A SINFONI view of Galaxy Centers: Morphology and Kinematics of five Nuclear Star Formation Rings

We present near-infrared (H- and K-band) integral-field observations of the circumnuclear star formation rings in five nearby spiral galaxies. The data, obtained at the Very Large Telescope with the SINFONI spectrograph, are used to construct maps of various emission lines that reveal the individual star forming regions ("hot spots") delineating the rings. We derive the morphological parameters of the rings, and construct velocity fields of the stars and the emission line gas. We propose a qualitative, but robust, diagnostic for relative hot spot ages based on the intensity ratios of the emission lines Brackett gamma, HeI, and [FeII]. Application of this diagnostic to the data presented here provides tentative support for a scenario in which star formation in the rings is triggered predominantly at two well-defined regions close to, and downstream from, the intersection of dust lanes along the bar with the inner Lindblad resonance.Comment: 45 pages incl. 4 tables and 12 (mostly color) figures. Accepted for publication in AJ. A version with full resolution figures can be obtained at ftp://ftp.rssd.esa.int/pub/tboeker/SINFONI/ms.pd

Stellar population synthesis models between 2.5 and 5 {\mu}m based on the empirical IRTF stellar library

We present the first single-burst stellar population models in the infrared wavelength range between 2.5 and 5 {\mu}m which are exclusively based on empirical stellar spectra. Our models take as input 180 spectra from the stellar IRTF (Infrared Telescope Facility) library. Our final single-burst stellar population models are calculated based on two different sets of isochrones and various types of initial mass functions of different slopes, ages larger than 1 Gyr and metallicities between [Fe/H] = -0.70 and 0.26. They are made available online to the scientific community on the MILES web page. We analyse the behaviour of the Spitzer [3.6]-[4.5] colour calculated from our single stellar population models and find only slight dependences on both metallicity and age. When comparing to the colours of observed early-type galaxies, we find a good agreement for older, more massive galaxies that resemble a single-burst population. Younger, less massive and more metal-poor galaxies show redder colours with respect to our models. This mismatch can be explained by a more extended star formation history of these galaxies which includes a metal-poor or/and young population. Moreover, the colours derived from our models agree very well with most other models available in this wavelength range. We confirm that the mass-to-light ratio determined in the Spitzer [3.6] {\mu}m band changes much less as a function of both age and metallicity than in the optical bands.Comment: 25 pages, 19 figures, published in MNRAS, models can be downloaded from http://miles.iac.e

A SINFONI view of circum-nuclear star-forming rings in spiral galaxies

We present near-infrared (H- and K-band) SINFONI integral-field observations of the circumnuclear star formation rings in five nearby spiral galaxies. We made use of the relative intensities of different emission lines (i.e. [FeII], HeI, Brg) to age date the stellar clusters present along the rings. This qualitative, yet robust, method allows us to discriminate between two distinct scenarios that describe how star formation progresses along the rings. Our findings favour a model where star formation is triggered predominantly at the intersection between the bar major axis and the inner Lindblad resonance and then passively evolves as the clusters rotate around the ring ('Pearls on a string' scenario), although models of stochastically distributed star formation ('Popcorn' model) cannot be completely ruled out.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, contribution to the Proceedings of the IAU Symposium 245, "Formation and Evolution of Galaxy Bulges", held at Oxford, U.K., July 2007, Eds. M. Bureau, E. Athanassoula, B. Barbu

MILES extended: Stellar population synthesis models from the optical to the infrared

We present the first single-burst stellar population models which covers the optical and the infrared wavelength range between 3500 and 50000 Angstrom and which are exclusively based on empirical stellar spectra. To obtain these joint models, we combined the extended MILES models in the optical with our new infrared models that are based on the IRTF (Infrared Telescope Facility) library. The latter are available only for a limited range in terms of both age and metallicity. Our combined single-burst stellar population models were calculated for ages larger than 1 Gyr, for metallicities between [Fe/H] = -0.40 and 0.26, for initial mass functions of various types and slopes, and on the basis of two different sets of isochrones. They are available to the scientific community on the MILES web page. We checked the internal consistency of our models and compared their colour predictions to those of other models that are available in the literature. Optical and near infrared colours that are measured from our models are found to reproduce the colours well that were observed for various samples of early-type galaxies. Our models will enable a detailed analysis of the stellar populations of observed galaxies.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures, published in A&

How can the land managers and his multi-stakeholder network at the farm level influence the multifunctional transitions pathways?

The changing role of agriculture is at the core of transition pathways in many rural areas. Productivism, post-productivism and multifunctionality have been targeted towards a possible conceptualization of the transition happening in rural areas. The factors of change, including productivist and post-productivist trends, are combined in various ways and have gone in quite diverse directions and intensities, in individual regions and localities. Even, in the same holding, productivist and post-productivist strategies can co-exist spatially, temporally, structurally, leading to a higher complexity in changing patterns. In south Portugal extensive landscapes, dominated by traditionally managed agro-forestry systems under a fuzzy land use pattern, multifunctionality at the farm level is indeed conducted by different stakeholders whose interests may or not converge: a multifunctional land management may indeed incorporate post-productivist and productivist agents. These stakeholders act under different levels of ownership, management and use, reflecting a particular land management dynamic, in which different interests may exist, from commercial production to a variety of other functions (hunting, bee-keeping, subsistence farming, etc.), influencing management at the farm level and its supposed transition trajectory. This multistakeholder dynamic is composed by the main land-manager (the one who takes the main decisions), sub land-managers (land-managers under the rules of the main land-manager), workers and users (locals or outsiders), whose interest and action within the holding may vary differently according to future (policy, market, etc.) trends, and therefore reflect more or less resilient systems. The goal of the proposed presentation is to describe the multi-stakeholder relations at the farm level, its spatial expression and the factors influencing the land management system resilience in face of the transition trends in place

S-adenosylhomocysteine promotes endothelial dysfunction and activation : a role for hypomethylation in vascular disease

Tese de doutoramento, Farmácia (Biologia Celular e Molecular), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Farmácia, 2015omocysteine has been established as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) by mechanisms incompletely defined. S-Adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) is the metabolic precursor of homocysteine that accumulates in the setting of hyperhomocysteinemia and is a negative regulator of most cell methyltransferases. This thesis project investigated whether methylation imbalance, caused by excess SAH, disrupts endothelium homeostasis and favors the establishment of a pro-atherogenic phenotype. To experimentally address this possibility, studies were conducted in human endothelial cells, in which SAH accumulation was induced using either a pharmacologic or a siRNA approach. As the major regulator of vascular homeostasis, the endothelium exerts a number of vasoprotective effects that are largely mediated by nitric oxide (NO), the most potent endogenous vasodilator. Decreased NO bioavailability is a principal manifestation of underlying endothelial dysfunction, an early marker of atherosclerosis and CVD. To determine whether excess SAH alters NO bioavailability, the expression and activity of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), and NO production were monitored in cells. These experiments showed that excess SAH increased the levels of eNOS mRNA but caused a decrease in eNOS protein and activity, to decrease cellular production of NO. Another important feature of endothelial dysfunction is oxidative stress. Studies in endothelial cells revealed that a hypomethylating environment, induced by excess SAH, impairs, not only NO production, but also the cellular redox state. Glutathione peroxidase-1 (GPx-1) is a selenoprotein and a major cellular antioxidant. A link between homocysteine-associated suppression of GPx-1 and endothelial dysfunction had been reported previously; however, the causal molecular mechanisms remained unresolved. The experiments presented here demonstrate a specific mechanism by which SAH-mediated hypomethylation suppresses GPx-1 expression and leads to inflammatory activation of endothelial cells. The expression of a subset of selenoproteins (including GPx-1) is dependent on a specific methylation of the selenocysteine-tRNA (Sec-tRNA). Thus, SAH accumulation was found to inhibit the formation of this methylated isoform of Sec-tRNA resulting in decreased GPx-1 expression, as well as alterations in the expression of other selenoproteins, to promote oxidative stress and a pro-inflammatory activation state in endothelial cells. The observation that Sec-tRNA methylation is decreased by excess SAH, suggests that other RNA species may also be targets for SAH-mediated hypomethylation. Therefore, the effect of SAH on methylation modifications was determined in total and size-fractionated RNA samples from our cell model. Additionally, to confirm these observations, RNA methylation was analyzed in tissue samples from a hyperhomocysteinemic mouse model, where SAH accumulation results from a genetic disorder affecting homocysteine metabolism. Conditions of excess SAH altered the content of some RNA methylation modifications, suggesting that specific RNA methyltransferases may be more susceptible to inhibition by SAH. The activation of endothelial cells that occurs during atherogenesis is characterized by the up-regulation of adhesion molecules, which by recruiting circulating leukocytes favor their transendothelial migration. In a series of studies, the physiological relevance of SAH-induced endothelial cell activation was demonstrated by determining that these SAH-activated cells promoted leukocyte adhesion and migration. Further, the role of DNA hypomethylation on the SAH-induced up-regulation of adhesion molecules was examined. ICAM-1 (intercellular adhesion molecule 1) was found to be up-regulated by SAH accumulation as well as by a DNA methyltransferase inhibitor, suggesting that its expression may be regulated by DNA methylation. Analysis of its promoter methylation; however, showed that it was demethylated in untreated cells, suggesting that it may be regulated by factors other than DNA promoter methylation in response to excess SAH. To understand better the factors involved in the pro-inflammatory activation of endothelial cells, the role of NFkB (nuclear factor kappa B) in SAH-induced responses was examined. These studies establish a role for NFkB in the endothelial cell response to SAH and further link these responses to a suppression of the epigenetic regulator EZH2 (enhancer of zeste homolog 2). EZH2 is a methyltransferase that regulates gene expression by mediating a repressive histone methylation. These results identify EZH2 as a new target of SAH regulation important in inflammatory responses, demonstrating that EZH2 suppression and NFkB activation mediated by excess SAH accumulation may contribute to its adverse effects in the vasculature. Overall, these studies implicate SAH as a key modulator of epigenetic mechanisms by compromising RNA, DNA, and histone methylation. More importantly, our results clearly present SAH as a key player in the disruption of endothelial homeostasis, supporting a role for SAH as an important mediator of homocysteine-associated vascular disease.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), SFRH/BD/73021/201

Fresh state properties of concrete incorporating scrap tire rubber

The purpose of this work is to study fresh lightweight concrete containing recycled tire rubber aggregates. An experiment on concrete obtained by incorporating rubber aggregate with a ratio replacement of 5, 7.5 and 10% is done to evaluate the effect of these aggregates on the workability of two sets of concrete specimens. In the first set, coarse aggregates were replaced by different percentages by weight of granulate rubber and in the second set both coarse aggregates and sand were replaced rubber granulate and crumb rubber. Density, air content, compaction and slump tests are performed on the seven mixtures. Taking into account the density and water absorption differences between the natural aggregates and the rubber aggregates, the validity of the tests results are discussed. The results show that incorporating these rubber aggregates affects most rheological properties of lightweight concrete, for some application of concrete incorporating waste tire, rubber particles should be treated.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio