The Luminosity Distribution of Local Group Galaxies

From a rediscussion of Local Group membership, and of distances to individual galaxies, we obtain $M_V$ values for 35 probable and possible Local Group members. The luminosity function of these objects is well fitted by a Schechter function with faint end slope $\alpha = -1.1 \pm 0.1$. The probability that the luminosity distribution of the Local Group is a single Schechter function with $\alpha$ steeper than -1.3 is less than 1 per cent. However, more complicated luminosity functions, such as multi-component Schechter functions with steep faint-end slopes, cannot be ruled out. There is some evidence that the luminosity distribution of dwarf spheroidal galaxies in the Local Group is steeper than that of dwarf irregular galaxies.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal. Figure 2 replaced, conclusion based on this figure change

Separating acoustic deviance from novelty during the first year of life:A review of event-related potential evidence

Orienting to salient events in the environment is a first step in the development of attention in young infants. Electrophysiological studies have indicated that in newborns and young infants, sounds with widely distributed spectral energy, such as noise and various environmental sounds, as well as sounds widely deviating from their context elicit an event-related potential (ERP) similar to the adult P3a response. We discuss how the maturation of event-related potentials parallels the process of the development of passive auditory attention during the first year of life. Behavioral studies have indicated that the neonatal orientation to high-energy stimuli gradually changes to attending to genuine novelty and other significant events by approximately 9 months of age. In accordance with these changes, in newborns, the ERP response to large acoustic deviance is dramatically larger than that to small and moderate deviations. This ERP difference, however, rapidly decreases within first months of life and the differentiation of the ERP response to genuine novelty from that to spectrally rich but repeatedly presented sounds commences during the same period. The relative decrease of the response amplitudes elicited by high-energy stimuli may reflect development of an inhibitory brain network suppressing the processing of uninformative stimuli. Based on data obtained from healthy full-term and pre-term infants as well as from infants at risk for various developmental problems, we suggest that the electrophysiological indices of the processing of acoustic and contextual deviance may be indicative of the functioning of auditory attention, a crucial prerequisite of learning and language development

Economic theories of sustainable consumption

The term `sustainable consumption' denotes the search for consumption patterns that reduce human pressure on the environment and nature. This searchinvolves three levels of research. First, the relationship between consumption, lifestyles and environmental sustainability has to be clarified. Ageneral scheme of relationships will be presented here. Second, a theoretical framework for studying economic behaviour, consisting of five elements, is proposed. Moreover, various theoretical models are discussed in this context. Finally, the policy relevance of specific theories of behaviour forsustainable consumption is considered. This gives rise to both traditional and innovative prescriptions

Content and changes in Provitamin A carotenoids during ripening of fruit from four popular Musa cultivars consumed in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

Poster presented at Nutrition Congress Africa 2012. Transforming the Nutrition Landscape in Africa. Bloemfontein (South Africa), 1-4 Oct 201

Crop ontology in support of conservation and use of banana genetic resources

Poster presented at Workshop on Crop Ontology and Phenotyping Data Interoperability. Montpellier (France), 31 Mar-4 Apr 201

A reference list of fish species for a heavily modified estuary and its tributaries: the River Schelde

The river Schelde is a basin that has seen an enormous anthropogenic impact over the last millenium. This report lists all freshwater and brackish water fish species currently recorded for the Schelde river