unable to match single-task
Bio-SIEVE's performance. We see Bio-SIEVE as an important step towards
specialising LLMs for the biomedical systematic review process and explore its
future developmental opportunities. We release our models, code and a list of
DOIs to reconstruct our dataset for reproducibility
Detection of prions in the faeces of sheep naturally infected with classical scrapie
Classical scrapie is a naturally transmitted prion disease of sheep and goats. Contaminated environments may contribute to the spread of disease and evidence from animal models has implicated urine, blood, saliva, placenta and faeces as possible sources of the infection. Here we sought to determine whether sheep naturally infected with classical scrapie shed prions in their faeces. We used serial protein misfolding cyclic amplification (sPMCA) along with two extraction methods to examine faeces from sheep during both the clinical and preclinical phases of the disease and showed amplification of PrPSc in 7 of 15 and 14 of 14 sheep respectively. However PrPSc was not amplified from the faeces of 25 sheep not exposed to scrapie. These data represent the first demonstration of prion shedding in faeces from a naturally infected host and thus a likely source of prion contamination in the environment
Morphological and dietary responses of chipmunks to a century of climate change.
Predicting how individual taxa will respond to climatic change is challenging, in part because the impacts of environmental conditions can vary markedly, even among closely related species. Studies of chipmunks (Tamias spp.) in Yosemite National Park provide an important opportunity to explore the reasons for this variation in response. While the alpine chipmunk (T. alpinus) has undergone a significant elevational range contraction over the past century, the congeneric and partially sympatric lodgepole chipmunk (T. speciosus) has not experienced an elevational range shift during this period. As a first step toward identifying the factors underlying this difference in response, we examined evidence for dietary changes and changes in cranial morphology in these species over the past century. Stable isotope analyses of fur samples from modern and historical museum specimens of these species collected at the same localities indicated that signatures of dietary change were more pronounced in T. alpinus, although diet breadth did not differ consistently between the study species. Morphometric analyses of crania from these specimens revealed significant changes in cranial shape for T. alpinus, with less pronounced changes in shape for T. speciosus; evidence of selection on skull morphology was detected for T. alpinus, but not for T. speciosus. These results are consistent with growing evidence that T. alpinus is generally more responsive to environmental change than T. speciosus, but emphasize the complex and often geographically variable nature of such responses. Accordingly, future studies that make use of the taxonomically and spatially integrative approach employed here may prove particularly informative regarding relationships between environmental conditions, range changes, and patterns of phenotypic variation
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