SDSS J092712.64+294344.0: recoiling black hole or merging galaxies?

We report long-slit spectroscopic observations of SDSS J092712+294344 carried-out at the recently commissioned 2m telescope in IUCAA Girawali Observatory, India. This AGN-like source is known to feature three sets of emission lines at zem = 0.6972, 0.7020 and 0.7128. Different scenarios such as a recoiling black hole after asymmetric emission of gravitational waves, binary black holes and possible merging systems are proposed for this object. We test these scenarios by comparing our spectra with that from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), obtained 4 years prior to our observations. Comparing the redshifts of [OIII]4960,5008 we put a 3 sigma limit on the relative acceleration to be less than 32 km s^-1 yr^-1 between different emitting regions. Using the 2D spectra obtained at different position angles we show that the [OIII]5008 line from the zem = 0.7128 component is extended beyond the spectral point spread function. We infer the linear extent of this line emitting region is ~8 kpc. We also find a tentative evidence for an offset between the centroid of the [OIII]5008 line at zem = 0.7128 and the QSO trace when the slit is aligned at a position angle of 299 degrees. This corresponds to the zem = 0.7128 system being at an impact parameter of ~1 kpc with respect to the zem = 0.6972 in the north west direction. Based on our observations we conclude that the binary black hole model is most unlikely. The spatial extent and the sizes are consistent with both black hole recoil and merging scenarios.Comment: accepted for publication in MNRAS Letter

Probing the time variability of five Fe low broad absorption line quasars

We study the time variability of five Fe Low ionization Broad Absorption Line (FeLoBAL) QSOs using repeated spectroscopic observations with the 2m telescope at IUCAA Girawali observatory (IGO) spanning an interval of upto 10 years. We report a dramatic variation in Al III and Fe III fine-structure lines in the spectra of SDSS J221511.93-004549.9 (z_em ~ 1.478). However, there is no such strong variability shown by the C IV absorption. This source is known to be unusual with (i) the continuum emission dominated by Fe emission lines, (ii) Fe III absorption being stronger than Fe II and (iii) the apparent ratio of Fe III UV 48 to Fe III UV 34 absorption suggesting an inverted population ratio. This is the first reported detection of time variability in the Fe III fine-structure lines in QSO spectra. There is a strong reduction in the absorption strength of these lines between year 2000 and 2008. Using the template fitting techniques, we show that the apparent inversion of strength of UV lines could be related to the complex spectral energy distribution of this QSO. The observed variability can be related to change in the ionization state of the gas or due to transverse motion of this absorbing gas. The shortest variability timescale of Al III line gives a lower limit on the electron density of the absorbing gas as n_e >= 1.1 x 10^4 cm^-3. The remaining 4 FeLoBALs do not show any changes beyond the measurement uncertainties either in optical depth or in the velocity structure. We present the long-term photometric light curve for all of our sources. Among them only SDSS J221511.93-004549.9 shows significant (>= 0.2 mag) variability.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures, 3 tables, Accepted for publication in MNRA

Designing the Human Right to Peace: The U.N. Perspective and Challenges for Democratic Nations

The United Nations Charter’s purpose is to maintain international peace and security and ensure that armed force shall not be used except in the common interest. The Charter has one primary objective, i.e., to take appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace and prevent another war on a large scale. This is ensured by giving entry to only members who are peace-loving states and who accept the obligations contained in the Charter. For this purpose, the Charter has designed the Security Council so that any threat to peace, breach of peace, or act of aggression can be successfully contained. After the Charter, the United Nations introduced and advanced various declarations, conventions and committees, which raised the idea of peace and the right to peace into the mainstream of human rights. This article critically analyses the right to peace. It looks at the idea of peace being celebrated as an end in itself, within the national framework and the development of the Right to Peace as a Human Right. The paper concludes by emphasising on the relevance of democracy and constitutional framework within nation states

View and Illumination Invariant Object Classification Based on 3D Color Histogram Using Convolutional Neural Networks

Object classification is an important step in visual recognition and semantic analysis of visual content. In this paper, we propose a method for classification of objects that is invariant to illumination color, illumination direction and viewpoint based on 3D color histogram. A 3D color histogram of an image is represented as a 2D image, to capture the color composition while preserving the neighborhood information of color bins, to realize the necessary visual cues for classification of objects. Also, the ability of convolutional neural network (CNN) to learn invariant visual patterns is exploited for object classification. The efficacy of the proposed method is demonstrated on Amsterdam Library of Object Images (ALOI) dataset captured under various illumination conditions and angles-of-view

ASSESSMENT OF PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE REGARDING ANTIBIOTIC USE IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Objective: The present study was designed to investigate the public knowledge and attitude toward antibiotic use in a general population visiting thetertiary care hospital.Methods: A prospective cross-sectional survey conducted for a period of 6-month December-2013 to May-2014. Knowledge scoring was given basedon the percentage of correct responses. Data were collected using a self-prepared questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Associationof respondent's knowledge score with sex, age group, educational level, and income was analyzed by Chi-square test.Results: The results of our study showed that the level of knowledge on antibiotics use was poor in 117 (65%) of the study population who had given<50% correct response. The current study showed that there was a significant difference in knowledge between education level groups (p≤0.0001).The other responses regarding knowledge are 27.2% accepted that antibiotics are indicated for relieving pain and inflammation, 45% of participantsthought that antibiotics are the drugs indicated to reduce fever. About 76.6% of respondents had administered antibiotics without a doctor'sprescription, 44% of respondents used antibiotics with their friends and family member's suggestions. 48% of respondents keep antibiotics stockat home for future use and 79.4% of respondents keep leftover antibiotics for personal future use, 31% share their antibiotics with family memberswhen they are sick and 34% of respondents use leftover antibiotics for a respiratory illness.Conclusion: Patients, as well as healthcare professionals, have a major role to play in attaining rational antibiotic use. Antibiotic awareness campaignsand patient counseling should promote specific messages to public members from the high risk†groups, to fill up the knowledge and attitude gaps.Keywords: Antibiotic use, Self-medication, Attitude, Miss-use, Awareness, Microbial resistance

Laws relating runs, long runs, and steps in gambler's ruin, with persistence in two strata

Define a certain gambler's ruin process \mathbf{X}_{j}, \mbox{ \ }j\ge 0, such that the increments $\varepsilon_{j}:=\mathbf{X}_{j}-\mathbf{X}_{j-1}$ take values $\pm1$ and satisfy $P(\varepsilon_{j+1}=1|\varepsilon_{j}=1, |\mathbf{X}_{j}|=k)=P(\varepsilon_{j+1}=-1|\varepsilon_{j}=-1,|\mathbf{X}_{j}|=k)=a_k$, all $j\ge 1$, where $a_k=a$ if $0\le k\le f-1$, and $a_k=b$ if $f\le k<N$. Here $0<a, b <1$ denote persistence parameters and $f ,N\in \mathbb{N}$ with $f<N$. The process starts at $\mathbf{X}_0=m\in (-N,N)$ and terminates when $|\mathbf{X}_j|=N$. Denote by ${\cal R}'_N$, ${\cal U}'_N$, and ${\cal L}'_N$, respectively, the numbers of runs, long runs, and steps in the meander portion of the gambler's ruin process. Define $X_N:=\left ({\cal L}'_N-\frac{1-a-b}{(1-a)(1-b)}{\cal R}'_N-\frac{1}{(1-a)(1-b)}{\cal U}'_N\right )/N$ and let $f\sim\eta N$ for some $0<\eta <1$. We show $\lim_{N\to\infty} E\{e^{itX_N}\}=\hat{\varphi}(t)$ exists in an explicit form. We obtain a companion theorem for the last visit portion of the gambler's ruin.Comment: Presented at 8th International Conference on Lattice Path Combinatorics, Cal Poly Pomona, Aug., 2015. The 2nd version has been streamlined, with references added, including reference to a companion document with details of calculations via Mathematica. The 3rd version has 2 new figures and improved presentatio

Determining the CPCP Property of httˉht\bar{t} Coupling via a Novel Jet Substructure Observable

Determining the $CP$ property of the Higgs boson is important for a precision test of the Standard Model as well as for the search for new physics. We propose a novel jet substructure observable based on the azimuthal anisotropy in a linearly polarized gluon jet that is produced in association with a Higgs boson at hadron colliders, and demonstrate that it provides a new $CP$-odd observable for determining the $CP$ property of the Higgs-top interaction. We introduce a factorization formalism to define a polarized gluon jet function with the insertion of an infrared-safe azimuthal observable to capture the linear polarization.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Sparseland model for speckle suppression of B-mode ultrasound images

Speckle is a multiplicative noise which is inherent in medical ultrasound images. Speckles contributes high variance between neighboring pixels reducing the visual quality of an image. Suppression of speckle noise significantly improves the diagnostic content present in the image. In this paper, we propose how sparseland model can be used for speckle suppression. The performance of the model is evaluated based on variance to mean ratio of a patch in the filtered image. The algorithm is tested on both software generated images and real time ultrasound images. The proposed algorithm has performed similar to past adaptive speckle suppression filters and seems promising in improving diagnostic content