2,039 research outputs found
Population synthesis of neutron stars, strange (quark) stars and black holes
We compute and present the distribution in mass of single and binary neutron
stars, strange stars, and black holes. The calculations were performed using a
stellar population synthesis code. We follow all phases of single and binary
evolution, starting from a ZAMS binary and ending in the creation of one
compact object (neutron star, black hole, strange star) and a white dwarf, or
two compact objects (single or binary). We assume that neutron stars are formed
in the collapse of iron/nickel cores in the mass range M0 < M < M1, quark stars
in the range M1 M2 and find that
the population of quark stars can easily be as large as the population of black
holes, even if there is only a small mass window for their formation.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, to appear in the proceedings of "The 4th Integral
Workshop
Initial Populations of Black Holes in Star Clusters
Using an updated population synthesis code we study the formation and
evolution of black holes (BHs) in young star clusters following a massive
starburst. This study continues and improves on the initial work described by
Belczynski, Sadowski & Rasio (2004). In our new calculations we account for the
possible ejections of BHs and their progenitors from clusters because of natal
kicks imparted by supernovae and recoil following binary disruptions. The
results indicate that the properties of both retained BHs in clusters and
ejected BHs (forming a field population) depend sensitively on the depth of the
cluster potential. In particular, most BHs ejected from binaries are also
ejected from clusters with central escape speeds Vesc < 100 km/s. Conversely,
most BHs remaining in binaries are retained by clusters with Vesc > 50 km/s.
BHs from single star evolution are also affected significantly: about half of
the BHs originating from primordial single stars are ejected from clusters with
Vesc < 50 km/s. Our results lay a foundation for theoretical studies of the
formation of BH X-ray binaries in and around star clusters, including possible
ultra-luminous sources, as well as merging BH--BH binaries detectable with
future gravitational-wave observatories.Comment: 35 pages, 8 tables, 17 figures; resubmitted to ApJ (revised version
Prevalence and contributing factors to recurrent binge eating and obesity among black adults with food insufficiency: findings from a cross-sectional study from a nationally-representative sample
Background: Living in a food-insecure or food insufficient household may increase risk for binge eating and obesity.
Because racial disparities in food access, obesity, and access to treatment for disordered eating exist, it is important to
examine these relationships in Black populations.
Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of data from the National Survey of American Life (N = 4553), a nationally-
representative sample of Black Americans, including African Americans and Afro-Caribbeans. Logistic regression
was used to explore the association of food insufficiency with obesity and binge eating.
Results: In the total sample of Black Americans, the prevalence of food insufficiency was 10.9% (95% CI 10.0–11.8%).
Food insufficiency was not significantly associated with obesity in Black Americans, but when associations were
explored in analyses stratified by ethnicity and sex, food insufficiency significantly predicted an increased odds of
obesity in Afro-Caribbeans (odds ratio [OR] = 1.47, 95% CI 1.01, 2.13). Individuals experiencing food insufficiency were
more likely to report recurrent binge eating in the last 12 months (3% v 2%, P = 0.02) and a lifetime history of binge
eating (6% v 3%, P = 0.004) compared to those who were food sufficient. After adjusting for socio-demographic factors,
food insufficiency was not significantly associated with recurrent binge eating in Black Americans or in sex- and
ethnicity-stratified analyses.
Conclusion: The present study reveals a more complex relation between food insufficiency and binge eating than
previously thought—although an association existed, it was attenuated by an array of sociodemographic factors.
Our results also underscore the importance of considering ethnicity as different patterns emerged between African
American and Afro-Caribbean participant
Innermost stable circular orbits around magnetized rotating massive stars
In 1998, Shibata and Sasaki [Phys. Rev. D 58, 104011 (1998)] presented an
approximate analytical formula for the radius of the innermost stable circular
orbit (ISCO) of a neutral test particle around a massive, rotating and deformed
source. In the present paper, we generalize their expression by including the
magnetic dipole moment. We show that our approximate analytical formulas are
accurate enough by comparing them with the six-parametric exact solution
calculated by Pach\'on et. al. [Phys. Rev. D 73, 104038 (2006)] along with the
numerical data presented by Berti and Stergioulas [MNRAS 350, 1416 (2004)] for
realistic neutron stars. As a main result, we find that in general, the radius
at ISCO exhibits a decreasing behavior with increasing magnetic field. However,
for magnetic fields below 100GT the variation of the radius at ISCO is
negligible and hence the non-magnetized approximate expression can be used. In
addition, we derive approximate analytical formulas for angular velocity,
energy and angular momentum of the test particle at ISCO.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure
A novel variant of the 13C-methacetin liver function breath test that eliminates the confounding effect of individual differences in sytemic CO2 kinetics
The principle of dynamic liver function breath tests is founded on the administration of a 13C-labeled drug and subsequent monitoring of 13CO2 in the breath, quantified as time series delta over natural baseline 13CO2 (DOB) liberated from the drug during hepatic CYP-dependent detoxification. One confounding factor limiting the diagnostic value of such tests is that only a fraction of the liberated 13CO2 is immediately exhaled, while another fraction is taken up by body compartments from which it returns with delay to the plasma. The aims of this study were to establish a novel variant of the methacetin-based breath test LiMAx that allows to estimate and to eliminate the confounding effect of systemic 13CO2 distribution on the DOB curve and thus enables a more reliable assessment of the hepatic detoxification capacity compared with the conventional LiMAx test. We designed a new test variant (named "2DOB") consisting of two consecutive phases. Phase 1 is initiated by the intravenous administration of 13C-bicarbonate. Phase 2 starts about 30 min later with the intravenous administration of the 13C-labelled test drug. Using compartment modelling, the resulting 2-phasic DOB curve yields the rate constants for the irreversible elimination and the reversible exchange of plasma 13CO2 with body compartments (phase 1) and for the detoxification and exchange of the drug with body compartments (phase 2). We carried out the 2DOB test with the test drug 13C-methacetin in 16 subjects with chronic liver pathologies and 22 normal subjects, who also underwent the conventional LiMAx test. Individual differences in the systemic CO2 kinetics can lead to deviations up to a factor of 2 in the maximum of DOB curves (coefficient of variation CV ≈ 0.2) which, in particular, may hamper the discrimination between subjects with normal or mildly impaired detoxification capacities. The novel test revealed that a significant portion of the drug is not immediately metabolized, but transiently taken up into a storage compartment. Intriguingly, not only the hepatic detoxification rate but also the storage capacity of the drug, turned out to be indicative for a normal liver function. We thus used both parameters to define a scoring function which yielded an excellent disease classification (AUC = 0.95) and a high correlation with the MELD score (RSpearman = 0.92). The novel test variant 2DOB promises a significant improvement in the assessment of impaired hepatic detoxification capacity. The suitability of the test for the reliable characterization of the natural history of chronic liver diseases (fatty liver-fibrosis-cirrhosis) has to be assessed in further studies
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