8,775 research outputs found
Measurement of Circumstellar Disk Sizes in the Upper Scorpius OB Association with ALMA
We present detailed modeling of the spatial distributions of gas and dust in
57 circumstellar disks in the Upper Scorpius OB Association observed with ALMA
at sub-millimeter wavelengths. We fit power-law models to the dust surface
density and CO = 3-2 surface brightness to measure the radial extent of
dust and gas in these disks. We found that these disks are extremely compact:
the 25 highest signal-to-noise disks have a median dust outer radius of 21 au,
assuming an dust surface density profile. Our lack of CO detections in
the majority of our sample is consistent with these small disk sizes assuming
the dust and CO share the same spatial distribution. Of seven disks in our
sample with well-constrained dust and CO radii, four appear to be more extended
in CO, although this may simply be due to higher optical depth of the CO.
Comparison of the Upper Sco results with recent analyses of disks in Taurus,
Ophiuchus, and Lupus suggests that the dust disks in Upper Sco may be
times smaller in size than their younger counterparts, although we caution that
a more uniform analysis of the data across all regions is needed. We discuss
the implications of these results for disk evolution.Comment: 15 pages of text, 7 figures, 3 tables. Accepted in Ap
The AdHOC study of older adultsâ adherence to medication in 11 countries
BACKGROUND: Compared with the resources expended developing, evaluating
and making clinical decisions about prescribing medication, we know little about
what determines whether people take it. Older adults are prescribed more
medication than any other group. Poor adherence is a common reason for nonresponse
to medication.
OBJECTIVES: To investigate cross-nationally the impact of demographic,
psychiatric (including cognitive), physical health, behavioural and medication factors
on adherence to medication in older adults.
METHODS: Researchers interviewed 3881 people over 65 who receive home
care services using a structured interview at participantsâ places of residence in
eleven countries. The main outcome measure was the percentage participants not
adherent to medication.
RESULTS: 12.5% (n= 456) of people reported they were not fully adherent to
medication. Non-adherence was predicted by problem drinking (OR=3.6), not having
a doctor review medication (OR=3.3), dementia (OR=1.4 for every one point
increase in impairment), good physical health (OR=1.2), resisting care (OR=2.1)
being married (OR=2.3) and living in the Czech Republic (OR=4.7) or Germany
(OR=1.4).
CONCLUSION: People, who screen positive for problem drinking and with
dementia, often undiagnosed are less likely to adhere to medication. Therefore
doctors should consider dementia and problem drinking when prescribing for older
adults. Interventions to improve adherence in older adults might be more effective if
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targeted at these groups. It is possible that medication review enhances adherence,
by improving the patient-doctor relationship, or by emphasising the relevance of
medications
The Spectroscopically Determined Substellar Mass Function of the Orion Nebula Cluster
We present a spectroscopic study of candidate brown dwarf members of the
Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC). We obtained new J- and/or K-band spectra of ~100
objects within the ONC which are expected to be substellar based on their
K,(H-K) magnitudes and colors. Spectral classification in the near-infrared of
young low mass objects is described, including the effects of surface gravity,
veiling due to circumstellar material, and reddening. From our derived spectral
types and existing near-infrared photometry we construct an HR diagram for the
cluster. Masses are inferred for each object and used to derive the brown dwarf
fraction and assess the mass function for the inner 5.'1 x 5.'1 of the ONC,
down to ~0.02 solar masses. The derived logarithmic mass function rises to a
peak at ~0.2 solar masses, similar to previous IMF determinations derived from
purely photometric methods, but falls off more sharply at the hydrogen-burning
limit before leveling through the substellar regime. We compare the mass
function derived here for the inner ONC to those presented in recent literature
for the sparsely populated Taurus cloud members and the rich cluster IC 348. We
find good agreement between the shapes and peak values of the ONC and IC 348
mass distributions, but little similarity between the ONC and Taurus results.Comment: Accepted for Publication in Apj. Added Erratu
The circumbinary disk of HD 98800B: Evidence for disk warping
The quadruple young stellar system HD 98800 consists of two spectroscopic binary pairs with a circumbinary disk around the B component. Recent work by Boden and collaborators using infrared interferometry and radial velocity data resulted in a determination of the physical orbit for HD 98800B. We use the resulting inclination of the binary and the measured extinction toward the B component stars to constrain the distribution of circumbinary material. Although a standard optically and geometrically thick disk model can reproduce the spectral energy distribution, it cannot account for the observed extinction if the binary and the disk are coplanar. We next constructed a dynamical model to investigate the influence of the A component, which is not in the BaâBb orbital plane, on the B disk. We find that these interactions have a substantial impact on the inclination of the B circumbinary disk with respect to the BaâBb orbital plane. The resulting warp would be sufficient to place material into the line of sight and the noncoplanar disk orientation may also cause the upper layers of the disk to intersect the line of sight if the disk is geometrically thick. These simulations also support that the dynamics of the BaâBb orbit clear the inner region to a radius of~3 AU. We then discuss whether the somewhat unusual properties of the HD 98800B disk are consistent with material remnant from the star formation process or with more recent creation by collisions from larger bodies
Recognition of 3-D Objects from Multiple 2-D Views by a Self-Organizing Neural Architecture
The recognition of 3-D objects from sequences of their 2-D views is modeled by a neural architecture, called VIEWNET that uses View Information Encoded With NETworks. VIEWNET illustrates how several types of noise and varialbility in image data can be progressively removed while incornplcte image features are restored and invariant features are discovered using an appropriately designed cascade of processing stages. VIEWNET first processes 2-D views of 3-D objects using the CORT-X 2 filter, which discounts the illuminant, regularizes and completes figural boundaries, and removes noise from the images. Boundary regularization and cornpletion are achieved by the same mechanisms that suppress image noise. A log-polar transform is taken with respect to the centroid of the resulting figure and then re-centered to achieve 2-D scale and rotation invariance. The invariant images are coarse coded to further reduce noise, reduce foreshortening effects, and increase generalization. These compressed codes are input into a supervised learning system based on the fuzzy ARTMAP algorithm. Recognition categories of 2-D views are learned before evidence from sequences of 2-D view categories is accumulated to improve object recognition. Recognition is studied with noisy and clean images using slow and fast learning. VIEWNET is demonstrated on an MIT Lincoln Laboratory database of 2-D views of jet aircraft with and without additive noise. A recognition rate of 90% is achieved with one 2-D view category and of 98.5% correct with three 2-D view categories.National Science Foundation (IRI 90-24877); Office of Naval Research (N00014-91-J-1309, N00014-91-J-4100, N00014-92-J-0499); Air Force Office of Scientific Research (F9620-92-J-0499, 90-0083
Carboxyl-modified single-wall carbon nanotubes improve bone tissue formation in vitro and repair in an in vivo rat model.
The clinical management of bone defects caused by trauma or nonunion fractures remains a challenge in orthopedic practice due to the poor integration and biocompatibility properties of the scaffold or implant material. In the current work, the osteogenic properties of carboxyl-modified single-walled carbon nanotubes (COOH-SWCNTs) were investigated in vivo and in vitro. When human preosteoblasts and murine embryonic stem cells were cultured on coverslips sprayed with COOH-SWCNTs, accelerated osteogenic differentiation was manifested by increased expression of classical bone marker genes and an increase in the secretion of osteocalcin, in addition to prior mineralization of the extracellular matrix. These results predicated COOH-SWCNTs' use to further promote osteogenic differentiation in vivo. In contrast, both cell lines had difficulties adhering to multi-walled carbon nanotube-based scaffolds, as shown by scanning electron microscopy. While a suspension of SWCNTs caused cytotoxicity in both cell lines at levels >20 ÎŒg/mL, these levels were never achieved by release from sprayed SWCNTs, warranting the approach taken. In vivo, human allografts formed by the combination of demineralized bone matrix or cartilage particles with SWCNTs were implanted into nude rats, and ectopic bone formation was analyzed. Histological analysis of both types of implants showed high permeability and pore connectivity of the carbon nanotube-soaked implants. Numerous vascularization channels appeared in the formed tissue, additional progenitor cells were recruited, and areas of de novo ossification were found 4 weeks post-implantation. Induction of the expression of bone-related genes and the presence of secreted osteopontin protein were also confirmed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis and immunofluorescence, respectively. In summary, these results are in line with prior contributions that highlight the suitability of SWCNTs as scaffolds with high bone-inducing capabilities both in vitro and in vivo, confirming them as alternatives to current bone-repair therapies
Spin transition in GdN@C, detected by low-temperature on-chip SQUID technique
We present a magnetic study of the GdN@C molecule, consisting of a
Gd-trimer via a Nitrogen atom, encapsulated in a C cage. This molecular
system can be an efficient contrast agent for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
applications. We used a low-temperature technique able to detect small magnetic
signals by placing the sample in the vicinity of an on-chip SQUID. The
technique implemented at NHMFL has the particularity to operate in high
magnetic fields of up to 7 T. The GdN@C shows a paramagnetic
behavior and we find a spin transition of the GdN structure at 1.2 K. We
perform quantum mechanical simulations, which indicate that one of the Gd ions
changes from a state () to a state (), likely due to a charge transfer between the C cage and the ion
Phase transitions and phase diagram of the ferroelectric perovskite NBT-BT by anelastic and dielectric measurements
The complex elastic compliance and dielectric susceptibility of
(Na_{0.5}Bi_{0.5})_{1-x}Ba_{x}TiO_{3} (NBT-BT) have been measured in the
composition range between pure NBT and the morphotropic phase boundary
included, 0 <= x <= 0.08. The compliance of NBT presents sharp peaks at the
rhombohedral/tetragonal and tetragonal/cubic transitions, allowing the
determination of the tetragonal region of the phase diagram, up to now
impossible due to the strong lattice disorder and small distortions and
polarizations involved. In spite of ample evidence of disorder and structural
heterogeneity, the R-T transition remains sharp up to x = 0.06, whereas the T-C
transition merges into the diffuse and relaxor-like transition associated with
broad maxima of the dielectric and elastic susceptibilities. An attempt is made
at relating the different features in the anelastic and dielectric curves to
different modes of octahedral rotations and polar cation shifts. The
possibility is also considered that the cation displacements locally have
monoclinic symmetry, as for PZT near the morphotropic phase boundary.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Proto-planetary disks with CARMA: sub-arsecond observations at millimeter wavelengths
Using the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy (CARMA) we observed several proto-planetary disks in the dust continuum emission at 1.3 and 2.8 mm (Isella et al. 2009a, 2009b). The observations have angular resolution between 0.15 and 0.7 arcsecond, corresponding to spatial scales spanning from about the orbit of Saturn up to about the orbital radius of Pluto. The observed disks are characterized by a variety of radial profiles for the dust density. We observe inner disk clearing as well as smooth density profiles, suggesting that disks may form, or evolve, in different ways. Despite that, we find that the characteristic disk radius is correlated with the stellar age increasing from 20 AU to 100 AU over about 5 Myr. Interpreting our results in terms of the temporal evolution of a viscous α-disk, we estimate that (i) at the beginning of the disk evolution about 60% of the circumstellar material was located inside radii of 25-40 AU, (ii) that disks formed with masses from 0.05 to 0.4 solar masses and (iii) that the viscous timescale at the disk initial radius is about 0.1-0.3 Myr. Viscous disk models tightly link the surface density ÎŁ(R) with the radial profile of the disk viscosity Îœ(R)â RÎł. We find values of Îł ranging from -0.8 to 0.8, suggesting that the viscosity dependence on the orbital radius can be very different in the observed disks. We demonstrate that the similarity solution for the surface density for Îł < 0 can explain the properties of some âtransitionalâ disks without requiring discontinuities in the disk surface density. In the case of LkCa 15, a smooth distribution of material from few stellar radii to about 240 AU can produce both the observed SED and the spatially resolved continuum emission at millimeter wavelengths. For two sources, RY Tau and DG Tau, we observed the dust emission with a resolution as high as 0.15 arcsecond, which corresponds to a spatial scale of 20 AU at the distance of the two stars. The achieved angular resolution is a factor 2 higher than any existing observation of circumstellar disks at the same wavelengths and enable us to investigate the disk structure with unprecedent details. In particular, we present a first attempt to derive the radial profile of the slope of the dust opacity ÎČ. We find mean values of ÎČ of 0.5 and 0.7 for DG Tau and RY Tau respectively and we exclude that ÎČ may vary by more than ±0.4 between 20-70 AU. This implies that the circumstellar dust has a maximum grain size between 10 ÎŒm and few centimeters
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