Near-IR internetwork spectro-polarimetry at different heliocentric angles

The analysis of near infrared spectropolarimetric data at the internetwork at different regions on the solar surface could offer constraints to reject current modeling of these quiet areas. We present spectro-polarimetric observations of very quiet regions for different values of the heliocentric angle for the Fe I lines at 1.56 micron, from disc centre to positions close to the limb. The spatial resolution of the data is 0.7-1". We analyze direct observable properties of the Stokes profiles as the amplitude of circular and linear polarization as well as the total degree of polarization. Also the area and amplitude asymmetries are studied. We do not find any significant variation of the properties of the polarimetric signals with the heliocentric angle. This means that the magnetism of the solar internetwork remains the same regardless of the position on the solar disc. This observational fact discards the possibility of modeling the internetwork as a Network-like scenario. The magnetic elements of internetwork areas seem to be isotropically distributed when observed at our spatial resolution.Comment: Sorry, this is the version with the correct bibliography. Some figures had to be compressed. Accepted for publication in A&

The Spitzer South Pole Telescope Deep Field Survey: Linking galaxies and halos at z=1.5

We present an analysis of the clustering of high-redshift galaxies in the recently completed 94 deg$^2$ Spitzer-SPT Deep Field survey. Applying flux and color cuts to the mid-infrared photometry efficiently selects galaxies at $z\sim1.5$ in the stellar mass range $10^{10}-10^{11}M_\odot$, making this sample the largest used so far to study such a distant population. We measure the angular correlation function in different flux-limited samples at scales $>6^{\prime \prime}$ (corresponding to physical distances $>0.05$ Mpc) and thereby map the one- and two-halo contributions to the clustering. We fit halo occupation distributions and determine how the central galaxy's stellar mass and satellite occupation depend on the halo mass. We measure a prominent peak in the stellar-to-halo mass ratio at a halo mass of $\log(M_{\rm halo} / M_\odot) = 12.44\pm0.08$, 4.5 times higher than the $z=0$ value. This supports the idea of an evolving mass threshold above which star formation is quenched. We estimate the large-scale bias in the range $b_g=2-4$ and the satellite fraction to be $f_\mathrm{sat}\sim0.2$, showing a clear evolution compared to $z=0$. We also find that, above a given stellar mass limit, the fraction of galaxies that are in similar mass pairs is higher at $z=1.5$ than at $z=0$. In addition, we measure that this fraction mildly increases with the stellar mass limit at $z=1.5$, which is the opposite of the behavior seen at low-redshift.Comment: 32 pages, 22 figures. Published in MNRA

The CORTEX Cognitive Robotics Architecture: use cases

CORTEX is a cognitive robotics architecture inspired by three key ideas: modularity, internal modelling and graph representations. CORTEX is also a computational framework designed to support early forms of intelligence in real world, human interacting robots, by selecting an a priori functional decomposition of the capabilities of the robot. This set of abilities was then translated to computational modules or agents, each one built as a network of software interconnected components. The nature of these agents can range from pure reactive modules connected to sensors and/or actuators, to pure deliberative ones, but they can only communicate with each other through a graph structure called Deep State Representation (DSR). DSR is a short-term dynamic representation of the space surrounding the robot, the objects and the humans in it, and the robot itself. All these entities are perceived and transformed into different levels of abstraction, ranging from geometric data to high-level symbolic relations such as "the person is talking and gazing at me". The combination of symbolic and geometric information endows the architecture with the potential to simulate and anticipate the outcome of the actions executed by the robot. In this paper we present recent advances in the CORTEX architecture and several real-world human-robot interaction scenarios in which they have been tested. We describe our interpretation of the ideas inspiring the architecture and the reasons why this specific computational framework is a promising architecture for the social robots of tomorrow

Velocity Dispersions and Stellar Populations of the Most Compact and Msssive early-Type Galaxies at Redshift similar to 1

We present Gran-Telescopio-Canarias/OSIRIS optical spectra of four of the most compact and massive early-type galaxies (ETGs) in the Groth Strip Survey at redshift z similar to 1, with effective radii R-e = 0.5-2.4 kpc and photometric stellarmasses M-star = (1.2-4) x 10(11)M(circle dot). We find that these galaxies have velocity dispersions sigma = 156-236 km s(-1). The spectra are well fitted by single stellar population models with approximately 1 Gyr of age and solar metallicity. We find that (1) the dynamical masses of these galaxies are systematically smaller by a factor of similar to 6 than the published stellarmasses using BRIJK photometry, and (2) when estimating stellarmasses as 0.7xM(dyn), a combination of passive luminosity fading with mass/size growth due to minor mergers can plausibly evolve our objects to match the properties of the local population of ETGs

Scaffold proteins LACK and TRACK as potential drug targets in kinetoplastid parasites: Development of inhibitors

Parasitic diseases cause similar to 500,000 deaths annually and remain a major challenge for therapeutic development. Using a rational design based approach, we developed peptide inhibitors with anti-parasitic activity that were derived from the sequences of parasite scaffold proteins LACK (Leishmania's receptor for activated C-kinase) and TRACK (Trypanosoma receptor for activated C-kinase). We hypothesized that sequences in LACK and TRACK that are conserved in the parasites, but not in the mammalian ortholog, RACK (Receptor for activated C-kinase), may be interaction sites for signaling proteins that are critical for the parasites' viability. One of these peptides exhibited leishmanicidal and trypanocidal activity in culture. Moreover, in infected mice, this peptide was also effective in reducing parasitemia and increasing survival without toxic effects. The identified peptide is a promising new anti-parasitic drug lead, as its unique features may limit toxicity and drug-resistance, thus overcoming central limitations of most anti-parasitic drugs. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Australian Society for Parasitology.National Institutes of HealthStanford Univ, Sch Med, Dept Chem & Syst Biol, Stanford, CA 94305 USAUniv Sao Paulo, Inst Quim, Dept Bioquim, BR-05508 Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilMcGill Univ, Res Inst, Natl Reference Ctr Parasitol, Montreal, PQ, CanadaUniv Autonoma Yucatan, Ctr Invest Reg Dr Hideyo Noguchi, Parasitol Lab, Merida, Yucatan, MexicoStanford Univ, Biomat & Adv Drug Delivery Lab, Stanford, CA 94305 USAUniv Estadual Campinas, Inst Chem, Campinas, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Ciencias Biol, Campus Diadema, Sao Paulo, BrazilMcGill Univ, Inst Parasitol, Quebec City, PQ, CanadaMcGill Univ, Ctr Host Parasite Interact, Quebec City, PQ, CanadaUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Ciencias Biol, Campus Diadema, Sao Paulo, BrazilNIH: TW008781-01C-IDEANIH: AI078505Web of Scienc

Forward-central two-particle correlations in p-Pb collisions at root s(NN)=5.02 TeV

Two-particle angular correlations between trigger particles in the forward pseudorapidity range (2.5 2GeV/c. (C) 2015 CERN for the benefit of the ALICE Collaboration. Published by Elsevier B. V.Peer reviewe

Event-shape engineering for inclusive spectra and elliptic flow in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S=2.76 TeV

Peer reviewe

Azimuthal anisotropy of charged jet production in root s(NN)=2.76 TeV Pb-Pb collisions

We present measurements of the azimuthal dependence of charged jet production in central and semi-central root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV Pb-Pb collisions with respect to the second harmonic event plane, quantified as nu(ch)(2) (jet). Jet finding is performed employing the anti-k(T) algorithm with a resolution parameter R = 0.2 using charged tracks from the ALICE tracking system. The contribution of the azimuthal anisotropy of the underlying event is taken into account event-by-event. The remaining (statistical) region-to-region fluctuations are removed on an ensemble basis by unfolding the jet spectra for different event plane orientations independently. Significant non-zero nu(ch)(2) (jet) is observed in semi-central collisions (30-50% centrality) for 20 <p(T)(ch) (jet) <90 GeV/c. The azimuthal dependence of the charged jet production is similar to the dependence observed for jets comprising both charged and neutral fragments, and compatible with measurements of the nu(2) of single charged particles at high p(T). Good agreement between the data and predictions from JEWEL, an event generator simulating parton shower evolution in the presence of a dense QCD medium, is found in semi-central collisions. (C) 2015 CERN for the benefit of the ALICE Collaboration. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Peer reviewe

Production of He-4 and (4) in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S=2.76 TeV at the LHC

Results on the production of He-4 and (4) nuclei in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S = 2.76 TeV in the rapidity range vertical bar y vertical bar <1, using the ALICE detector, are presented in this paper. The rapidity densities corresponding to 0-10% central events are found to be dN/dy4(He) = (0.8 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.3 (syst)) x 10(-6) and dN/dy4 = (1.1 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.2 (syst)) x 10(-6), respectively. This is in agreement with the statistical thermal model expectation assuming the same chemical freeze-out temperature (T-chem = 156 MeV) as for light hadrons. The measured ratio of (4)/He-4 is 1.4 +/- 0.8 (stat) +/- 0.5 (syst). (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe