Genetic Changes Over Breeding Generations of \u3cem\u3eFestulolium\u3c/em\u3e

Festulolium hybrids are a valuable breeding source for tolerance to abiotic stress and to make grass more persistent under drought and in cold environments. In 2004, the EU Commission enlarged the definition of Festulolium which may now include all hybrids between Lolium sp. and Festuca sp. and not only those between L. multiflorum and F. pratensis. We here report allele frequencies at two unlinked PCR-based marker loci in populations derived from tetraploid (2n=4x=28) L. multiflorum x F. glaucescens hybrids where breeding history enables us to test the effects of selection vs that of genetic drift

AGAPE, an experiment to detect MACHO's in the direction of the Andromeda galaxy

The status of the Agape experiment to detect Machos in the direction of the andromeda galaxy is presented.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure in a separate compressed, tarred, uuencoded uufile. In case ofproblem contact [email protected]

Diffusion tensor imaging and resting-state functional MRI-scanning in 5- and 6-year-old children: Training protocol and motion assessment

Advanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) techniques such as Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) and resting-state functional MRI (rfMRI) are widely used to study structural and functional neural connectivity. However, as these techniques are highly sensitive to motion artifacts and require a considerable amount of time for image acquisition, successful acquisition of these images can be challenging to complete with certain populations. This is especially true for young children. This paper describes a new approach termed the 'submarine protocol', designed to prepare 5- and 6-year-old children for advanced MRI scanning. The submarine protocol aims to ensure that successful scans can be acquired in a time- and resource-efficient manner, without the need for sedation. This manuscript outlines the protocol and details its outcomes, as measured through the number of children who completed the scanning procedure and analysis of the degree of motion present in the acquired images. Seventy-six children aged between 5.8 and 6.9 years were trained using the submarine protocol and subsequently underwent DTI and rfMRI scanning. After completing the submarine protocol, 75 of the 76 children (99%) completed their DTI-scan and 72 children (95%) completed the full 35-minute scan session. Results of diffusion data, acquired in 75 children, showed that the motion in 60 of the scans (80%) did not exceed the threshold for excessive motion. In the rfMRI scans, this was the case for 62 of the 71 scans (87%). When placed in the context of previous studies, the motion data of the 5- and 6-year-old children reported here were as good as, or better than those previously reported for groups of older children (i.e., 8-year-olds). Overall, this study shows that the submarine protocol can be used successfully to acquire DTI and rfMRI scans in 5 and 6-year-old children, without the need for sedation or lengthy training procedures. © 2014 Theys et al

Very High Energy Gamma-ray spectral properties of Mrk 501 from CAT Cerenkov telescope observations in 1997

The BL Lac object Mrk 501 went into a very high state of activity during 1997, both in VHE gamma-rays and X-rays. We present here results from observations at energies above 250 GeV carried out between March and October 1997 with the CAT Cerenkov imaging Telescope. The average differential spectrum between 30 GeV and 13 TeV shows significant curvature and is well represented by phi_0 * E_TeV^{-(alpha + beta*log10(E_TeV))}, with: phi_0 = 5.19 +/- 0.13 {stat} +/- 0.12 {sys-MC} +1.66/-1.04 {sys-atm} * 10^-11 /cm^2/s/TeV alpha = 2.24 +/- 0.04 {stat} +/- 0.05 {sys} beta = 0.50 +/- 0.07 {stat} (negligible systematics). The TeV spectral energy distribution of Mrk 501 clearly peaks in the range 500 GeV-1 TeV. Investigation of spectral variations shows a significant hardness-intensity correlation with no measurable effect on the curvature. This can be described as an increase of the peak TeV emission energy with intensity. Simultaneous and quasi-simultaneous CAT VHE gamma-ray and BeppoSAX hard X-ray detections for the highest recorded flare on 16th April and for lower-activity states of the same period show correlated variability with a higher luminosity in X-rays than in gamma-rays. The observed spectral energy distribution and the correlated variability between X-rays and gamma-rays, both in amplitude and in hardening of spectra, favour a two-component emission scheme where the low and high energy components are attributed to synchrotron and inverse Compton (IC) radiation, respectively.Comment: Submitted to Astronomy and Astrophysics, 8 pages including 6 figures. Published with minor change

The CAT Imaging Telescope for Very-High-Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy

The CAT (Cherenkov Array at Themis) imaging telescope, equipped with a very-high-definition camera (546 fast phototubes with 0.12 degrees spacing surrounded by 54 larger tubes in two guard rings) started operation in Autumn 1996 on the site of the former solar plant Themis (France). Using the atmospheric Cherenkov technique, it detects and identifies very high energy gamma-rays in the range 250 GeV to a few tens of TeV. The instrument, which has detected three sources (Crab nebula, Mrk 421 and Mrk 501), is described in detail.Comment: 24 pages, 15 figures. submitted to Elsevier Preprin

Prototype Tests for the CELESTE Solar Array Gamma--Ray Telescope

The CELESTE experiment will be an Atmospheric Cherenkov detector designed to bridge the gap in energy sensitivity between current satellite and ground-based gamma-ray telescopes, 20 to 300 GeV. We present test results made at the former solar power plant, Themis, in the French Pyrenees. The tests confirm the viability of using a central tower heliostat array for Cherenkov wavefront sampling.Comment: LaTeX2e,30 pages including 14 figures, accepted for publication by Nuclear Instruments & Methods Section

The CAT Imaging Telescope

The VHE gamma-ray imaging telescope CAT started taking data in October 1996. Located at the Themis solar site in southern France, it features a 17.7 m^2 Davies-Cotton mirror equipped with 600 PMT camera at the focal plane. The mechanics and optics, the PMTs and the electronics are presented. The performance, based on the first 7 months of operation, is described

Development of atypical parental behavior during an inpatient family preservation intervention program

Since failed reunification is a detrimental outcome for children, particularly infants and toddlers, the aim of this study was to gain insight into support to families in multiple-problem situations to help them achieve sustainable good-enough parenting. Therefore, we examined outcomes of an assessment-based inpatient family preservation program. We prepared a thorough target-population description (n = 70) using file analysis. Next, we examined atypical parental behavior during the intervention using the Atypical Maternal Behavior Instrument for Assessment and Classification with a repeated measures design (n = 30). The family files revealed a great number of issues at the family, parent, and child levels, such as practical matters, problems in parent functioning and between parents, and difficulties in the broader environment. We found a significant decline in three dimensions of atypical parental behavior over time. This program has great potential in supporting vulnerable families in their pursuit of family preservation

A new analysis method for very high definition Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes as applied to the CAT telescope

A new method of shower-image analysis is presented which appears very powerful as applied to those Cherenkov Imaging Telescopes with very high definition imaging capability. It provides hadron rejection on the basis of a single cut on the image shape, and simultaneously determines the energy of the electromagnetic shower and the position of the shower axis with respect to the detector. The source location is also reconstructed for each individual gamma-ray shower, even with one single telescope, so for a point source the hadron rejection can be further improved. As an example, this new method is applied to data from the CAT (Cherenkov Array at Themis) imaging telescope, which has been operational since Autumn, 1996.Comment: 22 pages. submitted to Elsevier Preprin