245 research outputs found
Popular support for military intervention and anti-establishment alternatives in Tunisia: Appraising outsider eclecticism
Popular attitudes in support of authoritarian alternatives and weak party systems constitute important threats to democratic consolidation and the stability of new democracies. This article explores popular alienation from established political actors in Tunisia. Under what conditions do citizens support alternatives to the elites in power and the institutional infrastructure of a new democracy? Drawing on an original, nationally representative survey in Tunisia administered in 2017, this article examines three categories of popular attitudes in support of political outsiders.Military interventionism appears in people’s preferences for anti-system politics—the most immediate challenge to the country’s stability and democratic transition. Anti-political establishment sentiments are shown in people’s preferences for an enhanced role of the country’s main trade union as a civil-society alternative to political party elites. Finally, outsider eclecticism is the seemingly incoherent phenomenon of concurrent support for a civil society actor and the military as an ‘authoritarian alternative.’ Anti-establishment sentiments will continue to be an important element in Tunisian post-authoritarian politics, evidenced by the rise to power of Kais Said in the 2019 presidential elections and his 2021 decision to dismiss parliament. In turn, popular support for military intervention may have implications for the country’s domestic security and peaceful transition
Popular support for military intervention and anti-establishment alternatives in Tunisia: appraising outsider eclecticism
Popular attitudes in support of authoritarian alternatives and weak party systems constitute important threats to democratic consolidation and the stability of new democracies. This article explores popular alienation from established political actors in Tunisia. Under what conditions do citizens support alternatives to the elites in power and the institutional infrastructure of a new democracy? Drawing on an original, nationally representative survey in Tunisia administered in 2017, this article examines three categories of popular attitudes in support of political outsiders.Military interventionism appears in people’s preferences for anti-system politics—the most immediate challenge to the country’s stability and democratic transition. Anti-political establishment sentiments are shown in people’s preferences for an enhanced role of the country’s main trade union as a civil-society alternative to political party elites. Finally, outsider eclecticism is the seemingly incoherent phenomenon of concurrent support for a civil society actor and the military as an ‘authoritarian alternative.’ Anti-establishment sentiments will continue to be an important element in Tunisian post-authoritarian politics, evidenced by the rise to power of Kais Said in the 2019 presidential elections and his 2021 decision to dismiss parliament. In turn, popular support for military intervention may have implications for the country’s domestic security and peaceful transition.Institutions, Decisions and Collective Behaviou
First Extended Catalogue of Galactic bubble infrared fluxes from WISE and Herschel surveys
In this paper, we present the first extended catalogue of far-infrared fluxes of Galactic bubbles. Fluxes were estimated for 1814 bubbles, defined here as the ‘golden sample’, and were selected from the Milky Way Project First Data Release (Simpson et al.) The golden sample was comprised of bubbles identified within the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) dataset (using 12- and 22-μm images) and Herschel data (using 70-, 160-, 250-, 350- and 500-μm wavelength images). Flux estimation was achieved initially via classical aperture photometry and then by an alternative image analysis algorithm that used active contours. The accuracy of the two methods was tested by comparing the estimated fluxes for a sample of bubbles, made up of 126 H ii regions and 43 planetary nebulae, which were identified by Anderson et al. The results of this paper demonstrate that a good agreement between the two was found. This is by far the largest and most homogeneous catalogue of infrared fluxes measured for Galactic bubbles and it is a step towards the fully automated analysis of astronomical datasets
PESSTO monitoring of SN 2012hn: further heterogeneity among faint type I supernovae
We present optical and infrared monitoring data of SN 2012hn collected by the
Public ESO Spectroscopic Survey for Transient Objects (PESSTO). We show that SN
2012hn has a faint peak magnitude (MR ~ -15.7) and shows no hydrogen and no
clear evidence for helium in its spectral evolution. Instead, we detect
prominent Ca II lines at all epochs, which relates this transient to previously
described 'Ca-rich' or 'gap' transients. However, the photospheric spectra
(from -3 to +32 d with respect to peak) of SN 2012hn show a series of
absorption lines which are unique, and a red continuum that is likely intrinsic
rather than due to extinction. Lines of Ti II and Cr II are visible. This may
be a temperature effect, which could also explain the red photospheric colour.
A nebular spectrum at +150d shows prominent CaII, OI, CI and possibly MgI lines
which appear similar in strength to those displayed by core-collapse SNe. To
add to the puzzle, SN 2012hn is located at a projected distance of 6 kpc from
an E/S0 host and is not close to any obvious starforming region. Overall SN
2012hn resembles a group of faint H-poor SNe that have been discovered recently
and for which a convincing and consistent physical explanation is still
missing. They all appear to explode preferentially in remote locations offset
from a massive host galaxy with deep limits on any dwarf host galaxies,
favouring old progenitor systems. SN 2012hn adds heterogeneity to this sample
of objects. We discuss potential explosion channels including He-shell
detonations and double detonations of white dwarfs as well as peculiar
core-collapse SNe.Comment: 14 pages, 14 figures, accepted to MNRAS on 14/10/201
ASASSN-15lh: A Highly Super-Luminous Supernova
We report the discovery of ASASSN-15lh (SN 2015L), which we interpret as the
most luminous supernova yet found. At redshift z = 0.2326, ASASSN-15lh reached
an absolute magnitude of M_{u,AB} = -23.5+/-0.1 and bolometric luminosity L_bol
= (2.2+/-0.2)x 10^45 ergs s^-1, which is more than twice as luminous as any
previously known supernova. It has several major features characteristic of the
hydrogen-poor super-luminous supernovae (SLSNe-I), whose energy sources and
progenitors are currently poorly understood. In contrast to most previously
known SLSNe-I that reside in star-forming dwarf galaxies, ASASSN-15lh appears
to be hosted by a luminous galaxy (M_K ~ -25.5) with little star formation. In
the 4 months since first detection, ASASSN-15lh radiated (1.1+/- 0.2)x10^52
ergs, challenging the magnetar model for its engine.Comment: Published in the January 15, 2016 Issue of Science Magazin
Massive stars exploding in a He-rich circumstellar medium. IV. Transitional Type Ibn Supernovae
We present ultraviolet, optical and near-infrared data of the Type Ibn
supernovae (SNe) 2010al and 2011hw. SN 2010al reaches an absolute magnitude at
peak of M(R) = -18.86 +- 0.21. Its early light curve shows similarities with
normal SNe Ib, with a rise to maximum slower than most SNe Ibn. The spectra are
dominated by a blue continuum at early stages, with narrow P-Cygni He I lines
indicating the presence of a slow-moving, He-rich circumstellar medium. At
later epochs the spectra well match those of the prototypical SN Ibn 2006jc,
although the broader lines suggest that a significant amount of He was still
present in the stellar envelope at the time of the explosion. SN 2011hw is
somewhat different. It was discovered after the first maximum, but the light
curve shows a double-peak. The absolute magnitude at discovery is similar to
that of the second peak (M(R) = -18.59 +- 0.25), and slightly fainter than the
average of SNe Ibn. Though the spectra of SN 2011hw are similar to those of SN
2006jc, coronal lines and narrow Balmer lines are cleary detected. This
indicates substantial interaction of the SN ejecta with He-rich, but not
H-free, circumstellar material. The spectra of SN 2011hw suggest that it is a
transitional SN Ibn/IIn event similar to SN 2005la. While for SN 2010al the
spectro-photometric evolution favours a H-deprived Wolf-Rayet progenitor (of
WN-type), we agree with the conclusion of Smith et al. (2012) that the
precursor of SN 2011hw was likely in transition from a luminous blue variable
to an early Wolf-Rayet (Ofpe/WN9) stage.Comment: 23 pages, 11 figures, 6 tables. Accepted by MNRA
Supernova rates from the SUDARE VST-Omegacam search II. Rates in a galaxy sample
This is the second paper of a series in which we present measurements of the
Supernova (SN) rates from the SUDARE survey. In this paper, we study the trend
of the SN rates with the intrinsic colours, the star formation activity and the
mass of the parent galaxies. We have considered a sample of about 130000
galaxies and a SN sample of about 50 events. We found that the SN Ia rate per
unit mass is higher by a factor of six in the star-forming galaxies with
respect to the passive galaxies. The SN Ia rate per unit mass is also higher in
the less massive galaxies that are also younger. These results suggest a
distribution of the delay times (DTD) less populated at long delay times than
at short delays. The CC SN rate per unit mass is proportional to both the sSFR
and the galaxy mass. The trends of the Type Ia and CC SN rates as a function of
the sSFR and the galaxy mass that we observed from SUDARE data are in agreement
with literature results at different redshifts. The expected number of SNe Ia
is in agreement with the observed one for all four DTD models considered both
in passive and star-forming galaxies so we can not discriminate between
different progenitor scenarios. The expected number of CC SNe is higher than
the observed one, suggesting a higher limit for the minimum progenitor mass. We
also compare the expected and observed trends of the SN Ia rate with the
intrinsic U - J colour of the parent galaxy, assumed as a tracer of the age
distribution. While the slope of the relation between the SN Ia rate and the U
- J color in star-forming galaxies can be reproduced well by all four DTD
models considered, only the steepest of them is able to account for the rates
and colour in star-forming and passive galaxies with the same value of the SN
Ia production efficiency.Comment: A& A accepte
Decreased fatty acid beta-oxidation in riboflavin-responsive, multiple acylcoenzyme A dehydrogenase-deficient patients is associated with an increase in uncoupling protein-3
Decreased fatty acid beta-oxidation in riboflavin-responsive, multiple acylcoenzyme A dehydrogenase-deficient patients is associated with an increase in uncoupling protein-3.Russell AP, Schrauwen P, Somm E, Gastaldi G, Hesselink MK, Schaart G, Kornips E, Lo SK, Bufano D, Giacobino JP, Muzzin P, Ceccon M, Angelini C, Vergani L.Department of Medical Biochemistry, University of Geneva Medical Center, 1206 Geneva, Switzerland. [email protected], multiple acylcoenzyme A dehydrogenase deficiency (RR-MAD), a lipid storage myopathy, is characterized by, among others, a decrease in fatty acid (FA) beta-oxidation capacity. Muscle uncoupling protein 3 (UCP3) is up-regulated under conditions that either increase the levels of circulating free FA and/or decrease FA beta-oxidation. Using a relatively large cohort of seven RR-MAD patients, we aimed to better characterize the metabolic disturbances of this disease and to explore the possibility that it might increase UCP3 expression. A battery of biochemical and molecular tests were performed, which demonstrated decreases in FA beta-oxidation and in the activities of respiratory chain complexes I and II. These metabolic alterations were associated with increases of 3.1- and 1.7-fold in UCP3 mRNA and protein expression, respectively. All parameters were restored to control values after riboflavin treatment. We postulate that the up-regulation of UCP3 in RR-MAD is due to the accumulation of muscle FA/acylCoA. RR-MAD is an optimal model to support the hypothesis that UCP3 is involved in the outward translocation of an excess of FA from the mitochondria and to show that, in humans, the effects of FA on UCP3 expression are direct and independent of fatty acid beta-oxidation.<br/
The effect of calving season on milk production in water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis)
The influence of calving season on milk production and composition was studied in 16 adult (3rd lactation) water buffaloes from a single form in southern Italy over a 3 yr period. The data were separated into two groups according to calving season: group A of animals that calved from winter to spring and group B of those that calved throughout summer and autumn. Daily milk production and lactation length over the whole period (1997-2000) were higher (P<0.01) in group B than in A (9.11 vs. 8.55 kg and 275 vs. 258 d), but milk fat content was higher (P<0.05) in A than B (8.88 vs. 8.41%). No differences between groups were observed in milk protein content (4.7%). It was concluded that the calving season had little effect on the net income from this herd (In English)
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