Spectropolarimetry of the H-alpha line in Herbig Ae/Be stars

Using the HiVIS spectropolarimeter built for the Haleakala 3.7m AEOS telescope, we have obtained a large number of high precision spectropolarimetrc observations (284) of Herbig AeBe stars collected over 53 nights totaling more than 300 hours of observing. Our sample of five HAeBe stars: AB Aurigae, MWC480, MWC120, MWC158 and HD58647, all show systematic variations in the linear polarization amplitude and direction as a function of time and wavelength near the H-alpha line. In all our stars, the H-alpha line profiles show evidence of an intervening disk or outflowing wind, evidenced by strong emission with an absorptive component. The linear polarization varies by 0.2% to 1.5% with the change typically centered in the absorptive part of the line profile. These observations are inconsistent with a simple disk-scattering model or a depolarization model which produce polarization changes centered on the emmissive core. We speculate that polarized absorption via optical pumping of the intervening gas may be the cause.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

Patterns of antenal sensilla of Panstrongylus megistus from three Brazilian states

The objective of the present study was to analyze and describe the phenotype of the antennal sensilla of Panstrongylus megistus, one of the epidemiologically most important species of triatomines in Brazil. Specimens from the Brazilian states of Goiás (GO), Minas Gerais (MG), and Rio Grande do Sul (RS) were compared, based on studies of four types of sensilla on three antennal segments: thick-walled trichoid (TK), thin-walled trichoid (TH), bristles (BR), and basiconica (BA). Discriminant analysis allowed the separation of the RS specimens from those of GO and MG. Multivariate discriminant analysis demonstrated that the sensilla of males differed from those of females, the variables with greatest weight being the BA of all three segments and the TK of flagellum 1. The basiconica sensilla were significantly more abundant in females, on all three segments. Antennal sensilla patterns also demonstrated significant differences among P. megistus specimens.Fil: Villela, M. M.. Fundación Oswaldo Cruz; BrasilFil: Catala, Silvia Susana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Universidad Nacional de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Universidad Nacional de Catamarca. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Secretaría de Industria y Minería. Servicio Geológico Minero Argentino. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Provincia de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Juberg, J.. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz; Brasil. Fundación Oswaldo Cruz; BrasilFil: Silva, I. G.. Universidade Federal de Goiás; BrasilFil: Dias, J. C. P.. Fundación Oswaldo Cruz; Brasi

Engage D2.2 Final Communication and Dissemination Report

This deliverable reports on the communication and dissemination activities carried out by the Engage consortium over the duration of the network. Planned activities have been adapted due to the Covid-19 pandemic, however a full programme of workshops and summer schools has been organised. Support has been given to the annual SESAR Innovation Days conference and there has been an Engage presence at many other events. The Engage website launched in the first month of the network. This was later joined by the Engage ‘knowledge hub’, known as the EngageWiki, which hosts ATM research and knowledge. The wiki provides a platform and consolidated repository with novel user functionality, as well as an additional channel for the dissemination of SESAR results. Engage has also supported and publicised numerous research outputs produced by PhD candidates and catalyst fund projects

Engage D2.1 Communication plan, website, and visual identity material

The purpose of this document, Deliverable 2.1, is to describe the dissemination plan, dissemination policy and initial dissemination products of the SESAR 2020 Exploratory Research action Engage, taking into account its specifications and the target audience. The following pages document the corresponding tasks involved in D2.1

Engage D3.7 Update on the Engage repository and knowledge hub functionality (initial)

This initial report describes the planned functionality and features of the forthcoming Engage wiki and establishes the scope of the ATM concepts roadmap

La confrontación de derechos en los escraches

Abstract:The recent practice of «escraches» in Spain, in the context of theeconomic crisis, has raised a complex debate about the confrontationbetween fundamental rights. Indeed, on one hand, it must be taken into account the right to free exercise of public office as well as personality rights (integrity, private and family life and peaceful enjoyment of the home) when not acting as a public representative.On the other hand, it must be taken in consideration the exercise of other fundamental rights (expression, demonstration) by those who perform escraches. This paper intends to analyze the conflicts between these fundamental rights in order to provide balanced responses, which lead to the following conclusion: «no» to escrache and «yes» to demostration.La reciente práctica de los escraches en España, en el contexto de lacrisis económica, ha planteado un complejo debate en torno a la confrontaciónentre derechos fundamentales. En efecto, de un lado, debetenerse en cuenta el derecho al libre ejercicio de un cargo público ylos derechos de la personalidad (integridad, vida privada y familiaro disfrute pacífico del domicilio) cuando no se actúa en calidad derepresentante público. De otro lado, debe tomarse en consideración elejercicio de otros derechos fundamentales (expresión, manifestación)por parte de quienes llevan a cabo los escraches. El presente trabajopretende analizar los conflictos entre esos derechos fundamentales conel fin de ofrecer unas respuestas ponderadas, las cuales concluyen conun «no» al escrache y un «sí» a la manifestación.Abstract:The recent practice of «escraches» in Spain, in the context of theeconomic crisis, has raised a complex debate about the confrontationbetween fundamental rights. Indeed, on one hand, it must be taken into account the right to free exercise of public office as well as personality rights (integrity, private and family life and peaceful enjoyment of the home) when not acting as a public representative.On the other hand, it must be taken in consideration the exercise of other fundamental rights (expression, demonstration) by those who perform escraches. This paper intends to analyze the conflicts between these fundamental rights in order to provide balanced responses, which lead to the following conclusion: «no» to escrache and «yes» to demostration.

Engage D3.8 Mapping ATM research concepts, past and future - including the Engage wiki implementation

This report presents the wiki produced by Engage, SESAR’s Knowledge Transfer Network. It summarises the key development processes, status and planning for the wiki, which has been built over the past two years, with increased activity in 2020 to resolve underlying data provision issues. Inter alia, the wiki hosts the first interactive research map of European ATM, an ATM concepts roadmap, the first consolidated listing of European university programmes, and sets out progress towards a new, one-stop (data) repository for the research community

Evaluating DFHBI-responsive RNA light-up aptamers as fluorescent reporters for gene expression

Protein-based fluorescent reporters have been widely used to characterize and localize biological processes in living cells. However, these reporters may have certain drawbacks for some applications, such as transcription-based studies or biological interactions with fast dynamics. In this context, RNA nanotechnology has emerged as a promising alternative, suggesting the use of functional RNA molecules as transcriptional fluorescent reporters. RNA-based aptamers can bind to nonfluorescent small molecules to activate their fluorescence. However, their performance as reporters of gene expression in living cells has not been fully characterized, unlike protein-based reporters. Here, we investigate the performance of three RNA light-up aptamers─F30-2xdBroccoli, tRNA-Spinach, and Tornado Broccoli─as fluorescent reporters for gene expression in Escherichia coli and compare them to a protein reporter. We examine the activation range and effect on the cell growth of RNA light-up aptamers in time-course experiments and demonstrate that these aptamers are suitable transcriptional reporters over time. Using flow cytometry, we compare the variability at the single-cell level caused by the RNA fluorescent reporters and protein-based reporters. We found that the expression of RNA light-up aptamers produced higher variability in a population than that of their protein counterpart. Finally, we compare the dynamical behavior of these RNA light-up aptamers and protein-based reporters. We observed that RNA light-up aptamers might offer faster dynamics compared to a fluorescent protein in E. coli. The implementation of these transcriptional reporters may facilitate transcription-based studies, gain further insights into transcriptional processes, and expand the implementation of RNA-based circuits in bacterial cells

The polysemy of the words that children learn over time

Here we study polysemy as a potential learning bias in vocabulary learning in children. We employ a massive set of transcriptions of conversations between children and adults in English, to analyze the evolution of mean polysemy in the words produced by children whose ages range between 10 and 60 months. Our results show that mean polysemy in children increases over time in two phases, i.e. a fast growth till the 31st month followed by a slower tendency towards adult speech. In contrast, no dependency with time is found in adults. This may suggest that children have a preference for non-polysemous words in their early stages of vocabulary acquisition. Our hypothesis is twofold: (a) polysemy is a standalone bias or (b) polysemy is a side-effect of other biases. Interestingly, the bias for low polysemy above weakens when controlling by syntactic category (noun, verb, adjective or adverb). The pattern of the evolution of polysemy suggests that both hypotheses may apply to some extent, and that (b) would originate from a combination of the well-known preference for nouns and the lower polysemy of nouns with respect to other syntactic categories.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft