7,341 research outputs found
HESS J1641-463, a very hard spectrum TeV gamma-ray source in the Galactic plane
HESS J1641-463 is a unique source discovered by the High Energy Stereoscopic
System (H.E.S.S.) telescope array in the multi-TeV domain. The source had been
previously hidden in the extended tail of emission from the bright nearby
source HESS J1640-465. However, the analysis of the very-high-energy (VHE) data
from the region at energies above 4 TeV revealed this new source at a
significance level of 8.5. HESS J1641-463 showed a moderate flux level
F(E > 1 TeV) = (3.64 +/- 0.44_stat +/- 0.73_sys) 10^-13 cm^-2s^-1,
corresponding to 1.8% of the Crab Nebula flux above the same energy, and a hard
spectrum with a photon index Gamma = 2.07 +/- 0.1_stat +/- 0.20_sys. The light
curve was investigated for evidence of variability, but none was found on both
short (28-min observation) and long (yearly) timescales. HESS J1641-463 is
positionally coincident with the radio supernova remnant (SNR) G338.5+0.1.
There is no clear X-ray counterpart of the SNR, although Chandra and XMM-Newton
data reveal some weak emission that may be associated. If the emission from
HESS J1641-463 is produced by cosmic ray protons colliding with the ambient
gas, then the proton spectrum extends up to 0.1 PeV (99% confidence level) and
likely to higher energies, > 0.27 PeV (90% confidence level). If this is the
case, then HESS J1641-463 may be a member of a larger source population
contributing to the Galactic cosmic-ray flux around the knee.Comment: In Proceedings of the 34th International Cosmic Ray Conference
(ICRC2015), The Hague, The Netherland
Does the unemployment benefit institution affect the productivity of workers? Evidence from a field experiment
We investigate whether and how the type of unemployment benefit institution affects
productivity. We designed a field experiment to compare workers' productivity under a
welfare system, where the unemployed receive an unconditional monetary transfer, with
their productivity under a workfare system, where the transfer is received conditional
on the unemployed spending some time on ancillary activities. First, we find that
having an unemployment benefit institution, regardless of whether it makes transfers
conditional or unconditional, increases workers' productivity. Second, we find that
productivity is higher under Welfare than under Workfare. Becoming unemployed
under Welfare comes at the psychological cost of a drop in self-esteem, presumably
due to the shame or stigma associated with receiving an unconditional unemployment
benefit. We document the empirical relevance of precisely this channel. The differences
we observe in productivity suggest that this psychological cost acts as an extra nonmonetary
incentive for workers under Welfare to put a higher effort in their work
Exploration of the Neuronal Subtype Specificity of an Ethanol Responsive Gene: Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 Beta (Gsk3b)
Exploration of the Neuronal Subtype Specificity of an Ethanol Responsive Gene: Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 Beta (Gsk3b)
Dalton Huey, Depts. of Bioinformatics, Biology & Chemistry, A. van der Vaart, G. M. Harris, and M. F. Miles, with Dr. Sarah Golding, Dept. of Biology
Previous work done in our laboratory revealed that Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 Beta (Gsk3b) functions as a hub gene in a network of genes regulated by acute ethanol in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) across a mouse genetic panel. Adult mice treated with acute ethanol showed increased phosphorylation of GSK3B on the Ser9 residue in prefrontal cortex. Subsequent viral-mediated overexpression of Gsk3bin mouse mPFC caused an increase in ethanol consumption and pharmacological inhibition of GSK3B decreased ethanol consumption. However, it is unknown what neuron subtypes are driving this change in behavior. Here, we provide evidence that deletion of Gsk3bin Camk2a+ glutamatergic neurons of the mPFC results in a decrease in ethanol consumption in both continuous and intermittent access drinking paradigms. Furthermore, we have recently designed and validated a plasmid for Cre-dependent overexpression of Gsk3b, along with a Cre-dependent reporter as a control. These plasmids are planned for use in conjunction with different Cre drivers for viral-mediated expression in any cell type. Dissection of the neural circuitry of this ethanol responsive pathway can lead to a better assessment of Gsk3bas a potential target for the treatment of alcohol use disorders. Work supported by grants R01A027581 and P50AA022537 to MFM.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/uresposters/1313/thumbnail.jp
An acute bout of cycling does not induce compensatory responses in pre-menopausal women not using hormonal contraceptives
There is a clear need to improve understanding of the effects of physical activity and exercise on appetite control. Therefore, the acute and short-term effects (three days) of a single bout of cycling on energy intake and energy expenditure were examined in women not using hormonal contraceptives. Sixteen active (n = 8) and inactive (n = 8) healthy pre-menopausal women completed a randomised crossover design study with two conditions (exercise and control). The exercise day involved cycling for 1 h (50% of maximum oxygen uptake) and resting for 2 h, whilst the control day comprised 3 h of rest. On each experimental day participants arrived at the laboratory fasted, consumed a standardised breakfast and an ad libitum pasta lunch. Food diaries and combined heart rate-accelerometer monitors were used to assess free-living food intake and energy expenditure, respectively, over the subsequent three days. There were no main effects or condition (exercise vs control) by group (active vs inactive) interaction for absolute energy intake (P > 0.05) at the ad libitum laboratory lunch meal, but there was a condition effect for relative energy intake (P = 0.004, ηp2 = 0.46) that was lower in the exercise condition (1417 ± 926 kJ vs. 2120 ± 923 kJ). Furthermore, post-breakfast satiety was higher in the active than in the inactive group (P = 0.005, ηp2 = 0.44). There were no main effects or interactions (P > 0.05) for mean daily energy intake, but both active and inactive groups consumed less energy from protein (14 ± 3% vs. 16 ± 4%, P = 0.016, ηp2 = 0.37) and more from carbohydrate (53 ± 5% vs. 49 ± 7%, P = 0.031, ηp2 = 0.31) following the exercise condition. This study suggests that an acute bout of cycling does not induce compensatory responses in active and inactive women not using hormonal contraceptives, while the stronger satiety response to the standardised breakfast meal in active individuals adds to the growing literature that physical activity helps improve the sensitivity of short-term appetite control
Brownian ratchet in a thermal bath driven by Coulomb friction
The rectification of unbiased fluctuations, also known as the ratchet effect,
is normally obtained under statistical non-equilibrium conditions. Here we
propose a new ratchet mechanism where a thermal bath solicits the random
rotation of an asymmetric wheel, which is also subject to Coulomb friction due
to solid-on-solid contacts. Numerical simulations and analytical calculations
demonstrate a net drift induced by friction. If the thermal bath is replaced by
a granular gas, the well known granular ratchet effect also intervenes,
becoming dominant at high collision rates. For our chosen wheel shape the
granular effect acts in the opposite direction with respect to the
friction-induced torque, resulting in the inversion of the ratchet direction as
the collision rate increases. We have realized a new granular ratchet
experiment where both these ratchet effects are observed, as well as the
predicted inversion at their crossover. Our discovery paves the way to the
realization of micro and sub-micrometer Brownian motors in an equilibrium
fluid, based purely upon nano-friction.Comment: main paper: 4 pages and 4 figures; supplemental material joined at
the end of the paper; a movie of the experiment can be viewed
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHrdY4BC71k ; all the material has been
submitted for publication [new version with substantial changes in the order
of the presentation of the results; differences with previous works have been
put in evidence
The Effect of Hot Gas in WMAP's First Year Data
By cross-correlating templates constructed from the 2 Micron All Sky Survey
(2MASS) Extended Source (XSC) catalogue with WMAP's first year data, we search
for the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich signature induced by hot gas in the local
Universe. Assuming that galaxies trace the distribution of hot gas, we select
regions on the sky with the largest projected density of galaxies. Under
conservative assumptions on the amplitude of foreground residuals, we find a
temperature decrement of -35 7 K ( detection level,
the highest reported so far) in the 26 square degrees of the sky
containing the largest number of galaxies per solid angle. We show that most of
the reported signal is caused by known galaxy clusters which, when convolved
with the average beam of the WMAP W band channel, subtend a typical angular
size of 20--30 arcmins. Finally, after removing from our analyses all pixels
associated with known optical and X-ray galaxy clusters, we still find a tSZ
decrement of -96 37 K in pixels subtending about 0.8 square
degrees on the sky. Most of this signal is coming from five different cluster
candidates in the Zone of Avoidance (ZoA), present in the Clusters In the ZoA
(CIZA) catalogue. We found no evidence that structures less bound than clusters
contribute to the tSZ signal present in the WMAP data.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, matches accepted version in ApJ Letter
Analysis of Metal Cutting Acoustic Emissions by Time Series Models
We analyse some acoustic emission time series obtained from a lathe machining
process. Considering the dynamic evolution of the process we apply two classes
of well known stationary stochastic time series models. We apply a preliminary
root mean square (RMS) transformation followed by an ARMA analysis; results
thereof are mainly related to the description of the continuous part (plastic
deformation) of the signal. An analysis of acoustic emission, as some previous
works show, may also be performed with the scope of understanding the evolution
of the ageing process that causes the degradation of the working tools. Once
the importance of the discrete part of the acoustic emission signals (i.e.
isolated amplitude bursts) in the ageing process is understood, we apply a
stochastic analysis based on point processes waiting times between bursts and
to identify a parameter with which to characterise the wear level of the
working tool. A Weibull distribution seems to adequately describe the waiting
times distribution
All you Need is Love:The Effect of Moral Support on Performance (Revision of CentER DP 2018-026)
This study presents unique empirical evidence on the importance of moral support for performance. We take advantage of an unusual change in Argentinean football legislation. In August 2013, as a matter of National security, the Argentinean government forced all teams in the first division to play their games with only home team supporters. Supporters of visiting teams were not allowed to be in stadiums during league games. We estimate the effect of this exogenous variation of supporters on team performance, and find that visiting teams are, on average, about 20% more likely to lose without the presence of their supporters. As a counterfactual experiment, we run the analysis using contemporaneous cup games, where the visiting team supporters were allowed to attend, and find no effect of the ban on those games. Moreover, the ban does not affect the decisions of referees, the lineups or the market value of the teams, suggesting that the effect on team performance is due to the loss of moral support rather than other factors. Finally, we find that moral support is more relevant, and often pivotal, when there is balance of power between the two teams, suggesting that moral support compensates the power of monetary resources. This paper provides a proof of concept of moral support as an important non-monetary resource, even in settings with high monetary incentives
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