Faint, moving objects in the Hubble Deep Field: components of the dark halo?

The deepest optical image of the sky, the Hubble Deep Field (HDF), obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in December 1995, has been compared to a similar image taken in December 1997. Two very faint, blue, isolated and unresolved objects are found to display a substantial apparent proper motion, 23+/-5 mas/yr and 26+/-5 mas/yr; a further three objects at the detection limit of the second epoch observations may also be moving. Galactic structure models predict a general absence of stars in the color-magnitude range in which these objects are found. However, these observations are consistent with recently-developed models of old white dwarfs with hydrogen atmospheres, whose color, contrary to previous expectations, has been shown to be blue. If these apparently moving objects are indeed old white dwarfs with hydrogen atmospheres and masses near 0.5 M_Sun, they have ages of approximately 12 Gyr, and a local mass density that is sufficient, within the large uncertainties arising from the small size of the sample, to account for the entire missing Galactic dynamical mass.Comment: 6 pages, using emulateapj, including 2 colour figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

Spirituality and the MMPI-2 Restructured Clinical Scales

The present investigation examined the relation between spirituality, measured by the Expressions of Spirituality Inventory (ESI; MacDonald, 2000); and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Clinical (MMPI-2 RC) scales (Tellegen et al., 2003) using data from a previously published study (i.e., MacDonald & Holland, 2003). Zero-order, multiple, and partial correlations were calculated to explore the association. All multiple correlations, wherein the five ESI dimensions were used collectively to predict MMPI-2 RC scales, emerged significant for all MMPI-2 RC scales. For zero-order correlations, all RC scales were found to have a significant relation with at least one ESI dimension. Existential Well-Being (EWB) was found to be significantly negatively associated with all MMPI-2 RC scales except RC9-Hypomanic Activation. When compared to correlations between the ESI and the MMPI-2 Basic Clinical Scales, the RC scales seem to produce a similar pattern of coefficients but of lower magnitude. The study concludes with a discussion of the findings, limitations, and suggestions for clinical practice and future research

The Measurement of Spirituality in Children: An Evaluation of the Expressions of Spirituality Inventory–Revised (ESI–R) with a Sample of Peruvian School Children

Using a sample of 263 male Peruvian school children of ages ranging from 11 to 16 years, a Spanish translation of the Expressions of Spirituality Inventory- Revised (ESI-R; MacDonald, 2000a, 2000b) was evaluated in terms of its reliability and factorial validity. Examination of the internal consistency of the five ESI-R dimensions revealed somewhat mediocre reliability with Cronbach’s alphas ranging from .56 to .73 across all dimensions. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) also provided somewhat mixed support for the ESI-R; while all but one of the items produced significant loadings on their intended factors, fit indices indicated problems with model fit for both four and five factor models. In post-hoc exploratory principal axis factor analyses, a discernable three factor structure was found which emulated higher order factors found by MacDonald (2000b). Additional statistical analyses were completed to determine if a short-form of the ESI-R could be developed that would be suitable for research with youth. This resulted in the creation of a 12 item scale designed to tap two factors. This scale demonstrated adequate reliability and good factorial validity. The paper ends with a discussion of the implications of the findings and suggestions for future research

EU Cohesion policy 2007-13 and the implications for Spain : who gets what, when and how?

The recent negotiation of the EU budget and the associated reform of EU Cohesion policy have had major policy implications for Spain, the country in receipt of most Cohesion policy support in the current programming period (2000-06). EU enlargement, combined with relatively rapid growth in Spain, impacted on the eligibility of Spanish regions for Cohesion support while also taking the country as a whole beyond the eligibility threshold for the Cohesion Fund. As a result, based on the original Commission budget proposals of February 2004, Spain was facing a reduced Cohesion policy budget of at least a half (to below €30 billion). This paper first reviews the budget negotiations from a Spanish (Cohesion policy) perspective, identifying the key negotiating goals and the extent to which they were achieved. It then looks at the outcome of the negotiations for Spain, initially at the national level and then in the regions. It highlights the significant differential impacts of the cutbacks in Cohesion policy allocations at the regional level and the pressures on the Spanish government to modulate the regional impact of the budgetary changes. Having considered the direct funding implications of the new Cohesion policy, the second half of the paper is concerned with the regulatory, institutional and economic impacts of the new policy regime. Many of the reform proposals fit with Spanish priorities, not least the new rationale for Cohesion policy (with its stress on the Lisbon and Gothenburg agendas) and the new policy architecture (with all regions eligible for some form of support and with a related shift from a geographic to more of a thematic focus). The retention of the key Structural Funds principles has also been welcomed in Spain, unsurprising given the wealth of experience and expertise built up over three (high-spending) programming cycles. As in most Member States, the main regulatory concern relates to the extent to which a more simplified and devolved approach to Funds' implementation will be achieved in practice. As regards policy and institutional impacts, the paper brings together regional views on the new budgetary and regulatory frameworks and reviews how the new regulations are being implemented in practice. A discussion of the developing National Strategic Reference Framework and the related Operational Programmes makes clear that the strong emphasis on the Lisbon agenda is not viewed as a constraint in Spain; rather, it is felt to fit well with recent Spanish developments and goals. Finally, the paper considers the economic implications of the reductions in Cohesion policy support. On the basis of evaluation studies, it highlights the positive impact the Funds have had in the past and the potentially quite varied regional impacts the reductions in funding may have in the future

The objective of economic and social cohesion in the economic policies of the member states

This is the final report of a study of the objective of economic and social cohesion in the economic policies of the member states, commissioned by DG REGIO and submitted by the EPRC and Euroreg under EC contract number 2009 CE 16 0 AT 019/200

Diagnóstico de depresión en coexistencia con enfermedad no psiquiátrica por estudiantes de medicina que han concluido su carga académica.

Following an experimental methodology, with randomization, the present investigation was carried out, in order to analyze the influence of the accessibility of the symptoms on the diagnosis of depression that the medical student performs, in a situation of simulated clinical cases when it coexists with pathology. non-psychiatric medical care, in particular: depression and antiphlophoid syndrome.Siguiendo una metodología experimental, con aleatorización, se realizó la presente investigación, con el objeto de analizar la influencia de la accesibilidad de los síntomas sobre el diagnóstico de depresión que realiza el estudiante de medicina, en una situación de casos clínicos simulados cuando coexista con patología médica no psiquiátrica, en particular: depresión y síndrome antifofolípidos

Outflow Legacy Accretion Survey: unveiling the wind driving mechanism in BHXRBs

Transient black-hole X-ray binaries viewed at high inclinations display blue-shifted absorption lines in their X-ray spectra. These features are the signatures of powerful, hot and equatorial accretion disk winds being driven from these systems in their luminous soft states. Remarkably, blue-shifted absorption lines have recently also been discovered in optical and NIR recombination lines and ultraviolet resonance features. These features must also be produced in an outflow, but the physical conditions traced by these outflows are different. Despite this, the characteristic Doppler velocities of all three types of signatures are comparable, yet they have never been observed simultaneously. It is therefore completely unclear if they are associated with distinct outflows (e.g. driven by different mechanisms) or simply with different regions/phases within the same outflow. Here, we propose to answer this question by carrying out simultaneous time-resolved spectroscopy of a high-inclination system in the X-ray, ultraviolet and optical bands, in its two distinct physical configurations (hard- and soft-states). This will allow us to test if the three types of wind features are present simultaneously, and, if so, whether they display correlated variability and/or velocity structure

Investigation of the biophysical and cell biological properties of ferroportin, a multipass integral membrane protein iron exporter

Ferroportin is a multipass membrane protein that serves as an iron exporter in many vertebrate cell types. Ferroportin-mediated iron export is controlled by the hormone hepcidin, which binds ferroportin, causing its internalization and degradation. Mutations in ferroportin cause a form of the iron overload hereditary disease hemochromatosis. Relatively little is known about ferroportin's properties or the mechanism by which mutations cause disease. In this study, we expressed and purified human ferroportin to characterize its biochemical/biophysical properties in solution and conducted cell biological studies in mammalian cells. We found that purified detergent-solubilized ferroportin is a well-folded monomer that binds hepcidin. In cell membranes, the N- and C-termini were both cytosolic, implying an even number of transmembrane regions, and ferroportin was mainly localized to the plasma membrane. Hepcidin addition resulted in a redistribution of ferroportin to intracellular compartments that labeled with early endosomal and lysosomal, but not Golgi, markers and that trafficked along microtubules. An analysis of 16 disease-related ferroportin mutants revealed that all were expressed and trafficked to the plasma membrane but that some were resistant to hepcidin-induced internalization. The characterizations reported here form a basis upon which models for ferroportin's role in regulating iron homeostasis in health and disease can be interpreted

The HDF-North SCUBA Super-map II: Multi-wavelength properties

We present radio, optical and X-ray detected counterparts to the sub-mm sources found using SCUBA in the Hubble Deep Field North region (GOODS-N). A new counterpart identification statistic is developed to identify properties of galaxies detected at other wavelengths that can be used to aid counterpart identification. We discriminate between criteria that can be used to pre-select sub-mm bright objects, and those that identify the counterpart to a known sub-mm object. Optically faint galaxies detected in the deepest 1.4 GHz radio continuum maps are the only effective way of pre-selecting SCUBA galaxies, and radio sources are the best way to identify counterparts to known sub-mm detections. Looking at radio spectral indices, only the steeper sources (indicative of star formation) are detected in the sub-mm. Although we find several X-ray identifications, we show that deep Chandra images do not contribute to counterpart identifications, since in all cases they are already detected in the more easily obtained VLA radio maps. We also find find no evidence for clustering between Chandra and SCUBA sources in this field. For a known SCUBA position, the reddest source tends to be the correct association, although we can find no cut on colour, magnitude, or clustering property that efficiently pre-selects for SCUBA sources. 15 micron ISO sources are statistically detected by SCUBA, but the limiting mid-IR flux is not low enough to provide useful constraints. We present postage stamp strips for each SCUBA detection in separate bands from X-ray to radio, providing direct visual evidence that approximately half of the sub-mm sources in this field remain unidentified, despite an abundance of deep multi-wavelength data.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. High resolution version available at http://www.submm.caltech.edu/~borys/paper