1,312 research outputs found
Vitamins and Perinatal Outcomes Among HIV-Negative Women in Tanzania.
Prematurity and low birth weight are associated with high perinatal and infant mortality, especially in developing countries. Maternal micronutrient deficiencies may contribute to these adverse outcomes. In a double-blind trial in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, we randomly assigned 8468 pregnant women (gestational age of fetus, 12 to 27 weeks) who were negative for human immunodeficiency virus infection to receive daily multivitamins (including multiples of the recommended dietary allowance) or placebo. All the women received prenatal supplemental iron and folic acid. The primary outcomes were low birth weight (<2500 g), prematurity, and fetal death. The incidence of low birth weight was 7.8% among the infants in the multivitamin group and 9.4% among those in the placebo group (relative risk, 0.82; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.70 to 0.95; P=0.01). The mean difference in birth weight between the groups was modest (67 g, P<0.001). The rates of prematurity were 16.9% in the multivitamin group and 16.7% in the placebo group (relative risk, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.91 to 1.11; P=0.87), and the rates of fetal death were 4.3% and 5.0%, respectively (relative risk, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.72 to 1.05; P=0.15). Supplementation reduced both the risk of a birth size that was small for gestational age (<10th percentile; 10.7% in the multivitamin group vs. 13.6% in the placebo group; relative risk, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.68 to 0.87; P<0.001) and the risk of maternal anemia (hemoglobin level, <11 g per deciliter; relative risk, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.80 to 0.97; P=0.01), although the difference in the mean hemoglobin levels between the groups was small (0.2 g per deciliter, P<0.001). Multivitamin supplementation reduced the incidence of low birth weight and small-for-gestational-age births but had no significant effects on prematurity or fetal death. Multivitamins should be considered for all pregnant women in developing countries. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00197548 [ClinicalTrials.gov].)
Intrinsic Terahertz Plasmons and Magnetoplasmons in Large Scale Monolayer Graphene
We show that in graphene epitaxially grown on SiC the Drude absorption is
transformed into a strong terahertz plasmonic peak due to natural nanoscale
inhomogeneities, such as substrate terraces and wrinkles. The excitation of the
plasmon modifies dramatically the magneto-optical response and in particular
the Faraday rotation. This makes graphene a unique playground for
plasmon-controlled magneto-optical phenomena thanks to a cyclotron mass 2
orders of magnitude smaller than in conventional plasmonic materials such as
noble metals.Comment: to appear in Nano Letter
Spitzer Space Telescope study of disks in the young Orionis cluster
We report new Spitzer Space Telescope observations from the IRAC and MIPS
instruments of the young (~ 3 Myr) sigma Orionis cluster. We identify 336 stars
as members of the cluster using optical and near-infrared color magnitude
diagrams. Using the spectral energy distribution (SED) slopes in the IRAC
spectral range, we place objects in several classes: non-excess stars, stars
with optically thick disks(like classical T Tauri stars), class I
(protostellar) candidates, and stars with ``evolved disks''; the last exhibit
smaller IRAC excesses than optically thick disk systems. In general, this
classification agrees with the location expected in IRAC-MIPS color-color
diagrams for these objects. We find that the evolved disk systems are mostly a
combination of objects with optically thick but non-flared disks, suggesting
grain growth and/or settling, and transition disks, systems in which the inner
disk is partially or fully cleared of small dust. In all, we identify 7
transition disk candidates and 3 possible debris disk systems. As in other
young stellar populations, the fraction of disks depends on the stellar mass,
ranging from ~10% for stars in the Herbig Ae/Be mass range (>2 msun) to ~35% in
the T Tauri mass range (1-0.1 msun). We find that the disk fraction does not
decrease significantly toward the brown dwarf candidates (<0.1 msun). The IRAC
infrared excesses found in stellar clusters and associations with and without
central high mass stars are similar, suggesting that external photoevaporation
is not very important in many clusters. Finally, we find no correlation between
the X-ray luminosity and the disk infrared excess, suggesting that the X-rays
are not strongly affected by disk accretion.Comment: 44pages, 17 figures. Sent to Ap
The extended tails of Palomar 5: A ten degree arc of globular cluster tidal debris
Using wide-field photometric data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) we
recently showed that the Galactic globular cluster Palomar 5 is in the process
of being tidally disrupted. Its tidal tails were initially detected in a 2.5
degree wide band along the celestial equator. A new analysis of SDSS data for a
larger field now reveals that the tails of Pal 5 have a much larger spatial
extent and can be traced over an arc of 10 deg across the sky, corresponding to
a projected length of 4 kpc at the distance of the cluster. The number of
former cluster stars found in the tails adds up to about 1.2 times the number
of stars in the cluster. The radial profile of stellar surface density in the
tails follows approximately a power law r^gamma with -1.5 < gamma < -1.2.
The stream of debris from Pal 5 is significantly curved, which demonstrates
its acceleration by the Galactic potential. The cluster is presently near the
apocenter but has repeatedly undergone disk crossings in the inner part of the
Galaxy leading to strong tidal shocks. Our results suggest that the observed
debris originates mostly from mass loss within the last 2 Gyrs. The cluster is
likely to be destroyed after the next disk crossing, which will happen in about
100 Myr. (abridged)Comment: 44 pages, including 14 figures (Figs.1,3 & 14 with decreased
resolution), accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journa
Renormalization Group Flows for Brane Couplings
Field theories in the presence of branes encounter localized divergences that
renormalize brane couplings. The sources of these brane-localized divergences
are understood as arising either from broken translation invariance, or from
short distance singularities as the brane thickness vanishes. While the former
are generated only by quantum corrections, the latter can appear even at the
classical level. Using as an example six-dimensional scalar field theory in the
background of a 3-brane, we show how to interpret such classical divergences by
the usual regularization and renormalization procedure of quantum field theory.
In our example, the zero thickness divergences are logarithmic, and lead
classically to non-trivial renormalization group flows for the brane couplings.
We construct the tree level renormalization group equations for these couplings
as well as the one-loop corrections to these flows from bulk-to-brane
renormalization effects.Comment: 16 pages, LaTeX. References and an appendix adde
Spectra from the shocked nebulae revealing turbulence near the Galactic Centre
The spectra emitted from clouds near the Galactic Centre are investigated
calculating the UV-optical-IR lines using the physical parameters and the
element abundances constrained by the fit of mid-IR observations. The
characteristic line ratios are compared with those observed in active galaxies.
We have found that the physical conditions in the nebulae near the GC are
different from those of starburst galaxies and AGN, namely, gas velocities and
densities as well as the photoionization fluxes are relatively low. The
geometrical thickness of the emitting nebulae is particularly small suggesting
that matter is strongly fragmented by instabilities leading to an underlying
shock-generated turbulence.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figures, 4 Tables. MNRAS, accepte
Development of the (d,n) proton-transfer reaction in inverse kinematics for structure studies
Transfer reactions have provided exciting opportunities to study the
structure of exotic nuclei and are often used to inform studies relating to
nucleosynthesis and applications. In order to benefit from these reactions and
their application to rare ion beams (RIBs) it is necessary to develop the tools
and techniques to perform and analyze the data from reactions performed in
inverse kinematics, that is with targets of light nuclei and heavier beams. We
are continuing to expand the transfer reaction toolbox in preparation for the
next generation of facilities, such as the Facility for Rare Ion Beams (FRIB),
which is scheduled for completion in 2022. An important step in this process is
to perform the (d,n) reaction in inverse kinematics, with analyses that include
Q-value spectra and differential cross sections. In this way, proton-transfer
reactions can be placed on the same level as the more commonly used
neutron-transfer reactions, such as (d,p), (9Be,8Be), and (13C,12C). Here we
present an overview of the techniques used in (d,p) and (d,n), and some recent
data from (d,n) reactions in inverse kinematics using stable beams of 12C and
16O.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, presented at the XXXV Mazurian Lakes Conference
on Physics, Piaski, Polan
Harmonic Vibrational Excitations in Disordered Solids and the "Boson Peak"
We consider a system of coupled classical harmonic oscillators with spatially
fluctuating nearest-neighbor force constants on a simple cubic lattice. The
model is solved both by numerically diagonalizing the Hamiltonian and by
applying the single-bond coherent potential approximation. The results for the
density of states are in excellent agreement with each other. As
the degree of disorder is increased the system becomes unstable due to the
presence of negative force constants. If the system is near the borderline of
stability a low-frequency peak appears in the reduced density of states
as a precursor of the instability. We argue that this peak
is the analogon of the "boson peak", observed in structural glasses. By means
of the level distance statistics we show that the peak is not associated with
localized states
Band Calculations for Ce Compounds with AuCu-type Crystal Structure on the basis of Dynamical Mean Field Theory I. CePd and CeRh
Band calculations for Ce compounds with the AuCu-type crystal structure
were carried out on the basis of dynamical mean field theory (DMFT). The
auxiliary impurity problem was solved by a method named NCAvc
(noncrossing approximation including the state as a vertex correction).
The calculations take into account the crystal-field splitting, the spin-orbit
interaction, and the correct exchange process of the virtual excitation. These are necessary features in the
quantitative band theory for Ce compounds and in the calculation of their
excitation spectra. The results of applying the calculation to CePd and
CeRh are presented as the first in a series of papers. The experimental
results of the photoemission spectrum (PES), the inverse PES, the
angle-resolved PES, and the magnetic excitation spectra were reasonably
reproduced by the first-principles DMFT band calculation. At low temperatures,
the Fermi surface (FS) structure of CePd is similar to that of the band
obtained by the local density approximation. It gradually changes into a form
that is similar to the FS of LaPd as the temperature increases, since the
band shifts to the high-energy side and the lifetime broadening becomes
large.}Comment: 12 pasges, 13 figure
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