Discovery of VHE and HE emission from the blazar 1ES 0414+009 with H.E.S.S and Fermi-LAT

The high energy peaked BL Lac (HBL) object 1ES 0414+009 (z=0.287) is a distant very high-energy (VHE, E > 100 GeV) blazars with well-determined redshift. This source was detected with the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) between October 2005 and September 2009. It was also detected with the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) in 21 months of data. The combined high energy (HE) and VHE spectra, once corrected for gamma-gamma absorption on the extragalactic background light (EBL), indicate a Compton peak located above few TeV, among the highest in the BL Lac class.Comment: proceeding from the 25th Texas Symposium on Relativistic Astrophysics (Heidelberg, Germany, 2010

Dynamic contour tonometry versus Goldmann applanation tonometry: challenging the gold standard

The accurate measurement of intraocular pressure (IOP) is fundamental to almost any ophthalmic examination. Dynamic contour tonometry (DCT) was introduced 5 years ago as an entirely novel contact tonometry principle designed to measure IOP largely independently of corneal properties. Since then, many studies have compared the performance of this tonometer to the Goldmann applanation tonometer (GAT) and other tonometers in healthy eyes, as well as eyes with glaucoma or corneal diseases, and after corneal surgery. There is now strong evidence that DCT measures IOP very accurately, with very low inter- and intraobserver variability. This article summarizes the findings of these studies and analyzes the role of DCT in challenging GAT as the gold-standard tonometer for IOP measurements

The Drinfel'd Double and Twisting in Stringy Orbifold Theory

This paper exposes the fundamental role that the Drinfel'd double \dkg of the group ring of a finite group $G$ and its twists \dbkg, \beta \in Z^3(G,\uk) as defined by Dijkgraaf--Pasquier--Roche play in stringy orbifold theories and their twistings. The results pertain to three different aspects of the theory. First, we show that $G$--Frobenius algebras arising in global orbifold cohomology or K-theory are most naturally defined as elements in the braided category of \dkg--modules. Secondly, we obtain a geometric realization of the Drinfel'd double as the global orbifold $K$--theory of global quotient given by the inertia variety of a point with a $G$ action on the one hand and more stunningly a geometric realization of its representation ring in the braided category sense as the full $K$--theory of the stack $[pt/G]$. Finally, we show how one can use the co-cycles $\beta$ above to twist a) the global orbifold $K$--theory of the inertia of a global quotient and more importantly b) the stacky $K$--theory of a global quotient $[X/G]$. This corresponds to twistings with a special type of 2--gerbe.Comment: 35 pages, no figure

Broadband multi-wavelength campaign on PKS 2005-489

The spectral energy distribution (SED) of high-frequency peaked BL Lac objects (HBL) is characterized by two peaks: one in the UV-X-ray and one in the GeV-TeV regime. An interesting object for analyzing these broadband characteristics is PKS 2005-489, which in 2004 showed the softest TeV spectrum ever measured. In 2009, a multi-wavelength campaign has been conducted with, for the first time, simultaneous observations by H.E.S.S. (TeV), Fermi/LAT (GeV), RXTE (keV), Swift (keV, UV, optical) and ATOM (optical) to cover the two peaks of the SED. During this campaign PKS 2005-489 underwent a high state in all wavebands which gives the opportunity to study in detail the emission processes of a high state of this interesting HBL.Comment: 2009 Fermi Symposium; eConf Proceedings C09112

Unidentified Galactic High-Energy Sources as Ancient Pulsar Wind Nebulae in the light of new high energy observations and the new code

In a Pulsar Wind Nebula (PWN), the lifetime of inverse Compton (IC) emitting electrons exceeds the lifetime of its progenitor pulsar (as well as its shell-type remnant), but it also exceeds the age of those that emit via synchrotron radiation. Therefore, during its evolution, the PWN can remain bright in IC so that its GeV-TeV gamma-ray flux remains high for timescales much larger (for 10^5 - 10^6 yrs) than the pulsar lifetime and the X-ray PWN lifetime. In this scenario, the magnetic field in the cavity induced by the wind of the progenitor star plays a crucial role. This scenario is in line with the discovery of several unidentified or "dark" sources in the TeV gamma-ray band without X-ray counterparts; and it is also finding confirmation in the recent discoveries at GeV gamma rays. Moreover, these consequences could be also important for reinterpreting the detection of starburst galaxies in the TeV gamma-ray band when considering a leptonic origin of the gamma-ray signal. Both theoretical aspects and their observational proofs will be discussed, as well as the first results of our new modeling code.Comment: Proceedings of the 5th International Symposium on High-Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy (Gamma2012

Effect of pH-lowering litter amendment on animal-based welfare indicators and litter quality in a European commercial broiler husbandry

ABSTRACT Several studies have shown that litter moisture is a major reason for foot pad lesions (FPD) and promotes microbial growth of nitrifying bacteria. The aim of the current study was to determine the possible effects of a sodium bisulfate complex (SBS) as a litter additive on FPD, hock burn (HB), and litter parameters. Two application rates of SBS were examined in 2 experiments on a commercial farm. Two groups of about 30,000 broiler chicks each were introduced on spelt granulate spread at 700 g/m² and kept for 36 d. In the first experiment (TRT1), 250 g/m² SBS was spread on top of litter 20 h before chick placement; in the second experiment (TRT2), SBS was reduced to 150 g/m². Each experiment consisted of 1 treatment group (SBS) and a control group without treatment (CON). Both experiments were repeated once. Litter parameters (pH, percentage of dry matter), foot pad, hock condition and body weight of randomly sampled birds (n = 60 per group) were recorded weekly. Mortality rate was higher in SBS groups compared to CON groups (TRT1 2.79 vs. CON 2.03%, TRT2 2.88 vs. CON 2.27%). SBS had no effect on body weight averaged over the whole production period (P> 0.05). Incidence of FPD was significantly reduced in both groups treated with SBS compared to CON (P 0.05) but by dry matter content (