1,770 research outputs found
Lithuanians in the Shadow of Three Eagles: Vincas Kudirka, Martynas Jankus, Jonas Šliūpas and the Making of Modern Lithuania
The Lithuanian national movement in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was an international phenomenon involving Lithuanian communities in three countries: Russia, Germany and the United States. To capture the international dimension of the Lithuanian national movement this study offers biographies of three activists in the movement, each of whom spent a significant amount of time living in one of the three “parts” of the Lithuanian nation: Vincas Kudirka, Martynas Jankus and Jonas Šliūpas. The biographies focus on the following questions. To what extent did each of the three activists assimilate into a “foreign” (i.e., non-Lithuanian) culture and was this a voluntary process? How did they free themselves from foreign cultural dominance? How did they understand nationality in general and Lithuanian nationality in particular? What goals did they incorporate into their nationalist agendas? What causes of anti-Semitism and philosemitism can be identified by analyzing their discourse about Jews? The conclusion puts the answers to some of these questions into comparative perspective. This study uses published and archival sources in seven languages from libraries and archives in seven countries—some of which have never been used before. It is the first to use the unpublished typescript of Jonas Šliūpas’ 1942 autobiography, which, until recently, was unavailable to researchers
Comment passer d'un modèle hydrologique à un système de prévision des crues? Ecueils liés à la structure des modèles et aux échelles d'espace et de temps
Les modèles hydrologiques Pluie Débit sont des outils très utiles pour la prévision des crues. À l'heure actuelle, il n'est pas possible d'utiliser directement les modèles de simulation pour effectuer une bonne prévision. Nous explorons ici les différences entre modèles de simulation et modèles de prévision. Puis nous examinons l'importance relative des informations apportées au modèle : dans le passé, les forçages climatiques et les dernières observations de débit ; dans le futur, les prévisions de précipitations. La question des échelles spatiales est ensuite abordée et les limites d'une approche globale sont discutées dans une perspective opérationnelle. / Rainfall Runoff models are very useful tools for flood forecasting. As of today, the direct use of simulation models is not possible to get accurate predictions especially when it concerns short-term forecasting. In this paper, we explore the main differences between simulation and forecasting models. Then we assess the relative importance of every information provided to the model: the past climatic forcing and the last observed discharges; the future precipitation scenarios. Spatial scales are also examined and the limits of a global forecasting approach for operational purposes are discussed
Exo-zodiacal disk mapper: a space interferometer to detect and map zodiacal disks around nearby stars
We propose a concept for a space mission designed to make a survey of potential zodiacal dust disks around nearby stars in the mid-IR. We show that a 10-meter baseline nulling interferometer with two 0.6-meter apertures located in a 1 X 1 AU heliocentric orbit would allow for the survey of about 400 stars in the solar neighborhood and permit a first order determination of the disk inclination and of the dust density and temperature radius dependence. The high dynamic range of the instrument may also be used to study an additional astrophysical phenomena. Beyond its own scientific merit, such a mission would also serve as a technological precursor to a larger interferometer of the type being considered for the detection of earth-like planets
Screening for Major Depressive Disorder in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force
BACKGROUND: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is common among children and adolescents and is associated with functional impairment and suicide.
PURPOSE: To update the 2009 U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) systematic review on screening for and treatment of MDD in children and adolescents in primary care settings.
DATA SOURCES: Several electronic searches (May 2007 to February 2015) and searches of reference lists of published literature.
STUDY SELECTION: Trials and recent systematic reviews of treatment, test-retest studies of screening, and trials and large cohort studies for harms.
DATA EXTRACTION: Data were abstracted by 1 investigator and checked by another; 2 investigators independently assessed study quality.
DATA SYNTHESIS: Limited evidence from 5 studies showed that such tools as the Beck Depression Inventory and Patient Health Questionnaire for Adolescents had reasonable accuracy for identifying MDD among adolescents in primary care settings. Six trials evaluated treatment. Several individual fair- and good-quality studies of fluoxetine, combined fluoxetine and cognitive behavioral therapy, escitalopram, and collaborative care demonstrated benefits of treatment among adolescents, with no associated harms.
LIMITATION: The review included only English-language studies, narrow inclusion criteria focused only on MDD, high thresholds for quality, potential publication bias, limited data on harms, and sparse evidence on long-term outcomes of screening and treatment among children younger than 12 years.
CONCLUSION: No evidence was found of a direct link between screening children and adolescents for MDD in primary care or similar settings and depression or other health-related outcomes. Evidence showed that some screening tools are accurate and some treatments are beneficial among adolescents (but not younger children), with no evidence of associated harms.
PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Bottle Size and Weight Gain in Formula-Fed Infants
Formula-fed infants may be at greater risk for overfeeding and rapid weight gain. Different size bottles are used for feeding infants, although little is known about whether bottle size is related to weight gain in bottle-fed infants
Space-Based Coronagraphic Imaging Polarimetry of the TW Hydrae Disk: Shedding New Light on Self-Shadowing Effects
We present Hubble Space Telescope Near-Infrared Camera and Multi-Object
Spectrometer coronagraphic imaging polarimetry of the TW Hydrae protoplanetary
disk. These observations simultaneously measure the total and polarized
intensity, allowing direct measurement of the polarization fraction across the
disk. In accord with the self-shadowing hypothesis recently proposed by Debes
et al., we find that the total and polarized intensity of the disk exhibits
strong azimuthal asymmetries at projected distances consistent with the
previously reported bright and dark ring-shaped structures (~45-99 au). The
sinusoidal-like variations possess a maximum brightness at position angles near
~268-300 degrees and are up to ~28% stronger in total intensity. Furthermore,
significant radial and azimuthal variations are also detected in the
polarization fraction of the disk. In particular, we find that regions of lower
polarization fraction are associated with annuli of increased surface
brightness, suggesting that the relative proportion of multiple-to-single
scattering is greater along the ring and gap structures. Moreover, we find
strong (~20%) azimuthal variation in the polarization fraction along the
shadowed region of the disk. Further investigation reveals that the azimuthal
variation is not the result of disk flaring effects, but instead from a
decrease in the relative contribution of multiple-to-single scattering within
the shadowed region. Employing a two-layer scattering surface, we hypothesize
that the diminished contribution in multiple scattering may result from
shadowing by an inclined inner disk, which prevents direct stellar light from
reaching the optically thick underlying surface component.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal, 2018 May 3: 17
pages, 9 figures, 2 table
The Lyot project: toward exoplanet imaging and spectroscopy
Among the adaptive optics systems available to astronomers, the US Air Force Advanced Electro-Optical System (AEOS) is unique because it delivers very high order wave front correction. The Lyot Project includes the construction and installation of the world’s first diffraction-limited, optimized coronagraph that exploits the full astronomical potential of AEOS and represents a critical step toward the long-term goal of directly imaging and studying extrasolar planets (a.k.a. “exoplanets”). We provide an update on the Project, whose coronagraph saw first light in March 2004. The coronagraph is operating at least as well as predicted by simulations, and a survey of nearby stars has begun
Curved Tails in Polymerization-Based Bacterial Motility
The curved actin ``comet-tail'' of the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes is a
visually striking signature of actin polymerization-based motility. Similar
actin tails are associated with Shigella flexneri, spotted-fever Rickettsiae,
the Vaccinia virus, and vesicles and microspheres in related in vitro systems.
We show that the torque required to produce the curvature in the tail can arise
from randomly placed actin filaments pushing the bacterium or particle. We find
that the curvature magnitude determines the number of actively pushing
filaments, independent of viscosity and of the molecular details of force
generation. The variation of the curvature with time can be used to infer the
dynamics of actin filaments at the bacterial surface.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, Latex2
Exo-zodiacal disk mapper: a space interferometer to detect and map zodiacal disks around nearby stars
We propose a concept for a space mission designed to make a survey of potential zodiacal dust disks around nearby stars in the mid-IR. We show that a 10-meter baseline nulling interferometer with two 0.6-meter apertures located in a 1 X 1 AU heliocentric orbit would allow for the survey of about 400 stars in the solar neighborhood and permit a first order determination of the disk inclination and of the dust density and temperature radius dependence. The high dynamic range of the instrument may also be used to study an additional astrophysical phenomena. Beyond its own scientific merit, such a mission would also serve as a technological precursor to a larger interferometer of the type being considered for the detection of earth-like planets
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