492 research outputs found
RF-MEMS Switched Varactors for Medium Power Applications
In RF (Radio Frequency) domain, one of the limitations of using MEMS (Micro
Electromechanical Systems) switching devices for medium power applications is
RF power. Failure phenomena appear even for 500 mW. A design of MEMS switched
capacitors with an enhanced topology is presented in this paper to prevent it.
This kind of device and its promising performances will serve to fabricate a
MEMS based phase shifter able to work under several watts.Comment: Submitted on behalf of EDA Publishing Association
(http://irevues.inist.fr/handle/2042/16838
Pandemic influenza control in Europe and the constraints resulting from incoherent public health laws
© 2010 Martin et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Background: With the emergence of influenza H1N1v the world is facing its first 21st century global pandemic. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and avian influenza H5N1 prompted development of pandemic preparedness plans. National systems of public health law are essential for public health stewardship and for the implementation of public health policy[1]. International coherence will contribute to effective regional and global responses. However little research has been undertaken on how law works as a tool for disease control in Europe. With co-funding from the European Union, we investigated the extent to which laws across Europe support or constrain pandemic preparedness planning, and whether national differences are likely to constrain control efforts. Methods: We undertook a survey of national public health laws across 32 European states using a questionnaire designed around a disease scenario based on pandemic influenza. Questionnaire results were reviewed in workshops, analysing how differences between national laws might support or hinder regional responses to pandemic influenza. Respondents examined the impact of national laws on the movements of information, goods, services and people across borders in a time of pandemic, the capacity for surveillance, case detection, case management and community control, the deployment of strategies of prevention, containment, mitigation and recovery and the identification of commonalities and disconnects across states. Results: Results of this study show differences across Europe in the extent to which national pandemic policy and pandemic plans have been integrated with public health laws. We found significant differences in legislation and in the legitimacy of strategic plans. States differ in the range and the nature of intervention measures authorized by law, the extent to which borders could be closed to movement of persons and goods during a pandemic, and access to healthcare of non-resident persons. Some states propose use of emergency powers that might potentially override human rights protections while other states propose to limit interventions to those authorized by public health laws. Conclusion: These differences could create problems for European strategies if an evolving influenza pandemic results in more serious public health challenges or, indeed, if a novel disease other than influenza emerges with pandemic potential. There is insufficient understanding across Europe of the role and importance of law in pandemic planning. States need to build capacity in public health law to support disease prevention and control policies. Our research suggests that states would welcome further guidance from the EU on management of a pandemic, and guidance to assist in greater commonality of legal approaches across states.Peer reviewe
Photometry in UV astronomical images of extended sources in crowded field using deblended images in optical visible bands as Bayesian priors
Photometry of astrophysical sources, galaxies and stars, in crowded field images, if an old problem, is still a challenging goal, as new space survey missions are launched, releasing new data with increased sensibility, resolution and field of view. The GALEX mission, observes in two UV bands and produces deep sky images of millions of galaxies or stars mixed together. These UV observations are of lower resolution than same field observed in visible bands, and with a very faint signal, at the level of the photon noise for a substantial fraction of objects. Our purpose is to use the better known optical counterparts as prior information in a Bayesian approach to deduce the UV flux. Photometry of extended sources has been addressed several times using various techniques: background determination via sigma clipping, adaptative-aperture, point-spread-function photometry, isophotal photometry, to lists some. The Bayesian approach of using optical priors for solving the UV photometry has already been applied by our team in a previous work. Here we describe the improvement of using the extended shape inferred by deblending the high resolution optical images and not only the position of the optical sources. The resulting photometric accuracy has been tested with simulation of crowded UV fields added on top of real UV images. Finally, this helps to converge to smaller and flat residual and increase the faint source detection threshold. It thus gives the opportunity to work on 2nd order effects, like improving the knowledge of the background or point-spread function by iterating on them
The VIPERS Multi-Lambda Survey. I. UV and NIR Observations, multi-color catalogues and photometric redshifts
We present observations collected in the CFHTLS-VIPERS region in the
ultraviolet (UV) with the GALEX satellite (far and near UV channels) and the
near infrared with the CFHT/WIRCam camera (-band) over an area of 22 and
27 deg, respectively. The depth of the photometry was optimized to measure
the physical properties (e.g., SFR, stellar masses) of all the galaxies in the
VIPERS spectroscopic survey. The large volume explored by VIPERS will enable a
unique investigation of the relationship between the galaxy properties and
their environment (density field and cosmic web) at high redshift (0.5 < z <
1.2). In this paper, we present the observations, the data reductions and the
build-up of the multi-color catalogues. The CFHTLS-T0007 (gri-{\chi}^2) images
are used as reference to detect and measure the -band photometry, while
the T0007 u-selected sources are used as priors to perform the GALEX photometry
based on a dedicated software (EMphot). Our final sample reaches ~25
(at 5{\sigma}) and ~22 (at 3{\sigma}). The large spectroscopic sample
(~51,000 spectroscopic redshifts) allows us to highlight the robustness of our
star/galaxy separation, and the reliability of our photometric redshifts with a
typical accuracy 0.04 and a catastrophic failure rate {\eta} <
2% down to i~23. We present various tests on the band completeness and
photometric redshift accuracy by comparing with existing, overlapping deep
photometric catalogues. Finally, we discuss the BzK sample of passive and
active galaxies at high redshift and the evolution of galaxy morphology in the
(NUV-r) vs (r-K_s) diagram at low redshift (z < 0.25) thanks to the high image
quality of the CFHTLS. The images, catalogues and photometric redshifts for 1.5
million sources (down to 25 or 22) are released and
available at this URL: http://cesam.lam.fr/vipers-mls/Comment: 14 pages, 16 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A. Version to be
publishe
The historical vanishing of the Blazhko effect of RR Lyr from GEOS and Kepler surveys
RR Lyr is one of the most studied variable stars. Its light curve has been
regularly monitored since the discovery of the periodic variability in 1899.
Analysis of all observed maxima allows us to identify two primary pulsation
states defined as pulsation over a long (P0 longer than 0.56684 d) and a short
(P0 shorter than 0.56682 d) primary pulsation period. These states alternate
with intervals of 13-16 yr, and are well defined after 1943. The 40.8 d
periodical modulations of the amplitude and the period (i.e. Blazhko effect)
were noticed in 1916. We provide homogeneous determinations of the Blazhko
period in the different primary pulsation states. The Blazhko period does not
follow the variations of P0 and suddenly diminished from 40.8 d to around 39.0
d in 1975. The monitoring of these periodicities deserved and deserves a
continuous and intensive observational effort. For this purpose we have built
dedicated, transportable and autonomous small instruments, Very Tiny Telescopes
(VTTs), to observe the times of maximum brightness of RR Lyr. As immediate
results the VTTs recorded the last change of P0 state in mid-2009 and extended
the time coverage of the Kepler observations, thus recording a maximum O-C
amplitude of the Blazhko effect at the end of 2008, followed by the
historically smallest O-C amplitude in late 2013. This decrease is still
ongoing and VTT instruments are ready to monitor the expected increase in the
next few years.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Contents of
appendix B may be requested to first autho
The Young and Bright Type Ia Supernova ASASSN-14lp: Discovery, Early-Time Observations, First-Light Time, Distance to NGC 4666, and Progenitor Constraints
On 2014 Dec. 9.61, the All-Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae (ASAS-SN or
"Assassin") discovered ASASSN-14lp just days after first light using a
global array of 14-cm diameter telescopes. ASASSN-14lp went on to become a
bright supernova ( mag), second only to SN 2014J for the year. We
present prediscovery photometry (with a detection less than a day after first
light) and ultraviolet through near-infrared photometric and spectroscopic data
covering the rise and fall of ASASSN-14lp for more than 100 days. We find that
ASASSN-14lp had a broad light curve (), a
-band maximum at , a rise time of days, and moderate host--galaxy extinction (). Using ASASSN-14lp we derive a distance modulus for NGC 4666 of
corresponding to a distance of Mpc.
However, adding ASASSN-14lp to the calibrating sample of Type Ia supernovae
still requires an independent distance to the host galaxy. Finally, using our
early-time photometric and spectroscopic observations, we rule out red giant
secondaries and, assuming a favorable viewing angle and explosion time, any
non-degenerate companion larger than .Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, 4 tables. Accepted to ApJ. Photometric data
presented in this submission are included as an ancillary file. For a brief
video explaining this paper, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bOV-Cqs-a
ASASSN-15lh: A Highly Super-Luminous Supernova
We report the discovery of ASASSN-15lh (SN 2015L), which we interpret as the
most luminous supernova yet found. At redshift z = 0.2326, ASASSN-15lh reached
an absolute magnitude of M_{u,AB} = -23.5+/-0.1 and bolometric luminosity L_bol
= (2.2+/-0.2)x 10^45 ergs s^-1, which is more than twice as luminous as any
previously known supernova. It has several major features characteristic of the
hydrogen-poor super-luminous supernovae (SLSNe-I), whose energy sources and
progenitors are currently poorly understood. In contrast to most previously
known SLSNe-I that reside in star-forming dwarf galaxies, ASASSN-15lh appears
to be hosted by a luminous galaxy (M_K ~ -25.5) with little star formation. In
the 4 months since first detection, ASASSN-15lh radiated (1.1+/- 0.2)x10^52
ergs, challenging the magnetar model for its engine.Comment: Published in the January 15, 2016 Issue of Science Magazin
Red wine polyphenols prevent metabolic and cardiovascular alterations associated with obesity in Zucker fatty rats (Fa/Fa)
Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Photometry in UV astronomical images of extended sources in crowded field using deblended images in optical visible bands as Bayesian priors
Photometry of astrophysical sources, galaxies and stars, in crowded field images, if an old problem, is still a challenging goal, as new space survey missions are launched, releasing new data with increased sensibility, resolution and field of view. The GALEX mission, observes in two UV bands and produces deep sky images of millions of galaxies or stars mixed together. These UV observations are of lower resolution than same field observed in visible bands, and with a very faint signal, at the level of the photon noise for a substantial fraction of objects. Our purpose is to use the better known optical counterparts as prior information in a Bayesian approach to deduce the UV flux. Photometry of extended sources has been addressed several times using various techniques: background determination via sigma clipping, adaptative-aperture, point-spread-function photometry, isophotal photometry, to lists some. The Bayesian approach of using optical priors for solving the UV photometry has already been applied by our team in a previous work. Here we describe the improvement of using the extended shape inferred by deblending the high resolution optical images and not only the position of the optical sources. The resulting photometric accuracy has been tested with simulation of crowded UV fields added on top of real UV images. Finally, this helps to converge to smaller and flat residual and increase the faint source detection threshold. It thus gives the opportunity to work on 2nd order effects, like improving the knowledge of the background or point-spread function by iterating on them
Recovery and analysis of rest-frame UV emission lines in 2052 galaxies observed with MUSE at 1.5 < z < 6.4
Rest-frame ultraviolet (UV) emission lines probe electron densities, gas-phase abundances, metallicities, and ionization parameters of the emitting star-forming galaxies and their environments. The strongest main UV emission line, Lyα, has been instrumental in advancing the general knowledge of galaxy formation in the early universe. However, observing Lyα emission becomes increasingly challenging at z ≳ 6 when the neutral hydrogen fraction of the circumgalactic and intergalactic media increases. Secondary weaker UV emission lines provide important alternative methods for studying galaxy properties at high redshift. We present a large sample of rest-frame UV emission line sources at intermediate redshift for calibrating and exploring the connection between secondary UV lines and the emitting galaxies’ physical properties and their Lyα emission. The sample of 2052 emission line sources with 1.5 < z < 6.4 was collected from integral field data from the MUSE-Wide and MUSE-Deep surveys taken as part of Guaranteed Time Observations. The objects were selected through untargeted source detection (i.e., no preselection of sources as in dedicated spectroscopic campaigns) in the three-dimensional MUSE data cubes. We searched optimally extracted one-dimensional spectra of the full sample for UV emission features via emission line template matching, resulting in a sample of more than 100 rest-frame UV emission line detections. We show that the detection efficiency of (non-Lyα) UV emission lines increases with survey depth, and that the emission line strength of He IIλ1640 Å, [O III] λ1661 + O III] λ1666, and [Si III] λ1883 + Si III] λ1892 correlate with the strength of [C III] λ1907 + C III] λ1909. The rest-frame equivalent width (EW0) of [C III] λ1907 + C III] λ1909 is found to be roughly 0.22 ± 0.18 of EW0(Lyα). We measured the velocity offsets of resonant emission lines with respect to systemic tracers. For C IVλ1548 + C IVλ1551 we find that ΔvC IV ≲ 250 km s−1, whereas ΔvLyα falls in the range of 250−500 km s−1 which is in agreement with previous results from the literature. The electron density ne measured from [Si III] λ1883 + Si III] λ1892 and [C III] λ1907 + C III] λ1909 line flux ratios is generally < 105 cm−3 and the gas-phase abundance is below solar at 12 + log10(O/H)≈8. Lastly, we used “PhotoIonization Model Probability Density Functions” to infer physical parameters of the full sample and individual systems based on photoionization model parameter grids and observational constraints from our UV emission line searches. This reveals that the UV line emitters generally have ionization parameter log10(U) ≈ −2.5 and metal mass fractions that scatter around Z ≈ 10−2, that is Z ≈ 0.66 Z⊙. Value-added catalogs of the full sample of MUSE objects studied in this work and a collection of UV line emitters from the literature are provided with this paper
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