4,022 research outputs found
From Molecular Cores to Planet-forming Disks with SIRTF
The SIRTF mission and the Legacy programs will provide coherent data bases
for extra-galactic and Galactic science that will rapidly become available to
researchers through a public archive. The capabilities of SIRTF and the six
legacy programs are described briefly. Then the cores to disks (c2d) program is
described in more detail. The c2d program will use all three SIRTF instruments
(IRAC, MIPS, and IRS) to observe sources from molecular cores to protoplanetary
disks, with a wide range of cloud masses, stellar masses, and star-forming
environments. The SIRTF data will stimulate many follow-up studies, both with
SIRTF and with other instruments.Comment: 6 pages, from Fourth Cologne-Bonn-Zermatt-Symposium, The Dense
Interstellar Matter in Galaxie
Mass segregation in star clusters is not energy equipartition
Mass segregation in star clusters is often thought to indicate the onset of energy equipartition, where the most massive stars impart kinetic energy to the lower-mass stars and brown dwarfs/free floating planets. The predicted net result of this is that the centrally concentrated massive stars should have significantly lower velocities than fast-moving low-mass objects on the periphery of the cluster. We search for energy equipartition in initially spatially and kinematically substructured N-body simulations of star clusters with N = 1500 stars, evolved for 100 Myr. In clusters that show significant mass segregation we find no differences in the proper motions or radial velocities as a function of mass. The kinetic energies of all stars decrease as the clusters relax, but the kinetic energies of the most massive stars do not decrease faster than those of lower-mass stars. These results suggest that dynamical mass segregation -- which is observed in many star clusters -- is not a signature of energy equipartition from two-body relaxation
Chandra observations of Cygnus OB2
Cygnus OB2 is the nearest example of a massive star forming region,
containing over 50 O-type stars and hundreds of B-type stars. We have analyzed
two Chandra pointings in Cyg OB2, detecting ~1700 X-ray sources, of which ~1450
are thought to be members of the association. Optical and near-IR photometry
has been obtained for ~90% of these sources from recent deep Galactic plane
surveys. We have performed isochrone fits to the near-IR color-magnitude
diagram, deriving ages of 3.5(+0.75,-1.0) and 5.25(+1.5,-1.0) Myrs for sources
in the two fields, both with considerable spreads around the pre-MS isochrones.
The presence of a second population in the region, somewhat older than the
present-day O-type stars, has been suggested by other authors and fits with the
ages derived here. The fraction of sources with inner circumstellar disks (as
traced by the K-band excess) is found to be very low, but appropriate for a
population of age ~5 Myrs. We measure the stellar mass functions and find a
power-law slope of Gamma = -1.09 +/- 0.13, in good agreement with the global
mean value estimated by Kroupa. A steepening of the mass function at high
masses is observed and we suggest this is due to the presence of the previous
generation of stars that have lost their most massive members. Finally,
combining our mass function and an estimate of the radial density profile of
the association suggests a total mass of Cyg OB2 of ~30,000 Msun, similar to
that of many of our Galaxy's most massive star forming regions.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, conference proceedings for JENAM 2010: Star
Clusters in the Era of Large Surveys, Editors: A.Moitinho and J. Alve
Approaches to study in higher education portuguese students: a portuguese version of the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST)
This paper examines the validity of the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory
for Students—short version (ASSIST; Tait et al. in Improving student learning: Improving
students as learners, 1998), to be used with Portuguese undergraduate students. The
ASSIST was administrated to 566 students, in order to analyse a Portuguese version of this
inventory. Exploratory factor analysis (principal axis factor analysis followed by direct oblimin rotation) reproduced the three main factors that correspond to the original dimensions of the inventory (deep, surface apathetic and strategic approaches to learning). The results are consistent with the background theory on approaches to learning. Additionally, the reliability analysis revealed acceptable internal consistency indexes for the main scales and subscales. This inventory might represent a valuable research tool for the assessment of approaches to learning among Portuguese higher education students
Sexuality and Affection among Elderly German Men and Women in Long-Term Relationships: Results of a Prospective Population-Based Study
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.The study was funded by the German Federal Ministry for Families, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (AZ 314-1722-102/16; AZ 301-1720-295/2), the Ministry for Science, Research and Art Baden-Württemberg, and the University of Rostock (FORUN 989020; 889048)
Compromiso organizacional y satisfacción laboral: un estudio exploratorio en unidades de salud familiar portuguesas
Explorou-se a relação entre compromisso organizacional e satisfação laboral
nos colaboradores de unidades de saúde familiar. Participaram seis unidades
de saúde familiar do norte de Portugal e 105 profissionais (médico, enfermeiros
e secretários clÃnicos). Utilizaram-se as adaptações portuguesas da Escala
do Compromisso Organizacional de Meyer & Allen (1997) e do Questionário
de Satisfação com o Trabalho (Spector, 1985). Os resultados sugerem
associação positiva entre compromisso organizacional e satisfação laboral. Os
profissionais estão moderadamente satisfeitos e comprometidos com as unidades
de saúde familiar, sendo a natureza do trabalho, a relação com os colegas e
a comunicação os aspectos mais satisfatórios, e as recompensas o mais insatisfatório.
A componente afetiva do compromisso evidencia-se, salientando o envolvimento
e a identificação dos profissionais com o projeto unidades de saúde
familiar. O modelo de regressão linear revelou-se significativo, o compromisso
organizacional explica 22,7% da variância da satisfação com o trabalho.
Para esta amostra, o compromisso organizacional prediz a satisfação com
o trabalho.This study explored the relationship between organizational commitment and job satisfaction among workers in family health units. Six family health units in the North of Portugal participated, including 105 health professionals (physicians, nurses, and clinical secretaries). The study used the Portuguese adaptations of the Organizational Commitment Scale by Meyer & Allen (1997) and the Job Satisfaction Survey (Spector, 1985). The results suggest a positive association between organizational commitment and job satisfaction. The professionals are moderately satisfied and committed to the family health units; the most satisfactory aspects are the nature of the work, relationship to coworkers, and communication, while pay is the most unsatisfactory. The affective component of the commitment appears, highlighting the professionals' involvement in (and identification with) the family health units project. The linear regression model proved significant, and organizational commitment explains 22.7% of the variance in job satisfaction. For this sample, organizational commitment predicts job satisfaction.Instituto Nacional de Saúde Dr Ricardo Jorgeinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Luminescent properties of Bi-doped polycrystalline KAlCl4
We observed an intensive near-infrared luminescence in Bi-doped KAlCl4
polycrystalline material. Luminescence dependence on the excitation wavelength
and temperature of the sample was studied. Our experimental results allow
asserting that the luminescence peaked near 1 um belongs solely to Bi+ ion
which isomorphically substitutes potassium in the crystal. It was also
demonstrated that Bi+ luminescence features strongly depend on the local ion
surroundings
Histological findings in infants with Gastrointestinal food allergy are associated with specific gastrointestinal symptoms; retrospective review from a tertiary centre.
BACKGROUND: Gastrointestinal food allergy (GIFA) occurs in 2 to 4 % of children, the majority of whom are infants (85 % (OR > 5.67) of having abnormal histological findings compared to those without. Those with isolated PR bleeding or diarrhoea were associated with 74 % and 68 % probability (OR: 2.85 and 2.13) of an abnormal biopsy, respectively. Conversely, children presenting with faltering growth or reflux/vomiting showed any abnormal mucosal histology in only 50.8 % and 45.3 % (OR: 1.04 and 0.82) respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Food allergy may occur in very young children and is difficult to diagnose. Since endoscopy in infants has significant risks, stratification of decision-making may be aided by symptoms. At least one mucosal biopsy demonstrated an abnormal finding in around half of cases in this selected population. Infants presenting with diarrhoea, PR bleeding, urticaria and irritability are most likely to demonstrate abnormal histological findings
Proactive and politically skilled professionals: What is the relationship with affective occupational commitment?
The aim of this study is to extend research on employee affective commitment in three ways: (1) instead of organizational commitment the focus is on occupational commitment; (2) the role of proactive personality on affective occupational commitment is examined; and (3) occupational satisfaction is examined as a mediator and political skills as moderator in the relationship between proactive personality and affective occupational commitment. Two connected studies, one in a hospital located in the private sector and one in a university located in the public sector, are carried out in Pakistan, drawing on a total sample of over 400 employees. The results show that proactive personality is positively related to affective occupational commitment, and that occupational satisfaction partly mediates the relationship between proactive personality and affective occupational commitment. No effect is found for a moderator effect of political skills in the relationship between proactive personality and affective occupational commitment. Political skills however moderate the relationship between proactive personality and affective organizational commitment
Pyrenoid loss in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii causes limitations in CO2 supply, but not thylakoid operating efficiency
The pyrenoid of the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is a microcompartment situated in the centre of the cup-shaped chloroplast, containing up to 90% of cellular Rubisco. Traversed by a network of dense, knotted thylakoid tubules, the pyrenoid has been proposed to influence thylakoid biogenesis and ultrastructure. Mutants that are unable to assemble a pyrenoid matrix, due to expressing a vascular plant version of the Rubisco small subunit, exhibit severe growth and photosynthetic defects and have an ineffective carbon-concentrating mechanism (CCM). The present study set out to determine the cause of photosynthetic limitation in these pyrenoid-less lines. We tested whether electron transport and light use were compromised as a direct structural consequence of pyrenoid loss or as a metabolic effect downstream of lower CCM activity and resulting COâ‚‚ limitation. Thylakoid organization was unchanged in the mutants, including the retention of intrapyrenoid-type thylakoid tubules, and photosynthetic limitations associated with the absence of the pyrenoid were rescued by exposing cells to elevated COâ‚‚ levels. These results demonstrate that Rubisco aggregation in the pyrenoid functions as an essential element for COâ‚‚ delivery as part of the CCM, and does not play other roles in maintenance of photosynthetic membrane energetics.We wish to gratefully acknowledge financial support to ODC by Wolfson College, the Cambridge Philosophical Society and the TH Middleton Fund (Department of Plant Sciences) toward research-related travel, which was crucial to enable this collaborative study. This work was supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (PhD studentship 1090746 to ODC and BB/M007693/1 to MTM and HG). The work was also supported by NSF grant MCB 0951094 and US Department of Energy Grants DE-FG02-07ER64427, DE- FG02-12ER16338 awarded to ARG
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