21,412 research outputs found
The role of the Interstellar Medium in Galaxy Formation Simulations
There is a strong connection between the formation of a disk galaxy and the
properties of the interstellar medium (ISM). Theoretical work has typically
either focused on the cosmological buildup of a galaxy with a relatively crude
model for the gas physics, or examined local processes in the ISM and ignored
the global evolution of the galaxy itself. Here, I briefly review what has been
learned from both of these approaches, and what can be done to bridge the gap
between them. I argue that cosmological simulations need to learn from
observational and theoretical work on local ISM properties and adopt more
sophisticated models for the processes that they cannot resolve. Since the ISM
is still incompletely understood, there are a number of reasonable approaches
for these "subgrid" models, and I will discuss the strengths and limitations of
each.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, appeared in the proceedings of the
CRAL-Conference Series I "Chemodynamics: from first stars to local galaxies",
Lyon 10-14 July 2006, France, Eds. Emsellem, Wozniak, Massacrier, Gonzalez,
Devriendt, Champavert, EAS Publications Serie
The impact of childhood health conditions: examining experiences of the family around the child
Background: Research has examined family functioning in relation to childhood chronic conditions; some findings suggest a detrimental impact of illness on functioning, others suggest no impact or instances of improved functioning. This review collated qualitative data, to understand the factors facilitating healthy functioning.
Method: Four electronic databases were searched: Web of Science, Medline, CINAHL and Psych INFO and ten papers were identified.
Results: A meta-ethnographic synthesis showed that families encounter a variety of potential stressors, such as distress following diagnosis. They manage these through various resources including contact with health services. The synthesis highlighted an appraisal process mediating the perception of stressors and resources. This process occurs on interconnected levels (individual, family and wider system) and it is this, rather than the specific stressors or resources encountered, that impacts functioning.
Discussion: The challenges commonly encountered by families managing childhood chronic conditions can be experienced very differently depending on their systems of appraisal. This has clinical implications as health services should not only offer holistic support to families but regularly review how this support is perceived. Research could be extended to investigate which factors promote a more positive appraisal of challenging situations
Achieving Extreme Resolution in Numerical Cosmology Using Adaptive Mesh Refinement: Resolving Primordial Star Formation
As an entry for the 2001 Gordon Bell Award in the "special" category, we
describe our 3-d, hybrid, adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) code, Enzo, designed
for high-resolution, multiphysics, cosmological structure formation
simulations. Our parallel implementation places no limit on the depth or
complexity of the adaptive grid hierarchy, allowing us to achieve unprecedented
spatial and temporal dynamic range. We report on a simulation of primordial
star formation which develops over 8000 subgrids at 34 levels of refinement to
achieve a local refinement of a factor of 10^12 in space and time. This allows
us to resolve the properties of the first stars which form in the universe
assuming standard physics and a standard cosmological model. Achieving extreme
resolution requires the use of 128-bit extended precision arithmetic (EPA) to
accurately specify the subgrid positions. We describe our EPA AMR
implementation on the IBM SP2 Blue Horizon system at the San Diego
Supercomputer Center.Comment: 23 pages, 5 figures. Peer reviewed technical paper accepted to the
proceedings of Supercomputing 2001. This entry was a Gordon Bell Prize
finalist. For more information visit http://www.TomAbel.com/GB
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