1,338 research outputs found
The Reliability and Validity of the modified AAHPER Fitness Test as Applied to Freshmen College Males at the University of North Dakota
This thesis topic was basically concerned with two phases. The first phase of the study was to determine the reliability of the Modified AAHPER Fitness Test. The second phase of the study was to determine the validity of this same test. Test administrations were given in a one week period.
The reliability was established by the test-retest method. Thirty-seven subjects participated in two test periods. The validity was established by comparing nineteen subjects\u27 results on a criterion test, to their results on the first administration of the Modified AAHPER Test Items.
All items of the Modified AAHPER Test were found reliable at the .01 level, but only three items (shot put, standing broad jump and the pull-up) were found to have high enough coefficients to be acceptable under certain standards. The pull-up item was not significant at the .01 level in the test for validity. The standing broad jump and 600-yard run-walk were found to have low validity coefficients. This suggests that future tests to validate measures of this kind should measure more closely the same criteria
A Relativistic Type Ibc Supernova Without a Detected Gamma-ray Burst
Long duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) mark the explosive death of some
massive stars and are a rare sub-class of Type Ibc supernovae (SNe Ibc). They
are distinguished by the production of an energetic and collimated relativistic
outflow powered by a central engine (an accreting black hole or neutron star).
Observationally, this outflow is manifested in the pulse of gamma-rays and a
long-lived radio afterglow. To date, central engine-driven SNe have been
discovered exclusively through their gamma-ray emission, yet it is expected
that a larger population goes undetected due to limited satellite sensitivity
or beaming of the collimated emission away from our line-of-sight. In this
framework, the recovery of undetected GRBs may be possible through radio
searches for SNe Ibc with relativistic outflows. Here we report the discovery
of luminous radio emission from the seemingly ordinary Type Ibc SN 2009bb,
which requires a substantial relativistic outflow powered by a central engine.
The lack of a coincident GRB makes SN 2009bb the first engine-driven SN
discovered without a detected gamma-ray signal. A comparison with our extensive
radio survey of SNe Ibc reveals that the fraction harboring central engines is
low, ~1 percent, measured independently from, but consistent with, the inferred
rate of nearby GRBs. Our study demonstrates that upcoming optical and radio
surveys will soon rival gamma-ray satellites in pinpointing the nearest
engine-driven SNe. A similar result for a different supernova is reported
independently.Comment: To appear in Nature on Jan 28 2010. Embargoed for discussion in the
press until 13:00 US Eastern Time on Jan 27 (Accepted version, 27 pages,
Manuscript and Suppl. Info.
Nephropathy in Pparg-null mice highlights PPARγ systemic activities in metabolism and in the immune system.
Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) is a ligand-dependent transcription factor involved in many aspects of metabolism, immune response, and development. Total-body deletion of the two Pparg alleles provoked generalized lipoatrophy along with severe type 2 diabetes. Herein, we explore the appearance and development of structural and functional alterations of the kidney, comparing Pparg null-mice to their littermate controls (carrying Pparg floxed alleles). We show that renal hypertrophy and functional alterations with increased glucosuria and albuminuria are already present in 3 weeks-old Pparg null-mice. Renal insufficiency with decreased creatinine clearance progress at 7 weeks of age, with the advance of the type 2 diabetes. At 52 weeks of age, these alterations are accompanied by signs of fibrosis and mesangial expansion. More intriguingly, aged Pparg null-mice concomitantly present an anti-phospholipid syndrome (APS), characterized by the late appearance of microthrombi and a mesangioproliferative pattern of glomerular injury, associated with significant plasmatic levels of anti-β2- glycoprotein1 antibodies and renal deposition of IgG, IgM, and C3. Thus, in line with the role of PPARγ in metabolic homeostasis, Pparg null-mice first represent a potent model for studying the initiation and the development of diabetic nephropathy. Second, and in relation with the important PPARγ activity in inflammation and in immune system, these mice also highlight a new role for PPARγ signaling in the promotion of APS, a syndrome whose pathogenesis is poorly known and whose current treatment is limited to prevention of thrombosis events
An Early & Comprehensive Millimeter and Centimeter Wave and X-ray Study of Supernova 2011dh: A Non-Equipartition Blastwave Expanding into A Massive Stellar Wind
Only a handful of supernovae (SNe) have been studied in multi-wavelength from
radio to X-rays, starting a few days after explosion. The early detection and
classification of the nearby type IIb SN2011dh/PTF11eon in M51 provides a
unique opportunity to conduct such observations. We present detailed data
obtained at the youngest phase ever of a core-collapse supernova (days 3 to 12
after explosion) in the radio, millimeter and X-rays; when combined with
optical data, this allows us to explore the early evolution of the SN blast
wave and its surroundings. Our analysis shows that the expanding supernova
shockwave does not exhibit equipartition (e_e/e_B ~ 1000), and is expanding
into circumstellar material that is consistent with a density profile falling
like R^-2. Within modeling uncertainties we find an average velocity of the
fast parts of the ejecta of 15,000 +/- 1800 km/s, contrary to previous
analysis. This velocity places SN 2011dh in an intermediate blast-wave regime
between the previously defined compact and extended SN IIb subtypes. Our
results highlight the importance of early (~ 1 day) high-frequency observations
of future events. Moreover, we show the importance of combined radio/X-ray
observations for determining the microphysics ratio e_e/e_B.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Ap
Predictors of Hypertension in Mauritians with Normotension and Prehypertension at Baseline : A Cohort Study
Information on the predictors of future hypertension in Mauritians with prehypertension is scant. The aim of this study was to analyze the 5-year and 11-year risk of hypertension and its predictors in people with normotension and prehypertension at baseline in Mauritius in 1987. This was a retrospective cohort study of 883 men and 1194 women of Mauritian Indian and Mauritian Creole ethnicity, aged 25-74 years old, free of hypertension at baseline in 1987 with follow-up examinations in 1992 and 1998 using the same methodology. The main outcome was 5- and 11-year risk of hypertension. Odds ratios (OR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. The 5-year risk of hypertension was 5.4-times higher in people with prehypertension compared with normotensive individuals at baseline. The corresponding odds for prehypertensive people at baseline regarding 11-year hypertension risk was 3.39 (95% CI 2.67-4.29) in the adjusted logistic regression models. Being of Creole ethnicity (OR 1.42; 95% CI 1.09-1.86) increased the 11-year odds of hypertension compared with the Indian population. It is of importance to screen for people with prehypertension and implement strategies to reduce their systolic blood pressure levels to the recommended levels of 120/80 mmHg. Special attention needs to be given to Mauritians of Creole ethnicity.Peer reviewe
Early multi-wavelength emission from Gamma-ray Bursts: from Gamma-ray to X-ray
The study of the early high-energy emission from both long and short
Gamma-ray bursts has been revolutionized by the Swift mission. The rapid
response of Swift shows that the non-thermal X-ray emission transitions
smoothly from the prompt phase into a decaying phase whatever the details of
the light curve. The decay is often categorized by a steep-to-shallow
transition suggesting that the prompt emission and the afterglow are two
distinct emission components. In those GRBs with an initially steeply-decaying
X-ray light curve we are probably seeing off-axis emission due to termination
of intense central engine activity. This phase is usually followed, within the
first hour, by a shallow decay, giving the appearance of a late emission hump.
The late emission hump can last for up to a day, and hence, although faint, is
energetically very significant. The energy emitted during the late emission
hump is very likely due to the forward shock being constantly refreshed by
either late central engine activity or less relativistic material emitted
during the prompt phase. In other GRBs the early X-ray emission decays
gradually following the prompt emission with no evidence for early temporal
breaks, and in these bursts the emission may be dominated by classical
afterglow emission from the external shock as the relativistic jet is slowed by
interaction with the surrounding circum-burst medium. At least half of the GRBs
observed by Swift also show erratic X-ray flaring behaviour, usually within the
first few hours. The properties of the X-ray flares suggest that they are due
to central engine activity. Overall, the observed wide variety of early
high-energy phenomena pose a major challenge to GRB models.Comment: Accepted for publication in the New Journal of Physics focus issue on
Gamma Ray Burst
A novel explosive process is required for the big gamma-ray burst GRB 060614
Over the past decade, our physical understanding of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) has progressed rapidly, thanks to the discovery and observation of their long-lived afterglow emission. Long-duration (≳2 s) GRBs are associated with the explosive deaths of massive stars ('collapsars', ref. 1), which produce accompanying supernovae; the short-duration (≲2 s) GRBs have a different origin, which has been argued to be the merger of two compact objects. Here we report optical observations of GRB 060614 (duration ~100 s, ref. 10) that rule out the presence of an associated supernova. This would seem to require a new explosive process: either a massive collapsar that powers a GRB without any associated supernova, or a new type of 'engine', as long-lived as the collapsar but without a massive star. We also show that the properties of the host galaxy (redshift z = 0.125) distinguish it from other long-duration GRB hosts and suggest that an entirely new type of GRB progenitor may be required
GRB070125: The First Long-Duration Gamma-Ray Burst in a Halo Environment
We present the discovery and high signal-to-noise spectroscopic observations
of the optical afterglow of the long-duration gamma-ray burst GRB070125. Unlike
all previously observed long-duration afterglows in the redshift range 0.5 < z
1.0 A) absorption
features in the wavelength range 4000 - 10000 A. The sole significant feature
is a weak doublet we identify as Mg II 2796 (W = 0.18 +/- 0.02 A), 2803 (W =
0.08 +/- 0.01) at z = 1.5477 +/- 0.0001. The low observed Mg II and inferred H
I column densities are typically observed in galactic halos, far away from the
bulk of massive star formation. Deep ground-based imaging reveals no host
directly underneath the afterglow to a limit of R > 25.4 mag. Either of the two
nearest blue galaxies could host GRB070125; the large offset (d >= 27 kpc)
would naturally explain the low column density. To remain consistent with the
large local (i.e. parsec scale) circum-burst density inferred from broadband
afterglow observations, we speculate GRB070125 may have occurred far away from
the disk of its host in a compact star-forming cluster. Such distant stellar
clusters, typically formed by dynamical galaxy interactions, have been observed
in the nearby universe, and should be more prevalent at z>1 where galaxy
mergers occur more frequently.Comment: 8 pages, accepted in Ap
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