Boltzmann hierarchy for the cosmic microwave background at second order including photon polarization

Non-gaussianity and B-mode polarization are particularly interesting features of the cosmic microwave background, as -- at least in the standard model of cosmology -- their only sources to first order in cosmological perturbation theory are primordial, possibly generated during inflation. If the primordial sources are small, the question arises how large is the non-gaussianity and B-mode background induced in second-order from the initially gaussian and scalar perturbations. In this paper we derive the Boltzmann hierarchy for the microwave background photon phase-space distributions at second order in cosmological perturbation theory including the complete polarization information, providing the basis for further numerical studies. As an aside we note that the second-order collision term contains new sources of B-mode polarization and that no polarization persists in the tight-coupling limit.Comment: LaTeX, 33 page

Assessing smoking status in children, adolescents and adults: cotinine cut-points revisited

Aims To reassess saliva cotinine cut-points to discriminate smoking status. Cotinine cut-points that are in use were derived from relatively small samples of smokers and non-smokers 20 or more years ago. It is possible that optimal cut-points may have changed as prevalence and exposure to passive smoking have declined. Design Cross-sectional survey of the general population, with assessment of self-reported smoking and saliva cotinine. Participants A total of 58 791 respondents aged 4 years and older in the Health Survey for England for the years 1996-2004 who provided valid saliva cotinine specimens. Measures Saliva cotinine concentrations, demographic variables, self-reported smoking, presence or absence of smoking in the home, a composite index of social disadvantage derived from occupation, housing tenure and access to a car. Findigns A cut-point of 12 ng/ml performed best overall, with specificity of 96.9% and sensitivity of 96.7% in discriminating confirmed cigarette smokers from never regular smokers. This cut-point also identified correctly 95.8% of children aged 8-15 years smoking six or more cigarettes a week. There was evidence of substantial misreport in claimed ex-smokers, especially adolescents (specificity 72.3%) and young adults aged 16-24 years (77.5%). Optimal cut-points varied by presence (18 ng/ml) or absence (5 ng/ml) of smoking in the home, and there was a gradient from 8 ng/ml to 18 ng/ml with increasing social disadvantage. Conclusions The extent of non-smokers' exposure to other people's tobacco smoke is the principal factor driving optimal cotinine cut-points. A cut-point of 12 ng/ml can be recommended for general use across the whole age range, although different cut-points may be appropriate for population subgroups and in societies with differing levels of exposure to secondhand smoke

B polarization of cosmic background radiation from second-order scattering sources

B-mode polarization of the cosmic background radiation is induced from purely scalar primordial sources at second order in perturbations of the homogeneous, isotropic universe. We calculate the B-mode angular power spectrum C_l^{BB} sourced by the second-order scattering term in the full second-order Boltzmann equations for the polarized radiation phase-space density, which have recently become available. We find that at l\approx 200 the second-order effect is comparable to the first-order effect for a tensor-to-scalar ratio of r=10^{-6}, and to about 2\cdot 10^{-4} at l\approx 1000. It is always negligible relative to the weak-lensing induced contribution.Comment: 32 page

SIGNAL SEPARATION TO REVEAL SUBTLE FEATURES IN GRAVITY AND MAGNETIC DATA FROM THE BELLEFONTAINE OUTLIER, OHIO

Fidler, Michael L. Jr and Noltimier, Hallan C., 2006, Signal separation to review subtle features in gravity and magnetic data from the Bellefontaine outlier, Ohio [poster]: Geological Society of America North-Central Section 40th Annual Meeting, 2006, Session 38, Paper 38-2. Abstract published: Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 38, No. 4, p. 76; http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2006NC/finalprogram/abstract_103533.htm At previous GSA meetings the general basement topography and structure of the Bellefontaine Outlier region of Ohio has been presented in poster format based upon our own detailed gravity and magnetic survey data and the COCORP Ohio #1 seismic survey which crossed the region. Recent experimentation with signal separation has brought new structural details to light. By removing the major gravity and magnetic signals from their respective data sets and re-normalizing the resulting data to isolate small scale variations, many features become visible. Correlation of these new details hidden within the gravity and magnetic survey data sets is presented as well as correlation with surface topographic features. For example: A north-east trending basement fault correlates with surface topography

Bone mineral density optimisation in adults with perinatally acquired HIV infection in routine care

We report on BMD and factors associated with reductions in BMD for all adults with perinatally acquired HIV who attended a London clinic between May 2014 and October 2016. We observed a high prevalence of reductions in BMD and a higher than expected prevalence of factors associated with adverse bone health, namely vitamin D deficiency

Bone mineral density optimisation in adults with perinatally acquired HIV infection in routine care.

We report on BMD and factors associated with reductions in BMD for all adults with perinatally acquired HIV who attended a London clinic between May 2014 and October 2016. We observed a high prevalence of reductions in BMD and a higher than expected prevalence of factors associated with adverse bone health, namely vitamin D deficiency

The 2010 Field Demonstration of the Solar Carbothermal Reduction of Regolith to Produce Oxygen

The Moon and other space exploration destinations are comprised of a variety of oxygen-bearing minerals, providing a virtually unlimited quantity of raw material which can be processed to produce oxygen. One attractive method to extract oxygen from the regolith is the carbothermal reduction process, which is not sensitive to variations in the mineral composition of the regolith. It also creates other valuable resources within the processed regolith, such as iron and silicon metals. Using funding from NASA, ORBITEC recently built and tested the Carbothermal Regolith Reduction Module to process lunar regolith simulants using concentrated solar energy. This paper summarizes the experimental test results obtained during a demonstration of the system at a lunar analog test site on the Mauna Kea volcano on Hawaii in February 2010