4,626 research outputs found
Constraining the Location of Microlensing Objects by using the Finite Source Effect in EAGLE events
We propose a new method to constrain the location of microlensing objects
using EAGLE (Extremely Amplified Gravitational LEnsing) events. We have
estimated the rate of EAGLE events by taking the finite-source effect in to
account. We found that the EAGLE event rate for using a 1-m class telescope w
hose limiting magnitude is is the same as or higher than that of
the ordinary microlensing events which have been found to date. We have also
found that the fraction of transit EAGLE events is large enough to detect:
between depending on the lens location. Since the lens proper
motion can be measured for a transit event, one can distinguish whether the
lens is a MACHO (MAssive Compact Halo Object) in our hal o or one of the known
stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) from the proper motion measurement
for each transit EAGLE event. Moreover, we show that the fraction of transit
EAGLEs in all EAGLE events signif icantly depends on the lensing locations: the
transit EAGLE fraction for the sel f-lensing case is times larger
than that for halo MACHOs. Thus, one can constrain the location of lens objects
by the statistics of the tr ansit events fraction. We show that we can
reasonably expect transit events out of 21 EAGLE events in 3 years.
We can also constrain the lens population properties at a gre ater than 99%
confidence level depending on the number of transit events de tected. We also
present the duration of EAGLE events, and show how an hourly ob servational
mode is more suitable for an EAGLE event search program.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Teacher training processes and teachers' competence : A sociological study in the primary school
The paper describes part of a study whose aim was to investigate the relation between
modalities of teacher training and modalities of pedagogic practice implemented in the science classroom. The study is focused on primary school context and analyses the evolution of teachers performance in terms of their acquisition of recognition and realisation rules, i.e.
coding orientation, to specific scientific learning contexts.
Theoretically, the study is based on Bernstein’s theory of pedagogic discourse (1999, 2000)which provided the concepts to characterise the modalities of teacher training and of classroom pedagogic practices and to analyse teachers’ evolution in terms of recognition and realisation rules. The sample was made up of four teachers and their four socially
heterogeneous school classes. An action-research methodology was followed.The results suggest that the teacher training implemented was favourable to the teachers’
professional development and their competence to lead all children to a high level of scientific development. The efficiency of the training process has to be mostly attributed to the strong classification of the researcher-teachers relation and to the strong framing of evaluation criteria, selection and sequence, together with weak framing of hierarchical rules and pacing.Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Instituto de Inovação Educacional e Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT)
Modelo de avaliação da usabilidade de interfaces Web
A investigação aqui descrita explora a avaliação da usabilidade de interfaces de sítios Web sustentada nos fundamentos da IHC e apresenta um novo metamodelo universal de avaliação da usabilidade, designado por UsaWeb, aplicável a qualquer interface Web, sendo uma proposta completa e coerente que representa um novo paradigma de avaliação da usabilidade de interfaces Web
The Phoenix Deep Survey: The 1.4 GHz microJansky catalogue
The initial Phoenix Deep Survey (PDS) observations with the Australia
Telescope Compact Array have been supplemented by additional 1.4 GHz
observations over the past few years. Here we present details of the
construction of a new mosaic image covering an area of 4.56 square degrees, an
investigation of the reliability of the source measurements, and the 1.4 GHz
source counts for the compiled radio catalogue. The mosaic achieves a 1-sigma
rms noise of 12 microJy at its most sensitive, and a homogeneous radio-selected
catalogue of over 2000 sources reaching flux densities as faint as 60 microJy
has been compiled. The source parameter measurements are found to be consistent
with the expected uncertainties from the image noise levels and the Gaussian
source fitting procedure. A radio-selected sample avoids the complications of
obscuration associated with optically-selected samples, and by utilising
complementary PDS observations including multicolour optical, near-infrared and
spectroscopic data, this radio catalogue will be used in a detailed
investigation of the evolution in star-formation spanning the redshift range 0
< z < 1. The homogeneity of the catalogue ensures a consistent picture of
galaxy evolution can be developed over the full cosmologically significant
redshift range of interest. The 1.4 GHz mosaic image and the source catalogue
are available on the web at http://www.atnf.csiro.au/~ahopkins/phoenix/ or from
the authors by request.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figures, 4 tables. Accepted for publication by A
Direct Detection of Giant Close-In Planets Around the Source Stars of Caustic-Crossing Microlensing Events
We propose a direct method to detect close-in giant planets orbiting stars in
the Galactic bulge. This method uses caustic-crossing binary microlensing
events discovered by survey teams monitoring the bulge to measure light from a
planet orbiting the source star. When the planet crosses the caustic, it is
more magnified than the source star; its light is magnified by two orders of
magnitude for Jupiter size planets. If the planet is a giant close to the star,
it may be bright enough to make a significant deviation in the light curve of
the star. Detection of this deviation requires intensive monitoring of the
microlensing light curve using a 10-meter class telescope for a few hours after
the caustic. This is the only method yet proposed to directly detect close-in
planets around stars outside the solar neighborhood.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. Submitted to ApJ Letter
MACHO Mass Determination Based on Space Telescope Observation
We investigate the possibility of lens mass determination for a caustic
crossing microlensing event based on a space telescope observation. We
demonstrate that the parallax due to the orbital motion of a space telescope
causes a periodic fluctuation of the light curve, from which the lens distance
can be derived. Since the proper motion of the lens relative to the source is
also measurable for a caustic crossing event, one can find a full solution for
microlensing properties of the event, including the lens mass. To determine the
lens mass with sufficient accuracy, the light curve near the caustic crossing
should be observed within uncertainty of 1%. We argue that the Hubble
Space Telescope observation of the caustic crossing supplied with ground-based
observations of the full light curve will enable us to determine the mass of
MACHOs, which is crucial for understanding the nature of MACHOs.Comment: 9 pages + 3 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
Aplicación del método Delphi para la inclusión de las externalidades en análisis de seguridad y de salud laboral
Organizations should regularly conduct an assessment of their occupational hazards in order to design and implement preventive measures that are necessary and sufficient to deal with the level of risk, the costs of prevention and the safety at levels considered acceptable by the organization. Furthermore, the selection of measures to be implemented in an organization should take into account both internal and external costs. Externalities are of great importance in terms of the costs of accidents at work; nevertheless, they are not often properly addressed by the organizations. In this paper we describe an application of the Delphi method to understand how externalities can be included in Occupational Safety and Health.Las organizaciones deben realizar periódicamente una evaluación de sus riesgos laborales con el fin de diseñar y poner en práctica medidas preventivas que sean necesarias y suficientes para mantener e l nivel de riesgo, los costos de la prevención y la seguridad en los niveles considerados aceptables por la organización. Por otra parte, la selección de las medidas a aplicar en una organización debe tener en cuenta tanto los costes internos como externos. Las externalidades son de gran importancia en términos de los costos de los accidentes de trabajo; sin embargo, a menudo no se tratan adecuadamente por las organizaciones. En este artículo se describe una aplicación del método Delphi para entender cómo los factores externos pueden ser incluidos en la Seguridad y Salud Laboral.The authors would like to acknowledge all the experts who have participated in the Delphi panel. The authors also acknowledge the anonymous reviewers who helped to improve the overall quality of the current manuscript. This study was financially supported by FCT-Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia of Portugal, under the project ID/CEC/00319/2013
Neutrophil swarms require LTB4 and integrins at sites of cell death in vivo
Neutrophil recruitment from blood to extravascular sites of sterile or infectious tissue damage is a hallmark of early innate immune responses, and the molecular events leading to cell exit from the bloodstream have been well defined1,2. Once outside the vessel, individual neutrophils often show extremely coordinated chemotaxis and cluster formation reminiscent of the swarming behaviour of insects3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11. The molecular players that direct this response at the single-cell and population levels within the complexity of an inflamed tissue are unknown. Using two-photon intravital microscopy in mouse models of sterile injury and infection, we show a critical role for intercellular signal relay among neutrophils mediated by the lipid leukotriene B4, which acutely amplifies local cell death signals to enhance the radius of highly directed interstitial neutrophil recruitment. Integrin receptors are dispensable for long-distance migration12, but have a previously unappreciated role in maintaining dense cellular clusters when congregating neutrophils rearrange the collagenous fibre network of the dermis to form a collagen-free zone at the wound centre. In this newly formed environment, integrins, in concert with neutrophil-derived leukotriene B4 and other chemoattractants, promote local neutrophil interaction while forming a tight wound seal. This wound seal has borders that cease to grow in kinetic concert with late recruitment of monocytes and macrophages at the edge of the displaced collagen fibres. Together, these data provide an initial molecular map of the factors that contribute to neutrophil swarming in the extravascular space of a damaged tissue. They reveal how local events are propagated over large-range distances, and how auto-signalling produces coordinated, self-organized neutrophil-swarming behaviour that isolates the wound or infectious site from surrounding viable tissue
Microbiological analysis of Portugal northern coastal beach sands
Poster apresentado no XIV Congresso Nacional de Bioquímica, Vilamoura, Portugal, 2004
Pesca de Arrasto e Linha na Baia de Inhambane: 1998
The fishing activity in Inhambane Bay is still strictly artisanal, with predominance of trawl and line fishing among other methods. Trawl fishing in particular, is considered to be the most important fishing method in terms of revenue and potential for the future
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