The Extinction and Distance of Maffei 1

We have obtained low- and high-resolution spectra of the core of the highly-reddened elliptical galaxy Maffei 1. From these data, we have obtained the first measurement of the Mg2 index, and have measured the velocity dispersion and radial velocity with improved accuracy. To evaluate the extinction, a correlation between the Mg2 index and effective V-I colour has been established for elliptical galaxies. Using a new method for correcting for effective wavelength shifts, we find A_V = 4.67 +/- 0.19 mag, which is lower by 0.4 mag than previously thought. To establish the distance, the Fundamental Plane for elliptical galaxies has been constructed in I. The velocity dispersion of Maffei 1, measured to be 186.8 +/- 7.4 km/s, in combination with modern wide-field photometry in I, leads to a distance of 2.92 +/- 0.37 Mpc. The Dn-sigma relation, which is independently calibrated, gives 3.08 +/- 0.85 Mpc and 3.23 +/- 0.67 Mpc from photometry in B and K`, respectively. The weighted mean of the three estimates is 3.01 +/- 0.30 Mpc. The distance and luminosity make Maffei 1 the nearest giant elliptical galaxy. The radial velocity of Maffei 1 is +66.4 +/- 5.0 km/s, significantly higher than the accepted value of -10 km/s. The Hubble distance corresponding to the mean velocity of Maffei 1, Maffei 2 and IC342 is 3.5 Mpc. Thus, it is unlikely that Maffei 1 has had any influence on Local Group dynamics

The Genome of the Toluene-Degrading Pseudomonas veronii Strain 1YdBTEX2 and Its Differential Gene Expression in Contaminated Sand.

The natural restoration of soils polluted by aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and m- and p-xylene (BTEX) may be accelerated by inoculation of specific biodegraders (bioaugmentation). Bioaugmentation mainly involves introducing bacteria that deploy their metabolic properties and adaptation potential to survive and propagate in the contaminated environment by degrading the pollutant. In order to better understand the adaptive response of cells during a transition to contaminated material, we analyzed here the genome and short-term (1 h) changes in genome-wide gene expression of the BTEX-degrading bacterium Pseudomonas veronii 1YdBTEX2 in non-sterile soil and liquid medium, both in presence or absence of toluene. We obtained a gapless genome sequence of P. veronii 1YdBTEX2 covering three individual replicons with a total size of 8 Mb, two of which are largely unrelated to current known bacterial replicons. One-hour exposure to toluene, both in soil and liquid, triggered massive transcription (up to 208-fold induction) of multiple gene clusters, such as toluene degradation pathway(s), chemotaxis and toluene efflux pumps. This clearly underlines their key role in the adaptive response to toluene. In comparison to liquid medium, cells in soil drastically changed expression of genes involved in membrane functioning (e.g., lipid composition, lipid metabolism, cell fatty acid synthesis), osmotic stress response (e.g., polyamine or trehalose synthesis, uptake of potassium) and putrescine metabolism, highlighting the immediate response mechanisms of P. veronii 1YdBTEX2 for successful establishment in polluted soil

Bridging ultrahigh-Q devices and photonic circuits

Optical microresonators are essential to a broad range of technologies and scientific disciplines. However, many of their applications rely on discrete devices to attain challenging combinations of ultra-low-loss performance (ultrahigh Q) and resonator design requirements. This prevents access to scalable fabrication methods for photonic integration and lithographic feature control. Indeed, finding a microfabrication bridge that connects ultrahigh-Q device functions with photonic circuits is a priority of the microcavity field. Here, an integrated resonator having a record Q factor over 200 million is presented. Its ultra-low-loss and flexible cavity design brings performance to integrated systems that has been the exclusive domain of discrete silica and crystalline microcavity devices. Two distinctly different devices are demonstrated: soliton sources with electronic repetition rates and high-coherence/low-threshold Brillouin lasers. This multi-device capability and performance from a single integrated cavity platform represents a critical advance for future photonic circuits and systems

The unbundled university : researching emerging models in an unequal landscape

As higher education (HE) undergoes a massive expansion in demand in most countries across the globe and experiences financial pressures, the sector is evolving rapidly. Market pressures encourage the search for additional income and new forms of provision, and online programme management (OPM) companies are increasingly entering the sector as they identify market opportunities. At the same time, the HE sector has seen the appearance of many flexible online courses and qualifications delivered by new configurations of providers and partnerships, through a process of 'unbundling'. This chapter reports on the data on South African HE from the research project 'The Unbundled University: Researching emerging models in an unequal landscape'. Using a new dataset, mapping or social cartography is employed to bring a novel perspective to uncover patterns of new provision and the partnerships between OPMs and institutions and their relationship to differentiation in the HE sector. Significantly, the maps reveal relationships between universities and OPMs which appear to reflect existing differentiation between institutions, insofar as OPMs presently partner almost exclusively with historically advantaged, traditional universities, with high international ranking and reputation. This chapter argues that such partnerships have the potential to reinforce the power asymmetries already at play

The hidden architecture of higher education:Building a big data infrastructure for the ‘smarter university’

Universities are increasingly organized and managed through digital data. The collection, processing and dissemination of Higher Education data is enabled by complex new data infrastructures that include both human and nonhuman actors, all framed by political, economic and social contingencies. HE data infrastructures need to be seen not just as technical programs but as practical relays of political objectives to reform the sector. This article focuses on a major active data infrastructure project in Higher Education in the United Kingdom. It examines the sociotechnical networks of organizations, software programs, standards, dashboards and visual analytics technologies that constitute the infrastructure, and how these technologies are fused to governmental imperatives of market reform. The analysis foregrounds how HE is being reimagined through the utopian ideal of the ‘smarter university’ while simultaneously being reformed through the political project of marketization

Does trust play a role when it comes to donations? A comparison of Italian and US higher education institutions

Higher education institutions (HEIs) have experienced severe cutbacks in funding over the past few years, with universities examining options for alternative funding streams, such as alumni funding. Identifying the factors influencing their alumni's intentions to invest in their alma mater can be of significant importance when establishing a sustainable revenue stream. Within this context, empirical research on the potential role of trust is scarce. This paper aims to deepen the analysis of the relationship between alumni trust and engagement as well as three outcomes, namely support, commitment, and attitude toward donation. A structural equation model was tested on two samples of US (  = 318) and Italian (  = 314) alumni. Although both countries are affluent and developed countries, the USA has an established tradition of alumni donations, which is not such a developed practice in Italy. For both countries, results confirm that engagement is an antecedent of trust, which in turn leads to the three investigated outcomes (support, commitment, and attitude toward donations). In contrast, the effect of commitment on attitude toward donations is significant only for the USA universities. The paper has interesting theoretical and managerial implications. From a theoretical point of view, the study aims to address a gap concerning the role of trust in the HE context. Managerially, the study has significant implications for universities that want to change alumni attitude toward donations. [Abstract copyright: © Springer Nature B.V. 2020.