347 research outputs found
Vulnerability : a view from different disciplines
Practitioners from different disciplines use different meanings and concepts of vulnerability, which, in turn, have led to diverse methods of measuring it. This paper presents a selective review of the literature from several disciplines to examine how they define and measure vulnerability. The disciplines include economics, sociology/anthropology, disaster management, environmental science, and health/nutrition. Differences between the disciplines can be explained by their tendency to focus on different components of risk, household responses to risk and welfare outcomes. In general, they focus either on the risks (at one extreme) or the underlying conditions (or outcomes) at the other. Trade-offs exist between simple measurement schemes and rich conceptual understanding.Environmental Economics&Policies,Health Economics&Finance,Insurance&Risk Mitigation,Economic Theory&Research,Rural Poverty Reduction
The LCO/Palomar 10,000 km/sec Cluster Survey. I. Properties of the Tully-Fisher Relation
The first results from a Tully-Fisher (TF) survey of cluster galaxies are
presented. The galaxies are drawn from fifteen Abell clusters that lie in the
redshift range 9000-12,000 km/sec and are distributed uniformly around the
celestial sky. The data set consists of R-band CCD photometry and long- slit
H-alpha spectroscopy. The rotation curves (RCs) are characterized by a turnover
radius (r_t) and an asymptotic velocity v_a, while the surface brightness
profiles are characterized in terms of an effective exponential surface
brightness I_e and a scale length r_e. The TF scatter is minimized when the
rotation velocity is measured at 2.0 +/- 0.2 r_e; a significantly larger
scatter results when the rotation velocity is measured at > 3 or < 1.5 scale
lengths. This effect demonstrates that RCs do not have a universal form, as has
been suggested by Persic, Salucci, and Stel. In contrast to previous studies, a
modest but statistically significant surface-brightness dependence of the TF
relation is found, log v = const + 0.28*log L + 0.14*log I_e. This indicates a
stronger parallel between the TF relation and the FP relations of elliptical
galaxies than has previously been recognized. Future papers in this series will
consider the implications of this cluster sample for deviations from Hubble
flow on 100-200 Mpc scales.Comment: 35 pages, 8 figures, uses aaspp4.sty. Submitted to ApJ. Also
available at http://astro.stanford.edu/jeff
The Assembly History of Field Spheroidals: Evolution of Mass-to-light Ratios and Signatures of Recent Star Formation
We present a comprehensive catalog of high signal-to-noise spectra obtained
with the DEIMOS spectrograph on the Keck II telescope for a sample of
F850LP<22.43 (AB) field spheroidal (E+S0s; 163) and bulge dominated disk (61)
galaxies in the redshift range 0.2<z<1.2. We examine the zero point, tilt and
scatter of the Fundamental Plane (FP) as a function of redshift and
morphological properties, carefully accounting for luminosity-dependent biases
via Montecarlo simulations. The evolution of the overall FP can be represented
by a mean change in effective mass-to-light ratio given by <d \log (M/L_{\rm
B})/dz>=-0.72^{+0.07}_{-0.05}\pm0.04. However, this evolution depends
significantly on the dynamical mass, being slower for larger masses as reported
in a previous letter. In addition, we separately show the intrinsic scatter of
the FP increases with redshift as d(rms(M/L_{\rm B}))/dz=0.040\pm0.015.
Although these trends are consistent with single burst populations which formed
at for high mass spheroidals and z_{f}~1.2 for lower mass systems, a
more realistic picture is that most of the stellar mass formed in all systems
at z>2 with subsequent activity continuing to lower redshifts (z<1.2). The
fraction of stellar mass formed at recent times depend strongly on galactic
mass, ranging from <1% for masses above 10^{11.5} M_{\odot} to 20-40% below
10^{11} M_{\odot}. Independent support for recent activity is provided by
spectroscopic ([\ion{O}{2}] emission, H\delta) and photometric (blue cores and
broad-band colors) diagnostics. Via the analysis of a large sample with many
independent diagnostics, we are able to reconcile previously disparate
interpretations of the assembly history of field spheroidals. [Abridged]Comment: 26 pages including 24 figures, submitted to ApJ. Complete and compact
version with full resolution images available at
http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~ttreu/ms.pd
Translating statistical species-habitat models to interactive decision support tools
Understanding species-habitat relationships is vital to successful conservation, but the tools used to communicate species-habitat relationships are often poorly suited to the information needs of conservation practitioners. Here we present a novel method for translating a statistical species-habitat model, a regression analysis relating ring-necked pheasant abundance to landcover, into an interactive online tool. The Pheasant Habitat Simulator combines the analytical power of the R programming environment with the user-friendly Shiny web interface to create an online platform in which wildlife professionals can explore the effects of variation in local landcover on relative pheasant habitat suitability within spatial scales relevant to individual wildlife managers. Our tool allows users to virtually manipulate the landcover composition of a simulated space to explore how changes in landcover may affect pheasant relative habitat suitability, and guides users through the economic tradeoffs of landscape changes. We offer suggestions for development of similar interactive applications and demonstrate their potential as innovative science delivery tools for diverse professional and public audience
Immunophenotypic characterization of reactive and neoplastic plasmacytoid dendritic cells permits establishment of a 10-color flow cytometric panel for initial workup and residual disease evaluation of blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm
Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) is a rare hematopoietic neoplasm whose immunophenotype remains incompletely characterized, particularly in terms of distinction from reactive plasmacytoid dendritic cells (PDCs). This limitation complicates detection of low-level involvement by BPDCN as well as minimal residual disease (MRD) assessment following therapy. We conducted the current study to characterize the immunophenotype of BPDCN in a cohort of 39 patients, and compared it to reactive PDCs. We found that, in addition to CD56 expression (97%), BPDCN showed a number of aberrancies, including decreased/negative CD38 (82%), positive CD7 (64%), negative CD2 (81%), negative CD303 (56%), increased HLA-DR (69%) and decreased CD123 (78%). Although BPDCN cells were characterized by CD56 expression, reactive PDCs consistently included a CD56-positive subset, ranging 1.3%-20% (median 4.5%) of total PDCs, challenging MRD detection. These CD56+ reactive PDCs, however, were consistently positive for CD2 and CD303, brightly positive for CD38, and negative for CD7, distinctively different from BPDCN. Based on these findings, we set up a 10-color flow cytometry assay for BPDCN and validated it to a sensitivity of 0.01%. This panel was prospectively tested in 19 bone marrow samples from 7 BPDCN patients, and it effectively distinguished BPDCN cells from background reactive PDCs in all cases. In summary, by understanding the immunophenotype of reactive and neoplastic PDCs, BPDCN can be effectively detected by flow cytometry to a very low level using a panel of markers in addition to CD56, and such assay can be used for initial bone marrow workup as well as MRD detection after therapy
The u'g'r'i'z' Standard Star Network
We present the 158 standard stars that define the u'g'r'i'z' photometric
system. These stars form the basis for the photometric calibration of the Sloan
Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The defining instrument system and filters, the
observing process, the reduction techniques, and the software used to create
the stellar network are all described. We briefly discuss the history of the
star selection process, the derivation of a set of transformation equations for
the UBVRcIc system, and plans for future work.Comment: References to URLs in paper have been updated to reflect moved
website. Accepted by AJ. 50 pages, including 20 pages of text, 9 tables, and
15 figures. Plain ASCII text versions of Tables 8 and 9 can be found at
http://home.fnal.gov/~dtucker/ugriz/index.html (new URL
Tissue registration and exploration user interfaces in support of a human reference atlas
Seventeen international consortia are collaborating on a human reference atlas (HRA), a comprehensive, high-resolution, three-dimensional atlas of all the cells in the healthy human body. Laboratories around the world are collecting tissue specimens from donors varying in sex, age, ethnicity, and body mass index. However, harmonizing tissue data across 25 organs and more than 15 bulk and spatial single-cell assay types poses challenges. Here, we present software tools and user interfaces developed to spatially and semantically annotate ( register ) and explore the tissue data and the evolving HRA. A key part of these tools is a common coordinate framework, providing standard terminologies and data structures for describing specimen, biological structure, and spatial data linked to existing ontologies. As of April 22, 2022, the registration user interface has been used to harmonize and publish data on 5,909 tissue blocks collected by the Human Biomolecular Atlas Program (HuBMAP), the Stimulating Peripheral Activity to Relieve Conditions program (SPARC), the Human Cell Atlas (HCA), the Kidney Precision Medicine Project (KPMP), and the Genotype Tissue Expression project (GTEx). Further, 5,856 tissue sections were derived from 506 HuBMAP tissue blocks. The second exploration user interface enables consortia to evaluate data quality, explore tissue data spatially within the context of the HRA, and guide data acquisition. A companion website is at https://cns-iu.github.io/HRA-supporting-information/
Technical Aspects of Flow Cytometry-based Measurable Residual Disease Quantification in Acute Myeloid Leukemia: Experience of the European LeukemiaNet MRD Working Party
Measurable residual disease (MRD) quantified by multiparameter flow cytometry (MFC) is a strong and independent prognostic
factor in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, several technical factors may affect the final read-out of the assay. Experts from
the MRD Working Party of the European LeukemiaNet evaluated which aspects are crucial for accurate MFC-MRD measurement.
Here, we report on the agreement, obtained via a combination of a cross-sectional questionnaire, live discussions, and a Delphi poll.
The recommendations consist of several key issues from bone marrow sampling to final laboratory reporting to ensure quality and
reproducibility of results. Furthermore, the experiences were tested by comparing two 8-color MRD panels in multiple laboratories.
The results presented here underscore the feasibility and the utility of a harmonized theoretical and practical MFC-MRD assessment
and are a next step toward further harmonization
The u\u27g\u27r\u27i\u27z\u27 Standard Star Setwork
We present the 158 standard stars that define the u\u27g\u27r\u27i\u27z\u27 photometric system. These stars form the basis for the photometric calibration of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The defining instrument system and filters, the observing process, the reduction techniques, and the software used to create the stellar network are all described. We briefly discuss the history of the star selection process, the derivation of a set of transformation equations for the UBVRcIc system, and plans for future work. (Refer to PDF file for exact formulas)
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