14,114 research outputs found
X-ray powder diffraction of high-absorption materials at the XRD1 beamline off the best conditions: Application to (Gd,Nd)5Si4 compounds
Representative compounds of the new family of magnetic materials Gd5-xNdxSi4
were analyzed by X-ray diffraction at the XRD1 beamline at LNLS. To reduce
X-ray absorption, thin layers of the powder samples were mounted outside the
capillaries and measured in Debye-Scherrer geometry as usual. The X-ray
diffraction analyses and the magnetometry results indicate that the behavior of
the magnetic transition temperature as a function of Nd content may be directly
related to the average of the four smallest interatomic distances between
different rare earth sites of the majority phase of each compound. The quality
and consistency of the results show that the XRD1 beamline is able to perform
satisfactory X-ray diffraction experiments on high-absorption materials even
off the best conditions.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, 3 table
A grid of Synthetic Spectra for Hot DA White Dwarfs and Its Application in Stellar Population Synthesis
In this work we present a grid of LTE and non-LTE synthetic spectra of hot DA
white dwarfs (WDs). In addition to its usefulness for the determination of
fundamental stellar parameters of isolated WDs and in binaries, this grid will
be of interest for the construction of theoretical libraries for stellar
studies from integrated light. The spectral grid covers both a wide temperature
and gravity range, with 17,000 K <= T_eff <= 100,000 K and 7.0 <= log(g) <=
9.5. The stellar models are built for pure hydrogen and the spectra cover a
wavelength range from 900 A to 2.5 microns. Additionally, we derive synthetic
HST/ACS, HST/WFC3, Bessel UBVRI and SDSS magnitudes. The grid was also used to
model integrated spectral energy distributions of simple stellar populations
and our modeling suggests that DAs might be detectable in ultraviolet bands for
populations older than ~8 Gyr.Comment: to be published in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Serie
Abundance patterns in early-type galaxies: is there a 'knee' in the [Fe/H] vs. [alpha/Fe] relation?
Early-type galaxies (ETGs) are known to be enhanced in alpha elements, in
accordance with their old ages and short formation timescales. In this
contribution we aim to resolve the enrichment histories of ETGs. This means we
study the abundance of Fe ([Fe/H]) and the alpha-element groups ([alpha/Fe])
separately for stars older than 9.5 Gyr ([Fe/H]o, [alpha/Fe]o) and for stars
between 1.5 and 9.5 Gyr ([Fe/H]i, [alpha/Fe]i). Through extensive simulation we
show that we can indeed recover the enrichment history per galaxy. We then
analyze a spectroscopic sample of 2286 early-type galaxies from the SDSS
selected to be ETGs. We separate out those galaxies for which the abundance of
iron in stars grows throughout the lifetime of the galaxy, i.e. in which
[Fe/H]o < [Fe/H]i. We confirm earlier work where the [Fe/H] and [alpha/Fe]
parameters are correlated with the mass and velocity dispersion of ETGs. We
emphasize that the strongest relation is between [alpha/Fe] and age. This
relation falls into two regimes, one with a steep slope for old galaxies and
one with a shallow slope for younger ETGs. The vast majority of ETGs in our
sample do not show the 'knee' in the plot of [Fe/H] vs. [alpha/Fe] commonly
observed in local group galaxies. This implies that for the vast majority of
ETGs, the stars younger than 9.5 Gyrs are likely to have been accreted or
formed from accreted gas. The properties of the intermediate-age stars in
accretion-dominated ETGs indicate that mass growth through late (minor) mergers
in ETGs is dominated by galaxies with low [Fe/H] and low [alpha/Fe]. The method
of reconstructing the stellar enrichment histories of ETGs introduced in this
paper promises to constrain the star formation and mass assembly histories of
large samples of galaxies in a unique way.Comment: 22 pages, 25 figures, accepted for publication by A&
Edificação de um Construto Teórico sobre Processo de Formação de Estratégias de Gestão em Instituições de Ensino superior (IES) à luz dos pressupostos da Teoria da Complexidade
O presente trabalho tem por objetivo apresentar a elaboração de um construto teórico sobre processos de formação de estratégias de gestão em Instituições de Ensino Superior (IES), com base nos pressupostos da Teoria da Complexidade. Para edificação desse construto utilizou-se o referencial teórico sobre Universidades, Formação de Estratégias, Processos de Mudança, Teoria da Complexidade e Sistemas Adaptativos Complexos, articulado-os de tal forma que pudessem dar sustentação à proposta apresentada. A metodologia que orientou essa investigação teve por base a pesquisa de natureza bibliográfica, e assentou-se nas premissas do paradigma qualitativo e interpretativo, para dar conta de compreender a dinâmica do processo de formação de estratégia expressos em Planos de Gestão de Instituições de Ensino Superior e, assim, propor um construto de análise. A relevância desse construto está em permitir que se realize diagnósticos acerca do processo de formação de estratégias de gestão nessas instituições, com vistas à identificação se tal processo apresenta mais características do modelo racional-formal, do modelo negociado ou do modelo em construção permanente, e em que grau incorpora as variáveis e os princípios apontados pela Teoria da Complexidade
Gene identification for the cblD defect of vitamin B12 metabolism
Background Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) is an essential cofactor in several metabolic pathways. Intracellular conversion of cobalamin to its two coenzymes, adenosylcobalamin in mitochondria and methylcobalamin in the cytoplasm, is necessary for the homeostasis of methylmalonic acid and homocysteine. Nine defects of intracellular cobalamin metabolism have been defined by means of somatic complementation analysis. One of these defects, the cblD defect, can cause isolated methylmalonic aciduria, isolated homocystinuria, or both. Affected persons present with multisystem clinical abnormalities, including developmental, hematologic, neurologic, and metabolic findings. The gene responsible for the cblD defect has not been identified.
Methods We studied seven patients with the cblD defect, and skin fibroblasts from each were investigated in cell culture. Microcell-mediated chromosome transfer and refined genetic mapping were used to localize the responsible gene. This gene was transfected into cblD fibroblasts to test for the rescue of adenosylcobalamin and methylcobalamin synthesis.
Results The cblD gene was localized to human chromosome 2q23.2, and a candidate gene, designated MMADHC (methylmalonic aciduria, cblD type, and homocystinuria), was identified in this region. Transfection of wild-type MMADHC rescued the cellular phenotype, and the functional importance of mutant alleles was shown by means of transfection with mutant constructs. The predicted MMADHC protein has sequence homology with a bacterial ATP-binding cassette transporter and contains a putative cobalamin binding motif and a putative mitochondrial targeting sequence.
Conclusions Mutations in a gene we designated MMADHC are responsible for the cblD defect in vitamin B12 metabolism. Various mutations are associated with each of the three biochemical phenotypes of the disorder
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