ON THE MEASUREMENT OF A COSMOLOGICAL DIPOLE IN THE PHOTON NUMBER COUNTS OF GAMMA-RAY BURSTS

If gamma-ray bursts are cosmological or in a halo distribution their properties are expected to be isotropic (at least to 1st order). However, our motion with respect to the burst parent population (whose proper frame is expected to be that of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), or that of a static halo) will cause a dipole effect in the distribution of bursts and in their photon number counts (together termed a Compton-Getting effect). We argue that the photon number count information is necessary to distinguish a genuine Compton-Getting effect from some other anisotropy and to fully test the proper frame isotropy of the bursts. Using the 2B burst catalogue and the dipole determined from the CMB, we find the surprising result that although the number weighted distribution is consistent with isotropy, the fluence weighted dipole has a correlation with the CMB dipole that has a probability of occuring only 10% of the time for an isotropic photon distribution. Furthermore, the photon and number dipoles are inconsistent under the hypothesis of isotropy, at the 2-sigma level. This could be an indication that a non-negligible fraction of gamma-ray bursts originate in the local, anisotropic universe. (shortened Abstract)Comment: Accepted by ApJ. Self-unpacking (use csh), uuencoded, compressed Postscript, 16 pages + 4 Figures (5 files

The Wealth Effect In Equity And Fixed Income

Individual consumption and saving decisions are integral to aggregate economic growth, demonstrated in economic theories such as the exogenous growth model. Behavioral economists have posited that a “wealth effect” plays a factor in individual consumption patterns. In this paper, I use the 1999-2007 cohorts of the Panel Survey of Income Dynamics to explore evidence of a wealth effect in stock equity and fixed income. Using panel data estimation techniques, I find no evidence of a wealth effect stemming from equity or fixed income gains among individuals with concentrated financial wealth

The Low Energy Spectrum of Cosmic Rays as an Indicator of Primary Source Characteristics and Interstellar Propagation

Low energy spectrum of cosmic rays as indicator of primary source characteristics and interstellar propagatio

Hypofractionated stereotactic radiotherapy for intracranial meningioma: A systematic review

Background: The availability of image guidance and intensity modulation has led to the increasing use of hypofractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (hSRT) as an alternative to conventionally fractionated radiotherapy or radiosurgery for intracranial meningiomas (ICMs). As the safety and efficacy of this approach is not well characterized, we conducted a systematic review of the literature to assess the clinical outcomes of hSRT in the setting of ICMs. Methods: A systematic review of Medline and EMBASE databases was performed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Included studies were retrospective or prospective series that examined an ICM population of ≥10 patients, delivered \u3e1 fraction of photon hSRT (≥2.5 Gy per fraction), and had a median follow-up of ≥2 years. Descriptive statistics were generated for included studies. Results: Of 1480 initial studies, 14 met eligibility criteria for inclusion, reporting on 630 patients (age range, 18-90) treated for 638 tumors. Primary radiotherapy was delivered in 37% of patients, 36% had radiation following surgery, and surgical details were unavailable for 27%. In 474 tumors assessed for radiologic response, 78% remained stable, 18% decreased in size, and 4% increased in size. Crude local control was 90%-100% as reported in 10 studies. The median late toxicity rate was 10%. The most common significant late toxicities were decreased visual acuity and new cranial neuropathy. Conclusions: With limited follow-up, the available literature suggests hSRT for ICMs has local control and toxicity profiles comparable to other radiotherapy approaches. Confirmation in larger patient cohorts with a longer duration of follow-up is required

The light curve of a transient X-ray source

The Ariel-V satellite monitored the X-ray light curve of A1524-62 almost continuously from 40 days prior to maximum light until its disappearance below the effective experimental sensitivity. The source exhibited maximum light on approximately 4 December 1974, at a level of 0.9 the apparent magnitude of the Crab Nebula in the energy band 3-6 keV. Although similar to previously reported transient sources with a decay time constant of approximately 2 months, the source exhibited an extended, variable pre-flare on-state of about 1 month at a level of greater than approximately 0.1 maximum light. The four bright (greater than 0.2 of the Crab Nebula) transient sources observed during the first half-year of Ariel-V operation are indicative of a galactic disk distribution, and a luminosity at maximum in excess of 10 to the 37th power ergs/sec

Model-based Speech Enhancement for Intelligibility Improvement in Binaural Hearing Aids

Speech intelligibility is often severely degraded among hearing impaired individuals in situations such as the cocktail party scenario. The performance of the current hearing aid technology has been observed to be limited in these scenarios. In this paper, we propose a binaural speech enhancement framework that takes into consideration the speech production model. The enhancement framework proposed here is based on the Kalman filter that allows us to take the speech production dynamics into account during the enhancement process. The usage of a Kalman filter requires the estimation of clean speech and noise short term predictor (STP) parameters, and the clean speech pitch parameters. In this work, a binaural codebook-based method is proposed for estimating the STP parameters, and a directional pitch estimator based on the harmonic model and maximum likelihood principle is used to estimate the pitch parameters. The proposed method for estimating the STP and pitch parameters jointly uses the information from left and right ears, leading to a more robust estimation of the filter parameters. Objective measures such as PESQ and STOI have been used to evaluate the enhancement framework in different acoustic scenarios representative of the cocktail party scenario. We have also conducted subjective listening tests on a set of nine normal hearing subjects, to evaluate the performance in terms of intelligibility and quality improvement. The listening tests show that the proposed algorithm, even with access to only a single channel noisy observation, significantly improves the overall speech quality, and the speech intelligibility by up to 15%.Comment: after revisio

High-resolution X-ray Spectra Of The Symbiotic Star SS73 17

SS73 17 was an innocuous Mira-type symbiotic star until Integral and Swift discovered its bright hard X-ray emission, adding it to the small class of "hard X-ray emitting symbiotics." Suzaku observations in 2006 then showed it emits three bright iron lines as well, with little to no emission in the 0.3-2 keV bandpass. We present here followup observations with the Chandra HETG and Suzaku that confirm the earlier detection of strong emission lines of Fe Kalpha fluorescence, Fe XXV and Fe XXVI but also show significantly more soft X-ray emission. The high resolution spectrum also shows emission lines of other highly ionized ions as Si XIV and possibly S XVI. In addition, a reanalysis of the 2006 Suzaku data using the latest calibration shows that the hard (15-50 keV) X-ray emission is brighter than previously thought and remains constant in both the 2006 and 2008 data. The G ratio calculated from the Fe XXV lines shows that these lines are thermal, not photoionized, in origin. With the exception of the hard X-ray emission, the spectra from both epochs can be fit using thermal radiation assuming a differential emission measure based on a cooling flow model combined with a full and partial absorber. We show that acceptable fits can be obtained for all the data in the 1-10 keV band varying only the partial absorber. Based on the temperature and accretion rate, the thermal emission appears to be arising from the boundary layer between the accreting white dwarf and the accretion disk.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures. Accepted by the Astrophysical Journa

Subjective Confidence Predicts Information Seeking in Decision Making

There is currently little direct evidence regarding the function of subjective confidence in decision making: The tight correlation between objective accuracy and subjective confidence makes it difficult to distinguish each variable’s unique contribution. Here, we created conditions in a perceptual decision task that were matched in accuracy but differed in subjective evaluation of accuracy by orthogonally varying the strength versus variability of evidence. Confidence was reduced with variable (vs. weak) evidence, even across conditions matched for difficulty. Building on this dissociation, we constructed a paradigm in which participants (N = 20) could choose to seek further information before making their decision. The data provided clear support for the hypothesis that subjective confidence predicts information seeking in decision making: Participants were more likely to sample additional information before giving a response in the condition with low confidence, despite matched accuracy. In a preregistered replication (N = 50), these findings were replicated with increased task difficulty levels

Identification of hydroxyapatite spherules provides new insight into subretinal pigment epithelial deposit formation in the aging eye.

Accumulation of protein- and lipid-containing deposits external to the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is common in the aging eye, and has long been viewed as the hallmark of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The cause for the accumulation and retention of molecules in the sub-RPE space, however, remains an enigma. Here, we present fluorescence microscopy and X-ray diffraction evidence for the formation of small (0.5-20 μm in diameter), hollow, hydroxyapatite (HAP) spherules in Bruch's membrane in human eyes. These spherules are distinct in form, placement, and staining from the well-known calcification of the elastin layer of the aging Bruch's membrane. Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) imaging confirmed the presence of calcium phosphate in the spherules and identified cholesterol enrichment in their core. Using HAP-selective fluorescent dyes, we show that all types of sub-RPE deposits in the macula, as well as in the periphery, contain numerous HAP spherules. Immunohistochemical labeling for proteins characteristic of sub-RPE deposits, such as complement factor H, vitronectin, and amyloid beta, revealed that HAP spherules were coated with these proteins. HAP spherules were also found outside the sub-RPE deposits, ready to bind proteins at the RPE/choroid interface. Based on these results, we propose a novel mechanism for the growth, and possibly even the formation, of sub-RPE deposits, namely, that the deposit growth and formation begin with the deposition of insoluble HAP shells around naturally occurring, cholesterol-containing extracellular lipid droplets at the RPE/choroid interface; proteins and lipids then attach to these shells, initiating or supporting the growth of sub-RPE deposits

The influence of cell adsorbent interactions on protein adsorption in expanded beds

Expanded bed adsorption (EBA) is a primary recovery operation allowing the adsorption of proteins directly from unclarified feedstock, e.g. culture suspensions, homogenates or crude extracts. Thus solid-liquid separation is combined with adsorptive purification in a single step. The concept of integration requires that the solid components of the feed solution are regarded as a part of the process, which influences stability, reproducibility, and overall performance. This aspect is investigated here at the example of the influence of presence and concentration of intact yeast cells (S. cerevisiae) on the adsorption of model proteins (hen egg white lysozyme and bovine serum albumin) to various stationary phases (cation and anion-exchange, hydrophobic interaction, immobilised metal affinity). The interaction of the cells with the adsorbents is determined qualitatively and quantitatively by a pulse response method as well as by a finite bath technique under different operating conditions. The consequence of these interactions for the stability of expanded beds in suspensions of varying cell concentration is measured by residence time distributions (RTDs) after tracer pulse injection (NaBr, LiCl). Analysis of the measured RTD by the PDE model allows the calculation of the fraction of perfectly fluidised bed (φ), a parameter which may be regarded as a critical quantity for the estimation of the quality of fluidisation of adsorbents in cell containing suspensions. The correlation between bed stability and performance is made by analysing the breakthrough of model proteins during adsorption from unclarified yeast culture broth. A clear relationship is found between the degree of cell/adsorbent interaction, bed stability in terms of the φ parameter, and the sorption efficiency. Only beds characterised by a φ; value larger than 0.8 in the presence of cells will show a conserved performance compared to adsorption from cell free solutions. A drop in φ, which is due to interactions of the fluidised adsorbent particles with cells from the feed, will directly result in a reduced breakthrough efficiency. The data presented highlight the importance of including the potential interaction of solid feedstock components and the expanded adsorbents into the design of EBA processes, as the interrelation found here is a key factor for the overall performance of EBA as a truly integrated operation. © 2000 Elsevier Science B.V.Fil: Fernandez Lahore, Hector. Universitat Dusseldorf; Alemania. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Geilenkirchen, S.. Universitat Dusseldorf; AlemaniaFil: Boldt, K.. Universitat Dusseldorf; AlemaniaFil: Nagel, A.. Universitat Dusseldorf; AlemaniaFil: Kula, M. R.. Universitat Dusseldorf; AlemaniaFil: Thömmes, J.. Universitat Dusseldorf; Alemani