Near-infrared thermal emissivity from ground based atmospheric dust measurements at ORM

We present an analysis of the atmospheric content of aerosols measured at Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos (ORM; Canary Islands). Using a laser diode particle counter located at the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG) we have detected particles of 0.3, 0.5, 1.0, 3.0, 5.0 and 10.0 um size. The seasonal behavior of the dust content in the atmosphere is calculated. The Spring has been found to be dustier than the Summer, but dusty conditions may also occur in Winter. A method to estimate the contribution of the aerosols emissivity to the sky brightness in the near-infrared (NIR) is presented. The contribution of dust emission to the sky background in the NIR has been found to be negligible comparable to the airglow, with a maximum contribution of about 8-10% in the Ks band in the dusty days.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, 6 tables, accepted for publication in MNRA

α-Herpesvirus glycoprotein D interaction with sensory neurons triggers formation of varicosities that serve as virus exit sites

α-Herpesviruses constitute closely related neurotropic viruses, including herpes simplex virus in man and pseudorabies virus (PRV) in pigs. Peripheral sensory neurons, such as trigeminal ganglion (TG) neurons, are predominant target cells for virus spread and lifelong latent infections. We report that in vitro infection of swine TG neurons with the homologous swine α-herpesvirus PRV results in the appearance of numerous synaptophysin-positive synaptic boutons (varicosities) along the axons. Nonneuronal cells that were juxtaposed to these varicosities became preferentially infected with PRV, suggesting that varicosities serve as axonal exit sites for the virus. Viral envelope glycoprotein D (gD) was found to be necessary and sufficient for the induction of varicosities. Inhibition of Cdc42 Rho GTPase and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathways strongly suppressed gD-induced varicosity formation. These data represent a novel aspect of the cell biology of α-herpesvirus infections of sensory neurons, demonstrating that virus attachment/entry is associated with signaling events and neuronal changes that may prepare efficient egress of progeny virus

Adaptation of a Vocabulary Test from British Sign Language to American Sign Language

This study describes the adaptation process of a vocabulary knowledge test for British Sign Language (BSL) into American Sign Language (ASL) and presents results from the first round of pilot testing with twenty deaf native ASL signers. The web-based test assesses the strength of deaf children’s vocabulary knowledge by means of different mappings of phonological form and meaning of signs. The adaptation from BSL to ASL involved nine stages, which included forming a panel of deaf/hearing experts, developing a set of new items and revising/replacing items considered ineffective, and piloting the new version. Results provide new evidence in support of the use of this methodology for assessing sign language, making a useful contribution toward the availability of tests to assess deaf children’s signed language skills

Acoustic Analog to Quantum Mechanical Level Splitting

A simple physical system is discussed that mirrors the quantum mechanical infinite square well with a central delta well potential. The physical realization consists of a continuous sound wave traveling in a pair of tubes separated by an adjustable diaphragm. The equivalence between the quantum system and the acoustic system is explored. The analytic solution to the quantum system exhibits level splitting as does the acoustic system

Introducing a trauma-informed capability approach in youth services

Trauma-informed practice has been developing for decades, though much remains unknown regarding how it is understood and practised. Drawing upon focus group data from an evaluation of a trauma-informed approach (TIA) implemented by an organisation in Southeast England, this paper provides a unique perspective of 31 staff members and 18 young people. Results indicate how choice and control, key elements of a TIA, align with the Capability Approach (CA). The CA is then used as a novel analytic framework to examine the data. A ‘Trauma-Informed Capabilities Approach’ is introduced as a holistic, person-centred way of conceptualising young trauma survivors’ wellbeing

Promiscuous binding of extracellular peptides to cell surface class I MHC protein

Algorithms derived from measurements of short-peptide (8–10 mers) binding to class I MHC proteins suggest that the binding groove of a class I MHC protein, such as K[superscript b], can bind well over 1 million different peptides with significant affinity (<500 nM), a level of ligand-binding promiscuity approaching the level of heat shock protein binding of unfolded proteins. MHC proteins can, nevertheless, discriminate between similar peptides and bind many of them with high (nanomolar) affinity. Some insights into this high-promiscuity/high-affinity behavior and its impact on immunodominant peptides in T-cell responses to some infections and vaccination are suggested by results obtained here from testing a model developed to predict the number of cell surface peptide–MHC complexes that form on cells exposed to extracellular (exogenous) peptides.Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Undergraduate Research Opportunities Progra

Variations of Hadron Masses and Matter Properties in Dense Nuclear Matter

Using a self-consistent quark model for nuclear matter we investigate variations of the masses of the non-strange vector mesons, the hyperons and the nucleon in dense nuclear matter (up to four times the normal nuclear density). We find that the changes in the hadron masses can be described in terms of the value of the scalar mean-field in matter. The model is then used to calculate the density dependence of the quark condensate in-medium, which turns out to be well approximated by a linear function of the nuclear density. Some relations among the hadron properties and the in-medium quark condensate are discussed.Comment: 22 pages, University of Adelaide preperint ADP-94-20/T160, submitted to Physical Review

An infrared study of galactic OH/IR stars. II. The `GLMP sample' of red oxygen-rich AGB stars

We present optical and near-infrared finding charts taken from the DSS and 2MASS surveys of 94 IRAS sources selected from the GLMP catalogue (Garc\'{\i}a-Lario 1992), and accurate astrometry (~0.2") for most of them. Selection criteria were very red IRAS colours representative for OH/IR stars with optically thick circumstellar shells and the presence of variability according to the IRAS variability index (VAR>50). The main photometric properties of the stars in this `GLMP sample' are presented, discussed and compared with the correspondent properties of the `Arecibo sample' of OH/IR stars studied in Jim\'enez-Esteban et al. (2005a). We find that 37% of the sample (N=34) have no counterpart in the 2MASS, implying extremely high optical depths of their shells. Most of the sources identified in the 2MASS are faint (K>~8) and of very red colour in the near-infrared, as expected. The brightest 2MASS counterpart (K=5.3mag) was found for IRAS 18299--1705. Its blue colour H--K=1.3 suggests that IRAS 8299--1705 is a post-AGB star. A couple of GLMP sources have faint but relatively blue counterparts. They might be misidentifed field stars or stars hich experienced recently a drop of their mass loss rates. The `GLMP sample' in general is made of oxygen-rich AGB stars, which are highly obscured by their circumstellar shells. They belong to the same population as the reddest OH/IR stars in the `Arecibo sample'.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures, for associated finding charts see: http://www.hs.uni-hamburg.de/DE/Ins/Per/Jimenez-Esteban/Thesis/Atlas/glmp_ind ex.html accepted for publicating by A&A on 21/07/200

Spontaneous emission in a planar Fabry-Perot microcavity

Published versio

Comparing international coverage of 9/11 : towards an interdisciplinary explanation of the construction of news

This article presents an interdisciplinary model attempting to explain how news is constructed by relying on the contributions of different fields of study: News Sociology, Political Communications, International Communications, International Relations. It is a first step towards developing a holistic theoretical approach to what shapes the news, which bridges current micro to macro approaches. More precisely the model explains news variation across different media organization and countries by focusing on the different way the sense of newsworthiness of journalists is affected by three main variables: national interest, national journalistic culture, and editorial policy of each media organization. The model is developed on the basis of an investigation into what shaped the media coverage of 9/11 in eight elite newspapers across the US, France, Italy and Pakistan