Halo Properties from Observable Measures of Environment: I. Halo and Subhalo Masses

The stellar mass - halo mass relation provides a strong basis for connecting galaxies to their host dark matter halos in both simulations and observations. Other observable information, such as the density of the local environment, can place further constraints on a given halo's properties. In this paper, we test how the peak masses of dark matter halos and subhalos correlate with observationally-accessible environment measures, using a neural network to extract as much information from the environment as possible. For high mass halos (peak mass $>10^{12.5} M_{\odot}$), the information on halo mass contained in stellar mass - selected galaxy samples is confined to the $\sim$ 1 Mpc region surrounding the halo center. Below this mass threshold, nearly the entirety of the information on halo mass is contained in the galaxy's own stellar mass instead of the neighboring galaxy distribution. The overall root-mean-squared error of the best-performing network was 0.20 dex. When applied to only the central halos within the test data, the same network had an error of 0.17 dex. Our findings suggest that, for the purposes of halo mass inference, both distances to the $k$th nearest neighbor and counts in cells of neighbors in a fixed aperture are similarly effective measurements of the local environment.Comment: Accepted to the Open Journal of Astrophysics; 17 pages, 20 figures; revised versio

Quartz-amethyst hosted hydrocarbon-bearing fluid inclusions from the green ridge breccia in the snoqualmie granite, North Cascades,WA, USA

We wish to acknowledge the constructive criticisms made by the three anonymous reviewers.Their suggestions and comments greatly improved the first version of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Development of API 682 4th Edition

TutorialTutorial 12: API 682 was first published in 1994 and it became established as the industry leading document for mechanical seals. It promoted proven, high reliability seal solutions across refining markets. As new sealing technologies were developed, the standard was developed further and opened out to chemical, petrochemical and other industries. Published in 2014 the 4th Edition of API 682 continues to promote proven sealing solutions but has been updated to be less prescriptive. This tutorial will discuss changes to the standard for 4th Edition and will provide an insight into the decision making process used by the Task Force

STOPPING CORPORATE WRONGS

The corporate meltdowns of this and the previous decade in the US - WorldCom, Enron, Tyco, and in Australia - FAI, HIH and AWB being among the many examples - have resulted in the governments of those two countries introducing legislation and policy guidelines aimed at minimising future corporate misbehaviour. The US has introduced the Sarbanes Oxley Act, with requirements on corporate accountants and auditors, as well as its whistleblowing provisions. It has revised the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations. New rules for the NYSE and NASDAQ have also been introduced. In addition, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and U.S. Department of Justice have further strengthened the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act 1977, last revised in 1997. Australia has revised the Corporations Act to include whistleblower protection clauses as well as adopted the ASX Corporate Governance guidelines. Standards Australia has issued its handbook on corporate governance. Although not a business issue, the Australian government has also announced that it will introduce whistleblower protection legislation for the public sector by the end of its first term in office. This legislation will likely influence whatever the private sector does in this respect. The inclusion of whistleblower protection in both Sarbanes–Oxley and the Corporations Act reflects a growing body of research that finds that people internal to an organisation are the most effective way to identify corporate wrongs. The Commonwealth Treasury has recently issued an options paper, stating that the Corporations Act has been ineffectual. It has sought submissions on revisions to the legislation that the Australian Government could take. This paper examines the policies advocated by over 20 organisations and academics concerned with whistleblowing issues. It draws the conclusion that on current indications, even after further reform, Australian legislation and policies are still likely to be less effectual than overseas practices. --------------------------------

Dual disadvantage and dispersion dynamics for income distributions

Income distribution has been a longstanding focus of social and economic interest, but never more so than in recent times. New metrics for disadvantage and spread enable a more precise differentiation of directional asymmetry and dispersion, drawing on an internal contextual perspective. The dual metrics for asymmetry and spread can be plotted over time into a phase plane, enabling comparative social welfare perspectives over time and between countries. The methods are utilised to study the dramatic changes that took place in Europe prior to and after the GFC. Major differences are revealed. In terms of asymmetry and spread, some countries have been fallers (lower in both) while other countries are risers

Asymmetry and performance metrics for equity returns

An assumption of symmetric asset returns, together with globally risk averse utility functions, is unappealing for fund managers and other activist investors, whose preferences switch between risk aversion on the downside and risk seeking on the upside. A performance return criterion is originated that is more consistent with the implicit Friedman-Savage utility ordering. Adapted from recent developments in the income distribution literature, the proposed metric weights the lower versus upper conditional expected returns, while a dual spread or dispersion metric also exists. The resulting performance metric is easy to compute. A point of departure is the conventional Sharpe performance ratio, with the empirical comparisons extending to a range of existing performance criteria. In contrast, the proposed W-metric results in different and more embracing performance rankings

Magnetic switching modes for exchange spring systems ErFe2/YFe2/DyFe2/YFe2 with competing anisotropies

The magnetization reversal processes of ½10nm ErFe2=nYFe2=4nm DyFe2=nYFe2" multilayer films with a (110) growth axis and a variable YFe2 layer thickness n are investigated. The magnetically soft YFe2 compound acts as a separator between the hard rare earth (RE) ErFe2 and DyFe2 compounds, each of them bearing different temperature dependent magnetic anisotropy properties. Magnetic measurements of a system with n ¼ 20nm reveal the existence of three switching modes: an independent switching mode at low temperatures, an ErFe2 spin flop switching mode at medium high temperatures, and an YFe2 dominated switching mode at high temperatures. The measurements are in qualitative agreement with the findings of micromagnetic simulations which are used to illustrate the switching modes. Further simulations for a varied YFe2 layer thickness n ranging from 2 to 40nm are carried out. Quantitative criteria are defined to classify the reversal behavior, and the resultant switching modes are laid out in a map with regard to n and the temperature T. A new coupled switching mode emerges above a threshold temperature for samples with thin YFe2 separation layers as a consequence of the exchange coupling between the magnetically hard ErFe2 and DyFe2 layers. It reflects the increasing competition of the two conflicting anisotropies to dominate the magnetic switching states of both RE compounds under decreasing n

Variations in the energy output and ATP pool during the growth of K. aerogenes in defined media

Thermal events accompanying the growth of K. aerogenes in batch culture in phosphate- and glucose-limited salts media were recorded using an LKB flow micro-calorimeter; changes in the cellular ATP content and growth parameters (biomass, CO2) were also measured. Calorimetric data is discussed in terms of the specific power output (P) and ATP data in terms of the ATP pool. Standard experimental and cultural conditions were established; at p = 0.95 the reproducibility of the heat output was 1%, and that of the ATP pool and other parameters was 3-4.5%. The specific power and ATP pool are similar indicators of metabolic activity; the P-t trace generally followed the course of the ATP profile. The values of P and the ATP pool increased rapidly at the start of the exponential growth phase; and on cessation of growth they decreased rapidly. During exponential growth under glucose-limitation the ATP profile oscillated about a mean value; the specific power remained nearly constant. The energy required for biosynthetic processes was calculated from mass and energy balances. Relative changes in this energy and the yield suggest that the biosynthetic energy is composed of the energy required for anabolism, for maintenance and for storage. Three different and distinct types of consecutive growth occurred under phosphate-limitation (glucose 60% in excess); mass and energy balances were established for each. The specific power output and cellular ATP profile decreased with decreasing availability of phosphate. It is apparent that cellular phosphate exists in two forms; free and fixed phosphate. The effect of increasing concentrations of sulphanilamide arid nalidixic acid (NA) on thermal and growth parameters was similar. NA exhibited a dual dose-related antibacterial potency; this is attributed to the change in its mode of action on RNA, DNA and protein synthesis. Changes in the P-t profiles were observed during the development of cellular resistance to NA.<p

Intensity of care in cancer patients in the last year of life: a retrospective data linkage study

BACKGROUND: Delivering high-quality palliative and end-of-life care for cancer patients poses major challenges for health services. We examine the intensity of cancer care in England in the last year of life. METHODS: We included cancer decedents aged 65+ who died between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2017. We analysed healthcare utilisation and costs in the last 12 months of life including hospital-based activities and primary care. RESULTS: Healthcare utilisation and costs increased sharply in the last month of life. Hospital costs were the largest cost elements and decreased with age (0.78, 95% CI: 0.73–0.72, p < 0.005 for age group 90+ compared to age 65–69 and increased substantially with comorbidity burden (2.2, 95% CI: 2.09–2.26, p < 0.005 for those with 7+ comorbidities compared to those with 1–3 comorbidities). The costs were highest for haematological cancers (1.45, 95% CI: 1.38–1.52, p < 0.005) and those living in the London region (1.10, 95% CI: 1.02–1.19, p < 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: Healthcare in the last year of life for advanced cancer patients is costly and offers unclear value to patients and the healthcare system. Further research is needed to understand distinct cancer populations’ pathways and experiences before recommendations can be made about the most appropriate models of care