A Technique to Derive Improved Proper Motions for Kepler Objects of Interest

We outline an approach yielding proper motions with higher precision than exists in present catalogs for a sample of stars in the Kepler field. To increase proper motion precision we combine first moment centroids of Kepler pixel data from a single Season with existing catalog positions and proper motions. We use this astrometry to produce improved reduced proper motion diagrams, analogous to a Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, for stars identified as Kepler Objects of Interest. The more precise the relative proper motions, the better the discrimination between stellar luminosity classes. With UCAC4 and PPMXL epoch 2000 positions (and proper motions from those catalogs as quasi-bayesian priors) astrometry for a single test Channel (21) and Season (0) spanning two years yields proper motions with an average per-coordinate proper motion error of 1.0 millisecond of arc per year, over a factor of three better than existing catalogs. We apply a mapping between a reduced proper motion diagram and an HR diagram, both constructed using HST parallaxes and proper motions, to estimate Kepler Object of Interest K-band absolute magnitudes. The techniques discussed apply to any future small-field astrometry as well as the rest of the Kepler field.Comment: Accepted to The Astronomical Journal 15 August 201

Near‐surface fault detection using high‐resolution shear wave reflection seismics at the CO2CRC Otway Project site, Australia

High‐resolution, near‐surface, shear wave reflection seismic measurements were carried out in November 2013 at the CO2CRC Otway Project site, Victoria, Australia, with the aim to determine whether and, if so, where deeper faults reach the near subsurface. From a previous P wave 3‐D reflection seismic data set that was concentrated on a reservoir at 2 km depth, we can only interpret faults up to 400 m below sea level. For the future monitoring in the overburden of the CO2 reservoir it is important to know whether and how the faults continue in the subsurface. We prove that two regional fault zones do in fact reach the surface instead of dying out at depth. Individual first‐break signatures in the shot gathers along the profiles support this interpretation. However, this finding does not imply perforce communication between the reservoir and the surface in the framework of CO2 injection. The shear wave seismic sections are complementary to existing P wave volumes. They image with high resolution (better than 3 m vertically) different tectonic structures. Similar structures also outcrop on the southern coast of the Otway Basin. Both the seismic and the outcrops evidence the complex youngest structural history of the area.BMBF, 03G0797A, Verbundprojekt UR VI: PROTECT; Vorhersage von Deformation für eine abgesicherte Speicherung von Kohlenstoff (PRediction Of deformation To Ensure Carbon Traps); Vorhaben: Subseismische Deformationsvorhersage potentieller Wegsamkeiten und ihre seismische Validierung - Sonderprogramm GEOTECHNOLOGIE

Fault‐controlled lithospheric detachment of the volcanic southern South Atlantic rift

© 2016. American Geophysical Union.We present structural models of two exemplary conjugate seismic lines of the southernmost South Atlantic margins to examine their initial evolution, especially the seaward‐dipping reflectors (SDRs). Modeling illustrates the different structure and inclination angles of the SDRs, which therefore require different subsidence histories. Since typical symmetrical subsidence models are not applicable, we suggest a model with a westward‐dipping detachment fault that offsets the SDRs on the South American margin and we speculate on passively subsided SDRs on the South African margin. We propose a simple‐shear rifting mechanism to explain the initial break‐up of the South Atlantic.DFG, 61089689, SPP 1375: SAMPLE: South Atlantic Margin Processes and Links with onshore Evolutio

Continuous Leg Cycling Ergometry Prescribed at Identical Relative Power Output Elicits Different Physiological Responses Versus Arm Cycle Ergometry

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to compare physiological and perceptual responses to progressive moderate intensity continuous exercise (MICE) between leg (LCE) and arm cycle ergometry (ACE). METHODS: Seventeen active men and women (age and percent body fat = 26 ± 7 yr and 18 ± 3 %) initially performed graded exercise on each modality to assess maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) and peak power output (PPO). Using a randomized crossover design, they subsequently performed 45 min of MICE consisting of three 15 min bouts at 20, 40, and 60 % PPO on each modality. Gas exchange data (VO2, VCO2, VE, and respiratory exchange ratio (RER), heart rate (HR), blood lactate concentration (BLa), affective valence, and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were acquired during each bout. RESULTS: Compared to ACE, LCE revealed significantly higher (p \u3c 0.05) peak (94 ± 6 vs. 88 ± 9 %HRmax, d = 0.81) and mean HR (73 ± 6 vs. 66 ± 6 %HRmax, d = 1.20) and VO2 (54 ± 5 vs. 50 ± 7 %VO2max, d = 0.68). Time spent above 70 (22 ± 7 vs. 15 ± 8 min, d = 1.03) and 80 %HRmax (15 ± 6 vs. 9 ± 6 min, d = 1.04) was significantly greater with LCE versus ACE. LCE revealed significantly higher BLa versus ACE (5.5 ± 2.0 vs. 4.7 ± 1.5 mM, d = 0.48). CONCLUSIONS: These results exhibit that progressive leg cycling at identical intensities elicits a greater cardiometabolic stimulus than arm ergometry. Moreover, leg cycling leads to greater duration spent at intensities between 70 – 89 %VO2max which may have application to selecting specific exercise modes when prescribing MICE to increase cardiorespiratory fitness. Lastly, use of %PPO led to participants being classified in different intensity domains which merits prescribing MICE according to various threshold measures rather than relative intensities acquired from incremental exercise

Cluster-randomized study of intermittent preventive treatment for malaria in infants (IPTi) in southern Tanzania: evaluation of impact on survival.

BACKGROUND\ud \ud Intermittent Preventive Treatment for malaria control in infants (IPTi) consists of the administration of a treatment dose of an anti-malarial drug, usually sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine, at scheduled intervals, regardless of the presence of Plasmodium falciparum infection. A pooled analysis of individually randomized trials reported that IPTi reduced clinical episodes by 30%. This study evaluated the effect of IPTi on child survival in the context of a five-district implementation project in southern Tanzania. [Trial registration: clinical trials.gov NCT00152204].\ud \ud METHODS\ud \ud After baseline household and health facility surveys in 2004, five districts comprising 24 divisions were randomly assigned either to receive IPTi (n = 12) or not (n = 12). Implementation started in March 2005, led by routine health services with support from the research team. In 2007, a large household survey was undertaken to assess the impact of IPTi on survival in infants aged two-11 months through birth history interviews with all women aged 13-49 years. The analysis is based on an "intention-to-treat" ecological design, with survival outcomes analysed according to the cluster in which the mothers lived.\ud \ud RESULTS\ud \ud Survival in infants aged two-11 months was comparable in IPTi and comparison areas at baseline. In intervention areas in 2007, 48% of children aged 12-23 months had documented evidence of receiving three doses of IPTi, compared to 2% in comparison areas (P < 0.0001). Over the three years of the study there was a marked improvement in survival in both groups. Between 2001-4 and 2005-7, mortality rates in two-11 month olds fell from 34.1 to 23.6 per 1,000 person-years in intervention areas and from 32.3 to 20.7 in comparison areas. In 2007, divisions implementing IPTi had a 14% (95% CI -12%, 49%) higher mortality rate in two-11 month olds in comparison with non-implementing divisions (P = 0.31).\ud \ud CONCLUSION\ud \ud The lack of evidence of an effect of IPTi on survival could be a false negative result due to a lack of power or imbalance of unmeasured confounders. Alternatively, there could be no mortality impact of IPTi due to low coverage, late administration, drug resistance, decreased malaria transmission or improvements in vector control and case management. This study raises important questions for programme evaluation design

Structural analysis of S-wave seismics around an urban sinkhole: evidence of enhanced dissolution in a strike-slip fault zone

In November 2010, a large sinkhole opened up in the urban area of Schmalkalden, Germany. To determine the key factors which benefited the development of this collapse structure and therefore the dissolution, we carried out several shear-wave reflection-seismic profiles around the sinkhole. In the seismic sections we see evidence of the Mesozoic tectonic movement in the form of a NW–SE striking, dextral strike-slip fault, known as the Heßleser Fault, which faulted and fractured the subsurface below the town. The strike-slip faulting created a zone of small blocks ( < 100 m in size), around which steep-dipping normal faults, reverse faults and a dense fracture network serve as fluid pathways for the artesian-confined groundwater. The faults also acted as barriers for horizontal groundwater flow perpendicular to the fault planes. Instead groundwater flows along the faults which serve as conduits and forms cavities in the Permian deposits below ca. 60 m depth. Mass movements and the resulting cavities lead to the formation of sinkholes and dissolution-induced depressions. Since the processes are still ongoing, the occurrence of a new sinkhole cannot be ruled out. This case study demonstrates how S-wave seismics can characterize a sinkhole and, together with geological information, can be used to study the processes that result in sinkhole formation, such as a near-surface fault zone located in soluble rocks. The more complex the fault geometry and interaction between faults, the more prone an area is to sinkhole occurrence

Hip Fractures in Long-Term Care: Is the Excess Explained by the Age and Gender Distribution of the Residents?

Introduction. This study compares hip fracture rates in Long Term Care (LTC) residents with those in the community to determine if their high rate of fracturing reflects the extreme age and predominantly female nature of that population. Methods. Hospital discharge data in London Ontario (population 350,000) and Statistics Canada data were used to correct the hip fracture rate in the LTC setting for age and gender. Results. The risk of hip fracture is 1.8 times greater in LTC than in the community for people of similar age and gender. The rate in women is 1.5 times higher whereas in men it is 4.3 times higher. In the oldest residents, the risk in men exceeds that of women in LTC. Conclusion. The high hip fracture rate in LTC is not just a reflection of the age and predominantly female nature of this population. The oldest men in LTC are a particularly high risk group, deserving more attention

Structural investigation and strain analysis of a polyphase flower structure in the Lower Saxony Basin, Germany

The Lower Saxony Basin (LSB) is a part of the post-Variscan Central European Basin System. We used a 3-D reflection seismic dataset in the northern LSB, provided by RWE-DEA AG, Hamburg (c.f. Lohr et al. submitted) for our investigation, which is concerned with the detailed structural and kinematic analysis of a flower structure within Mesozoic strata. This data is used in turn to determine input parameters for further 3-D geometrical retro-deformation. The retro-deformation verifies our assumptions about the structure and tectonic processes, and gives further information about sub-seismic strain distribution with respect to the branch faults of the flower structure.conferenc

Unravelling the shape and stratigraphy of a glacially-overdeepened valley with reflection seismic: the Lienz Basin (Austria)

We reveal the subsurface bedrock topography and sedimentary succession of one of the deepest glacially-formed basins in the Eastern Alps: the Lienz Basin in the Upper Drau Valley (Tyrol), by means of seismic reflection. A dense source-receiver spacing, supplied by autonomous receivers, and a prestack depth-migration processing scheme were essential to distinguish the various deposits in fine detail, such as slumping, fan delta deposits, and a modified monocline on the basin flank. These details support our interpretation of the seismic stratigraphy that consists of, e.g., subglacial till of last glacial maximum (LGM) age and possibly older, laminated basin fines, and gravel/coarse sand. The maximum depth of the basin is 622 m, at the junction of two major basement faults that are not clearly visible in the seismic reflections. We regard the overdeepening in this longitudinal valley as the result of glacier confluence during the LGM. Subglacial meltwaters utilized the higher erodibility of faulted rocks, as indicated by channel structures. The adverse slope (2.6%) along the valley axis exceeds the gradient ice-surface slope (0.4–0.5%) during the LGM by more than fivefold. We thus suggest this feature is a product of a pre-LGM phase, since adverse slopes greater than ~ 1.2 times the ice surface slope promote the freezing of water in subglacial channels and prevent efficient water flushing of sediments. Integrating other studies allows us to estimate the local overdeepening of the Lienz Basin and that of the whole Upper Drau Valley to be 146 m and 530 m, respectively. At the beginning of lacustrine sedimentation, we estimate the paleo-water depth to be at least 216 m