155 research outputs found
Vocabulary interventions for second language (L2) learners up to six years
This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows:. The primary objective is to examine the immediate and long-term effects of second language (L2) vocabulary interventions targeting L2 learners up to six years of age on vocabulary and social-emotional well-being. The secondary objectives are to examine associations between L2 vocabulary interventions and general characteristics of L2 learners (e.g. age, L2 exposure and L1 skills), as well as specific characteristics of L2 learners who do not appear to benefit from treatment
Constraints on the spectral index of polarized synchrotron emission from WMAP and Faraday-corrected S-PASS data
We constrain the spectral index of polarized synchrotron emission, ,
by correlating the recently released 2.3 GHz S-Band Polarization All Sky Survey
(S-PASS) data with the 23 GHz 9-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe
(WMAP) sky maps. We sub-divide the S-PASS field, which covers the Southern
Ecliptic hemisphere, into regions, and estimate
the spectral index of polarized synchrotron emission within each region using a
simple but robust T-T plot technique. Three different versions of the S-PASS
data are considered, corresponding to either no correction for Faraday
rotation; Faraday correction based on the rotation measure model presented by
the S-PASS team; or Faraday correction based on a rotation measure model
presented by Hutschenreuter and En{\ss}lin. We find that the correlation
between S-PASS and WMAP is strongest when applying the S-PASS model. Adopting
this correction model, we find that the mean spectral index of polarized
synchrotron emission gradually steepens from at low
Galactic latitudes to at high Galactic latitudes, in good
agreement with previously published results. Finally, we consider two special
cases defined by the BICEP2 and SPIDER fields, and obtain mean estimates of
and , respectively.
Adopting the WMAP 23 GHz sky map bandpass filtered to including angular scales
only between and as a spatial template, we constrain
the root-mean-square synchrotron polarization amplitude to be less than
() at 90 GHz (150 GHz) for the BICEP2 field,
corresponding roughly to a tensor-to-scalar ratio of
(), respectively. Very similar constraints are obtained for the
SPIDER field.Comment: 14 pages, 13 Figures, to be submitted to A&
From planning the port/city to planning the port-city : exploring the economic interface in European port cities
In last three decades, planning agencies of most ports have institutionally evolved into a (semi-) independent port authority. The rationale behind this process is that port authorities are able to react more quickly to changing logistical and spatial preferences of maritime firms, hence increasing the competitiveness of ports. Although these dedicated port authorities have proven to be largely successful, new economic, social, and environmental challenges are quickly catching up on these port governance models, and particularly leads to (spatial) policy ‘conflicts’ between port and city. This chapter starts by assessing this conflict and argue that the conflict is partly a result of dominant—often also academic—spatial representations of the port city as two separate entities. To escape this divisive conception of contemporary port cities, this chapter presents a relational visualisation method that is able to analyse the economic interface between port and city. Based on our results, we reflect back on our proposition and argue that the core challenge today for researchers and policy makers is acknowledging the bias of port/city, being arguably a self-fulfilling prophecy. Hence, we turn the idea of (planning the) port/city conflicts into planning the port-city’s strengths and weaknesses
The QUIET Instrument
The Q/U Imaging ExperimenT (QUIET) is designed to measure polarization in the
Cosmic Microwave Background, targeting the imprint of inflationary
gravitational waves at large angular scales (~ 1 degree). Between 2008 October
and 2010 December, two independent receiver arrays were deployed sequentially
on a 1.4 m side-fed Dragonian telescope. The polarimeters which form the focal
planes use a highly compact design based on High Electron Mobility Transistors
(HEMTs) that provides simultaneous measurements of the Stokes parameters Q, U,
and I in a single module. The 17-element Q-band polarimeter array, with a
central frequency of 43.1 GHz, has the best sensitivity (69 uK sqrt(s)) and the
lowest instrumental systematic errors ever achieved in this band, contributing
to the tensor-to-scalar ratio at r < 0.1. The 84-element W-band polarimeter
array has a sensitivity of 87 uK sqrt(s) at a central frequency of 94.5 GHz. It
has the lowest systematic errors to date, contributing at r < 0.01. The two
arrays together cover multipoles in the range l= 25-975. These are the largest
HEMT-based arrays deployed to date. This article describes the design,
calibration, performance of, and sources of systematic error for the
instrument
First Season QUIET Observations: Measurements of CMB Polarization Power Spectra at 43 GHz in the Multipole Range 25 <= ell <= 475
The Q/U Imaging ExperimenT (QUIET) employs coherent receivers at 43GHz and
95GHz, operating on the Chajnantor plateau in the Atacama Desert in Chile, to
measure the anisotropy in the polarization of the CMB. QUIET primarily targets
the B modes from primordial gravitational waves. The combination of these
frequencies gives sensitivity to foreground contributions from diffuse Galactic
synchrotron radiation. Between 2008 October and 2010 December, >10,000hours of
data were collected, first with the 19-element 43GHz array (3458hours) and then
with the 90-element 95GHz array. Each array observes the same four fields,
selected for low foregrounds, together covering ~1000deg^2. This paper reports
initial results from the 43GHz receiver which has an array sensitivity to CMB
fluctuations of 69uK sqrt(s). The data were extensively studied with a large
suite of null tests before the power spectra, determined with two independent
pipelines, were examined. Analysis choices, including data selection, were
modified until the null tests passed. Cross correlating maps with different
telescope pointings is used to eliminate a bias. This paper reports the EE, BB
and EB power spectra in the multipole range ell=25-475. With the exception of
the lowest multipole bin for one of the fields, where a polarized foreground,
consistent with Galactic synchrotron radiation, is detected with 3sigma
significance, the E-mode spectrum is consistent with the LCDM model, confirming
the only previous detection of the first acoustic peak. The B-mode spectrum is
consistent with zero, leading to a measurement of the tensor-to-scalar ratio of
r=0.35+1.06-0.87. The combination of a new time-stream double-demodulation
technique, Mizuguchi-Dragone optics, natural sky rotation, and frequent
boresight rotation leads to the lowest level of systematic contamination in the
B-mode power so far reported, below the level of r=0.1Comment: 19 pages, 14 figures, higher quality figures are available at
http://quiet.uchicago.edu/results/index.html; Fixed a typo and corrected
statistical error values used as a reference in Figure 14, showing our
systematic uncertainties (unchanged) vs. multipole; Revision to ApJ accepted
version, this paper should be cited as "QUIET Collaboration et al. (2011)
Public Sector Reform and Governance for Adaptation: Implications of New Public Management for Adaptive Capacity in Mexico and Norway
Although many governments are assuming the responsibility of initiating adaptation policy in relation to climate change, the compatibility of “governance-for-adaptation” with the current paradigms of public administration has generally been overlooked. Over the last several decades, countries around the globe have embraced variants of the philosophy of administration broadly called “New Public Management” (NPM) in an effort to improve administrative efficiencies and the provision of public services. Using evidence from a case study of reforms in the building sector in Norway, and a case study of water and flood risk management in central Mexico, we analyze the implications of the adoption of the tenets of NPM for adaptive capacity. Our cases illustrate that some of the key attributes associated with governance for adaptation—namely, technical and financial capacities; institutional memory, learning and knowledge; and participation and accountability—have been eroded by NPM reforms. Despite improvements in specific operational tasks of the public sector in each case, we show that the success of NPM reforms presumes the existence of core elements of governance that have often been found lacking, including solid institutional frameworks and accountability. Our analysis illustrates the importance of considering both longer-term adaptive capacities and short-term efficiency goals in public sector administration reform
The association between diabetes mellitus, glucose, and chronic musculoskeletal complaints. Results from the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The relationship between diabetes mellitus (DM) and chronic musculoskeletal complaints (MSCs) is unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between DM, non-fasting glucose and chronic MSCs defined as pain and/or stiffness ≥ 3 months during the past year in the general adult population.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The results were based on cross-sectional data from 64,785 men and women (aged ≥ 20 years) who participated in the Nord-Trøndelag Health Survey, which included 1,940 individuals with known DM. Associations were assessed using multiple logistic regression, estimating prevalence odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>High non-fasting glucose was associated with a lower prevalence of chronic MSCs compared to a low glucose level. DM was associated with higher prevalence of chronic MSCs, in particular chronic widespread MSCs. In the multivariate analysis, adjusting for glucose level, BMI, age, gender and physical activity, chronic widespread MSCs was 1.6 times more likely (OR = 1.6, 95% CI 1.2–2.2) among individuals < 60 years of age with DM than among those without DM. The association between chronic widespread MSCs and DM was most evident among the group of individuals aged < 60 years with either type 2 DM or unclassified DM (OR = 1.8, 95% CI 1.3–2.5).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In this cross-sectional study a high non-fasting glucose was associated with lower prevalence of chronic MSCs. Among individuals with known DM chronic widespread MSCs were more likely.</p
The Q/U Imaging Experiment: Polarization Measurements of Radio Sources at 43 and 95 GHz
We present polarization measurements of extragalactic radio sources observed
during the Cosmic Microwave Background polarization survey of the Q/U Imaging
Experiment (QUIET), operating at 43 GHz (Q-band) and 95 GHz (W-band). We
examine sources selected at 20 GHz from the public, 40 mJy catalog of the
Australia Telescope (AT20G) survey. There are 480 such sources within
QUIET's four low-foreground survey patches, including the nearby radio galaxies
Centaurus A and Pictor A. The median error on our polarized flux density
measurements is 30--40 mJy per Stokes parameter. At S/N significance, we
detect linear polarization for seven sources in Q-band and six in W-band; only
detections per frequency band are expected by chance. For sources
without a detection of polarized emission, we find that half of the sources
have polarization amplitudes below 90 mJy (Q-band) and 106 mJy (W-band), at 95%
confidence. Finally, we compare our polarization measurements to intensity and
polarization measurements of the same sources from the literature. For the four
sources with WMAP and Planck intensity measurements Jy, the polarization
fraction are above 1% in both QUIET bands. At high significance, we compute
polarization fractions as much as 10--20% for some sources, but the effects of
source variability may cut that level in half for contemporaneous comparisons.
Our results indicate that simple models---ones that scale a fixed polarization
fraction with frequency---are inadequate to model the behavior of these sources
and their contributions to polarization maps.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures. Submitted to Ap
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