7,070 research outputs found
The RR Lyrae Period - K Luminosity relation for Globular Clusters: an observational approach
The Period - metallicity - K band luminosity (PLK) relation for RR Lyrae
stars in 15 Galactic globular clusters and in the LMC globular cluster
Reticulum has been derived. It is based on accurate near infrared (K)
photometry combined with 2MASS and other literature data. The PLK relation has
been calibrated and compared with the previous empirical and theoretical
determinations in literature. The zero point of the absolute calibration has
been obtained from the K magnitude of RR Lyr whose distance modulus has been
measured via trigonometric parallax with HST. Using this relation we obtain a
distance modulus to the LMC of (m-M)_0 = 18.54 \pm 0.15 mag, in good agreement
with recent determinations based on the analysis of Cepheid variable stars.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication by MNRA
Distributed Estimation of a Parametric Field Using Sparse Noisy Data
The problem of distributed estimation of a parametric physical field is
stated as a maximum likelihood estimation problem. Sensor observations are
distorted by additive white Gaussian noise. Prior to data transmission, each
sensor quantizes its observation to levels. The quantized data are then
communicated over parallel additive white Gaussian channels to a fusion center
for a joint estimation. An iterative expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm to
estimate the unknown parameter is formulated, and its linearized version is
adopted for numerical analysis. The numerical examples are provided for the
case of the field modeled as a Gaussian bell. The dependence of the integrated
mean-square error on the number of quantization levels, the number of sensors
in the network and the SNR in observation and transmission channels is
analyzed.Comment: to appear at Milcom-201
Limited-Feedback-Based Channel-Aware Power Allocation for Linear Distributed Estimation
This paper investigates the problem of distributed best linear unbiased
estimation (BLUE) of a random parameter at the fusion center (FC) of a wireless
sensor network (WSN). In particular, the application of limited-feedback
strategies for the optimal power allocation in distributed estimation is
studied. In order to find the BLUE estimator of the unknown parameter, the FC
combines spatially distributed, linearly processed, noisy observations of local
sensors received through orthogonal channels corrupted by fading and additive
Gaussian noise. Most optimal power-allocation schemes proposed in the
literature require the feedback of the exact instantaneous channel state
information from the FC to local sensors. This paper proposes a
limited-feedback strategy in which the FC designs an optimal codebook
containing the optimal power-allocation vectors, in an iterative offline
process, based on the generalized Lloyd algorithm with modified distortion
functions. Upon observing a realization of the channel vector, the FC finds the
closest codeword to its corresponding optimal power-allocation vector and
broadcasts the index of the codeword. Each sensor will then transmit its analog
observations using its optimal quantized amplification gain. This approach
eliminates the requirement for infinite-rate digital feedback links and is
scalable, especially in large WSNs.Comment: 5 Pages, 3 Figures, 1 Algorithm, Forty Seventh Annual Asilomar
Conference on Signals, Systems, and Computers (ASILOMAR 2013
Effects of Spatial Randomness on Locating a Point Source with Distributed Sensors
Most studies that consider the problem of estimating the location of a point
source in wireless sensor networks assume that the source location is estimated
by a set of spatially distributed sensors, whose locations are fixed. Motivated
by the fact that the observation quality and performance of the localization
algorithm depend on the location of the sensors, which could be randomly
distributed, this paper investigates the performance of a recently proposed
energy-based source-localization algorithm under the assumption that the
sensors are positioned according to a uniform clustering process. Practical
considerations such as the existence and size of the exclusion zones around
each sensor and the source will be studied. By introducing a novel performance
measure called the estimation outage, it will be shown how parameters related
to the network geometry such as the distance between the source and the closest
sensor to it as well as the number of sensors within a region surrounding the
source affect the localization performance.Comment: 7 Pages, 5 Figures, To appear at the 2014 IEEE International
Conference on Communications (ICC'14) Workshop on Advances in Network
Localization and Navigation (ANLN), Invited Pape
Power Allocation for Distributed BLUE Estimation with Full and Limited Feedback of CSI
This paper investigates the problem of adaptive power allocation for
distributed best linear unbiased estimation (BLUE) of a random parameter at the
fusion center (FC) of a wireless sensor network (WSN). An optimal
power-allocation scheme is proposed that minimizes the -norm of the vector
of local transmit powers, given a maximum variance for the BLUE estimator. This
scheme results in the increased lifetime of the WSN compared to similar
approaches that are based on the minimization of the sum of the local transmit
powers. The limitation of the proposed optimal power-allocation scheme is that
it requires the feedback of the instantaneous channel state information (CSI)
from the FC to local sensors, which is not practical in most applications of
large-scale WSNs. In this paper, a limited-feedback strategy is proposed that
eliminates this requirement by designing an optimal codebook for the FC using
the generalized Lloyd algorithm with modified distortion metrics. Each sensor
amplifies its analog noisy observation using a quantized version of its optimal
amplification gain, which is received by the FC and used to estimate the
unknown parameter.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, to appear at the IEEE Military Communications
Conference (MILCOM) 201
The Far-Ultraviolet Spectra of TW Hya. II. Models of H2 Fluorescence in a Disk
We measure the temperature of warm gas at planet-forming radii in the disk
around the classical T Tauri star (CTTS) TW Hya by modelling the H2
fluorescence observed in HST/STIS and FUSE spectra. Strong Ly-alpha emission
irradiates a warm disk surface within 2 AU of the central star and pumps
certain excited levels of H2. We simulate a 1D plane-parallel atmosphere to
estimate fluxes for the 140 observed H2 emission lines and to reconstruct the
Ly-alpha emission profile incident upon the warm H2. The excitation of H2 can
be determined from relative line strengths by measuring self-absorption in
lines with low-energy lower levels, or by reconstructing the Ly-alpha profile
incident upon the warm H2 using the total flux from a single upper level and
the opacity in the pumping transition. Based on those diagnostics, we estimate
that the warm disk surface has a column density of log
N(H2)=18.5^{+1.2}_{-0.8}, a temperature T=2500^{+700}_{-500} K, and a filling
factor of H2, as seen by the source of Ly-alpha emission, of 0.25\pm0.08 (all
2-sigma error bars). TW Hya produces approximately 10^{-3} L_\odot in the FUV,
about 85% of which is in the Ly-alpha emission line. From the H I absorption
observed in the Ly-alpha emission, we infer that dust extinction in our line of
sight to TW Hya is negligible.Comment: Accepted by ApJ. 26 pages, 17 figures, 6 table
Lactoferrin's anti-cancer properties. Safety, selectivity, and wide range of action
Despite recent advances in cancer therapy, current treatments, including radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy, although beneficial, present attendant side effects and long-term sequelae, usually more or less affecting quality of life of the patients. Indeed, except for most of the immunotherapeutic agents, the complete lack of selectivity between normal and cancer cells for radio- and chemotherapy can make them potential antagonists of the host anti-cancer self-defense over time. Recently, the use of nutraceuticals as natural compounds corroborating anti-cancer standard therapy is emerging as a promising tool for their relative abundance, bioavailability, safety, low-cost effectiveness, and immuno-compatibility with the host. In this review, we outlined the anti-cancer properties of Lactoferrin (Lf), an iron-binding glycoprotein of the innate immune defense. Lf shows high bioavailability after oral administration, high selectivity toward cancer cells, and a wide range of molecular targets controlling tumor proliferation, survival, migration, invasion, and metastasization. Of note, Lf is able to promote or inhibit cell proliferation and migration depending on whether it acts upon normal or cancerous cells, respectively. Importantly, Lf administration is highly tolerated and does not present significant adverse effects. Moreover, Lf can prevent development or inhibit cancer growth by boosting adaptive immune response. Finally, Lf was recently found to be an ideal carrier for chemotherapeutics, even for the treatment of brain tumors due to its ability to cross the blood-brain barrier, thus globally appearing as a promising tool for cancer prevention and treatment, especially in combination therapies
The Giraffe Inner Bulge Survey (GIBS) II. Metallicity distributions and alpha element abundances at fixed Galactic latitude
High resolution (R22,500) spectra for 400 red clump giants, in four
fields within and , were obtained within the GIRAFFE
Inner Bulge Survey (GIBS) project. To this sample we added another 400
stars in Baade's Window, observed with the identical instrumental
configuration. We constructed the metallicity distributions for the entire
sample, as well as for each field individually, in order to investigate the
presence of gradients or field-to-field variations in the shape of the
distributions. The metallicity distributions in the five fields are consistent
with being drawn from a single parent population, indicating the absence of a
gradient along the major axis of the Galactic bar. The global metallicity
distribution is well fitted by two Gaussians. The metal poor component is
rather broad, with a mean at dex and dex.
The metal-rich one is narrower, with mean and
dex. The [Mg/Fe] ratio follows a tight trend with [Fe/H], with enhancement with
respect to solar in the metal-poor regime, similar to the one observed for
giant stars in the local thick disc. [Ca/Fe] abundances follow a similar trend,
but with a considerably larger scatter than [Mg/Fe]. A decrease in [Mg/Fe] is
observed at dex. This \textit{knee} is in agreement with our
previous bulge study of K-giants along the minor axis, but is 0.1 dex lower in
metallicity than the one reported for the Bulge micro lensed dwarf and
sub-giant stars. We found no variation in -element abundance
distributions between different fields.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&
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