2,929 research outputs found
Shapley-Ames Galaxies in the Blue and Infrared
The Shapley-Ames Catalog of 1276 galaxies with B < 12.5 is compared with the
Sanders et al. all sky sample of the 629 galaxies with 60 m flux density > 5.24
Jy. The fraction of Shapley-Ames galaxies that are visible in the IR is found
to increase from 0.006 for E or E/S0 galaxies to 0.384 for Sc galaxies. The
subset of Shapley-Ames galaxies that are detected in the IR has a median blue
luminosity that is ~0.8 mag fainter than that of all Shapley-Ames galaxies.
Most of this difference is due to the fact that late-type galaxies (which
contain dust and hot stars) are systematically less luminous in blue light than
are early-type galaxies. Within individual stages along the Hubble sequence no
significant differences are found between the luminosity distributions in blue
light of galaxies that were detected in the infrared and those that were not.
However, our data show a puzzling exception (significant at 99.9%) for SBc
galaxies. For reasons that are not understood Shapley-Ames SBc galaxies, that
are visible in the IR, are more luminous in blue light than those SBc galaxies
that are not detected in the infrared. An other peculiarity of the data is that
Shapley-Ames Sc galaxies galaxies are (at 99.6% confidence) more luminous than
objects of type SBc .Comment: 11 pages. no figures. To be published in the Astronomical Journa
Use of mixed study techniques in the evaluation of coastline dynamics - the âPorto Cesareoâ MPA case of study
In recent decades, the much-discussed climate changes with the consequent
variations in sea and weather conditions and the rise of the mean sea level are causing an
indisputable set of negative actions on the entire coastal system mainly due to the increase
of the erosive phenomenon along the shorelines. These critical scenarios have a major
impact even on a local scale, and because of that, we decided to study a well knows tract of
rocky/sandy mixed coast, in a highly anthropized area, even if located inside the âPorto
Cesareoâ Marine Protected Area (MPA) (Ionian Sea, Gulf of Taranto, Puglia Region, Italy).
The high naturalistic and archaeological value of this area calls for a greater institutional
effort in the study of erosional phenomena. Several historical documents from other studies
point out that this coastal area is an ideal place for this kind of research. The effects of
coastal erosion and anthropic pressures along this tract of coast require adequate efforts for
a consistent and rapid evaluation of the coastal dynamics. The methodologies proposed in
this work are based on mixed techniques from different fields of study, integrating recent
aero photogrammetry surveys with drones, aerial images acquired by the Italian Military
Geographic Institute (IGM), elaboration of paleoshorelines related by underwater
archaeological markers and their dating, and finally on the elaboration of satellite products
useful for the study of vast areas. The monitoring of coastal areas and the evaluation of
shoreline dynamics are core topics in the implementation of managing actions of decision makers on a local, regional, national, and international scale, above all in places like the
chosen one, inside an MPA. Remote sensing through the use of RPAS (Remotely Piloted
Aircraft Systems or Drones) has proved to be very useful for identifying phenomena that
act on a small spatial scale and in supporting and implementing protective measures
according to the adaptive management approach, through multi-year surveys on habitats of
conservation interest [18]. For the implementation of fine-scale monitoring actions, we
have chosen products from the Sentinel satellite of the Copernicus constellation (European
Space Agency - ESA). In this context, the use of satellite products provides a recurrent
view of the ground, useful in the short and long-term monitoring of changes in wide coastal
areas, and in particular, offers a coastline positioning evaluation in near real-time. Local
monitoring actions performed in recent years have already shown an erosive trend in the
past decades, and even, negative forecasts for the next decade, so further surveys with
mixed methodologies could be crucial in the evaluation of the evolution of this particular
coastal area by local authorities
Millstones as indicators of relative sea-level changes in northern Sicily and southern Calabria coast lines, Italy
New data are presented for late Holocene relative sea-level changes in two coastal sites of Sicily and
Calabria, southern Italy. Reconstructions are based on precise measurements of submerged archaeological
remains that are valuable indicators of past sea-level position. The archaeological remains are
millstone quarries carved on sandstone coastal rocks and nowadays partially submerged which, to the
authorsâ knowledge, are used for the first time as sea-level markers. Millstones of similar typology are
located on the coast of Capo dâOrlando (northern Sicily) and Capo dellâArmi (southern Calabria). When
the archeologically-based sea-level position is compared with the shoreline elevation provided by
geological markers (Holocene beachrock, Late Pleistocene marine terraces), a refined understanding of
relative sea-level changes and rates of vertical tectonic movements for these coastline locations is gained
Self-consistent predictive transport simulations of JET-ILW plasmas with different isotopes: a core performance sensitivity study to boundary conditions
Molecular Detection of Babesia spp. (Apicomplexa: Piroplasma) in Free-Ranging Canids and Mustelids From Southern Italy.
Babesiosis is an emerging tick-borne disease caused by apicomplexan parasites with widespread geographical distribution and various wildlife species as reservoir hosts. The aims of this study were to investigate the prevalence and assess the role of free-ranging canids and mustelids in the maintenance of Babesia spp. in southern Italy. PCR analysis of splenic samples targeting the 18S rRNA gene revealed the presence of Babesia spp. in 36 of 82 (43.9%) red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) including 29 (58%) from Campania region and seven (21.8%) from Calabria region, in seven of 13 (53.8%) Eurasian badgers (Meles meles), and in one of 13 (7.7%) gray wolves (Canis lupus). Samples from other host species including 9 Eurasian otters (Lutra lutra), 1 stone marten (Martes foina), 1 least weasel (Mustela nivalis), and 1 European polecat (Mustela putorius) tested Babesia spp. negative. Sequence analysis of the 18S rRNA gene demonstrated the presence of B. vulpes in the red fox and two sequence types of badger-associated Babesia spp. in the Eurasian badger. The Babesia sp. sequence detected in the gray wolf was identical to a badger-associated Babesia sp. This study shows that the number of Babesia spp. infecting free-ranging carnivores in Italy is higher than currently believed, and suggests that these hosts may play an important role in the maintenance of the sylvatic cycle of these parasites. It is the first report of badger-associated Babesia spp. in Italy and in a gray wolf
Increased carotid intima-media thickness and stiffness in obese children
Summary (Abstract not available):Obesity in childhood increases the risk of atherosclerotic disease and death in adulthood. We studied 100 children with obesity and 47 healthy age-mathced control subjects, mean age 10 years of both groups. Biochemical parameters describing lipoprotein and glucose metabolism were measured. Quantitative B-mode ultrasound examination of common carotid arteries was performed. Carotid thickness and stiffness were significantly increased in obese children as compared to nonobese ones, independently of traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Obesity should be regarded as a disease with vascular implications even in young age
Cosmic Ray Protons and Magnetic Fields in Clusters of Galaxies and their Cosmological Consequences
The masses of clusters of galaxies estimated by gravitational lensing exceed
in many cases the mass estimates based on hydrostatic equilibrium. This may
suggest the existence of nonthermal pressure. We ask if radio galaxies can heat
and support the cluster gas with injected cosmic ray protons and magnetic field
densities, which are permitted by Faraday rotation and gamma ray observations
of clusters of galaxies. We conclude that they are powerful enough to do this
within a cluster radius of roughly 1 Mpc. If present, nonthermal pressures
could lead to a revised estimate of the ratio of baryonic mass to total mass,
and the apparent baryonic overdensity in clusters would disappear. In
consequence, , the clumping part of the cosmological density
, would be larger than .Comment: Accepted by ApJ, 16 pages, LaTeX, 2 figures, epsfig.sty, aaspp4.st
Parasite Load and STRs Genotyping of Toxoplasma gondii Isolates From Mediterranean Mussels ( Mytilus galloprovincialis) in Southern Italy
oxoplasmosis is a zoonotic food-borne disease caused by Toxoplasma gondii, a land-derived protozoan parasite that infects a broad range of terrestrial and aquatic hosts. T. gondii may reach coastal waters via contaminated freshwater runoff and its oocysts may enter into the marine food web. Marine invertebrates as mussels being filter feeders are exposed and may concentrate T. gondii oocysts representing a potential source of infection for animals and humans. The present works investigated the prevalence, parasite burden and genotypes of T. gondii in the Mediterranean mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) from southern Italy. We sampled a total of 382 individual Mediterranean mussels from May to August 2018 from seven production sites in the Gulf of Naples (Campania region). An additional sample including 27 farmed Mediterranean mussels was obtained in February 2018 from a mollusk depuration plant in Corigliano Calabro (Calabria region). T. gondii DNA was detected in 43 out of 409 (10.5%) Mediterranean mussels from seven out of eight sampling sites. The number of T. gondii copies/g in the digestive gland ranged from 0.14 to 1.18. Fragment analysis of Short Tandem Repeats (STRs) at 5 microsatellite loci was performed from 10 T. gondii PCR positive samples revealing the presence of five distinct genotypes including one corresponding to type I and four atypical genotypes. These findings suggest potential implications of epidemiological importance for human and animal health because both type I and atypical genotypes could be highly pathogenic
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