Going veg: care of the animals or care of the self?

Mainstream animal ethics theories, such as Singer’s and Regan’s, argue in favor of dietary behaviors excluding at all animal derived products. According to those accounts, in our societies and in our present conditions of life discarding food obtained from animals is mandatory according to the demands of normative ethical theories. In my paper I will present a different approach to reflective moral vegetarianism (defined in a very broad sense). Moving from some critical remarks to mainstream arguments I will suggest the idea that vegetarianism ought to be more accurately regarded as a part of the self-development and care of the self of scrupulous moral agents. Born from personal reflections about the morality of human/non-human relationships vegetarianism should be regarded a way in which the agents shapes and cultivates her own character. Such a view about vegetarianism avoids the difficulties of mainstream arguments and it is more apt to account for the variety and richness of people actual choices about vegetarianism in ordinary moral experience

Clustering of Far-Infrared Galaxies in the AKARI All-Sky Survey

We present the first measurement of the angular two-point correlation function for AKARI 90-$\mu$m point sources, detected outside of the Milky Way plane and other regions characterized by high Galactic extinction, and categorized as extragalactic sources according to our far-infrared-color based criterion (Pollo et al. 2010). This is the first measurement of the large-scale angular clustering of galaxies selected in the far-infrared after IRAS measurements. Although a full description of clustering properties of these galaxies will be obtained by more detailed studies, using either spatial correlation function, or better information about properties and at least photometric redshifts of these galaxies, the angular correlation function remains the first diagnostics to establish the clustering properties of the catalog and observed galaxy population. We find a non-zero clustering signal in both hemispheres extending up to $\sim 40$ degrees, without any significant fluctuations at larger scales. The observed correlation function is well fitted by a power law function. The notable differences between a northern and southern hemisphere are found, which can be probably attributed to the photometry problems and point out to a necessity of performing a better calibration in the data from southern hemisphere.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in Earth, Planets, and Spac

Projection and Galaxy Clustering Fourier Spectra

Second order perturbation theory predicts a specific dependence of the bispectrum, or three-point correlation function in the Fourier transform domain, on the shape of the configuration of its three wave vector arguments, which can be taken as a signature of structure formed by gravitational instability. Comparing this known dependence on configuration shape with the weak shape dependence of the galaxy bispectrum has been suggested as an indication of bias in the galaxy distribution. However, to interpret results obtained from projected catalogs, we must first understand the effects of projection on this shape dependence. We present expressions for the projected power spectrum and bispectrum in both Cartesian and spherical geometries, and we examine the effects of projection on the predicted bispectrum with particular attention to the dependence on configuration shape. Except for an overall numerical factor, for Cartesian projection with characteristic depth \Dstar there is little effect on the shape dependence of the bispectrum for wavelengths small compared to \Dstar or projected wavenumbers q \Dstar \gg 1 . For angular projection, a scaling law is found for spherical harmonic index $\ell \gg 1$, but there is always a mixing of scales over the range of the selection function. For large $\ell$ it is sufficient to examine a small portion of the sky.Comment: aastex, 7 figure

Identifications and SEDs of the detected sources from the AKARI Deep Field South

In order to find counterparts of the detected objects in the AKARI Deep Field South (ADFS) in all available wavelengths, we searched public databases (NED, SIMBAD and others). Checking 500 sources brighter than 0.0482 Jy in the AKARI Wide-S band, we found 114 sources with possible counterparts, among which 78 were known galaxies. We present these sources as well as our first attempt to construct spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for the most secure and most interesting sources among them, taking into account all the known data together with the AKARI measurements in four bands.Comment: 4 pages, 10 figures, To appear in: the proceedings of the conference "AKARI, a light to illuminate the misty Universe", February 16-19 2009, Toky

Catalog of quasars from the Kilo-Degree Survey Data Release 3

We present a catalog of quasars selected from broad-band photometric ugri data of the Kilo-Degree Survey Data Release 3 (KiDS DR3). The QSOs are identified by the random forest (RF) supervised machine learning model, trained on SDSS DR14 spectroscopic data. We first cleaned the input KiDS data from entries with excessively noisy, missing or otherwise problematic measurements. Applying a feature importance analysis, we then tune the algorithm and identify in the KiDS multiband catalog the 17 most useful features for the classification, namely magnitudes, colors, magnitude ratios, and the stellarity index. We used the t-SNE algorithm to map the multi-dimensional photometric data onto 2D planes and compare the coverage of the training and inference sets. We limited the inference set to r<22 to avoid extrapolation beyond the feature space covered by training, as the SDSS spectroscopic sample is considerably shallower than KiDS. This gives 3.4 million objects in the final inference sample, from which the random forest identified 190,000 quasar candidates. Accuracy of 97%, purity of 91%, and completeness of 87%, as derived from a test set extracted from SDSS and not used in the training, are confirmed by comparison with external spectroscopic and photometric QSO catalogs overlapping with the KiDS footprint. The robustness of our results is strengthened by number counts of the quasar candidates in the r band, as well as by their mid-infrared colors available from WISE. An analysis of parallaxes and proper motions of our QSO candidates found also in Gaia DR2 suggests that a probability cut of p(QSO)>0.8 is optimal for purity, whereas p(QSO)>0.7 is preferable for better completeness. Our study presents the first comprehensive quasar selection from deep high-quality KiDS data and will serve as the basis for versatile studies of the QSO population detected by this survey.Comment: Data available from the KiDS website at http://kids.strw.leidenuniv.nl/DR3/quasarcatalog.php and the source code from https://github.com/snakoneczny/kids-quasar

Direct and indirect orthotic management of medial compartment osteoarthritis of the knee

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a painful condition and affects approximately 80% of individuals by the age of 55 [1], with knee OA occurring two times more frequently than OA of the hand or hip [2].The condition is more prevalent in the medial compartment and restricts the daily lives of individuals due to pain and a lack of functional independence. Patients with medial compartment osteoarthritis often have a varus alignment, with the mechanical axis and load bearing passing through this compartment with a greater adduction moment leading to greater pain and progression of osteoarthritis [3]. Surgery for the condition is possible although in some cases, particularly younger patients or those not yet requiring surgery, clinical management remains a challenge. Before surgery is considered, however, conservative management is advocated, though no one treatment has been shown to be most effective, and there are few quality biomechanical or clinical studies. Of the conservative approaches the principal orthotic treatments are valgus knee braces and laterally wedged foot inlays. Studies of knee valgus bracing have consistently demonstrated an associated decreased pain and improved function [4], and greater confidence [5]. A laterally wedged foot inlay has a thicker lateral border and applies a valgus moment to the heel. It is theorised that by changing the position of the ankle and subtalar joints during weight-bearing [6] the lateral wedges may apply a valgus moment across the knee as well as the rearfoot, with the assumed reduction on load in the medial knee compartment [7]. However, there has been no study to directly compare these orthotic treatments in the same study. The aim of this research is to investigate the efficacy of valgus knee braces and laterally wedged foot inlays in reducing the varus knee moment

The VIMOS Ultra Deep Survey. Luminosity and stellar mass dependence of galaxy clustering at z~3

We present the study of the dependence of galaxy clustering on luminosity and stellar mass in the redshift range 2$<$z$<$3.5 using 3236 galaxies with robust spectroscopic redshifts from the VIMOS Ultra Deep Survey (VUDS). We measure the two-point real-space correlation function $w_p(r_p)$ for four volume-limited stellar mass and four luminosity, M$_{UV}$ absolute magnitude selected, sub-samples. We find that the scale dependent clustering amplitude $r_0$ significantly increases with increasing luminosity and stellar mass indicating a strong galaxy clustering dependence on these properties. This corresponds to a strong relative bias between these two sub-samples of $\Delta$b/b$^*$=0.43. Fitting a 5-parameter HOD model we find that the most luminous and massive galaxies occupy the most massive dark matter haloes with $\langle$M$_h$$\rangle$ = 10$^{12.30}$ h$^{-1}$ M$_{\odot}$. Similar to the trends observed at lower redshift, the minimum halo mass M$_{min}$ depends on the luminosity and stellar mass of galaxies and grows from M$_{min}$ =10$^{9.73}$ h$^{-1}$M$_{\odot}$ to M$_{min}$=10$^{11.58}$ h$^{-1}$M$_{\odot}$ from the faintest to the brightest among our galaxy sample, respectively. We find the difference between these halo masses to be much more pronounced than is observed for local galaxies of similar properties. Moreover, at z~3, we observe that the masses at which a halo hosts, on average, one satellite and one central galaxy is M$_1$$\approx$4M$_{min}$ over all luminosity ranges, significantly lower than observed at z~0 indicating that the halo satellite occupation increases with redshift. The luminosity and stellar mass dependence is also reflected in the measurements of the large scale galaxy bias, which we model as b$_{g,HOD}$($>$L)=1.92+25.36(L/L$^*$)$^{7.01}$. We conclude our study with measurements of the stellar-to-halo mass ratio (SHMR).Comment: 20 pages, 11 figures, A&A in press, v2. revised discussion in sec. 5.5, changed Fig. 4 and Fig. 11, added reference

OPTIMALISASI PEMANFAATAN LAHAN PEKARANGAN MELALUI TEKNIK BUDIKDAMBER PADA JEMAAT GEREJA BETESDA, KELURAHAN BURAEN

Jemaat Gereja Betesda, Kelurahan Buraen, Kecamatan Amarasi Selatan, Kabupaten Kupang secara umum memiliki mata pencaharian sebagai petani yang melakukan aktivitas pertanian seperti bercocok tanam dan beternak. Pemeliharaan ternak dilakukan secara semi intensif dan terintegrasi pada kebun budidaya tanaman. Begitu juga dengan usaha bercocok tanam seperti sayuran, umumnya hanya dilakukan di kebun pada musim tertentu saja sedangkan pemanfaatan lahan pekarangan tidak banyak dilakukan. Sementara itu, jika ditinjau dari segi ketersediaan sumberdaya, Kelurahan Buraen memiliki sumber air yang memadai dan dapat dialirkan langsung ke daerah perumahan sehingga memungkinkan pemanfaatan lahan pekarangan dapat dilakukan secara intensif. Berdasarkan uraian permasalahan tersebut maka Program Studi Agroteknologi, Fakultas Pertanian, Universitas Nusa Cendana melalui kegiatan Program Kemitraan Masyarakat (PKM) berupaya untuk meningkatkan pemahaman dan keterampilan masyarakat terkait optimalisasi pemanfaatan lahan pekarangan. Salah satu teknologi sederhana yang dapat diterapkan adalah budikdamber (budidaya ikan dan tanaman dalam ember). Teknologi ini merupakan konsep budidaya yang memadukan antara ikan dan sayuran yang penerapannya sederhana dan mudah diaplikasikan oleh semua kalangan. Metode pendekatan yang digunakan berupa transfer informasi dan alih teknologi melalui penyuluhan, praktek langsung dan pendampingan terkait budidaya tanaman sayuran dan ikan dalam ember dalam upaya optimalisasi lahan pekarangan. Hasil yang dicapai dari kegiatan PKM ini adalah masyarakat mendapatkan peningkatan pengetahuan serta memiliki keterampilan dalam pembuatan media budikdamber secara mandiri dengan menggunakan bahan-bahan sederhana yang ada disekitar mereka

Psychometric Properties of the Brazilian Version of the Quality of Dying and Death for Adult Family Members of ICU Patients

Death is a complex, subjective phenomenon that requires an understanding of experiences to be qualified to provide care during the end-of-life process. This study aimed to analyze the psychometric properties of the Portuguese version (Brazil) of the Quality of Dying and Death (QODD) scale on family members of patients who died in adult intensive care units. A methodological study was conducted with 326 family members of patients that died in three ICUs of public hospitals in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. For this study, the QODD 3.2a (25 items and six domains) was administered during the period from December 2020 to March 2022. The analysis was performed using the classic theory of the tests and the goodness of fit of the model was tested using confirmatory factor analysis. We have used Spearman's correlation coefficients between the scores of the overall scale and domains. Cronbach's alpha coefficient and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were used for the evaluation of internal consistency and temporal stability, respectively. The Horn's parallel analysis indicated two factors that were not confirmed in the exploratory factor analysis. A single factor retained 18 of the initial 25 items and the analysis of the goodness of fit to the unidimensional model resulted in the following: CFI = 0.7545, TLI = 0.690, chi-squared = 767.33, df = 135, RMSEA = 0.121 with 90%CI, and p = 5.04409. The inter-item correlations indicated a predominance of weak correlations among the items of the instrument. The items with the largest number of moderate correlations were questions 13b, 9b, and 10b and a strong correlation was found between questions 15b and 16b. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.8 and the ICC was 0.9. The Quality of Dying and Death-Version 3.2a (intensive therapy) in Brazilian Portuguese has a unidimensional structure and acceptable reliability. However, it did not obtain a good fit to the proposed factorial model

Quality of life of patients living with psoriasis: a qualitative study

Background: Psoriasis is a multifactorial inflammatory disease prevalent in dermatology. We aimed to understand the perceptions of patients living with psoriasis in relation to their quality of life and to identify aspects to improve it. Methods: This is qualitative research carried out in a dermatology outpatient clinic of the São Paulo State University (UNESP) medical school, Botucatu, Brazil, with 81 psoriasis patients. The interviews were transcribed and analysed using the Discourse of the Collective Subject method (DCS). Results: Quality of life was linked to well-being, happiness, leisure, good food and financial stability. However, disease symptoms, social and clothing restrictions, impairment of professional activities and the absence of a cure, negatively influenced their perceptions. Suggestions for improvements included an increase of public awareness, stress reduction, disease acceptance and multidisciplinary care. Conclusion: The meanings of quality of life revealed by the participants are subjective, multidimensional, linked to moments experienced by them and to the health-disease process. Public health policies promoting reduction in social stigma and stress as well as multidisciplinary approaches towards care can contribute to improvements of QoL in psoriasi