4,363 research outputs found
A New Kinematic Distance Estimator to the LMC
The distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) can be directly determined
by measuring three of its properties, its radial-velocity field, its mean
proper motion, and the position angle \phi_ph of its photometric line of nodes.
Statistical errors of 2% are feasible based on proper motions obtained with any
of several proposed astrometry satellites, the first possibility being the
Full-Sky Astrometric Mapping Explorer (FAME). The largest source of systematic
error is likely to be in the determination of \phi_ph. I suggest two
independent methods to measure \phi_ph, one based on counts of clump giants and
the other on photometry of clump giants. I briefly discuss a variety of methods
to test for other sources of systematic errors.Comment: submitted to ApJ, 13 page
The WARPS Survey. VIII. Evolution of the Galaxy Cluster X-ray Luminosity Function
We present measurements of the galaxy cluster X-ray Luminosity Function (XLF)
from the Wide Angle ROSAT Pointed Survey (WARPS) and quantify its evolution.
WARPS is a serendipitous survey of the central region of ROSAT pointed
observations and was carried out in two phases (WARPS-I and WARPS-II). The
results here are based on a final sample of 124 clusters, complete above a flux
limit of 6.5 10E-15 erg/s/cm2, with members out to redshift z ~ 1.05, and a sky
coverage of 70.9 deg2. We find significant evidence for negative evolution of
the XLF, which complements the majority of X-ray cluster surveys. To quantify
the suggested evolution, we perform a maximum likelihood analysis and conclude
that the evolution is driven by a decreasing number density of high luminosity
clusters with redshift, while the bulk of the cluster population remains nearly
unchanged out to redshift z ~ 1.1, as expected in a low density Universe. The
results are found to be insensitive to a variety of sources of systematic
uncertainty that affect the measurement of the XLF and determination of the
survey selection function. We perform a Bayesian analysis of the XLF to fully
account for uncertainties in the local XLF on the measured evolution, and find
that the detected evolution remains significant at the 95% level. We observe a
significant excess of clusters in the WARPS at 0.1 < z < 0.3 and LX ~ 2 10E42
erg/s compared with the reference low-redshift XLF, or our Bayesian fit to the
WARPS data. We find that the excess cannot be explained by sample variance, or
Eddington bias, and is unlikely to be due to problems with the survey selection
function.Comment: 13 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Distribution of equilibrium free energies in a thermodynamic system with broken ergodicity
At low temperatures the configurational phase space of a macroscopic complex
system (e.g., a spin-glass) of interacting particles may split
into an exponential number of
ergodic sub-spaces (thermodynamic states). Previous theoretical studies assumed
that the equilibrium collective behavior of such a system is determined by its
ground thermodynamic states of the minimal free-energy density, and that the
equilibrium free energies follow the distribution of exponential decay. Here we
show that these assumptions are not necessarily valid. For some complex
systems, the equilibrium free-energy values may follow a Gaussian distribution
within an intermediate temperature range, and consequently their equilibrium
properties are contributed by {\em excited} thermodynamic states. This work
will help improving our understanding of the equilibrium statistical mechanics
of spin-glasses and other complex systems.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure
Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis- A Case Report
ABSTRACT
Background: Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis (PAP) is a rare pulmonary disorder caused by a congregation of excessive lipoproteinaceous material in the alveolar spaces due to impaired surfactant metabolism. The congregation of the protein in the alveolar space leads to difficulty in breathing, impaired pulmonary immunity, and susceptibility to both opportunistic and acquired pulmonary infections. Although Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis is rare, there are potential treatments. Whole-lung lavage is the most widely accepted therapy and course of treatment. An additional form of therapy, GM-CSF stimulating therapy, uses recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) technology to increase white cell production.
Purpose: The purpose of this case report is to follow a patient through whole-lung lavage therapy to determine outcome and clinical improvement.
Case Description: This case report follows a 55-year-old female patient diagnosed with secondary, idiopathic Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis through eight normal saline whole-lung lavages. The patient’s treatment was led by a pulmonologist with previous Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis experience.
Outcome: By the end of the first four lavages, the patient showed clinical improvement, but during a two-month break from therapy, symptoms returned. Following the break, the patient underwent four additional lung lavage sessions and experienced similar relief as in previous courses of treatment.
Discussion: The patient did complete an additional eight lavages to wash out excess lipoproteinaceous material to provide a longer period of symptom relief. The additional form of therapy, GM-CSF, is not a therapy option for this patient as the disease was idiopathic in nature. The last available treatment option for this patient is a lung transplant
Observing Strategies for the Detection of Jupiter Analogs
To understand the frequency, and thus the formation and evolution, of planetary systems like our own solar system, it is critical to detect Jupiter-like planets in Jupiter-like orbits. For long-term radial-velocity monitoring, it is useful to estimate the observational effort required to reliably detect such objects, particularly in light of severe competition for limited telescope time. We perform detailed simulations of observational campaigns, maximizing the realism of the sampling of a set of simulated observations. We then compute the detection limits for each campaign to quantify the effect of increasing the number of observational epochs and varying their time coverage. We show that once there is sufficient time baseline to detect a given orbital period, it becomes less effective to add further time coverage-rather, the detectability of a planet scales roughly as the square root of the number of observations, independently of the number of orbital cycles included in the data string. We also show that no noise floor is reached, with a continuing improvement in detectability at the maximum number of observations N = 500 tested here.Peer reviewe
On-Line Learning with Restricted Training Sets: An Exactly Solvable Case
We solve the dynamics of on-line Hebbian learning in large perceptrons
exactly, for the regime where the size of the training set scales linearly with
the number of inputs. We consider both noiseless and noisy teachers. Our
calculation cannot be extended to non-Hebbian rules, but the solution provides
a convenient and welcome benchmark with which to test more general and advanced
theories for solving the dynamics of learning with restricted training sets.Comment: 19 pages, eps figures included, uses epsfig macr
Differential negative reinforcement of other behavior to increase compliance with wearing an anti-strip suit
Using a changing-criterion design, we replicated and extended a study (Cook, Rapp, & Schulze,
2015) on differential negative reinforcement of other behavior (DNRO). More specifically,
educational assistants implemented DNRO to teach a 12-year-old boy with autism spectrum
disorder to comply with wearing an anti-strip suit to prevent inappropriate fecal behavior in a
school setting. The duration for which the participant wore the suit systematically increased from
2 s at the start of treatment to the entire duration of the school day at the termination of the study.
Moreover, these effects were generalized to a new school with novel staff and persisted for more
than a year. These findings replicate prior research on DNRO and further support the use of the
intervention to increase compliance with wearing protective items, or medical devices, in
practical settings
Applications of graphics to support a testbed for autonomous space vehicle operations
Researchers describe their experience using graphics tools and utilities while building an application, AUTOPS, that uses a graphical Machintosh (TM)-like interface for the input and display of data, and animation graphics to enhance the presentation of results of autonomous space vehicle operations simulations. AUTOPS is a test bed for evaluating decisions for intelligent control systems for autonomous vehicles. Decisions made by an intelligent control system, e.g., a revised mission plan, might be displayed to the user in textual format or he can witness the effects of those decisions via out of window graphics animations. Although a textual description conveys essentials, a graphics animation conveys the replanning results in a more convincing way. Similarily, iconic and menu-driven screen interfaces provide the user with more meaningful options and displays. Presented here are experiences with the SunView and TAE Plus graphics tools used for interface design, and the Johnson Space Center Interactive Graphics Laboratory animation graphics tools used for generating out out of the window graphics
Winds of Planet Hosting Stars
The field of exoplanetary science is one of the most rapidly growing areas of
astrophysical research. As more planets are discovered around other stars, new
techniques have been developed that have allowed astronomers to begin to
characterise them. Two of the most important factors in understanding the
evolution of these planets, and potentially determining whether they are
habitable, are the behaviour of the winds of the host star and the way in which
they interact with the planet. The purpose of this project is to reconstruct
the magnetic fields of planet hosting stars from spectropolarimetric
observations, and to use these magnetic field maps to inform simulations of the
stellar winds in those systems using the Block Adaptive Tree Solar-wind Roe
Upwind Scheme (BATS-R-US) code. The BATS-R-US code was originally written to
investigate the behaviour of the Solar wind, and so has been altered to be used
in the context of other stellar systems. These simulations will give
information about the velocity, pressure and density of the wind outward from
the host star. They will also allow us to determine what influence the winds
will have on the space weather environment of the planet. This paper presents
the preliminary results of these simulations for the star Bo\"otis,
using a newly reconstructed magnetic field map based on previously published
observations. These simulations show interesting structures in the wind
velocity around the star, consistent with the complex topology of its magnetic
field.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in the peer-reviewed
proceedings of the 14th Australian Space Research Conference, held at the
University of South Australia, 29th September - 1st October 201
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