27,088 research outputs found
Social and Emotional Support for Children and their Caregivers Post-Disasters
The purpose of this paper is to share Save the Children’s responses to Hurricane Harvey in Texas, Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, and Hurricane Irma in Florida in 2017. Save the Children’s response and recovery efforts in the aftermath of these disasters consisted of a wide range of services for the affected children and their caregivers, including assistance to childcare centers and organizations, and providing child-focused services, such as psychosocial support. This paper will particularly focus on the psychosocial support element of the responses
An ALMA view of CS and SiS around oxygen-rich AGB stars
We aim to determine the distributions of molecular SiS and CS in the
circumstellar envelopes of oxygen-rich asymptotic giant branch stars and how
these distributions differ between stars that lose mass at different rates. In
this study we analyse ALMA observations of SiS and CS emission lines for three
oxygen-rich galactic AGB stars: IK Tau, with a moderately high mass-loss rate
of M yr, and W Hya and R Dor with low mass loss
rates of M yr. These molecules are usually
more abundant in carbon stars but the high sensitivity of ALMA allows us to
detect their faint emission in the low mass-loss rate AGB stars. The high
spatial resolution of ALMA also allows us to precisely determine the spatial
distribution of these molecules in the circumstellar envelopes. We run
radiative transfer models to calculate the molecular abundances and abundance
distributions for each star. We find a spread of peak SiS abundances with
for R Dor, for W Hya, and for
IK Tau relative to H. We find lower peak CS abundances of
for R Dor, for W Hya and
for IK Tau, with some stratifications in the abundance
distributions. For IK Tau we also calculate abundances for the detected
isotopologues: CS, SiS, SiS, SiS, SiS,
SiS, and SiS. Overall the isotopic ratios we derive
for IK Tau suggest a lower metallicity than solar.Comment: 16 page
The back-to-back region in e^+e^- energy--energy correlation
We consider the back-to-back region in the energy--energy correlation in
e^+e^- collisions. We present the explicit expression of the O(as^2)
logarithmically enhanced contributions up to next-to-next-to-leading
logarithmic accuracy. We study the impact of the results in a detailed
comparison with precise LEP and SLC data. We find that, when hadronization
effects are taken into account as is customarily done in QCD analysis in e^+e^-
annihilations, the extracted value of as(M_Z) is in good agreement with the
current world average.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figure
Quasar Selection Based on Photometric Variability
We develop a method for separating quasars from other variable point sources
using SDSS Stripe 82 light curve data for ~10,000 variable objects. To
statistically describe quasar variability, we use a damped random walk model
parametrized by a damping time scale, tau, and an asymptotic amplitude
(structure function), SF_inf. With the aid of an SDSS spectroscopically
confirmed quasar sample, we demonstrate that variability selection in typical
extragalactic fields with low stellar density can deliver complete samples with
reasonable purity (or efficiency, E). Compared to a selection method based
solely on the slope of the structure function, the inclusion of the tau
information boosts E from 60% to 75% while maintaining a highly complete sample
(98%) even in the absence of color information. For a completeness of C=90%, E
is boosted from 80% to 85%. Conversely, C improves from 90% to 97% while
maintaining E=80% when imposing a lower limit on tau. With the aid of color
selection, the purity can be further boosted to 96%, with C= 93%. Hence,
selection methods based on variability will play an important role in the
selection of quasars with data provided by upcoming large sky surveys, such as
Pan-STARRS and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST). For a typical
(simulated) LSST cadence over 10 years and a photometric accuracy of 0.03 mag
(achieved at i~22), C is expected to be 88% for a simple sample selection
criterion of tau>100 days. In summary, given an adequate survey cadence,
photometric variability provides an even better method than color selection for
separating quasars from stars.Comment: (v2) 50 pages, accepted to Ap
A Deep WSRT 1.4 GHz Radio Survey of the Spitzer Space Telescope FLSv Region
The First Look Survey (FLS) is the first scientific product to emerge from
the Spitzer Space Telescope. A small region of this field (the verification
strip) has been imaged very deeply, permitting the detection of cosmologically
distant sources. We present Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT)
observations of this region, encompassing a ~1 sq. deg field, centred on the
verification strip (J2000 RA=17:17:00.00, DEC=59:45:00.000). The radio images
reach a noise level of ~ 8.5 microJy/beam - the deepest WSRT image made to
date. We summarise here the first results from the project, and present the
final mosaic image, together with a list of detected sources. The effect of
source confusion on the position, size and flux density of the faintest sources
in the source catalogue are also addressed. The results of a serendipitous
search for HI emission in the field are also presented. Using a subset of the
data, we clearly detect HI emission associated with four galaxies in the
central region of the FLSv. These are identified with nearby, massive galaxies.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures (fig.3 in a separate gif file). Accepted for
publication in A&A. The full paper and the related material can be downloaded
from http://www.astron.nl/wsrt/WSRTsurveys/WFLS
Predictors of loneliness and different types of social isolation of rural-living older adults in the UK
Loneliness and social isolation are recognised, conceptually distinct threats to health and wellbeing in older age but limited evidence is available on their predictors in rural populations. This study performed logistical regression modelling to explore the predictors of loneliness, isolation from one's family and isolation from one's community in 884 British rural-living older adults (57.9% female; mean age = 71.5, standard deviation = 8.1 years) within the Grey and Pleasant Land data-set. While 13 per cent of participants reported feeling lonely, 49 per cent reported isolation from their family and 9 per cent reported isolation from their community. Minimal cross-over between groups was observed. Widowhood, financial difficulties, area deprivation, and self-reported impairments in physical and mental health predicted loneliness. Greater financial difficulty gave lower odds of isolation from one's family, and higher levels of community engagement gave lower odds of isolation from the community. Ageing in place (longer residency) was the only common predictor for all three dependent variables. Initiatives aimed at tackling loneliness and social isolation in rural-living older people must recognise that the two concepts are distinct, affecting different population sub-groups with mostly different risk factor profiles. Future interventions and policies should clearly identify whether their target is loneliness or social isolation and tailor their interventions appropriately
Loneliness, Social Isolation, and Objectively Measured Physical Activity in Rural-Living Older Adults
This cross-sectional, observational study examined whether objectively measured physical activity (PA) and specific activities are associated with loneliness and social isolation (SI) in rural-living older adults. A total of 112 participants (Mage = 72.8 [SD = 6.6], 51.8% female) from 23 villages in Wiltshire, United Kingdom, completed questionnaires, 7-day accelerometry, and activity diaries. Regression analysis was used to test associations between objectively measured light PA, moderate to vigorous PA, and total PA; loneliness; and SI from family, neighbors, or friends and to explore these associations using specific activities. Daily mean light, moderate to vigorous, and total PA were not associated with loneliness or SI. Volunteering, accompanying others, and sports/exercise were associated with lower SI from neighbors (odds ratio = 0.23, 95% CI [0.06, 0.91]), family (odds ratio = 0.39, 95% CI [0.22, 0.68]), and friends (odds ratio = 0.56, 95% CI [0.33, 0.97]), respectively. There were no associations between loneliness, SI, and objectively measured PA. The contribution of PA to loneliness and SI needs to be further investigated with larger and diverse samples of rural-living older adults
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