12,721 research outputs found
The influence of gas expulsion and initial mass-segregation on the stellar mass-function of globular star clusters
Recently de Marchi, Paresce & Pulone (2007) studied a sample of twenty
globular clusters and found that all clusters with high concentrations have
steep stellar mass-functions while clusters with low concentration have
comparatively shallow mass-functions. No globular clusters were found with a
flat mass-function and high concentration. This seems curious since more
concentrated star clusters are believed to be dynamically more evolved and
should have lost more low-mass stars via evaporation, which would result in a
shallower mass-function in the low-mass part.
We show that this effect can be explained by residual-gas expulsion from
initially mass-segregated star clusters, and is enhanced further through
unresolved binaries. If gas expulsion is the correct mechanism to produce the
observed trend, then observation of these parameters would allow to constrain
cluster starting conditions such as star formation efficiency and the
time-scale of gas expulsion.Comment: accepted for publication in MNRAS, 10 pages, 6 figure
Using binary statistics in Taurus-Auriga to distinguish between brown dwarf formation processes
Whether BDs form as stars through gravitational collapse ("star-like") or BDs
and some very low-mass stars constitute a separate population which form
alongside stars comparable to the population of planets, e.g. through
circumstellar disk ("peripheral") fragmentation, is one of the key questions of
the star-formation problem. For young stars in Taurus-Auriga the binary
fraction is large with little dependence on primary mass above ~0.2Msun, while
for BDs it is <10%. We investigate a case in which BDs in Taurus formed
dominantly through peripheral fragmentation. The decline of the binary
frequency in the transition region between star-like and peripheral formation
is modelled. A dynamical population synthesis model is employed in which
stellar binary formation is universal. Peripheral objects form separately in
circumstellar disks with a distinctive initial mass function (IMF), own orbital
parameter distributions for binaries and a low binary fraction. A small amount
of dynamical processing of the stellar component is accounted for as
appropriate for the low-density Taurus-Auriga embedded clusters. The binary
fraction declines strongly between the mass-limits for star-like and peripheral
formation. The location of characteristic features and the steepness depend on
these mass-limits. Such a trend might be unique to low density regions hosting
dynamically unprocessed binary populations. The existence of a strong decline
in the binary fraction -- primary mass diagram will become verifiable in future
surveys on BD and VLMS binarity in the Taurus-Auriga star forming region. It is
a test of the (non-)continuity of star formation along the mass-scale, the
separateness of the stellar and BD populations and the dominant formation
channel for BDs and BD binaries in regions of low stellar density hosting
dynamically unprocessed populations.Comment: accepted for publication in A&A, 11 pages, 4 figures, 1 tabl
Traps of multi-level governance. Lessons from the implementation of the Water Framework Directive in Italy
During recent decades, different patterns of multi-level governance (MLG) have spread across Europe as a consequence of Europeanisation of public policies, which have increasingly adopted decentralized and participatory procedures conceived as a tool of more effective and accountable policy-making. It appears, however, that the implementation of operational designs based on MLG may be rather problematic and it does not necessarily bring to the expected performance improvements. Referring to the case of the EU Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC), which conceives the creation of new multi-level institutional settings as a key tool for enacting a new holistic approach to water management and protection, this article explores the difficulties that the implementation of such settings has brought in Italy, despite some favorable pre-conditions existing in the country. Evidence is provided that along with institutional and agency variables, the implementation effectiveness of MLG arrangements promoted by the EU can be challenged by their inherent characteristics
Seeing with sound? Exploring different characteristics of a visual-to-auditory sensory substitution device
Sensory substitution devices convert live visual images into auditory signals, for example with a web camera (to record the images), a computer (to perform the conversion) and headphones (to listen to the sounds). In a series of three experiments, the performance of one such device (‘The vOICe’) was assessed under various conditions on blindfolded sighted participants. The main task that we used involved identifying and locating objects placed on a table by holding a webcam (like a flashlight) or wearing it on the head (like a miner’s light). Identifying objects on a table was easier with a hand-held device, but locating the objects was easier with a head-mounted device. Brightness converted into loudness was less effective than the reverse contrast (dark being loud), suggesting that performance under these conditions (natural indoor lighting, novice users) is related more to the properties of the auditory signal (ie the amount of noise in it) than the cross-modal association between loudness and brightness. Individual differences in musical memory (detecting pitch changes in two sequences of notes) was related to the time taken to identify or recognise objects, but individual differences in self-reported vividness of visual imagery did not reliably predict performance across the experiments. In general, the results suggest that the auditory characteristics of the device may be more important for initial learning than visual associations
The mechanisms and mediators of tooth eruption--models for developmental biologists
Tooth eruption is a localized process in the jaws which exhibits precise timing and bilateral symmetry. It involves resorption and formation of bone on opposite sides of the erupting tooth and these activities depend on the dental follicle, a thin connective tissue investment of the developing and erupting tooth. Biochemical studies have shown that during eruption cells, proteins and enzymes change in the dental follicle and several growth factors and proteins known to accelerate or retard eruption have been identified. This review discusses these aspects of tooth eruption and proposes testable hypotheses and strategies that can make studies of tooth eruption new experimental opportunities for developmental biologists
Parity Effects in Stacked Nanoscopic Quantum Rings
The ground state and the dielectric response of stacked quantum rings are
investigated in the presence of an applied magnetic field along the ring axis.
For odd number of rings and an electric field perpendicular to the axis, a
linear Stark effect occurs at distinct values of the magnetic field. At those
fields energy levels cross in the absence of electric field. For even values of
a quadratic Stark effect is expected in all cases, but the induced electric
polarization is discontinuous at those special magnetic fields. Experimental
consequences for related nanostructures are discussed.Comment: typos corrected, to appear Phys. Rev. B (Rapid Communication) 15 Au
Effects of progesterone on mammary carcinogenesis by DMBA applied directly to rat mammae.
The effects and site(s) of action of progesterone on DMBA mammary carcinogenesis in the rat, when a small dose of the carcinogen was applied directly to the inguinal mammary gland, were investigated. No reduction in tumour yield was apparent when progesterone was administered s.c. for 18 days before dusting DMBA. This finding contrasts with a previously reported inhibitory effect on carcinogenesis when hormone treatment was followed by intragastric administration of DMBA. When progesterone injections were begun either 2 days before or 2 days after direct application of DMBA, and were continued until the end of the experiment (135 or 195 days) an enhancement in carcinogenesis was observed similar to that previously demonstrated after gastric intubation of DMBA. These findings, together with previously reported observations, suggest that progesterone may exert its inhibitory effect on carcinogenesis by acting at a site outside the breast, perhaps on the liver. However, it is likely that the hormone acts directly on the mammary tissue to exert its enhancing effect on tumorigenesis
Diversity of gut microflora is required for the generation of B cell with regulatory properties in a skin graft model
B cells have been reported to promote graft rejection through alloantibody production. However, there is growing evidence that B cells can contribute to the maintenance of tolerance. Here, we used a mouse model of MHC-class I mismatched skin transplantation to investigate the contribution of B cells to graft survival. We demonstrate that adoptive transfer of B cells prolongs skin graft survival but only when the B cells were isolated from mice housed in low sterility "conventional" (CV) facilities and not from mice housed in pathogen free facilities (SPF). However, prolongation of skin graft survival was lost when B cells were isolated from IL-10 deficient mice housed in CV facilities. The suppressive function of B cells isolated from mice housed in CV facilities correlated with an anti-inflammatory environment and with the presence of a different gut microflora compared to mice maintained in SPF facilities. Treatment of mice in the CV facility with antibiotics abrogated the regulatory capacity of B cells. Finally, we identified transitional B cells isolated from CV facilities as possessing the regulatory function. These findings demonstrate that B cells, and in particular transitional B cells, can promote prolongation of graft survival, a function dependent on licensing by gut microflora
The size-brightness correspondence:evidence for crosstalk among aligned conceptual feature dimensions
The same core set of cross-sensory correspondences connecting stimulus features across different sensory channels are observed regardless of the modality of the stimulus with which the correspondences are probed. This observation suggests that correspondences involve modality-independent representations of aligned conceptual feature dimensions, and predicts a size-brightness correspondence, in which smaller is aligned with brighter. This suggestion accommodates cross-sensory congruity effects where contrasting feature values are specified verbally rather than perceptually (e.g., where the words WHITE and BLACK interact with the classification of high and low pitch sounds). Experiment 1 brings these two issues together in assessing a conceptual basis for correspondences. The names of bright/white and dark/black substances were presented in a speeded brightness classification task in which the two alternative response keys differed in size. A size-brightness congruity effect was confirmed, with substance names classified more quickly when the relative size of the response key needing to be pressed was congruent with the brightness of the named substance (e.g., when yoghurt was classified as a bright substance by pressing the smaller of two keys). Experiment 2 assesses the proposed conceptual basis for this congruity effect by requiring the same named substances to be classified according to their edibility (with all of the bright/dark substances having been selected for their edibility/inedibility, respectively). The predicted absence of a size-brightness congruity effect, along with other aspects of the results, supports the proposed conceptual basis for correspondences and speaks against accounts in which modality-specific perceptuomotor representations are entirely responsible for correspondence-induced congruity effects
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