2,425 research outputs found
Strong latitudinal shear in the shallow convection zone of a rapidly rotating A-star
We have derived the mean broadening profile of the star V102 in the region of
the open cluster IC4665 from high resolution spectroscopy. At a projected
equatorial rotation velocity of vsini = (105 +- 12)km/s we find strong
deviation from classical rotation. We discuss several scenarios, the most
plausible being strong differential rotation in latitudinal direction. For this
scenario we find a difference in angular velocity of DeltaOmega = 3.6 +- 0.8
rad/d (DeltaOmega/Omega = 0.42 +- 0.09). From the Halpha line we derive a
spectral type of A9 and support photometric measurements classifying IC4665
V102 as a non-member of IC4665. At such early spectral type this is the
strongest case of differential rotation observed so far. Together with three
similar stars, IC4665 V102 seems to form a new class of objects that exhibit
extreme latitudinal shear in a very shallow convective envelope.Comment: accepted for A&A Letter
Assessing the effects of the first 2 years of industry-led badger culling in England on the incidence of bovine tuberculosis in cattle in 2013–2015
Culling badgers to control the transmission of bovine tuberculosis (TB) between this wildlife reservoir and cattle has been widely debated. Industry-led culling began in Somerset and Gloucestershire between August and November 2013 to reduce local badger populations. Industry-led culling is not designed to be a randomised and controlled trial of the impact of culling on cattle incidence. Nevertheless, it is important to monitor the effects of the culling and, taking the study limitations into account, perform a cautious evaluation of the impacts. A standardised method for selecting areas matched to culling areas in factors found to affect cattle TB risk has been developed to evaluate the impact of badger culling on cattle TB incidence. The association between cattle TB incidence and badger culling in the first two years has been assessed. Descriptive analyses without controlling for confounding showed no association between culling and TB incidence for Somerset, or for either of the buffer areas for the first two years since culling began. A weak association was observed in Gloucestershire for Year 1 only. Multivariable analysis adjusting for confounding factors showed that reductions in TB incidence were associated with culling in the first two years in both the Somerset and Gloucestershire intervention areas when compared to areas with no culling (IRR: 0.79, 95%CI: 0.72-0.87, p<0.001 and IRR: 0.42, 95%CI: 0.34-0.51, p<0.001 respectively). An increase in incidence was associated with culling in the 2 km buffer surrounding the Somerset intervention area (IRR: 1.38, 95%CI: 1.09-1.75, p=0.008), but not in Gloucestershire (IRR: 0.91, 95%CI: 0.77-1.07, p=0.243). As only two intervention areas with two years’ of data are available for analysis, and the biological cause-effect relationship behind the statistical associations is difficult to determine, it would be unwise to use these findings to develop generalisable inferences about the effectiveness of the policy at present
Maximum-confidence discrimination among symmetric qudit states
We study the maximum-confidence (MC) measurement strategy for discriminating
among nonorthogonal symmetric qudit states. Restricting to linearly dependent
and equally likely pure states, we find the optimal positive operator valued
measure (POVM) that maximizes our confidence in identifying each state in the
set and minimizes the probability of obtaining inconclusive results. The
physical realization of this POVM is completely determined and it is shown that
after an inconclusive outcome, the input states may be mapped into a new set of
equiprobable symmetric states, restricted, however, to a subspace of the
original qudit Hilbert space. By applying the MC measurement again onto this
new set, we can still gain some information about the input states, although
with less confidence than before. This leads us to introduce the concept of
"sequential maximum-confidence" (SMC) measurements, where the optimized MC
strategy is iterated in as many stages as allowed by the input set, until no
further information can be extracted from an inconclusive result. Within each
stage of this measurement our confidence in identifying the input states is the
highest possible, although it decreases from one stage to the next. In
addition, the more stages we accomplish within the maximum allowed, the higher
will be the probability of correct identification. We will discuss an explicit
example of the optimal SMC measurement applied in the discrimination among four
symmetric qutrit states and propose an optical network to implement it.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures. Published versio
A phorbol ester response element within the human T-cell receptor beta-chain enhancer.
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The cost of a primary care-based childhood obesity prevention intervention
Background: United States pediatric guidelines recommend that childhood obesity counseling be conducted in the primary care setting. Primary care-based interventions can be effective in improving health behaviors, but also costly. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the cost of a primary care-based obesity prevention intervention targeting children between the ages of two and six years who are at elevated risk for obesity, measured against usual care. Methods: High Five for Kids was a cluster-randomized controlled clinical trial that aimed to modify children’s nutrition and TV viewing habits through a motivational interviewing intervention. We assessed visit-related costs from a societal perspective, including provider-incurred direct medical costs, provider-incurred equipment costs, parent time costs and parent out-of-pocket costs, in 2011 dollars for the intervention (n = 253) and usual care (n = 192) groups. We conducted a net cost analysis using both societal and health plan costing perspectives and conducted one-way sensitivity and uncertainty analyses on results. Results: The total costs for the intervention group and usual care groups in the first year of the intervention were 64,522, 12,192 (95% CI [13,174]). The mean costs for the intervention and usual care groups were 255, 63 (95% CI [69]) per child, respectively, for a incremental difference of 191, $202]) per child. Children in the intervention group attended a mean of 2.4 of a possible 4 in-person visits and received 0.45 of a possible 2 counseling phone calls. Provider-incurred costs were the primary driver of cost estimates in sensitivity analyses. Conclusions: High Five for Kids was a resource-intensive intervention. Further studies are needed to assess the cost-effectiveness of the intervention relative to other pediatric obesity interventions. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00377767
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