Chemical Homogeneity in Collinder 261 and Implications for Chemical Tagging

This paper presents abundances for 12 red giants of the old open cluster Collinder 261 based on spectra from VLT/UVES. Abundances were derived for Na, Mg, Si, Ca, Mn, Fe, Ni, Zr and Ba. We find the cluster has a solar-level metallicity of [Fe/H] = -0.03 dex. However some alpha elements were found to be enhanced. The star-to-star scatter was consistent with the expected measurement uncertainty for all elements. The observed rms scatter is as follows: Na = 0.07, Mg = 0.05, Si = 0.06, Ca = 0.05, Mn = 0.03, Fe = 0.02, Ni = 0.04, Zr = 0.12, and Ba = 0.03 dex. The intrinsic scatter was estimated to be less than 0.05 dex. Such high levels of homogeneity indicate that chemical information remains preserved in this old open cluster. We use the chemical homogeneity we have now established in Cr 261, Hyades and the HR1614 moving group to examine the uniqueness of the individual cluster abundance patterns, ie. chemical signatures. We demonstrate that the three studied clusters have unique chemical signatures, and discuss how other such signatures may be searched for in the future. Our findings support the prospect of chemically tagging disk stars to common formation sites in order to unravel the dissipative history of the Galactic disk.Comment: 26 pages, 15 figures, accepted by AJ. Uses emulateapj.cl

Open clusters as key tracers of Galactic chemical evolution. III. Element abundances in Berkeley 20, Berkeley 29, Collinder 261, and Melotte 66

Galactic open clusters are since long recognized as one of the best tools for investigating the radial distribution of iron and other metals. We employed FLAMES at VLT to collect UVES spectra of bright giant stars in a large sample of open clusters, spanning a wide range of Galactocentric distances, ages, and metallicities. We present here the results for four clusters: Berkeley 20 and Berkeley 29, the two most distant clusters in the sample; Collinder 261, the oldest and the one with the minimum Galactocentric distance; Melotte 66. Equivalent width analysis was carried out using the spectral code MOOG and Kurucz model atmospheres to derive abundances of Fe, Al, Mg, Si, Ca, Ti, Cr, Ni, Ba; non-LTE Na abundances were derived by direct line-profile fitting. We obtain subsolar metallicities for the two anticenter clusters Be 20 ([Fe/H]=-0.30, rms=0.02) and Be 29 ([Fe/H]=-0.31, rms=0.03), and for Mel 66 ([Fe/H]=-0.33, rms=0.03), located in the third Galactic quadrant, while Cr 261, located toward the Galactic center, has higher metallicity ([Fe/H]=+0.13, rms=0.05 dex). The alpha-elements Si, Ca and Ti, and the Fe-peak elements Cr and Ni are in general close to solar; the s-process element Ba is enhanced. Non-LTE computations of Na abundances indicate solar scaled values, suggesting that the enhancement in Na previously determined in giants in open clusters could be due to neglected non-LTE effects. Our results support the presence of a steep negative slope of the Fe radial gradient up to about 10-11 kpc from the Galactic center, while in the outer disk the [Fe/H] distribution seems flat. All the elemental ratios measured are in very good agreement with those found for disk stars of similar metallicity and no trend with Galactocentric distance seems to be present.Comment: Accepted for publication on A&

The Self-Regulation of Learning \u2013 Self-Report Scale for Sport Practice: Validation of an Italian Version for Football

Self-regulation of learning (SRL) is a key psychological factor that supports young athletes aiming to reach the elite level by promoting their involvement in deliberate practice. We contributed to the validation of the Italian version of the Bartulovic et al. (2017) Self-Regulation of Learning \u2013 Self-Report Scale for Sport Practice by testing its factorial structure, reliability, and measurement invariance among elite and non-elite football players, involving 415 male professional, semi-professional, and amateur youth academy players (Mage = 16.2, SD = 1.51). The original six-factor structure (planning, reflection, effort, self-efficacy, self-monitoring, and evaluation) did not fit the data well and a five-factor solution (where self-monitoring and evaluation items load on the same factor, named \u201cself-supervision\u201d) was a better fit. This five-factor solution was measurement invariant across groups of elite and non-elite athletes. We found that elite athletes scored significantly higher than non-elite ones in each SRL subprocess. Implications for future validation studies and for the use of this tool are discussed

Evaluation of a large set of patients with Autoimmune Polyglandular Syndrome from a single reference centre in context of different classifications

Purpose: To characterize patients with APS and to propose a new approach for their follow-up. Query ID="Q1" Text="Please check the given names and familynames." Methods: Monocentric observational retrospective study enrolling patients referred to the Outpatients clinic of the Units of Endocrinology, Diabetology, Gastroenterology, Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology of our Hospital for Autoimmune diseases. Results: Among 9852 patients, 1174 (11.9%) [869 (73.9%) female] were diagnosed with APS. In 254 subjects, the diagnosis was made at first clinical evaluation (Group 1), all the other patients were diagnosed with a mean latency of 11.3 ± 10.6 years (Group 2). Group 1 and 2 were comparable for age at diagnosis (35.7 ± 16.3 vs. 40.4 ± 16.6 yrs, p =.698), but different in male/female ratio (81/173 vs 226/696, p =.019). In Group 2, 50% of patients developed the syndrome within 8 years of follow-up. A significant difference was found after subdividing the first clinical manifestation into the different outpatient clinic to which they referred (8.7 ± 8.0 vs. 13.4 ± 11.6 vs. 19.8 ± 8.7 vs. 7.4 ± 8.1 for endocrine, diabetic, rheumatologic, and gastroenterological diseases, respectively, p <.001). Conclusions: We described a large series of patients affected by APS according to splitters and lumpers. We propose a flowchart tailored for each specialist outpatient clinic taking care of the patients. Finally, we recommend regular reproductive system assessment due to the non-negligible risk of developing premature ovarian failure

A mathematical model for the burden of diabetes and its complications

BACKGROUND: The incidence and prevalence of diabetes are increasing all over the world. Complications of diabetes constitute a burden for the individuals and the whole society. METHODS: In the present paper, ordinary differential equations and numerical approximations are used to monitor the size of populations of diabetes with and without complications. RESULTS: Different scenarios are discussed according to a set of parameters and the dynamical evolution of the population from the stage of diabetes to the stage of diabetes with complications is clearly illustrated. CONCLUSIONS: The model shows how efficient and cost-effective strategies can be obtained by acting on diabetes incidence and/or controlling the evolution to the stage of complications