The synchrotron foreground and CMB temperature-polarization cross correlation power spectrum from the first year WMAP data

We analyse the temperature-polarization cross-correlation in the Galactic synchrotron template that we have recently developed, and between the template and CMB temperature maps derived from WMAP data. Since the polarized synchrotron template itself uses WMAP data, we can estimate residual synchrotron contamination in the CMB $C_\ell^{TE}$ angular spectrum. While $C_2^{TE}$ appears to be contamined by synchrotron, no evidence for contamination is found in the multipole range which is most relevant for the fit of the cosmological optical depth.Comment: Accepted for pubblication on MNRAS Lette

Biological stress regulation in female adolescents: a key role for confiding

Attachment behaviors play a critical role in regulating emotion within the context of close relationships, and attachment theory is currently used to inform evidence-based practice in the areas of adolescent health and social care. This study investigated the association between female adolescents’ interview-based attachment behaviors and two markers of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis activity: cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). Unlike the classic stress hormone cortisol, there is very limited investigation of DHEA—a quintessential developmental hormone—in relation to attachment, especially in adolescents. Fifty-five healthy females mean age 14.36 (±2.41) years participated in the attachment style interview. A smaller cortisol awakening response was related to anxious attachment attitudes, including more fear of rejection, whereas greater morning basal DHEA secretion was only predicted by lower levels of reported confiding in one’s mother. These attachment–hormone relationships may be developmental markers in females, as they were independent of menarche status. These findings highlight that the normative shifts occurring in attachment to caregivers around adolescence are reflected in adolescents’ biological stress regulation. We discuss how studying these shifts can be informed by evolutionary– developmental theory

Antenna Instrumental Polarization and its Effects on E- and B-Modes for CMBP Observations

We analyze the instrumental polarization generated by the antenna system (optics and feed horn) due to the unpolarized sky emission. Our equations show that it is given by the convolution of the unpolarized emission map $T_b(\theta, \phi)$ with a sort of instrumental polarization beam $\Pi$ defined by the co- and cross-polar patterns of the antenna. This result is general, it can be applied to all antenna systems and is valid for all schemes to detect polarization, like correlation and differential polarimeters. The axisymmetric case is attractive: it generates an $E$-mode--like $\Pi$ pattern, the contamination does not depend on the scanning strategy and the instrumental polarization map does not have $B$-mode contamination, making axisymmetric systems suitable to detect the faint $B$-mode signal of the Cosmic Microwave Background Polarization. The $E$-mode of the contamination only affects the FWHM scales leaving the larger ones significantly cleaner. Our analysis is also applied to the SPOrt experiment where we find that the contamination of the $E$-mode is negligible in the $\ell$-range of interest for CMBP large angular scale investigations (multipole $\ell < 10$).Comment: 9 pages, accepted for publication on A&

Effects of Thermal Fluctuations in the SPOrt Experiment

The role of systematic errors induced by thermal fluctuations is analyzed for the SPOrt experiment with the aim at estimating their impact on the measurement of the Cosmic Microwave Background Polarization (CMBP). The transfer functions of the antenna devices from temperature to data fluctuations are computed, by writing them in terms of both instrument and thermal environment parameters. In addition, the corresponding contamination maps are estimated, along with their polarized power spectra, for different behaviours of the instabilities. The result is that thermal effects are at a negligible level even for fluctuations correlated with the Sun illumination provided their frequency $f_{tf}$ is larger than that of the Sun illumination ($f_{day}$) by a factor $f_{tf} / f_{day} > 30$, which defines a requirement for the statistical properties of the temperature behaviour as well. The analysis with actual SPOrt operative parameters shows that the instrument is only weakly sensitive to temperature instabilities, the main contribution coming from the cryogenic stage. The contamination on the E-mode spectrum does not significantly pollute the CMBP signal and no specific data cleaning seems to be needed.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures. Accepted for publication in A&

Web based macroseismic survey of 2009 L’Aquila earthquakes sequence

A new method of macroseismic surveys, based on voluntary collaboration through the Internet, has been running at the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) since July 2007. The macroseismic questionnaire is addressed to a single non-specialist; reported effects are statistically analysed to extrapolate a probabilistic estimate of Mercalli Cancani Sieberg and European Macroseismic Scale intensities for that observer. Maps of macroseismic intensity are displayed online in almost real time and are continuously updated when new data are made available. For densely inhabited zones, we have received reports of felt effects for even very small events (M=2). Six earthquakes are presented here, showing the ability of the method to give fast and interesting results. The effects reported in questionnaires coming from three towns are carefully analysed and assigned intensities are compared with those derived from traditional macroseismic surveys, showing the reliability of our web-based metho

Attachment styles and personal growth following romantic breakups: The mediating roles of distress, rumination, and tendency to rebound

© 2013 Marshall et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.The purpose of this research was to examine the associations of attachment anxiety and avoidance with personal growth following relationship dissolution, and to test breakup distress, rumination, and tendency to rebound with new partners as mediators of these associations. Study 1 (N = 411) and Study 2 (N = 465) measured attachment style, breakup distress, and personal growth; Study 2 additionally measured ruminative reflection, brooding, and proclivity to rebound with new partners. Structural equation modelling revealed in both studies that anxiety was indirectly associated with greater personal growth through heightened breakup distress, whereas avoidance was indirectly associated with lower personal growth through inhibited breakup distress. Study 2 further showed that the positive association of breakup distress with personal growth was accounted for by enhanced reflection and brooding, and that anxious individuals’ greater personal growth was also explained by their proclivity to rebound. These findings suggest that anxious individuals’ hyperactivated breakup distress may act as a catalyst for personal growth by promoting the cognitive processing of breakup-related thoughts and emotions, whereas avoidant individuals’ deactivated distress may inhibit personal growth by suppressing this cognitive work

The Time of Flight System of the AMS-02 Space Experiment

The Time-of-Flight (TOF) system of the AMS detector gives the fast trigger to the read out electronics and measures velocity, direction and charge of the crossing particles. The new version of the detector (called AMS-02) will be installed on the International Space Station on March 2004. The fringing field of the AMS-02 superconducting magnet is $1.0\div2.5$ kG where the photomultiplers (PM) are installed. In order to be able to operate with this residual field, a new type of PM was chosen and the mechanical design was constrained by requiring to minimize the angle between the magnetic field vector and the PM axis. Due to strong field and to the curved light guides, the time resolution will be $150\div180$ ps, while the new electronics will allow for a better charge measurement.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. Proc. of 7th Int. Conf. on Adv. Tech. and Part. Phys., 15-19 October 2001,Como (Italy

Good theories in need of better data:Combining clinical and social psychological approaches to study the mechanisms linking relationships and health

The study of intimate relationships and health is a fast-growing discipline with numerous well-developed theories, many of which outline specific interpersonal behaviors and psychological pathways that may give rise to good or poor health. In this article, we argue that the study of relationships and health can move toward interrogating these mechanisms with greater precision and detail, but doing so will require a shift in the nature of commonly used research methods in this area. Accordingly, we draw heavily on the science of behavior change and discuss six key methodologies that may galvanize the mechanistic study of relationships and health: dismantling studies, factorial studies, experimental therapeutics, experimental mediation research, multiple assessments, and recursive modeling. We provide empirical examples for each strategy and outline new ways in which a given approach may be used to study the mechanisms linking intimate relationships and health. We conclude by discussing the key challenges and limitations for using these research strategies as well as novel ideas about how to integrate this work into existing paradigms within the field.Immediate accessThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

An iterative destriping technique for diffuse background polarization data

We describe a simple but effective iterative procedure specifically designed to destripe Q and U Stokes parameter data as those collected by the SPOrt experiment onboard the International Space Station (ISS). The method is general enough to be useful for other experiments, both in polarization and total intensity. The only requirement for the algorithm to work properly is that the receiver knee frequency must be lower than the signal modulation frequency, corresponding in our case to the ISS orbit period. Detailed performances of the technique are presented in the context of the SPOrt experiment, both in terms of added rms noise and residual correlated noise.Comment: Accepted for publication by A&A (8 pages, 6 figures