Neutrino processes in partially degenerate neutron matter

We investigate neutrino processes for conditions reached in simulations of core-collapse supernovae. Where neutrino-matter interactions play an important role, matter is partially degenerate, and we extend earlier work that addressed the degenerate regime. We derive expressions for the spin structure factor in neutron matter, which is a key quantity required for evaluating rates of neutrino processes. We show that, for essentially all conditions encountered in the post-bounce phase of core-collapse supernovae, it is a very good approximation to calculate the spin relaxation rates in the nondegenerate limit. We calculate spin relaxation rates based on chiral effective field theory interactions and find that they are typically a factor of two smaller than those obtained using the standard one-pion-exchange interaction alone.Comment: 41 pages, 9 figures, NORDITA-2011-116; added comparison figures and fit function for use in simulations, to appear in Astrophys.

Constraints on large scalar multiplets from perturbative unitarity

We determine the constraints on the isospin and hypercharge of a scalar electroweak multiplet from partial-wave unitarity of tree-level scattering diagrams. The constraint from SU(2)_L interactions yields T <= 7/2 (i.e., n <= 8) for a complex scalar multiplet and T <= 4 (i.e., n <= 9) for a real scalar multiplet, where n = 2T+1 is the number of isospin states in the multiplet.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure. v2: refs added, minor additions to text, submitted to PR

Sixteenth-Century Mechanisms of Exchange

European artifacts found on Native American archaeological sites have long interested archaeologists. Such artifacts have often been used as temporal markers (Brain 1975, Smith 1987, Smith and Good 1982) or as ways to measure acculturation (Brown 1979a, 1979b, White 1975, Smith 1987), but scholars have paid little attention to the mechanisms which delivered such artifacts to the Native populace (but see Brain 1975, DePratter and Smith 1980, Waselkov 1989). Using historical records, archaeological remains, and, most importantly, the context of the archaeological finds, it should be possible to gain some understanding ofhow European materials were obtained by Native Americans and, equally important, what they subsequently did with them. In a pioneering study, Jeffrey Brain (1975) looked at materials distributed by Hernando de Soto. He believed that there was a standard gift kit of beads and bells used on most early expeditions. Brain especially focused on chevron beads and Clarksdale bells. Focusing on the Juan Pardo expeditions of 1566-68, DePratter and Smith (1980) also looked at European gift-giving as a mechanism of distribution. They noted that gifts were given to Native elites and to translators, whose social status was unknown but might also be elite. Marvin Smith (1987:25) only considered two possible mechanisms for the introduction of European artifacts: direct trade by Europeans and indirect trade through Native middlemen. Smith saw European materials being controlled by the elite, but, as we shall see, other mechanisms may have allowed commoners to obtain European artifacts

The importance of acknowledgement of emotions in routine patient psychological assessment:The example of the dental setting

This work was funded by the Chief Scientist Office, Scotland under their Clinical Academic Fellowship Scheme (grant number: CAF/07/02).Objective:  To investigate, by means of a conceptual model, the effect of dental staff engaging with their patients who share their level of dental anxiety in a short screening questionnaire. Methods :  Three consecutive studies based in the UK primary dental care services were conducted. Each study adopted a randomised group design to focus on the possible influence on patient state anxiety of the dentist becoming aware of their patients' dental anxiety from the self-reports of the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS). Results :  A consistent finding in the first two studies was that the presentation of MDAS score sheet to the dentist was effective in reducing patient state anxiety when leaving the surgery. The third study provided supportive evidence that a more permanent anxiolytic effect of the presentation of the MDAS to the dentist was associated with the dentist responding openly to their patient about the fears expressed. Conclusion:  The active engagement of dental staff in the formal presentation of dental anxiety screening confers a reliable benefit to dentally anxious patients. Clinical implications:   Anxiety assessments in clinical service may give patients significant relief when staff acknowledge and engage patients when presented with their self-reported ratings.PostprintPeer reviewe

Oxy Fuel for Clean Energy Generation

This process explores several concentrations of oxygen-enriched air streams (oxy fuel) in combination with natural gas to generate steam for a steam turbine power plant with 30 MW capacity. The proposed location for this plant is the gulf coast of the United States. The oxy fuel concentrations tested were 36 mol. %, 53 mol. %, and 95 mol. %. Nitrogen removed from air would be sold as well as the 30 MW of electricity. The three oxygen purities were not profitable for the most realistic prices of electricity, nitrogen, and natural gas. However, the scenarios were all profitable with prices of nitrogen above $0.015/lb. Additionally, the profitability could be improved with higher electricity prices or better thermal efficiency. A key takeaway is that the level of oxygen purity did not have a major effect on profitability for a given nitrogen price

Exploring structure–activity relationships in photodynamic therapy anticancer agents based on Ir(III)-COUPY conjugates

Photodynamic therapy holds great promise as a non-invasive anticancer tool against drug-resistant cancers. However, highly effective, non-toxic, and reliable photosensitizers with operability under hypoxic conditions remain to be developed. Herein, we took the advantageous properties of COUPY fluorophores and cyclometalated Ir(III) complexes to develop novel PDT agents based on Ir(III)-COUPY conjugates with the aim of exploring structure–activity relationships. The structural modifications carried out within the coumarin scaffold had a strong impact on the photophysical properties and cellular uptake of the conjugates. All Ir(III)-COUPY conjugates exhibited high phototoxicity under green light irradiation, which was attributed to the photogeneration of ROS, while remaining non-toxic in the dark. Among them, two hit conjugates showed excellent phototherapeutic indexes in cisplatin-resistant A2780cis cancer cells, both in normoxia and in hypoxia, suggesting that photoactive therapy approaches based on the conjugation of far-red/NIR-emitting COUPY dyes and transition metal complexes could effectively tackle in vitro acquired resistance to cisplatin

Assessing the Ability of Image Based Point Clouds Captured from a UAV to Measure the Terrain in the Presence of Canopy Cover

Point clouds captured from Unmanned Aerial Systems are increasingly relied upon to provide information describing the structure of forests. The quality of the information derived from these point clouds is dependent on a range of variables, including the type and structure of the forest, weather conditions and flying parameters. A key requirement to achieve accurate estimates of height based metrics describing forest structure is a source of ground information. This study explores the availability and reliability of ground surface points available within point clouds captured in six forests of different structure (canopy cover and height), using three image capture and processing strategies, consisting of nadir, oblique and composite nadir/oblique image networks. The ground information was extracted through manual segmentation of the point clouds as well as through the use of two commonly used ground filters, LAStools lasground and the Cloth Simulation Filter. The outcomes of these strategies were assessed against ground control captured with a Total Station. Results indicate that a small increase in the number of ground points captured (between 0 and 5% of a 10 m radius plot) can be achieved through the use of a composite image network. In the case of manually identified ground points, this reduced the root mean square error (RMSE) error of the terrain model by between 1 and 11 cm, with greater reductions seen in plots with high canopy cover. The ground filters trialled were not able to exploit the extra information in the point clouds and inconsistent results in terrain RMSE were obtained across the various plots and imaging network configurations. The use of a composite network also provided greater penetration into the canopy, which is likely to improve the representation of mid-canopy elements

Terrestrial laser scanning: an operational tool for fuel hazard mapping?

Fuel hazard estimates are vital for the prediction of fire behaviour and planning fuel treatment activities. Previous literature has highlighted the potential of Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) to be used to assess fuel properties. However, operational uptake of these systems has been limited due to a lack of a sampling approach that balances efficiency and data efficacy. This study aims to assess whether an operational approach utilising Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) to capture fuel information over an area commensurate with current fuel hazard assessment protocols implemented in South-Eastern Australia is feasible. TLS data were captured over various plots in South-Eastern Australia, utilising both low- and high-cost TLS sensors. Results indicate that both scanners provided similar overall representation of the ground, vertical distribution of vegetation and fuel hazard estimates. The analysis of fuel information contained within individual scans clipped to 4 m showed similar results to that of the fully co-registered plot (cover estimates of near-surface vegetation were within 10%, elevated vegetation within 15%, and height estimates of near-surface and elevated strata within 0.05 cm). This study recommends that, to capture a plot in an operational environment (balancing efficiency and data completeness), a sufficient number of non-overlapping individual scans can provide reliable estimates of fuel information at the near-surface and elevated strata, without the need for co-registration in the case study environments. The use of TLS within the rigid structure provided by current fuel observation protocols provides incremental benefit to the measurement of fuel hazard. Future research should leverage the full capability of TLS data and combine it with moisture estimates to gain a full realisation of the fuel hazard

Sphalerons and the Electroweak Phase Transition in Models with Higher Scalar Representations

In this work we investigate the sphaleron solution in a $SU(2)\times U(1)_X$ gauge theory, which also encompasses the Standard Model, with higher scalar representation(s) ($J^{(i)},X^{(i)}$). We show that the field profiles describing the sphaleron in higher scalar multiplet, have similar trends like the doublet case with respect to the radial distance. We compute the sphaleron energy and find that it scales linearly with the vacuum expectation value of the scalar field and its slope depends on the representation. We also investigate the effect of $U(1)$ gauge field and find that it is small for the physical value of the mixing angle, $\theta_{W}$ and resembles the case for the doublet. For higher representations, we show that the criterion for strong first order phase transition, $v_{c}/T_{c}>\eta$, is relaxed with respect to the doublet case, i.e. $\eta<1$.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures & 1 table, published versio

Increasing voluntary medical male circumcision uptake among adult men in Tanzania.

OBJECTIVE: We evaluated a demand-creation intervention to increase voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) uptake among men aged 20-34 years in Tanzania, to maximise short-term impact on HIV incidence. METHODS: A cluster randomized controlled trial stratified by region was conducted in 20 outreach sites in Njombe and Tabora regions. The sites were randomized 1 : 1 to receive either a demand-creation intervention package in addition to standard VMMC outreach, or standard VMMC outreach alone. The intervention package included enhanced public address messages, peer promotion by recently circumcised men, facility setup to increase privacy, and engagement of female partners in demand creation. The primary outcome was the proportion of VMMC clients aged 20-34 years. FINDINGS: Overall, 6251 and 3968 VMMC clients were enrolled in intervention and control clusters, respectively. The proportion of clients aged 20-34 years was slightly greater in the intervention than control arm [17.7 vs. 13.0%; prevalence ratio = 1.36; 95% confidence intervals (CI):0.9-2.0]. In Njombe region, the proportion of clients aged 20-34 years was similar between arms but a significant two-fold difference was seen in Tabora region (P value for effect modification = 0.006). The mean number of men aged 20-34 years (mean difference per cluster = 97; 95% CI:40-154), and of all ages (mean difference per cluster = 227, 95% CI:33-420) were greater in the intervention than control arm. CONCLUSION: The intervention was associated with a significant increase in the proportion of clients aged 20-34 years in Tabora but not in Njombe. The intervention may be sensitive to regional factors in VMMC programme scale-up, including saturation