University of St Andrews

About: University of St Andrews is a education organization based out in St Andrews, Fife, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Laser. The organization has 16260 authors who have published 43364 publications receiving 1636072 citations. The organization is also known as: St Andrews University & University of St. Andrews.

Intrinsically Red Sources Observed by Spitzer in the Galactic Midplane

Abstract: We present a highly reliable flux-limited census of 18,949 point sources in the Galactic midplane that have intrinsically red mid-infrared colors. These sources were selected from the Spitzer Space Telescope Galactic Legacy Infrared Midplane Survey Extraordinaire (GLIMPSE) I and II surveys of 274 deg2 of the Galactic midplane, and consist mostly of high- and intermediate-mass young stellar objects (YSOs) and asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. The selection criteria were carefully chosen to minimize the effects of position-dependent sensitivity, saturation, and confusion. The distribution of sources on the sky and their location in the Infrared Array Camera and the Multiband Image Photometer for Spitzer 24 μm color-magnitude and color-color space are presented. Using this large sample, we find that YSOs and AGB stars can be mostly separated by simple color-magnitude selection criteria into approximately 50%-70% of YSOs and 30%-50% of AGB stars. Planetary nebulae and background galaxies together represent at most 2%-3% of all the red sources. 1004 red sources in the GLIMPSE II region, mostly AGB stars with high mass-loss rates, show significant (≥0.3 mag) variability at 4.5 and/or 8.0 μm. With over 11,000 likely YSOs and over 7000 likely AGB stars, this is to date the largest uniform census of AGB stars and high- and intermediate-mass YSOs in the Milky Way Galaxy.

The economics of international integration

Abstract: Preface 1. Introduction 2. The theory of customs unions and free trade areas 3. Customs unions and free trade areas: Broadening the framework 4. Customs unions and "Public Goods" 5. Beyond customs union: The rationale for the integration of other economic policies 6. The theory of common markets 7. Fiscal integration 8. Monetary integration 9. Reginal problems and policy in a common market 10. Economic integration among developing countries 11. Integration among centrally planned economies 12. Empirical studies: Quantifying the extent and effect of integration Bibliogaphy Index

Major evolutionary transitions in individuality

Abstract: The evolution of life on earth has been driven by a small number of major evolutionary transitions. These transitions have been characterized by individuals that could previously replicate independently, cooperating to form a new, more complex life form. For example, archaea and eubacteria formed eukaryotic cells, and cells formed multicellular organisms. However, not all cooperative groups are en route to major transitions. How can we explain why major evolutionary transitions have or haven’t taken place on different branches of the tree of life? We break down major transitions into two steps: the formation of a cooperative group and the transformation of that group into an integrated entity. We show how these steps require cooperation, division of labor, communication, mutual dependence, and negligible within-group conflict. We find that certain ecological conditions and the ways in which groups form have played recurrent roles in driving multiple transitions. In contrast, we find that other factors have played relatively minor roles at many key points, such as within-group kin discrimination and mechanisms to actively repress competition. More generally, by identifying the small number of factors that have driven major transitions, we provide a simpler and more unified description of how life on earth has evolved.

High-dose rifampicin, moxifloxacin, and SQ109 for treating tuberculosis: a multi-arm, multi-stage randomised controlled trial

Abstract: Summary Background Tuberculosis is the world's leading infectious disease killer We aimed to identify shorter, safer drug regimens for the treatment of tuberculosis Methods We did a randomised controlled, open-label trial with a multi-arm, multi-stage design The trial was done in seven sites in South Africa and Tanzania, including hospitals, health centres, and clinical trial centres Patients with newly diagnosed, rifampicin-sensitive, previously untreated pulmonary tuberculosis were randomly assigned in a 1:1:1:1:2 ratio to receive (all orally) either 35 mg/kg rifampicin per day with 15–20 mg/kg ethambutol, 20 mg/kg rifampicin per day with 400 mg moxifloxacin, 20 mg/kg rifampicin per day with 300 mg SQ109, 10 mg/kg rifampicin per day with 300 mg SQ109, or a daily standard control regimen (10 mg/kg rifampicin, 5 mg/kg isoniazid, 25 mg/kg pyrazinamide, and 15–20 mg/kg ethambutol) Experimental treatments were given with oral 5 mg/kg isoniazid and 25 mg/kg pyrazinamide per day for 12 weeks, followed by 14 weeks of 5 mg/kg isoniazid and 10 mg/kg rifampicin per day Because of the orange discoloration of body fluids with higher doses of rifampicin it was not possible to mask patients and clinicians to treatment allocation The primary endpoint was time to culture conversion in liquid media within 12 weeks Patients without evidence of rifampicin resistance on phenotypic test who took at least one dose of study treatment and had one positive culture on liquid or solid media before or within the first 2 weeks of treatment were included in the primary analysis (modified intention to treat) Time-to-event data were analysed using a Cox proportional-hazards regression model and adjusted for minimisation variables The proportional hazard assumption was tested using Schoelfeld residuals, with threshold p Findings Between May 7, 2013, and March 25, 2014, we enrolled and randomly assigned 365 patients to different treatment arms (63 to rifampicin 35 mg/kg, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol; 59 to rifampicin 10 mg/kg, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, SQ109; 57 to rifampicin 20 mg/kg, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, and SQ109; 63 to rifampicin 10 mg/kg, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, and moxifloxacin; and 123 to the control arm) Recruitment was stopped early in the arms containing SQ109 since prespecified efficacy thresholds were not met at the planned interim analysis Time to stable culture conversion in liquid media was faster in the 35 mg/kg rifampicin group than in the control group (median 48 days vs 62 days, adjusted hazard ratio 1·78; 95% CI 1·22–2·58, p=0·003), but not in other experimental arms There was no difference in any of the groups in time to culture conversion on solid media 11 patients had treatment failure or recurrent disease during post-treatment follow-up: one in the 35 mg/kg rifampicin arm and none in the moxifloxacin arm 45 (12%) of 365 patients reported grade 3–5 adverse events, with similar proportions in each arm Interpretation A dose of 35 mg/kg rifampicin was safe, reduced the time to culture conversion in liquid media, and could be a promising component of future, shorter regimens Our adaptive trial design was successfully implemented in a multi-centre, high tuberculosis burden setting, and could speed regimen development at reduced cost Funding The study was funded by the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials partnership (EDCTP), the German Ministry for Education and Research (BmBF), and the Medical Research Council UK (MRC)

Evidence for a non-zero Λ and a low matter density from a combined analysis of the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey and cosmic microwave background anisotropies

Abstract: We perform a joint likelihood analysis of the power spectra of the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey (2dFGRS) and the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies under the assumptions that the initial fluctuations were adiabatic, Gaussian and well described by power laws with scalar and tensor indices of n(s) and n(t). On its own, the 2dFGRS sets Light limits on the parameter combination Omega(m)h, but relatively weak limits on the fraction of the cosmic matter density in baryons Omega(b)/Omega(m)- (Here h is Hubble's constant H-0 in units of 100 km s(-1) Mpc(-1). The cosmic densities in baryons, cold dark matter and vacuum energy are denoted by Omega(b), Omega(c) and Omega(Lambda), respectively. The total matter density is Omega(m) = Omega(b) + Omega(c) and the curvature is fixed by Omega(k) = 1 - Omega(m) - Omega(Lambda).) The CMB anisotropy data alone set poor constraints on the cosmological constant and Hubble constant because of a 'geometrical degeneracy' among parameters. Furthermore, if tensor modes are allowed, the CMB data allow a wide range of values for the physical densities in baryons; and cold dark matter (omega(b) = Omegabh(2) and omega(c) = Omega(c)h(2)). Combining the CMB and 2dFGRS data sets helps to break both the geometrical and tensor mode degeneracies. The values of the parameters derived here are consistent with the predictions of the simplest models of inflation, with the baryon density derived from primordial nucleosynthesis and with direct measurements of the Hubble parameter. In particular, we find strong evidence for a positive cosmological constant with a +/-2sigma, range of 0.65 < U(U) < 0.85, independently of constraints on Omega(Lambda) derived from Type Ia supernovae.