1,062 research outputs found
Response to change in the number of visual stimuli in zebrafish:A behavioural and molecular study
The Edgeworth-Kuiper debris disk
(Abridged) The Edgeworth-Kuiper belt with its presumed dusty debris is a
natural reference for extrsolar debris disks. We employ a new algorithm to
eliminate the inclination and the distance selection effects in the known TNO
populations to derive expected parameters of the "true" EKB. Its estimated mass
is M_EKB=0.12 M_earth, which is by a factor of \sim 15 larger than the mass of
the EKB objects detected so far. About a half of the total EKB mass is in
classical and resonant objects and another half is in scattered ones. Treating
the debiased populations of EKB objects as dust parent bodies, we then
"generate" their dust disk with our collisional code. Apart from accurate
handling of collisions and direct radiation pressure, we include the
Poynting-Robertson (P-R) drag, which cannot be ignored for the EKB dust disk.
Outside the classical EKB, the radial profile of the optical depth
approximately follows tau \sim r^-2 which is roughly intermediate between the
slope predicted analytically for collision-dominated (r^-1.5) and
transport-dominated (r^-2.5) disks. The cross section-dominating grain size
still lies just above the blowout size (\sim 1...2 \microm), as it would
without the P-R transport. However, if the EKB were by one order of magnitude
less massive, the optical depth profile would fall off as tau \sim r^-3, and
the cross section-dominating grain size would shift from \sim 1...2\microm to
~100 \microm. These properties are seen if dust is assumed to be generated only
by known TNOs. If the solar system were observed from outside, the thermal
emission flux from the EKB dust would be about two orders of magnitude lower
than for solar-type stars with the brightest known infrared excesses observed
from the same distance. Herschel and other new-generation facilities should
reveal extrasolar debris disks nearly as tenuous as the EKB disk. The
Herschel/PACS instrument should be able to detect disks at a \sim 1...2M_EKB
level.Comment: 18 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in A&
An improved model of the Edgeworth-Kuiper debris disk
(Abridged) We access the expected EKB dust disk properties by modeling. We
treat the debiased population of the known transneptunian objects (TNOs) as
parent bodies and generate the dust with our collisional code. The resulting
dust distributions are modified to take into account the influence of
gravitational scattering and resonance trapping by planets on migrating dust
grains as well as the effect of sublimation. A difficulty is that the amount
and distribution of dust are largely determined by sub-kilometer-sized bodies.
These are directly unobservable, and their properties cannot be accessed by
collisional modeling, because objects larger than 10...60m in the present-day
EKB are not in a collisional equilibrium. To place additional constraints, we
use in-situ measurements of the New Horizons spacecraft within 20AU. We show
that the TNO population has to have a break in the size distribution at s<70km.
However, even this still leaves us with several models that all correctly
reproduce a nearly constant dust impact rates in the region of giant planet
orbits and do not violate the constraints from the non-detection of the EKB
dust thermal emission by the COBE spacecraft. The modeled EKB dust disks, which
conform to the observational constraints, can either be transport-dominated or
intermediate between the transport-dominated and collision-dominated regime.
The in-plane optical depth of such disks is tau(r>10AU)~10^-6 and their
fractional luminosity is f_d~10^-7. Planets and sublimation are found to have
little effect on dust impact fluxes and dust thermal emission. The spectral
energy distribution of an EKB analog, as would be seen from 10pc distance,
peaks at wavelengths of 40...50\mum at F~0.5mJy, which is less than 1% of the
photospheric flux at those wavelengths. Therefore, exact EKB analogs cannot be
detected with present-day instruments such as Herschel/PACS.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astophysic
Effectiveness of student response systems in terms of learning environment, attitudes and achievement
In order to investigate the effectiveness of using Student Response Systems (SRS) among grade 7 and 8 science students in New York, the How Do You Feel About This Class? (HDYFATC) questionnaire was administered to 1097 students (532 students did use SRS and 565 students who did not use SRS). Data analyses attested to the sound factorial validity and internal consistency reliability of the HDYFATC, as well as its ability to differentiate between the perceptions of students in different classrooms. Very large differences between users and non-users of SRS, ranging from 1.17 to 2.45 standard deviations for various learning environment scales, attitudes and achievement, supported the efficacy of using SRS
Eradication of chronic myeloid leukemia stem cells: a novel mathematical model predicts no therapeutic benefit of adding G-CSF to imatinib
Imatinib mesylate induces complete cytogenetic responses in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), yet many patients have detectable BCR-ABL transcripts in peripheral blood even after prolonged therapy. Bone marrow studies have shown that this residual disease resides within the stem cell compartment. Quiescence of leukemic stem cells has been suggested as a mechanism conferring insensitivity to imatinib, and exposure to the Granulocyte-Colony Stimulating Factor (G-CSF), together with imatinib, has led to a significant reduction in leukemic stem cells in vitro. In this paper, we design a novel mathematical model of stem cell quiescence to investigate the treatment response to imatinib and G-CSF. We find that the addition of G-CSF to an imatinib treatment protocol leads to observable effects only if the majority of leukemic stem cells are quiescent; otherwise it does not modulate the leukemic cell burden. The latter scenario is in agreement with clinical findings in a pilot study administering imatinib continuously or intermittently, with or without G-CSF (GIMI trial). Furthermore, our model predicts that the addition of G-CSF leads to a higher risk of resistance since it increases the production of cycling leukemic stem cells. Although the pilot study did not include enough patients to draw any conclusion with statistical significance, there were more cases of progression in the experimental arms as compared to continuous imatinib. Our results suggest that the additional use of G-CSF may be detrimental to patients in the clinic
Debris disk size distributions: steady state collisional evolution with P-R drag and other loss processes
We present a new scheme for determining the shape of the size distribution,
and its evolution, for collisional cascades of planetesimals undergoing
destructive collisions and loss processes like Poynting-Robertson drag. The
scheme treats the steady state portion of the cascade by equating mass loss and
gain in each size bin; the smallest particles are expected to reach steady
state on their collision timescale, while larger particles retain their
primordial distribution. For collision-dominated disks, steady state means that
mass loss rates in logarithmic size bins are independent of size. This
prescription reproduces the expected two phase size distribution, with ripples
above the blow-out size, and above the transition to gravity-dominated
planetesimal strength. The scheme also reproduces the expected evolution of
disk mass, and of dust mass, but is computationally much faster than evolving
distributions forward in time. For low-mass disks, P-R drag causes a turnover
at small sizes to a size distribution that is set by the redistribution
function (the mass distribution of fragments produced in collisions). Thus
information about the redistribution function may be recovered by measuring the
size distribution of particles undergoing loss by P-R drag, such as that traced
by particles accreted onto Earth. Although cross-sectional area drops with
1/age^2 in the PR-dominated regime, dust mass falls as 1/age^2.8, underlining
the importance of understanding which particle sizes contribute to an
observation when considering how disk detectability evolves. Other loss
processes are readily incorporated; we also discuss generalised power law loss
rates, dynamical depletion, realistic radiation forces and stellar wind drag.Comment: Accepted for publication by Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical
Astronomy (special issue on EXOPLANETS
Design and feasibility testing of a novel group intervention for young women who binge drink in groups
BackgroundYoung women frequently drink alcohol in groups and binge drinking within these natural drinking groups is common. This study describes the design of a theoretically and empirically based group intervention to reduce binge drinking among young women. It also evaluates their engagement with the intervention and the acceptability of the study methods.MethodsFriendship groups of women aged 18–35 years, who had two or more episodes of binge drinking (>6 UK units on one occasion; 48g of alcohol) in the previous 30 days, were recruited from the community. A face-to-face group intervention, based on the Health Action Process Approach, was delivered over three sessions. Components of the intervention were woven around fun activities, such as making alcohol free cocktails. Women were followed up four months after the intervention was delivered. Results The target of 24 groups (comprising 97 women) was recruited. The common pattern of drinking was infrequent, heavy drinking (mean consumption on the heaviest drinking day was UK 18.1 units). Process evaluation revealed that the intervention was delivered with high fidelity and acceptability of the study methods was high. The women engaged positively with intervention components and made group decisions about cutting down. Twenty two groups set goals to reduce their drinking, and these were translated into action plans. Retention of individuals at follow up was 87%.ConclusionsThis study successfully recruited groups of young women whose patterns of drinking place them at high risk of acute harm. This novel approach to delivering an alcohol intervention has potential to reduce binge drinking among young women. The high levels of engagement with key steps in the behavior change process suggests that the group intervention should be tested in a full randomised controlled trial
OGLE-2005-BLG-018: Characterization of Full Physical and Orbital Parameters of a Gravitational Binary Lens
We present the analysis result of a gravitational binary-lensing event
OGLE-2005-BLG-018. The light curve of the event is characterized by 2 adjacent
strong features and a single weak feature separated from the strong features.
The light curve exhibits noticeable deviations from the best-fit model based on
standard binary parameters. To explain the deviation, we test models including
various higher-order effects of the motions of the observer, source, and lens.
From this, we find that it is necessary to account for the orbital motion of
the lens in describing the light curve. From modeling of the light curve
considering the parallax effect and Keplerian orbital motion, we are able to
measure not only the physical parameters but also a complete orbital solution
of the lens system. It is found that the event was produced by a binary lens
located in the Galactic bulge with a distance kpc from the Earth.
The individual lens components with masses and are separated with a semi-major axis of AU and
orbiting each other with a period yr. The event demonstrates
that it is possible to extract detailed information about binary lens systems
from well-resolved lensing light curves.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figure
Compassion as a practical and evolved ethic for conservation
© The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Institute of Biological Sciences. The ethical position underpinning decisionmaking is an important concern for conservation biologists when setting priorities for interventions. The recent debate on how best to protect nature has centered on contrasting intrinsic and aesthetic values against utilitarian and economic values, driven by an inevitable global rise in conservation conflicts. These discussions have primarily been targeted at species and ecosystems for success, without explicitly expressing concern for the intrinsic value and welfare of individual animals. In part, this is because animal welfare has historically been thought of as an impediment to conservation. However, practical implementations of conservation that provide good welfare outcomes for individuals are no longer conceptually challenging; they have become reality. This reality, included under the auspices of "compassionate conservation," reflects an evolved ethic for sharing space with nature and is a major step forward for conservation
Networked buffering: a basic mechanism for distributed robustness in complex adaptive systems
A generic mechanism - networked buffering - is proposed for the generation of robust traits in complex systems. It requires two basic conditions to be satisfied: 1) agents are versatile enough to perform more than one single functional role within a system and 2) agents are degenerate, i.e. there exists partial overlap in the functional capabilities of agents. Given these prerequisites, degenerate systems can readily produce a distributed systemic response to local perturbations. Reciprocally, excess resources related to a single function can indirectly support multiple unrelated functions within a degenerate system. In models of genome:proteome mappings for which localized decision-making and modularity of genetic functions are assumed, we verify that such distributed compensatory effects cause enhanced robustness of system traits. The conditions needed for networked buffering to occur are neither demanding nor rare, supporting the conjecture that degeneracy may fundamentally underpin distributed robustness within several biotic and abiotic systems. For instance, networked buffering offers new insights into systems engineering and planning activities that occur under high uncertainty. It may also help explain recent developments in understanding the origins of resilience within complex ecosystems. \ud
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