1,785 research outputs found
Sleep quality in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome
Objective
To assess the sleep quality in primary Sjögrenâs syndrome (pSS) patients and evaluate its relationship with the disease,
quality of life and mood disorders.
Methods
The sleep quality of 29 pSS women and 29 matched controls was assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI).
Seven domains are grouped according to three factors: F1 perceived sleep quality (subjective sleep quality, sleep latency,
use of sleeping medication), F2 sleep efficiency (sleep duration, habitual sleep efficiency) and F3 daily disturbances (sleep
disturbances, daytime dysfunction). These domains are scored as a single factor of global sleep quality. The Short Form
Health Survey (SF-36), Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy (FACIT) fatigue scale and Hospital Anxiety and
Depression Scale (HADS) were also administered. Disease activity and damage were evaluated with the EULAR Sjögrenâs
syndrome disease activity index (ESSDAI), the Sjögrenâs Syndrome Disease Activity and Damage Indexes (SSDAI, SSDDI).
Results
The mean PSQI global score had higher pathological values (8.6±4.6) compared with controls (5.6±2.2) (p=0.002).
F1 and F3 were significantly worse in cases (p=0.01, p=0.009). A negative correlation was found between SF-36
subscales and the global PSQI, F2 and F3. The anxiety HADS correlated with F2 and F3, while depression only with F3.
No correlation with FACIT and disease indexes emerged.
Conclusion
Using PSQI, an impaired sleep quality was demonstrated in pSS patients, especially with perceived quality and the daily
disturbances. It is associated with a reduced quality of life but not with disease-related variables.Objective
To assess the sleep quality in primary Sjögrenâs syndrome (pSS) patients and evaluate its relationship with the disease,
quality of life and mood disorders.
Methods
The sleep quality of 29 pSS women and 29 matched controls was assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI).
Seven domains are grouped according to three factors: F1 perceived sleep quality (subjective sleep quality, sleep latency,
use of sleeping medication), F2 sleep efficiency (sleep duration, habitual sleep efficiency) and F3 daily disturbances (sleep
disturbances, daytime dysfunction). These domains are scored as a single factor of global sleep quality. The Short Form
Health Survey (SF-36), Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy (FACIT) fatigue scale and Hospital Anxiety and
Depression Scale (HADS) were also administered. Disease activity and damage were evaluated with the EULAR Sjögrenâs
syndrome disease activity index (ESSDAI), the Sjögrenâs Syndrome Disease Activity and Damage Indexes (SSDAI, SSDDI).
Results
The mean PSQI global score had higher pathological values (8.6±4.6) compared with controls (5.6±2.2) (p=0.002).
F1 and F3 were significantly worse in cases (p=0.01, p=0.009). A negative correlation was found between SF-36
subscales and the global PSQI, F2 and F3. The anxiety HADS correlated with F2 and F3, while depression only with F3.
No correlation with FACIT and disease indexes emerged.
Conclusion
Using PSQI, an impaired sleep quality was demonstrated in pSS patients, especially with perceived quality and the daily
disturbances. It is associated with a reduced quality of life but not with disease-related variables
The Near-Infrared Photometric Properties of Bright Giants in the Central Regions of the Galactic Bulge
Images recorded through broad (J, H, K), and narrow (CO, and 2.2micron
continuum) band filters are used to investigate the photometric properties of
bright (K < 13.5) stars in a 6 x 6 arcmin field centered on the SgrA complex.
The giant branch ridgelines in the (K, J-K) and (K, H-K) color-magnitude
diagrams are well matched by the Baade's Window (BW) M giant sequence if the
mean extinction is A_K ~ 2.8 mag. Extinction measurements for individual stars
are estimated using the M_K versus infrared color relations defined by M giants
in BW, and the majority of stars have A_K between 2.0 and 3.5 mag. The
extinction is locally high in the SgrA complex, where A_K ~ 3.1 mag.
Reddening-corrected CO indices, CO_o, are derived for over 1300 stars with J,
H, and K brightnesses, and over 5300 stars with H and K brightnesses. The
distribution of CO_o values for stars with K_o between 11.25 and 7.25 can be
reproduced using the M_K versus CO_o relation defined by M giants in BW. The
data thus suggest that the most metal-rich giants in the central regions of the
bulge and in BW have similar photometric properties and 2.3micron CO strengths.
Hence, it appears that the central region of the bulge does not contain a
population of stars that are significantly more metal-rich than what is seen in
BW.Comment: 29 pages, including 14 figure
The galaxy density environment of gamma-ray burst host galaxies
We analyze cross-correlation functions between Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) hosts
and surrounding galaxies. We have used data obtained with the Very Large
Telescope at Cerro Paranal (Chile), as well as public Hubble Space Telescope
data. Our results indicate that Gamma-Ray Burst host galaxies do not reside in
high galaxy density environments. Moreover, the host-galaxy cross-correlations
show a relatively low amplitude. Our results are in agreement with the
cross-correlation function between star-forming galaxies and surrounding
objects in the HDF-N.Comment: 6 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Clustering and light profiles of galaxies in the environment of 20 Ultra Steep Spectrum Radio sources
We have analyzed galaxy properties in the neighborhood of 20 Ultra-Steep
Spectrum Radio sources (USS) taken from the WISH catalog of De Breuck et al.
(2002). Galaxies in these USS fields were identified in deep observations that
were carried out in the K'-band using the OSIRIS imager at the CTIO 4m
telescope. We find a statistically significant signal of clustering around our
sample of USS. The angular extension of the detected USS-galaxy clustering is
theta_c~20" corresponding to a spatial scale ~120 h^{-1}kpc, assuming the
sources are at z~1 in a Omega_m=0.3, Omega_{\Lambda}=0.7 model universe. These
results are in agreement with those obtained by Best (2000) for radio
galaxy-galaxy correlation, and Best et al. (2003) for radio-loud AGN-galaxy
correlation. We have also analyzed the light distribution of the galaxies by
fitting Sersic's law profiles. Our results show no significant dependence of
the galaxy shape parameters on the projected distance to the USS.Comment: Accepted for its publication in Astronomical Journal, 9 figure
The Stellar Populations of NGC 3109: Another Dwarf Irregular Galaxy with a Population II Stellar Halo
We have obtained V and I-band photometry for about 17500 stars in the field
of the dwarf irregular galaxy NGC3109, located in the outskirts of the Local
Group. The photometry allows us to study the stellar populations present inside
and outside the disk of this galaxy. From the VI color-magnitude diagram we
infer metallicities and ages for the stellar populations in the main body and
in the halo of NGC3109. The stars in the disk of this galaxy have a wide
variety of ages, including very young stars with approximately 10^7 yr. Our
main result is to establish the presence of a halo consisting of population II
stars, extending out to about 4.5 arcmin (or 1.8 kpc) above and below the plane
of this galaxy. For these old stars we derive an age of > 10 Gyr and a
metallicity of [Fe/H] = -1.8 +/- 0.2. We construct a deep luminosity function,
obtaining an accurate distance modulus (m-M)_0 = 25.62 +/- 0.1 for this galaxy
based on the I-magnitude of the red giant branch (RGB) tip and adopting E(V-I)
= 0.05.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal 23 pages, latex,
12 Figures (Fig 1 not available in electronic format
Imaging and Spectroscopy of Ultra Steep Spectrum Radio Sources
We present a sample of 40 Ultra Steep Spectrum (USS, ,
) radio sources selected from the Westerbork in
the Southern Hemisphere (WISH) catalog. The USS sources have been imaged in
K--band at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) and with the Very
Large Telescope at Cerro Paranal. We also present VLT, Keck and Willian
Herschel Telescope(WHT) optical spectroscopy of 14 targets selection from 4
different USS samples. For 12 sources, we have been able to determine the
redshifts, including 4 new radio galaxies at z > 3. We find that most of our
USS sources have predominantly small (6'') radio sizes and faint magnitudes
(K~18). The mean K-band counterpart magnitude is =18.6. The expected
redshift distribution estimated using the Hubble K-z diagram has a mean of
2.13, which is higher than the predicted redshift obtained
for the SUMSS-NVSS sample and the expected redshift obtained in the 6C
survey. The compact USS sample analyzed here may contain a higher fraction of
galaxies which are high redshift and/or are heavily obscured by dust. Using the
74, 352 and 1400 MHz flux densities of a sub-sample, we construct a radio
colour-colour diagram. We find that all but one of our USS sources have a
strong tendency to flatten below 352 MHz. We also find that the highest
redshift source from this paper (at z=3.84) does not show evidence for spectral
flattening down to 151 MHz. This suggests that very low frequency selected USS
samples will likely be more efficient to find high redshift galaxies.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 14 pages including 44 PostScript
figures and 4 tables. Version with all figures available from
http://www.eso.org/~cdebreuc/papers.htm
Masses and M/L Ratios of Bright Globular Clusters in NGC 5128
We present an analysis of the radial velocities and velocity dispersions for 27 bright globular clusters in the nearby elliptical galaxy NGC 5128 (Centaurus A). For 22 clusters we combine our new velocity dispersion measurements with the information on the structural parameters, either from the literature when available or from our own data, in order to derive the cluster masses and mass-to-light (M/L) ratios. The masses range from 1.2 Ă 105M, typical of Galactic globular clusters, to 1.4 Ă 107M, similar to more massive dwarf globular transition objects (DGTOs) or ultra compact dwarfs (UCDs) and to nuclei of nucleated dE galaxies. The average M/LV is 3±1, larger than the average M/LV of globular clusters in the Local Group galaxies. The correlations of structural parameters, velocity dispersion, masses and M/LV for the bright globular clusters extend the properties established for the most massive Local Group clusters towards those characteristic of dwarf elliptical galaxy nuclei and DGTOs/UCDs. The detection of the mass-radius and the mass-M/LV relations for the globular clusters with masses greater than ~ 2 Ă 106M provides the link between "normalâ old globular clusters, young massive clusters, and evolved massive object
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