4,761 research outputs found
Axion Dark Matter and Planck favor non-minimal couplings to gravity
Constraints on inflationary scenarios and isocurvature perturbations have
excluded the simplest and most generic models of dark matter based on QCD
axions. Considering non-minimal kinetic couplings of scalar fields to gravity
substantially changes this picture. The axion can account for the observed dark
matter density avoiding the overproduction of isocurvature fluctuations.
Finally, we show that assuming the same non-minimal kinetic coupling to the
axion (dark matter) and to the standard model Higgs boson (inflaton) provides a
minimal picture of early time cosmology.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, revtex, v3: explanations and references added,
accepted for publication in Phys.Lett.
Sustainable Adapted Treatments for Eating Disorders: The Role of Cultural Adaptation in Prevention
Despite demonstrating eating disorder rates equivalent to White women, African American and Asian American women are less likely to seek treatment and are more likely to terminate treatment prematurely. One of the most successful programs for eating disorder prevention has only focused on surface-level cultural adaptations. Prevention literature maintains that deep-structure cultural adaptation (e.g., integrating cultural values and beliefs) can enhance outcomes for ethnic minorities. This dissertation examined the feasibility of Sustainable Adapted Treatments for Eating Disorders (SATED), a pilot intervention that included a culturally- targeted pre-treatment to an eating disorder dissonance-based intervention. A sample of 72 women (ages 18-30) were recruited via the SONA pool, student organizations, and community organizations. In Study 1, 47 women participated in focus groups (i.e., 21 African American women and 26 Asian American women). Grounded theory was used to analyze data, and this data was then used to develop a culturally-informed pre-treatment. Pre-treatment protocols (30- 45 minutes) were developed for both African American and Asian American groups and were refined prior to implementing the intervention. In Study 2, a pilot intervention, 25 women were assigned either to a pre-treatment condition, or 30-45 minute, individualized session (N = 12) or a no pre-treatment condition (N = 13) prior to completing an eating disorder DBI which took place over two 2-hour sessions. Participants completed a battery of questionnaires at baseline, post-intervention, and at 2 to 3-month follow-up. Constructs assessed included eating disorder symptomatology, attitudes towards seeking professional psychological help, and body dissatisfaction. Overall feasibility and acceptability of the pre-treatment and pilot intervention were assessed via triangulation of methods including third-party observations, in-depth interviews, and fidelity checks. Preliminary findings from the questionnaires indicated that there was a general downward trend for eating pathology across both the pre-treatment and no pre- treatment condition, except for eating restraint. Body dissatisfaction decreased for both groups from baseline to post-test, but increased at follow-up. Attitudes towards treatment-seeking increased for both groups from baseline to follow-up. Results may inform feasibility issues that accompany translational research with ethnic minorities and inform a future definitive trial
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Improving flood inundation monitoring and modelling using remotely sensed data
Quantum-coherent dynamics in photosynthetic charge separation revealed by wavelet analysis
Experimental/theoretical evidence for sustained vibration-assisted electronic
(vibronic) coherence in the Photosystem II Reaction Center (PSII RC) indicates
that photosynthetic solar-energy conversion might be optimized through the
interplay of electronic and vibrational quantum dynamics. This evidence has
been obtained by investigating the primary charge separation process in the
PSII RC by two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy (2DES) and Redfield modeling
of the experimental data. However, while conventional Fourier transform
analysis of the 2DES data allows oscillatory signatures of vibronic coherence
to be identified in the frequency domain in the form of static 2D frequency
maps, the real-time evolution of the coherences is lost. Here we apply for the
first time wavelet analysis to the PSII RC 2DES data to obtain time-resolved 2D
frequency maps. These maps allow us to demonstrate that i) coherence between
the excitons initiating the two different charge separation pathways is active
for more than 500 fs, and ii) coherence between exciton and charge-transfer
states, the reactant and product of the charge separation reaction,
respectively, is active for at least 1 ps. These findings imply that the PSII
RC employs coherence i) to sample competing electron transfer pathways, and ii)
to perform directed, ultrafast and efficient electron transfer.Comment: Scientific reports 201
A Dual Dilemma: An Examination of Body Dissatisfaction Among Asian American Females in Emerging Adulthood
The purpose of this study was to examine what factors contribute to and result from body dissatisfaction using the theoretical framework of the Tripartite Model of Influence, which included family, peer, and media influence. Participants were recruited from SONA and student organizations and participated in an online survey (N =148). A MANCOVA indicated that Asian and White females did not differ in body dissatisfaction and other health outcomes. Thin-ideal internalization mediated the relationships between media influence, peer influence, and body dissatisfaction among Asian American females. Moderation analyses indicated that ethnic identity, Asian American identity, and acculturation did not moderate the relationship between the three tripartite influences and body dissatisfaction. Finally, a series of multiple regressions indicated that body dissatisfaction significantly predicted disordered eating, cosmetic surgery endorsement, and cigarette use among Asian Americans. Findings suggest that Asian American body dissatisfaction may be more related to Western influence than current literature shows
Identifying and assessing effectiveness of alternative low-effort nitrogen footprint reductions in small research institutions
© The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Messenger, S., Lloret, J., Galloway, J. N., & Giblin, A. Identifying and assessing effectiveness of alternative low-effort nitrogen footprint reductions in small research institutions. Environmental Research Letters, 16(3), (2021): 035014, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abd9f6.Concern over the ecological damage of excess nitrogen has brought increased attention to the role of research institutions and universities in contributing to this problem. Institutions often utilize the concept of the ecological 'footprint' to quantify and track nitrogen emissions resulting from their activities and guide plans and commitments to reduce emissions. Often, large-scale changes and commitments to reduce nitrogen footprints are not feasible at small institutions due to monetary and manpower constraints. We partnered with managers in the dining and facilities departments at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), a small research institution in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, to develop five low-effort strategies to address nitrogen emissions at the institution using only resources currently available within those departments. Each proposed strategy achieved emissions reductions in their sector and in the overall nitrogen footprint of the MBL. If all modelled strategies are applied simultaneously, the MBL can achieve a 7.7% decrease in its nitrogen footprint. Managers at MBL considered strategies that required no monetary input most feasible. The intersection of carbon and nitrogen emissions also means the modelled strategies had the co-benefit of reducing the MBL's carbon footprint, strengthening the argument for applying these strategies. This paper may serve as a model for similar institutions looking to reduce the ecological impact of their activities.The work of the Nitrogen Footprint Tool Network was supported by Cooperative Agreement No. 83563201 awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Students on board: designing a board game for 1000+ students
This case study considers the impact of introducing game based learning into a large-scale, undergraduate, social sciences course. As well as outlining the aims and pedagogy behind the game, we look at the results from the evaluation process and the lessons learnt to take into the future. Overall, feedback from students and staff indicates that the game was successful in engaging students, in developing transferable skills and providing new ways of understanding. However, the impact of the game on students' learning was partly dependent on subsequent activities and how much students had previously engaged with the course materials
Actions Speak Louder Than Goals: Valuing Player Actions in Soccer
Assessing the impact of the individual actions performed by soccer players
during games is a crucial aspect of the player recruitment process.
Unfortunately, most traditional metrics fall short in addressing this task as
they either focus on rare actions like shots and goals alone or fail to account
for the context in which the actions occurred. This paper introduces (1) a new
language for describing individual player actions on the pitch and (2) a
framework for valuing any type of player action based on its impact on the game
outcome while accounting for the context in which the action happened. By
aggregating soccer players' action values, their total offensive and defensive
contributions to their team can be quantified. We show how our approach
considers relevant contextual information that traditional player evaluation
metrics ignore and present a number of use cases related to scouting and
playing style characterization in the 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 seasons in
Europe's top competitions.Comment: Significant update of the paper. The same core idea, but with a
clearer methodology, applied on a different data set, and more extensive
experiments. 9 pages + 2 pages appendix. To be published at SIGKDD 201
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Scheduling satellite-based SAR acquisition for sequential assimilation of water level observations into flood modelling
Satellite-based Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) has proved useful for obtaining information on flood extent, which, when intersected with a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of the floodplain, provides water level observations that can be assimilated into a hydrodynamic model to decrease forecast uncertainty. With an increasing number of operational satellites with SAR capability, information on the relationship between satellite first visit and revisit times and forecast performance is required to optimise the operational scheduling of satellite imagery. By using an Ensemble Transform Kalman Filter (ETKF) and a synthetic analysis with the 2D hydrodynamic model LISFLOOD-FP based on a real flooding case affecting an urban area (summer 2007,Tewkesbury, Southwest UK), we evaluate the sensitivity of the forecast performance to visit parameters. We emulate a generic hydrologic-hydrodynamic modelling cascade by imposing a bias and spatiotemporal correlations to the inflow error ensemble into the hydrodynamic domain. First, in agreement with previous research, estimation and correction for this bias leads to a clear improvement in keeping the forecast on track. Second, imagery obtained early in the flood is shown to have a large influence on forecast statistics. Revisit interval is most influential for early observations. The results are promising for the future of remote sensing-based water level observations for real-time flood forecasting in complex scenarios
Homogenization of Mutually Immiscible Polymers Using Nanoscale Effects: A Theoretical Study
4 p.A theoretical study to investigate homogenization of mutually immiscible polymers using nanoscale effects has been performed. Specifically, the miscibility behavior of all-polymer nanocomposites composed of linear-polystyrene (PS) chains and individual cross-linked poly(methyl methacrylate)-nanoparticles (PMMA-NPs) has been predicted. By using a mean field theory accounting for combinatorial interaction energy and nanoparticle-driven effects, phase diagrams were constructed as a function of PMMA-NP size, PS molecular weight, and temperature. Interestingly, complete miscibility (i.e., homogeneity) was predicted from room temperature to 675 K for PMMA-nanoparticles with radius less than ~7 nm blended with PS chains (molecular weight 150 kDa, nanoparticle volume fraction 20%) in spite of the well-known immiscibility between PS and PMMA. Several nanoscale effects affecting miscibility in PMMA-NP/PS nanocomposites involving small PMMA-nanoparticles are discussed.Financial support by MEC
(Grant no. CSD2006-53), Basque Government (Grupos Consolidados IT-274-07), and
Diputación de Gipuzkoa through C. I. C. Nanogune—Consolider and Nanotron Project is gratefully
acknowledged
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