The Exotic Eclipsing Nucleus of the Ring Planetary Nebula SuWt2

SuWt2 is a planetary nebula (PN) consisting of a bright ionized thin ring seen nearly edge-on. It has a bright (V=12) central star, too cool to ionize the PN, which we discovered to be an eclipsing binary. A spectrum from IUE did not reveal a UV source. We present extensive ground-based photometry and spectroscopy of the central binary collected over the ensuing two decades, resulting in the determination that the orbital period of the eclipsing pair is 4.9 d, and consists of two nearly identical A1 V stars, each of mass ~2.7 M_sun. The physical parameters of the A stars, combined with evolutionary tracks, show that both are in the short-lived "blue-hook" evolutionary phase that occurs between the main sequence and the Hertzsprung gap, and that the age of the system is about 520 Myr. One puzzle is that the stars' rotational velocities are different from each other, and considerably slower than synchronous with the orbital period. It is possible that the center-of-mass velocity of the eclipsing pair is varying with time, suggesting that there is an unseen third orbiting body in the system. We propose a scenario in which the system began as a hierarchical triple, consisting of a ~2.9 M_sun star orbiting the close pair of A stars. Upon reaching the AGB stage, the primary engulfed the pair into a common envelope, leading to a rapid contraction of the orbit and catastrophic ejection of the envelope into the orbital plane. In this picture, the exposed core of the initial primary is now a white dwarf of ~0.7 M_sun, orbiting the eclipsing pair, which has already cooled below the detectability possible by IUE at our derived distance of 2.3 kpc and a reddening of E(B-V)=0.40. The SuWt2 system may be destined to perish as a Type Ia supernova. (Abridged)Comment: 60 pages, 11 figure, to appear in the Astronomical Journa

'Help for hay fever', a goal-focused intervention for people with intermittent allergic rhinitis, delivered in Scottish community pharmacies: study protocol for a pilot cluster randomized controlled trial

<b>Background</b> Despite the availability of evidence-based guidelines for managing allergic rhinitis in primary care, management of the condition in the United Kingdom (UK) remains sub-optimal. Its high prevalence and negative effects on quality of life, school performance, productivity and co-morbid respiratory conditions (in particular, asthma), and high health and societal costs, make this a priority for developing novel models of care. Recent Australian research demonstrated the potential of a community pharmacy-based ‘goal-focused’ intervention to help people with intermittent allergic rhinitis to self-manage their condition better, reduce symptom severity and improve quality of life. In this pilot study we will assess the transferability of the goal-focused intervention to a UK context, the suitability of the intervention materials, procedures and outcome measures and collect data to inform a future definitive UK randomized controlled trial (RCT). <p></p> <b>Methods/design</b> A pilot cluster RCT with associated preliminary economic analysis and embedded qualitative evaluation. The pilot trial will take place in two Scottish Health Board areas: Grampian and Greater Glasgow and Clyde. Twelve community pharmacies will be randomly assigned to intervention or usual care group. Each will recruit 12 customers seeking advice or treatment for intermittent allergic rhinitis. Pharmacy staff in intervention pharmacies will support recruited customers in developing strategies for setting and achieving goals that aim to avoid/minimize triggers for, and eliminate/minimize symptoms of allergic rhinitis. Customers recruited in non-intervention pharmacies will receive usual care. The co-primary outcome measures, selected to inform a sample size calculation for a future RCT, are: community pharmacy and customer recruitment and completion rates; and effect size of change in the validated mini-Rhinoconjunctivitis Quality of Life Questionnaire between baseline, one-week and six-weeks post-intervention. Secondary outcome measures relate to changes in symptom severity, productivity, medication adherence and self-efficacy. Quantitative data about accrual, retention and economic measures, and qualitative data about participants’ experiences during the trial will be collected to inform the future RCT.<P></P> <b>Discussion</b> This work will lay the foundations for a definitive RCT of a community pharmacy-based ‘goal-focused’ self-management intervention for people with intermittent allergic rhinitis. Results of the pilot trial are expected to be available in April 2013

Enhanced recovery protocols for major upper gastrointestinal, liver and pancreatic surgery

BACKGROUND: 'Fast-track surgery' or 'enhanced recovery protocol' or 'fast-track rehabilitation', incorporating one or more elements of preoperative education, pain relief, early mobilisation, enteral nutrition and growth factors, may improve health-related quality of life and reduce length of hospital stay and costs. The role of enhanced recovery protocols in major upper gastrointestinal, liver and pancreatic surgery is unclear. OBJECTIVES: To assess the benefits and harms of enhanced recovery protocols compared with standard care (or usual practice) in major upper gastrointestinal, liver and pancreatic surgery. SEARCH METHODS: We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL; Cochrane Library; 2015, Issue 3), MEDLINE, EMBASE and Science Citation Index Expanded until March 2015 to identify randomised trials. We also searched the references of included trials to identify further trials. SELECTION CRITERIA: We considered only randomised controlled trials (RCTs) performed in people undergoing major upper gastrointestinal, liver and pancreatic surgery, irrespective of language, blinding or publication status for inclusion in the review. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors independently identified trials and independently extracted data. We calculated the risk ratio (RR), mean difference (MD), or standardised mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using both fixed-effect and random-effects models using Review Manager 5, based on available case analysis. MAIN RESULTS: Ten studies met the inclusion criteria for the review, and nine studies provided information on one or more outcomes for the review. A total of 1014 participants were randomly assigned to the enhanced recovery protocol (499 participants) or standard care (515 participants) in the nine RCTs. Most of the trials included low anaesthetic risk participants with high performance status undergoing different upper gastrointestinal, liver and pancreatic surgeries. Eight trials incorporated more than one element of the enhanced recovery protocol. All of the trials were at high risk of bias. The overall quality of evidence was low or very low.None of the trials reported long-term mortality, medium-term health-related quality of life(three months to one year), time to return to normal activity, or time to return to work. The difference between the enhanced recovery protocol and standard care were imprecise for short-term mortality (enhanced recovery protocol: 4/425 (adjusted proportion = 0.6%); standard care: 1/443 (0.2%); seven trials; 868 participants; RR 2.79; 95% CI 0.44 to 17.73; very low quality evidence), proportion of people with serious adverse events (enhanced recovery protocol: 4/157 (adjusted proportion = 0.6%); standard care: 0/184 (0.0%); two trials; 341 participants; RR 5.57; 95% CI 0.68 to 45.89; very low quality evidence), number of serious adverse events (enhanced recovery protocol: 34/421 (8 per 100 participants); standard care: 46/438 (11 per 100 participants); seven trials; 859 participants; rate ratio 0.72; 95% CI 0.45 to 1.13; very low quality evidence), health-related quality of life (four trials; 373 participants; SMD 0.29; 95% CI -0.04 to 0.62; very low quality evidence) and hospital readmissions (enhanced recovery protocol: 14/355 (adjusted proportion = 3.3%); standard care: 9/378 (2.4%); seven trials; 733 participants; RR 1.4; 95% CI 0.69 to 2.87; very low quality evidence). The enhanced recovery protocol group had a lower proportion of people with mild adverse events (enhanced recovery protocol: 31/254 (adjusted proportion = 10.9%); standard care: 51/271 (18.8%); four trials; 525 participants; RR 0.58; 95% CI 0.39 to 0.85; low quality evidence), fewer number of mild adverse events (enhanced recovery protocol: 69/499 (13 per 100 participants); standard care: 128/515 (25 per 100 participants); nine trials; 1014 participants; rate ratio 0.52; 95% CI 0.39 to 0.70; low quality evidence), shorter length of hospital stay (nine trials; 1014 participants; MD -2.19 days; 95% CI -2.53 to -1.85; low quality evidence) and lower costs (four trials; 282 participants; MD USD -6300; 95% CI -8400 to -4200; low quality evidence) than standard care group. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Based on low quality evidence, enhanced recovery protocols may reduce length of hospital stay and costs (primarily because of reduction in hospital stay) in people undergoing major upper gastrointestinal, liver and pancreatic surgeries. However, the validity of the results is uncertain because of the risk of bias in the trials and the way the outcomes were measured. Future RCTs should be conducted with low risk of bias, and measure clinically important outcomes for including the three months to one year period

Cosmic microwave background snapshots: pre-WMAP and post-WMAP

Abbreviated: We highlight the remarkable evolution in the CMB power spectrum over the past few years, and in the cosmological parameters for minimal inflation models derived from it. Grand unified spectra (GUS) show pre-WMAP optimal bandpowers are in good agreement with each other and with the one-year WMAP results, which now dominate the L < 600 bands. GUS are used to determine calibrations, peak/dip locations and heights, and damping parameters. These CMB experiments significantly increased the case for accelerated expansion in the early universe (the inflationary paradigm) and at the current epoch (dark energy dominance) when they were combined with `prior' probabilities on the parameters. A minimal inflation parameter set is applied in the same way to the evolving data. Grid-based and and Monte Carlo Markov Chain methods are shown to give similar values, highly stable over time and for different prior choices, with the increasing precision best characterized by decreasing errors on uncorrelated parameter eigenmodes. After marginalizing over the other cosmic and experimental variables for a weak+LSS prior, the pre-WMAP data of Jan03 cf. the post-WMAP data of Mar03 give Omega_{tot} =1.03^{+0.05}_{-0.04} cf. 1.02^{+0.04}_{-0.03}. Adding the flat prior, n_s =0.95^{+0.07}_{-0.04} cf. 0.97^{+0.02}_{-0.02}, with < 2\sigma evidence for a log variation of n_s. The densities have concordance values. The dark energy pressure-to-density ratio is not well constrained by our weak+LSS prior, but adding SN1 gives w_Q < -0.7. We find \sigma_8 = 0.89^{+0.06}_{-0.07} cf. 0.86^{+0.04}_{-0.04}, implying a sizable SZ effect; the high L power suggest \sigma_8 \sim 0.94^{+0.08}_{-0.16} is needed to be SZ-compatible.Comment: 36 pages, 5 figures, 5 tables, Jan 2003 Roy Soc Discussion Meeting on `The search for dark matter and dark energy in the Universe', published PDF (Oct 15 2003) is http://www.cita.utoronto.ca/~bond/roysoc03/03TA2435.pd

POKER: Estimating the power spectrum of diffuse emission with complex masks and at high angular resolution

We describe the implementation of an angular power spectrum estimator in the flat sky approximation. POKER (P. Of k EstimatoR) is based on the MASTER algorithm developped by Hivon and collaborators in the context of CMB anisotropy. It works entirely in discrete space and can be applied to arbitrary high angular resolution maps. It is therefore particularly suitable for current and future infrared to sub-mm observations of diffuse emission, whether Galactic or cosmological.Comment: Astronomy and Astrophysics, in pres

Design and implementation of a low-gravity solidification experiment package for the F-104

The use of the F-104 Interceptor for low gravity materials processing experiments is extended to include alloy solidification studies above 1000 C. The F-104 can provide up to 60 seconds of low gravity, but requires a unique experiment package for integration into the aircraft, both physically and electronically. The current research with the F-104 experimental furnace system which has been used to process cast iron samples is described. Results demonstrate the capability of the facility and its operation

Large-scale structure and matter in the universe

This paper summarizes the physical mechanisms that encode the type and quantity of cosmological matter in the properties of large-scale structure, and reviews the application of such tests to current datasets. The key lengths of the horizon size at matter-radiation equality and at last scattering determine the total matter density and its ratio to the relativistic density; acoustic oscillations can diagnose whether the matter is collisionless, and small-scale structure or its absence can limit the mass of any dark-matter relic particle. The most stringent constraints come from combining data on present-day galaxy clustering with data on CMB anisotropies. Such an analysis breaks the degeneracies inherent in either dataset alone, and proves that the universe is very close to flat. The matter content is accurately consistent with pure Cold Dark Matter, with about 25% of the critical density, and fluctuations that are scalar-only, adiabatic and scale-invariant. It is demonstrated that these conclusions cannot be evaded by adjusting either the equation of state of the vacuum, or the total relativistic density.Comment: 17 Pages. Review paper from the January 2003 Royal Society Discussion Meeting, "The search for dark matter and dark energy in the universe

The Unusual Distributions of Ionized Material and Molecular Hydrogen in NGC 6881: Signposts of Multiple Events of Bipolar Ejection in a Planetary Nebula

The planetary nebula NGC 6881 displays in the optical a quadrupolar morphology consisting of two pairs of highly collimated bipolar lobes aligned along different directions. An additional bipolar ejection is revealed by the hydrogen molecular emission, but its wide hourglass morphology is very different from that of the ionized material. To investigate in detail the spatial distribution of molecular hydrogen and ionized material within NGC 6881, and to determine the prevalent excitation mechanism of the H2 emission, we have obtained new near-IR Br-gamma and H2 and optical H-alpha and [N II] images, as well as intermediate resolution JHK spectra. These observations confirm the association of the H2 bipolar lobes to NGC 6881 and find that the prevalent excitation mechanism is collisional. The detailed morphology and very different collimation degree of the H2 and ionized bipolar lobes of NGC 6881 not only imply that multiple bipolar ejections have occurred in this nebula, but also that the dominant shaping agent is different for each bipolar ejection: a bipolar stellar wind most likely produced the H2 lobes, while highly collimated outflows are carving out the ionized lobes into the thick circumstellar envelope. The asymmetry between the southeast and northwest H2 bipolar lobes suggests the interaction of the nebula with an inhomogeneous interstellar medium. We find evidence that places NGC 6881 in the H II region Sh 2-109 along the Orion local spiral arm.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, 4 table

Neutrino-Lasing in The Early Universe

Recently, Madsen has argued that relativistic decays of massive neutrinos into lighter fermions and bosons may lead, via thermalization, to the formation of a Bose condensate. If correct, this could generate mixed hot and cold dark matter, with important consequences for structure formation. From a detailed study of such decays, we arrive at substantially different conclusions; for a wide range of masses and decay times, we find that stimulated emission of bosons dominates the decay. This phenomenon can best be described as a neutrino laser, pumped by the QCD phase transition. We discuss the implications for structure formation and the dark-matter problem.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures included as uuencoded file, CITA/93/

Measuring transverse velocities in gravitationally lensed extragalactic systems using an annual parallax effect

A parallax method to determine transverse velocity in a gravitationally lensed system is described. Using the annual motion of the Earth around the Sun allows us to probe the local structure of the magnification map that, under certain assumptions, can be used to infer the effective transverse velocity. The method is applied to OGLE data for QSO2237+0305 and the velocity value is estimated to be about (15 +/- 10) km/s if attributed to the lensing galaxy or about (420 +/- 300) km/s if attributed to the quasar. We find this estimate unreasonably small and conclude that we have not measured a parallax effect. We give a short list of properties that a system should possess to allow a successful implementation of this method.Comment: v2: journal reference update