Detection of a sub-arcsecond dust shell around the Wolf-Rayet star WR 112

A lunar occultation event of the Wolf-Rayet star WR 112 (type WC9) has been observed simultaneously from two independent telescopes at lambda = 2.2microns, allowing us to investigate this source with an angular resolution of approx 0.003 arc-seconds. We have detected a circumstellar dust envelope whose brightness distribution can be approximately fitted by a gaussian with a FWHM of approx 0.06 arc-seconds (approx 10^15 cm). We present and discuss the reconstructed brightness profile, which shows an asymmetry in the radial dust distribution. The derived dust grain temperature at the inner dust zone of approx 1150 K is consistent with available model calculations. There is no signature of the central star from our observations, providing a direct confirmation that the circumstellar shell emission dominates over the photospheric emission at 2.2microns as predicted by fits to the spectral energy distribution. Further lunar occultation observations at different position angles are essential to reconstruct the 2--D image of the dust shell around WR 112. The current series of lunar occultations of WR 112 will continue to the end of 1999 and will be visible for all equatorial and southern latitude observatories.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur

The Arts Council of New Orleans

In July of 2010, I began an internship at the Arts Council of New Orleans (Appendix 1). Working within the Council\u27s Marketing Department, I focused on developing the new Arts Council website, Artsneworleans.org. The Arts Council of New Orleans is a private, non-profit organization designated as the City\u27s official arts agency and serves as one of nine regional distributing agencies for state arts funds. The Arts Council administers available municipal arts grants and the Percent For Art program for the City of New Orleans. Its partnership with the City of New Orleans, community groups, local, state, and national governmental agencies, and other nonprofit arts organizations enables the Council to meet the arts and cultural needs of the New Orleans community through a diversity of initiatives and services. The following report includes an overview of the organization, a description of my role as an intern within the Marketing Department, my analysis of the organization and my recommendations for the organization that I have developed over the course of my tenure at the Arts Council

The Arts Council of New Orleans

In July of 2010, I began an internship at the Arts Council of New Orleans (Appendix 1). Working within the Council\u27s Marketing Department, I focused on developing the new Arts Council website, Artsneworleans.org. The Arts Council of New Orleans is a private, non-profit organization designated as the City\u27s official arts agency and serves as one of nine regional distributing agencies for state arts funds. The Arts Council administers available municipal arts grants and the Percent For Art program for the City of New Orleans. Its partnership with the City of New Orleans, community groups, local, state, and national governmental agencies, and other nonprofit arts organizations enables the Council to meet the arts and cultural needs of the New Orleans community through a diversity of initiatives and services. The following report includes an overview of the organization, a description of my role as an intern within the Marketing Department, my analysis of the organization and my recommendations for the organization that I have developed over the course of my tenure at the Arts Council

Structural Health Monitoring and Damage Evaluation of Full-Scale Bridges Using Triaxial Geophones: Controlled In-Situ Experiments and Finite Element Modeling

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of various vibration-based damage detection methods using triaxial vibration records obtained using inexpensive geophones during in-situ, full-scale, damaged bridge tests. Geophones are passive directional sensors and much cheaper than accelerometers which are typically used for structural vibration measurements. However, magnitude and phase errors associated with a geophone’s output must be corrected for if they are implemented in bridge monitoring systems. This research discusses correction procedures for magnitude and phase errors associated with geophones. A simply supported beam was analyzed to verify that the correction procedures and modal parameter identification procedures used produced reliable results. A full-scale bridge test was also performed to further validate the correction and modal analysis procedures used. The results of the simple beam and full-scale bridge tests were validated using finite element modeling. Vibration-based damage detection relies on changes in the dynamic properties of a structure to detect damage. Only one other study was found that compares various vibration-based damage detection techniques using full-scale damaged bridge tests. Thus, a need remains for further comparison of vibration-based damage detection techniques using vibration data collected entirely on full-scale bridges. This study compares various vibration-based damage detection techniques using triaxial vibration records obtained during separate in-situ, full-scale, damaged bridge tests. Furthermore, the damage detection techniques are extended to three dimensions to evaluate three dimensional response of the bridge to damage. This is a unique aspect of the current research because no other three dimensional data sets obtained from in-situ, full-scale, damaged bridge tests have been reported in the literature. Finite element modeling is perhaps the most widely relied upon method of structural and mechanical analysis. In the field of vibration-based damage detection, finite element models are often used to plan field tests, to verify field test results, and to produce damaged data sets when the actual structure is unable to be damaged. As part of this research, finite element models were constructed to lend credibility to the field test results and to investigate damage scenarios other than those inflicted during the field tests

Model selection and prediction of outcomes in recent onset schizophrenia patients who undergo cognitive training.

Predicting treatment outcomes in psychiatric populations remains a challenge, but is increasingly important in the pursuit of personalized medicine. Patients with schizophrenia have deficits in cognition, and targeted cognitive training (TCT) of auditory processing and working memory has been shown to improve some of these impairments; but little is known about the baseline patient characteristics predictive of cognitive improvement. Here we use a model selection and regression approach called least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) to examine predictors of cognitive improvement in response to TCT for patients with recent onset schizophrenia. Forty-three individuals with recent onset schizophrenia randomized to undergo TCT were assessed at baseline on measures of cognition, symptoms, functioning, illness duration, and demographic variables. We carried out 10-fold cross-validation of LASSO for model selection and regression. We followed up on these results using linear models for statistical inference. No individual variable was found to correlate with improvement in global cognition using a Pearson correlation approach, and a linear model including all variables was also found not to be significant. However, the LASSO model identified baseline global cognition, education, and gender in a model predictive of improvement on global cognition following TCT. These findings offer guidelines for personalized approaches to cognitive training for patients with schizophrenia

Plasma LEAP - 2 after a Low - Calorie Diet with or without Exercise in Women with Obesity

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Using Incongruent Equilibrium Hydration Reactions to Model Latter-Stage Crystallization in Plutons: Examples from the Bell Island Tonalite, Alaska

Models using hydration crystallization reactions (the reverse of dehydration melting reactions such as amph + qtz = px + melt) for the Bell Island pluton define incongruent equilibrium crystallization paths from hydrous + melt + pyroxene + Fe-Ti oxides + calcic andesine (30%-50% solid) to a solid tonalite consisting mostly of hornblende, lower temperature end of Bowen\u27s discontinuous reaction series and apply it to natural samples. Hydration crystallization provides an alternative to crystal fractionation for explaining variations in pluton chemistry, especially the compositions of late plutonic melts. Another characteristic of hydration crystallization is that the reactions have the potential to buffer the water content of the melt during crystallization. Two closed-system models, representing different sets of starting conditions and phases, are considered, based on least squares, mass-balance calculations of reactions and constrained by the petrography of the rocks. Model 1 starts with an average modified Bell Island leucotonalite melt coexisting with two pyroxenes, two Fe-Ti oxides, and plagioclase at the beginning of hydration crystallization. The starting assemblage of model 2 omits orthopyroxene and magnetite, includes amphibole, and uses a calculated melt composition. Both models generally predict, via different series of hydration crystallization reactions, the observed subsolidus mode. Model 2, however, is preferred based on petrographic observations of the Bell Island rocks, specifically the lack of magnetite and orthopyroxene, as well as certain textural features

AFS Server Logging

The AFS servers at the Center for Information Technology Integration have been modified to trace and log file server activity. This report discusses the AFS modifications and the structure of the trace files and data. We also describe three large datasets collected from the logging servers, available to other researchers.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107953/1/citi-tr-93-10.pd

Extracellular free water and glutathione in first-episode psychosis-a multimodal investigation of an inflammatory model for psychosis.

Evidence has been accumulating for an immune-based component to the etiology of psychotic disorders. Advancements in diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have enabled estimation of extracellular free water (FW), a putative biomarker of neuroinflammation. Furthermore, inflammatory processes may be associated with altered brain levels of metabolites, such as glutathione (GSH). Consequently, we sought to test the hypotheses that FW is increased and associated with decreased GSH in patients with first-episode schizophrenia (SZ) compared with healthy controls (HC). SZ (n = 36) and HC (n = 40) subjects underwent a multi-shell diffusion MRI scan on a Siemens 3T scanner. 1H-MR spectroscopy data were acquired using a GSH-optimized MEGA-PRESS editing sequence and GSH/creatine ratios were calculated for DLPFC (SZ: n = 33, HC: n = 37) and visual cortex (SZ: n = 29, HC: n = 35) voxels. Symptoms and functioning were measured using the SANS, SAPS, BPRS, and GSF/GRF. SZ demonstrated significantly elevated FW in whole-brain gray (p = .001) but not white matter (p = .060). There was no significant difference between groups in GSH in either voxel. However, there was a significant negative correlation between DLPFC GSH and both whole-brain and DLPFC-specific gray matter FW in SZ (r = -.48 and -.47, respectively; both p < .05), while this relationship was nonsignificant in HC and in both groups in the visual cortex. These data illustrate an important relationship between a metabolite known to be important for immune function-GSH-and the diffusion extracellular FW measure, which provides additional support for these measures as neuroinflammatory biomarkers that could potentially provide tractable treatment targets to guide pharmacological intervention

Proactive and reactive cognitive control and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex dysfunction in first episode schizophrenia.

Cognitive control deficits have been consistently documented in patients with schizophrenia. Recent work in cognitive neuroscience has hypothesized a distinction between two theoretically separable modes of cognitive control-reactive and proactive. However, it remains unclear the extent to which these processes are uniquely associated with dysfunctional neural recruitment in individuals with schizophrenia. This functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study utilized the color word Stroop task and AX Continuous Performance Task (AX-CPT) to tap reactive and proactive control processes, respectively, in a sample of 54 healthy controls and 43 patients with first episode schizophrenia. Healthy controls demonstrated robust dorsolateral prefrontal, anterior cingulate, and parietal cortex activity on both tasks. In contrast, patients with schizophrenia did not show any significant activation during proactive control, while showing activation similar to control subjects during reactive control. Critically, an interaction analysis showed that the degree to which prefrontal activity was reduced in patients versus controls depended on the type of control process engaged. Controls showed increased dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and parietal activity in the proactive compared to the reactive control task, whereas patients with schizophrenia did not demonstrate this increase. Additionally, patients' DLPFC activity and performance during proactive control was associated with disorganization symptoms, while no reactive control measures showed this association. Proactive control processes and concomitant dysfunctional recruitment of DLPFC represent robust features of schizophrenia that are also directly associated with symptoms of disorganization