Tidal heating and stellar irradiation of Hot Jupiters

We study the interaction between stellar irradiation and tidal heating in gaseous planets with short orbital periods. The intentionally simplified atmospheric model we employ makes the problem analytically tractable and permits the derivation of useful scaling relations. We show that many tidal models provide thermal feedback, producing interior radiative zones and leading to enhanced g-mode dissipation with a wide spectrum of resonances. These resonances are dynamically tuned by the thermal feedback, and so represent a novel form of thermomechanical feedback, coupling vibrational modes to the very slow thermal evolution of the planet. We then show that stellar irradiation allows the heat produced by these modes to be trapped at depth with high efficiency, leading to entropy increase in the central convective region, as well as expansion of the planet's radius sufficient to match observed swelling. We find that thermally driven winds play an essential role in this process by making the thermal structure of the atmosphere spherically symmetric within a few scale heights of the photosphere. We characterize the relationship between the swelling factor, the orbital period and the host star and determine the time-scale for swelling. We show that these g modes suffice to produce bloating on the order of the radius of the planet over Gyr time-scales when combined with significant insolation and we provide analytic relations for the relative magnitudes of tidal heating and insolation.ASJ acknowledges support from the Goldwater scholarship and the Marshall scholarship. CAT thanks Churchill College for his fellowship

The feasibility of using pedometers and brief advice to increase activity in sedentary older women:a pilot study

Background: People over the age of 70 carry the greatest burden of chronic disease, disability and health care use. Participation in physical activity is crucial for health, and walking accounts for much of the physical activity undertaken by sedentary individuals. Pedometers are a useful motivational tool to encourage increased walking and they are cheap and easy to use. The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the feasibility of the use of pedometers plus a theory-based intervention to assist sedentary older women to accumulate increasing amounts of physical activity, mainly through walking. Methods: Female participants over the age of 70 were recruited from primary care and randomised to receive either pedometer plus a theory-based intervention or a theory-based intervention alone. The theory-based intervention consisted of motivational techniques, goal-setting, barrier identification and self-monitoring with pedometers and daily diaries. The pedometer group were further randomised to one of three target groups: a 10%, 15% or 20% monthly increase in step count to assess the achievability and acceptability of a range of targets. The primary outcome was change in daily activity levels measured by accelerometry. Secondary outcome measures were lower limb function, health related quality of life, anxiety and depression. Results: 54 participants were recruited into the study, with an average age of 76. There were 9 drop outs, 45 completing the study. All participants in the pedometer group found the pedometers easy to use and there was good compliance with diary keeping (96% in the pedometer group and 83% in the theory-based intervention alone group). There was a strong correlation (0.78) between accelerometry and pedometer step counts i.e. indicating that walking was the main physical activity amongst participants. There was a greater increase in activity (accelerometry) amongst those in the 20% target pedometer group compared to the other groups, although not reaching statistical significance (p = 0.192). Conclusion: We have demonstrated that it is feasible to use pedometers and provide theory-based advice to community dwelling sedentary older women to increase physical activity levels and a larger study is planned to investigate this further.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Breakup Temperature of Target Spectators in Au + Au Collisions at E/A = 1000 MeV

Breakup temperatures were deduced from double ratios of isotope yields for target spectators produced in the reaction Au + Au at 1000 MeV per nucleon. Pairs of $^{3,4}$He and $^{6,7}$Li isotopes and pairs of $^{3,4}$He and H isotopes (p, d and d, t) yield consistent temperatures after feeding corrections, based on the quantum statistical model, are applied. The temperatures rise with decreasing impact parameter from 4 MeV for peripheral to about 10 MeV for the most central collisions. The good agreement with the breakup temperatures measured previously for projectile spectators at an incident energy of 600 MeV per nucleon confirms the observed universality of the spectator decay at relativistic bombarding energies. The measured temperatures also agree with the breakup temperatures predicted by the statistical multifragmentation model. For these calculations a relation between the initial excitation energy and mass was derived which gives good simultaneous agreement for the fragment charge correlations. The energy spectra of light charged particles, measured at $\theta_{lab}$ = 150$^{\circ}$, exhibit Maxwellian shapes with inverse slope parameters much higher than the breakup temperatures. The statistical multifragmentation model, because Coulomb repulsion and sequential decay processes are included, yields light-particle spectra with inverse slope parameters higher than the breakup temperatures but considerably below the measured values. The systematic behavior of the differences suggests that they are caused by light-charged-particle emission prior to the final breakup stage. PACS numbers: 25.70.Mn, 25.70.Pq, 25.75.-qComment: 29 pages, TeX with 11 included figures; Revised version accepted for publication in Z. Phys. A Two additional figure

Walk well:a randomised controlled trial of a walking intervention for adults with intellectual disabilities: study protocol

Background - Walking interventions have been shown to have a positive impact on physical activity (PA) levels, health and wellbeing for adult and older adult populations. There has been very little work carried out to explore the effectiveness of walking interventions for adults with intellectual disabilities. This paper will provide details of the Walk Well intervention, designed for adults with intellectual disabilities, and a randomised controlled trial (RCT) to test its effectiveness. Methods/design - This study will adopt a RCT design, with participants allocated to the walking intervention group or a waiting list control group. The intervention consists of three PA consultations (baseline, six weeks and 12 weeks) and an individualised 12 week walking programme. A range of measures will be completed by participants at baseline, post intervention (three months from baseline) and at follow up (three months post intervention and six months from baseline). All outcome measures will be collected by a researcher who will be blinded to the study groups. The primary outcome will be steps walked per day, measured using accelerometers. Secondary outcome measures will include time spent in PA per day (across various intensity levels), time spent in sedentary behaviour per day, quality of life, self-efficacy and anthropometric measures to monitor weight change. Discussion - Since there are currently no published RCTs of walking interventions for adults with intellectual disabilities, this RCT will examine if a walking intervention can successfully increase PA, health and wellbeing of adults with intellectual disabilities

Investigation of tutin, a naturally-occurring plant toxin, as a novel, culturally-acceptable rodenticide in New Zealand

He nui nga mātauranga a te Māori (Ngai Tūhoe) e pā ana ki nga momo hua tāokeoke (Toxins) etaea ana te whakarite hei rauemi tāwai i ngā riha kīrearea, pērā anō ki nga whiu takarangi o te tāoke 1080. I whakamātauhia e matou i nga ira tāoke o roto o te hua Tutu, ki rō taiwhanga pūtaiao. Mā te wero atu ki tētahi kiore (Norway Rat) i hua mai ngā mohiotanga o te nui me te momo o ngā tāokeoke kei roto i tēnei miro Māori, me te āhua o tēnei tāoke kia mau-rohā tonu tōna tuku whakahemo (Humaneness). Kei tua o te 55 mg kg⁻¹neke atu, te ine i tūtuki pai ai nga tāhawahawatanga o te miro Tutu, ā, e mau-roha tonu ana te kōhurutanga o te r iha. Ko te whakatau kia kawea atu tēnei kaupapa ki nga ahurewa rangahau e taea ai te waihanga i tētahi mōunu tāokeoke, kia whakamātauria ki rō ngāhere. Hei tāpiritanga ki tēnei, he roa rawa te wā e pakari ai te whanaketanga mai o tētahi tākoe e rerekē ana ki te 1080, anō nei, mā ngā kawenga o te mātauranga Māori ki tēnei take e whanake tika ai te kaupapa nei. New Zealand has many introduced mammalian species that are managed as pests of conservation and/or economic importance, including four rodent species. Vertebrate pesticides are the most important rodent management tool, largely dominated by anticoagulants such as brodifacoum, and by the metabolic disruptor, Compound 1080. There has been considerable opposition to these pesticides, primarily based on concerns about environmental persistence and non-target effects; Maori have been particularly vocal in opposition. Maori have place-based knowledge about naturally-occurring plant toxins that could be used as culturally-acceptable alternatives to existing rodenticides. In the context of the research presented here, the term ‘culturally-acceptable’ refers to new pest control options that have been co-designed with Matauranga Maori experts that inherently include Maori ways of thinking, being, and acting. Tuhoe researchers in our study wanted to pursue the most promising natural toxic compound found in native plants as a suitable alternative to current vertebrate pesticides. Therefore, we undertook an oral gavage trial to assess the toxicity of tutin, the toxin active in tutu (Coriaria arborea), to the Norway rat, (Rattus norvegicus). Tutin was toxic to this species at a dose of 55 mg kg⁻¹, with a quick, humane death compared to other existing rodenticides. At a dose rate of 55 mg kg⁻¹, all animals of both sexes died within an hour, and once neurological poisoning symptoms commenced these animals were unconscious within 5-10 minutes. We conclude it is warranted to take the next logical research step, which is to prove whether this dose rate would be technically attainable in the field. Although for now New Zealand remains reliant on 1080 and anti-coagulants for mammalian pest control, efforts should continue to develop more targeted toxins and delivery systems. We recommend incorporating Matauranga Maori to identify alternative control tools that could lead to more culturally acceptable pest control

Detection of subtelomere imbalance using MLPA: validation, development of an analysis protocol, and application in a diagnostic centre

BACKGROUND: Commercial MLPA kits (MRC-Holland) are available for detecting imbalance at the subtelomere regions of chromosomes; each kit consists of one probe for each subtelomere. METHODS: For validation of the kits, 208 patients were tested, of which 128 were known to be abnormal, corresponding to 8528 genomic regions overall. Validation samples included those with trisomy 13, 18 and 21, microscopically visible terminal deletions and duplications, sex chromosome abnormalities and submicroscopic abnormalities identified by multiprobe FISH. A robust and sensitive analysis system was developed to allow accurate interpretation of single probe results, which is essential as breakpoints may occur between MLPA probes. RESULTS: The validation results showed that MLPA is a highly efficient technique for medium-throughput screening for subtelomere imbalance, with 95% confidence intervals for positive and negative predictive accuracies of 0.951-0.996 and 0.9996-1 respectively. A diagnostic testing strategy was established for subtelomere MLPA and any subsequent follow-up tests that may be required. The efficacy of this approach was demonstrated during 15 months of diagnostic testing when 455 patients were tested and 27 (5.9%) abnormal cases were detected. CONCLUSION: The development of a robust, medium-throughput analysis system for the interpretation of results from subtelomere assays will be of benefit to other Centres wishing to implement such an MLPA-based service

Liquid-gas phase transition in nuclear multifragmentation

The equation of state of nuclear matter suggests that at suitable beam energies the disassembling hot system formed in heavy ion collisions will pass through a liquid-gas coexistence region. Searching for the signatures of the phase transition has been a very important focal point of experimental endeavours in heavy ion collisions, in the last fifteen years. Simultaneously theoretical models have been developed to provide information about the equation of state and reaction mechanisms consistent with the experimental observables. This article is a review of this endeavour.Comment: 63 pages, 27 figures, submitted to Adv. Nucl. Phys. Some typos corrected, minor text change

Production of phi mesons at mid-rapidity in sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV Au+Au collisions at RHIC

We present the first results of meson production in the K^+K^- decay channel from Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV as measured at mid-rapidity by the PHENIX detector at RHIC. Precision resonance centroid and width values are extracted as a function of collision centrality. No significant variation from the PDG accepted values is observed. The transverse mass spectra are fitted with a linear exponential function for which the derived inverse slope parameter is seen to be constant as a function of centrality. These data are also fitted by a hydrodynamic model with the result that the freeze-out temperature and the expansion velocity values are consistent with the values previously derived from fitting single hadron inclusive data. As a function of transverse momentum the collisions scaled peripheral.to.central yield ratio RCP for the is comparable to that of pions rather than that of protons. This result lends support to theoretical models which distinguish between baryons and mesons instead of particle mass for explaining the anomalous proton yield.Comment: 326 authors, 24 pages text, 23 figures, 6 tables, RevTeX 4. To be submitted to Physical Review C as a regular article. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm