1,730 research outputs found
Characterizing Dust Attenuation in Local Star-Forming Galaxies: Near-Infrared Reddening and Normalization
We characterize the near-infrared (NIR) dust attenuation for a sample of
~5500 local (z<0.1) star-forming galaxies and obtain an estimate of their
average total-to-selective attenuation . We utilize data from the
United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) and the Two Micron All-Sky Survey
(2MASS), which is combined with previously measured UV-optical data for these
galaxies. The average attenuation curve is slightly lower in the far-UV than
local starburst galaxies, by roughly 15%, but appears similar at longer
wavelengths with a total-to-selective normalization at V-band of
. Under the assumption of energy balance,
the total attenuated energy inferred from this curve is found to be broadly
consistent with the observed infrared dust emission () in a small
sample of local galaxies for which far-IR measurements are available. However,
the significant scatter in this quantity among the sample may reflect large
variations in the attenuation properties of individual galaxies. We also derive
the attenuation curve for sub-populations of the main sample, separated
according to mean stellar population age (via ), specific star
formation rate, stellar mass, and metallicity, and find that they show only
tentative trends with low significance, at least over the range which is probed
by our sample. These results indicate that a single curve is reasonable for
applications seeking to broadly characterize large samples of galaxies in the
local Universe, while applications to individual galaxies would yield large
uncertainties and is not recommended.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in Ap
Deciding the Criteria Is Not Enough: Moral Issues to Consider for a Fair Allocation of Scarce ICU Resources
During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, practitioners had to make tragic decisions regarding the allocation of scarce resources in the ICU. The Italian debate has paid a lot of attention to identifying the specific regulatory criteria for the allocation of resources in the ICU; in this paper, however, we argue that deciding such criteria is not enough for the implementation of fair and transparent allocative decisions. In this respect, we discuss three ethical issues: (a) in the Italian context, the treating physician, rather than a separate committee, was generally the one responsible for the allocation decision; (b) although many allocative guidelines have supported moral equivalence between withholding and withdrawing treatments, some health professionals have continued to consider it a morally problematic aspect; and (c) the health workers who have had to make the aforementioned decisions or even only worked in ICU during the pandemic often experienced moral distress. We conclude by arguing that, even if these problems are not directly related to the above-mentioned issues of distributive justice, they can nevertheless directly affect the quality and ethics of the implementation of allocative criteria, regardless of those chosen
High performance astrophysics computing
The application of high end computing to astrophysical problems, mainly in
the galactic environment, is under development since many years at the Dep. of
Physics of Sapienza Univ. of Roma. The main scientific topic is the physics of
self gravitating systems, whose specific subtopics are: i) celestial mechanics
and interplanetary probe transfers in the solar system; ii) dynamics of
globular clusters and of globular cluster systems in their parent galaxies;
iii) nuclear clusters formation and evolution; iv) massive black hole formation
and evolution; v) young star cluster early evolution. In this poster we
describe the software and hardware computational resources available in our
group and how we are developing both software and hardware to reach the
scientific aims above itemized.Comment: 2 pages paper presented at the Conference "Advances in Computational
Astrophysics: methods, tools and outcomes", to be published in the ASP
Conference Series, 2012, vol. 453, R. Capuzzo-Dolcetta, M. Limongi and A.
Tornambe' ed
ITCZ shift and extratropical teleconnections drive ENSO response to volcanic eruptions
The mechanisms through which volcanic eruptions affect the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) state are still controversial. Previous studies have invoked direct radiative forcing, an ocean dynamical thermostat (ODT) mechanism, and shifts of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), among others, to explain the ENSO response to tropical eruptions. Here, these mechanisms are tested using ensemble simulations with an Earth system model in which volcanic aerosols from a Tambora-like eruption are confined either in the Northern or the Southern Hemisphere. We show that the primary drivers of the ENSO response are the shifts of the ITCZ together with extratropical circulation changes, which affect the tropics; the ODT mechanism does not operate in our simulations. Our study highlights the importance of initial conditions in the ENSO response to tropical volcanic eruptions and provides explanations for the predominance of posteruption El Niño events and for the occasional posteruption La Niña in observations and reconstructions
Metastatic Uterine Leiomyosarcoma in the Upper Buccal Gingiva Misdiagnosed as an Epulis
Uterine leiomyosarcoma (LMS) is a rare tumor constituting 1% of all uterine malignancies. This sarcoma demonstrates an aggressive growth pattern with an high rate of recurrence with hematologic dissemination; the most common sites are lung, liver, and peritoneal cavity, head and neck district being rarely interested. Only other four cases of metastasis in the oral cavity have been previously described. The treatment of choice is surgery and the use of adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation has limited impact on clinical outcome. In case of metastases, surgical excision can be performed considering extent of disease, number and type of distant lesions, disease free interval from the initial diagnosis to the time of metastases, and expected life span. We illustrate a case of uterine LMS metastasis in the upper buccal gingiva that occurred during chemotherapy in a 63-year-old woman that underwent a total abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy for a diagnosis of LMS staged as pT2bN0 and that developed lung metastases eight months after primary treatment. Surgical excision of the oral mass (previously misdiagnosed as epulis at a dental center) and contemporary reconstruction with pedicled temporalis muscle flap was performed in order to improve quality of life. Even if resection was achieved in free margins, "local" relapse was observed 5 months after surgery
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