Estimations of the Distances of Stellar Collapses in the Galaxy by Analyzing the Energy Spectrum of Neutrino Bursts

The neutrino telescopes of the present generation, depending on their specific features, can reconstruct the neutrino spectra from a galactic burst. Since the optical counterpart could be not available, it is desirable to have at hand alternative methods to estimate the distance of the supernova explosion using only the neutrino data. In this work we present preliminary results on the method we are proposing to estimate the distance from a galactic supernova based only on the spectral shape of the neutrino burst and assumptions on the gravitational binding energy released an a typical supernova explosion due to stellar collapses.Comment: Proceedings of the Second International Symposium on Strong Electromagnetic Fields and Neutron Stars (SMFNS 2011) Instituto de Cibern\'etica, Matem\'atica y F\'isica (ICIMAF) Sociedad Cubana de F\'isica (SCF) Varadero, Cuba, 5-7 May 201

High-resolution provenance of desert dust deposited on Mt. Elbrus, Caucasus in 2009–2012 using snow pit and firn core records

The first record of dust deposition events on Mt. Elbrus, Caucasus Mountains derived from a snow pit and a shallow firn core is presented for the 2009–2012 period. A combination of isotopic analysis, SEVIRI red-greenblue composite imagery, MODIS atmospheric optical depth fields derived using the Deep Blue algorithm, air mass trajectories derived using the HYSPLIT model and analyses of meteorological data enabled identification of dust source regions with high temporal (hours) and spatial (ca. 20–100 km) resolution. Seventeen dust deposition events were detected; fourteen occurred in March–June, one in February and two in October. Four events originated in the Sahara, predominantly in northeastern Libya and eastern Algeria. Thirteen events originated in the Middle East, in the Syrian Desert and northern Mesopotamia, from a mixture of natural and anthropogenic sources. Dust transportation from Sahara was associated with vigorous Saharan depressions, strong surface winds in the source region and mid-tropospheric southwesterly flow with daily winds speeds of 20–30 m s−1 at 700 hPa level. Although these events were less frequent than those originating in the Middle East, they resulted in higher dust concentrations in snow. Dust transportation from the Middle East was associated with weaker depressions forming over the source region, high pressure centred over or extending towards the Caspian Sea and a weaker southerly or southeasterly flow towards the Caucasus Mountains with daily wind speeds of 12–18 m s−1 at 700 hPa level. Higher concentrations of nitrates and ammonium characterised dust from the Middle East deposited on Mt. Elbrus in 2009 indicating contribution of anthropogenic sources. The modal values of particle size distributions ranged between 1.98 µm and 4.16 µm. Most samples were characterised by modal values of 2.0– 2.8 µm with an average of 2.6 µm and there was no signifi- cant difference between dust from the Sahara and the Middle East

Quantum Symmetries and Strong Haagerup Inequalities

In this paper, we consider families of operators $\{x_r\}_{r \in \Lambda}$ in a tracial C$^\ast$-probability space $(\mathcal A, \phi)$, whose joint $\ast$-distribution is invariant under free complexification and the action of the hyperoctahedral quantum groups $\{H_n^+\}_{n \in \N}$. We prove a strong form of Haagerup's inequality for the non-self-adjoint operator algebra $\mathcal B$ generated by $\{x_r\}_{r \in \Lambda}$, which generalizes the strong Haagerup inequalities for $\ast$-free R-diagonal families obtained by Kemp-Speicher \cite{KeSp}. As an application of our result, we show that $\mathcal B$ always has the metric approximation property (MAP). We also apply our techniques to study the reduced C$^\ast$-algebra of the free unitary quantum group $U_n^+$. We show that the non-self-adjoint subalgebra $\mathcal B_n$ generated by the matrix elements of the fundamental corepresentation of $U_n^+$ has the MAP. Additionally, we prove a strong Haagerup inequality for $\mathcal B_n$, which improves on the estimates given by Vergnioux's property RD \cite{Ve}

Oral dosing for antenatal corticosteroids in the Rhesus macaque.

Antenatal corticosteroids (ACS) are standard of care for women at risk of preterm delivery, although choice of drug, dose or route have not been systematically evaluated. Further, ACS are infrequently used in low resource environments where most of the mortality from prematurity occurs. We report proof of principle experiments to test betamethasone-phosphate (Beta-P) or dexamethasone-phosphate (Dex-P) given orally in comparison to the clinical treatment with the intramuscular combination drug beta-phosphate plus beta-acetate in a Rhesus Macaque model. First, we performed pharmacokinetic studies in non-pregnant monkeys to compare blood levels of the steroids using oral dosing with Beta-P, Dex-P and an effective maternal intramuscular dose of the beta-acetate component of the clinical treatment. We then evaluated maternal and fetal blood steroid levels with limited fetal sampling under ultrasound guidance in pregnant macaques. We found that oral Beta is more slowly cleared from plasma than oral Dex. The blood levels of both drugs were lower in maternal plasma of pregnant than in non-pregnant macaques. Using the pharmacokinetic data, we treated groups of 6-8 pregnant monkeys with oral Beta-P, oral Dex-P, or the maternal intramuscular clinical treatment and saline controls and measured pressure-volume curves to assess corticosteroid effects on lung maturation at 5d. Oral Beta-P improved the pressure-volume curves similarly to the clinical treatment. Oral Dex-P gave more variable and nonsignificant responses. We then compared gene expression in the fetal lung, liver and hippocampus between oral Beta-P and the clinical treatment by RNA-sequencing. The transcriptomes were largely similar with small gene expression differences in the lung and liver, and no differences in the hippocampus between the groups. As proof of principle, ACS therapy can be effective using inexpensive and widely available oral drugs. Clinical dosing strategies must carefully consider the pharmacokinetics of oral Beta-P or Dex-P to minimize fetal exposure while achieving the desired treatment responses