10,522 research outputs found
Price Discovery and the Accuracy of Consolidated Data Feeds in the U.S. Equity Markets
Both the scientific community and the popular press have paid much attention
to the speed of the Securities Information Processor, the data feed
consolidating all trades and quotes across the US stock market. Rather than the
speed of the Securities Information Processor, or SIP, we focus here on its
accuracy. Relying on Trade and Quote data, we provide various measures of SIP
latency relative to high-speed data feeds between exchanges, known as direct
feeds. We use first differences to highlight not only the divergence between
the direct feeds and the SIP, but also the fundamental inaccuracy of the SIP.
We find that as many as 60 percent or more of trades are reported out of
sequence for stocks with high trade volume, therefore skewing simple measures
such as returns. While not yet definitive, this analysis supports our
preliminary conclusion that the underlying infrastructure of the SIP is
currently unable to keep pace with the trading activity in today's stock
market.Comment: 18 pages, 20 figures, 2 table
Resolving the Submillimeter Background: the 850-micron Galaxy Counts
Recent deep blank field submillimeter surveys have revealed a population of
luminous high redshift galaxies that emit most of their energy in the
submillimeter. The results suggest that much of the star formation at high
redshift may be hidden to optical observations. In this paper we present
wide-area 850-micron SCUBA data on the Hawaii Survey Fields SSA13, SSA17, and
SSA22. Combining these new data with our previous deep field data, we establish
the 850-micron galaxy counts from 2 mJy to 10 mJy with a >3-sigma detection
limit. The area coverage is 104 square arcmin to 8 mJy and 7.7 square arcmin to
2.3 mJy. The differential 850-micron counts are well described by the function
n(S)=N_0/(a+S^3.2), where S is the flux in mJy, N_0=3.0 x 10^4 per square
degree per mJy, and a=0.4-1.0 is chosen to match the 850-micron extragalactic
background light. Between 20 to 30 per cent of the 850-micron background
resides in sources brighter than 2 mJy. Using an empirical fit to our >2 mJy
data constrained by the EBL at lower fluxes, we argue that the bulk of the
850-micron extragalactic background light resides in sources with fluxes near 1
mJy. The submillimeter sources are plausible progenitors of the present-day
spheroidal population.Comment: 5 pages, accepted by The Astrophysical Journal Letter
Hyperplastic Polyps Are Innocuous Lesions in Hereditary Nonpolyposis Colorectal Cancers
Aims. To compare methylation profiles, protein expression, and microsatellite instability (MSI) of sporadic, HNPCC, and familial hyperplastic polyps (HPs). Methods. Methylation-specific PCR (MSP) and pyrosequencing assessed p16, MGMT, hMLH-1, MINT 1, and MINT 31 methylation. IHC (Immunohistochemistry) assessed Ki67, CK20, hMLH-1, hMSH-2, and hMSH-6 protein expression. MSI analysis was performed on those polyps with adequate DNA remaining. Results. 124 HPs were identified 78 sporadic, 21 HNPCC, 25 familial, and
the HNPCC group demonstrated no significant differences in overall methylation (P = .186 Chi2). The familial group demonstrated significantly less over all methylation levels (P = .004 Chi2). Conclusions. HPs that occur in HNPCC have no more worrying features at a molecular level than those patients with HPs in a sporadic setting
Photochemistry of Furyl- and Thienyldiazomethanes: Spectroscopic Characterization of Triplet 3-Thienylcarbene
Photolysis (λ \u3e 543 nm) of 3-thienyldiazomethane (1), matrix isolated in Ar or N2 at 10 K, yields triplet 3-thienylcarbene (13) and α-thial-methylenecyclopropene (9). Carbene 13 was characterized by IR, UV/vis, and EPR spectroscopy. The conformational isomers of 3-thienylcarbene (s-E and s-Z) exhibit an unusually large difference in zero-field splitting parameters in the triplet EPR spectrum (|D/hc| = 0.508 cm–1, |E/hc| = 0.0554 cm–1; |D/hc| = 0.579 cm–1, |E/hc| = 0.0315 cm–1). Natural Bond Orbital (NBO) calculations reveal substantially differing spin densities in the 3-thienyl ring at the positions adjacent to the carbene center, which is one factor contributing to the large difference in D values. NBO calculations also reveal a stabilizing interaction between the sp orbital of the carbene carbon in the s-Z rotamer of 13 and the antibonding σ orbital between sulfur and the neighboring carbon—an interaction that is not observed in the s-E rotamer of 13. In contrast to the EPR spectra, the electronic absorption spectra of the rotamers of triplet 3-thienylcarbene (13) are indistinguishable under our experimental conditions. The carbene exhibits a weak electronic absorption in the visible spectrum (λmax = 467 nm) that is characteristic of triplet arylcarbenes. Although studies of 2-thienyldiazomethane (2), 3-furyldiazomethane (3), or 2-furyldiazomethane (4) provided further insight into the photochemical interconversions among C5H4S or C5H4O isomers, these studies did not lead to the spectroscopic detection of the corresponding triplet carbenes (2-thienylcarbene (11), 3-furylcarbene (23), or 2-furylcarbene (22), respectively)
Improving Ebola infection prevention and control in primary healthcare facilities in Sierra Leone: a single-group pretest post-test, mixed-methods study
Background Accomplishing infection prevention and control (IPC) in health facilities in Sub-Saharan Africa is challenging. Owing to poor IPC, healthcare workers (HCWs) were frequently infected during Sierra Leone's Ebola epidemic. In late 2014, IPC was rapidly and nationally scaled up. We carried out workshops in sampled facilities to further improve adherence to IPC. We investigated HCW experiences and observed practice gaps, before and after the workshops. Methods We conducted an uncontrolled, before and after, mixed-methods study in eight health facilities in Bo and Kenema Districts during December 2014 and January 2015. Quantitative methods administered to HCWs at baseline and follow-up included a survey on attitudes and self-efficacy towards IPC, and structured observations of behaviours. The intervention involved a workshop for HCWs to develop improvement plans for their facility. We analysed the changes between rounds in survey responses and behaviours. We used interviews to explore attitudes and self-efficacy throughout the study period. Results HCWs described IPC as ‘life-saving’ and personal protective equipment (PPE) as uncomfortable for providers and frightening for patients. At baseline, self-efficacy was high (median=4/strongly agree). Responses reflecting unfavourable attitudes were low for glove use (median=1/strongly disagree, IQR, 1–2) and PPE use with ill family members (median=1, IQR, 1–2), and mixed for PPE use with ill HCWs (median=2/disagree, IQR, 1–4). Observations demonstrated consistent glove reuse and poor HCW handwashing. The maintenance of distance (RR 1.09, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.16) and patient handwashing (RR 1.19, 95% CI 1.3 to 1.25) improved to >90%. Conclusions We found favourable attitudes towards IPC and gaps in practice. Risk perceptions of HCWs and tendencies to ration PPE where chronic supply chain issues normally lead to PPE stock-outs may affect practice. As Sierra Leone's Ebola Recovery Strategy aims to make all facilities IPC compliant, socio-behavioural improvements and a secure supply chain are essential
Gravitationally lensed quasars in Gaia -- IV. 150 new lenses, quasar pairs, and projected quasars
We report the spectroscopic follow-up of 175 lensed quasar candidates
selected using Gaia Data Release 2 observations following Lemon et al. 2019.
Systems include 86 confirmed lensed quasars and a further 17 likely lensed
quasars based on imaging and/or similar spectra. We also confirm 11 projected
quasar pairs and 11 physical quasar pairs, while 25 systems are left as
unclassified quasar pairs -- pairs of quasars at the same redshift, which could
be either distinct quasars or potential lensed quasars. Especially interesting
objects include 8 quadruply imaged quasars of which two have BAL sources, an
apparent triple, and a doubly lensed LoBaL quasar. The source redshifts and
image separations of these new lenses range between 0.65 - 3.59 and 0.78 - 6.23
arcseconds respectively. We compare the known population of lensed quasars to
an updated mock catalogue at image separations between 1 and 4 arcseconds,
showing a very good match at z1.5, only 47% of the predicted number
are known, with 56% of these missing lenses at image separations below 1.5
arcseconds. The missing higher-redshift, small-separation systems will have
fainter lensing galaxies, and are partially explained by the unclassified
quasar pairs and likely lenses presented in this work, which require deeper
imaging. Of the 11 new reported projected quasar pairs, 5 have impact
parameters below 10 kpc, almost tripling the number of such systems, which can
probe the innermost regions of quasar host galaxies through absorption studies.
We also report four new lensed galaxies discovered through our searches, with
source redshifts ranging from 0.62 to 2.79.Comment: 30 pages, 19 figures, submitted to MNRA
FIRBACK Source Counts and Cosmological Implications
FIRBACK is a one of the deepest surveys performed at 170 microns with ISOPHOT
onboard ISO, and is aimed at the study of cosmic far infrared background
sources. About 300 galaxies are detected in an area of four square degrees, and
source counts present a strong slope of 2.2 on an integral "logN-logS" plot,
which cannot be due to cosmological evolution if no K-correction is present.
The resolved sources account for less than 10% of the Cosmic Infrared
Background at 170 microns. In order to understand the nature of the sources
contributing to the CIB, and to explain deep source counts at other
wavelengths, we have developed a phenomenological model, which constrains in a
simple way the luminosity function evolution with redshift, and fits all the
existing deep source counts from the mid-infrared to the submillimetre range.
Images, materials and papers available on the FIRBACK web:
http://wwwfirback.ias.u-psud.fr wwwfirback.ias.u-psud.frComment: proceedings of "ISO Surveys of a Dusty Universe", eds. D. Lemke, M.
Stickel, K. Wilke, Ringberg, 8-12 Nov 1999, to appear in Springer 'Lecture
Notes of Physics'. 8 pages, 7 eps figures, .sty include
Molecular motion in cell membranes: analytic study of fence-hindered random walks
A theoretical calculation is presented to describe the confined motion of
transmembrane molecules in cell membranes. The study is analytic, based on
Master equations for the probability of the molecules moving as random walkers,
and leads to explicit usable solutions including expressions for the molecular
mean square displacement and effective diffusion constants. One outcome is a
detailed understanding of the dependence of the time variation of the mean
square displacement on the initial placement of the molecule within the
confined region. How to use the calculations is illustrated by extracting
(confinement) compartment sizes from experimentally reported published
observations from single particle tracking experiments on the diffusion of
gold-tagged G-protein coupled mu-opioid receptors in the normal rat kidney cell
membrane, and by further comparing the analytical results to observations on
the diffusion of phospholipids, also in normal rat kidney cells.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure
Effects of disorder in location and size of fence barriers on molecular motion in cell membranes
The effect of disorder in the energetic heights and in the physical locations
of fence barriers encountered by transmembrane molecules such as proteins and
lipids in their motion in cell membranes is studied theoretically. The
investigation takes as its starting point a recent analysis of a periodic
system with constant distances between barriers and constant values of barrier
heights, and employs effective medium theory to treat the disorder. The
calculations make possible, in principle, the extraction of confinement
parameters such as mean compartment sizes and mean intercompartmental
transition rates from experimentally reported published observations. The
analysis should be helpful both as an unusual application of effective medium
theory and as an investigation of observed molecular movements in cell
membranes.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure
- …