CMB Telescopes and Optical Systems

The cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB) is now firmly established as a fundamental and essential probe of the geometry, constituents, and birth of the Universe. The CMB is a potent observable because it can be measured with precision and accuracy. Just as importantly, theoretical models of the Universe can predict the characteristics of the CMB to high accuracy, and those predictions can be directly compared to observations. There are multiple aspects associated with making a precise measurement. In this review, we focus on optical components for the instrumentation used to measure the CMB polarization and temperature anisotropy. We begin with an overview of general considerations for CMB observations and discuss common concepts used in the community. We next consider a variety of alternatives available for a designer of a CMB telescope. Our discussion is guided by the ground and balloon-based instruments that have been implemented over the years. In the same vein, we compare the arc-minute resolution Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) and the South Pole Telescope (SPT). CMB interferometers are presented briefly. We conclude with a comparison of the four CMB satellites, Relikt, COBE, WMAP, and Planck, to demonstrate a remarkable evolution in design, sensitivity, resolution, and complexity over the past thirty years.Comment: To appear in: Planets, Stars and Stellar Systems (PSSS), Volume 1: Telescopes and Instrumentatio

Predicting Transitions in Low and High Levels of Risk Behavior from Early to Middle Adolescence: The TRAILS Study

The present study examined the joint development of substance use and externalizing problems in early and middle adolescence. First, it was tested whether the relevant groups found in previous studies i.e., those with an early onset, a late onset, and no onset or low levels of risk behavior could be identified, while using a developmental model of a single, underlying construct of risk behavior. Second, departing from Moffitt’s taxonomy of antisocial behavior, it was tested if early, but not late, onset risk behavior is predicted by a problematic risk profile in childhood. Data were used from TRAILS, a population based cohort study, starting at age 11 with two follow-ups at mean ages of 13.6 and 16.3 years. Latent transition analyses demonstrated that, both in early and middle adolescence, a single underlying construct of risk behavior, consisting of two classes (labeled as low and high risk behavior), adequately represented the data. Respondents could be clearly classified into four possible transition patterns from early to middle adolescence, with a transition from high to low being almost non-existent (2.5 %), low to low (39.4 %) and low to high (41.8 %) being the most prevalent, and high to high (16.2 %) substantial. As hypothesized, only the high-high group was characterized by a clear adverse predictor profile in late childhood, while the low-high group was not. This study demonstrates that the development of substance use is correlated with externalizing problems and underscores the theory that etiologies of early and later onset risk behavior are different

A single immunization with HA DNA vaccine by electroporation induces early protection against H5N1 avian influenza virus challenge in mice

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Developing vaccines for the prevention of human infection by H5N1 influenza viruses is an urgent task. DNA vaccines are a novel alternative to conventional vaccines and should contribute to the prophylaxis of emerging H5N1 virus. In this study, we assessed whether a single immunization with plasmid DNA expressing H5N1 hemagglutinin (HA) could provide early protection against lethal challenge in a mouse model.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Mice were immunized once with HA DNA at 3, 5, 7 days before a lethal challenge. The survival rate, virus titer in the lungs and change of body weight were assayed to evaluate the protective abilities of the vaccine. To test the humoral immune response induced by HA DNA, serum samples were collected through the eye canthus of mice on various days after immunization and examined for specific antibodies by ELISA and an HI assay. Splenocytes were isolated after the immunization to determine the antigen-specific T-cell response by the ELISPOT assay.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Challenge experiments revealed that a single immunization of H5N1 virus HA DNA is effective in early protection against lethal homologous virus. Immunological analysis showed that an antigen-specific antibody and T-cell response could be elicited in mice shortly after the immunization. The protective abilities were correlated with the amount of injected DNA and the length of time after vaccination.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A single immunization of 100 μg H5 HA DNA vaccine combined with electroporation was able to provide early protection in mice against homologous virus infection.</p

In silico assessment of biomedical products: the conundrum of rare but not so rare events in two case studies

In silico clinical trials, defined as “The use of individualized computer simulation in the development or regulatory evaluation of a medicinal product, medical device, or medical intervention,” have been proposed as a possible strategy to reduce the regulatory costs of innovation and the time to market for biomedical products. We review some of the the literature on this topic, focusing in particular on those applications where the current practice is recognized as inadequate, as for example, the detection of unexpected severe adverse events too rare to be detected in a clinical trial, but still likely enough to be of concern. We then describe with more details two case studies, two successful applications of in silico clinical trial approaches, one relative to the University of Virginia/Padova simulator that the Food and Drug Administration has accepted as possible replacement for animal testing in the preclinical assessment of artificial pancreas technologies, and the second, an investigation of the probability of cardiac lead fracture, where a Bayesian network was used to combine in vivo and in silico observations, suggesting a whole new strategy of in silico-augmented clinical trials, to be used to increase the numerosity where recruitment is impossible, or to explore patients’ phenotypes that are unlikely to appear in the trial cohort, but are still frequent enough to be of concern

Tracing Changes in Families Who Participated in the Home-Start Parenting Program: Parental Sense of Competence as Mechanism of Change

The present study aimed to (1) determine the long-term effectiveness of Home-Start, a preventive parenting program, and (2) test the hypothesis that changes in maternal sense of competence mediate the program’s effects. Participants were 124 mothers (n = 66 intervention, n = 58 comparison). Four assessments took place during a 1-year period. Latent growth modeling showed that Home-Start enhanced growth in maternal sense of competence and supportive parenting, and led to a decrease in the use of inept discipline. Results of mediational and cross-lagged analyses were consistent with the hypothesized model: Participation in Home-Start was related to the changes in maternal sense of competence, which in turn predicted changes in parenting. The results affirm the importance of directly targeting parental sense of competence in the context of prevention work with parents

The Role of Friends’ Disruptive Behavior in the Development of Children’s Tobacco Experimentation: Results from a Preventive Intervention Study

Having friends who engage in disruptive behavior in childhood may be a risk factor for childhood tobacco experimentation. This study tested the role of friends’ disruptive behavior as a mediator of the effects of a classroom based intervention on children’s tobacco experimentation. 433 Children (52% males) were randomly assigned to the Good Behavior Game (GBG) intervention, a universal preventive intervention targeting disruptive behavior, and facilitating positive prosocial peer interactions. Friends’ disruptive behavior was assessed from age 7–10 years. Participants’ experimentation with tobacco was assessed annually from age 10–13. Reduced rates in tobacco experimentation and friends’ disruptive behavior were found among GBG children, as compared to controls. Support for friends’ disruptive behavior as a mediator in the link between intervention status and tobacco experimentation was found. These results remained after controlling for friends’ and parental smoking status, and child ADHD symptoms. The results support the role of friends’ disruptive behavior in preadolescents’ tobacco experimentation

Competitive Tendering In The Netherlands: Central Planning Or Functional Specifications?

Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies. Faculty of Economics and Business. The University of Sydne

Effects of psychological and psychosocial interventions on sport performance:a meta-analysis

Background: Psychologists are increasingly supporting the quest for performance enhancement in sport and there is a need to evaluate the evidence base underpinning their work. Objectives: To synthesize the most rigorous available research that has evaluated psychological, social, and psychosocial interventions with sport performers on variables relating to their athletic performance, and to address some of the perplexing issues in the sport psychology intervention literature (e.g., do interventions have a lasting effect on sport performance?). Methods: Randomized controlled trials were identified through electronic databases, hand-searching volumes of pertinent journals, scrutinizing reference lists of previous reviews, and contacting experts in the evaluation of interventions in this field. Included studies were required to evaluate the effects of psychological, social, or psychosocial interventions on sport performance in athletes when compared to a no-treatment or placebo-controlled treatment comparison group. A random effects meta-analysis calculating the standardized mean difference (Hedges’ g), meta-regressions, and trim and fill analyses were conducted. Data were analyzed at post-test and follow-up (ranging from 1 to 4 weeks after the intervention finished) assessments. Results: Psychological and psychosocial interventions were shown to enhance sport performance at post-test (k = 35, n = 997, Hedges’ g = 0.57, 95 % CI = 0.22–0.92) and follow-up assessments (k = 8, n = 189, Hedges’ g = 1.16, 95 % CI = 0.25–2.08); no social interventions were included or evaluated. Larger effects were found for psychosocial interventions and there was some evidence that effects were greatest in coach-delivered interventions and in samples with a greater proportion of male participants. Conclusions: Psychological and psychosocial interventions have a moderate positive effect on sport performance, and this effect may last at least a month following the end of the intervention. Future research would benefit from following guidelines for intervention reporting