943 research outputs found
Oleate lipase activity in Gardnerella vaginalis and reconsideration of existing biotype schemes
DASI Three-Year Cosmic Microwave Background Polarization Results
We present the analysis of the complete 3-year data set obtained with the
Degree Angular Scale Interferometer (DASI) polarization experiment, operating
from the Amundsen-Scott South Pole research station. Additional data obtained
at the end of the 2002 Austral winter and throughout the 2003 season were added
to the data from which the first detection of polarization of the cosmic
microwave background radiation was reported. The analysis of the combined data
supports, with increased statistical power, all of the conclusions drawn from
the initial data set. In particular, the detection of E-mode polarization is
increased to 6.3 sigma confidence level, TE cross-polarization is detected at
2.9 sigma, and B-mode polarization is consistent with zero, with an upper limit
well below the level of the detected E-mode polarization. The results are in
excellent agreement with the predictions of the cosmological model that has
emerged from CMB temperature measurements. The analysis also demonstrates that
contamination of the data by known sources of foreground emission is
insignificant.Comment: 13 pages Latex, 10 figures, submitted to Ap
Cosmological Parameter Extraction from the First Season of Observations with DASI
The Degree Angular Scale Interferometer (\dasi) has measured the power
spectrum of the Cosmic Microwave Background anisotropy over the range of
spherical harmonic multipoles 100<l<900. We compare this data, in combination
with the COBE-DMR results, to a seven dimensional grid of adiabatic CDM models.
Adopting the priors h>0.45 and 0.0<=tau_c<=0.4, we find that the total density
of the Universe Omega_tot=1.04+/-0.06, and the spectral index of the initial
scalar fluctuations n_s=1.01+0.08-0.06, in accordance with the predictions of
inflationary theory. In addition we find that the physical density of baryons
Omega_b.h^2=0.022+0.004-0.003, and the physical density of cold dark matter
Omega_cdm.h^2=0.14+/-0.04. This value of Omega_b.h^2 is consistent with that
derived from measurements of the primordial abundance ratios of the light
elements combined with big bang nucleosynthesis theory. Using the result of the
HST Key Project h=0.72+/-0.08 we find that Omega_t=1.00+/-0.04, the matter
density Omega_m=0.40+/-0.15, and the vacuum energy density
Omega_lambda=0.60+/-0.15. (All 68% confidence limits.)Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, minor changes in response to referee comment
I-balls
We find that there exists a soliton-like solution ``I-ball'' in theories of a
real scalar field if the scalar potential satisfies appropriate conditions.
Although the I-ball does not have any topological or global U(1) charges, its
stability is ensured by the adiabatic invariance for the oscillating field.Comment: 10 pages,6 figures:revised versio
DASI First Results: A Measurement of the Cosmic Microwave Background Angular Power Spectrum
We present measurements of anisotropy in the Cosmic Microwave Background
(CMB) from the first season of observations with the Degree Angular Scale
Interferometer (DASI). The instrument was deployed at the South Pole in the
austral summer 1999--2000, and made observations throughout the following
austral winter. We have measured the angular power spectrum of the CMB in the
range 100<l<900 with high signal-to-noise. In this paper we review the
formalism used in the analysis, in particular the use of constraint matrices to
project out contaminants such as ground and point source signals, and to test
for correlations with diffuse foreground templates. We find no evidence of
foregrounds other than point sources in the data, and find a maximum likelihood
temperature spectral index beta = -0.1 +/- 0.2 (1 sigma), consistent with CMB.
We detect a first peak in the power spectrum at l approx 200, in agreement with
previous experiments. In addition, we detect a peak in the power spectrum at l
approx 550 and power of similar magnitude at l approx 800 which are consistent
with the second and third harmonic peaks predicted by adiabatic inflationary
cosmological models.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, minor changes in response to referee comment
Application of a Self-Similar Pressure Profile to Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect Data from Galaxy Clusters
We investigate the utility of a new, self-similar pressure profile for
fitting Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect observations of galaxy clusters. Current
SZ imaging instruments - such as the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Array (SZA) - are
capable of probing clusters over a large range in physical scale. A model is
therefore required that can accurately describe a cluster's pressure profile
over a broad range of radii, from the core of the cluster out to a significant
fraction of the virial radius. In the analysis presented here, we fit a radial
pressure profile derived from simulations and detailed X-ray analysis of
relaxed clusters to SZA observations of three clusters with exceptionally high
quality X-ray data: A1835, A1914, and CL J1226.9+3332. From the joint analysis
of the SZ and X-ray data, we derive physical properties such as gas mass, total
mass, gas fraction and the intrinsic, integrated Compton y-parameter. We find
that parameters derived from the joint fit to the SZ and X-ray data agree well
with a detailed, independent X-ray-only analysis of the same clusters. In
particular, we find that, when combined with X-ray imaging data, this new
pressure profile yields an independent electron radial temperature profile that
is in good agreement with spectroscopic X-ray measurements.Comment: 28 pages, 6 figures, accepted by ApJ for publication (probably April
2009
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âIt makes you feel like theyâve actually put effort into it.â Studentsâ perceptions of screen-capture video feedback on assignments on a social science course
This article is the first to examine the use of screen-capture video feedback on student assignments on a social science degree at a British university. It is based on qualitative, focus group, research with students who received one or more video recordings on their academic work over the period 2019â2021. The article first places video feedback in the wider context of research on the subject. Our literature review suggests that whilst video does not herald a pedagogic revolution, it is a considerable advance on orthodox written feedback. Our findings are that students prefer video recordings because they provide (1) an interpersonal aspect to feedback; (2) more extensive, detailed, nuanced and directed coverage of their work than with written comments; (3) a more credible appreciation of their grade. Our discussion ends with a summary of our findings and a breakdown of the benefits and constraints of video feedback
The Influence of Communication Network Centrality on Individual Popularity
Individual popularity has been found to have a positive impact on individual performance, group performance and job satisfaction; however, there remains a limited understanding of the concept and its antecedents in construction projects. In this research study, we propose that the position an individual occupies in the project social network will influence his/her popularity. Although different types of networks exist in project environments (e.g., informal friendship networks), we focus on project-related information-exchange networks to capture individualsâ recurrent patterns of work-related communication. That is, our goal was to consider individualsâ structural positions within the projectâs relatively formal, work-related communication network, rather than the more casual and less work-significant friendship network. A single-case study approach was adopted examining a road construction project in Baoshan City in China. Data collection involved the completion of a questionnaire by project participants, identifying their communication with, and their perception of the popularity of, other project actors. Analysis was based upon actor centrality (degree, betweenness, and closeness) within the communication and popularity networks. The findings supported the proposition and showed that communication network centrality is positively associated with popularity, such that individuals who are more central in the project communication network also assumed central positions in the popularity network. Degree centrality in the project communication network was found to be particularly salient in predicting popularity, underlying the social dominance of the âprominent disseminatorsâ who control a large amount of information resources
Visualising high-dimensional Pareto relationships in two-dimensional scatterplots
Copyright © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. The final publication is availablevia the DOI in this recordBook title: Evolutionary Multi-Criterion Optimization7th International Conference on Evolutionary Multi-Criterion Optimization (EMO 2013), Sheffield, UK, March 19-22, 2013The codebase for this paper is available at https://github.com/fieldsend/emo_2013_vizIn this paper two novel methods for projecting high dimensional data into two dimensions for visualisation are introduced, which aim to limit the loss of dominance and Pareto shell relationships between solutions to multi-objective optimisation problems. It has already been shown that, in general, it is impossible to completely preserve the dominance relationship when mapping from a higher to a lower dimension â however, approaches that attempt this projection with minimal loss of dominance information are useful for a number of reasons. (1) They may represent the data to the user of a multi-objective optimisation problem in an intuitive fashion, (2) they may help provide insights into the relationships between solutions which are not immediately apparent through other visualisation methods, and (3) they may offer a useful visual medium for interactive optimisation. We are concerned here with examining (1) and (2), and developing relatively rapid methods to achieve visualisations, rather than generating an entirely new search/optimisation problem which has to be solved to achieve the visualisationâ which may prove infeasible in an interactive environment for real time use. Results are presented on randomly generated data, and the search population of an optimiser as it progresses. Structural insights into the evolution of a set-based optimiser that can be derived from this visualisation are also discussed
A bound on neutrino masses from baryogenesis
Properties of neutrinos, the lightest of all elementary particles, may be the
origin of the entire matter-antimatter asymmetry of the universe. This requires
that neutrinos are Majorana particles, which are equal to their antiparticles,
and that their masses are sufficiently small. Leptogenesis, the theory
explaining the cosmic matter-antimatter asymmetry, predicts that all neutrino
masses are smaller than 0.2 eV, which will be tested by forthcoming laboratory
experiments and by cosmology.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure
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