145 research outputs found
Affiliative behavior in Williams syndrome: Social perception and real-life social behavior
A frequently noted but largely anecdotal behavioral observation in Williams syndrome (WS) is an increased tendency to approach strangers, yet the basis for this behavior remains unknown. We examined the relationship between affect identification ability and affiliative behavior in participants with WS relative to a neurotypical comparison group. We quantified social behavior from self-judgments of approachability for faces, and from parent/other evaluations of real life. Relative to typical individuals, participants with WS were perceived as more sociable by others, exhibited perceptual deficits in affect identification, and judged faces of strangers as more approachable. In WS, high self-rated willingness to approach strangers was correlated with poor affect identification ability, suggesting that these two findings may be causally related. We suggest that the real-life hypersociability in WS may arise at least in part from abnormal perceptual processing of other people's faces, rather than from an overall bias at the level of behavior. While this did not achieve statistical significance, it provides preliminary evidence to suggest that impaired social-perceptual ability may play a role in increased approachability in WS
Mechanisms involved in acquisition of blaNDM genes by IncA/C2 and IncFIIY plasmids
blaNDM genes confer carbapenem resistance and have been identified on transferable plasmids belonging to different incompatibility (Inc) groups. Here we present the complete sequences of four plasmids carrying a blaNDM gene, pKP1-NDM-1, pEC2-NDM-3, pECL3-NDM-1, and pEC4-NDM-6, from four clinical samples originating from four different patients. Different plasmids carry segments that align to different parts of the blaNDM region found on Acinetobacter plasmids. pKP1-NDM-1 and pEC2-NDM-3, from Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli, respectively, were identified as type 1 IncA/C2 plasmids with almost identical backbones. Different regions carrying blaNDM are inserted in different locations in the antibiotic resistance island known as ARI-A, and ISCR1 may have been involved in the acquisition of blaNDM-3 by pEC2-NDM-3. pECL3-NDM-1 and pEC4-NDM-6, from Enterobacter cloacae and E. coli, respectively, have similar IncFIIY backbones, but different regions carrying blaNDM are found in different locations. Tn3-derived inverted-repeat transposable elements (TIME) appear to have been involved in the acquisition of blaNDM-6 by pEC4-NDM-6 and the rmtC 16S rRNA methylase gene by IncFIIY plasmids. Characterization of these plasmids further demonstrates that even very closely related plasmids may have acquired blaNDM genes by different mechanisms. These findings also illustrate the complex relationships between antimicrobial resistance genes, transposable elements, and plasmids and provide insights into the possible routes for transmission of blaNDM genes among species of the Enterobacteriaceae family
MITS: the Multi-Imaging Transient Spectrograph for SOXS
The Son Of X-Shooter (SOXS) is a medium resolution spectrograph R~4500
proposed for the ESO 3.6 m NTT. We present the optical design of the UV-VIS arm
of SOXS which employs high efficiency ion-etched gratings used in first order
(m=1) as the main dispersers. The spectral band is split into four channels
which are directed to individual gratings, and imaged simultaneously by a
single three-element catadioptric camera. The expected throughput of our design
is >60% including contingency. The SOXS collaboration expects first light in
early 2021. This paper is one of several papers presented in these proceedings
describing the full SOXS instrument
Optical design of the SOXS spectrograph for ESO NTT
An overview of the optical design for the SOXS spectrograph is presented.
SOXS (Son Of X-Shooter) is the new wideband, medium resolution (R>4500)
spectrograph for the ESO 3.58m NTT telescope expected to start observations in
2021 at La Silla. The spectroscopic capabilities of SOXS are assured by two
different arms. The UV-VIS (350-850 nm) arm is based on a novel concept that
adopts the use of 4 ion-etched high efficiency transmission gratings. The NIR
(800- 2000 nm) arm adopts the '4C' design (Collimator Correction of Camera
Chromatism) successfully applied in X-Shooter. Other optical sub-systems are
the imaging Acquisition Camera, the Calibration Unit and a pre-slit Common
Path. We describe the optical design of the five sub-systems and report their
performance in terms of spectral format, throughput and optical quality. This
work is part of a series of contributions describing the SOXS design and
properties as it is about to face the Final Design Review.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figures, published in SPIE Proceedings 1070
The VIS detector system of SOXS
SOXS will be a unique spectroscopic facility for the ESO NTT telescope able
to cover the optical and NIR bands thanks to two different arms: the UV-VIS
(350-850 nm), and the NIR (800-1800 nm). In this article, we describe the
design of the visible camera cryostat and the architecture of the acquisition
system. The UV-VIS detector system is based on a e2v CCD 44-82, a custom
detector head coupled with the ESO continuous ow cryostats (CFC) cooling system
and the NGC CCD controller developed by ESO. This paper outlines the status of
the system and describes the design of the different parts that made up the
UV-VIS arm and is accompanied by a series of contributions describing the SOXS
design solutions.Comment: 9 pages, 13 figures, to be published in SPIE Proceedings 1070
The Acquisition Camera System for SOXS at NTT
SOXS (Son of X-Shooter) will be the new medium resolution (R4500 for a
1 arcsec slit), high-efficiency, wide band spectrograph for the ESO-NTT
telescope on La Silla. It will be able to cover simultaneously optical and NIR
bands (350-2000nm) using two different arms and a pre-slit Common Path feeding
system. SOXS will provide an unique facility to follow up any kind of transient
event with the best possible response time in addition to high efficiency and
availability. Furthermore, a Calibration Unit and an Acquisition Camera System
with all the necessary relay optics will be connected to the Common Path
sub-system. The Acquisition Camera, working in optical regime, will be
primarily focused on target acquisition and secondary guiding, but will also
provide an imaging mode for scientific photometry. In this work we give an
overview of the Acquisition Camera System for SOXS with all the different
functionalities. The optical and mechanical design of the system are also
presented together with the preliminary performances in terms of optical
quality, throughput, magnitude limits and photometric properties.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, SPIE conferenc
Discovery of an intermediate-luminosity red transient in M51 and its likely dust-obscured, infrared-variable progenitor
We present the discovery of an optical transient (OT) in Messier 51,
designated M51 OT2019-1 (also ZTF19aadyppr, AT 2019abn, ATLAS19bzl), by the
Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF). The OT rose over 15 days to an observed
luminosity of (), in the
luminosity gap between novae and typical supernovae (SNe). Spectra during the
outburst show a red continuum, Balmer emission with a velocity width of
km s, Ca II and [Ca II] emission, and absorption features
characteristic of an F-type supergiant. The spectra and multiband light curves
are similar to the so-called "SN impostors" and intermediate-luminosity red
transients (ILRTs). We directly identify the likely progenitor in archival
Spitzer Space Telescope imaging with a m luminosity of
and a color redder than 0.74 mag, similar
to those of the prototype ILRTs SN 2008S and NGC 300 OT2008-1. Intensive
monitoring of M51 with Spitzer further reveals evidence for variability of the
progenitor candidate at [4.5] in the years before the OT. The progenitor is not
detected in pre-outburst Hubble Space Telescope optical and near-IR images. The
optical colors during outburst combined with spectroscopic temperature
constraints imply a higher reddening of mag and higher
intrinsic luminosity of
() near peak than seen in previous ILRT
candidates. Moreover, the extinction estimate is higher on the rise than on the
plateau, suggestive of an extended phase of circumstellar dust destruction.
These results, enabled by the early discovery of M51 OT2019-1 and extensive
pre-outburst archival coverage, offer new clues about the debated origins of
ILRTs and may challenge the hypothesis that they arise from the
electron-capture induced collapse of extreme asymptotic giant branch stars.Comment: 21 pages, 5 figures, published in ApJ
Evaluating assumptions of scales for subjective assessment of thermal environments – Do laypersons perceive them the way, we researchers believe?
International audienc
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