We present a new approach to calculate the Wiener filter solution of general data sets. It is trivial to implement, flexible, numerically absolutely stable, and guaranteed to converge. Most ...importantly, it does not require an ingenious choice of preconditioner to work well. The method is capable of taking into account inhomogeneous noise distributions and arbitrary mask geometries. It iteratively builds up the signal reconstruction by means of a messenger field, introduced to mediate between the different preferred bases in which signal and noise properties can be specified most conveniently. Using cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation data as a showcase, we demonstrate the capabilities of our scheme by computing Wiener filtered WMAP7 temperature and polarization maps at full resolution for the first time. We show how the algorithm can be modified to synthesize fluctuation maps, which, combined with the Wiener filter solution, result in unbiased constrained signal realizations, consistent with the observations. The algorithm performs well even on simulated CMB maps with Planck resolution and dynamic range.
We present the Planck Sky Model (PSM), a parametric model for generating all-sky, few arcminute resolution maps of sky emission at submillimetre to centimetre wavelengths, in both intensity and ...polarisation. Several options are implemented to model the cosmic microwave background, Galactic diffuse emission (synchrotron, free-free, thermal and spinning dust, CO lines), Galactic H ii regions, extragalactic radio sources, dusty galaxies, and thermal and kinetic Sunyaev-Zeldovich signals from clusters of galaxies. Each component is simulated by means of educated interpolations/extrapolations of data sets available at the time of the launch of the Planck mission, complemented by state-of-the-art models of the emission. Distinctive features of the simulations are spatially varying spectral properties of synchrotron and dust; different spectral parameters for each point source; modelling of the clustering properties of extragalactic sources and of the power spectrum of fluctuations in the cosmic infrared background. The PSM enables the production of random realisations of the sky emission, constrained to match observational data within their uncertainties. It is implemented in a software package that is regularly updated with incoming information from observations. The model is expected to serve as a useful tool for optimising planned microwave and sub-millimetre surveys and testing data processing and analysis pipelines. It is, in particular, used to develop and validate data analysis pipelines within the Planck collaboration. A version of the software that can be used for simulating the observations for a variety of experiments is made available on a dedicated website.
Constipation is one of the most common problems in patients receiving palliative care and can cause extreme suffering and discomfort. The aims of this study are to raise awareness of constipation in ...palliative care, provide clear, practical guidance on management and encourage further research in the area. A pan-European working group of physicians and nurses with significant experience in the management of constipation in palliative care met to evaluate the published evidence and produce these clinical practice recommendations. Four potentially relevant publications were identified, highlighting a lack of clear, practical guidance on the assessment, diagnosis and management of constipation in palliative care patients. Given the limited data available, our recommendations are based on expert clinical opinion, relevant research findings from other settings and best practice from the countries represented. Palliative care patients are at a high risk of constipation, and while general principles of prevention should be followed, pharmacological treatment is often necessary. The combination of a softener and stimulant laxative is generally recommended, and the choice of laxatives should be made on an individual basis. The current evidence base is poor and further research is required on many aspects of the assessment, diagnosis and management of constipation in palliative care.
The impact of an ICME on the Jovian X‐ray aurora Dunn, William R.; Branduardi‐Raymont, Graziella; Elsner, Ronald F. ...
Journal of geophysical research. Space physics,
March 2016, Volume:
121, Issue:
3
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
We report the first Jupiter X‐ray observations planned to coincide with an interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME). At the predicted ICME arrival time, we observed a factor of ∼8 enhancement in ...Jupiter's X‐ray aurora. Within 1.5 h of this enhancement, intense bursts of non‐Io decametric radio emission occurred. Spatial, spectral, and temporal characteristics also varied between ICME arrival and another X‐ray observation two days later. Gladstone et al. (2002) discovered the polar X‐ray hot spot and found it pulsed with 45 min quasiperiodicity. During the ICME arrival, the hot spot expanded and exhibited two periods: 26 min periodicity from sulfur ions and 12 min periodicity from a mixture of carbon/sulfur and oxygen ions. After the ICME, the dominant period became 42 min. By comparing Vogt et al. (2011) Jovian mapping models with spectral analysis, we found that during ICME arrival at least two distinct ion populations, from Jupiter's dayside, produced the X‐ray aurora. Auroras mapping to magnetospheric field lines between 50 and 70 RJ were dominated by emission from precipitating sulfur ions (S7+,…,14+). Emissions mapping to closed field lines between 70 and 120 RJ and to open field lines were generated by a mixture of precipitating oxygen (O7+,8+) and sulfur/carbon ions, possibly implying some solar wind precipitation. We suggest that the best explanation for the X‐ray hot spot is pulsed dayside reconnection perturbing magnetospheric downward currents, as proposed by Bunce et al. (2004). The auroral enhancement has different spectral, spatial, and temporal characteristics to the hot spot. By analyzing these characteristics and coincident radio emissions, we propose that the enhancement is driven directly by the ICME through Jovian magnetosphere compression and/or a large‐scale dayside reconnection event.
Key Points
The arrival of an ICME changes Jupiter's X‐ray auroral spectra, spatial, and temporal characteristics
Jupiter's X‐ray aurora maps to sources in the outer magnetosphere and also to open field lines
Jupiter's X‐ray aurora is produced by two distinct ion populations during the ICME
Fatigue is one of the most frequent symptoms in palliative care patients, reported in .80% of cancer patients and in up to 99% of patients following radio- or chemotherapy. Fatigue also plays a major ...role in palliative care for noncancer patients, with large percentages of patients with HIV, multiple sclerosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or heart failure reporting fatigue.This paper presents the position of an expert working group of the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC), evaluating the available evidence on diagnosis and treatment of fatigue in palliative care patients and providing the basis for future discussions. As the expert group feels that culture and language influence the approach to fatigue in different European countries, a focus was on cultural issues in the assessment and treatment of fatigue in palliative care.
As a working definition, fatigue was defined as a subjective feeling of tiredness, weakness or lack of energy. Qualitative differences between fatigue in cancer patients and in healthy controls have been proposed, but these differences seem to be only an expression of the overwhelming intensity of cancer-related fatigue.
The pathophysiology of fatigue in palliative care patients is not fully understood. For a systematic approach, primary fatigue, most probably related to high load of proinflammatory cytokines and secondary fatigue from concurrent syndromes and comorbidities may be differentiated. Fatigue is generally recognized as a multidimensional construct, with a physical and cognitive dimension acknowledged by all authors. As fatigue is an inherent word only in the English and French language, but not in other European languages, screening for fatigue should include questions on weakness as a paraphrase for the physical dimension and on tiredness as a paraphrase for the cognitive dimension. Treatment of fatigue should include causal interventions for secondary fatigue and symptomatic treatment with pharmacological and nonpharmacological interventions. Strong evidence has been accumulated that aerobic exercise will reduce fatigue levels in cancer survivors and patients receiving cancer treatment.
In the final stage of life, fatigue may provide protection and shielding from suffering for the patient and thus treatment may be detrimental. Identification of the time point, where treatment of fatigue is no longer indicated is important to alleviate distress at the end of life. Palliative Medicine 2008;
22:
13—22.
The Fisher information matrix of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation power spectrum coefficients is a fundamental quantity that specifies the information content of a CMB experiment. In ...the most general case, its exact calculation scales with the third power of the number of data points N and is therefore computationally prohibitive for state-of-the-art surveys. Applicable to a very large class of CMB experiments without special symmetries, we show how to compute the Fisher matrix in only 𝒪(N2 log N) operations as long as the inverse noise covariance matrix can be applied to a data vector in time 𝒪(ℓ3max log ℓmax). This assumption is true to a good approximation for all CMB data sets taken so far. The method takes into account common systematics such as arbitrary sky coverage and realistic noise correlations. As a consequence, optimal quadratic power spectrum estimation also becomes feasible in 𝒪(N2log N) operations for this large group of experiments. We discuss the relevance of our findings to other areas of cosmology where optimal power spectrum estimation plays a role.
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