On the mass of supernova progenitors: the role of the 12^{12}C+12+^{12}C reaction

A precise knowledge of the masses of supernova progenitors is essential to answer various questions of modern astrophysics, such as those related to the dynamical and chemical evolution of Galaxies. In this paper we revise the upper bound for the mass of the progenitors of CO white dwarfs (\mup) and the lower bound for the mass of the progenitors of normal type II supernovae (\mups). In particular, we present new stellar models with mass between 7 and 10 \msun, discussing their final destiny and the impact of recent improvements in our understanding of the low energy rate of the \c12c12 reaction.Comment: To be published on the proceedings of NIC 201

Study of the Distillability of Werner States Using Entanglement Witnesses and Robust Semidefinite Programs

We use Robust Semidefinite Programs and Entanglement Witnesses to study the distillability of Werner states. We perform exact numerical calculations which show 2-undistillability in a region of the state space which was previously conjectured to be undistillable. We also introduce bases which yield interesting expressions for the {\em distillability witnesses} and for a tensor product of Werner states with arbitrary number of copies.Comment: 16 pages, 2 figure

Analyzing First-Person Stories Based on Socializing, Eating and Sedentary Patterns

First-person stories can be analyzed by means of egocentric pictures acquired throughout the whole active day with wearable cameras. This manuscript presents an egocentric dataset with more than 45,000 pictures from four people in different environments such as working or studying. All the images were manually labeled to identify three patterns of interest regarding people's lifestyle: socializing, eating and sedentary. Additionally, two different approaches are proposed to classify egocentric images into one of the 12 target categories defined to characterize these three patterns. The approaches are based on machine learning and deep learning techniques, including traditional classifiers and state-of-art convolutional neural networks. The experimental results obtained when applying these methods to the egocentric dataset demonstrated their adequacy for the problem at hand.Comment: Accepted at First International Workshop on Social Signal Processing and Beyond, 19th International Conference on Image Analysis and Processing (ICIAP), September 201

SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT OF INDUSTRIAL EFFLUENT DISCHARGE ON IBESE RIVER AND INHABITANTS OF VILLAGES ALONG ITS COURSE IN NIGERIA

Quest for industrial hazard impact both on the inhabitants and environment, necessitated the study of Socio-economic Impact (SEI) of Industrial Effluent Discharged (IED) on Ibese river and inhabitants of villages along its course in Nigeria. The SIE of IED was conducted after water quality result of the Ibese River has been ascertained. Based on the water quality result, the river course was demarcated into direct industrial effluent discharged Ibese river site, upper Ibese River site and control (free of effluent discharge) river site outside the Ibese River location. The river that is Free of Industrial Efflu- ent Discharge (FIED) site served as control. Simple random sampling technique was used to sample 10% of farmers from farmers’ organization list in IED and FIED to give a total of 180 farmers selected for the research. Data were collected through the use of interview schedule and were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Result revealed that high number (92.3mg/L) of phosphate an acid element and low (3.30) dissolve oxygen were discovered in IED site. Concerning heavy metals, higher mean level Fe 12.63, Pb 2.01 Cu 4.86 and Zn 7.88mg/L were found in IED water quality analysis. Majority (80.0%) of the farmers in FIED areas cultivated between 5.1 and 20 hectares of farms while 50.0% belong to this categories in IED. In FIED, higher proportion (86.0%, 64.0%, and 62.0%) generate income from crop planting, sheep and goat keeping and cassava processing re- spectively whereas fewer (24.4%, 16.7% and 6.6%) generate income from these sources in IED site. Impairment of used water was rated by 93.3% of the farmers as the most prominent harmful effect of IED. Income discrepancy between industrial effluent discharge site and non industrial effluent dis- charge site was statistically different at P<0.005. The finding revealed that SIE of IED is severe in IED site

Response of lightning NOx emissions and ozone production to climate change: Insights from the Atmospheric Chemistry and Climate Model Intercomparison Project

Results from an ensemble of models are used to investigate the response of lightning nitrogen oxide emissions to climate change and the consequent impacts on ozone production. Most models generate lightning using a parameterization based on cloud top height. With this approach and a present-day global emission of 5 TgN, we estimate a linear response with respect to changes in global surface temperature of +0.44 ± 0.05 TgN K−1. However, two models using alternative approaches give +0.14 and −0.55 TgN K−1 suggesting that the simulated response is highly dependent on lightning parameterization. Lightning NOx is found to have an ozone production efficiency of 6.5 ± 4.7 times that of surface NOx sources. This wide range of efficiencies across models is partly due to the assumed vertical distribution of the lightning source and partly to the treatment of nonmethane volatile organic compound (NMVOC) chemistry. Careful consideration of the vertical distribution of emissions is needed, given its large influence on ozone production

Diurnal Variation of TEC and S 4 Index During the Period of Low Geomagnetic Activity at Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Ile-Ife lies on the equatorial anomaly region where the ionospheric current is greatly influenced by the existence of the equatorial electrojet. The dual frequency SCINDA NovAtel GSV 4004B GPS receiver recently installed at Ile-Ife [on geographical latitude 7°33′N and longitude 4°33′E and geomagnetic dipole (coordinate) of latitude 9.84°N and longitude 77.25°E] is currently operational and recording data from the available global positioning system satellites. The receiver provides the data on total electron content (TEC) and the scintillation index (S[subscript 4]). This paper presents the first sets of results from this station. Data records for the month of February 2010 were analyzed using the WinTec-P software program and these were interpreted to discuss the diurnal variation of the TEC and S[subscript 4] index during the period considered, as having low geomagnetic activity. The vertical TEC in this study showed that the values vary widely from as low as 0 TECu about sunrise to about 35 TECu during the day. Depletion in TEC was also noticed about sunset and marked by the occurrence of scintillations with a maximum index value of 0.3. Results of the IRI models and the observed TEC differ considerably; hence, there is the need to improve IRI models for its adaptability to the Africa ionospheric conditions

Verifying linearizability on TSO architectures

Linearizability is the standard correctness criterion for fine-grained, non-atomic concurrent algorithms, and a variety of methods for verifying linearizability have been developed. However, most approaches assume a sequentially consistent memory model, which is not always realised in practice. In this paper we define linearizability on a weak memory model: the TSO (Total Store Order) memory model, which is implemented in the x86 multicore architecture. We also show how a simulation-based proof method can be adapted to verify linearizability for algorithms running on TSO architectures. We demonstrate our approach on a typical concurrent algorithm, spinlock, and prove it linearizable using our simulation-based approach. Previous approaches to proving linearizabilty on TSO architectures have required a modification to the algorithm's natural abstract specification. Our proof method is the first, to our knowledge, for proving correctness without the need for such modification

Communication skills training in undergraduate medicine: attitudes and attitude change.

The importance of communication skills training in undergraduate medical education is now widely accepted. However little is known about student attitudes towards their own communication skills and whether their attitudes changes as a result of participating in communication skills courses. The aim of the present study was to identify these attitudes prior to commencing such a course and to further evaluate changes in these attitudes on completion of the course. Results demonstrated an improvement in perceived confidence regarding a number of specific communication skills. The study provides further evidence of the value of such courses in undergraduate medical training

Bell's inequalities in the tomographic representation

The tomographic approach to quantum mechanics is revisited as a direct tool to investigate violation of Bell-like inequalities. Since quantum tomograms are well defined probability distributions, the tomographic approach is emphasized to be the most natural one to compare the predictions of classical and quantum theory. Examples of inequalities for two qubits an two qutrits are considered in the tomographic probability representation of spin states.Comment: 11 pages, comments and references adde

When the working day is through: The end of work as identity?

This article seeks to present a counter-case to the ‘end of work thesis’ advocated by writers such as Beck, Sennett and Bauman. It argues that work remains a significant locus of personal identity and that the depiction by these writers of endemic insecurity in the workplace is inaccurate and lacks empirical basis. The article draws upon case study data to illustrate how, across a range of workplaces, work remains an importance source of identity, meaning and social affiliation