824 research outputs found
An application of design knowledge captured from multiple sources
The Hubble Space Telescope Operational Readiness Expert Safemode Investigation System (HSTORESIS) is a reusable knowledge base shell used to demonstrate the integration and application of design knowledge captured from multiple technical domains. The design of HSTORESIS is based on a partitioning of knowledge to maximize the potential for reuse of certain types of knowledge
The Earliest Stage of Galactic Star Formation
Using a recently-developed technique to estimate gas temperatures
() in star-forming regions from large photometric surveys, we
propose a diagram, analogous to the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram for individual
stars, to probe the evolution of individual galaxies. On this
-sSFR (specific star formation rate) diagram, a small fraction
of star-forming galaxies appear to be dominated by different feedback
mechanisms than typical star-forming galaxies. These galaxies generically have
younger stellar populations, lower stellar masses and increase in relative
abundance towards higher redshifts, so we argue that these objects are in an
earlier stage of galactic star formation. Further, Hubble observations find
that these "core-forming" galaxies also exhibit distinct morphology, and that
tracks on the -sSFR diagram are also a morphological sequence.
Thus, unlike starburst phases which can be triggered environmentally, these
earliest, core-forming galaxies, appear to be a stage that typical galaxies go
through early in their star formation history. We therefore argue that most
galaxies first go through a core formation stage, then subsequently disk
formation, and finally become quiescent.Comment: ApJL 949, L3
Evaluation of RGM Medium for Isolation of Nontuberculous Mycobacteria from Respiratory Samples from Patients with Cystic Fibrosis in the United States
ABSTRACT A novel selective agar (RGM medium) has been advocated for the isolation of rapidly growing mycobacteria from the sputa of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. The aim of this study was to compare RGM medium to Burkholderia cepacia selective agar (BCSA) and a standard acid-fast bacillus (AFB) culture method for the isolation of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) from patients with CF. The applicability of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) for the identification of NTM isolated on RGM medium was also assessed. Respiratory samples ( n = 869) were collected from 487 CF patients and inoculated directly onto RGM medium and BCSA. Cultures were incubated at 30°C and examined for up to 28 days. A subset of 212 samples (from 172 patients) was also cultured by using a mycobacterial growth indicator tube (MGIT) and on Lowenstein-Jensen medium following dual decontamination. By using a combination of all methods, 98 mycobacteria were isolated from 869 samples (11.3%). The sensitivity of RGM medium (96.9%) was significantly higher than that of BCSA (35.7%) for the isolation of mycobacteria ( P < 0.0001). The sensitivity of RGM medium was also superior to that of standard AFB culture for the isolation of mycobacteria (92.2% versus 47.1%; P < 0.0001). MALDI-TOF MS was effective for the identification of mycobacteria in RGM medium. RGM medium offers a simple and highly effective tool for the isolation of NTM from patients with CF. Extended incubation of RGM medium for 28 days facilitates the isolation of slow-growing species, including members of the Mycobacterium avium complex (MAVC)
A Framework to Manage the Complex Organisation of Collaborating: Its Application to Autonomous Systems
In this paper we present an analysis of the complexities of large group
collaboration and its application to develop detailed requirements for
collaboration schema for Autonomous Systems (AS). These requirements flow from
our development of a framework for collaboration that provides a basis for
designing, supporting and managing complex collaborative systems that can be
applied and tested in various real world settings. We present the concepts of
"collaborative flow" and "working as one" as descriptive expressions of what
good collaborative teamwork can be in such scenarios. The paper considers the
application of the framework within different scenarios and discuses the
utility of the framework in modelling and supporting collaboration in complex
organisational structures
Sitting Time and Waist Circumference Are Associated With Glycemia in U.K. South Asians: Data from 1,228 adults screened for the PODOSA trial
OBJECTIVE-To investigate the independent contributions of waist circumference, physical activity, and sedentary behavior on glycemia in South Asians living in Scotland. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS-Participants were 1,228 (523 men and 705 women) adults of Indian or Pakistani origin screened for the Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes and Obesity in South Asians (PODOSA) trial. All undertook an oral glucose tolerance test, had physical activity and sitting time assessed by International Physical Activity Questionnaire, and had waist circumference measured. RESULTS-Mean +/- SD age and waist circumference were 49.8 +/- 10.1 years and 99.2 +/- 10.2 cm, respectively. One hundred ninety-one participants had impaired fasting glycemia or impaired glucose tolerance, and 97 had possible type 2 diabetes. In multivariate regression analysis, ay (0.012 mmol.L-1.year [95% CI 0.006-0.017]) and waist circumference (0.018 mmol.L-1.cm(-1) [0.012-0.024]) were significantly independently associated with fasting glucose concentration, and age (0.032 mmol.L-1.year(-1) [0.016-0.049]), waist (0.057 mmolL(-1).cm(-1) [0.040-0.074]), and sitting time (0.097 mmol.L-1.h(-1).day(-1) [0.036-0.158]) were significantly independently associated with 2-h glucose concentration. Vigorous activity time had a borderline significant association with 2-h glucose concentration (-0.819 mmol.L-1.h(-1).day-1 [-1.672 to 0.034]) in the multivariate model. CONCLUSIONS-These data highlight an important relationship between sitting time and 2-h glucose levels in U.K. South Asians, independent of physical activity and waist circumference. Although the data are cross-sectional and thus do not permit firm conclusions about causality to be drawn, the results suggest that further study investigating the effects of sitting time on glycemia and other aspects of metabolic risk in South Asian populations is warrante
Why do semi-analytic models predict higher scatter in the stellar mass-halo mass relation than cosmological hydrodynamic simulations?
Semi-analytic models (SAMs) systematically predict higher stellar-mass
scatter at a given halo mass than hydrodynamical simulations and most empirical
models. Our goal is to investigate the physical origin of this scatter by
exploring modifications to the physics in the SAM Dark Sage. We design two
black hole formation models that approximate results from the IllustrisTNG
300-1 hydrodynamical simulation. In the first model, we assign a fixed black
hole mass of to every halo that reaches
. In the second model, we disregard any black
hole growth as implemented in the standard Dark Sage model. Instead, we force
all black hole masses to follow the median black hole mass-halo mass relation
in IllustrisTNG 300-1 with a fixed scatter. We find that each model on its own
does not significantly reduce the scatter in stellar mass. To do this, we
replace the native Dark Sage AGN feedback model with a simple model where we
turn off cooling for galaxies with black hole masses above . With this additional modification, the SMBH seeding and
fixed conditional distribution models find a significant reduction in the
scatter in stellar mass at halo masses between . These results suggest that AGN feedback in SAMs acts in a
qualitatively different way than feedback implemented in cosmological
simulations. Either or both may require substantial modification to match the
empirically inferred scatter in the Stellar Mass Halo Mass Relation (SMHMR).Comment: 21 pages, 16 figure
Tuberculosis in Dr Granville's mummy: a molecular re-examination of the earliest known Egyptian mummy to be scientifically examined and given a medical diagnosis
‘Dr Granville's mummy’ was described to the Royal Society of London in 1825 and was the first ancient Egyptian mummy to be subjected to a scientific autopsy. The remains are those of a woman, Irtyersenu, aged about 50, from the necropolis of Thebes and dated to about 600 BC. Augustus Bozzi Granville (1783–1872), an eminent physician and obstetrician, described many organs still in situ and attributed the cause of death to a tumour of the ovary. However, subsequent histological investigations indicate that the tumour is a benign cystadenoma. Histology of the lungs demonstrated a potentially fatal pulmonary exudate and earlier studies attempted to associate this with particular disease conditions. Palaeopathology and ancient DNA analyses show that tuberculosis was widespread in ancient Egypt, so a systematic search for tuberculosis was made, using specific DNA and lipid biomarker analyses. Clear evidence for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex DNA was obtained in lung tissue and gall bladder samples, based on nested PCR of the IS6110 locus. Lung and femurs were positive for specific M. tuberculosis complex cell-wall mycolic acids, demonstrated by high-performance liquid chromatography of pyrenebutyric acid–pentafluorobenzyl mycolates. Therefore, tuberculosis is likely to have been the major cause of death of Irtyersenu
Keck Spectroscopy of Candidate Proto-globular Clusters in NGC 1275
Keck spectroscopy of 5 proto-globular cluster candidates in NGC 1275 has been
combined with HST WFPC2 photometry to explore the nature and origin of these
objects and discriminate between merger and cooling flow scenarios for globular
cluster formation. The objects we have studied are not HII regions, but rather
star clusters, yet their integrated spectral properties do not resemble young
or intermediate age Magellanic Cloud clusters or Milky Way open clusters. The
clusters' Balmer absorption appears to be too strong to be consistent with any
of the standard Bruzual & Charlot evolutionary models at any metallicity. If
these models are adopted, an IMF which is skewed to high masses provides a
better fit to the data. A truncated IMF with a mass range of 2-3 Mo reproduces
the observed Balmer equivalent widths and colors at about 450 Myr. Formation in
a continuous cooling flow appears to be ruled out since the age of the clusters
is much larger than the cooling time, the spatial scale of the clusters is much
smaller than the cooling flow radius, and the deduced star formation rate in
the cooling flow favors a steep rather than a flat IMF. A merger would have to
produce clusters only in the central few kpc, presumably from gas in the
merging galaxies which was channeled rapidly to the center. Widespread shocks
in merging galaxies cannot have produced these clusters. If these objects are
confirmed to have a relatively flat, or truncated, IMF it is unclear whether or
not they will evolve into objects we would regard as bona fide globular
clusters.Comment: 30 pages (AAS two column style, including 9 tables and 7 figures) to
appear in the AJ (August issue), also available at
http://www.ucolick.org/~mkissler/Sages/sages.html (with a full resolution
Fig.1) Revised Version: previous posted version was an uncorrect ealier
iteration, parts of the text, tables and figures changed. The overall
conclusions remain unchange
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