1,135 research outputs found
Paediatric intensive care admissions of preterm children born <32 weeks gestation: a national retrospective cohort study using data linkage
Objective: Survival of babies born very preterm (<32 weeks gestational age) has increased, although preterm-born children may have ongoing morbidity. We aimed to investigate the risk of admission to paediatric intensive care units (PICUs) of children born very preterm following discharge home from neonatal care. Design: Retrospective cohort study, using data linkage of National Neonatal Research Database and the Paediatric Intensive Care Audit Network datasets. Setting: All neonatal units and PICUs in England and Wales. Patients: Children born very preterm between 1 January 2013 and 31 December 2018 and admitted to neonatal units. Main outcome measures: Admission to PICU after discharge home from neonatal care, before 2 years of age. Results: Of the 40 690 children discharged home from neonatal care, there were 2308 children (5.7%) with at least one admission to PICU after discharge. Of these children, there were 1901 whose first PICU admission after discharge was unplanned. The percentage of children with unplanned PICU admission varied by gestation, from 10.2% of children born <24 weeks to 3.3% born at 31 weeks. Following adjustment, unplanned PICU admission was associated with lower gestation, male sex (adjusted OR (aOR) 0.79), bronchopulmonary dysplasia (aOR 1.37), necrotising enterocolitis requiring surgery (aOR 1.39) and brain injury (aOR 1.42). For each week of increased gestation, the aOR was 0.90. Conclusions: Most babies born <32 weeks and discharged home from neonatal care do not require PICU admission in the first 2 years. The odds of unplanned admissions to PICU were greater in the most preterm and those with significant neonatal morbidity. Data availability statement: Data may be obtained from a third party and are not publicly available. Data may be obtained from a third party and are not publicly available. PICANet data may be requested from the data controller, the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP). A Data Access Request Form can be obtained from https://www.hqip.org.uk/national-programmes/accessing-ncapop-data/%23.XQeml_lKhjU
New HST Observations of the Halo Gas of NGC 3067: Limits on the Extragalactic Ionizing Background at Low Redshift and the Lyman Continuum Escape Fraction
We present UV spectroscopy from HST/GHRS and reanalyze existing H_alpha
images of the quasar/galaxy pair 3C 232/NGC 3067 and of the halo gas associated
with NGC 3067. The spectra permit measurement of, or limits on, the column
densities of Fe I, Fe II, Mg I, and Mg II in the absorbing cloud. Two distinct
models of the extragalactic radiation field are considered: (1) the ionizing
spectrum is dominated by a power-law extragalactic continuum, and (2) the
power-law spectrum contains a Lyman break, implying enhanced flux longward of
912 A relative to the hydrogen-ionizing flux. The H_alpha images constrain the
escape fraction of Lyman continuum photons from the galaxy to f_esc <= 0.02.
With the assumption that the cloud is shielded from all galactic contributions,
we can constrain the intensity and shape of the extragalactic continuum. For an
AGN-dominated power-law extragalactic spectrum, we derive a limit on the
extragalactic ionizing flux Phi_ion >= 2600 photons cm^-2 s^-1, or I_0 >=
10^-23 erg cm^-2 s^-1 Hz^-1 sr^-1 for an ionizing spectrum with power-law index
of 1.8 and a cloud of constant density. When combined with previous upper
limits from the absence of H_alpha recombination emission from intergalactic
clouds, our observations require 2600 <= Phi_ion <= 10000 photons cm^-2 s^-1.
We show that if galactic contributions to the incident radiation are important,
it is difficult to constrain Phi_ion. These results demonstrate that galactic
halo opacities and their wavelength dependence are crucial to understanding the
abundance of low-ionization metals in the IGM.Comment: 25 Pages LaTex, 8 PostScript Figures, accepted for publication in AJ,
Nov. 99 issu
Evidence for a Physically Compact Narrow-Line Region in the Seyfert 1 Galaxy NGC 5548
We have combined HST/FOS and ground-based spectra of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC
5548 to study the narrow emission lines over the 1200 -- 10,000 angstrom
region. All of the spectra were obtained when the broad emission line and
continuum fluxes were at an historic low level, allowing us to accurately
determine the contribution of the narrow-line region (NLR) to the emission
lines. We have generated multicomponent photoionization models to investigate
the relative strength of the high ionization lines compared to those in Seyfert
2 galaxies, and the weakness of the narrow Mg II 2800 line. We present evidence
for a high ionization component of NLR gas that is very close to the nucleus
(~1 pc). This component must be optically thin to ionizing radiation at the
Lyman edge (tau = 2.5) to avoid producing [O I] and Mg II in a partially
ionized zone. The very high ionization lines (N V, [Ne V], [Fe VII], [Fe X])
are stronger than the predictions of our standard model, and we show that this
may be due to supersolar abundances and/or a ``blue bump'' in the extreme
ultraviolet (although recent observations do not support the latter). An outer
component of NLR gas (at only ~70 pc from the continuum source) is needed to
produce the low ionization lines. We show that the outer component may contain
dust, which further reduces the Mg II flux by depletion and by absorption of
the resonance photons after multiple scatterings. We show that the majority of
the emission in the NLR of NGC 5548 must arise within about ~70 pc from the
nucleus. Thus, the NLR in this Seyfert 1 galaxy is very physically compact,
compared to the typical NLR in Seyfert 2 galaxies.Comment: 38 pages, Latex, includes 2 figures (postscript), to appear in Ap
An exact universal amplitude ratio for percolation
The universal amplitude ratio for percolation in two
dimensions is determined exactly using results for the dilute A model in regime
1, by way of a relationship with the q-state Potts model for q<4.Comment: 5 pages, LaTeX, submitted to J. Phys. A. One paragraph rewritten to
correct error
Non-Hermitian quantum mechanics: the case of bound state scattering theory
Excited bound states are often understood within scattering based theories as
resulting from the collision of a particle on a target via a short-range
potential. We show that the resulting formalism is non-Hermitian and describe
the Hilbert spaces and metric operator relevant to a correct formulation of
such theories. The structure and tools employed are the same that have been
introduced in current works dealing with PT-symmetric and quasi-Hermitian
problems. The relevance of the non-Hermitian formulation to practical
computations is assessed by introducing a non-Hermiticity index. We give a
numerical example involving scattering by a short-range potential in a Coulomb
field for which it is seen that even for a small but non-negligible
non-Hermiticity index the non-Hermitian character of the problem must be taken
into account. The computation of physical quantities in the relevant Hilbert
spaces is also discussed
Time delays in quasi-periodic pulsations observed during the X2.2 solar flare on 2011 February 15
We report observations of quasi-periodic pulsations (QPPs) during the X2.2
flare of 2011 February 15, observed simultaneously in several wavebands. We
focus on fluctuations on time scale 1-30 s and find different time lags between
different wavebands. During the impulsive phase, the Reuven Ramaty High Energy
Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) channels in the range 25-100 keV lead all
the other channels. They are followed by the Nobeyama RadioPolarimeters at 9
and 17 GHz and the Extreme Ultra-Violet (EUV) channels of the Euv
SpectroPhotometer (ESP) onboard the Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO). The
Zirconium and Aluminum filter channels of the Large Yield Radiometer (LYRA)
onboard the Project for On-Board Autonomy (PROBA2) satellite and the SXR
channel of ESP follow. The largest lags occur in observations from the
Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES), where the channel at
1-8 {\AA} leads the 0.5-4 {\AA} channel by several seconds. The time lags
between the first and last channels is up to 9 s. We identified at least two
distinct time intervals during the flare impulsive phase, during which the QPPs
were associated with two different sources in the Nobeyama RadioHeliograph at
17 GHz. The radio as well as the hard X-ray channels showed different lags
during these two intervals. To our knowledge, this is the first time that time
lags are reported between EUV and SXR fluctuations on these time scales. We
discuss possible emission mechanisms and interpretations, including flare
electron trapping
A Multi-Wavelength, Multi-Epoch Study of the Soft X-Ray Transient Prototype, V616 Mon (A0620-00)
We have obtained optical and infrared photometry of the soft x-ray transient
prototype V616 Mon (A0620-00). From this photometry, we find a spectral type of
K4 for the secondary star in the system, which is consistent with spectroscopic
observations. We present J-, H-, and K-band light curves modeled with WD98 and
ELC. Combining detailed, independently run models for ellipsoidal variations
due to a spotted, non-spherical secondary star, and the observed ultraviolet to
infrared spectral energy distribution of the system, we show that the most
likely value for the orbital inclination is 40.75 +/- 3 deg. This inclination
angle implies a primary black hole mass of 11.0 +/- 1.9 solar masses.Comment: 29 pages (preprint format), including 7 figures and 4 tables,
accepted for publication in the Nov 2001 issue of A
Hubble Space Telescope Images of Stephan's Quintet: Star Cluster Formation in a Compact Group Environment
Analysis of Hubble Space Telescope/Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 images of
Stephan's Quintet, Hickson Compact Group 92, yielded 115 candidate star
clusters (with V-I < 1.5). Unlike in merger remants, the cluster candidates in
Stephan's Quintet are not clustered in the inner regions of the galaxies; they
are spread over the debris and surrounding area. Specifically, these sources
are located in the long sweeping tail and spiral arms of NGC 7319, in the tidal
debris of NGC 7318B/A, and in the intragroup starburst region north of these
galaxies. Analysis of the colors of the clusters indicates several distinct
epochs of star formation that appear to trace the complex history of dynamical
interactions in this compact group.Comment: 24 pages, 21 figures (13 PostScript and 8 JPEG), LaTeX (uses
aastexug.sty), accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal (July
2001). Full-resolution PostScript figures available at
http://www.astro.psu.edu/users/gallsc/sq/figs.tar.g
Off-Critical Logarithmic Minimal Models
We consider the integrable minimal models , corresponding
to the perturbation off-criticality, in the {\it logarithmic
limit\,} , where are coprime and the
limit is taken through coprime values of . We view these off-critical
minimal models as the continuum scaling limit of the
Forrester-Baxter Restricted Solid-On-Solid (RSOS) models on the square lattice.
Applying Corner Transfer Matrices to the Forrester-Baxter RSOS models in Regime
III, we argue that taking first the thermodynamic limit and second the {\it
logarithmic limit\,} yields off-critical logarithmic minimal models corresponding to the perturbation of the critical
logarithmic minimal models . Specifically, in accord with the
Kyoto correspondence principle, we show that the logarithmic limit of the
one-dimensional configurational sums yields finitized quasi-rational characters
of the Kac representations of the critical logarithmic minimal models . We also calculate the logarithmic limit of certain off-critical
observables related to One Point Functions and show that the
associated critical exponents
produce all conformal dimensions in the infinitely extended Kac table. The corresponding Kac labels
satisfy . The exponent is obtained from the logarithmic limit of the free energy giving the
conformal dimension for the perturbing field . As befits a non-unitary
theory, some observables diverge at criticality.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures; version 3 contains amplifications and minor
typographical correction
Optimization of Generalized Multichannel Quantum Defect reference functions for Feshbach resonance characterization
This work stresses the importance of the choice of the set of reference
functions in the Generalized Multichannel Quantum Defect Theory to analyze the
location and the width of Feshbach resonance occurring in collisional
cross-sections. This is illustrated on the photoassociation of cold rubidium
atom pairs, which is also modeled using the Mapped Fourier Grid Hamiltonian
method combined with an optical potential. The specificity of the present
example lies in a high density of quasi-bound states (closed channel)
interacting with a dissociation continuum (open channel). We demonstrate that
the optimization of the reference functions leads to quantum defects with a
weak energy dependence across the relevant energy threshold. The main result of
our paper is that the agreement between the both theoretical approaches is
achieved only if optimized reference functions are used.Comment: submitte to Journal of Physics
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