Physical Investigation of the Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (144898) 2004 VD17

In this paper we present the observational campaign carried out at ESO NTT and VLT in April and May 2006 to investigate the nature and the structure of the Near Earth Object (144898) 2004 VD17. In spite of a great quantity of dynamical information, according to which it will have a close approach with the Earth in the next century, the physical properties of this asteroid are largely unknown. We performed visible and near--infrared photometry and spectroscopy, as well as polarimetric observations. Polarimetric and spectroscopic data allowed us to classify 2004 VD17 as an E-type asteroid. A good agreement was also found with the spectrum of the aubrite meteorite Mayo Belwa. On the basis of the polarimetric albedo (p_v=0.45) and of photometric data, we estimated a diameter of about 320 m and a rotational period of about 2 hours. The analysis of the results obtained by our complete survey have shown that (144898) 2004 VD17 is a peculiar NEO, since it is close to the breakup limits for fast rotator asteroids, as defined by Pravec and Harris (2000). These results suggest that a more robust structure must be expected, as a fractured monolith or a rubble pile in a "strength regime" (Holsapple 2002).Comment: 32 pages, 7 figure, paper accepted for publication in Icaru

Cultivares de trigo do Paraná: rendimento, características agronômicas e qualidade industrial.

Base experimental e metodologia utilizada; Rendimento de graos; Rendimento X epoca de semeadura; Peso do hectolitro (PH); Peso de mil sementes (PMS); Ciclo; Altura e acamamento; Doencas; Controle de doencas; Qualidade.bitstream/item/61157/1/Documentos-89.pd

A Peculiar Family of Jupiter Trojans: the Eurybates

The Eurybates family is a compact core inside the Menelaus clan, located in the L4 swarm of Jupiter Trojans. Fornasier et al. (2007) found that this family exhibits a peculiar abundance of spectrally flat objects, similar to Chiron-like Centaurs and C-type main belt asteroids. On the basis of the visible spectra available in literature, Eurybates family's members seemed to be good candidates for having on their surfaces water/water ice or aqueous altered materials. To improve our knowledge of the surface composition of this peculiar family, we carried out an observational campaign at the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG), obtaining near-infrared spectra of 7 members. Our data show a surprisingly absence of any spectral feature referable to the presence of water, ices or aqueous altered materials on the surface of the observed objects. Models of the surface composition are attempted, evidencing that amorphous carbon seems to dominate the surface composition of the observed bodies and some amount of silicates (olivine) could be present.Comment: 23 pages, 2 figures, paper accepted for publication in Icaru

Low delta-V near-Earth asteroids: A survey of suitable targets for space missions

In the last decades Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) have become very important targets to study, since they can give us clues to the formation, evolution and composition of the Solar System. In addition, they may represent either a threat to humankind, or a repository of extraterrestrial resources for suitable space-borne missions. Within this framework, the choice of next-generation mission targets and the characterisation of a potential threat to our planet deserve special attention. To date, only a small part of the 11,000 discovered NEOs have been physically characterised. From ground and space-based observations one can determine some basic physical properties of these objects using visible and infrared spectroscopy. We present data for 13 objects observed with different telescopes around the world (NASA-IRTF, ESO-NTT, TNG) in the 0.4 - 2.5 um spectral range, within the NEOSURFACE survey (http://www.oa-roma.inaf.it/planet/NEOSurface.html). Objects are chosen from among the more accessible for a rendez-vous mission. All of them are characterised by a delta-V (the change in velocity needed for transferring a spacecraft from low-Earth orbit to rendez-vous with NEOs) lower than 10.5 km/s, well below the Solar System escape velocity (12.3 km/s). We taxonomically classify 9 of these objects for the first time. 11 objects belong to the S-complex taxonomy; the other 2 belong to the C-complex. We constrain the surface composition of these objects by comparing their spectra with meteorites from the RELAB database. We also compute olivine and pyroxene mineralogy for asteroids with a clear evidence of pyroxene bands. Mineralogy confirms the similarity with the already found H, L or LL ordinary chondrite analogues.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, to be published in A&A Minor changes by language edito

Desempenho agronomico e caracteristicas da cultivar de trigo BRS 49 no Estado do Parana.

A cultivar de trigo BRS 49, desenvolvida pela Embrapa Trigo, foi indicada para semeadura no Estado do Parana, a partir de 1999. Para a determinacao do seu valor de cultivo e uso, foram utilizados dados de 54 experimentos, instalados em nove locais das regioes 6, 7 e 8 do Parana, no periodo de 1996 a 1998. Apresenta como principais caracteristicas: ciclo intermediario, altura media a alta, moderada resistencia ao acamamento, tolerancia ao aluminio toxico no solo, moderada resistencia ao oidio (Blumeria graminis f. sp tritici) e a ferrugem da folha (Puccinia recondita f. sp. tritici), com percentuais de severidade em ensaios inferiores aos das testemunhas Trigo BR 23 e Trigo BR 35, suscetibilidade a giberela (Giberella zeae), cujas notas foram superiores as atribuidas as testemunhas, elevado potencial de rendimento e boa qualidade industrial. No trienio considerado, apresentou rendimento medio de 4.667 kg/ha na Regiao 6, 3.432 kg/ha, na Regiao 7, e 3.930 kg/ha, na regiao 8. Esses valores foram 11%, 11% e 28%, respectivamente, superiores a media das testemunhas (Trigo BR 2, Trigo BR 35 e CEP 24-Industrial). Os percentuais de resposta ao controle fitossanitario foram, em geral, inferiores aos observados nas referidas testemunhas, evidenciando o elevado potencial de rendimento da cultivar com aplicacoes reduzidas de fungicidas. A forca geral de gluten (W), na media de 14 amostras coletadas nas tres Regioes, foi de 260 e a relacao P/L foi de 0,685. Portanto, a cultivar se enquadra na classe Trigo Pao, de acordo com a Instrucao Normativa n.1, de 27 de janeiro de 1999 do MA. A cultivar apresenta caracteristicas de interesse agronomico, principalmente por possibilitar a obtencao de altos rendimentos, sem a necessidade de elevados investimentos com fungicidas.bitstream/CNPSO/17105/1/circTec25.pd

Cultivares de trigo do Parana: rendimento, caracteristicas agronomicas e qualidade industrial.

Base experimental e metodologia utilizada; Resultados; Rendimento de graos; Rendimento x epoca de semeadura; Peso do hectolitro(PH); Peso de mil semeadura(PMS); de doencas; Ciclo; Altura e acamamento; Doencas; Controle de doencas; Qualidade industrial.bitstream/CNPSO/16211/1/circTec18.pd

Inhomogeneities on the surface of 21 Lutetia, the asteroid target of the Rosetta mission

CONTEXT: In July 2010 the ESA spacecraft Rosetta will fly-by the main belt asteroid 21 Lutetia. Several observations of this asteroid have been so far performed, but its surface composition and nature are still a matter of debate. For long time Lutetia was supposed to have a metallic nature due to its high IRAS albedo. Later on it has been suggested to have a surface composition similar to primitive carbonaceous chondrite meteorites, while further observations proposed a possible genetic link with more evolved enstatite chondrite meteorites. AIMS: In order to give an important contribution in solving the conundrum of the nature of Lutetia, in November 2008 we performed visible spectroscopic observations of this asteroid at the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG, La Palma, Spain). METHODS: Thirteen visible spectra have been acquired at different rotational phases. RESULTS: We confirm the presence of a narrow spectral feature at about 0.47-0.48 micron already found by Lazzarin et al. (2009) on the spectra of Lutetia. We also find a spectral feature at about 0.6 micron, detected by Lazzarin et al. (2004) on one of their Lutetia's spectra. More importantly, our spectra exhibit different spectral slopes between 0.6 and 0.75 micron and, in particular, we found that up to 20% of the Lutetia surface could have flatter spectra. CONCLUSIONS: We detected a variation of the spectral slopes at different rotational phases that could be interpreted as possibly due to differences in the chemical/mineralogical composition, as well as to inhomogeneities of the structure of the Lutetia's surface (e.g., the presence of craters or albedo spots) in the southern hemisphere.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics. Updated on 25 March 2010

65 Cybele in the thermal infrared: Multiple observations and thermophysical analysis

We investigated the physical and thermal properties of 65 Cybele}, one of the largest main-belt asteroids. Based on published and recently obtained thermal infrared observations, including ISO measurements, we derived through thermophysical modelling (TPM) a size of 302x290x232 km (+/- 4 %) and an geometric visible albedo of 0.050+/-0.005. Our model of a regolith covered surface with low thermal inertia and "default" roughness describes the wavelengths and phase angle dependent thermal aspects very well. Before/after opposition effect and beaming behaviour can be explained in that way. We found a constant emissivity of 0.9 at wavelengths up to about 100 micron and lower values towards the submillimetre range, indicating a grain size distribution dominated by 200 micron particle sizes. The spectroscopic analysis revealed an emissivity increase between 8.0 and 9.5 micron. We compared this emissivity behaviour with the Christiansen features of carbonaceous chondrite meteorites, but a conclusive identification was not possible. A comparison between the Standard Thermal Model (STM) and the applied TPM clearly demonstrates the limitations and problems of the STM for the analysis of multi-epoch and -wavelengths observations. While the TPM produced a unique diameter/albedo solution, the calculated STM values varied by +/-30 % and showed clear trends with wavelength and phase angle. Cybele can be considered as a nice textbook case for the thermophysical analysis of combined optical and thermal infrared observations.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication by A&

Notch-effector CSL promotes squamous cell carcinoma by repressing histone demethylase KDM6B.

Notch 1/2 genes play tumor-suppressing functions in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), a very common malignancy in skin and internal organs. In contrast with Notch, we show that the transcription factor CSL (also known as RBP-Jκ), a key effector of canonical Notch signaling endowed with intrinsic transcription-repressive functions, plays a tumor-promoting function in SCC development. Expression of this gene decreased in upper epidermal layers and human keratinocytes (HKCs) undergoing differentiation, while it increased in premalignant and malignant SCC lesions from skin, head/neck, and lung. Increased CSL levels enhanced the proliferative potential of HKCs and SCC cells, while silencing of CSL induced growth arrest and apoptosis. In vivo, SCC cells with increased CSL levels gave rise to rapidly expanding tumors, while cells with silenced CSL formed smaller and more differentiated tumors with enhanced inflammatory infiltrate. Global transcriptomic analysis of HKCs and SCC cells with silenced CSL revealed major modulation of apoptotic, cell-cycle, and proinflammatory genes. We also show that the histone demethylase KDM6B is a direct CSL-negative target, with inverse roles of CSL in HKC and SCC proliferative capacity, tumorigenesis, and tumor-associated inflammatory reaction. CSL/KDM6B protein expression could be used as a biomarker of SCC development and indicator of cancer treatment

Características e desempenho agronômico da cultivar de trigo BRS 220 no estado de Santa Catarina.

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