Visual Search for Galaxies near the Northern Crossing of the Supergalactic plane by the Milky Way

We have visually examined twelve Palomar red Plates for galaxies at low Galactic latitude b, where the Supergalactic Plane (SGP) is crossed by the Galactic Plane (GP), at Galactic longitude l ~135 degrees. The catalogue consists of 2575 galaxy candidates, of which 462 have major axis diameters d >= 0.8 arc min (uncorrected for extinction). Galaxy candidates can be identified down to |b| ~ 0 degrees. One of our galaxy candidates (J24 = Dwingeloo 1) has recently been discovered independently in 21cm by Kraan-Korteweg et al. (1994) as a nearby galaxy. Comparisons with the structures seen in the IRAS and UGC catalogues are made. We compare the success rate of identifying galaxies using the IRAS Point Source Catalogue under different colour selection criteria. The criteria that require both the 60 micron and 100 micron fluxes to be of high quality, have the highest probability of selecting a galaxy (with d >= 0.6 arc min), but at the expense of selecting a smaller number of galaxies in total.Comment: uuencoded compressed postscript, without figures. The figures are available at http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/preprint/PrePrint.htm

Laser Velocimeter Measurements in the Leakage Annulus of a Whirling Shrouded Centrifugal Pump

Previous experiments conducted in the Rotor Force Test Facility at the California Institute of Technology have thoroughly examined the effect of leakage flows on the rotordynamic forces on a centrifugal pump impeller undergoing a prescribed circular whirl. These leakage flows have been shown to contribute substantially to the total fluid induced forces acting on a pump. However, to date nothing is known of the flow field in the leakage annulus of shrouded centrifugal pumps. No attempt has been made to qualitatively or quantitatively examine the velocity field in the leakage annulus. Hence the test objective of this experiment is to acquire fluid velocity data for a geometry representative of the leakage annulus of a shrouded centrifugal pump while the rotor is whirling using laser velocimetry. Tests are performed over a range of whirl ratios and a flowrate typical of Space Shuttle Turbopump designs. In addition to a qualitive study of the flow field, the velocity data can be used to anchor flow models

A meta-analysis of serological response associated with yellow fever vaccination

Despite previous evidence of high level of efficacy, no synthetic metric of yellow fever (YF) vaccine efficacy is currently available. Based on the studies identified in a recent systematic review, we conducted a random-effects meta-analysis of the serological response associated with YF vaccination. Eleven studies conducted between 1965 and 2011 representing 4,868 individual observations were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled estimate of serological response was 97.5% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 82.9–99.7%). There was evidence of between-study heterogeneity (I2 = 89.1%), but this heterogeneity did not appear to be related to study size, study design, seroconversion measurement, or definition. Pooled estimates were significantly higher (P & 0.0001) among studies conducted in nonendemic settings (98.9%, 95% CI = 98.2–99.4%) than among those conducted in endemic settings (94.2%, 95% CI = 83.8–98.1%). These results provide background information against which to evaluate the efficacy of fractional doses of YF vaccine that may be used in outbreak situations

Spin-dependent phenomena and device concepts explored in (Ga,Mn)As

Over the past two decades, the research of (Ga,Mn)As has led to a deeper understanding of relativistic spin-dependent phenomena in magnetic systems. It has also led to discoveries of new effects and demonstrations of unprecedented functionalities of experimental spintronic devices with general applicability to a wide range of materials. In this article we review the basic material properties that make (Ga,Mn)As a favorable test-bed system for spintronics research and discuss contributions of (Ga,Mn)As studies in the general context of the spin-dependent phenomena and device concepts. Special focus is on the spin-orbit coupling induced effects and the reviewed topics include the interaction of spin with electrical current, light, and heat.Comment: 47 pages, 41 figure

Boundary crossing Random Walks, clinical trials and multinomial sequential estimation

A sufficient condition for the uniqueness of multinomial sequential unbiased estimators is provided generalizing a classical result for binomial samples. Unbiased estimators are applied to infer the parameters of multidimensional or multinomial Random Walks which are observed until they reach a boundary. An application to clinical trials is presented

Embedded disks in Fornax dwarf ellipticals

We present photometric and kinematic evidence for the presence of stellar disks, seen practically edge-on, in two Fornax dwarf galaxies, FCC204 (dS0(6)) and FCC288 (dS0(7)). This is the first time such structures have been identified in Fornax dwarfs. FCC2088 has only a small bulge and a bright flaring and slightly warped disk that can be traced out to 23" from the center (2.05 kpc for H_0=75 km/s/Mpc). FCC204's disk can be traced out to 20" (1.78 kpc). This galaxy possesses a large bulge. These results can be compared to the findings of Jerjen et al. (2000) and Barazza et al. (2002) who discovered nucleated dEs with spiral and bar features in the Virgo Cluster.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in A&