Orientation and symmetries of Alexandrov spaces with applications in positive curvature

We develop two new tools for use in Alexandrov geometry: a theory of ramified orientable double covers and a particularly useful version of the Slice Theorem for actions of compact Lie groups. These tools are applied to the classification of compact, positively curved Alexandrov spaces with maximal symmetry rank.Comment: 34 pages. Simplified proofs throughout and a new proof of the Slice Theorem, correcting omissions in the previous versio

CG J1720-67.8: A Detailed Analysis of Optical and Infrared Properties of a New Ultracompact Group of Galaxies

We present here optical spectroscopy and BVRJHK(s) photometry of the recently discovered ultra-compact group of galaxies CG J1720-67.8. This work represents a considerable extension of the preliminary results we presented in a previous paper. Despite the complicated morphology of the group, a quantitative morphological classification of the three brightest members of the group is attempted based on photometric analysis. We find that one galaxy is consistent with a morphological type S0, while the other two are most probably late-type spirals that are already losing their identity due tothe interaction process. Information on the star formation activity and dust content derived from both spectroscopic data and optical and near-infrared colors are complemented with a reconstruction of far-infrared (FIR) maps from IRAS raw data. Enhanced star formation activity is revealed in all the group's members, including the early-type galaxy and the extended tidal tail, along which several tidal dwarf galaxy candidates are identified. The metallicity of the gaseous component is investigated and photoionization models are applied to the three main galaxies of the group, while a detailed study of the tidal dwarf candidates will appear in a companion paper. Subsolar metal abundances are found for all the three galaxies, the highest values being shown by the early-type galaxy (Z ~ 0.5 Zsolar).Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

Diferencias, jerarquías, subalternidad: discursos y prácticas de intervención hacia mujeres inmigradas

En el presente artículo nos proponemos analizar las prácticas y discursos de intervención social dirigidos a mujeres inmigradas en España. Basado en cuatro proyectos de investigación, reconocimos algunos procesos de diferenciación (BRAH1992) así como también la emergencia de la sistematicidad de diferencias sustentadas en el género, la clase y la procedencia nacional. Dichos proyectos fueron llevados a cabo desde una perspectiva cualitativa, usando las técnicas de la entrevista semi-estructurada con profesionales y mujeres inmigradas y observaciones participantes y usando la teoría fundamentada para estructurar categorías teóricas. El foco de nuestro análisis fue la constitución de una categoría social, la de "Third world women" [mujeres del tercer mundo] (MOHANTY 2003, p.19), que se correspondería a un sujeto monolítico, con claros efectos de subalternización (DUBE 2001). Esta categoría influye en la subjetividad tanto de las mujeres inmigradas como en la de las profesionales que las atienden y conducen a tipos de incorporación social que pueden ser llamados de "inclusión perversa" (SAWAIA 2002, p.109). Como consecuencia de esto, parece natural que las mujeres inmigradas sean ubicadas en los escalafones sociales menos deseados por el resto del grupo social (laborales, educativos, etc.) quedando invisibilizados los procesos sociohistóricos que las colocan en dicha posición.In this article, we analyze the practices and discourses of social interventions aimed at female immigrants in Spain. From the findings of four research projects we revealed differentiation processes (BRAH, 1992) and the emergence of systematic distinctions grounded in gender, class, and national origin. The studies were conducted from a qualitative perspective, using participant observation and semi-structured interviews with professionals and immigrant women for data collection, and grounded theory methodology for structuring theoretical categories. The focus of our analysis was the constitution of a social category, "Third world women" (MOHANTY, 2003), corresponding to a monolithic subject that produces subalternization's effects (DUBE, 2001). Being a Third world women influences the subjectivity of migrant women and the professionals working with them and leads to a social incorporation that can be called "perverse inclusion" (SAWAIA, 2002). As a consequence, it seems natural that migrant women were placed in social spaces less desired by the rest of the society. Socio-historical processes that cause subaltern positions remain invisible.In diesem Beitrag beschäftigen wir uns mit Diskursen und Praktiken sozialer Interventionen gegenüber Immigrantinnen in Spanien. Ausgehend von vier Forschungsprojekten haben wir systematische Distinktionen identifiziert, die in Gender sowie in Klassen- und nationaler Zugehörigkeit gründen. Für die Datenerhebung wurden teilnehmende Beobachtungen und teil-strukturierte Interviews mit Immigrantinnen und Professionellen genutzt, zur Auswertung kam die Grounded-Theory-Methodologie zum Einsatz. Im Zentrum unserer Analyse haben wir die soziale Kategorie der Third world women (MOHANTY 2003) positioniert, der die Vorstellung eines monolithischen und subalternen Subjekts korrespondiert (DUBE 2001). Als Third world women konstruiert zu werden hat Konsequenzen für die subjektive Befindlichkeit der Frauen und für die, die mit ihnen arbeiten: Das soziale Konstrukt der "perversen Inklusion" (SAWAIA 2002) scheint hier zutreffend. In der Folge wirkt es zwangsläufig, dass diesen Frauen soziale Positionen zugewiesen werden, die andere Gesellschaftsmitglieder für sich ablehnen. Die sozio-historischen Prozesse, die zu den subalternen Positionen geführt haben, bleiben dabei unsichtbar

Biochemical composition and physicochemical properties of Moringa oleifera seed oil

Moringa oleifera tree has been recognized internationally for its nutritional, therapeutic and medicinal properties. Dry seeds are rich sources of oil with a high potential of commercial exploitation. The present study reports the physicochemical characterization, polyphenol content, DPPH radical scavenging capacity and fatty acid profile of moringa seed oil, and the chemical composition of the seed cultivated in Sonora, Mexico. Moisture, ash, protein and lipid contents in the seed were found to be 4.7, 5.8, 26 and 39%, respectively. The oil showed a refractive index of 1.4642. The saponification number was 183 mg KOH/g oil, iodine value: 75 g I/100 g of oil, acid value: 0.49 (% oleic acid). The polyphenol content was 0.137 mg of gallic acid equivalent/g and DPPH radical scavenging capacity was 87.39%. The moringa seed oil was rich (68%) in the major fatty acid, oleic acid (C18:1n9). Moringa oil extracted by sonication showed a fatty acid profile and physicochemical properties comparable to the oil from seeds grown in different regions of the world. The optimization of the oil extraction process on a large scale shows high potential, as the oil could be marketed as edible vegetable oil, for frying purposes, or as a functional ingredient

Interaction of gonadal steroids and growth factors in brain sex differentiation

Sex hormones have developmental trophic actions on neurons and glial cells and activational effects in the adult brain. It has been proposed that sex steroids may interact with peptide trophic factors to induce part of their biological effects in the nervous system. The first evidence of such an interaction was provided by Toran-Allerand et al (Brain Research 1980; 184: 517-524), showing that in explant cultures of fetal rodent hypothalamus, estrogen and insulin have synergistic effects on neurite growth, an effect probably mediated by insulin-like growth factor-1 receptors. Recent data indicate that estrogen and insulin-like growth factor-1 signaling pathways interact on hypothalamic neurons to regulate survival and differentiation and that sex steroids interact with a variety of different trophic signals in vivo to regulate neuroendocrine events. These findings suggest that trophic factors may be involved in the genesis of sex differences in the developing brain and in the maintenance of a sexually differentiated brain function in the adult.Biomedical Reviews 1997; 7: 67-74

The Nature of Blue Cores in Spheroids: a Possible Connection with AGN and Star Formation

We investigate the physical nature of blue cores in early-type galaxies through the first multi-wavelength analysis of a serendipitously discovered field blue-nucleated spheroid in the background of the deep ACS/WFC griz multicolor observations of the cluster Abell 1689. The resolved g-r, r-i and i-z color maps reveal a prominent blue core identifying this galaxy as a ``typical'' case study, exhibiting variations of 0.5-1.0 mag in color between the center and the outer regions, opposite to the expectations of reddened metallicity induced gradients in passively evolved ellipticals. From a Magellan-Clay spectrum we secure the galaxy redshift at $z=0.624$. We find a strong X-ray source coincident with the spheroid galaxy. Spectral features and a high X-ray luminosity indicate the presence of an AGN in the galaxy. However, a comparison of the X-ray luminosity to a sample derived from the Chandra Deep Field South displays Lx to be comparable to Type I/QSO galaxies while the optical flux is consistent with a normal star-forming galaxy. We conclude that the galaxy's non-thermal component dominates at high-energy wavelengths while we associate the spheroid blue light with the stellar spectrum of normal star-forming galaxies. We argue about a probable association between the presence of blue cores in spheroids and AGN activity.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. 6 pages, 3 figures. Full resolution images available at http://acs.pha.jhu.edu/~felipe/e-print

Evaluation of Plant-Based Byproducts as Green Fining Agents for Precision Winemaking

Consumers are increasingly looking for foods, including wine, that are free of animal-derived proteins. This study seeks to evaluate patatin, a new, plant-based and allergen-free fining agent, by comparing it with the fining agents polyvinipolypyrrolidone, bovine serum albumin, and methylcellulose. Specifically, its effects on the phenolic profile of enological tannins were analyzed with four spectrophotometric assays: OD 280 nm, Folin–Ciocâlteu, Adams–Harbertson, and methylcellulose. In addition, changes in the polyphenol composition of Sangiovese red wine were determined by UV-Vis spectrophotometry and HPLC with adsorption trials, and the solid–liquid interaction in a wine solution was modeled by both Langmuir and Freundlich equations. Our findings highlight the occurrence of systematic proportional error between the selected spectrophotometric assays. As a result, direct comparisons of protein precipitation assays can be made only among results obtained with the same spectrophotometric method. However, it is clear that patatin has an impact on the phenolic profile of Sangiovese red wine: it removes simple phenolics (gallic acid, (+)-catechin, (–)-epicatechin, epicatechin gallate, syringic acid, fertaric acid, coutaric acid, and rutin) as well as both oligomeric and polymeric tannins to different extents. In concentrations of less than 1 g/L, the patatin isotherm showed a linear relation between the equilibrium concentration and the quantity absorbed, obeying the Freundlich model reasonably well (KF 1.46; 1/n 1.07; R2 0.996 with 1/n > 1). Thus, the adsorption process is strongly dependent on the fining dosage

The XMM-LSS Survey: A well controlled X-ray cluster sample over the D1 CFHTLS area

We present the XMM-LSS cluster catalogue corresponding to the CFHTLS D1 area. The list contains 13 spectroscopically confirmed, X-ray selected galaxy clusters over 0.8 deg2 to a redshift of unity and so constitutes the highest density sample of clusters to date. Cluster X-ray bolometric luminosities range from 0.03 to 5x10^{44} erg/s. In this study, we describe our catalogue construction procedure: from the detection of X-ray cluster candidates to the compilation of a spectroscopically confirmed cluster sample with an explicit selection function. The procedure further provides basic X-ray products such as cluster temperature, flux and luminosity. We detected slightly more clusters with a (0.5-2.0 keV) X-ray fluxes of >2x10^{-14} erg/s/cm^{-2} than we expected based on expectations from deep ROSAT surveys. We also present the Luminosity-Temperature relation for our 9 brightest objects possessing a reliable temperature determination. The slope is in good agreement with the local relation, yet compatible with a luminosity enhancement for the 0.15 < z< 0.35 objects having 1 < T < 2 keV, a population that the XMM-LSS is identifying systematically for the first time. The present study permits the compilation of cluster samples from XMM images whose selection biases are understood. This allows, in addition to studies of large-scale structure, the systematic investigation of cluster scaling law evolution, especially for low mass X-ray groups which constitute the bulk of our observed cluster population. All cluster ancillary data (images, profiles, spectra) are made available in electronic form via the XMM-LSS cluster database.Comment: 12 pages 5 figures, MNRAS accepted. The paper with full resolution cluster images is available at http://vela.astro.ulg.ac.be/themes/spatial/xmm/LSS/rel_pub_e.htm