Issues for the Next Generation of Galaxy Surveys

I argue that the weight of the available evidence favours the conclusions that galaxies are unbiased tracers of mass, the mean mass density (excluding a cosmological constant or its equivalent) is less than the critical Einstein-de Sitter value, and an isocurvature model for structure formation offers a viable and arguably attractive model for the early assembly of galaxies. If valid these conclusions complicate our work of adding structure formation to the standard model for cosmology, but it seems sensible to pay attention to evidence.Comment: 14 pages, 3 postscript figures, uses rspublic.st

The velocity peaks in the cold dark matter spectrum on Earth

The cold dark matter spectrum on earth is expected to have peaks in velocity space. We obtain estimates for the sizes and locations of these peaks. To this end we have generalized the secondary infall model of galactic halo formation to include angular momentum of the dark matter particles. This new model is still spherically symmetric and it has self-similar solutions. Our results are relevant to direct dark matter search experiments.Comment: 12 pages including 1 table and 4 figures, LaTeX, REVTEX 3.0 versio

Deprescribing intervention activities mapped to guiding principles for use in general practice: a scoping review

Objective: To identify and characterise activities for deprescribing used in general practice and to map the identified activities to pioneering principles of deprescribing. Setting: Primary care. Data sources: Medline, EMBASE (Ovid), CINAHL, Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR), Clinicaltrials.gov, ISRCTN registry, OpenGrey, Annals of Family Medicine, BMC Family Practice, Family Practice and British Journal of General Practice (BJGP) from inception to the end of June 2021. Study: selection Included studies were original research (randomised controlled trial, quasi-experimental, cohort study, qualitative and case studies), protocol papers and protocol registrations. Data extraction: Screening and data extraction was completed by one reviewer; 10% of the studies were independently reviewed by a second reviewer. Coding of full-text articles in NVivo was conducted and mapped to five deprescribing principles. Results: Fifty studies were included. The most frequently used activities were identification of appropriate patients for deprescribing (76%), patient education (50%), general practitioners (GP) education (48%), and development and use of a tapering schedule (38%). Six activities did not align with the five deprescribing principles. As such, two principles (engage practice staff in education and appropriate identification of patients, and provide feedback to staff about deprescribing occurrences within the practice) were added. Conclusion: Activities and guiding principles for deprescribing should be paired together to provide an accessible and comprehensive guide to deprescribing by GPs. The addition of two principles suggests that practice staff and practice management teams may play an instrumental role in sustaining deprescribing processes within clinical practice. Future research is required to determine the most of effective activities to use within each principle and by whom

Predation Risk, Resource Quality, and Reef Structural Complexity Shape Territoriality in a Coral Reef Herbivore

For many species securing territories is important for feeding and reproduction. Factors such as competition, habitat availability, and male characteristics can influence an individual\u27s ability to establish and maintain a territory. The risk of predation can have an important influence on feeding and reproduction; however, few have studied its effect on territoriality. We investigated territoriality in a haremic, polygynous species of coral reef herbivore, Sparisoma aurofrenatum (redband parrotfish), across eight reefs in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary that were either protected or unprotected from fishing of piscivorous fishes. We examined how territory size and quality varied with reef protection status, competition, predation risk, and male size. We then determined how territory size and quality influenced harem size and female size to understand the effect of territoriality on reproductive potential. We found that protected reefs trended towards having more large predatory fishes and that territories there were smaller but had greater algal nutritional quality relative to unprotected reefs. Our data suggest that even though males in protected sites have smaller territories, which support fewer females, they may improve their reproductive potential by choosing nutritionally rich areas, which support larger females. Thus, reef protection appears to shape the trade-off that herbivorous fishes make between territory size and quality. Furthermore, we provide evidence that males in unprotected sites, which are generally less complex than protected sites, choose territories with higher structural complexity, suggesting the importance of this type of habitat for feeding and reproduction in S. aurofrenatum. Our work argues that the loss of corals and the resulting decline in structural complexity, as well as management efforts to protect reefs, could alter the territory dynamics and reproductive potential of important herbivorous fish species

The Effect of Crystallization on the Pulsations of White Dwarf Stars

We consider the pulsational properties of white dwarf star models with temperatures appropriate for the ZZ Ceti instability strip and with masses large enough that they should be substantially crystallized. Our work is motivated by the existence of a potentially crystallized DAV, BPM 37093, and the expectation that digital surveys in progress will yield many more such massive pulsators. A crystallized core makes possible a new class of oscillations, the torsional modes, although we expect these modes to couple at most weakly to any motions in the fluid and therefore to remain unobservable. The p-modes should be affected at the level of a few percent in period, but are unlikely to be present with observable amplitudes in crystallizing white dwarfs any more than they are in the other ZZ Ceti's. Most relevant to the observed light variations in white dwarfs are the g-modes. We find that the kinetic energy of these modes is effectively excluded from the crystallized cores of our models. As increasing crystallization pushes these modes farther out from the center, the mean period spacing between radial overtones increases substantially with the crystallized mass fraction. In addition, the degree and structure of mode trapping is affected. The fact that some periods are strongly affected by changes in the crystallized mass fraction while others are not suggests that we may be able to disentangle the effects of crystallization from those due to different surface layer masses.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures, accepted on 1999 July 2 for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

UV luminescence characterisation of organics in Mars-analogue substrates

This project was supported by a Leverhulme Trust Research Project Grant (RPG-2015-071). C Cousins also wishes to acknowledge funding by the Royal Society of Edinburgh.Detection of organic matter is one of the core objectives of future Mars exploration. The ability to probe rocks, soils, and other geological substrates for organic targets is a high priority for in situ investigation, sample caching, and sample return. UV luminescence – the emission of visible light following UV irradiation – is a tool that is beginning to be harnessed for planetary exploration. We conducted  UV photoluminescence analyses of (i) Mars analogue sediments doped with polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs; <15 ppm), (ii) carbonaceous CM chondrites and terrestrial kerogen (Type IV), and (iii) synthetic salt crystals doped with PAHs (2 ppm). We show that that detection of PAHs is possible within synthetic and natural gypsum, and synthetic halite. These substrates show the most apparent spectral modifications, suggesting that the most transparent minerals are more conducive to UV photoluminescence detection of trapped organic matter. Iron oxide, ubiquitously present on Mars surface, hampers but does not completely quench the UV luminescence emission. Finally, the maturity of organic carbonaceous material influences the luminescence response, resulting in a reduced signal for UV excitation wavelengths down to 225 nm. This study demonstrates the utility of UV luminescence spectroscopy for the analysis of mixed organic-inorganic materials applicable to Mars exploration.PostprintPeer reviewe