The RMS survey: a census of massive YSO multiplicity in the KK-band

Close to 100 per cent of massive stars are thought to be in binary systems. The multiplicity of massive stars seems to be intrinsically linked to their formation and evolution, and Massive Young Stellar Objects are key in observing this early stage of star formation. We have surveyed three samples totalling hundreds of MYSOs ($>8M_\odot$) across the Galaxy from the RMS catalogue, using UKIDSS and VVV point source data, and UKIRT $K-$band imaging to probe separations between 0.8-9 arcsec (approx 1000-100,000 au). We have used statistical methods to determine the binary statistics of the samples, and we find binary fractions of $64\pm 4$ per cent for the UKIDSS sample, $53\pm 4$ per cent for the VVV sample, and $49\pm 8$ per cent for the RMS imaging sample. Also we use the $J-$ and $K-$band magnitudes as a proxy for the companion mass, and a significant fraction of the detected systems have estimated mass ratios greater than 0.5, suggesting a deviation from the capture formation scenario which would be aligned with random IMF sampling. Finally, we find that YSOs located in the outer Galaxy have a higher binary fraction than those in the inner Galaxy. This is likely due to a lower stellar background density than observed towards the inner Galaxy, resulting in higher probabilities for visual binaries to be physical companions. It does indicate a binary fraction in the probed separation range of close to 100 per cent without the need to consider selection biases.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures, accepted to MNRA

Angular position of nodes in the superconducting gap of YBCO

The thermal conductivity of a YBCO single crystal has been studied as a function of the relative orientation of the crystal axes and a magnetic field rotating in the Cu-O planes. Measurements were carried out at several temperatures below T_c and at a fixed field of 30 kOe. A four-fold symmetry characteristic of a superconducting gap with nodes at odd multiples of 45 degrees in k-space was resolved. Experiments were performed to exclude a possible macroscopic origin for such a four-fold symmetry such as sample shape or anisotropic pinning. Our results impose an upper limit of 10% on the weight of the s-wave component of the essentially d-wave superconducting order parameter of YBCO.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Increased Matrix Metalloproteinase (MMPs) Levels Do Not Predict Disease Severity or Progression in Emphysema

Rationale: Though matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are critical in the pathogenesis of COPD, their utility as a disease biomarker remains uncertain. This study aimed to determine whether bronchoalveolar lavage (BALF) or plasma MMP measurements correlated with disease severity or functional decline in emphysema. Methods: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and luminex assays measured MMP-1, -9, -12 and tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase-1 in the BALF and plasma of non-smokers, smokers with normal lung function and moderate-to-severe emphysema subjects. In the cohort of 101 emphysema subjects correlative analyses were done to determine if MMP or TIMP-1 levels were associated with key disease parameters or change in lung function over an 18-month time period. Main Results: Compared to non-smoking controls, MMP and TIMP-1 BALF levels were significantly elevated in the emphysema cohort. Though MMP-1 was elevated in both the normal smoker and emphysema groups, collagenase activity was only increased in the emphysema subjects. In contrast to BALF, plasma MMP-9 and TIMP-1 levels were actually decreased in the emphysema cohort compared to the control groups. Both in the BALF and plasma, MMP and TIMP-1 measurements in the emphysema subjects did not correlate with important disease parameters and were not predictive of subsequent functional decline. Conclusions: MMPs are altered in the BALF and plasma of emphysema; however, the changes in MMPs correlate poorly with parameters of disease intensity or progression. Though MMPs are pivotal in the pathogenesis of COPD, these findings suggest that measuring MMPs will have limited utility as a prognostic marker in this disease. © 2013 D'Armiento et al

The SAMI pilot survey: The kinematic morphology-density relation in Abell 85, Abell 168 and Abell 2399

We examine the kinematic morphology of early-type galaxies (ETGs) in three galaxy clusters Abell 85, 168 and 2399. Using data from the Sydney-AAOMulti-object Integral field spectrograph we measure spatially resolved kinematics for 79 ETGs in these clusters. We calculate λR, a proxy for the projected specific stellar angular momentum, for each galaxy and classify the 79 ETGs in our samples as fast or slow rotators. We calculate the fraction of slow rotators in the ETG populations (fSR) of the clusters to be 0.21 ± 0.08, 0.08 ± 0.08 and 0.12 ± 0.06 for Abell 85, 168 and 2399, respectively, with an overall fraction of 0.15 ± 0.04. These numbers are broadly consistent with the values found in the literature, confirming recent work asserting that the fraction of slow rotators in the ETG population is constant across many orders of magnitude in global environment. We examine the distribution of kinematic classes in each cluster as a function of environment using the projected density of galaxies: the kinematic morphology-density relation.We find that in Abell 85 fSR increases in higher density regions but in Abell 168 and 2399 this trend is not seen. We examine the differences between the individual clusters to explain this. In addition, we find slow rotators on the outskirts of two of the clusters studied, Abell 85 and 2399. These galaxies reside in intermediate to low density regions and have clearly not formed at the centre of a cluster environment. We hypothesize that they formed at the centres of groups and are falling into the clusters for the first time

The SAMI Pilot Survey: stellar kinematics of galaxies in Abell 85, 168 and 2399

We present the SAMI Pilot Survey, consisting of integral field spectroscopy of 106 galaxies across three galaxy clusters, Abell 85, Abell 168 and Abell 2399. The galaxies were selected by absolute magnitude to have Mr < -20.25 mag. The survey, using the Sydney-AAO Multi-object Integral field spectrograph (SAMI), comprises observations of galaxies of all morphological types with 75 per cent of the sample being early-type galaxies (ETGs) and 25 per cent being late-type galaxies (LTGs). Stellar velocity and velocity dispersion maps are derived for all 106 galaxies in the sample. The lambdaR parameter, a proxy for the specific stellar angular momentum, is calculated for each galaxy in the sample. We find a trend between lambdaR and galaxy concentration such that LTGs are less concentrated higher angular momentum systems, with the fast-rotating ETGs (FRs) more concentrated and lower in angular momentum. This suggests that some dynamical processes are involved in transforming LTGs to FRs, though a significant overlap between the lambdaR distributions of these classes of galaxies implies that this is just one piece of a more complicated picture. We measure the kinematic misalignment angle, Psi, for the ETGs in the sample, to probe the intrinsic shapes of the galaxies. We find the majority of FRs (83 per cent) to be aligned, consistent with them being oblate spheroids (i.e. discs). The slow rotating ETGs (SRs), on the other hand, are significantly more likely to show kinematic misalignment (only 38 per cent are aligned). This confirms previous results that SRs are likely to be mildly triaxial systems

Integrated Reconnaissance of the Physical and Biogeochemical Characteristics of Jamaica Bay

Researchers at The Earth Institute of Columbia University have carried out an integrated, coordinated pilot reconnaissance of the physical, chemical, geological, and biological systems within Jamaica Bay, entitled "Integrated Reconnaissance of the Physical and Biogeochemical Characteristics of Jamaica Bay." We believe that such an integrated approach is necessary to fully understand the complex inter-relationship of the wetland ecosystem. The program focused on obtaining a synergistic view of the varied elements of Jamaica Bay by carrying out coordinated research in four areas: submarine sediment morphology, sediment and soil sampling, circulation and mixing, and chemical analysis of the Bay waters

First radial velocity results from the MINiature Exoplanet Radial Velocity Array (MINERVA)

The MINiature Exoplanet Radial Velocity Array (MINERVA) is a dedicated observatory of four 0.7m robotic telescopes fiber-fed to a KiwiSpec spectrograph. The MINERVA mission is to discover super-Earths in the habitable zones of nearby stars. This can be accomplished with MINERVA's unique combination of high precision and high cadence over long time periods. In this work, we detail changes to the MINERVA facility that have occurred since our previous paper. We then describe MINERVA's robotic control software, the process by which we perform 1D spectral extraction, and our forward modeling Doppler pipeline. In the process of improving our forward modeling procedure, we found that our spectrograph's intrinsic instrumental profile is stable for at least nine months. Because of that, we characterized our instrumental profile with a time-independent, cubic spline function based on the profile in the cross dispersion direction, with which we achieved a radial velocity precision similar to using a conventional "sum-of-Gaussians" instrumental profile: 1.8 m s$^{-1}$ over 1.5 months on the RV standard star HD 122064. Therefore, we conclude that the instrumental profile need not be perfectly accurate as long as it is stable. In addition, we observed 51 Peg and our results are consistent with the literature, confirming our spectrograph and Doppler pipeline are producing accurate and precise radial velocities.Comment: 22 pages, 9 figures, submitted to PASP, Peer-Reviewed and Accepte

Span of control in supervision of rail track work

The supervision of engineering work on the railways has received relatively little examination despite being both safety-critical in its own right and having wider implications for the successful running of the railways. The present paper is concerned with understanding the factors that make different engineering works perceived as easier or harder to manage. We describe an approach building on notions of ‘span of control’, through which we developed the TOECAP inventory (Team, Organisation, Environment, Communication, Activity and Personal). This tool was validated through both interviews and questionnaires. As well as identifying the physical factors involved, the work also emphasised the importance of collaborative and attitudinal factors. We conclude by discussing limitations of the present work and future directions for development

Incident vertebral fractures and risk factors in the first three years following glucocorticoid initiation among pediatric patients with rheumatic disorders

Vertebral fractures are an important yet underrecognized manifestation of osteoporosis in children with chronic, glucocorticoid-treated illnesses. Our goal was to determine the incidence and clinical predictors of vertebral fractures in the 3 years following glucocorticoid initiation among pediatric patients with rheumatic disorders. Incident vertebral fractures were evaluated according to the Genant semiquantitative method on lateral radiographs at baseline and then annually in the 3 years following glucocorticoid initiation. Extended Cox models were used to assess the association between vertebral fractures and clinical risk predictors. A total of 134 children with rheumatic disorders were enrolled in the study (mean ± standard deviation (SD) age 9.9 ± 4.4 years; 65% girls). The unadjusted vertebral fracture incidence rate was 4.4 per 100 person-years, with a 3-year incidence proportion of 12.4%. The highest annual incidence occurred in the first year (6.0%; 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.9% to 11.7%). Almost one-half of the patients with fractures were asymptomatic. Every 0.5 mg/kg increase in average daily glucocorticoid (prednisone equivalents) dose was associated with a twofold increased fracture risk (hazard ratio (HR) 2.0; 95% CI 1.1 to 3.5). Other predictors of increased vertebral fracture risk included: (1) increases in disease severity scores between baseline and 12 months; (2) increases in body mass index Z-scores in the first 6 months of each 12-month period preceding the annual fracture assessment; and (3) decreases in lumbar spine bone mineral density Z-scores in the first 6 months of glucocorticoid therapy. As such, we observed that a clinically significant number of children with rheumatic disorders developed incident vertebral fractures in the 3 years following glucocorticoid initiation. Almost one-half of the children were asymptomatic and thereby would have been undiagnosed in the absence of radiographic monitoring. In addition, discrete clinical predictors of incident vertebral fractures were evident early in the course of glucocorticoid therapy

Relational mobility predicts social behaviors in 39 countries and is tied to historical farming and threat

International audienc