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Future constraints of cosmological parameters from Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) will depend on the use of photometric samples, those samples without spectroscopic measurements of the SNe Ia. There is a growing number of analyses that show that photometric samples can be utilized for precision cosmological studies with minimal systematic uncertainties. To investigate this claim, we perform the first analysis that combines two separate photometric samples, SDSS and Pan-STARRS, without including a low-redshift anchor. We evaluate the consistency of the cosmological parameters from these two samples and find they are consistent with each other to under 1σ. From the combined sample, named Amalgame, we measure Ω M = 0.328 ± 0.024 with SN alone in a flat ΛCDM model, and Ω M = 0.330 ± 0.018 and w = |$-1.016^{+0.055}_{-0.058}$| when combining with a Planck data prior and a flat w CDM model. These results are consistent with constraints from the Pantheon+ analysis of only spectroscopically confirmed SNe Ia, and show that there are no significant impediments to analyses of purely photometric samples of SNe Ia. The data and results are made available at https://github.com/bap37/AmalgameDR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As we observe a rapidly growing number of astrophysical transients, we learn more about the diverse host galaxy environments in which they occur. Host galaxy information can be used to purify samples of cosmological Type Ia supernovae, uncover the progenitor systems of individual classes, and facilitate low-latency follow-up of rare and peculiar explosions. In this work, we develop a novel data-driven methodology to simulate the time-domain sky that includes detailed modelling of the probability density function for multiple transient classes conditioned on host galaxy magnitudes, colours, star formation rates, and masses. We have designed these simulations to optimize photometric classification and analysis in upcoming large synoptic surveys. We integrate host galaxy information into the snana simulation framework to construct the simulated catalogue of optical transients and correlated hosts (SCOTCH, a publicly available catalogue of 5-million idealized transient light curves in LSST passbands and their host galaxy properties over the redshift range 0 < z < 3. This catalogue includes supernovae, tidal disruption events, kilonovae, and active galactic nuclei. Each light curve consists of true top-of-the-galaxy magnitudes sampled with high (≲2 d) cadence. In conjunction with SCOTCH, we also release an associated set of tutorials and transient-specific libraries to enable simulations of arbitrary space- and ground-based surveys. Our methodology is being used to test critical science infrastructure in advance of surveys by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory and the Nancy G. Roman Space Telescope. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the use of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) as standard candles requires a better approach to incorporate the relationship between SNe Ia and the properties of their host galaxies. Using a spectroscopically confirmed sample of ∼1600 SNe Ia, we develop the first empirical model of underlying populations for SNe Ia light-curve properties that includes their dependence on host-galaxy stellar mass; we find a significant correlation between stretch population and stellar mass (99.9% confidence) and a weaker correlation between color and stellar mass (90% confidence). These populations are important inputs to simulations that are used to model selection effects and correct distance biases within the BEAMS with Bias Correction (BBC) framework. Here we improve BBC to also account for SNe Ia-host correlations, and we validate this technique on simulated data samples. We recover the input relationship between SNe Ia luminosity and host-galaxy stellar mass (the mass step, γ) with a bias of 0.004 ±0.001 mag, which is a factor of 5 improvement over previous methods that have a γ bias of ∼0.02 ± 0.001 mag. We adapt BBC for a novel dust-based model of intrinsic brightness variations, which results in a greatly reduced mass step for data (γ = 0.017 ± 0.008) and for simulations (γ = 0.006 ± 0.007). Analyzing simulated SNe Ia, the biases on the dark energy equation of state, w, vary from Δw = 0.006(5) to 0.010(5) with our new BBC method; these biases are significantly smaller than the 0.02(5) w bias using previous BBC methods that ignore SNe Ia-host correlations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clinical vignettes along with applicable neuroscientific research findings are considered for the purpose of examining the utility of neuropsychoanalysis to psychoanalytic thought and practice. Several fundamental psychoanalytic concepts are revisited along both lines. Among them are: identification, embodiment, attachment, drive, danger situations, dreams, memory, metaphor, conflict, defense. In the process, the metapsychology of the "mental apparatus" gains renewed attention. The article uses instances of three different clinical situations as moments open to neuro-psychoanalytic explorations of several basic psychoanalytic propositions: on the couch; on the phone; in the chair. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explores the dilemma facing American policymakers in the Philippines. Political conditions in the Philippines; American installations in the country; Importance of U.S. military bases in the Philippines to America's global security plans; Issues raised during the renegotiation of the base agreements; Impact of the U.S. approach to the political crisis in the Philippines on the bases' future as well as Filipino attitudes toward the U.S. for generations to come.

We propose a robust, quantitative method to compare the synthetic light curves of a Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) explosionmodel with a large set of observed SNe Ia, and derive a figure ofmerit for the explosionmodel's agreement with observations. The synthetic light curves are fit with the data-driven model SALT2 which returns values for stretch, color, and magnitude at peak brightness, as well as a goodness-of-fit parameter. Each fit is performed multiple times with different choices of filter bands and epoch range in order to quantify the systematic uncertainty on the fitted parameters. We use a parametric population model for the distribution of observed SN Ia parameters from large surveys, and extend it to represent red, dim, and bright outliers found in a low-redshift SN Ia data set.We discuss the potential uncertainties of this population model and find it to be reliable given the current uncertainties on cosmological parameters. Using our population model, we assign each set of fitted parameters a likelihood of being observed in nature, and a figure of merit based on this likelihood. We define a second figure of merit based on the quality of the light curve fit, and combine the two measures into an overall figure of merit for each explosion model. We compute figures of merit for a variety of one-, two-, and three-dimensional explosion models and show that our evaluation method allows meaningful inferences across a wide range of light curve quality and fitted parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the correlation between supernova (SN) host-galaxy properties and their residuals in the Hubble diagram. We use SNe discovered during the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II Supernova Survey, and focus on objects at a redshift of z < 0.15, where the selection effects of the survey are known to yield a complete Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) sample. To minimize the bias in our analysis with respect to measured host-galaxy properties, spectra were obtained for nearly all hosts, spanning a range in magnitude of-23 < Mr < -17. In contrast to previous works that use photometric estimates of host mass as a proxy for global metallicity, we analyze host-galaxy spectra to obtain gas-phase metallicities and star formation rates (SFRs) from host galaxies with active star formation. From a final sample of ~40 emission-line galaxies, we find that light-curve-corrected SNe la are ~0.1 mag brighter in high-metallicity hosts than in low-metallicity hosts. We also find a significant (>3σ) correlation between the Hubble Residuals of SNe la and the specific SFR of the host galaxy. We comment on the importance of SN/host-galaxy correlations as a source of systematic bias in future deep SN surveys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyze the effect that peculiar velocities have on the cosmological inferences we make using luminosity distance indicators, such as Type Ia supernovae. In particular we study the corrections required to account for (1) our own motion, (2) correlations in galaxy motions, and (3) a possible local under- or overdensity. For all of these effects we present a case study showing the impact on the cosmology derived by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II Supernova Survey (SDSS-II SN Survey). Correcting supernova (SN) redshifts for the cosmic microwave background (CMB) dipole slightly overcorrects nearby SNe that share some of our local motion. We show that while neglecting the CMB dipole would cause a shift in the derived equation of state of Δw ~ 0.04 (at fixed Ωm), the additional local-motion correction is currently negligible (Δw ≲ 0.01). We then demonstrate a covariance-matrix approach to statistically account for correlated peculiar velocities. This down-weights nearby SNe and effectively acts as a graduated version of the usual sharp low-redshift cut. Neglecting coherent velocities in the current sample causes a systematic shift of Δw ~ 0.02. This will therefore have to be considered carefully when future surveys aim for percent-level accuracy and we recommend our statistical approach to down-weighting peculiar velocities as a more robust option than a sharp low-redshift cut. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We improve estimates of the stellar mass and mass-weighted average age of Type la supernova (SN Ia) host galaxies by combining UV and near-IR photometry with optical photometry in our analysis. Using 206 SNe Ia drawn from the full three-year Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-II) Supernova Survey (median redshift of ɀ ≈ 0.2) and multi-wavelength host-galaxy photometry from SDSS, the Galaxy Evolution Explorer, and the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope Infrared Deep Sky Survey, we present evidence of a correlation (1.9σ confidence level) between the residuals of SNe Ia about the best-fit Hubble relation and the mass-weighted average age of their host galaxies. The trend is such that older galaxies host SNe Ia that are brighter than average after standard light-curve corrections are made. We also confirm, at the 3.0σ level, the trend seen by previous studies that more massive galaxies often host brighter SNe Ia after light-curve correction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe a new formalism to fit the parameters α and β that are used in the SALT2 model to determine the standard magnitudes of Type la supernovae (SNe Ia). The new formalism describes the intrinsic scatter in SNe Ia by a covariance matrix in place of the single parameter normally used. We have applied this formalism to the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Supernova Survey (SDSS-II) data and conclude that the data are best described by α = Due to image rights restrictions, multiple line equation(s) cannot be graphically displayed. and β = Due to image rights restrictions, multiple line equation(s) cannot be graphically displayed., where the error is dominated by the uncertainty in the form of the intrinsic scatter matrix. Our result depends on the introduction of a more general form for the intrinsic scatter of the distance moduli of SNe la than is conventional, resulting in a larger value of β and a larger uncertainty than the conventional approach. Although this analysis results in a larger value of β and a larger error, the SDSS data differ (at a 98% confidence level) from β -- 4.1, the value expected for extinction by the type of dust found in the Milky Way. We have modeled the distribution of SNe Ia in terms of their color and conclude that there is strong evidence that variation in color is a significant contributor to the scatter of SNe la around their standard candle magnitude. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyze the three-year Sloan Digital Sky Survey II (SDSS-II) Supernova (SN) Survey data and identify a sample of 1070 photometric Type la supernova (SN la) candidates based on their multiband light curve data. This sample consists of SN candidates with no spectroscopic confirmation, with a subset of 210 candidates having spectroscopic redshifts of their host galaxies measured while the remaining 860 candidates are purely photometric in their identification. We describe a method for estimating the efficiency and purity of photometric SN la classification when spectroscopic confirmation of only a limited sample is available, and demonstrate that SN la candidates from SDSS-II can be identified photometrically with ~91% efficiency and with a contamination of ~6%. Although this is the largest uniform sample of SN candidates to date for studying photometric identification, we find that a larger spectroscopic sample of contaminating sources is required to obtain a better characterization of the background events. A Hubble diagram using SN candidates with no spectroscopic confirmation, but with host galaxy spectroscopic redshifts, yields a distance modulus dispersion that is only ~20%-40% larger than that of the spectroscopically confirmed SN la sample alone with no significant bias. A Hubble diagram with purely photometric classification and redshift-distance measurements, however, exhibits biases that require further investigation for precision cosmology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the efficacy of electroconvulsive therapy for the treatment of affective disorders there are no systematic studies of its effectiveness or safety in the mentally retarded population. A literature search revealed 16 case reports that suggests that it is both as effective and safe with mentally retarded persons as in the general population. Four additional clinical vignettes, with extensive follow-up observation from four to eleven years, are presented in an effort to enrich the literature on this subject. They include patients with rapid cycling bipolar disorder, bipolar disorder, manic phase, major depression with psychotic features and schizoaffective disorder. Issues of diagnostic difficulty and pharmacologic prophylaxis are addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crystal structure determinations of the non-isomorphous salts, Cu(1,4-thioxane)(ClO) and Cu(1,4-thioxane)(BF) were carried out. The former compound was shown to contain strongly coordinated perchlorate while the later contains ionic tetrafluoroborate. For the coordinated perchlorate group, Cu-O is 2.278(8) Å. A third compound, Cu(1,4-thioxane)(HO)(BF), was also characterized by x-ray crystallography, and contains a coordinated water molecule (with Cu-O 2.234(7) Å) that is hydrogen bonded to ionic tetrafluoroborate. All three complexes have approximately tetrahedral geometry. The copper(I) atom is coordinated to the sulfur atoms of the 1,4-thioxane rings. In each of the complexes, one of the 1,4-thioxane six-membered rings is coordinated via an equatorial ring position and the remaining two or three rings are coordinated via an axial position. The compound, Cu(1,4-thioxane)(ClO), was also prepared and found to be isomorphous with Cu(1,4-thioxane) (BF), enabling a comparison to be made between the i.r. spectra of ionic and coordinated perchlorate in similar complexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the growth and development of electronic fund transfers (EFT) in the United States. Update on the Marine Midland decision; Regulation amendments of debit cards; Law of telecommunications and electronic fund transfer services.

Portal pressure-blood volume curves were derived in 13 cirrhotic patients with portal hypertension and oesophageal or gastric varices by measuring portal pressure at two levels of blood volume. Portal pressure varied directly with blood volume. In seven patients where portal pressure was measured at three levels of blood volume separated by 500 ml or more the portal pressure-blood volume relationship was found to be approximately linear. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Responds to comments by David Chappell on the perception of the U.S. military presence in the Philippines as important to U.S. security. Disagreement on the statement that ipso factor the Philippines has no geostrategic importance to U.S. security; Implication that unilaterally withdrawing U.S. bases would help choice about the political and moral relationships with the Filipinos.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "Advocating for Arts in the Classroom" in the Fall 2010 issue.

We present a systematic study of the pure deflagration model of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) using three-dimensional, high-resolution, full-star hydrodynamical simulations, nucleosynthetic yields calculated using Lagrangian tracer particles, and light curves calculated using radiation transport. We evaluate the simulations by comparing their predicted light curves with many observed SNe Ia using the SALT2 data-driven model and find that the simulations may correspond to under-luminous SNe Iax. We explore the effects of the initial conditions on our results by varying the number of randomly selected ignition points from 63 to 3500, and the radius of the centered sphere they are confined in from 128 to 384 km. We find that the rate of nuclear burning depends on the number of ignition points at early times, the density of ignition points at intermediate times, and the radius of the confining sphere at late times. The results depend primarily on the number of ignition points, but we do not expect this to be the case in general. The simulations with few ignition points release more nuclear energy Enuc, have larger kinetic energies EK, and produce more 56Ni than those with many ignition points, and differ in the distribution of 56Ni, Si, and C/O in the ejecta. For these reasons, the simulations with few ignition points exhibit higher peak B-band absolute magnitudes MB and light curves that rise and decline more quickly; their MB and light curves resemble those of under-luminous SNe Iax, while those for simulations with many ignition points are not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]