Multimessenger search for sources of gravitational waves and high-energy neutrinos: Initial results for LIGO-Virgo and IceCube

We report the results of a multimessenger search for coincident signals from the LIGO and Virgo gravitational-wave observatories and the partially completed IceCube high-energy neutrino detector, including periods of joint operation between 2007-2010. These include parts of the 2005-2007 run and the 2009-2010 run for LIGO-Virgo, and IceCube's observation periods with 22, 59 and 79 strings. We find no significant coincident events, and use the search results to derive upper limits on the rate of joint sources for a range of source emission parameters. For the optimistic assumption of gravitational-wave emission energy of 10(-2) M(circle dot)c(2) at similar to 150 Hz with similar to 60 ms duration, and high-energy neutrino emission of 1051 erg comparable to the isotropic gamma-ray energy of gamma-ray bursts, we limit the source rate below 1.6 x 10(-2) Mpc(-3) yr(-1). We also examine how combining information from gravitational waves and neutrinos will aid discovery in the advanced gravitational-wave detector era.

Improved Upper Limits on the Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background from 2009-2010 LIGO and Virgo Data

Gravitational waves from a variety of sources are predicted to superpose to create a stochastic background. This background is expected to contain unique information from throughout the history of the Universe that is unavailable through standard electromagnetic observations, making its study of fundamental importance to understanding the evolution of the Universe. We carry out a search for the stochastic background with the latest data from the LIGO and Virgo detectors. Consistent with predictions from most stochastic gravitational-wave background models, the data display no evidence of a stochastic gravitational-wave signal. Assuming a gravitational-wave spectrum of Omega(GW)(f) = Omega(alpha)(f/f(ref))(alpha), we place 95% confidence level upper limits on the energy density of the background in each of four frequency bands spanning 41.5-1726 Hz. In the frequency band of 41.5-169.25 Hz for a spectral index of alpha = 0, we constrain the energy density of the stochastic background to be Omega(GW)(f) < 5.6 x 10(-6). For the 600-1000 Hz band, Omega(GW)(f) < 0.14(f/900 Hz)(3), a factor of 2.5 lower than the best previously reported upper limits. We find Omega(GW)(f) < 1.8 x 10(-4) using a spectral index of zero for 170-600 Hz and Omega(GW)(f) < 1.0(f/1300 Hz)(3) for 1000-1726 Hz, bands in which no previous direct limits have been placed. The limits in these four bands are the lowest direct measurements to date on the stochastic background. We discuss the implications of these results in light of the recent claim by the BICEP2 experiment of the possible evidence for inflationary gravitational waves.

Estabilidade sagital da condiloplastia associada à cirurgia ortognática para o tratamento do osteocondroma mandibular

The aim of this study was to evaluate the stability of the conservative condylectomy technique and articular disc repositioning as the surgical treatment approach for management of mandibular condylar osteochondroma, with appropriate Orthognathic surgery. Fifteen patients (12 females and 3 males), average age of 32.3 years (range, 13 to 56 years), with unilateral active osteochondroma of the mandibular condyle were analyzed. All patients underwent conservative condylectomy, recontouring of the remaining condylar neck stump and articular disc repositioned and indicated orthognatic surgical procedures. Average post surgical follow-up was 19 months. Each patient's lateral cephalograms were traced at 3 intervals (presurgery, immediate post surgery and long-term follow-up). Immediate after surgery the oclusal plane angle decreased -2.8 ± 4.5o, the maxillomandibular complex rotated counter-clockwise with advancement at menton 5.3 ± 5.6 mm, pogonion 5.0 ± 5.1 mm, B point 3.4 ± 4.2 mm and A point 1.0 ± 1.5 mm. The long-term follow-up showed significant changes in overbite (-0.6 ± 0.5 mm) and SNGoMe (0,93° ± 1,53°). Horizontally and vertically small instabilities occurred in Me (-1.21 ± 1.94 mm) and PNS (-1.48 ± 1.67 mm) respectively. The treatment protocol studied produced counterclockwise rotation and maxillofacial mandibular advancement. The long-term follow-up showed solid dental and skeletal stability with horizontal instability of Me and PNS in the vertical direction.

Narrow-band search of continuous gravitational-wave signals from Crab and Vela pulsars in Virgo VSR4 data

In this paper we present the results of a coherent narrow-band search for continuous gravitational-wave signals from the Crab and Vela pulsars conducted on Virgo VSR4 data. In order to take into account a possible small mismatch between the gravitational-wave frequency and two times the star rotation frequency, inferred from measurement of the electromagnetic pulse rate, a range of 0.02 Hz around two times the star rotational frequency has been searched for both the pulsars. No evidence for a signal has been found and 95% confidence level upper limits have been computed assuming both that polarization parameters are completely unknown and that they are known with some uncertainty, as derived from x-ray observations of the pulsar wind torii. For Vela the upper limits are comparable to the spin-down limit, computed assuming that all the observed spin-down is due to the emission of gravitational waves. For Crab the upper limits are about a factor of 2 below the spin-down limit, and represent a significant improvement with respect to past analysis. This is the first time the spin-down limit is significantly overcome in a narrow-band search.

Directed search for gravitational waves from Scorpius X-1 with initial LIGO data

We present results of a search for continuously emitted gravitational radiation, directed at the brightest low-mass x-ray binary, Scorpius X-1. Our semicoherent analysis covers 10 days of LIGO S5 data ranging from 50-550 Hz, and performs an incoherent sum of coherent F-statistic power distributed amongst frequency-modulated orbital sidebands. All candidates not removed at the veto stage were found to be consistent with noise at a 1% false alarm rate. We present Bayesian 95% confidence upper limits on gravitational-wave strain amplitude using two different prior distributions: a standard one, with no a priori assumptions about the orientation of Scorpius X-1; and an angle-restricted one, using a prior derived from electromagnetic observations. Median strain upper limits of 1.3 x 10(-24) and 8 x 10(-25) are reported at 150 Hz for the standard and angle-restricted searches respectively. This proof-of-principle analysis was limited to a short observation time by unknown effects of accretion on the intrinsic spin frequency of the neutron star, but improves upon previous upper limits by factors of similar to 1.4 for the standard, and 2.3 for the angle-restricted search at the sensitive region of the detector.

Advanced LIGO

The Advanced LIGO gravitational wave detectors are second-generation instruments designed and built for the two LIGO observatories in Hanford, WA and Livingston, LA, USA. The two instruments are identical in design, and are specialized versions of a Michelson interferometer with 4 km long arms. As in Initial LIGO, Fabry-Perot cavities are used in the arms to increase the interaction time with a gravitational wave, and power recycling is used to increase the effective laser power. Signal recycling has been added in Advanced LIGO to improve the frequency response. In the most sensitive frequency region around 100 Hz, the design strain sensitivity is a factor of 10 better than Initial LIGO. In addition, the low frequency end of the sensitivity band is moved from 40 Hz down to 10 Hz. All interferometer components have been replaced with improved technologies to achieve this sensitivity gain. Much better seismic isolation and test mass suspensions are responsible for the gains at lower frequencies. Higher laser power, larger test masses and improved mirror coatings lead to the improved sensitivity at mid and high frequencies. Data collecting runs with these new instruments are planned to begin in mid-2015.

Diagnostic index of three-dimensional osteoarthritic changes in temporomandibular joint condylar morphology

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Modificação de superfície da liga Ti6A14V para apliacação biomédica

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Imputation of microsatellite alleles from dense SNP genotypes for parentage verification across multiple Bos taurus and Bos indicus breeds

To assist cattle producers transition from microsatellite (MS) to single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping for parental verification we previously devised an effective and inexpensive method to impute MS alleles from SNP haplotypes. While the reported method was verified with only a limited data set (N = 479) from Brown Swiss, Guernsey, Holstein, and Jersey cattle, some of the MS-SNP haplotype associations were concordant across these phylogenetically diverse breeds. This implied that some haplotypes predate modern breed formation and remain in strong linkage disequilibrium. To expand the utility of MS allele imputation across breeds, MS and SNP data from more than 8000 animals representing 39 breeds (Bos taurus and B. indicus) were used to predict 9410 SNP haplotypes, incorporating an average of 73 SNPs per haplotype, for which alleles from 12 MS markers could be accurately be imputed. Approximately 25% of the MS-SNP haplotypes were present in multiple breeds (N = 2 to 36 breeds). These shared haplotypes allowed for MS imputation in breeds that were not represented in the reference population with only a small increase in Mendelian inheritance inconsistancies. Our reported reference haplotypes can be used for any cattle breed and the reported methods can be applied to any species to aid the transition from MS to SNP genetic markers. While ~91% of the animals with imputed alleles for 12 MS markers had ≤1 Mendelian inheritance conflicts with their parents' reported MS genotypes, this figure was 96% for our reference animals, indicating potential errors in the reported MS genotypes. The workflow we suggest autocorrects for genotyping errors and rare haplotypes, by MS genotyping animals whose imputed MS alleles fail parentage verification, and then incorporating those animals into the reference dataset.

Storage media for avulsed teeth: a literature review

Dental avulsion is the most severe type of traumatic tooth injuries because it causes damageto several structures and results in the complete displacement of the tooth from its socketin the alveolar bone. The ideal situation is to replant an exarticulated tooth immediatelyafter avulsion because the extraoral time is a determinant factor for treatment successand for a good prognosis. However, it is not always possible. The success of replantationdepends on a number of factors that may contribute to accelerate or minimize theoccurrence of root resorption or ankylosis, among which is the type and characteristicsof the medium used for temporary storage during the time elapsed between avulsionand replantation. Maintaining the tooth in an adequate wet medium that can preserve,as longer as possible, the vitality of the periodontal ligament cells that remain on rootsurface is the key to success of replantation. Recent research has led to the developmentof storage media that produce conditions that closely resemble the original socketenvironment, with adequate osmolality (cell pressure), pH, nutritional metabolites andglucose, and thus create the best possible conditions for storage. Although these storagemedia can now be purchased in the form of retail products, the most common scenariois that such a product will not be readily available at the moment of the accident Thispaper reviews the literature on the different storage media that have been investigatedfor avulsed teeth based on full-length papers retrieved from PubMed/Medline, Lilacs, BBOand SciELO electronic databases using the key words storage medium , transportationmedium , avulsion , tooth avulsion , replantation , tooth replantation , milk and propolis .After application of inclusion and exclusion criteria, 39 papers were selected and criticallyreviewed with respect to the characteristics, efficacy and ease of access of the storagemedium. The review of the lite

Environmental and Farm Management Factors Associated with Tuberculosis on Cattle Farms in Northeastern Michigan

Objective—To identify major environmental and farm management factors associated with the occurrence of tuberculosis (TB) on cattle farms in northeastern Michigan. Design—Case-control study. Sample Population—17 cattle farms with infected cattle and 51 control farms. Procedure—Each case farm (laboratory confirmed diagnosis of Mycobacterium bovis infection) was matched with 2 to 4 control farms (negative whole-herd test results within previous 12 months) on the basis of type of farm (dairy or beef) and location. Cattle farm data were collected from in-person interviews and mailed questionnaires. Wildlife TB data were gathered through state wildlife surveillance. Environmental data were gathered from a satellite image-based geographic information system. Multivariable conditional logistic regression for matched analysis was performed. Results—Major factors associated with increased farm risk of TB were higher TB prevalence among wild deer and cattle farms in the area, herd size, and ponds or creeks in cattle housing areas. Factors associated with reduced farm risk of TB were greater amounts of natural open lands in the surrounding area and reducing deer access to cattle housing areas by housing cattle in barns, barnyards, or feedlots and use of electrified wire or barbed wire for livestock fencing. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Results suggest that certain environmental and management factors may be associated with risk of TB on cattle farms.

Bovine Tuberculosis in Free-Ranging White-Tailed Deer From Michigan

A 4.5 yr-old male white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) killed by a hunter during the 1994 firearm hunting season in northeastern Michigan (USA) had lesions suggestive of tuberculosis and was positive on culture for Mycobacterium bovis the causative agent for bovine tuberculosis. Subsequently, a survey of 354 hunter-harvested white-tailed deer for tuberculosis was conducted in this area from 15 November 1995 through 5 January 1996. Heads and/or lungs from deer were examined grossly and microscopically for lesions suggestive of bovine tuberculosis. Gross lesions suggestive of tuberculosis were seen in 15 deer. Tissues from 16 deer had acid-fast bacilli on histological examination and in 12 cases mycobacterial isolates from lymph nodes and/or lungs were identified as M. bovis. In addition, lymph nodes from 12 deer (11 females and 1 male) without gross or microscopic lesions were pooled into 1 sample from which M. bovis was cultured. Although more male (9) than female (3) deer had bovine tuberculosis infections, this difference was not statistically significant. Mycobacterium bovis culture positive deer ranged in age from 1.5 to 5.5 yr with a mean of 2.7 yr (median 2.5 yr) for males and 3.2 yr (median 3.5 yr) for females. This appears to be the first epidemic occurrence of M. bovis in free-ranging cervids in North America. A combination of environmental (high deer density and poor quality habit) and management-related factors (extensive supplemental feeding) may be responsible for this epizootic.

Bovine Tuberculosis in a Free-ranging Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus) from Montana

A survey of 41 mule deer (Odocolleus hemionus) and three white-tailed deer (O. virginianus) for bovine tuberculosis was conducted on a Montana (USA) cattle ranch from 2 November 1993 through January 1994. Gross and microscopic lesions typical of tuberculosis were present in tonsil and lymph nodes of the head, thorax, and abdomen of one adult female mule deer. Additionally, a single microgranuloma considered morphologically suggestive of tuberculosis was present in one lymph node of the head of a second mule deer. Mycobacterial isolates from lymph nodes of the head and thorax of the first deer were identified as Mycobacterium bovis.