239 research outputs found
Progress towards omnidirectional transformation optics with lenses
We study, theoretically, omni-directional Euclidean transformation-optics (TO) devices comprising planar, light-ray-direction changing, imaging, interfaces. We initially studied such devices in the case when the interfaces are homogeneous, showing that very general transformations between physical and electromagnetic space are possible. We are now studying the case of inhomogeneous interfaces. This case is more complex to analyse, but the inhomogeneous interfaces include ideal thin lenses, which gives rise to the hope that it might be possible to construct practical omni-directional TO devices from lenses alone. Here we report on our progress in this direction
Screening for Atrial Fibrillation: Improving Efficiency of Manual Review of Handheld Electrocardiograms â .
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common irregular heart rhythm associated with a five-fold increase in stroke risk. It is often not recognised as it can occur intermittently and without symptoms. A promising approach to detect AF is to use a handheld electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor for screening. However, the ECG recordings must be manually reviewed, which is time-consuming and costly. Our aims were to: (i) evaluate the manual review workload; and (ii) evaluate strategies to reduce the workload. In total, 2141 older adults were asked to record their ECG four times per day for 1-4 weeks in the SAFER (Screening for Atrial Fibrillation with ECG to Reduce stroke) Feasibility Study, producing 162,515 recordings. Patients with AF were identified by: (i) an algorithm classifying recordings based on signal quality (high or low) and heart rhythm; (ii) a nurse reviewing recordings to correct algorithm misclassifications; and (iii) two cardiologists independently reviewing recordings from patients with any evidence of rhythm abnormality. It was estimated that 30,165 reviews were required (20,155 by the nurse, and 5005 by each cardiologist). The total number of reviews could be reduced to 24,561 if low-quality recordings were excluded from review; 18,573 by only reviewing ECGs falling under certain pathological classifications; and 18,144 by only reviewing ECGs displaying an irregularly irregular rhythm for the entire recording. The number of AF patients identified would not fall considerably: from 54 to 54, 54 and 53, respectively. In conclusion, simple approaches may help feasibly reduce the manual workload by 38.4% whilst still identifying the same number of patients with undiagnosed, clinically relevant AF
Uptake of algal carbon and the likely synthesis of an "essential" fatty acid by Uvigerina ex. gr. semiornata (Foraminifera) within the Pakistan margin oxygen minimum zone:evidence from fatty acid biomarker and C-13 tracer experiments
Foraminifera are an important component of benthic communities in oxygen-depleted settings, where they potentially play a significant role in the processing of organic matter. We tracked the uptake of a 13C-labelled algal food source into individual fatty acids in the benthic foraminiferal species Uvigerina ex. gr. semiornata from the Arabian Sea oxygen minimum zone (OMZ). The tracer experiments were conducted on the Pakistan margin during the late/post monsoon period (AugustâOctober 2003). A monoculture of the diatom Thalassiosira weisflogii was 13C-labelled and used to simulate a pulse of phytoplankton in two complementary experiments. A lander system was used for in situ incubations at 140 m water depth and for 2.5 days in duration. Shipboard laboratory incubations of cores collected at 140 m incorporated an oxystat system to maintain ambient dissolved oxygen concentrations and were terminated after 5 days. Uptake of diatoms was rapid, with a high incorporation of diatom fatty acids into foraminifera after ~ 2 days in both experiments. Ingestion of the diatom food source was indicated by the increase over time in the quantity of diatom biomarker fatty acids in the foraminifera and by the high percentage of 13C in many of the fatty acids present at the endpoint of both in situ and laboratory-based experiments. These results indicate that . ex. gr. semiornata rapidly ingested the diatom food source and that these foraminifera will play an important role in the short-term cycling of organic matter within this OMZ environment. The presence of 18:1(n-7) in the experimental foraminifera suggested that U. ex. gr. semiornata also consumed non-labelled bacterial food items. In addition, levels of 20:4(n-6), a PUFA only present in low amounts in the diatom food, increased dramatically in the foraminifera during both the in situ and shipboard experiments, possibly because it was synthesised de novo. This "essential fatty acid" is often abundant in benthic fauna, yet its origins and function have remained unclear. If U. ex. gr. semiornata is capable of de novo synthesis of 20:4(n-6), then it represents a potentially major source of this dietary nutrient in benthic food webs
Detecting prediabetes among Hispanics/Latinos from diverse heritage groups: Does the test matter? Findings from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos
The objectives of this analysis were to compare the ability of fasting plasma glucose (FPG), post oral load plasma glucose (2hPG), and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) to identify U.S. Hispanic/Latino individuals with prediabetes, and to assess its cardiovascular risk factor correlates
Mass accretion to young stars triggered by flaring activity in circumstellar disks
Young low-mass stars are characterized by ejection of collimated outflows and
by circumstellar disks which they interact with through accretion of mass. The
accretion builds up the star to its final mass and is also believed to power
the mass outflows, which may in turn remove the excess angular momentum from
the star-disk system. However, although the process of mass accretion is a
critical aspect of star formation, some of its mechanisms are still to be fully
understood. A point not considered to date and relevant for the accretion
process is the evidence of very energetic and frequent flaring events in these
stars. Flares may easily perturb the stability of the disks, thus influencing
the transport of mass and angular momentum. Here we report on three-dimensional
magnetohydrodynamic modeling of the evolution of a flare with an idealized
non--equilibrium initial condition occurring near the disk around a rotating
magnetized star. The model takes into account the stellar magnetic field, the
gravitational force, the viscosity of the disk, the magnetic-field-oriented
thermal conduction (including the effects of heat flux saturation), the
radiative losses from optically thin plasma, and the coronal heating. We show
that, during its first stage of evolution, the flare gives rise to a hot
magnetic loop linking the disk to the star. The disk is strongly perturbed by
the flare: disk material evaporates under the effect of the thermal conduction
and an overpressure wave propagates through the disk. When the overpressure
reaches the opposite side of the disk, a funnel flow starts to develop there,
accreting substantial disk material onto the young star from the side of the
disk opposite to the flare.Comment: 14 pages, 10 Figures; accepted for publication on MNRAS. Version with
full resolution images can be found at
http://www.astropa.unipa.it/~orlando/PREPRINTS/sorlando_mnras.pd
Spectroscopy of Luminous Compact Blue Galaxies in Distant Clusters I. Spectroscopic Data
We used the DEIMOS spectrograph on the Keck II Telescope to obtain spectra of
galaxies in the fields of five distant, rich galaxy clusters over the redshift
range 0.5 < z < 0.9 in a search for luminous, compact, blue galaxies (LCBGs).
Unlike traditional studies of galaxy clusters, we preferentially targeted blue
cluster members identified via multi-band photometric pre-selection based on
imaging data from the WIYN telescope. Of the 1288 sources that we targeted, we
determined secure spectroscopic redshifts for 848 sources, yielding a total
success rate of 66%. Our redshift measurements are in good agreement with those
previously reported in the literature, except for 11 targets which we believe
were previously in error. Within our sample, we confirm the presence of 53
LCBGs in the five galaxy clusters. The clusters all stand out as distinct peaks
in the redshift distribution of LCBGs with the average number density of LCBGs
ranging from 1.65+-0.25 Mpc^-3 at z=0.55 to 3.13+-0.65 Mpc^-3 at z=0.8. The
number density of LCBGs in clustes exceeds the field desnity by a factor of
749+-116 at z=0.55; at z=0.8, the corresponding ratio is E=416+-95. At z=0.55,
this enhancement is well above that seen for blue galaxies or the overall
cluster population, indicating that LCBGs are preferentially triggered in
high-density environments at intermediate redshifts.Comment: 45 pages, 19 figures, accepted to ApJ. For Full resolution figure and
data tables, see http://www.salt.ac.za/~crawford/projects/deimos
Comparative organic geochemistry of Indian margin (Arabian Sea) sediments:estuary to continental slope
Surface sediments from sites across the Indian margin of the Arabian Sea
were analysed for their elemental and stable isotopic organic carbon
(C<sub>org</sub>) and total nitrogen compositions, grain size distributions and
biochemical indices of organic matter (OM) source and/or degradation state.
Site locations ranged from the estuaries of the Mandovi and Zuari rivers to
depths of ~ 2000 m on the continental slope, thus spanning
nearshore muds and sands on the shelf and both the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ)
on the upper slope (~ 200â1300 m) and the seasonal hypoxic
zone that appears on the shelf. Source indices showed mixed marine and
terrigenous OM within the estuaries, but consistent predominance
(80â100%) of marine OM on the shelf and slope. Thus, riverine terrigenous
OM is diluted or replaced by autochthonous marine OM and/or is efficiently
re-mineralised, within or immediately offshore of the estuaries. Organic C
contents of surface shelf sediments varied from < 0.5 wt% in
relict shelf sands to up to ~ 4 wt% for nearshore muds,
while upper slope sites within the OMZ showed a wide range (~ 2 to 7 + wt%), progressively decreasing below the OMZ to ≤ 1 wt%
at 2000 m. Thus, major variability (~ 5 wt%) was found at
slope sites within the OMZ of similar depth and near-identical bottom-water
O<sub>2</sub> concentrations. A strong relationship between %C<sub>org</sub> and
sediment grain size was seen for sediments within the OMZ, but lower
relative C<sub>org</sub> contents were found for sites on the shelf and below the
OMZ. Further, C<sub>org</sub> loadings, when related to estimated sediment surface
area, indicated distinct enrichment of C<sub>org</sub> in the OMZ sediments
relative to sites above and below the OMZ and to sediments from normoxic
margins. Diagenetic indices confirmed that lower C<sub>org</sub> content below the
OMZ is associated with more extensive OM degradation, but that shelf
sediment OM is not consistently more degraded than that found within the
OMZ. Together, the results indicate that OM distribution across the margin
is controlled by interplay between hydrodynamic processes and varying
preservation associated with O<sub>2</sub> availability. This inference is
supported by multiple regression analysis. Hydrodynamic processes (expressed
as %Silt) followed by O<sub>2</sub> availability, can explain the large
majority of %C<sub>org</sub> variability when the shelf and slope are
considered as a whole. However, while O<sub>2</sub> becomes the primary influence
on %C<sub>org</sub> for sediments below the OMZ, %Silt is the primary
influence across the OMZ and, apparently, the shelf. Thus, reduced O<sub>2</sub>
exposure is responsible for OM enrichment within the OMZ, but hydrodynamic
processes are the overriding control on sediment OM distributions across
both the shelf and the OMZ
Differences in Hemoglobin A 1c Between Hispanics/Latinos and Non-Hispanic Whites: An Analysis of the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos and the 2007â2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
To determine whether, after adjustment for glycemia and other selected covariates, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) differed among adults from six Hispanic/Latino heritage groups (Central American, Cuban, Dominican, Mexican, Puerto Rican, and South American) and between Hispanic/Latino and non-Hispanic white adults without self-reported diabetes
The Age Spread of Quiescent Galaxies with the NEWFIRM Medium-band Survey: Identification of the Oldest Galaxies out to z~2
With a complete, mass-selected sample of quiescent galaxies from the NEWFIRM
Medium-Band Survey (NMBS), we study the stellar populations of the oldest and
most massive galaxies (>10^11 Msun) to high redshift. The sample includes 570
quiescent galaxies selected based on their extinction-corrected U-V colors out
to z=2.2, with accurate photometric redshifts, sigma_z/(1+z)~2%, and rest-frame
colors, sigma_U-V~0.06 mag. We measure an increase in the intrinsic scatter of
the rest-frame U-V colors of quiescent galaxies with redshift. This scatter in
color arises from the spread in ages of the quiescent galaxies, where we see
both relatively quiescent red, old galaxies and quiescent blue, younger
galaxies towards higher redshift. The trends between color and age are
consistent with the observed composite rest-frame spectral energy distributions
(SEDs) of these galaxies. The composite SEDs of the reddest and bluest
quiescent galaxies are fundamentally different, with remarkably well-defined
4000A- and Balmer-breaks, respectively. Some of the quiescent galaxies may be
up to 4 times older than the average age- and up to the age of the universe, if
the assumption of solar metallicity is correct. By matching the scatter
predicted by models that include growth of the red sequence by the
transformation of blue galaxies to the observed intrinsic scatter, the data
indicate that most early-type galaxies formed their stars at high redshift with
a burst of star formation prior to migrating to the red sequence. The observed
U-V color evolution with redshift is weaker than passive evolution predicts;
possible mechanisms to slow the color evolution include increasing amounts of
dust in quiescent galaxies towards higher redshift, red mergers at z<1, and a
frosting of relatively young stars from star formation at later times.Comment: 20 pages, 20 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
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