259 research outputs found
Supplementary materials to: Cow characteristics associated with the variation in number of contacts between dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science
Mapping the Shores of the Brown Dwarf Desert III: Young Moving Groups
We present the results of an aperture masking interferometry survey for
substellar companions around 67 members of the young (~8-200Myr) nearby
(~5-86pc) AB Doradus, Beta Pictoris, Hercules-Lyra, TW Hya, and
Tucana-Horologium stellar associations. Observations were made at near infrared
wavelengths between 1.2-3.8 microns using the adaptive optics facilities of the
Keck II, VLT UT4, and Palomar Hale Telescopes. Typical contrast ratios of
~100-200 were achieved at angular separations between ~40-320mas, with our
survey being 100% complete for companions with masses below 0.25\msolar across
this range. We report the discovery of a \msolar companion to
HIP14807, as well as the detections and orbits of previously known stellar
companions to HD16760, HD113449, and HD160934. We show that the companion to
HD16760 is in a face-on orbit, resulting in an upward revision of its mass from
\mjupiter to \msolar. No substellar
companions were detected around any of our sample members, despite our ability
to detect companions with masses below 80\mjupiter for 50 of our targets: of
these, our sensitivity extended down to 40\mjupiter around 30 targets, with a
subset of 22 subject to the still more stringent limit of 20\mjupiter. A
statistical analysis of our non-detection of substellar companions allows us to
place constraints on their frequency around ~0.2-1.5\msolar stars. In
particular, considering companion mass distributions that have been proposed in
the literature, we obtain an upper limit estimate of ~9-11% for the frequency
of 20-80\mjupiter companions between 3-30AU at 95% confidence, assuming that
their semimajor axes are distributed according to in this range.Comment: Accepted by Ap
Thermochemistry of Alane Complexes for Hydrogen Storage: A Theoretical and Experimental Comparison
Knowledge of the relative stabilities of alane (AlH3) complexes with electron
donors is essential for identifying hydrogen storage materials for vehicular
applications that can be regenerated by off-board methods; however, almost no
thermodynamic data are available to make this assessment. To fill this gap, we
employed the G4(MP2) method to determine heats of formation, entropies, and
Gibbs free energies of formation for thirty-eight alane complexes with NH3-nRn
(R = Me, Et; n = 0-3), pyridine, pyrazine, triethylenediamine (TEDA),
quinuclidine, OH2-nRn (R = Me, Et; n = 0-2), dioxane, and tetrahydrofuran
(THF). Monomer, bis, and selected dimer complex geometries were considered.
Using these data, we computed the thermodynamics of the key formation and
dehydrogenation reactions that would occur during hydrogen delivery and alane
regeneration, from which trends in complex stability were identified. These
predictions were tested by synthesizing six amine-alane complexes involving
trimethylamine, triethylamine, dimethylethylamine, TEDA, quinuclidine, and
hexamine, and obtaining upper limits of delta G for their formation from
metallic aluminum. Combining these computational and experimental results, we
establish a criterion for complex stability relevant to hydrogen storage that
can be used to assess potential ligands prior to attempting synthesis of the
alane complex. Based on this, we conclude that only a subset of the tertiary
amine complexes considered and none of the ether complexes can be successfully
formed by direct reaction with aluminum and regenerated in an alane-based
hydrogen storage system.Comment: Accepted by the Journal of Physical Chemistry
A vaccine displaying a trimeric influenza-A HA stem protein on capsid-like particles elicits potent and long-lasting protection in mice
Due to constant antigenic drift and shift, current influenza-A vaccines need to be redesigned and administered annually. A universal flu vaccine (UFV) that provides long-lasting protection against both seasonal and emerging pandemic influenza strains is thus urgently needed. The hemagglutinin (HA) stem antigen is a promising target for such a vaccine as it contains neutralizing epitopes, known to induce cross-protective IgG responses against a wide variety of influenza subtypes. In this study, we describe the development of a UFV candidate consisting of a HAstem trimer displayed on the surface of rigid capsid-like particles (CLP). Compared to soluble unconjugated HAstem trimer, the CLP-HAstem particles induced a more potent, long-lasting immune response and were able to protect mice against both homologous and heterologous H1N1 influenza challenge, even after a single dose
Rationale and Design of the First Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial with Allogeneic Adipose Tissue-Derived Stromal Cell Therapy in Patients with Ischemic Heart Failure:A Phase II Danish Multicentre Study
Background. Ischemic heart failure (IHF) has a poor prognosis in spite of optimal therapy. We have established a new allogeneic Cardiology Stem Cell Centre adipose-derived stromal cell (CSCC_ASC) product from healthy donors. It is produced without animal products, in closed bioreactor systems and cryopreserved as an off-the-shelf product ready to use. Study Design. A multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase II study with direct intramyocardial injections of allogeneic CSCC_ASC in patients with chronic IHF. A total of 81 patients will be randomised at 2 : 1 to CSCC_ASC or placebo. There is no HLA tissue type matching needed between the patients and the donors. Methods. The treatment will be delivered by direct injections into the myocardium. The primary endpoint is change in the left ventricle endsystolic volume at 6-month follow-up. Secondary endpoints are safety and changes in left ventricle ejection fraction, myocardial mass, stroke volume, and cardiac output. Other secondary endpoints are change in clinical symptoms, 6-minute walking test, and the quality of life after 6 and 12 months. Conclusion. The aim of the present study is to demonstrate safety and the regenerative efficacy of the allogeneic CSCC_ASC product from healthy donors in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre study in patients with IHF
Design and test of an automated version of the modified Jebsen test of hand function using Microsoft Kinect
Abstract Background The present paper describes the design and evaluation of an automated version of the Modified Jebsen Test of Hand Function (MJT) based on the Microsoft Kinect sensor. Methods The MJT was administered twice to 11 chronic stroke subjects with varying degrees of hand function deficits. The test times of the MJT were evaluated manually by a therapist using a stopwatch, and automatically using the Microsoft Kinect sensor. The ground truth times were assessed based on inspection of the video-recordings. The agreement between the methods was evaluated along with the test-retest performance. Results The results from Bland-Altman analysis showed better agreement between the ground truth times and the automatic MJT time evaluations compared to the agreement between the ground truth times and the times estimated by the therapist. The results from the test-retest performance showed that the subjects significantly improved their performance in several subtests of the MJT, indicating a practice effect. Conclusions The results from the test showed that the Kinect can be used for automating the MJT
High-contrast imaging constraints on gas giant planet formation - The Herbig Ae/Be star opportunity
Planet formation studies are often focused on solar-type stars, implicitly
considering our Sun as reference point. This approach overlooks, however, that
Herbig Ae/Be stars are in some sense much better targets to study planet
formation processes empirically, with their disks generally being larger,
brighter and simply easier to observe across a large wavelength range. In
addition, massive gas giant planets have been found on wide orbits around early
type stars, triggering the question if these objects did indeed form there and,
if so, by what process. In the following I briefly review what we currently
know about the occurrence rate of planets around intermediate mass stars,
before discussing recent results from Herbig Ae/Be stars in the context of
planet formation. The main emphasis is put on spatially resolved polarized
light images of potentially planet forming disks and how these images - in
combination with other data - can be used to empirically constrain (parts of)
the planet formation process. Of particular interest are two objects, HD100546
and HD169142, where, in addition to intriguing morphological structures in the
disks, direct observational evidence for (very) young planets has been
reported. I conclude with an outlook, what further progress we can expect in
the very near future with the next generation of high-contrast imagers at 8-m
class telescopes and their synergies with ALMA.Comment: Accepted by Astrophysics and Space Science as invited short review in
special issue about Herbig Ae/Be stars; 12 pages incl. 5 figures, 2 tables
and reference
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