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Beagle 2: Mission to Mars — current status
Beagle 2, developed in the UK, was launched on June 2, 2003. It landed on Mars on December 25th, 2003 in Isidis Planitia, a large sedimentary basin. To date, the team is awaiting signals from the Beagle 2 lander. Current status of the mission will be reported
Balance, growth and diversity of financial markets
A financial market comprising of a certain number of distinct companies is
considered, and the following statement is proved: either a specific agent will
surely beat the whole market unconditionally in the long run, or (and this "or"
is not exclusive) all the capital of the market will accumulate in one company.
Thus, absence of any "free unbounded lunches relative to the total capital"
opportunities lead to the most dramatic failure of diversity in the market: one
company takes over all other until the end of time. In order to prove this, we
introduce the notion of perfectly balanced markets, which is an equilibrium
state in which the relative capitalization of each company is a martingale
under the physical probability. Then, the weaker notion of balanced markets is
discussed where the martingale property of the relative capitalizations holds
only approximately, we show how these concepts relate to growth-optimality and
efficiency of the market, as well as how we can infer a shadow interest rate
that is implied in the economy in the absence of a bank.Comment: 25 page
Quantum fluctuations for drag free geodesic motion
The drag free technique is used to force a proof mass to follow a geodesic
motion. The mass is protected from perturbations by a cage, and the motion of
the latter is actively controlled to follow the motion of the proof mass. We
present a theoretical analysis of the effects of quantum fluctuations for this
technique. We show that a perfect drag free operation is in principle possible
at the quantum level, in spite of the back action exerted on the mass by the
position sensor.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, RevTeX, minor change
Latitudinal distributions of the species richness, phylogenetic diversity, and functional diversity of fleas and their small mammalian hosts in four geographic quadrants
We studied latitudinal patterns in the species richness (SR), the phylogenetic diversity (PD), and the functional diversity (FD) of fleas and their mammalian hosts. We asked whether these patterns in either fleas, hosts, or both 1) conform to a classical latitudinal gradient; 2) vary geographically; and 3) differ between fleas and hosts. We also asked whether the patterns of PD and FD follow those of SR. We collected data on the latitudinal distribution of 1022 flea and 900 mammal species from literature sources and calculated the SR, PD, and FD of both groups in 1° latitude bands. Then, we used broken-stick regression models to analyse separately the latitudinal variation of 1) each diversity facet and 2) fleas and hosts in each geographic quadrant. The classical latitudinal gradient pattern was not found in either fleas or hosts across any facet of diversity or geographic quadrant, except for the PD of fleas in the southeastern quadrant and the FD of hosts in the southwestern quadrant. Latitudinal patterns of the SR, PD and FD of fleas and hosts differed substantially between geographic quadrants. Furthermore, the latitudinal distributions of flea and host SR were similar in three of four quadrants (except the northeastern quadrant), whereas the latitudinal distributions of flea and host PD were similar in the southwestern quadrant only. No similarity in flea versus host FD was revealed. The latitudinal patterns of flea and host PD and FD mostly did not follow those of their SR. We conclude that latitudinal gradients of species richness and phylogenetic and functional diversity appeared not to be universal phenomena. Instead, the latitudinal distributions of these diversity facets represent an interplay of ecological (current and past) and historical processes. For parasites, the processes acting on hosts add another layer of complexity underlying their latitudinal diversity patterns.Fil: Krasnov, Boris R.. Ben Gurion University of the Negev; IsraelFil: Grabovsky, Vasily I.. Ben Gurion University of the Negev; IsraelFil: Khokhlova, Irina S.. Ben Gurion University of the Negev; IsraelFil: Lopez Berrizbeitia, Maria Fernanda. Fundación Miguel Lillo; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Programa de Investigación de Biodiversidad Argentina; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán; ArgentinaFil: Matthee, Sonja. No especifíca;Fil: Roll, Uri. Ben Gurion University of the Negev; IsraelFil: Sánchez, Juliana Patricia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Shenbrot, Georgy I.. Ben Gurion University of the Negev; IsraelFil: van der Mescht, Luther. No especifíca
Nets, Spray or Both? The Effectiveness of Insecticide-Treated Nets and Indoor Residual Spraying in Reducing Malaria Morbidity and Child Mortality in sub-Saharan Africa.
Malaria control programmes currently face the challenge of maintaining, as well as accelerating, the progress made against malaria with fewer resources and uncertain funding. There is a critical need to determine what combination of malaria interventions confers the greatest protection against malaria morbidity and child mortality under routine conditions. This study assesses intervention effectiveness experienced by children under the age of five exposed to both insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS), as compared to each intervention alone, based on nationally representative survey data collected from 17 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Living in households with both ITNs and IRS was associated with a significant risk reduction against parasitaemia in medium and high transmission areas, 53% (95% CI 37% to 67%) and 31% (95% CI 11% to 47%) respectively. For medium transmission areas, an additional 36% (95% CI 7% to 53%) protection was garnered by having both interventions compared with exposure to only ITNs or only IRS. Having both ITNs and IRS was not significantly more protective against parasitaemia than either intervention alone in low and high malaria transmission areas. In rural and urban areas, exposure to both interventions provided significant protection against parasitaemia, 57% (95% CI 48% to 65%) and 39% (95% CI 10% to 61%) respectively; however, this effect was not significantly greater than having a singular intervention. Statistically, risk for all-cause child mortality was not significantly reduced by having both ITNs and IRS, and no additional protectiveness was detected for having dual intervention coverage over a singular intervention. These findings suggest that greater reductions in malaria morbidity and health gains for children may be achieved with ITNs and IRS combined beyond the protection offered by IRS or ITNs alone
Hectospec, the MMT's 300 Optical Fiber-Fed Spectrograph
The Hectospec is a 300 optical fiber fed spectrograph commissioned at the MMT
in the spring of 2004. A pair of high-speed six-axis robots move the 300 fiber
buttons between observing configurations within ~300 s and to an accuracy ~25
microns. The optical fibers run for 26 m between the MMT's focal surface and
the bench spectrograph operating at R~1000-2000. Another high dispersion bench
spectrograph offering R~5,000, Hectochelle, is also available. The system
throughput, including all losses in the telescope optics, fibers, and
spectrograph peaks at ~10% at the grating blaze in 1" FWHM seeing. Correcting
for aperture losses at the 1.5" diameter fiber entrance aperture, the system
throughput peaks at 17%. Hectospec has proven to be a workhorse
instrument at the MMT. Hectospec and Hectochelle together were scheduled for
1/3 of the available nights since its commissioning. Hectospec has returned
\~60,000 reduced spectra for 16 scientific programs during its first year of
operation.Comment: 68 pages, 28 figures, to appear in December 2005 PAS
The Equivalence Principle in the Non-baryonic Regime
We consider the empirical validity of the equivalence principle for
non-baryonic matter. Working in the context of the TH\epsilon\mu formalism, we
evaluate the constraints experiments place on parameters associated with
violation of the equivalence principle (EVPs) over as wide a sector of the
standard model as possible. Specific examples include new parameter constraints
which arise from torsion balance experiments, gravitational red shift,
variation of the fine structure constant, time-dilation measurements, and
matter/antimatter experiments. We find several new bounds on EVPs in the
leptonic and kaon sectors.Comment: 22 pages, late
Testing the Principle of Equivalence by Solar Neutrinos
We discuss the possibility of testing the principle of equivalence with solar
neutrinos. If there exists a violation of the equivalence principle quarks and
leptons with different flavors may not universally couple with gravity. The
method we discuss employs a quantum mechanical phenomenon of neutrino
oscillation to probe into the non-universality of the gravitational couplings
of neutrinos. We develop an appropriate formalism to deal with neutrino
propagation under the weak gravitational fields of the sun in the presence of
the flavor mixing. We point out that solar neutrino observation by the next
generation water Cherenkov detectors can improve the existing bound on
violation of the equivalence principle by 3-4 orders of magnitude if the
nonadiabatic Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein mechanism is the solution to the
solar neutrino problem.Comment: Latex, 17 pages + 6 uuencoded postscript figures, KEK-TH-396,
TMUP-HEL-9402 (unnecessary one reference was removed
Evaluation of a national universal coverage campaign of long-lasting insecticidal nets in a rural district in north-west Tanzania.
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Insecticide-treated nets (ITN) are one of the most effective measures for preventing malaria. Mass distribution campaigns are being used to rapidly increase net coverage in at-risk populations. This study had two purposes: to evaluate the impact of a universal coverage campaign (UCC) of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) on LLIN ownership and usage, and to identify factors that may be associated with inadequate coverage. In 2011 two cross-sectional household surveys were conducted in 50 clusters in Muleba district, north-west Tanzania. Prior to the UCC 3,246 households were surveyed and 2,499 afterwards. Data on bed net ownership and usage, demographics of household members and household characteristics including factors related to socio-economic status were gathered, using an adapted version of the standard Malaria Indicator Survey. Specific questions relating to the UCC process were asked. The proportion of households with at least one ITN increased from 62.6% (95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 60.9-64.2) before the UCC to 90.8% (95% CI = 89.0-92.3) afterwards. ITN usage in all residents rose from 40.8% to 55.7%. After the UCC 58.4% (95% CI = 54.7-62.1) of households had sufficient ITNs to cover all their sleeping places. Households with children under five years (OR = 2.4, 95% CI = 1.9-2.9) and small households (OR = 1.9, 95% CI = 1.5-2.4) were most likely to reach universal coverage. Poverty was not associated with net coverage. Eighty percent of households surveyed received LLINs from the campaign. The UCC in Muleba district of Tanzania was equitable, greatly improving LLIN ownership and, more moderately, usage. However, the goal of universal coverage in terms of the adequate provision of nets was not achieved. Multiple, continuous delivery systems and education activities are required to maintain and improve bed net ownership and usage.\ud
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AI-Driven Assessment of Students: Current Uses and Research Trends
During the last decade, the use of AIs is being incorporated into the
educational field whether to support the analysis of human behavior in teachinglearning
contexts, as didactic resource combined with other technologies or as a
tool for the assessment of the students.
This proposal presents a Systematic Literature Review and mapping study on
the use of AIs for the assessment of students that aims to provide a general
overview of the state of the art and identify the current areas of research by
answering 6 research questions related with the evolution of the field, and the
geographic and thematic distribution of the studies.
As a result of the selection process this study identified 20 papers focused on
the research topic in the repositories SCOPUS and Web of Science from an
initial amount of 129.
The analysis of the papers allowed the identification of three main thematic
categories: assessment of student behaviors, assessment of student sentiments
and assessment of student achievement as well as several gaps in the literature
and future research lines addressed in the discussion
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