Tidal interactions at the edge of the Local Group: New evidence for tidal features in the Antlia Dwarf Galaxy

Using deep B band imaging down to mu_{B} = 26 mag arcsec^{-2}, we present evidence for tidal tails in the Antlia Dwarf galaxy, one of the most distant members of the Local Group. This elongation is in the direction of Antlia's nearest neighbor, the Magellanic-type NGC 3109. The tail is offset by less than 10 degrees from a vector linking the centers of the two galaxies, indicative of interactions between the pair. Combined with the warped disc previously identified in NGC 3109, Antlia and NGC 3109 must be at a small separation for tidal features to be present in Antlia. We calculate that Antlia cannot be completely disrupted by NGC 3109 in a single interaction unless its orbit pericenter is less than 6 kpc, however multiple interactions could significantly alter its morphology. Therefore despite being located right at the edge of the Local Group, environmental effects are playing an important role in Antlia's evolution.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

Dwarf galaxies in the Perseus Cluster: further evidence for a disc origin for dwarf ellipticals

We present the results of a Keck-ESI (Echellette Spectrograph and Imager) spectroscopic study of six dwarf elliptical (dE) galaxies in the Perseus Cluster core, and confirm two dwarfs as cluster members for the first time. All six dEs follow the size–magnitude relation for dE/dSph galaxies. Central velocity dispersions are measured for three Perseus dwarfs in our sample, and all lie on the σ–luminosity relation for early-type, pressure-supported systems. We furthermore examine SA 0426-002, a unique dE in our sample with a bar-like morphology surrounded by low surface brightness wings/lobes (μB = 27 mag arcsec¯²). Given its morphology, velocity dispersion (σ₀ = 33.9 ± 6.1 km s⁻¹), velocity relative to the brightest cluster galaxy NGC 1275 (2711 km s⁻¹), size (Rₑ = 2.1 ± 0.10 kpc), and Sersic index ( ´ n = 1.2 ± 0.02), we hypothesize the dwarf has morphologically transformed from a low-mass disc to dE via harassment. The low surface brightness lobes can be explained as a ring feature, with the bar formation triggered by tidal interactions via speed encounters with Perseus Cluster members. Alongside spiral structure found in dEs in Fornax and Virgo, SA 0426-002 provides crucial evidence that a fraction of bright dEs have a disc infall origin, and are not part of the primordial cluster population

Addressing gender disparities in education and employment: A necessary step for achieving sustainable development in the Caribbean

Considering the vital importance of gender equality to development and the specific promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to leave no one behind, girls and boys should be provided with equal opportunities to achieve their fullest potential as promoted in specific Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and related targets. Noting that the 2020–2029 decade has been termed the “Decade of Action” for sustainable development, there is the need for the Caribbean to urgently address its human capital development challenge even as the subregion deals with many economic, social, and environmental challenges facing it as small island developing States (SIDS). In this study, we examine data on school enrolment and academic performance to discern any gender disparity in access to education and academic performance of students.Abstract .-- Introduction .-- I. Background. A. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. B. The Montevideo Strategy for Implementation of the Regional Gender Agenda .-- II. Understanding gender disparity in education and employment .-- III. Methodology .-- IV. Gender disparity in school enrolment .-- V. Gender disparity in educational attainment .-- VI. Conclusion. within the Sustainable Development Framework by 203

Anticancer, Biophysical and Computational Investigations of Half-Sandwich Ruthenium(II) Thiosemicarbazone Complexes: The Effect of Arene \u3ci\u3eVersus\u3c/i\u3e Thiacrown Face-Cap

A series of half-sandwich ruthenium complexes, two containing an arene face-cap and the other a thiacrown ether face-cap were synthesized to investigate the necessity of the arene for anticancer activity in this class of compounds. The complexes are formulated as [(h6-p-cymene)Ru(dmabTSC)Cl]PF6, [(h6-benzene)Ru(dmabTSC)Cl]PF6 (arene complexes), and [([9]aneS3(dmabTSC)Cl]PF6 (dmabTSC = dimethylaminobenzaldehye thiosemicarbazone). It was observed that none of the complexes showed good anticancer activity in vitro against HCT-116 and Caco-2 (colon adenocarcinoma) cells. All three complexes can bind strongly to calf-thymus DNA with binding constants on the order of 105 M-1. In addition they all bind strongly to human serum albumin with binding constants between 105 and 106 M-1. There appears to be a single binding site on the protein for these complexes. A computational investigation of these complexes and their hydrolysis products was carried out by molecular docking with DNA and topoisomerase II. From this analysis it is noted that the type of face-capping ligand had different effects on the two macromolecules. It is therefore noted that the knowledge gained from this study will be useful in identifying the type of complexes in this class that show useful metallodrug potential

Data Assimilation Enhancements to Air Force Weathers Land Information System

The United States Air Force (USAF) has a proud and storied tradition of enabling significant advancements in the area of characterizing and modeling land state information. 557th Weather Wing (557 WW; DoDs Executive Agent for Land Information) provides routine geospatial intelligence information to warfighters, planners, and decision makers at all echelons and services of the U.S. military, government and intelligence community. 557 WW and its predecessors have been home to the DoDs only operational regional and global land data analysis systems since January 1958. As a trusted partner since 2005, Air Force Weather (AFW) has relied on the Hydrological Sciences Laboratory at NASA/GSFC to lead the interagency scientific collaboration known as the Land Information System (LIS). LIS is an advanced software framework for high performance land surface modeling and data assimilation of geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) information

Introduction of Genetically Engineered Organisms - Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement—July 2007

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) regulates the environmental introduction of genetically engineered (GE) organisms, including crop and noncrop plants, vertebrate and invertebrate animals, and micro-organisms. APHIS regulations are grounded in the most up-to-date science and are designed to provide a level of oversight appropriate for the safe introduction of GE organisms. APHIS is considering whether revisions to its regulations are necessary. One purpose of such revisions would be to address current and future technological trends resulting in GE plants with which the agency is less familiar, such as plants with environmental stress tolerance or enhanced nutrition, and plants engineered for new purposes such as biofuels or for production of pharmaceutical or industrial compounds. Additionally, the regulations would be revised to ensure a high level of environmental protection, to create regulatory processes that are transparent to stakeholders and the public, to consider the efficient use of agency resources, to ensure that the level of oversight is commensurate with the risk, and to ensure conformity with obligations under international treaties and agreements, such as World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements. To this end, this draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) was prepared to provide agency decisionmakers with a full range of regulatory alternatives and assist them in selecting a preferred alternative

International genome-wide meta-analysis identifies new primary biliary cirrhosis risk loci and targetable pathogenic pathways.

Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a classical autoimmune liver disease for which effective immunomodulatory therapy is lacking. Here we perform meta-analyses of discovery data sets from genome-wide association studies of European subjects (n=2,764 cases and 10,475 controls) followed by validation genotyping in an independent cohort (n=3,716 cases and 4,261 controls). We discover and validate six previously unknown risk loci for PBC (Pcombined<5 × 10(-8)) and used pathway analysis to identify JAK-STAT/IL12/IL27 signalling and cytokine-cytokine pathways, for which relevant therapies exist

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

The development and initial validation of The Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) emphasizes the relationship a person has with their thoughts and beliefs as potentially more relevant than belief content in predicting the emotional and behavioral consequences of cognition. In ACT, ‘defusion’ interventions aim to ‘unhook’ thoughts from actions and to create psychological distance between a person and their thoughts, beliefs, memories and self-stories. A number of similar concepts have been described in the psychology literature (e.g. decentering, metacognition, mentalization and mindfulness) suggesting converging evidence that how we relate to mental events may be of critical importance. Whilst there are some good measures of these related processes, none of them provides an adequate operationalization of cognitive fusion. Despite the centrality of cognitive fusion in the ACT model, there is as yet no agreed measure of cognitive fusion. This paper presents the construction and development of a brief, self-report measure of cognitive fusion: The Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire (CFQ). The results of a series of studies involving over 1800 people across diverse samples show good preliminary evidence of the CFQ’s factor structure, reliability, temporal stability, validity, discriminant validity, and sensitivity to treatment effects. The potential uses of the CFQ in research and clinical practice are outlined