The tiny globulettes in the Carina Nebula

Small molecular cloudlets are abundant in many H II regions surrounding newborn stellar clusters. In optical images these so-called globulettes appear as dark silhouettes against the bright nebular background. We have located close to 300 globulettes in the Carina Nebula. The objects appear as well-confined dense clumps and, as a rule, lack thinner envelopes, bright rims, and tails. Some globulettes are slightly elongated with their major axes oriented in the direction of young clusters in the complex. Many objects are quite isolated and reside at projected distances >1.5 pc from other molecular structures in the region. No globulette coincides in position with recognized pre-main-sequence objects in the area. The objects are systematically much smaller, less massive, and much denser than those surveyed in other H II regions. Practically all globulettes are of planetary mass, and most have masses less than one Jupiter mass. The average number densities exceed 10^5 cm^-3 in several objects. We have found a statistical relation between density and radius (mass) in the sense that the smallest objects are also the densest. The population of small globulettes in Carina appears to represent a more advanced evolutionary state than those investigated in other H II regions. The objects are subject to erosion in the intense radiation field, which would lead to a removal of any thinner envelope and an unveiling of the core, which becomes more compact with time. We discuss the possibility that the core may become gravitationally unstable, in which case free-floating planetary mass objects can form.Comment: 20 pages, Astronomy and Astrophysics 201

Dusty globules in the Crab Nebula

From existing broad-band images obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope, we located 92 globules, for which we derived positions, dimensions, orientations, extinctions, masses, proper motions, and their distributions. The globules have mean radii ranging from 400 to 2000 AU and are not resolved in current infrared images of the nebula. The extinction law for dust grains in these globules matches a normal interstellar extinction law. Derived masses of dust range from 1 to 60 x 10^(-6) solar masses, and the total mass contained in globules constitute a fraction of approximately 2% or less of the total dust content of the nebula. The globules are spread over the outer part of the nebula, and a fraction of them coincide in position with emission filaments, where we find elongated globules that are aligned with these filaments. Only 10% of the globules are coincident in position with the numerous H2-emitting knots found in previous studies. All globules move outwards from the centre with transversal velocities of 60 to 1600 km/s, along with the general expansion of the remnant. We discuss various hypotheses for the formation of globules in the Crab Nebula.Comment: 11 page

“Digital Newspaper Makes My Home Tidier” – Evaluating User Experience with User-Defined Attributes

User experience (UX) evaluation is typically based on either open evaluation or predefined measures. In our study, we tested a new UX evaluation method by combining both approaches in a collaborative evaluation. When evaluating a digital newspaper over six weeks, the users were asked to describe the reading experience in their own words on an online platform shared among the test participants. General statements were formulated based on user-defined attributes and rated by all users on a numeric scale at different stages of the test period. This method resulted with quantitative data of even entirely new experience measures that would not have been found in predefined sets of UX categories

Chromosomal biomarkers in the clonal evolution of head and neck squamous neoplasia

The biological behavior of any tumor is the result of changes in gene expression caused by mutations accumulated in the carcinogenic process. In squamous carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) there are numerous complex chromosome abnormalities. To make sense of this complexity it is necessary to identify the consistent chromosome changes in a large panel of tumors, to determine if these changes are true representations of the in vivo situation, and to construct a map of gene loci likely to be involved in the development and progression of cancer. Our findings indicate that cultured tumor cells are cytogenetically stable when compared to cells evolving in vivo . We also found that clues to the sequence of events in clonal evolution of individual tumors can be deduced by studying primary and metastatic tumors from the same patient, by examining separate clones within the same tumor, and by analyzing ploidy changes. Furthermore, comparison of the in vitro karyotypes to in situ analysis of the tumor tissue indicates that in vitro cultures are good representations of the in vivo tumor. We conclude that identification of consistent chromosome changes in cultured cells can lead to the loci of genes important in the clinical behavior of individual tumors. The most frequent chromosome abnormalities in SCCHN, found in 40–60% of tumors, are deletions affecting 3p, 5q, 8p, 9p, and 18q. Less common consistent changes found in 30–40% of tumors are gains affecting 3q, 5p, 7p, 8q, and 11q. Preliminary evidence suggests that loss of 18q may be prognostically important and may involve disruption of genes encoding cell adhesion molecules.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/38453/1/240531032_ftp.pd

Psychosexual health in gynecologic cancer

More people are living with the long-term effects of cancer owing to improvements in cancer treatments and an aging population. Many people diagnosed with cancer report a negative impact on sexual identity, sexual functioning, and their sexual relationship. Gynecologic cancer survivors are often the most severely affected. These cancers involve cancers of the ovaries, uterus, cervix, vagina, and vulva. The impact of these cancers on sexual health results not only from the disease process itself, but may also be due to the necessary treatments required. These can have a profound impact on psychological, physiological, and social well-being both in the short and long term, which may result in negative impact on the quality of life of the patient as well as her partner. Although most patients express that they would like to be more informed about sexual health and would like to have the opportunity to discuss these issues with their therapeutic team, sexual health is often not discussed with the patient

Development and Consumer Perception of a Snack Machine Producing Customized Spoonable and Drinkable Products Enriched in Dietary Fiber and Protein

The aim of the study was to evaluate consumer perceptions toward customized snacks produced with a Healthy Snack Machine (HSM) prototype, at-site of the purchase and consumption. The present study had a multi-disciplinary approach including both snack product and HSM development (hardware and user interface). Snack development included both instrumental (viscosity, colloidal stability) and sensory characterization (by trained sensory (N = 10) and consumer (N = 55) panels) of spoonable and drinkable, oat- and dairy-based snack products, fortified with protein and/or dietary fiber. The protein and fiber addition reduced viscosity in spoonable products but did not affect the consistency of drinkable samples. Oat-based samples differed from dairy-based in multiple attributes in sensory profiling. In consumer sample testing, sample odor and taste were the most and least preferred aspects, respectively. In the snack machine testing, a qualitative consumer study (N = 33) showed that the HSM was easy to use, the user interface was clear, the ordering process was quick, and the participants were interested in using the HSM in the future. The snack choices (spoonable/drinkable and dairy/oat base) made by the consumers were distributed equally, but the berry-flavor was preferred over cocoa and vanilla. The most common HSM usage scenarios were “between work/school and hobbies” and “in transit from one place to another”