Dataset concerning the analytical approximation of the Ae3 temperature.

In this paper we present a new polynomial function for calculating the local phase transformation temperature (Ae3 ) between the austenite+ferrite and the fully austenitic phase fields during heating and cooling of steel:[Formula: see text] The dataset includes the terms of the function and the values for the polynomial coefficients for major alloying elements in steel. A short description of the approximation method used to derive and validate the coefficients has also been included. For discussion and application of this model, please refer to the full length article entitled "The role of aluminium in chemical and phase segregation in a TRIP-assisted dual phase steel" 10.1016/j.actamat.2016.05.046 (Ennis et al., 2016) [1]

A decision support system for fostering smart energy efficient districts

The role of ICT is becoming prominent in tackling some of the urban societal challenges such as energy wastage and increasing carbon emissions. In this context, the concept of DAREED aims to deliver an integrated decision support system (DSS) to drive energy efficiency and low carbon activities at both a building and district level. The main aim of this paper is to present the technical concept of the Best Practices recommendation component of the DAREED system. This component seeks to compare and identify existing best practices to recommend practical actions to various stakeholders (e.g. building managers, citizens) in order to improve energy performance considering the global needs of a building. This paper also discusses the context of the three field trial sites (based in UK, Spain and Italy) in which the DAREED platform along with the best practices tool is to be tested and validated.This work evolved in the context of the project DAREED (Decision support Advisor for innovative business models and useR engagement for smart Energy Efficient Districts), www.dareed.eu, a project cofunded by the EC within FP7, Grant agreement no: 609082

Modeling the color evolution of luminous red galaxies - improvements with empirical stellar spectra

Predicting the colors of Luminous Red Galaxies (LRGs) in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) has been a long-standing problem. The g,r,i colors of LRGs are inconsistent with stellar population models over the redshift range 0.1<z<0.7. The g-r colors in the models are on average redder than the data while the r-i colors in the models are bluer towards low redshift. Beyond redshift 0.4, the predicted r-i color becomes instead too red, while the predicted g-r agrees with the data. We provide a solution to this problem, through a combination of new astrophysics and a fundamental change to the stellar population modeling. We find that the use of the empirical library of Pickles (1998) instead of theoretical spectra modifies the predicted colors exactly in the way suggested by the data. The reason is a lower flux in the empirical libraries, with respect to the theoretical ones, in the wavelength range 5500-6500 AA. The discrepancy increases with decreasing effective temperature independently of gravity. This result has general implications for a variety of studies from globular clusters to high-redshift galaxies. The astrophysical part of our solution regards the composition of the stellar populations of these massive Luminous Red Galaxies. We find that on top of the previous effect one needs to consider a model in which ~3% of the stellar mass is in old metal-poor stars. Other solutions such as substantial blue Horizontal Branch at high metallicity or young stellar populations can be ruled out by the data. Our new model provides a better fit to the g-r and r-i colors of LRGs and gives new insight into the formation histories of these most massive galaxies. Our model will also improve the k- and evolutionary corrections for LRGs which are critical for fully exploiting present and future galaxy surveys.Comment: Submitted to ApJ Letters. High resolution version available at http://www.maraston.eu/Maraston_etal_2008.pd

Integration of airborne and ground observations of nitryl chloride in the Seoul metropolitan area and the implications on regional oxidation capacity during KORUS-AQ 2016

Nitryl chloride (ClNO2) is a radical reservoir species that releases chlorine radicals upon photolysis. An integrated analysis of the impact of ClNO2 on regional photochemistry in the Seoul metropolitan area (SMA) during the Korea-United States Air Quality Study (KORUS-AQ) 2016 field campaign is presented. Comprehensive multiplatform observations were conducted aboard the NASA DC-8 and at two ground sites (Olympic Park, OP; Taehwa Research Forest, TRF), representing an urbanized area and a forested suburban region, respectively. Positive correlations between daytime Cl2 and ClNO2 were observed at both sites, the slope of which was dependent on O3 levels. The possible mechanisms are explored through box model simulations constrained with observations. The overall diurnal variations in ClNO2 at both sites appeared similar but the nighttime variations were systematically different. For about half of the observation days at the OP site the level of ClNO2 increased at sunset but rapidly decreased at around midnight. On the other hand, high levels were observed throughout the night at the TRF site. Significant levels of ClNO2 were observed at both sites for 4-5 h after sunrise. Airborne observations, box model calculations, and back-trajectory analysis consistently show that these high levels of ClNO2 in the morning are likely from vertical or horizontal transport of air masses from the west. Box model results show that chlorine-radical-initiated chemistry can impact the regional photochemistry by elevating net chemical production rates of ozone by 25% in the morning

Climate change and the kidney

The worldwide increase in temperature has resulted in a marked increase in heat waves (heat extremes) that carries a markedly increased risk for morbidity and mortality. The kidney has a unique role not only in protecting the host from heat and dehydration but also is an important site of heat-associated disease. Here we review the potential impact of global warming and heat extremes on kidney diseases. High temperatures can result in increased core temperatures, dehydration, and blood hyperosmolality. Heatstroke (both clinical and subclinical whole-body hyperthermia) may have a major role in causing both acute kidney disease, leading to increased risk of acute kidney injury from rhabdomyolysis, or heat-induced inflammatory injury to the kidney. Recurrent heat and dehydration can result in chronic kidney disease (CKD) in animals and theoretically plays a role in epidemics of CKD developing in hot regions of the world where workers are exposed to extreme heat. Heat stress and dehydration also has a role in kidney stone formation, and poor hydration habits may increase the risk for recurrent urinary tract infections. The resultant social and economic consequences include disability and loss of productivity and employment. Given the rise in world temperatures, there is a major need to better understand how heat stress can induce kidney disease, how best to provide adequate hydration, and ways to reduce the negative effects of chronic heat exposure.Published versio

A Minimal Inflation Scenario

We elaborate on a minimal inflation scenario based entirely on the general properties of supersymmetry breaking in supergravity models. We identify the inflaton as the scalar component of the Goldstino superfield. We write plausible candidates for the effective action describing this chiral superfield. In particular the theory depends (apart from parameters of O(1)) on a single free parameter: the scale of supersymmetry breaking. This can be fixed using the amplitude of CMB cosmological perturbations and we therefore obtain the scale of supersymmetry breaking to be 10^{12-14} GeV. The model also incorporates explicit R-symmetry breaking in order to satisfy the slow roll conditions. In our model the eta-problem is solved without extra fine-tuning. We try to obtain as much information as possible in a model independent way using general symmetry properties of the theory's effective action, this leads to a new proposal on how to exit the inflationary phase and reheat the Universe.Comment: matches published version (typo corrected

Ventriculoperitoneal shunt related meningioma: A case report

Meningiomas are the most common primary, non-glial tumours of the brain and spine, and represent the most common extra-axial lesions. The typical meningioma is a dural-based, markedly enhancing extra-axial mass; they exhibit cortical buckling with trapped cerebrospinal fluid clefts or cortical vessels. There are factors strongly associated with risk of developing meningioma, as in the case of exposure to ionizing radiation, or exogenous or endogenous hormones, as in this case, the presence of shunt material as a foreign body may have contributed to oncogenesis on the basis of a chronic inflammatory reaction. The aim of this report is to present the clinical case of a meningioma, which enveloped the proximal catheter of ventriculoperitoneal shunt valve

Globular Cluster Distance Determinations

The present status of the distance scale to Galactic globular clusters is reviewed. Six distance determination techniques which are deemed to be most reliable are discussed in depth. These different techniques are used to calibrate the absolute magnitude of the RR Lyrae stars. The various calibrations fall into three groups. Main sequence fitting using Hipparcos parallaxes, theoretical HB models and the RR Lyrae in the LMC all favor a bright calibration, implying a `long' globular cluster distance scale. White dwarf fitting and the astrometric distances yield a somewhat fainter RR Lyrae calibration, while the statistical parallax solution yields faint RR Lyrae stars implying a `short' distance scale to globular clusters. Various secondary distance indicators discussed all favor the long distance scale. The `long' and `short' distance scales differ by (0.31+/-0.16) mag. Averaging together all of the different distance determinations yields Mv(RR) = (0.23+/-0.04)([Fe/H] + 1.6) + (0.56+/-0.12) mag.Comment: Invited review article to appear in: `Post-Hipparcos Cosmic Candles', A. Heck & F. Caputo (Eds), Kluwer Academic Publ., Dordrecht, in pres

The active living gender's gap challenge: 2013-2017 Eurobarometers physical inactivity data show constant higher prevalence in women with no progress towards global reduction goals

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization (WHO) considers physical inactivity (PIA) as a critical noncommunicable factor for disease and mortality, affecting more women than men. In 2013, the WHO set a 10% reduction of the PIA prevalence, with the goal to be reached by 2025. Changes in the 2013-2017 period of physical inactivity prevalence in the 28 European Union (EU) countries were evaluated to track the progress in achieving WHO 2025 target. METHODS: In 2013 and 2017 EU Special Eurobarometers, the physical activity levels reported by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire of 53,607 adults were analyzed. Data were considered as a whole sample and country-by-country. A χ2 test was used to analyze the physical inactivity prevalence (%) between countries, analyzing women and men together and separately. Additionally, PIA prevalence was analyzed between years (2013-2017) for the overall EU sample and within-country using a Z-Score for two population proportions. RESULTS: The PIA prevalence increased between 2013 and 2017 for the overall EU sample (p <  0.001), and for women (p = 0.04) and men (p < 0.001) separately. Data showed a higher PIA prevalence in women versus men during both years (p <  0.001). When separately considering changes in PIA by gender, only Belgium's women and Luxembourg's men showed a reduction in PIA prevalence. Increases in PIA prevalence over time were observed in women from Austria, Croatia, Germany, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal, Romania, and Slovakia and in men from Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, and Spain. CONCLUSIONS: PIA prevalence showed an overall increase across the EU and for both women and men between 2013 and 2017, with higher rates of PIA reported for women versus men during both years. PIA prevalence was reduced in only Belgium's women and Luxembourg's men. Our data indicate a limited gender-sensible approach while tacking PIA prevalence with no progress reaching global voluntary reductions of PIA for 2025