3,706 research outputs found
Near-infrared photoluminescence of erbium tris(8-hydroxyquinoline) spin-coated thin films induced by low coherence light sources
Copyright 2007 AIP Publishing LLC. This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and AIP Publishing. This article appeared in Applied Physics Letters [91, 021106 (2007)] and may be found at
High resolution spectroscopic analysis of seven giants in the bulge globular cluster NGC 6723
Globular clusters associated with the Galactic bulge are important tracers of
stellar populations in the inner Galaxy. High resolution analysis of stars in
these clusters allows us to characterize them in terms of kinematics,
metallicity, and individual abundances, and to compare these fingerprints with
those characterizing field populations. We present iron and element ratios for
seven red giant stars in the globular cluster NGC~6723, based on high
resolution spectroscopy. High resolution spectra () of seven K
giants belonging to NGC 6723 were obtained with the FEROS spectrograph at the
MPG/ESO 2.2m telescope. Photospheric parameters were derived from FeI
and FeII transitions. Abundance ratios were obtained from line-to-line spectrum
synthesis calculations on clean selected features. An intermediate metallicity
of [Fe/H] dex and a heliocentric radial velocity of
were found for NGC 6723. Alpha-element
abundances present enhancements of dex,
dex, dex, and
dex. Similar overabundance is found for the iron-peak Ti with
dex. Odd-Z elements Na and Al present abundances of
dex and dex, respectively. Finally,
the s-element Ba is also enhanced by dex. The enhancement
levels of NGC 6723 are comparable to those of other metal-intermediate bulge
globular clusters. In turn, these enhancement levels are compatible with the
abundance profiles displayed by bulge field stars at that metallicity. This
hints at a possible similar chemical evolution with globular clusters and the
metal-poor of the bulge going through an early prompt chemical enrichment
Multiphase PC/PL Relations: Comparison between Theory and observations
Cepheids are fundamental objects astrophysically in that they hold the key to
a CMB independent estimate of Hubble's constant. A number of researchers have
pointed out the possibilities of breaking degeneracies between Omega_Matter and
H0 if there is a CMB independent distance scale accurate to a few percent (Hu
2005). Current uncertainties in the distance scale are about 10% but future
observations, with, for example, the JWST, will be capable of estimating H0 to
within a few percent. A crucial step in this process is the Cepheid PL
relation. Recent evidence has emerged that the PL relation, at least in optical
bands, is nonlinear and that neglect of such a nonlinearity can lead to errors
in estimating H0 of up to 2 percent. Hence it is important to critically
examine this possible nonlinearity both observationally and theoretically.
Existing PC/PL relations rely exclusively on evaluating these relations at mean
light. However, since such relations are the average of relations at different
phases. Here we report on recent attempts to compare theory and observation in
the multiphase PC/PL planes. We construct state of the art Cepheid pulsations
models appropriate for the LMC/Galaxy and compare the resulting PC/PL relations
as a function of phase with observations. For the LMC, the (V-I) period-color
relation at minimum light can have quite a narrow dispersion (0.2-0.3 mags) and
thus could be useful in placing constraints on models. At longer periods, the
models predict significantly redder (by about 0.2-0.3 mags) V-I colors. We
discuss possible reasons for this and also compare PL relations at various
phases of pulsation and find clear evidence in both theory and observations for
a nonlinear PL relation.Comment: 5 pages, 8 figures, proceeding for "Stellar Pulsation: Challenges for
Theory and Observation", Santa Fe 200
Assessing the impact of tourist flows on emergency department treatment speed for residents and tourists. The case of Sorrento
Tourism is a fundamental lever of the economic and cultural development of a location. Large tourist flows can negatively impact the provision of public services, such as healthcare. This study aims to investigate emergency department (ED) treatment speed under increased demand caused by tourism. The analysis was conducted on data (covering March–October 2018) collected from the ED of a hospital in Sorrento, a renowned coastal tourist destination in Campania, Italy, by using a two-step strategy. First, we resort to the Kaplan-Meier method to compare treatment in the ED between residents and tourists. Second, through the Cox proportional hazards model, we study the impact of group-specific characteristics on the speed of treatment. The main empirical findings highlight that treatment speed is highly influenced by age and by the languages spoken by tourists. Foreign tourists are best served in off-peak periods, while in the peak arrival period, the healthcare system experiences difficulties, especially for those facing higher language barriers. What emerges is the necessity for a tourism destination to adopt measures to cope with the language heterogeneity of tourists. In a multi-cultural touristic context, healthcare providers and institutions should address the challenge of language barriers by using specialist interpreter services
A sensory study on loin quality from pigs slaughtered at 120 or 160 kg liveweight
Effects of different slaughter weights (160 vs. 120 kg) on chemical, physical and sensory characteristics of pig loin were investigated. Physical and chemical traits were similar for the two typologies of weight, whereas lower values of moisture (P<0.01) and higher fat content (P<0.05) were found in heavy pork loin; furthermore increased slaughter weight resulted in redder, more yellow and intensive colour (P<0.05). A selected and trained panel carried out difference from control test showing that heavy pig loin scored higher for appearance and taste parameters (P<0.05), but lower for tenderness (P<0.05). Heavy pig loin was redder, more marbling, wetter, sweeter, and saltier and had higher metallic flavour and lower tenderness
Growth performance and oxidative status in piglets supplemented with verbascoside and teupolioside
Two hundred forty piglets, half female and half barrows, 8.1 ± 1.40 kg LW, were divided into 6 experimental groups and fed ad libitum with a diet supplemented with the following levels of antioxidants: 0 (CON + = positive control added with 100 mg lincomicine/kg), 5 (LT = low teupolioside or LV = low verbascoside), 10 (HT = high teupolioside; HV = high verbascoside; LT+LV) mg/kg of diet for 56 days. Body weight and feed intake were recorded on d0, 14 and 56 of the trial. Ten piglets from each group were selected and blood collected by anterior vena cava puncture at 0, 14 and 56 d for reactive oxygen metabolite (ROMs) determination. HV showed final weight higher than the other groups (P<0.05), and oxidative stability was improved by both integrations of verbascoside. These results support the view that Verbascoside influences the growth performances and oxidative status of piglets
Clinical evaluation of creatine kinase and aspartate aminotransferase for monitoring muscle effort in working dogs in different simulated fieldworks
The clinical profiles of muscle biomarkers (Creatine Kinase–CK-and Aspartate Aminotransferase–AST) performed during training may help in determining the fitness level of dogs and their potentiality to perform specific activities. This study investigated the potential variations of physiological parameters and muscular biomarkers in trained search and rescue dogs during search activity in two different areas. The aim was to verify the absence of any muscular enzymes after 20 min of search activity. The variations of physiological parameters (pulse rate; respiratory rate; rectal body temperature) and skeletal muscular biomarkers (CK and AST) were evaluated before and after search activity. Twenty-three trained dogs met the inclusion criteria and were divided into two groups. One group experienced search activity in a well-known area, while the second one in a similar, but unknown, area. The results for physiological parameters and skeletal muscular biomarkers values showed no significant differences between the two groups (p > 0.05), confirming that an effective conditioning protects against enzymatic alteration during a 20 min duration of submaximal activity
Superficial heating evaluation by thermographic imaging before and after tecar therapy in six dogs submitted to a rehabilitation protocol: A pilot study
Thermography is a non-invasive diagnostic method commonly used to monitor changes of the body surface temperature potentially induced by different conditions such as fever, inflammation, trauma, or changes of tissue perfusion. Capacitive-resistive diathermy therapy (such as energy transfer capacitive and resistive\u2014Tecar) is commonly used in rehabilitation due to its diathemic effect secondary to blood circulation increase that could accelerate the healing process. The aim of this study was to monitor by thermal camera the diathermic effects induced by Tecar on the surface of the region of application. The investigation was conducted on six dogs referred for Tecar therapy to treat muscle contractures (three dogs) or osteoarthritis (three dogs). Eleven anatomical treated regions were recorded. Thermographic images and relative measurements were obtained by each region immediately before (T0), at conclusion (T1), and sixty seconds after the Tecar application (T2). Data were recorded and statistically analyzed. A comparison of temperature differences (maximum, minimum and mean values) between T0 and T1, T0 and T2, and T1 and T2 was performed by ANOVA test with Bonferroni post hoc (p 64 0.05). Statistically significant differences were detected for mean temperature between T0 (32.42 \ub1 1.57\u25e6C) and T1 (33.36 \ub1 1.17\u25e6C) (p = 0.040) and between T1 and T2 (32.83 \ub1 1.31\u25e6C) (p = 0.031). Furthermore, there was no significant difference between the mean temperature at T0 and T2, demonstrating that superficial diathermic effect exhausted within 60 s
Military Working Dogs Operating in Afghanistan Theater: Comparison between Pre-and Post-Mission Blood Analyses to Monitor Physical Fitness and Training
The intergovernmental organization known as the United Nations (UN) was born “to maintain international peace and security” through different operations and tasks, including “mine action” and “explosive detection”. Explosives are the most frequent cause of injuries in military personnel and an enormous danger for civilians. The role of explosive detection dogs (EDDs) and mine detection dogs has gained great consideration over time, leading to their intense use in military operations. Literature regarding working injuries reported by EDDs during missions is limited. The aim of the present study is to investigate the hematological changes that occurred between pre-and post-mission blood analyses in military working dogs deployed to Afghanistan in order to evaluate signs of health problems or physical adjustments. Examining the clinical records, only three dogs reported a medical issue, one with gastric dilatation-volvulus (GDV), and two with lameness episodes. Lack of health issues occurring during the missions was reflected by the absence of significant differences between pre-and post-mission blood analyses. Blood results were also examined by dividing the EDDs into groups considering age at departure, sex, breed and mission length. A few categories demonstrated significant changes in some parameters; however, the mean values were always included in the ranges of normality, indicating that their physical fitness and training were adequate for the required tasks
- …