N-body simulations of gravitational dynamics

We describe the astrophysical and numerical basis of N-body simulations, both of collisional stellar systems (dense star clusters and galactic centres) and collisionless stellar dynamics (galaxies and large-scale structure). We explain and discuss the state-of-the-art algorithms used for these quite different regimes, attempt to give a fair critique, and point out possible directions of future improvement and development. We briefly touch upon the history of N-body simulations and their most important results.Comment: invited review (28 pages), to appear in European Physics Journal Plu

A simplified (modified) Duke Activity Status Index (M-DASI) to characterise functional capacity: A secondary analysis of the Measurement of Exercise Tolerance before Surgery (METS) study

Background Accurate assessment of functional capacity, a predictor of postoperative morbidity and mortality, is essential to improving surgical planning and outcomes. We assessed if all 12 items of the Duke Activity Status Index (DASI) were equally important in reflecting exercise capacity. Methods In this secondary cross-sectional analysis of the international, multicentre Measurement of Exercise Tolerance before Surgery (METS) study, we assessed cardiopulmonary exercise testing and DASI data from 1455 participants. Multivariable regression analyses were used to revise the DASI model in predicting an anaerobic threshold (AT) >11 ml kg −1 min −1 and peak oxygen consumption (VO 2 peak) >16 ml kg −1 min −1, cut-points that represent a reduced risk of postoperative complications. Results Five questions were identified to have dominance in predicting AT>11 ml kg −1 min −1 and VO 2 peak>16 ml.kg −1min −1. These items were included in the M-DASI-5Q and retained utility in predicting AT>11 ml.kg −1.min −1 (area under the receiver-operating-characteristic [AUROC]-AT: M-DASI-5Q=0.67 vs original 12-question DASI=0.66) and VO 2 peak (AUROC-VO2 peak: M-DASI-5Q 0.73 vs original 12-question DASI 0.71). Conversely, in a sensitivity analysis we removed one potentially sensitive question related to the ability to have sexual relations, and the ability of the remaining four questions (M-DASI-4Q) to predict an adequate functional threshold remained no worse than the original 12-question DASI model. Adding a dynamic component to the M-DASI-4Q by assessing the chronotropic response to exercise improved its ability to discriminate between those with VO 2 peak>16 ml.kg −1.min −1 and VO 2 peak<16 ml.kg −1.min −1. Conclusions The M-DASI provides a simple screening tool for further preoperative evaluation, including with cardiopulmonary exercise testing, to guide perioperative management

Gendering the careers of young professionals: some early findings from a longitudinal study. in Organizing/theorizing: developments in organization theory and practice

Wonders whether companies actually have employees best interests at heart across physical, mental and spiritual spheres. Posits that most organizations ignore their workforce – not even, in many cases, describing workers as assets! Describes many studies to back up this claim in theis work based on the 2002 Employment Research Unit Annual Conference, in Cardiff, Wales

Whole-genome sequencing reveals host factors underlying critical COVID-19

Critical COVID-19 is caused by immune-mediated inflammatory lung injury. Host genetic variation influences the development of illness requiring critical care1 or hospitalization2,3,4 after infection with SARS-CoV-2. The GenOMICC (Genetics of Mortality in Critical Care) study enables the comparison of genomes from individuals who are critically ill with those of population controls to find underlying disease mechanisms. Here we use whole-genome sequencing in 7,491 critically ill individuals compared with 48,400 controls to discover and replicate 23 independent variants that significantly predispose to critical COVID-19. We identify 16 new independent associations, including variants within genes that are involved in interferon signalling (IL10RB and PLSCR1), leucocyte differentiation (BCL11A) and blood-type antigen secretor status (FUT2). Using transcriptome-wide association and colocalization to infer the effect of gene expression on disease severity, we find evidence that implicates multiple genes—including reduced expression of a membrane flippase (ATP11A), and increased expression of a mucin (MUC1)—in critical disease. Mendelian randomization provides evidence in support of causal roles for myeloid cell adhesion molecules (SELE, ICAM5 and CD209) and the coagulation factor F8, all of which are potentially druggable targets. Our results are broadly consistent with a multi-component model of COVID-19 pathophysiology, in which at least two distinct mechanisms can predispose to life-threatening disease: failure to control viral replication; or an enhanced tendency towards pulmonary inflammation and intravascular coagulation. We show that comparison between cases of critical illness and population controls is highly efficient for the detection of therapeutically relevant mechanisms of disease

Halos around ellipticals and the environment dependence of Hubble type

It is not surprising that the baryonic material inside the more compact halos will tend to form a more compact, luminous elliptical. What needs to be explained is the difference in the value of the spin parameter (lambda). It might be tempting to speculate that more compact, dense halos have systematically smaller values of lambda. Such an effect is predicted by linear calculations. Our simulations show that it may exist but it appears to be too small compared to the random scatter of the values of lambda and rho to be decisive. It is more likely that the baryonic material has initially similar lambda both in the future spirals and elliptical but compact halos damp out the lambda of the dissipative, baryonic material more readily

The Scars of Ravensbrück: Medical Experiments and British War Crimes Policy, 1945-1950

Gadget-2 is a massively parallel structure formation code for cosmological simulations. In this paper, we present a Java version of Gadget-2. We evaluated the performance of the Java version by running colliding galaxies simulation and found that it can achieve around 70% of C Gadget-2's performance

A Versatile Simulation Model for Hierarchical Treecodes

We present here a performance model which simulates different versions of the hierarchical treecode on different computer architectures, including hybrid architectures, where a parallel distributed general purpose host is connected to special purpose devices that accelerate specific compute-intense tasks. We focus on the inverse square force computation task, and study the interaction of the treecode with hybrid architectures including the GRAPE boards specialised in the gravity force computation. We validate the accuracy and versatility of our model by simulating existing con gurations reported in the literature, and use it to forecast the performance of other architectures, in order to assess the optimal hardware-software configuration

Application of fast parallel and sequential tree codes to computing three-dimensional flows with the vortex element and boundary element methods

A fast parallel oct-tree code originally developed for three-dimensional N-body gravitational simulations was modified into (1) a fast N-vortex code for viscous and inviscid vortex flow computations using the regularized vortex particle method (VEM), and (2) a fast N-panel code for solving boundary integral equations in potential flow aerodynamics using the boundary element method (BEM). The core of the fast tree code remains essentially unchanged between the different application codes: gravitation, VEM, BEM, etc. Only the modules that actually encode the physical model are changed. Particular attention is given to controlling the error introduced by the use of multipole expansions to represent the field produced by groups of elements, i.e., the tree code error. In particular, the acceptable error bound for use of any multipole expansion approximation is a run-time parameter. Program outputs include statistics on the errors for the field evaluation at all element locations. Problems i..