Are spiral galaxies optically thin or thick?

The opacity of spiral galaxies is examined by modelling the dust and stellar content of individual galaxies. The model is applied to five late-type spiral galaxies (NGC 4013, IC 2531, UGC 1082, NGC 5529 and NGC 5907). Having analyzed a total of seven galaxies thus far, the five galaxies mentioned above plus UGC 2048 and NGC 891 presented in (Xilouris et al. 1997, 1998), we are able to draw some general conclusions, the most significant of which are: 1) The face-on central optical depth is less than one in all optical bands indicating that typical spiral galaxies like the ones that we have modelled would be completely transparent if they were to be seen face-on. 2) The dust scaleheight is about half that of the stars, which means that the dust is more concentrated near the plane of the disk. 3) The dust scalelength is about 1.4 times larger than that of the stars and the dust is more radially extended than the stars. 4) The dust mass is found to be about an order of a magnitude more than previously measured using the IRAS fluxes, indicating the existence of a cold dust component. The gas-to-dust mass ratio calculated is close to the value derived for our Galaxy. 5) The derived extinction law matches quite well the Galactic extinction law, indicating a universal dust behaviour.Comment: 13 pages. Accepted for publication in A&

Magnetic resonance imaging study of the sciatic nerve variation in the pediatric gluteal region: Implications for the posterior approach of the sciatic nerve blockade

Introduction: In pediatric patients, the sciatic nerve is one of the most commonly blocked peripheral nerves during orthopedic procedures of the lower limb. Ultrasound guidance is the current standard for a successful localization of the sciatic nerve in the gluteal region. Relevant anatomical landmarks are also used to determine the nerve location when ultrasound is not available or inadequate. However, reports have demonstrated paucity of information regarding the sciatic nerve location and variation in the hip throughout pediatric development. This imaging study aimed to document and analyze the relative morphometric relationship of the sciatic nerve in the pediatric gluteal region throughout development. Methods: The location of the sciatic nerve in relation to bony landmarks was measured in 84 pediatric magnetic resonance imaging of patients aged 0.7–15.8 years. Results: The sciatic nerve was identified medial to the most lateral point of greater trochanter at the level of ischial spine and the tip of coccyx. The strong positive correlation between sciatic nerve to landmark distances and age and stature demonstrated linear variation between sciatic nerve location with age and growth of children. To predict the nerve location in the gluteal region, regression equations using patient age were created, having implications for the posterior approach of the sciatic nerve blockade in children. Clinically significant differences were found between sexes, specifically in the older age group. Conclusion: Despite the small sample size of younger age group, this study is the first to document the morphometric changes of the sciatic nerve in the gluteal region across pediatric development and may be useful for providing confirmatory guidelines for nerve location when ultrasound is not accessible or cannot be utilized for practice

THE CONTRIBUTION OF LOWER TORSO, UPPER TORSO AND UPPER LIMBS SEGMENTAL MOTION TO HAMMER HEAD VELOCITY DURING ACCELERATION PHASE

In hammer throw event, the distance of the hammer throw is mainly determined by hammer head resultant velocity at release. During turn phase, hammer head resultant velocity is increased gradually with four turns and is increased during double support phase. The purpose of this study was to investigate the contribution of the motions in the lower torso, upper torso, upper limbs and hammer segment to the hammer head tangential velocity during double support phase

Objectively Measured Sedentary Behavior in Preschool Children: Comparison Between Montessori and Traditional Preschools

Background: This study aimed to compare the levels of objectively-measured sedentary behavior in children attending Montessori preschools with those attending traditional preschools. Methods: The participants in this study were preschool children aged 4 years old who were enrolled in Montessori and traditional preschools. The preschool children wore ActiGraph accelerometers. Accelerometers were initialized using 15-second intervals and sedentary behavior was defined as/15-second. The accelerometry data were summarized into the average minutes per hour spent in sedentary behavior during the in-school, the afterschool, and the total-day period. Mixed linear regression models were used to determine differences in the average time spent in sedentary behavior between children attending traditional and Montessori preschools, after adjusting for selected potential correlates of preschoolers’ sedentary behavior. Results: Children attending Montessori preschools spent less time in sedentary behavior than those attending traditional preschools during the in-school (44.4. min/hr vs. 47.1 min/hr, P=0.03), after-school (42.8. min/hr vs. 44.7 min/hr, P=0.04), and total-day (43.7 min/hr vs. 45.5 min/hr, P = 0. 009) periods. School type (Montessori or traditional), preschool setting (private or public), socio-demographic factors (age, gender, and socioeconomic status) were found to be significant predictors of preschoolers’ sedentary behavior. Conclusions: Levels of objectively-measured sedentary behavior were significantly lower among children attending Montessori preschools compared to children attending traditional preschools. Future research should examine the specific characteristics of Montessori preschools that predict the lower levels of sedentary behavior among children attending these preschools compared to children attending traditional preschools

Effects of source mismatch on multipole Logging

The effects of mismatched multipole sources were investigated. Multipole sources considered here are those that they are constructed of monopoles with appropriate sign combination. To simulate mismatched dipole and quadrupole sources, we made the amplitude of one of monopoles smaller than those of the other monopoles. The dipole and quadrupole component were obtained with four monopole receiver array system by subtracting or adding appropriate responses. Mismatched dipole source excites nondipole modes in addition to the flexural mode. The strongest of these is the Stoneley mode, whose amplitude increases with increasing mismatch. Similarly, mismatched quadrupole sources produce nonquadrupole modes such as the Stoneley mode in addition to the screw mode. The amplitude of the Stoneley mode increases with mismatch. However, we can obtain the flexural mode by A-C and the screw mode by A-B+C-D processing, respectively. The Stoneley mode, which has the same amplitude at the same radial position from the borehole axis, is cancelled out by A-C and A-B+C-D processing as long as the tool is placed at the center of the borehole.Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Earth Resources LaboratoryMassachusetts Institute of Technology. Borehole Acoustics and Logging Consortiu

Fracture Density Estimation Using Spectral Analysis of Reservoir Reflections: A Numerical Modeling Approach

We use a 3-D finite difference numerical model to generate synthetic seismograms from a simple fractured reservoir containing evenly spaced, discrete, vertical fractures. The fractures are represented using a single column of anisotropic grid points. Analysis of seismic amplitudes and spectral characteristics were carried out on the top and base reservoir reflections as well as scattered wave coda for models with fracture spacing ranging from 0.01 to 0.1 fractures/m. Results show that the bulk scattered wave energy contained in a common shot gather increases greatly when the fracture spacing is greater than about 1/4 wavelength. Wavenumber spectra for integrated amplitude versus offset from a time window containing the base reservoir reflector show spectral peaks corresponding to the fracture spacing.United States. Dept. of Energy (Grant DE-FC26-02NT15346)Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Earth Resources LaboratoryEni S.p.A. (Firm

Veillonella rogosae sp. nov., an anaerobic, Gram-negative coccus isolated from dental plaque

Strains of a novel anaerobic, Gram-negative coccus were isolated from the supra-gingival plaque of children. Independent strains from each of six subjects were shown, at a phenotypic level and based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing, to be members of the genus Veillonella. Analysis revealed that the six strains shared 99.7 % similarity in their 16S rRNA gene sequences and 99.0 % similarity in their rpoB gene sequences. The six novel strains formed a distinct group and could be clearly separated from recognized species of the genus Veillonella of human or animal origin. The novel strains exhibited 98 and 91 % similarity to partial 16S rRNA and rpoB gene sequences of Veillonella parvula ATCC 10790T, the most closely related member of the genus. The six novel strains could be differentiated from recognized species of the genus Veillonella based on partial 16S rRNA and rpoB gene sequencing. The six novel strains are thus considered to represent a single novel species of the genus Veillonella, for which the name Veillonella rogosae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CF100T (=CCUG 54233T=DSM 18960T)

Cor-Split: Defending Privacy in Data Re-Publication from Historical Correlations and Compromised Tuples

Abstract. Several approaches have been proposed for privacy preserving data publication. In this paper we consider the important case in which a certain view over a dynamic dataset has to be released a number of times during its history. The insufficiency of techniques used for one-shot publication in the case of subsequent releases has been previously recognized, and some new approaches have been proposed. Our research shows that relevant privacy threats, not recognized by previous proposals, can occur in practice. In particular, we show the cascading effects that a single (or a few) compromised tuples can have in data re-publication when coupled with the ability of an adversary to recognize historical correlations among released tuples. A theoretical study of the threats leads us to a defense algorithm, implemented as a significant extension of the m-invariance technique. Extensive experiments using publicly available datasets show that the proposed technique preserves the utility of published data and effectively protects from the identified privacy threats.

Soft X-Ray Sources at the Centers of the Elliptical Galaxies NGC 4472 and NGC 4649

Analysis of recent Chandra observations of the elliptical galaxies NGC 4472 and NGC 4649 has revealed faint soft X-ray sources at their centers. The sources are located to within 1'' of the optical centers of the galaxies. They are most likely associated with the central supermassive black holes. Interest in these and several other similar objects stems from the unusually low luminosity of the supermassive black holes embedded in dense interstellar medium. Our Chandra sources have very soft spectra. They are detectable only below ~0.6 keV and have luminosities in the 0.2-2.5 keV energy band of ~ 6 * 10^{37} erg/s and ~1.7 * 10^{38} erg/s in NGC 4649 and NGC 4472, respectively.Comment: Shortened version of the paper published in Astronomy Letter

A Declarative Framework for Specifying and Enforcing Purpose-aware Policies

Purpose is crucial for privacy protection as it makes users confident that their personal data are processed as intended. Available proposals for the specification and enforcement of purpose-aware policies are unsatisfactory for their ambiguous semantics of purposes and/or lack of support to the run-time enforcement of policies. In this paper, we propose a declarative framework based on a first-order temporal logic that allows us to give a precise semantics to purpose-aware policies and to reuse algorithms for the design of a run-time monitor enforcing purpose-aware policies. We also show the complexity of the generation and use of the monitor which, to the best of our knowledge, is the first such a result in literature on purpose-aware policies.Comment: Extended version of the paper accepted at the 11th International Workshop on Security and Trust Management (STM 2015