2,533 research outputs found
What Regulates Galaxy Evolution? Open Questions in Our Understanding of Galaxy Formation and Evolution
In April 2013, a workshop entitled "What Regulates Galaxy Evolution" was held
at the Lorentz Center. The aim of the workshop was to bring together the
observational and theoretical community working on galaxy evolution, and to
discuss in depth of the current problems in the subject, as well as to review
the most recent observational constraints. A total of 42 astrophysicists
attended the workshop. A significant fraction of the time was devoted to
identifying the most interesting "open questions" in the field, and to discuss
how progress can be made. This review discusses the four questions (one for
each day of the workshop) that, in our opinion, were the focus of the most
intense debate. We present each question in its context, and close with a
discussion of what future directions should be pursued in order to make
progress on these problems.Comment: 36 pages, 6 Figures, submitted to New Astronomy Review
On the scatter in the relation between stellar mass and halo mass: random or halo formation time dependent?
The empirical HOD model of Wang et al. 2006 fits, by construction, both the
stellar mass function and correlation function of galaxies in the local
Universe. In contrast, the semi-analytical models of De Lucia & Blazoit 2007
(DLB07) and Guo et al. 2011 (Guo11), built on the same dark matter halo merger
trees than the empirical model, still have difficulties in reproducing these
observational data simultaneously. We compare the relations between the stellar
mass of galaxies and their host halo mass in the three models, and find that
they are different. When the relations are rescaled to have the same median
values and the same scatter as in Wang et al., the rescaled DLB07 model can fit
both the measured galaxy stellar mass function and the correlation function
measured in different galaxy stellar mass bins. In contrast, the rescaled Guo11
model still over-predicts the clustering of low-mass galaxies. This indicates
that the detail of how galaxies populate the scatter in the stellar mass --
halo mass relation does play an important role in determining the correlation
functions of galaxies. While the stellar mass of galaxies in the Wang et al.
model depends only on halo mass and is randomly distributed within the scatter,
galaxy stellar mass depends also on the halo formation time in semi-analytical
models. At fixed value of infall mass, galaxies that lie above the median
stellar mass -- halo mass relation reside in haloes that formed earlier, while
galaxies that lie below the median relation reside in haloes that formed later.
This effect is much stronger in Guo11 than in DLB07, which explains the
over-clustering of low mass galaxies in Guo11. Our results illustrate that the
assumption of random scatter in the relation between stellar and halo mass as
employed by current HOD and abundance matching models may be problematic in
case a significant assembly bias exists in the real Universe.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, published in MNRA
Detection of galaxy assembly bias
Assembly bias describes the finding that the clustering of dark matter haloes
depends on halo formation time at fixed halo mass. In this paper, we analyse
the influence of assembly bias on galaxy clustering using both semi-analytical
models (SAMs) and observational data. At fixed stellar mass, SAMs predict that
the clustering of {\it central} galaxies depends on the specific star formation
rate (sSFR), with more passive galaxies having a higher clustering amplitude.
We find similar trends using SDSS group catalogues, and verify that these are
not affected by possible biases due to the group finding algorithm. Low mass
central galaxies reside in narrow bins of halo mass, so the observed trends of
higher clustering amplitude for galaxies with lower sSFR is not driven by
variations of the parent halo mass. We argue that the clustering dependence on
sSFR represent a direct detection of assembly bias. In addition, contrary to
what expected based on clustering of dark matter haloes, we find that low-mass
central galaxies in SAMs with larger host halo mass have a {\it lower}
clustering amplitude than their counter-parts residing in lower mass haloes.
This results from the fact that, at fixed stellar mass, assembly bias has a
stronger influence on clustering than the dependence on the parent halo mass.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS, Fig.4 update
Pustular psoriasis with a focus on generalized pustular psoriasis: classification and diagnostic criteria. An Italian expert consensus
Generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP) is a severe and life-threatening systemic disease associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Recent progress has been made in understanding the pathogenetic pathways involved in GPP and an intricate interaction between innate and adaptive immune mechanisms has been suggested. Despite formal consensus guidelines on pustular psoriasis currently available in the literature, the definitions and classifications of GPP used across studies were inconsistent. Consequently, there are no unified criteria that can be universally adopted for precise diagnosis, classification and effective treatment of GPP patients with new targeted drugs. The aim of this review was to col- lect all the main evidence on available diagnostic criteria for GPP and to establish recommendations in order to promote a better stratification and therapeutic management of this severe and heterogeneous disease. (Cite this article as: Costanzo A, Bardazzi F, De Simone C, Fabbrocini G, Foti C, Marzano AV, et al. Pustular psoriasis with a focus on generalized pustular psoriasis: classification and diagnostic criteria. An Italian expert consensus. Ital J Dermatol Venereol 2022;157:489-96. DOI: 10.23736/ S2784-8671.22.07415-1
Antibacterial Effect of Photodynamic Therapy on Root Canal Disinfection Combined with Different Irrigation Protocols
Introduction: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an emerging alternative therapy to conventional endodontic treatment to optimize bacterial elimination. The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro antibacterial effect of PDT combined with different irrigation protocols on root canals inoculated with Enterococcus (E.) faecalis. Methods and Materials: Ninety uni-radicular human premolars were prepared and contaminated with E. faecalis for 4 days. Teeth were randomly divided into six groups: positive control group (C+) consisted of conventional needle irrigation with 2.5% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl); negative control group (C-) consisted of no treatment after contamination; PDT group as treated with 0.005% methylene blue and diode laser irradiation for 90 sec at wavelength of 660 nm, energy of 9 Joules, power of 100 mW; the fourth group consisted of  NaOCl+PDT, the fifth group were treated with passive ultrasonic irrigation (PUI) with NaOCl+PDT (PUI+PDT); and the final group were treated with XP Endo Finisher with NaOCl+PDT (XP Endo+PDT). The contents of the root canals were collected with sterile absorbent paper points at two times: before and 24 h after decontamination protocols. The number of colony-forming units (CFU) was determined for each root canal. ANOVA and the Tukey test were used, with significance set at 5% (P<0.05). Results: The inhibition percentage ranged from 10.72 (C-) to 100% (XP Endo+PDT), with CFU/mL counts differing among all protocols tested (P<0.05). The different protocols significantly influenced bacterial inhibition (P<0.05). However, the XP Endo+PDT protocol resulted in the highest inhibition percentage (100%), followed by NaOCl+PDT (65.85%). Conclusions: PDT combined with different final irrigation protocols was more effective in inhibiting E. faecalis growth than photodynamic therapy alone. XP Endo was the best irrigation protocol to eradicate this microorganism.Keywords: Biofilm; Endodontics; Enterococcus faecalis; Photodynamic Therap
Importância da Filosofia na educação básica e na universidade
This experience report discusses the place of Philosophy in Basic Education. It also seeks to reflect on how Philosophy is taught in the context of the University, considering the question of form and content. Such questions are discussed in order to understand more deeply the importance of philosophy in human formation. This reflection is based on authors who are dedicated to the theme in question, among them, Marilena Chauà (1982), Ildeu Coêlho (1993) and Jayme Paviani (2010). Thus, it seeks to question the philosophy in human formation, understanding the relevance of knowledge and the exercise of thought in this formation in the teacher's work and in the formation of the student, with a view to emancipation and intellectual autonomy.O presente relato de experiência discute o lugar da Filosofia na Educação Básica. Busca ainda refletir sobre como a Filosofia é trabalhada no contexto da Universidade, em relação a questão da forma e do conteúdo. Tais questões são postas em discussão com vistas a compreender mais profundamente a importância da filosofia na formação humana. A presente reflexão está fundamentada em autores que se dedicam ao tema em questão, dentre eles, Marilena Chauà (1982), Ildeu Coêlho (1993) e Jayme Paviani (2010), numa abordagem qualitativa. Desse modo, busca-se pôr em questão a filosofia na formação humana, compreendendo a relevância do conhecimento e do exercÃcio do pensamento nesta formação no trabalho do professor e na formação do aluno em vistas a emancipação e autonomia intelectual.
Small-molecule sequestration of amyloid-β as a drug discovery strategy for Alzheimer's disease.
Disordered proteins are challenging therapeutic targets, and no drug is currently in clinical use that modifies the properties of their monomeric states. Here, we identify a small molecule (10074-G5) capable of binding and sequestering the intrinsically disordered amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide in its monomeric, soluble state. Our analysis reveals that this compound interacts with Aβ and inhibits both the primary and secondary nucleation pathways in its aggregation process. We characterize this interaction using biophysical experiments and integrative structural ensemble determination methods. We observe that this molecule increases the conformational entropy of monomeric Aβ while decreasing its hydrophobic surface area. We also show that it rescues a Caenorhabditis elegans model of Aβ-associated toxicity, consistent with the mechanism of action identified from the in silico and in vitro studies. These results illustrate the strategy of stabilizing the monomeric states of disordered proteins with small molecules to alter their behavior for therapeutic purposes
Fat Deposition, Fatty Acid Composition, and Its Relationship with Meat Quality and Human Health
The consumer’s profile has changed, and in recent years, there has been a greater concern for the nutritional quality of meat, especially in relation to fat that compose it. The meat fat composition can contribute to the onset of cardiovascular disease. On the other hand, fat is an essential component in the human diet, as well as providing energy; it contains essential fatty acids (FAs) that must be present in food. The meat nutritional properties are largely related to its fat content and fatty acid composition. In addition, fat gives flavor to food, helps in the absorption of vitamins, and plays an important role in the immune response, for humans, and animals. The fat nutritional and sensory quality in meat that is determined by the fatty acid composition can affect the degree of fat saturation, the storage stability, and flavor. There are several factors that can influence the fatty acid composition, such as animals’ species, breed, sex, and diet, causing various changes in carcass, as well as in tissues and chemical meat composition
An Exploratory Study of Field Failures
Field failures, that is, failures caused by faults that escape the testing
phase leading to failures in the field, are unavoidable. Improving verification
and validation activities before deployment can identify and timely remove many
but not all faults, and users may still experience a number of annoying
problems while using their software systems. This paper investigates the nature
of field failures, to understand to what extent further improving in-house
verification and validation activities can reduce the number of failures in the
field, and frames the need of new approaches that operate in the field. We
report the results of the analysis of the bug reports of five applications
belonging to three different ecosystems, propose a taxonomy of field failures,
and discuss the reasons why failures belonging to the identified classes cannot
be detected at design time but shall be addressed at runtime. We observe that
many faults (70%) are intrinsically hard to detect at design-time
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