1,336 research outputs found
Reducing the weak lensing noise for the gravitational wave Hubble diagram using the non-Gaussianity of the magnification distribution
Gravitational wave sources are a promising cosmological standard candle
because their intrinsic luminosities are determined by fundamental physics (and
are insensitive to dust extinction). They are, however, affected by weak
lensing magnification due to the gravitational lensing from structures along
the line of sight. This lensing is a source of uncertainty in the distance
determination, even in the limit of perfect standard candle measurements. It is
commonly believed that the uncertainty in the distance to an ensemble of
gravitational wave sources is limited by the standard deviation of the lensing
magnification distribution divided by the square root of the number of sources.
Here we show that by exploiting the non-Gaussian nature of the lensing
magnification distribution, we can improve this distance determination,
typically by a factor of 2--3; we provide a fitting formula for the effective
distance accuracy as a function of redshift for sources where the lensing noise
dominates.Comment: matches PRD accepted version (expanded description of the
cosmological parameter space + minor changes
Variability in Pediatric Infectious Disease Consultants' Recommendations for Management of Community-Acquired Pneumonia
Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a common childhood infection. CAP complications, such as parapneumonic empyema (PPE), are increasing and are frequently caused by antibiotic-resistant organisms. No clinical guidelines currently exist for management of pediatric CAP and no published data exist about variations in antibiotic prescribing patterns. Our objectives were to describe variation in CAP clinical management for hospitalized children by pediatric infectious disease consultants and to examine associations between recommended antibiotic regimens and local antibiotic resistance levels. (MRSA) in their community.e or clindamycin use and clindamycin resistance, however, respondents were more likely to recommend an anti-MRSA agent when MRSA prevalence increased.Substantial variability exists in recommendations for CAP management. Development of clinical guidelines via antimicrobial stewardship programs and dissemination of data about local antibiotic resistance patterns represent opportunities to improve care
Increased shedding of HU177 correlates with worse prognosis in primary melanoma
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Increased levels of cryptic collagen epitope HU177 in the sera of melanoma patients have been shown to be associated with thicker primary melanomas and with the nodular histologic subtype. In this study, we investigate the association between HU177 shedding in the sera and clinical outcome in terms of disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Serum samples from 209 patients with primary melanoma prospectively enrolled in the Interdisciplinary Melanoma Cooperative Group at the New York University Langone Medical Center (mean age = 58, mean thickness = 2.09 mm, stage I = 136, stage II = 41, stage III = 32, median follow-up = 54.9 months) were analyzed for HU177 concentration using a validated ELISA assay. HU177 serum levels at the time of diagnosis were used to divide the study cohort into two groups: low and high HU177. DFS and OS were estimated by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, and the log-rank test was used to compare DFS and OS between the two HU177 groups. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression models were employed to examine the independent effect of HU177 category on DFS and OS.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>HU177 sera concentrations ranged from 0-139.8 ng/ml (mean and median of 6.2 ng/ml and 3.7 ng/ml, respectively). Thirty-eight of the 209 (18%) patients developed recurrences, and 34 of the 209 (16%) patients died during follow-up. Higher HU177 serum level was associated with an increased rate of melanoma recurrence (p = 0.04) and with increasing mortality (p = 0.01). The association with overall survival remained statistically significant after controlling for thickness and histologic subtype in a multivariate model (p = 0.035).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Increased shedding of HU177 in the serum of primary melanoma patients is associated with poor prognosis. Further studies are warranted to determine the clinical utility of HU177 in risk stratification compared to the current standard of care.</p
Mode-locking in ac-driven vortex lattices with random pinning
We find mode-locking steps in simulated current-voltage characteristics of
ac-driven vortex lattices with {\it random} pinning. For low frequencies there
is mode-locking above a finite ac force amplitude, while for large frequencies
there is mode-locking for any small ac force. This is correlated with the
nature of temporal order in the different regimes in the absence of ac drive.
The mode-locked state is a frozen solid pinned in the moving reference of
frame, and the depinning from the step shows plastic flow and hysteresis.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Multimodality in galaxy clusters from SDSS DR8: substructure and velocity distribution
We search for the presence of substructure, a non-Gaussian, asymmetrical
velocity distribution of galaxies, and large peculiar velocities of the main
galaxies in galaxy clusters with at least 50 member galaxies, drawn from the
SDSS DR8. We employ a number of 3D, 2D, and 1D tests to analyse the
distribution of galaxies in clusters: 3D normal mixture modelling, the
Dressler-Shectman test, the Anderson-Darling and Shapiro-Wilk tests and others.
We find the peculiar velocities of the main galaxies, and use principal
component analysis to characterise our results. More than 80% of the clusters
in our sample have substructure according to 3D normal mixture modelling, the
Dressler-Shectman (DS) test shows substructure in about 70% of the clusters.
The median value of the peculiar velocities of the main galaxies in clusters is
206 km/s (41% of the rms velocity). The velocities of galaxies in more than 20%
of the clusters show significant non-Gaussianity. While multidimensional normal
mixture modelling is more sensitive than the DS test in resolving substructure
in the sky distribution of cluster galaxies, the DS test determines better
substructure expressed as tails in the velocity distribution of galaxies.
Richer, larger, and more luminous clusters have larger amount of substructure
and larger (compared to the rms velocity) peculiar velocities of the main
galaxies. Principal component analysis of both the substructure indicators and
the physical parameters of clusters shows that galaxy clusters are complicated
objects, the properties of which cannot be explained with a small number of
parameters or delimited by one single test. The presence of substructure, the
non-Gaussian velocity distributions, as well as the large peculiar velocities
of the main galaxies, shows that most of the clusters in our sample are
dynamically young.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures, 2 online tables, accepted for publication in
Astronomy and Astrophysic
Intelligence within BAOR and NATO's Northern Army Group
During the Cold War the UK's principal military role was its commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) through the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR), together with wartime command of NATO's Northern Army Group. The possibility of a surprise attack by the numerically superior Warsaw Pact forces ensured that great importance was attached to intelligence, warning and rapid mobilisation. As yet we know very little about the intelligence dimension of BAOR and its interface with NATO allies. This article attempts to address these neglected issues, ending with the impact of the 1973 Yom Kippur War upon NATO thinking about warning and surprise in the mid-1970s. It concludes that the arrangements made by Whitehall for support to BAOR from national assets during crisis or transition to war were - at best - improbable. Accordingly, over the years, BAOR developed its own unique assets in the realm of both intelligence collection and special operations in order to prepare for the possible outbreak of conflict
Boundary conditions, the critical conductance distribution, and one-parameter scaling
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