Comparison of LISA and Atom Interferometry for Gravitational Wave Astronomy in Space

One of the atom interferometer gravitational wave missions proposed by Dimopoulos et al.1 in 2008 was called AGIS-Sat. 2. It had a suggested gravitational wave sensitivity set by the atom state detection shot noise level that started at 1 mHz, was comparable to LISA sensitivity from 1 to about 20 mHz, and had better sensitivity from 20 to 500 mHz. The separation between the spacecraft was 1,000 km, with atom interferometers 200 m long and shades from sunlight used at each end. A careful analysis of many error sources was included, but requirements on the time-stability of both the laser wavefront aberrations and the atom temperatures in the atom clouds were not investigated. After including these considerations, the laser wavefront aberration stability requirement to meet the quoted sensitivity level is about 1\times10-8 wavelengths, and is far tighter than for LISA. Also, the temperature fluctuations between atom clouds have to be less than 1 pK. An alternate atom interferometer GW mission in Earth orbit called AGIS-LEO with 30 km satellite separation has been suggested recently. The reduction of wavefront aberration noise by sending the laser beam through a high-finesse mode-scrubbing optical cavity is discussed briefly, but the requirements on such a cavity are not given. Unfortunately, such an Earth-orbiting mission seems to be considerably more difficult to design than a non-geocentric mission and does not appear to have comparably attractive scientific goals.Comment: Submitted to Proc. 46th Rencontres de Moriond: Gravitational Waves and Experimental Gravity, March 20 - 27, 2011, La Thuile, Ital

The role of diet in managing inflamatory bowel disease affected dogs: a retrospective cohort study on 76 cases

The term inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) refers to a group of idiopathic, chronic intestinal diseases characterized by a diffuse infiltration of inflammatory cells into the lamina propria of the intestine. The pathogenesis of IBD is unknown. The most common signs described are diarrhoea, vomit, and progressive weight loss. In order to make a definitive diagnosis, though, the presence of inflammatory cells infiltration must be evident on histopathologic analysis. The therapeutic approach has 2 main goals: decrease the inflammatory response and remove possible antigenic sources, such as food components or intestinal microflora. Therefore, the most common therapy is the association of Prednisone with a single protein diet, especially when the inflammatory cells infiltration is severe. Another way to reduce the antigenic stimulation is to control the intestinal microflora, so antibiotics and pre/ probiotics may be used. This retrospective study tested and compared the therapeutic value of Prednisone and specific diets, used as a single therapy or combined together. The results show a significative clinical improvement in dogs fed with hydrolized protein diets rather than novel protein diets. Finally, fish is the more reliable source of protein to use during therapy, because of its low ability to trigger an antigenic reaction

The concordance between endoscopic and histological diagnosis in 114 dogs affected by gastric disease

Endoscopy is a common, minimally invasive diagnostic technique that can be used to observe internal organs, e. g. the stomach, and to obtain mucosal bioptic samples for histo pathological examination. The aim of this study was to analyse the concordance between endoscopic and histological evaluation of gastric diseases in dogs. One hundred twenty-nine medical records of dogs undergoing gastroscopy have been received and stored by the Veterinary Hospital of Perugia University (Perugia, Italy) between 2009-2012. The concordance between endoscopic and histological reports of acute and chronic gastritis or gastric tumours was assessed by Cohen's k coefficient. Considering histological diagnosis as the "gold standard", sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of the endoscopic report have been calculated. Frequencies of gastritis types differed between macroscopic and microscopic analyses. The evaluation of histological and endoscopic agreement was fair (0.35). Endoscopy showed sensitivity of 45%, 88%, and 100% for acute gastritis, chronic gastritis, and gastric tumours, respectively; and specificity of 84%, 71%, and 100%. The positive predictive value and NPV resulted to be 25% and 93% for acute gastritis, 93% and 60 % for chronic gastritis, 100% and 100% for gastric tumours. The results of this study show that gastric endoscopy cannot be performed as a screening exam, and that to optimise diagnosis both endoscopic and histological exam should be conducted

Obsessive-compulsive disorder and its related disorders: a reappraisal of obsessive-compulsive spectrum concepts

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a clinical syndrome whose hallmarks are excessive, anxiety-evoking thoughts and compulsive behaviors that are generally recognized as unreasonable, but which cause significant distress and impairment. When these are the exclusive symptoms, they constitute uncomplicated OCD. OCD may also occur in the context of other neuropsychiatric disorders, most commonly other anxiety and mood disorders. The question remains as to whether these combinations of disorders should be regarded as independent, cooccurring disorders or as different manifestations of an incompletely understood constellation of OCD spectrum disorders with a common etiology. Additional considerations are given here to two potential etiology-based subgroups: (i) an environmentally based group in which OCD occurs following apparent causal events such as streptococcal infections, brain injury, or atypical neuroleptic treatment; and (ii) a genomically based group in which OCD is related to chromosomal anomalies or specific genes. Considering the status of current research, the concept of OCD and OCD-related spectrum conditions seems fluid in 2010, and in need of ongoing reappraisal

The Evolution of Compact Binary Star Systems

We review the formation and evolution of compact binary stars consisting of white dwarfs (WDs), neutron stars (NSs), and black holes (BHs). Binary NSs and BHs are thought to be the primary astrophysical sources of gravitational waves (GWs) within the frequency band of ground-based detectors, while compact binaries of WDs are important sources of GWs at lower frequencies to be covered by space interferometers (LISA). Major uncertainties in the current understanding of properties of NSs and BHs most relevant to the GW studies are discussed, including the treatment of the natal kicks which compact stellar remnants acquire during the core collapse of massive stars and the common envelope phase of binary evolution. We discuss the coalescence rates of binary NSs and BHs and prospects for their detections, the formation and evolution of binary WDs and their observational manifestations. Special attention is given to AM CVn-stars -- compact binaries in which the Roche lobe is filled by another WD or a low-mass partially degenerate helium-star, as these stars are thought to be the best LISA verification binary GW sources.Comment: 105 pages, 18 figure

Social skills in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder before and after treatment

Objective: We investigated whether social skills are impaired in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), whether they changed over the course of treatment, and whether OCD severity, age of onset, and illness duration were associated with social skills deficit. Methods: A total of 41 treatment-naïve patients with OCD and 34 healthy controls were assessed using the Social Skills Inventory. Patients were reevaluated 12 weeks after standardized treatment. Group differences and the effects of treatment on OCD symptomatology over time were analyzed with independent and paired tests, respectively. OCD severity, age at illness onset, and illness duration were tested as predictors of social skills. Results: The patient group had lower overall social skill scores than controls (p < 0.001). After treatment, although OCD symptomatology (p < 0.001) improved, there was no significant difference in social skills (p = 0.673). Earlier age of symptom onset predicted lower social skill scores (p = 0.016). Conclusion: Our results suggest that, despite improved OCD symptoms, social skills did not change after treatment. Subsequent investigations with larger sample sizes and longer follow-up periods could determine whether social skills are likely to increase over time

Assessment of obsessive-compulsive symptom dimensions: development and evaluation

Although several measures of obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms exist, most are limited in that they are not consistent with the most recent empirical findings on the nature and dimensional structure of obsessions and compulsions. In the present research, the authors developed and evaluated a measure called the Dimensional Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (DOCS) to address limitations of existing OC symptom measures. The DOCS is a 20-item measure that assesses the four dimensions of OC symptoms most reliably replicated in previous structural research. Factorial validity of the DOCS was supported by exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of 3 samples, including individuals with OC disorder, those with other anxiety disorders, and nonclinical individuals. Scores on the DOCS displayed good performance on indices of reliability and validity, as well as sensitivity to treatment and diagnostic sensitivity, and hold promise as a measure of OC symptoms in clinical and research settings