243 research outputs found
Aluminium-26 production in low- and intermediate-mass binary systems
Aluminium-26 is a radioactive isotope which can be synthesized within
asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars, primarily through hot bottom burning.
Studies exploring Al production within AGB stars typically focus on
single-stars; however, observations show that low- and intermediate-mass stars
commonly exist in binaries. We use the binary population synthesis code
binary_c to explore the impact of binary evolution on Al yields at solar
metallicity both within individual AGB stars and a low/intermediate-mass
stellar population. We find the key stellar structural condition achieving most
Al overproduction is for stars to enter the thermally-pulsing AGB
(TP-AGB) phase with small cores relative to their total masses, allowing those
stars to spend abnormally long times on the TP-AGB compared to single-stars of
identical mass. Our population with a binary fraction of 0.75 has an Al
weighted population yield increase of compared to our population of only
single-stars. Stellar-models calculated from the Mt Stromlo/Monash Stellar
Structure Program, which we use to test our results from binary_c and closely
examine the interior structure of the overproducing stars, support our binary_c
results only when the stellar envelope gains mass after core-He depletion.
Stars which gain mass before core-He depletion still overproduce Al, but
to a lesser extent. This introduces some physical uncertainty into our
conclusions as of our Al overproducing stars gain envelope mass
through stellar wind accretion onto pre-AGB objects. Our work highlights the
need to consider binary influence on the production of Al.Comment: 20 pages, 17 figures, and 6 tables. This article has been accepted
for publication in MNRAS Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of
the Royal Astronomical Societ
Entertainment R&D for Defense
IEEE CG&A, January/February 2003, pp.28-36.Accepted/Published Paper (Refereed
Local orthorhombicity in the magnetic phase of the hole-doped iron-arsenide superconductor SrNaFeAs
We report temperature-dependent pair distribution function measurements of
SrNaFeAs, an iron-based superconductor system that
contains a magnetic phase with reentrant tetragonal symmetry, known as the
magnetic phase. Quantitative refinements indicate that the instantaneous
local structure in the phase is comprised of fluctuating orthorhombic
regions with a length scale of 2 nm, despite the tetragonal symmetry of
the average static structure. Additionally, local orthorhombic fluctuations
exist on a similar length scale at temperatures well into the paramagnetic
tetragonal phase. These results highlight the exceptionally large nematic
susceptibility of iron-based superconductors and have significant implications
for the magnetic phase and the neighboring and superconducting
phases
Viability of novae as sources of Galactic lithium
Of all the light elements, the evolution of lithium (Li) in the Milky Way is
perhaps the most difficult to explain. Li is difficult to synthesize and is
easily destroyed, making most stellar sites unsuitable for producing Li in
sufficient quantities to account for the proto-solar abundance. For decades,
novae have been proposed as a potential explanation to this 'Galactic Li
problem', and the recent detection of 7Be in the ejecta of multiple nova
eruptions has breathed new life into this theory. In this work, we assess the
viability of novae as dominant producers of Li in the Milky Way. We present the
most comprehensive treatment of novae in a galactic chemical evolution code to
date, testing theoretical- and observationally-derived nova Li yields by
integrating metallicity-dependent nova ejecta profiles computed using the
binary population synthesis code binary c with the galactic chemical evolution
code OMEGA+. We find that our galactic chemical evolution models which use
observationally-derived Li yields account for the proto-solar Li abundance very
well, while models relying on theoretical nova yields cannot reproduce the
proto-solar observation. A brief exploration of physical uncertainties
including single-stellar yields, the metallicity resolution of our nova
treatment, common-envelope physics, and nova accretion efficiencies indicates
that this result is robust to physical assumptions. Scatter within the
observationally-derived Li yields in novae is identified as the primary source
of uncertainty, motivating further observations of 7Be in nova ejecta.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJL 28/7/202
Potential gains in life expectancy from reducing amenable mortality among people diagnosed with serious mental illness in the United Kingdom.
BACKGROUND: To estimate the potential gain in life expectancy from addressing modifiable risk factors for all-cause mortality (excluding suicide and deaths from accidents or violence) across specific serious mental illness (SMI) subgroups, namely schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorders, and bipolar disorders in a Western population. METHODS: We have used relative risks from recent meta-analyses to estimate the population attribution fraction (PAF) due to specific modifiable risk factors known to be associated with all-cause mortality within SMI. The potential gain in life expectancy at birth, age 50 and age 65 years were assessed by estimating the combined effect of modifiable risk factors from different contextual levels (behavioural, healthcare, social) and accounting for the effectiveness of existing interventions tackling these factors. Projections for annual gain in life expectancy at birth during a two-decade was estimated using the Annual Percentage Change (APC) formula. The predicted estimates were based on mortality rates for year 2014-2015. RESULTS: Based on the effectiveness of existing interventions targeting these modifiable risk factors, we estimated potential gain in life expectancy at birth of four (bipolar disorders), six (schizoaffective disorders), or seven years (schizophrenia). The gain in life expectancy at age 50 years was three (bipolar disorders) or five (schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders) years. The projected gain in life expectancy at age 65 years was three (bipolar disorders) or four (schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders) years. CONCLUSIONS: The implementation of existing interventions targeting modifiable risk factors could narrow the current mortality gap between the general and the SMI populations by 24% (men) to 28% (women). These projections represent ideal circumstances and without the limitation of overestimation which often comes with PAFs
A Revised Design for Microarray Experiments to Account for Experimental Noise and Uncertainty of Probe Response
Background
Although microarrays are analysis tools in biomedical research, they are known to yield noisy output that usually requires experimental confirmation. To tackle this problem, many studies have developed rules for optimizing probe design and devised complex statistical tools to analyze the output. However, less emphasis has been placed on systematically identifying the noise component as part of the experimental procedure. One source of noise is the variance in probe binding, which can be assessed by replicating array probes. The second source is poor probe performance, which can be assessed by calibrating the array based on a dilution series of target molecules. Using model experiments for copy number variation and gene expression measurements, we investigate here a revised design for microarray experiments that addresses both of these sources of variance.
Results
Two custom arrays were used to evaluate the revised design: one based on 25 mer probes from an Affymetrix design and the other based on 60 mer probes from an Agilent design. To assess experimental variance in probe binding, all probes were replicated ten times. To assess probe performance, the probes were calibrated using a dilution series of target molecules and the signal response was fitted to an adsorption model. We found that significant variance of the signal could be controlled by averaging across probes and removing probes that are nonresponsive or poorly responsive in the calibration experiment. Taking this into account, one can obtain a more reliable signal with the added option of obtaining absolute rather than relative measurements.
Conclusion
The assessment of technical variance within the experiments, combined with the calibration of probes allows to remove poorly responding probes and yields more reliable signals for the remaining ones. Once an array is properly calibrated, absolute quantification of signals becomes straight forward, alleviating the need for normalization and reference hybridizations
Report from the conference, ‘identifying obstacles to applying big data in agriculture’
Data-centric technology has not undergone widespread adoption in production agriculture but could address global needs for food security and farm profitability. Participants in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) funded conference, “Identifying Obstacles to Applying Big Data in Agriculture,” held in Houston, TX, in August 2018, defined detailed scenarios in which on-farm decisions could benefit from the application of Big Data. The participants came from multiple academic fields, agricultural industries and government organizations and, in addition to defining the scenarios, they identified obstacles to implementing Big Data in these scenarios as well as potential solutions. This communication is a report on the conference and its outcomes. Two scenarios are included to represent the overall key findings in commonly identified obstacles and solutions: “In-season yield prediction for real-time decision-making”, and “Sow lameness.” Common obstacles identified at the conference included error in the data, inaccessibility of the data, unusability of the data, incompatibility of data generation and processing systems, the inconvenience of handling the data, the lack of a clear return on investment (ROI) and unclear ownership. Less common but valuable solutions to common obstacles are also noted
Holographic GB gravity in arbitrary dimensions
We study the properties of the holographic CFT dual to Gauss-Bonnet gravity
in general dimensions. We establish the AdS/CFT dictionary and in
particular relate the couplings of the gravitational theory to the universal
couplings arising in correlators of the stress tensor of the dual CFT. This
allows us to examine constraints on the gravitational couplings by demanding
consistency of the CFT. In particular, one can demand positive energy fluxes in
scattering processes or the causal propagation of fluctuations. We also examine
the holographic hydrodynamics, commenting on the shear viscosity as well as the
relaxation time. The latter allows us to consider causality constraints arising
from the second-order truncated theory of hydrodynamics.Comment: 48 pages, 9 figures. v2: New discussion on free fields in subsection
3.3 and new appendix B on conformal tensor fields. Added comments on the
relation between the central charge appearing in the two-point function and
the "central charge" characterizing the entropy density in the discussion.
References adde
Spinneret: Aiding Creative Ideation through Non-Obvious Concept Associations
Mind mapping is a popular way to explore a design space in creative thinking
exercises, allowing users to form associations between concepts. Yet, most
existing digital tools for mind mapping focus on authoring and organization,
with little support for addressing the challenges of mind mapping such as
stagnation and design fixation. We present Spinneret, a functional approach to
aid mind mapping by providing suggestions based on a knowledge graph. Spinneret
uses biased random walks to explore the knowledge graph in the neighborhood of
an existing concept node in the mind map, and provides "suggestions" for the
user to add to the mind map. A comparative study with a baseline mind-mapping
tool reveals that participants created more diverse and distinct concepts with
Spinneret, and reported that the suggestions inspired them to think of ideas
they would otherwise not have explored.Comment: ACM CHI 202
Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial
Background
Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy
- …