151 research outputs found
Criminalisation of sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE) in the Netherlands:Does Dutch criminal law provide options to ban methods that aim to change a person’s same-sex sexual orientation or gender identity into a heterosexual orientation?
Fast Orbit Feedback at BESSY II Performance and Operational Experiences
At the 3rd generation light source BESSY II the first phase of a fast orbit feedback system has been completed and put into operation in 2012. In this first phase the aim was to achieve noise suppression in the 1Hz to several 10Hz range, mostly avoiding expensive upgrades to existing hardware, such as beam position monitors and the CAN based setpoint transmission to the power supplies. Only the power supplies were replaced with newer, faster versions. This paper describes the capability of the phase I FOFB with respect to beam motion transient suppression, low frequency damping and high frequency noise generation as well as aspects of operational integration and stabilit
The association of elevated alanine aminotransferase and the metabolic syndrome in an overweight and obese pediatric population of multi-ethnic origin
Association of liver enzymes with incident type 2 diabetes: A nested case control study in an Iranian population
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To investigate the association of Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), Alanin aminotranferase (ALT) and Gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) with incident type 2 diabetes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In a nested case-control study, AST, ALT, GGT as well as classic diabetes risk factors, insulin and C-reactive protein (CRP) were measured in 133 non-diabetic subjects at baseline of which 68 were cases and 65 were controls. Incident diabetes was defined by the WHO 1999 criteria. Conditional logistic regression was used to calculate the odds ratio (OR) of incident diabetes associated with different hepatic markers. We used factor analysis for clustering of classic diabetes risk factors.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In Univariate analysis both ALT and GGT were associated with diabetes with ORs of 3.07(1.21–7.79) and 2.91(1.29–6.53) respectively. After adjustment for CRP and insulin, ALT and GGT were still predictive of incident diabetes. When the model was further adjusted for anthropometric, blood pressure and metabolic factors, only ALT was independently associated with diabetes [OR = 3.18 (1.02–9.86)]. No difference was found between the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves of the models with and without ALT (0.820 and 0.802 respectively, P = 0.4)</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>ALT is associated with incident type 2 diabetes independent of classic risk factors. However, its addition to the classic risk factors does not improve the prediction of diabetes.</p
The Far-Ultraviolet "Continuum" in Protoplanetary Disk Systems II: CO Fourth Positive Emission and Absorption
We exploit the high sensitivity and moderate spectral resolution of the
-Cosmic Origins Spectrograph to detect far-ultraviolet spectral features
of carbon monoxide (CO) present in the inner regions of protoplanetary disks
for the first time. We present spectra of the classical T Tauri stars HN Tau,
RECX-11, and V4046 Sgr, representative of a range of CO radiative processes. HN
Tau shows CO bands in absorption against the accretion continuum. We measure a
CO column density and rotational excitation temperature of N(CO) = 2 +/- 1
10 cm and T_rot(CO) 500 +/- 200 K for the absorbing gas.
We also detect CO A-X band emission in RECX-11 and V4046 Sgr, excited by
ultraviolet line photons, predominantly HI LyA. All three objects show emission
from CO bands at 1560 \AA, which may be excited by a combination
of UV photons and collisions with non-thermal electrons. In previous
observations these emission processes were not accounted for due to blending
with emission from the accretion shock, collisionally excited H, and
photo-excited H2; all of which appeared as a "continuum" whose components could
not be separated. The CO emission spectrum is strongly dependent upon the shape
of the incident stellar LyA emission profile. We find CO parameters in the
range: N(CO) 10 cm, T_{rot}(CO) > 300 K for the LyA-pumped
emission. We combine these results with recent work on photo- and
collisionally-excited H emission, concluding that the observations of
ultraviolet-emitting CO and H2 are consistent with a common spatial origin. We
suggest that the CO/H2 ratio in the inner disk is ~1, a transition between the
much lower interstellar value and the higher value observed in solar system
comets today, a result that will require future observational and theoretical
study to confirm.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, 3 tables. ApJ - accepte
The Saturn Ring Skimmer Mission Concept: The next step to explore Saturn's rings, atmosphere, interior and inner magnetosphere
The innovative Saturn Ring Skimmer mission concept enables a wide range of investigations that address fundamental questions about Saturn and its rings, as well as giant planets and astrophysical disk systems in general. This mission would provide new insights into the dynamical processes that operate in astrophysical disk systems by observing individual particles in Saturn's rings for the first time. The Ring Skimmer would also constrain the origin, history, and fate of Saturn's rings by determining their compositional evolution and material transport rates. In addition, the Ring Skimmer would reveal how the rings, magnetosphere, and planet operate as an inter-connected system by making direct measurements of the ring's atmosphere, Saturn's inner magnetosphere and the material owing from the rings into the planet. At the same time, this mission would clarify the dynamical processes operating in the planet's visible atmosphere and deep interior by making extensive high-resolution observations of cloud features and repeated measurements of the planet's extremely dynamic gravitational field. Given the scientific potential of this basic mission concept, we advocate that it be studied in depth as a potential option for the New Frontiers program
- …