2,305 research outputs found
Local Elected Officialsâ Receptivity to Refugee Resettlement in the United States
Local leaders possess significant and growing authority over refugee resettlement, yet we know little about their attitudes toward refugees. In this article, we use a conjoint experiment to evaluate how the attributes of hypothetical refugee groups influence local policymaker receptivity toward refugee resettlement. We sample from a novel, national panel of current local elected officials, who represent a broad range of urban and rural communities across the United States. We find that many local officials favor refugee resettlement regardless of refugee attributes. However, officials are most receptive to refugees whom they perceive as a strong economic and social fit within their communities. Our study is the first in a growing literature on individual attitudes toward refugees to systematically examine the preferences of US local elected officials and offers unique insights into the views of this influential and policy-relevant group
Numerical relativity reaching into post-Newtonian territory: a compact-object binary simulation spanning 350 gravitational-wave cycles
We present the first numerical-relativity simulation of a compact-object
binary whose gravitational waveform is long enough to cover the entire
frequency band of advanced gravitational-wave detectors, such as LIGO, Virgo
and KAGRA, for mass ratio 7 and total mass as low as . We find
that effective-one-body models, either uncalibrated or calibrated against
substantially shorter numerical-relativity waveforms at smaller mass ratios,
reproduce our new waveform remarkably well, with a negligible loss in detection
rate due to modeling error. In contrast, post-Newtonian inspiral waveforms and
existing calibrated phenomenological inspiral-merger-ringdown waveforms display
greater disagreement with our new simulation. The disagreement varies
substantially depending on the specific post-Newtonian approximant used
An Interstellar Conduction Front Within a Wolf-Rayet Ring Nebula Observed with the GHRS
With the High Resolution Spectrograph aboard the Hubble Space Telescope we
obtained high signal-to-noise (S/N > 200 - 600 per 17 km/s resolution element)
spectra of narrow absorption lines toward the Wolf-Rayet star HD 50896. The
ring nebula S308 that surrounds this star is thought to be caused by a
pressure-driven bubble bounded by circumstellar gas (most likely from a red
supergiant or luminous blue variable progenitor) pushed aside by a strong
stellar wind. Our observation has shown for the first time that blueshifted
(approximately 70 km/s relative to the star) absorption components of C IV and
N V arise in a conduction front between the hot interior of the bubble and the
cold shell of swept-up material. These lines set limits on models of the
conduction front. Nitrogen in the shell appears to be overabundant by a factor
~10. The P Cygni profiles of N V and C IV are variable, possibly due to a
suspected binary companion to HD 50896.Comment: 32 pages, Latex, to appear in the Astrophysical Journal, April, 199
Approaching the Post-Newtonian Regime with Numerical Relativity: A Compact-Object Binary Simulation Spanning 350 Gravitational-Wave Cycles
We present the first numerical-relativity simulation of a compact-object binary whose gravitational waveform is long enough to cover the entire frequency band of advanced gravitational-wave detectors, such as LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA, for mass ratio 7 and total mass as low as 45.5M_â. We find that effective-one-body models, either uncalibrated or calibrated against substantially shorter numerical-relativity waveforms at smaller mass ratios, reproduce our new waveform remarkably well, with a negligible loss in detection rate due to modeling error. In contrast, post-Newtonian inspiral waveforms and existing calibrated phenomenological inspiral-merger-ringdown waveforms display greater disagreement with our new simulation. The disagreement varies substantially depending on the specific post-Newtonian approximant used
Thrombopoietin: A Novel Bone Healing Agent
poster abstractCritical-size defects in bones do not heal spontaneously and usually require the use of grafts.
Unfortunately, grafts have several limitations. To improve bone formation, many clinicians now use bone
morphogenetic proteins (BMP), particularly in spinal fusion, fracture healing, and in critical-size defect
regeneration. However, multiple side effects of BMP treatment have been uncovered including increased
incidence of cancer. Thus, there is great interest in alternatives that allow for safe and effective bone
regeneration. Here we show the ability of thrombopoietin (TPO), the main megakaryocyte growth factor,
to heal critical-size femoral defects rodents. 5mm or 4mm segmental defects were created in the femur of
Long Evans rats or C57BL/6 mice, respectively. The defects were filled with a novel bioabsorbable
scaffold which was loaded with recombinant human TPO, BMP-2, or saline, and held stable by a
retrograde 1.6 mm intramedullary Kirschner wire (rats) or 23G needle (mice). Xrays were taken every 3
weeks in rats and weekly in mice. Animal were sacrificed at 15 weeks, at which time micro-computed
tomography (ÎŒCT) and histological analyses were performed. The results observed in mice and rats were
similar. The saline control group did not show bridging callus at any time. Both the BMP-2 and TPO
groups healed the defect, although bridging callus was evident at earlier times in the BMP-2 groups.
However, the TPO groups showed a much more remodeled and physiologic contour on both Xray and
ÎŒCT. ÎŒCT and histological analysis confirms that compared to BMP-2, TPO-treated specimens have a
thicker cortex but smaller diameter and smoother contour. TPO appears to restore the original bone
contour by stimulating osteoblastogenesis, allowing for periosteal bridging and stabilization to occur,
while simultaneously stimulating osteoclast formation. Thus, TPO may serve as a novel bone healing
agent
Clustering in surgical trials : database of intracluster correlations
PMID: 22217216 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] PMCID: PMC3311136 Free PMC ArticlePeer reviewedPublisher PD
Peanut Allergen Reaction Thresholds during Controlled Food Challenges in 2 Canadian Randomized Studies (Canada-ARM1 and PISCES)
In 2 randomized studies addressing peanut allergy (Canada-Food Allergy Risk Management 1 [NCT01812798] and Peanut Immunotherapy Starting in Canada, Evaluation and DiScovery [NCT0 1601522]), we quantified peanut allergen thresholds to food challenge using Bayesian stacked model averaging to inform policy and clinical practice. About 50% of patients tolerated more than 70 mg (~ Œ peanut)
PAMELA and FERMI-LAT limits on the neutralino-chargino mass degeneracy
Searches for Dark Matter (DM) particles with indirect detection techniques
have reached important milestones with the precise measurements of the
anti-proton and gamma-ray spectra, notably by the PAMELA and FERMI-LAT
experiments. While the gamma-ray results have been used to test the thermal
Dark Matter hypothesis and constrain the Dark Matter annihilation cross section
into Standard Model (SM) particles, the anti-proton flux measured by the PAMELA
experiment remains relatively unexploited. Here we show that the latter can be
used to set a constraint on the neutralino-chargino mass difference. To
illustrate our point we use a Supersymmetric model in which the gauginos are
light, the sfermions are heavy and the Lightest Supersymmetric Particle (LSP)
is the neutralino. In this framework the W^+ W^- production is expected to be
significant, thus leading to large anti-proton and gamma-ray fluxes. After
determining a generic limit on the Dark Matter pair annihilation cross section
into W^+ W^- from the anti-proton data only, we show that one can constrain
scenarios in which the neutralino-chargino mass difference is as large as ~ 20
GeV for a mixed neutralino (and intermediate choices of the anti-proton
propagation scheme). This result is consistent with the limit obtained by using
the FERMI-LAT data. As a result, we can safely rule out the pure wino
neutralino hypothesis if it is lighter than 450 GeV and constitutes all the
Dark Matter.Comment: 22page
Integrated Multimedia Timeline of Medical Images and Data for Thoracic Oncology Patients
A prototype multimedia medical database has been developed to provide image and textual data for thoracic oncology patients undergoing treatment of advanced malignancies. The database integrates image data from the hospital pieture archiving and communication system with textual reports from the radiology information system, alphanumeric data contained in the hospital information system, and other electronic medical data. The database presents information in a timeline format and also contains visualization programs that permit the user to view and annotate radiographic measurements in tabular or graphic form. The database provides an efficient and intuitive display of the changing status of oncology patients. The ability to integrate, manage, and access relevant multimedia information may substantially enhance communication among distributed multidisciplinary health care providers and may ensure greater consistency and completeness of patient-related data
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