4,366 research outputs found
The environmental "trade balance" between Scotland and the rest of the UK : an inter-regional input-output and SAM analysis
We use an inter-regional input-output (IO) and social accounting matrix (SAM) pollution attribution framework to serve as a platform for sub-national environmental attribution and trade balance analysis. While the existence of significant data problems mean that the quantitative results of this study should be regarded as provisional, the inter-regional economy-environment IO and SAM framework for Scotland and the rest of the UK (RUK) allows an illustrative analysis of some very important issues. There are two key findings. The first is that there are large environmental spillovers between the regions of the UK. This has implications in terms of the devolution of responsibility for achieving targets for reductions in emissions levels and the need for policy co-ordination between the UK national and devolved governments. The second finding is that whilst Scotland runs an economic trade deficit with RUK, the environmental trade balance relationship for the main greenhouse gas, CO2, runs in the opposite direction. In other words, the findings of this study suggest the existence of a CO2 trade surplus between Scotland and the rest of the UK. This suggests that Scotland is bearing a net loss in terms of pollutants as a result of inter-union trade. However, if Scotland can carry out key activities, such as electricity generation, using less polluting technology, it is better for the UK as a whole if this type of relationship exists. Thus, the environmental trade balance is an important part of the devolution settlement
The ULTRA project (the universities language teaching research agreement) : A joint investigation by Edith Cowan University, Western Australia and the Guangzhou foreign language university, the people\u27s republic of China, into the use of intensive and immersion approaches to language teaching and learning at university level
Submodular Maximization Meets Streaming: Matchings, Matroids, and More
We study the problem of finding a maximum matching in a graph given by an
input stream listing its edges in some arbitrary order, where the quantity to
be maximized is given by a monotone submodular function on subsets of edges.
This problem, which we call maximum submodular-function matching (MSM), is a
natural generalization of maximum weight matching (MWM), which is in turn a
generalization of maximum cardinality matching (MCM). We give two incomparable
algorithms for this problem with space usage falling in the semi-streaming
range---they store only edges, using working memory---that
achieve approximation ratios of in a single pass and in
passes respectively. The operations of these algorithms
mimic those of Zelke's and McGregor's respective algorithms for MWM; the
novelty lies in the analysis for the MSM setting. In fact we identify a general
framework for MWM algorithms that allows this kind of adaptation to the broader
setting of MSM.
In the sequel, we give generalizations of these results where the
maximization is over "independent sets" in a very general sense. This
generalization captures hypermatchings in hypergraphs as well as independence
in the intersection of multiple matroids.Comment: 18 page
Ethical challenges with the left ventricular assist device as a destination therapy
The left ventricular assist device was originally designed to be surgically implanted as a bridge to transplantation for patients with chronic end-stage heart failure. On the basis of the REMATCH trial, the US Food and Drug Administration and the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services approved permanent implantation of the left ventricular assist device as a destination therapy in Medicare beneficiaries who are not candidates for heart transplantation. The use of the left ventricular assist device as a destination therapy raises certain ethical challenges. Left ventricular assist devices can prolong the survival of average recipients compared with optimal medical management of chronic end-stage heart failure. However, the overall quality of life can be adversely affected in some recipients because of serious infections, neurologic complications, and device malfunction. Left ventricular assist devices alter end-of-life trajectories. The caregivers of recipients may experience significant burden (e.g., poor physical health, depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder) from destination therapy with left ventricular assist devices. There are also social and financial ramifications for recipients and their families. We advocate early utilization of a palliative care approach and outline prerequisite conditions so that consenting for the use of a left ventricular assist device as a destination therapy is a well informed process. These conditions include: (1) direct participation of a multidisciplinary care team, including palliative care specialists, (2) a concise plan of care for anticipated device-related complications, (3) careful surveillance and counseling for caregiver burden, (4) advance-care planning for anticipated end-of-life trajectories and timing of device deactivation, and (5) a plan to address the long-term financial burden on patients, families, and caregivers
Functional Plasticity in Somatosensory Cortex Supports Motor Learning by Observing.
An influential idea in neuroscience is that the sensory-motor system is activated when observing the actions of others [1, 2]. This idea has recently been extended to motor learning, in which observation results in sensory-motor plasticity and behavioral changes in both motor and somatosensory domains [3-9]. However, it is unclear how the brain maps visual information onto motor circuits for learning. Here we test the idea that the somatosensory system, and specifically primary somatosensory cortex (S1), plays a role in motor learning by observing. In experiment 1, we applied stimulation to the median nerve to occupy the somatosensory system with unrelated inputs while participants observed a tutor learning to reach in a force field. Stimulation disrupted motor learning by observing in a limb-specific manner. Stimulation delivered to the right arm (the same arm used by the tutor) disrupted learning, whereas left arm stimulation did not. This is consistent with the idea that a somatosensory representation of the observed effector must be available during observation for learning to occur. In experiment 2, we assessed S1 cortical processing before and after observation by measuring somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) associated with median nerve stimulation. SEP amplitudes increased only for participants who observed learning. Moreover, SEPs increased more for participants who exhibited greater motor learning following observation. Taken together, these findings support the idea that motor learning by observing relies on functional plasticity in S1. We propose that visual signals about the movements of others are mapped onto motor circuits for learning via the somatosensory system
The human motor system alters its reaching movement plan for task-irrelevant, positional forces.
The minimum intervention principle and the uncontrolled manifold hypothesis state that our nervous system only responds to force perturbations and sensorimotor noise if they affect task success. This idea has been tested in muscle and joint coordinate frames and more recently using workspace redundancy (e.g., reaching to large targets). However, reaching studies typically involve spatial and or temporal constraints. Constrained reaches represent a small proportion of movements we perform daily and may limit the emergence of natural behavior. Using more relaxed constraints, we conducted two reaching experiments to test the hypothesis that humans respond to task-relevant forces and ignore task-irrelevant forces. We found that participants responded to both task-relevant and -irrelevant forces. Interestingly, participants experiencing a task-irrelevant force, which simply pushed them into a different area of a large target and had no bearing on task success, changed their movement trajectory prior to being perturbed. These movement trajectory changes did not counteract the task-irrelevant perturbations, as shown in previous research, but rather were made into new areas of the workspace. A possible explanation for this behavior change is that participants were engaging in active exploration. Our data have implications for current models and theories on the control of biological motion
Operando Studies of Aerosol-Assisted Sol–Gel Catalyst Synthesis via Combined Optical Trapping and Raman Spectroscopy
New insights have been gained into chemical transformations occurring in the initial stages of aerosol-assisted sol–gel (AASG) synthesis of catalysts. This has been achieved through the combined application of optical trapping and Raman spectroscopy. AASG is an emerging technology in catalyst manufacturing that presents numerous advantages over conventional approaches, including the ability to access unique catalyst morphologies. However, the processes occurring during synthesis are largely inferred from bulk-phase analyses due to challenges in conducting in situ or operando measurements on moving aerosols within a flow tube. Herein, these obstacles are overcome through Raman spectroscopic interrogation of a single aerosol droplet constrained within an optical trap, which acts as a direct analogue for a particle moving along a flow tube. These studies represent the first operando investigations of AASG synthesis. The synthesis of Ni/Al2O3 catalysts has been studied, with spectroscopic interrogation conducted on each component of the precursor synthesis solution, where possible, up to and including a mixture containing all components necessary for catalyst synthesis. Raman spectroscopy confirms the formation of stable self-assembled macrostructures within the aerosol and provides direct insights into the reaction mechanisms. Crucially, evidence was obtained allowing alternative reaction pathways to be postulated within the confined environment of an aerosol droplet in comparison to bulk-phase syntheses. In aerosols where nickel was not present, but contained all other components, isothermal room-temperature studies showed the formation of stable but unreactive droplets of ∼1 μm, which were proposed to contain micelle-type structures. Upon heating, initial gelation transformations were seen to be achieved at temperatures higher than ∼56 °C. Notably, little loss of spectral intensity corresponding to the C–H stretch (ethanol) was observed from the heated aerosol, implying that evaporation is not a prerequisite for the reaction. When nickel is present in the synthesis solution reactive transformations occur at room temperature, proposed to result in a continuous Al–O–Ni–NO3 structure; a more rapid transformation takes place at elevated temperatures. These results provide the first direct evidence of the processes occurring within aerosols during AASG and shed new light on the mechanistic understanding of this technology. This therefore facilitates the design of new synthetic approaches and hence the production of catalysts and other materials with enhanced properties
A Micro Molecular Bipolar Outflow From HL Tau
We present detailed geometry and kinematics of the inner outflow toward HL
Tau observed using Near Infrared Integral Field Spectograph (NIFS) at the
Gemini-North 8-m Observatory. We analyzed H2 2.122 um emission and [Fe II]
1.644 um line emission as well as the adjacent continuum observed at a <0".2
resolution. The H2 emission shows (1) a bubble-like geometry to the northeast
of the star, as briefly reported in the previous paper, and (2) faint emission
in the southwest counterflow, which has been revealed through careful analysis.
The emission on both sides of the star show an arc 1".0 away from the star,
exhibiting a bipolar symmetry. Different brightness and morphologies in the
northeast and southwest flows are attributed to absorption and obscuration of
the latter by a flattened envelope and a circumstellar disk. The H2 emission
shows a remarkably different morphology from the collimated jet seen in [Fe II]
emission. The positions of some features coincide with scattering continuum,
indicating that these are associated with cavities in the dusty envelope. Such
properties are similar to millimeter CO outflows, although the spatial scale of
the H2 outflow in our image (~150 AU) is strikingly smaller than the mm
outflows, which often extend over 1000-10000 AU scales. The position-velocity
diagram of the H2 and [Fe II] emission do not show any evidence for kinematic
interaction between these flows. All results described above support the
scenario that the jet is surrounded by an unseen wide-angled wind, which
interacts with the ambient gas and produce the bipolar cavity and shocked H2
emission.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ
Spatially Resolved Molecular Hydrogen Emission in the Inner 200AU Environments of Classical T Tauri Stars
We present 2.0-2.4micron integral field spectroscopy at adaptive optics
spatial resolution (~0.''1) obtained with the Near-infrared Integral Field
Spectrograph (NIFS) at Gemini North Observatory of six Classical T Tauri stars:
T Tau, DG Tau, XZ Tau, HL Tau, RW Aur and HV Tau C. In all cases, the v=1-0
S(1) (2.12 micron) emission is detected at spatially extended distances from
the central stars. The bulk of the H_2 emission is typically not spatially
coincident with the location of continuum flux. Multiple transitions detected
in the K-band spectra show that H_2 level populations are typical of gas in
thermal equilibrium with excitation temperatures in the 1800K-2300 K range.
Three of the stars have H_2 velocity profiles that are centered at the stellar
radial velocity, and three show velocity shifts with respect to the system.
Each of the stars studied here show observed excitation temperatures, spatial
extents, and kinematics of the H_2 that are most consistent with shock excited
emission from the inner regions of the known Herbig-Haro energy flows or from
wide-angle winds encompassing the outflows rather than predominantly from UV or
X-ray stimulated emission from the central stars. The data presented in this
study highlights the sensitivity of adaptive optics-fed integral field
spectroscopy for spatially resolving emission line structures in the
environments of bright young stars.Comment: 50 pages, 13 Figures. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journal. Full Resolution paper available at:
http://www.astro.sunysb.edu/tracy/pubs/Beck07.pd
Ionization structure in the winds of B[e] supergiants: I. Ionization equilibrium calculations in a H plus He wind
The non-spherically symmetric winds of B[e] supergiants are investigated. An
empirical density distribution is chosen that accounts for the density
concentrations and ratios derived from observations, and our model winds are
assumed to contain only hydrogen and helium. We first calculate the approximate
ionization radii for H and He and compare the results with the ionization
fractions calculated from the more accurate ionization balance equations. We
find that winds with a r^-2 density distribution turn out to reach a constant
ionization fraction as long as the wind density is low, i.e. in polar
direction. For the high density equatorial regions, however, we find that the
winds become neutral just above the stellar surface of the hot and massive B[e]
supergiants forming a disk-like neutral region. In such a disk molecules and
dust can form even very near the hot central star.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in A&
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