Could the Pioneer anomaly have a gravitational origin?

If the Pioneer anomaly has a gravitational origin, it would, according to the equivalence principle, distort the motions of the planets in the Solar System. Since no anomalous motion of the planets has been detected, it is generally believed that the Pioneer anomaly can not originate from a gravitational source in the Solar System. However, this conclusion becomes less obvious when considering models that either imply modifications to gravity at long range or gravitational sources localized to the outer Solar System, given the uncertainty in the orbital parameters of the outer planets. Following the general assumption that the Pioneer spacecraft move geodesically in a spherically symmetric spacetime metric, we derive the metric disturbance that is needed in order to account for the Pioneer anomaly. We then analyze the residual effects on the astronomical observables of the three outer planets that would arise from this metric disturbance, given an arbitrary metric theory of gravity. Providing a method for comparing the computed residuals with actual residuals, our results imply that the presence of a perturbation to the gravitational field necessary to induce the Pioneer anomaly is in conflict with available data for the planets Uranus and Pluto, but not for Neptune. We therefore conclude that the motion of the Pioneer spacecraft must be non-geodesic. Since our results are model independent within the class of metric theories of gravity, they can be applied to rule out any model of the Pioneer anomaly that implies that the Pioneer spacecraft move geodesically in a perturbed spacetime metric, regardless of the origin of this metric disturbance.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures. Rev. 3: Major revision. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D. Rev. 4: Added two reference

Everolimus Exposure as a Predictor of Toxicity in Renal Cell Cancer Patients in the Adjuvant Setting: Results of a Pharmacokinetic Analysis for SWOG S0931 (EVEREST), a Phase III Study (NCT01120249).

BackgroundS0931 is assessing recurrence-free survival in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) patients randomized to receive everolimus (EVE) versus placebo for one year following nephrectomy. Due to a higher than expected dropout rate, we assessed EVE trough levels in the adjuvant setting to evaluate the relationship between EVE exposure and probability of toxicity.MethodsPatients received 10 mg daily EVE for nine 6-week cycles. Pre-dose whole blood samples were collected pre-cycle 2 and pre-cycle 3 and analyzed for EVE. Patients with pre-cycle 2 and/or pre-cycle 3 EVE results were used in the analysis. Patients were segregated into quartiles (Q) based on EVE levels and logistic regression was used to model the most common adverse event outcomes using EVE trough as a predictor. Hazard and odds ratios were adjusted for age, BMI and performance status.ResultsA total of 467 patients were included in this analysis. Quartiles normalized to an EVE dose of 10 mg/day were < 9.0, 9.0-12.9, 12.9-22.8, and > 22.8 ng/mL, respectively. EVE trough levels increased with increasing age (p < 0.001). Furthermore, EVE trough levels were higher in men than women (19.4 versus 15.4 ng/mL, p = 0.01). Risk of grade 2 + triglycerides was increased in Q2 and Q3 vs Q1 (OR = 2.08; p = 0.02 and OR = 2.63; p = 0.002). Risk of grade 2 + rash was increased in Q2 and Q4 vs Q1 (OR = 2.99; p = 0.01 and OR = 2.90; p = 0.02). There was also an increased risk of any grade 3 + tox in Q2 vs Q1 (OR = 1.71; p = 0.05).ConclusionsWe identified significant gender and age-related differences in EVE trough levels in patients receiving adjuvant treatment for RCC. Furthermore, our analysis identified significant associations between EVE exposure and probability of toxicity

The Pioneer anomaly and the holographic scenario

In this paper we discuss the recently obtained relation between the Verlinde's holographic model and the first phenomenological Modified Newtonian dynamics. This gives also a promising possible explanation to the Pioneer anomaly.Comment: 5 pages, Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space Scienc

The Pioneer Anomaly

Radio-metric Doppler tracking data received from the Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft from heliocentric distances of 20-70 AU has consistently indicated the presence of a small, anomalous, blue-shifted frequency drift uniformly changing with a rate of ~6 x 10^{-9} Hz/s. Ultimately, the drift was interpreted as a constant sunward deceleration of each particular spacecraft at the level of a_P = (8.74 +/- 1.33) x 10^{-10} m/s^2. This apparent violation of the Newton's gravitational inverse-square law has become known as the Pioneer anomaly; the nature of this anomaly remains unexplained. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of the physical properties of the anomaly and the conditions that led to its detection and characterization. We review various mechanisms proposed to explain the anomaly and discuss the current state of efforts to determine its nature. A comprehensive new investigation of the anomalous behavior of the two Pioneers has begun recently. The new efforts rely on the much-extended set of radio-metric Doppler data for both spacecraft in conjunction with the newly available complete record of their telemetry files and a large archive of original project documentation. As the new study is yet to report its findings, this review provides the necessary background for the new results to appear in the near future. In particular, we provide a significant amount of information on the design, operations and behavior of the two Pioneers during their entire missions, including descriptions of various data formats and techniques used for their navigation and radio-science data analysis. As most of this information was recovered relatively recently, it was not used in the previous studies of the Pioneer anomaly, but it is critical for the new investigation.Comment: 165 pages, 40 figures, 16 tables; accepted for publication in Living Reviews in Relativit

Histological grade and efferent vascular invasion in human breast carcinoma.

Primary breast carcinomas (23) with axillary-node metastases that also showed tumour cells in the efferent nodal vessels, tended to be of higher histological grade than those (21) without efferent vascular invasion. Nuclear hyperchromatism and mitosis is the factor of importance to grading in this respect. This factor also differentiated between RE+ and RE- carcinomas in this material

Kombinert styrke- og utholdenhetstrening øker både maksimalt oksygenopptak og styrke hos utrente normal- og overvektige middelaldrende menn

Masteroppgave - Norges idrettshøgskole, 2015Bakgrunn: Etter hvert som vi blir eldre reduseres den daglige fysiske aktiviteten og inaktivitet fører til dårligere fysisk form og økt risiko for overvekt og livsstilssykdommer. Trening i ulike former blir derfor anbefalt. For å motvirke muskelatrofi anbefales styrketrening og for å øke det maksimale oksygenopptaket (VO2max) anbefales utholdenhetstrening. Utrente overvektige er som oftest i dårligere fysisk form enn utrente normalvektige. Formål: Hovedformålet med denne masteroppgaven var å undersøke effekten av kombinert styrke- og utholdenhetstrening på maksimal styrke og maksimal oksygenopptak, ekspresjon av oksidative enzymer i muskler og fettoksidasjon under aerob aktivitet i en gruppe normalvektige (NV) og en gruppe overvektige (OV) menn. Metode: Tolv normalvektige og tretten overvektige utrente middelaldrende menn (45- 65 år) ble rekruttert til studien. De gjennomførte ukentlig 2 økter styrke- og 2 økter utholdenhetstrening i 12 uker. Styrketreningen bestod av et helkroppsprogram og 3 sett med belastningen på 12RM de første 3 uker, 10RM de neste 6 og 8RM de siste 3 uker. Utholdenhetstreningen bestod av en trening med 6-10 intervaller på 2 minutter og en trening med 3-5 intervaller på 7 minutter. Endringer i VO2maks ble målt på sykkel, mens 1RM ble testet i beinpress, nedtrekk og brystpress. Forsøkspersonene gjennomførte også en akutt sykkeltest hvor de syklet på 70 % avVO2mak i 45 min. Muskelbiopsier ble tatt fra vastus lateralis før og etter treningsintervensjonen. Ekspresjon (proteinmengde) av PGC-1α, citrate synthase (CS) og α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase og et protein i hvert av de fem komplekser i elektrontransportkjeden (Complex I-V) ble målt med Western blot.Seksjon for fysisk prestasjonsevne / Department of Physical Performanc

The development of polyseme learning under uncertainty

Acquiring multiple meanings for a word is often proposed to be difficult for word learners. However, the difficulty may depend on the meanings: prior work has demonstrated that word-learning is easier for both adults and children when words' multiple meanings are related (polysemous, like "cap") than unrelated (homophonous, like "bat"). However, it remains an open question how learners infer polysemous meanings if learners encounter these words in more referentially ambiguous contexts. In two studies, we examine children's and adults' learning of polysemes under uncertainty, using both artificial stimuli from prior work (Study 1) and attested non-English polysemes (Study 2). Results suggest that while adults can use similarities between referents to infer polysemous meanings across multiple exposures, children generally struggle to do so. This indicates that polyseme learning improves with age and suggests current computational models of cross-situational word-learning may capture children's word learning strategies better than those of adults