2,327 research outputs found
Einstein Probe - a small mission to monitor and explore the dynamic X-ray Universe
Einstein Probe is a small mission dedicated to time-domain high-energy
astrophysics. Its primary goals are to discover high-energy transients and to
monitor variable objects in the keV X-rays, at higher sensitivity by
one order of magnitude than those of the ones currently in orbit. Its
wide-field imaging capability, featuring a large instantaneous field-of-view
(, sr), is achieved by using established
technology of micro-pore (MPO) lobster-eye optics, thereby offering
unprecedentedly high sensitivity and large Grasp. To complement this powerful
monitoring ability, it also carries a narrow-field, sensitive follow-up X-ray
telescope based on the same MPO technology to perform follow-up observations of
newly-discovered transients. Public transient alerts will be downlinked
rapidly, so as to trigger multi-wavelength follow-up observations from the
world-wide community. Over three of its 97-minute orbits almost the entire
night sky will be sampled, with cadences ranging from 5 to 25 times per day.
The scientific objectives of the mission are: to discover otherwise quiescent
black holes over all astrophysical mass scales by detecting their rare X-ray
transient flares, particularly tidal disruption of stars by massive black holes
at galactic centers; to detect and precisely locate the electromagnetic sources
of gravitational-wave transients; to carry out systematic surveys of X-ray
transients and characterize the variability of X-ray sources. Einstein Probe
has been selected as a candidate mission of priority (no further selection
needed) in the Space Science Programme of the Chinese Academy of Sciences,
aiming for launch around 2020.Comment: accepted to publish in PoS, Proceedings of "Swift: 10 Years of
Discovery" (Proceedings of Science; ed. by P. Caraveo, P. D'Avanzo, N.
Gehrels and G. Tagliaferri). Minor changes in text, references update
Designing and Piloting a Tool for the Measurement of the Use of Pronunciation Learning Strategies
What appears to be indispensable to drive the field forward and ensure that research findings will be comparable across studies and provide a sound basis for feasible pedagogic proposals is to draw up a classification of PLS and design on that basis a valid and reliable data collection tool which could be employed to measure the use of these strategies in different groups of learners, correlate it with individual and contextual variables, and appraise the effects of training programs. In accordance with this rationale, the present paper represents an attempt to propose a tentative categorization of pronunciation learning strategies, adopting as a point of reference the existing taxonomies of strategic devices (i.e. O'Malley and Chamot 1990; Oxford 1990) and the instructional options teachers have at their disposal when dealing with elements of this language subsystem (e.g. Kelly 2000; Goodwin 2001). It also introduces a research instrument designed on the basis of the classification that shares a number of characteristics with Oxford's (1990) Strategy Inventory for Language Learning but, in contrast to it, includes both Likert-scale and open-ended items. The findings of a pilot study which involved 80 English Department students demonstrate that although the tool requires considerable refinement, it provides a useful point of departure for future research into PLS
Sturmian morphisms, the braid group B_4, Christoffel words and bases of F_2
We give a presentation by generators and relations of a certain monoid
generating a subgroup of index two in the group Aut(F_2) of automorphisms of
the rank two free group F_2 and show that it can be realized as a monoid in the
group B_4 of braids on four strings. In the second part we use Christoffel
words to construct an explicit basis of F_2 lifting any given basis of the free
abelian group Z^2. We further give an algorithm allowing to decide whether two
elements of F_2 form a basis or not. We also show that, under suitable
conditions, a basis has a unique conjugate consisting of two palindromes.Comment: 25 pages, 4 figure
Estimating Nuisance Parameters in Inverse Problems
Many inverse problems include nuisance parameters which, while not of direct
interest, are required to recover primary parameters. Structure present in
these problems allows efficient optimization strategies - a well known example
is variable projection, where nonlinear least squares problems which are linear
in some parameters can be very efficiently optimized. In this paper, we extend
the idea of projecting out a subset over the variables to a broad class of
maximum likelihood (ML) and maximum a posteriori likelihood (MAP) problems with
nuisance parameters, such as variance or degrees of freedom. As a result, we
are able to incorporate nuisance parameter estimation into large-scale
constrained and unconstrained inverse problem formulations. We apply the
approach to a variety of problems, including estimation of unknown variance
parameters in the Gaussian model, degree of freedom (d.o.f.) parameter
estimation in the context of robust inverse problems, automatic calibration,
and optimal experimental design. Using numerical examples, we demonstrate
improvement in recovery of primary parameters for several large- scale inverse
problems. The proposed approach is compatible with a wide variety of algorithms
and formulations, and its implementation requires only minor modifications to
existing algorithms.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figure
Entanglement study of the 1D Ising model with Added Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya interaction
We have studied occurrence of quantum phase transition in the one-dimensional
spin-1/2 Ising model with added Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya (DM) interaction from bi-
partite and multi-partite entanglement point of view. Using exact numerical
solutions, we are able to study such systems up to 24 qubits. The minimum of
the entanglement ratio R \tau 2/\tau 1 < 1, as a novel estimator of
QPT, has been used to detect QPT and our calculations have shown that its
minimum took place at the critical point. We have also shown both the
global-entanglement (GE) and multipartite entanglement (ME) are maximal at the
critical point for the Ising chain with added DM interaction. Using matrix
product state approach, we have calculated the tangle and concurrence of the
model and it is able to capture and confirm our numerical experiment result.
Lack of inversion symmetry in the presence of DM interaction stimulated us to
study entanglement of three qubits in symmetric and antisymmetric way which
brings some surprising results.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figures, submitte
Dimensionality effects in restricted bosonic and fermionic systems
The phenomenon of Bose-like condensation, the continuous change of the
dimensionality of the particle distribution as a consequence of freezing out of
one or more degrees of freedom in the low particle density limit, is
investigated theoretically in the case of closed systems of massive bosons and
fermions, described by general single-particle hamiltonians. This phenomenon is
similar for both types of particles and, for some energy spectra, exhibits
features specific to multiple-step Bose-Einstein condensation, for instance the
appearance of maxima in the specific heat.
In the case of fermions, as the particle density increases, another
phenomenon is also observed. For certain types of single particle hamiltonians,
the specific heat is approaching asymptotically a divergent behavior at zero
temperature, as the Fermi energy is converging towards any
value from an infinite discrete set of energies: . If
, for any i, the specific heat is divergent at T=0
just in infinite systems, whereas for any finite system the specific heat
approaches zero at low enough temperatures. The results are particularized for
particles trapped inside parallelepipedic boxes and harmonic potentials.
PACS numbers: 05.30.Ch, 64.90.+b, 05.30.Fk, 05.30.JpComment: 7 pages, 3 figures (included
Neurotoxin-mediated potent activation of the axon degeneration regulator SARM1
Axon loss underlies symptom onset and progression in many neurodegenerative disorders. Axon degeneration in injury and disease is promoted by activation of the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD)-consuming enzyme SARM1. Here, we report a novel activator of SARM1, a metabolite of the pesticide and neurotoxin vacor. Removal of SARM1 completely rescues mouse neurons from vacor-induced neuron and axon death in vitro and in vivo. We present the crystal structure the Drosophila SARM1 regulatory domain complexed with this activator, the vacor metabolite VMN, which as the most potent activator yet know is likely to support drug development for human SARM1 and NMNAT2 disorders. This study indicates the mechanism of neurotoxicity and pesticide action by vacor, raises important questions about other pyridines in wider use today, provides important new tools for drug discovery, and demonstrates that removing SARM1 can robustly block programmed axon death induced by toxicity as well as genetic mutation
Learning to Teach About Ideas and Evidence in Science : The Student Teacher as Change Agent
A collaborative curriculum development project was set up to address the lack of good examples of teaching about ideas and evidence and the nature of science encountered by student teachers training to teach in the age range 11-16 in schools in England. Student and teacher-mentor pairs devised, taught and evaluated novel lessons and approaches. The project design required increasing levels of critique through cycles of teaching, evaluation and revision of lessons. Data were gathered from interviews and students' reports to assess the impact of the project on student teachers and to what extent any influences survived when they gained their first teaching posts. A significant outcome was the perception of teaching shifting from the delivery of standard lessons in prescribed ways to endeavours demanding creativity and decision-making. Although school-based factors limited newly qualified teachers' chances to use new lessons and approaches and therefore act as change-agents in schools, the ability to critique curriculum materials and the recognition of the need to create space for professional dialogue were durable gains
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The combined diabetes and renal control trial (C-DIRECT) - a feasibility randomised controlled trial to evaluate outcomes in multi-morbid patients with diabetes and on dialysis using a mixed methods approach
Background: This cluster randomised controlled trial set out to investigate the feasibility and acceptability of the “Combined Diabetes and Renal Control Trial” (C-DIRECT) intervention, a nurse-led intervention based on motivational interviewing and self-management in patients with coexisting end stage renal diseases and diabetes mellitus (DM ESRD). Its efficacy to improve glycaemic control, as well as psychosocial and self-care outcomes were also evaluated as secondary outcomes.
Methods: An assessor-blinded, clustered randomised-controlled trial was conducted with 44 haemodialysis patients with DM ESRD and ≥ 8% glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), in dialysis centres across Singapore. Patients were randomised according to dialysis shifts. 20 patients were assigned to intervention and 24 were in usual care. The C-DIRECT intervention consisted of three weekly chair-side sessions delivered by diabetes specialist nurses. Data on recruitment, randomisation, and retention, and secondary outcomes such as clinical endpoints, emotional distress, adherence, and self-management skills measures were obtained at baseline and at 12 weeks follow-up. A qualitative evaluation using interviews was conducted at the end of the trial.
Results: Of the 44 recruited at baseline, 42 patients were evaluated at follow-up. One patient died, and one discontinued the study due to deteriorating health. Recruitment, retention, and acceptability rates of C-DIRECT were generally satisfactory HbA1c levels decreased in both groups, but C-DIRECT had more participants with HbA1c < 8% at follow up compared to usual care. Significant improvements in role limitations due to physical health were noted for C-DIRECT whereas levels remained stable in usual care. No statistically significant differences between groups were observed for other clinical markers and other patient-reported outcomes. There were no adverse effects.
Conclusions: The trial demonstrated satisfactory feasibility. A brief intervention delivered on bedside as part of routine dialysis care showed some benefits in glycaemic control and on QOL domain compared with usual care, although no effect was observed in other secondary outcomes. Further research is needed to design and assess interventions to promote diabetes self-management in socially vulnerable patients
State transfer in dissipative and dephasing environments
By diagonalization of a generalized superoperator for solving the master
equation, we investigated effects of dissipative and dephasing environments on
quantum state transfer, as well as entanglement distribution and creation in
spin networks. Our results revealed that under the condition of the same
decoherence rate , the detrimental effects of the dissipative
environment are more severe than that of the dephasing environment. Beside
this, the critical time at which the transfer fidelity and the
concurrence attain their maxima arrives at the asymptotic value
quickly as the spin chain length increases. The transfer
fidelity of an excitation at time is independent of when the system
subjects to dissipative environment, while it decreases as increases when
the system subjects to dephasing environment. The average fidelity displays
three different patterns corresponding to , and . For
each pattern, the average fidelity at time is independent of when the
system subjects to dissipative environment, and decreases as increases when
the system subjects to dephasing environment. The maximum concurrence also
decreases as increases, and when , it arrives at an
asymptotic value determined by the decoherence rate and the structure
of the spin network.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figure
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