A Dust-Penetrated Classification Scheme for Bars as Inferred from their Gravitational Force Fields

The division of galaxies into ``barred'' (SB) and ``normal'' (S) spirals is a fundamental aspect of the Hubble galaxy classification system. This ``tuning fork'' view was revised by de Vaucouleurs, whose classification volume recognized apparent ``bar strength'' (SA, SAB, SB) as a continuous property of galaxies called the ``family''. However, the SA, SAB, and SB families are purely visual judgments that can have little bearing on the actual bar strength in a given galaxy. Until very recently, published bar judgments were based exclusively on blue light images, where internal extinction or star formation can either mask a bar completely or give the false impression of a bar in a nonbarred galaxy. Near-infrared camera arrays, which principally trace the old stellar populations in both normal and barred galaxies, now facilitate a quantification of bar strength in terms of their gravitational potentials and force fields. In this paper, we show that the maximum value, Qb, of the ratio of the tangential force to the mean radial force is a quantitative measure of the strength of a bar. Qb does not measure bar ellipticity or bar shape, but rather depends on the actual forcing due to the bar embedded in its disk. We show that a wide range of true bar strengths characterizes the category ``SB'', while de Vaucouleurs category ``SAB'' corresponds to a much narrower range of bar strengths. We present Qb values for 36 galaxies, and we incorporate our bar classes into a dust-penetrated classification system for spiral galaxies.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal (LaTex, 30 pages + 3 figures); Figs. 1 and 3 are in color and are also available at http://bama.ua.edu/~rbuta/bars

Euthanasia and other end-of-life decisions: a mortality follow-back study in Belgium

BACKGROUND: This study compares prevalence and types of medical end-of-life decisions between the Dutch-speaking and French-speaking communities of Belgium. This is the first nationwide study that can make these comparisons and the first measurement after implementation of the euthanasia law (2002). METHODS: We performed a mortality follow-back study in 2005-2006. Data were collected via the nationwide Sentinel Network of General Practitioners, an epidemiological surveillance system representative of all Belgian GPs.Weekly, all GPs reported the medical end-of-life decisions among all non-sudden deaths of patients in their practice. We compared the northern Dutch-speaking (60%) and southern French-speaking communities (40%) controlling for population differences. RESULTS: We analysed 1690 non-sudden deaths. An end-of-life decision with possible life-shortening effect was made in 50% of patients in the Dutch-speaking community and 41% of patients in the French-speaking community (OR 1.4; 95%CI, 1.2 to 1.8). Continuous deep sedation until death occurred in 8% and 15% respectively (OR 0.5; 95%CI, 0.4 to 0.7). Community differences regarding the prevalence of euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide were not significant.Community differences were more present among home/care home than among hospital deaths: non-treatment decisions with explicit life-shortening intention were made more often in the Dutch-speaking than in the French-speaking community settings (OR 2.2; 95%CI, 1.2 to 3.9); while continuous deep sedation occurred less often in the Dutch-speaking community settings (OR 0.5; 95%CI, 0.3 to 0.9). CONCLUSION: Even though legal and general healthcare systems are the same for the whole country, there are considerable variations between the communities in type and prevalence of certain end-of-life decisions, even after controlling for population difference

Ethical and research governance approval across Europe:Experiences from three European palliative care studies

Background: Research requires high-quality ethical and governance scrutiny and approval. However, when research is conducted across different countries, this can cause challenges due to the differing ethico-legal framework requirements of ethical boards. There is no specific guidance for research which does not involve non-medicinal products. Aim: To describe and address differences in ethical and research governance procedures applied by research ethics committees for non-pharmaceutical palliative care studies including adult participants in collaborative European studies. Design: An online survey analysed using descriptive statistics. Setting/participants: Eighteen principal investigators in 11 countries conducting one of three European-funded studies. Results: There was variation in practice including whether ethical approval was required. The time to gain full approvals differed with the United Kingdom having governance procedures that took the longest time. Written consent was not required in all countries nor were data safety monitoring committees for trials. There were additional differences in relation to other data management issues. Conclusion: Researchers need to take the differences in research approval procedures into account when planning studies. Future research is needed to establish European-wide recommendations for policy and practice that dovetail ethical procedures and enhance transnational research collaborations

A Photometric Method for Quantifying Asymmetries in Disk Galaxies

A photometric method for quantifying deviations from axisymmetry in optical images of disk galaxies is applied to a sample of 32 face-on and nearly face-on spirals. The method involves comparing the relative fluxes contained within trapezoidal sectors arranged symmetrically about the galaxy center of light, excluding the bulge and/or barred regions. Such a method has several advantages over others, especially when quantifying asymmetry in flocculent galaxies. Specifically, the averaging of large regions improves the signal-to-noise in the measurements; the method is not strongly affected by the presence of spiral arms; and it identifies the kinds of asymmetry that are likely to be dynamically important. Application of this "method of sectors" to R-band images of 32 disk galaxies indicates that about 30% of spirals show deviations from axisymmetry at the 5-sigma level.Comment: 17 pages, 2 tables and 6 figures, uses psfig and AAS LaTex; to appear in A

Radial HI Profiles at the Periphery of Galactic Disks: The Role of Ionizing Background Radiation

Observations of neutral hydrogen in spiral galaxies reveal a sharp cutoff in the radial density profile at some distance from the center. Using 22 galaxies with known HI distributions as an example, we discuss the question of whether this effect can be associated exclusively with external ionizing radiation, as is commonly assumed. We show that before the surface density reaches $\sigma_{\textrm{HI}}\le 0.5 {\cal M}_\odot/{\textrm {pc}}^2$(the same for galaxies of different types), it is hard to expect the gas to be fully ionized by background radiation. For two of 13 galaxies with a sharp drop in the HI profile, the "steepening" can actually be caused by ionization. At the same time, for the remaining galaxies, the observed cutoff in the radial HI profile is closer to the center than if it was a consequence of ionization by background radiation and, therefore, it should be caused by other factors.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figure

No difference in effects of ‘PACE steps to success’ palliative care program for nursing home residents with and without dementia : a pre-planned subgroup analysis of the seven-country PACE trial

Background: 'PACE Steps to Success' is a multicomponent training program aiming to integrate generalist and non-disease-specific palliative care in nursing homes. This program did not improve residents' comfort in the last week of life, but it appeared to improve quality of care and dying in their last month of life. Because this program included only three dementia-specific elements, its effects might differ depending on the presence or stage of dementia. We aimed to investigate whether the program effects differ between residents with advanced, non-advanced, and no dementia. Methods: Pre-planned subgroup analysis of the PACE cluster-randomized controlled trial in 78 nursing homes in seven European countries. Participants included residents who died in the previous 4 months. The nursing home staff or general practitioner assessed the presence of dementia; severity was determined using two highly-discriminatory staff-reported instruments. Using after-death questionnaires, staff assessed comfort in the last week of life (Comfort Assessment in Dying-End-of-Life in Dementia-scale; primary outcome) and quality of care and dying in the last month of life (Quality of Dying in Long-Term Care scale; secondary outcome). Results: At baseline, we included 177 residents with advanced dementia, 126 with non-advanced dementia and 156 without dementia. Post-intervention, respectively in the control and the intervention group, we included 136 and 104 residents with advanced dementia, 167 and 110 with non-advanced dementia and 157 and 137 without dementia. We found no subgroup differences on comfort in the last week of life, comparing advanced versus without dementia (baseline-adjusted mean sub-group difference 2.1; p-value = 0.177), non-advanced versus without dementia (2.7; p = 0.092), and advanced versus non-advanced dementia (- 0.6; p = 0.698); or on quality of care and dying in the last month of life, comparing advanced and without dementia (- 0.6; p = 0.741), non-advanced and without dementia (- 1.5; p = 0.428), and advanced and non-advanced dementia (0.9; p = 0.632). Conclusions: The lack of subgroup difference suggests that while the program did not improve comfort in dying residents with or without dementia, it appeared to equally improve quality of care and dying in the last month of life for residents with dementia (regardless of the stage) and those without dementia. A generalist and non-disease-specific palliative care program, such as PACE Steps to Success, is a useful starting point for future palliative care improvement in nursing homes, but to effectively improve residents' comfort, this program needs further development

Non-circular Gas Kinematics and Star Formation in the Ringed Galaxy NGC 4736

We analyze the gas kinematics and star formation properties of the nearby RSab galaxy NGC 4736 using interferometric and single-dish CO(1-0) data and previously published Halpha and HI data. The CO morphology is dominated by a central molecular bar and tightly wound spiral arms associated with a bright ring of star formation. Strong HI emission is also found in the ring, but HI is absent from the central regions. Comparison of the HI and Halpha distributions suggests that HI in the ring is primarily dissociated H$_2$. Modeling of the CO kinematics reveals gas motion in elliptical orbits around the central bar, and we argue that the ring represents both the OLR of the bar and the ILR of a larger oval distortion. The HI kinematics show evidence for axisymmetric inflow towards the ring and are inconsistent with streaming in aligned elliptical orbits, but the highly supersonic (~40 km/s) inflow velocities required, corresponding to mass inflow rates of ~2 Msol/yr, suggest that more sophisticated models (e.g., gas orbiting in precessed elliptical orbits) should be considered. The radial CO and Halpha profiles are poorly correlated in the vicinity of the nuclear bar, but show a better correlation (in rough agreement with the Schmidt law) at the ring. Even along the ring, however, the azimuthal correspondence between CO and Halpha is poor, suggesting that massive stars form more efficiently at some (perhaps resonant) locations than at others. These results indicate that the star formation rate per unit gas mass exhibits strong spatial variations and is not solely a function of the available gas supply. The localization of star formation to the ring is broadly consistent with gravitational instability theory, although the instability parameter $Q \sim 3$ on average in the ring, only falling below 1 in localized regions.Comment: Revised version accepted by ApJ, with new section on p-v diagrams. 24 pages with 24 figures (emulateapj5). Full resolution and color versions are available at http://astro.berkeley.edu/~twong/preprint

Discovery of a new M32-like "Compact Elliptical" galaxy in the halo of the Abell 496 cD galaxy

Aims: ``Compact ellipticals'' are so rare that a search for M32 analogs is needed to ensure the very existence of this class. Methods: We report here the discovery of A496cE, a M32 twin in the cluster Abell 496, located in the halo of the central cD. Results: Based on CFHT and HST imaging we show that the light profile of A496cE requires a two component fit: a Sersic bulge and an exponential disc. The spectrum of A496cE obtained with the ESO-VLT FLAMES/Giraffe spectrograph can be fit by a stellar synthesis spectrum dominated by old stars, with high values of [Mg/Fe] and velocity dispersion. Conclusions: The capture of A496cE by the cD galaxy and tidal stripping of most of its disc are briefly discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in A&A Letter

Consensus on treatment for residents in long-term care facilities : perspectives from relatives and care staff in the PACE cross-sectional study in 6 European countries

Background: In long-term care facilities often many care providers are involved, which could make it difficult to reach consensus in care. This may harm the relation between care providers and can complicate care. This study aimed to describe and compare in six European countries the degree of consensus among everyone involved in care decisions, from the perspective of relatives and care staff. Another aim was to assess which factors are associated with reporting that full consensus was reached, from the perspective of care staff and relatives.Methods: In Belgium, England, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland a random sample of representative long-term care facilities reported all deaths of residents in the previous three months (n = 1707). This study included residents about whom care staff (n = 1284) and relatives (n = 790) indicated in questionnaires the degree of consensus among all involved in the decision or care process. To account for clustering on facility level, Generalized Estimating Equations were conducted to analyse the degree of consensus across countries and factors associated with full consensus.Results: Relatives indicated full consensus in more than half of the residents in all countries (NL 57.9% - EN 68%), except in Finland (40.7%). Care staff reported full consensus in 59.5% of residents in Finland to 86.1% of residents in England. Relatives more likely reported full consensus when: the resident was more comfortable or talked about treatment preferences, a care provider explained what palliative care is, family-physician communication was well perceived, their relation to the resident was other than child (compared to spouse/partner) or if they lived in Poland or Belgium (compared to Finland). Care staff more often indicated full consensus when they rated a higher comfort level of the resident, or if they lived in Italy, the Netherland, Poland or England (compared to Finland).Conclusions: In most countries the frequency of full consensus among all involved in care decisions was relatively high. Across countries care staff indicated full consensus more often and no consensus less often than relatives. Advance care planning, comfort and good communication between relatives and care professionals could play a role in achieving full consensus

Consensus definition of advance care planning in dementia: A 33-country Delphi study.

Existing advance care planning (ACP) definitional frameworks apply to individuals with decision-making capacity. We aimed to conceptualize ACP for dementia in terms of its definition and issues that deserve particular attention. Delphi study with phases: (A) adaptation of a generic ACP framework by a task force of the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC); (B) four online surveys by 107 experts from 33 countries, September 2021 to June 2022; (C) approval by the EAPC board. ACP in dementia was defined as a communication process adapted to the person's capacity, which includes, and is continued with, family if available. We identified pragmatic boundaries regarding participation and time (i.e., current or end-of-life care). Three interrelated issues that deserve particular attention were capacity, family, and engagement and communication. A communication and relationship-centered definitional framework of ACP in dementia evolved through international consensus supporting inclusiveness of persons with dementia and their family. This article offers a consensus definitional framework of advance care planning in dementia. The definition covers all stages of capacity and includes family caregivers. Particularly important are (1) capacity, (2) family, (3) engagement, and communication. Fluctuating capacity was visualized in relation to roles and engaging stakeholders