74 research outputs found
Treatment of Problem Alcohol Use in Women of Childbearing Age: Results of a Brief Intervention Trial
Studies suggest that 14% of women age 18 to 40 drink alcohol above recommended limits. Of special concern is the increasing use of alcohol by women during pregnancy. This article reports 48 month follow-up data from a subanalysis of a trial for early alcohol treatment (Project TrEAT) focused on women of childbearing age. Methods : Project TrEAT was conducted in the offices of 64 primary care, community-based physicians from 10 Wisconsin counties. Of 5979 female patients ages 18 to 40 who were screened for problem drinking, 205 were randomized into an experimental group ( n = 103) or control group ( n = 102). The intervention consisted of two 15 min, physician-delivered counseling visits that included advice, education, and contracting by using a scripted workbook. A total of 174 subjects (85%) completed the 48 month follow-up procedures. Results : No significant differences were found between the experimental and control groups at baseline for alcohol use, age, socioeconomic status, smoking, depression or anxiety, conduct disorder, lifetime drug use, or health care utilization. The trial found a significant treatment effect in reducing both 7 day alcohol use ( p = 0.0039) and binge drinking episodes ( p = 0.0021) over the 48 month follow-up period. Women in the experimental group who became pregnant during the follow-up period had the most dramatic decreases in alcohol use. A logistic regression model based on a 20% or greater reduction in drinking found an odds ratio of 1.93 (confidence interval 1.07–3.46) in the sample exposed to physician intervention. Age, smoking, depression, conduct disorder, antisocial personality disorder, and illicit drug use did not reduce drinking significantly. No significant differences were found in health care utilization and health status between groups. Conclusions : This trial provides the first direct evidence that brief intervention is associated with sustained reductions in alcohol consumption by women of childbearing age. The results have enormous implications for the U.S. health care system.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66074/1/j.1530-0277.2000.tb04570.x.pd
THE HOT-JUPITER KEPLER-17b: DISCOVERY, OBLIQUITY FROM STROBOSCOPIC STARSPOTS, AND ATMOSPHERIC CHARACTERIZATION
This paper reports the discovery and characterization of the transiting hot giant exoplanet Kepler-17b. The planet has an orbital period of 1.486 days, and radial velocity measurements from the Hobby–Eberly Telescope show a Doppler signal of 419.5+13.3−15.6 m s−1. From a transit-based estimate of the host star's mean density, combined with an estimate of the stellar effective temperature Teff = 5630 ± 100 from high-resolution spectra, we infer a stellar host mass of 1.06 ± 0.07 M☉ and a stellar radius of 1.02 ± 0.03 R☉. We estimate the planet mass and radius to be MP = 2.45 ± 0.11 MJ and RP = 1.31 ± 0.02 RJ. The host star is active, with dark spots that are frequently occulted by the planet. The continuous monitoring of the star reveals a stellar rotation period of 11.89 days, eight times the planet's orbital period; this period ratio produces stroboscopic effects on the occulted starspots. The temporal pattern of these spot-crossing events shows that the planet's orbit is prograde and the star's obliquity is smaller than 15°. We detected planetary occultations of Kepler-17b with both the Kepler and Spitzer Space Telescopes. We use these observations to constrain the eccentricity, e, and find that it is consistent with a circular orbit (e < 0.011). The brightness temperatures of the planet's infrared bandpasses are T3.6 μm = 1880 ± 100 K and T4.5 μm = 1770 ± 150 K. We measure the optical geometric albedo Ag in the Kepler bandpass and find Ag = 0.10 ± 0.02. The observations are best described by atmospheric models for which most of the incident energy is re-radiated away from the day side
Kepler-14b: A massive hot Jupiter transiting an F star in a close visual binary
We present the discovery of a hot Jupiter transiting an F star in a close visual (03 sky projected angular separation) binary system. The dilution of the host star's light by the nearly equalmagnitude stellar companion (∼0.5mag fainter) significantly affects the derived planetary parameters, and if left uncorrected, leads to an underestimate of the radius and mass of the planet by 10% and 60%, respectively. Other published exoplanets, which have not been observed with high-resolution imaging, could similarly have unresolved stellar companions and thus have incorrectly derived planetary parameters. Kepler-14b (KOI-98) has a period of P = 6.790 days and, correcting for the dilution, has a mass of Mp = 8.40+0.35 -0.34 M J and a radius of Rp = 1.136+0.073 -0.054 R J, yielding a mean density of ρp = 7.1 ± 1.1 g cm-3
Populations of planets in multiple star systems
Astronomers have discovered that both planets and binaries are abundant
throughout the Galaxy. In combination, we know of over 100 planets in binary
and higher-order multi-star systems, in both circumbinary and circumstellar
configurations. In this chapter we review these findings and some of their
implications for the formation of both stars and planets. Most of the planets
found have been circumstellar, where there is seemingly a ruinous influence of
the second star if sufficiently close (<50 AU). Hosts of hot Jupiters have been
a particularly popular target for binary star studies, showing an enhanced rate
of stellar multiplicity for moderately wide binaries (>100 AU). This was
thought to be a sign of Kozai-Lidov migration, however recent studies have
shown this mechanism to be too inefficient to account for the majority of hot
Jupiters. A couple of dozen circumbinary planets have been proposed around both
main sequence and evolved binaries. Around main sequence binaries there are
preliminary indications that the frequency of gas giants is as high as those
around single stars. There is however a conspicuous absence of circumbinary
planets around the tightest main sequence binaries with periods of just a few
days, suggesting a unique, more disruptive formation history of such close
stellar pairs.Comment: Invited review chapter, accepted for publication in "Handbook of
Exoplanets", ed. H. Deeg & J. A. Belmont
Global Spatial Risk Assessment of Sharks Under the Footprint of Fisheries
Effective ocean management and conservation of highly migratory species depends on resolving overlap between animal movements and distributions and fishing effort. Yet, this information is lacking at a global scale. Here we show, using a big-data approach combining satellite-tracked movements of pelagic sharks and global fishing fleets, that 24% of the mean monthly space used by sharks falls under the footprint of pelagic longline fisheries. Space use hotspots of commercially valuable sharks and of internationally protected species had the highest overlap with longlines (up to 76% and 64%, respectively) and were also associated with significant increases in fishing effort. We conclude that pelagic sharks have limited spatial refuge from current levels of high-seas fishing effort. Results demonstrate an urgent need for conservation and management measures at high-seas shark hotspots and highlight the potential of simultaneous satellite surveillance of megafauna and fishers as a tool for near-real time, dynamic management
Kepler-10c: a 2.2 earth radius transiting planet in a multiple system
Abstract: The Kepler mission has recently announced the discovery of Kepler-10b, the smallest exoplanet discovered to date and the first rocky planet found by the spacecraft. A second, 45 day period transit-like signal present in the photometry from the first eight months of data could not be confirmed as being caused by a planet at the time of that announcement. Here we apply the light curve modeling technique known as BLENDER to explore the possibility that the signal might be due to an astrophysical false positive (blend). To aid in this analysis we report the observation of two transits with the Spitzer Space Telescope at 4.5μm. When combined, they yield a transit depth of 344 ± 85ppm that is consistent with the depth in the Kepler passband (376 ± 9ppm, ignoring limb darkening), which rules out blends with an eclipsing binary of a significantly different color than the target. Using these observations along with other constraints from high-resolution imaging and spectroscopy, we are able to exclude the vast majority of possible false positives. We assess the likelihood of the remaining blends, and arrive conservatively at a false alarm rate of 1.6 × 10-5 that is small enough to validate the candidate as a planet (designated Kepler-10c) with a very high level of confidence. The radius of this object is measured to be Rp = 2.227+0.052 -0.057 R ⊕ (in which the error includes the uncertainty in the stellar properties), but currently available radial-velocity measurements only place an upper limit on its mass of about 20 M ⊕. Kepler-10c represents another example (with Kepler-9d and Kepler-11g) of statistical 'validation' of a transiting exoplanet, as opposed to the usual 'confirmation' that can take place when the Doppler signal is detected or transit timing variations are measured. It is anticipated that many of Kepler's smaller candidates will receive a similar treatment since dynamical confirmation may be difficult or impractical with the sensitivity of current instrumentation.
New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.
Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms
Kepler-18b, c, and d: a system of three planets confirmed by transit timing variations, light curve validation, Warm-Spitzer photometry, and radial velocity measurements
We report the detection of three transiting planets around a Sun-like star, which we designate Kepler-18. The transit signals were detected in photometric data from the Kepler satellite, and were confirmed to arise from planets using a combination of large transit-timing variations (TTVs), radial velocity variations, Warm-Spitzer observations, and statistical analysis of false-positive probabilities. The Kepler-18 star has a mass of 0.97 M ⊙, a radius of 1.1 R ⊙, an effective temperature of 5345K, and an iron abundance of [Fe/H] = +0.19. The planets have orbital periods of approximately 3.5, 7.6, and 14.9 days. The innermost planet 'b' is a 'super-Earth' with a mass of 6.9 ± 3.4 M ⊕, a radius of 2.00 ± 0.10 R ⊕, an' a mean density of 4.9 ± 2.4gcm3. The two outer planets 'c' and 'd' are both low-density Neptune-mass planets. Kepler-18c has a mass of 17.3 ± 1.9 M ⊕, a radius of 5.49 ± 0.26 R ⊕, and a mean density of 0.59 0.07gcm 3, while Kepler-18d has a mass of 16.4 ± 1.4 M ⊕, a radius of 6.98 ± 0.33 R ⊕ and a mean density of 0.27 ± 0.03gcm3. Kepler-18c and Kepler-18d have orbital periods near a 2:1 mean-motion resonance, leading to large and readily detected TTVs
Estimating relative intensity using individualized accelerometer cutpoints: the importance of fitness level
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