Galaxy evolution in nearby groups. II. Galaxy evolution in nearby loose groups. II. Photometric and kinematic characterization of USGC U268 and USGC U376 group members in the Leo cloud

We present the photometric and kinematic characterization of two groups, USGC U268 and USGC U376 located in different regions of the Leo cloud. U268, composed of 10 catalogued members and 11 new added members, has a small fraction (~24%) of early-type galaxies (ETGs). U376 has 16 plus 8 new added members, with ~38% of ETGs. We find the presence of significant substructures in both groups suggesting that they are likely accreting galaxies. U268 is located in a more loose environment than U376. For each member galaxy, broad band integrated and surface photometry have been obtained in far-UV and near-UV with GALEX, and in u,g, r, i, z (SDSS) bands. H_alpha imaging and 2D high resolution kinematical data have been obtained using PUMA Scanning Fabry-Perot interferometer at the 2.12 m telescope in San Pedro M\'artir, (Baja California, M\'exico). We improved the galaxy classification and we detected morphological and kinematical distortions that may be connected to either on-going and/or past interaction/accretion events or environmental induced secular evolution. U268 appears more active than U376, with a large fraction of galaxies showing interaction signatures (60% vs. 13%). The presence of bars among late-type galaxies is ~10% in U268 and ~$29% in U376. The cumulative distribution of (FUV - NUV) colours of galaxies in U268 is significantly different than that in U376 with galaxies in U268 bluer than those in U376. In the (FUV-r vs. M_r) and (NUV-r vs. M_r) planes no members of U268 are found in the `red sequence', even early-type galaxies lie in the `blue sequence' or in the `green valley'. Most (80%) of the early-type members in U376 inhabits the `red sequence, a large fraction of galaxies, of different morphological types, are located in the `green valley', while the `blue sequence' is under-populated with respect to U268.Comment: 27 pages, 11 figures, 8 tables, accepted for publication in MNRAS (abridged abstract

An X-Ray Study of the Supernova Remnant G290.1-0.8

G290.1-0.8 (MSH 11-61A) is a supernova remnant (SNR) whose X-ray morphology is centrally bright. However, unlike the class of X-ray composite SNRs whose centers are dominated by nonthermal emission, presumably driven by a central pulsar, we show that the X-ray emission from G290.1-0.8 is thermal in nature, placing the remnant in an emerging class which includes such remnants as W44, W28, 3C391, and others. The evolutionary sequence which leads to such X-ray properties is not well understood. Here we investigate two scenarios for such emission: evolution in a cloudy interstellar medium, and early-stage evolution of a remnant into the radiative phase, including the effects of thermal conduction. We construct models for these scenarios in an attempt to reproduce the observed center-filled X-ray properties of G290.1-0.8, and we derive the associated age, energy, and ambient density conditions implied by the models. We find that for reasonable values of the explosion energy, the remnant age is of order (1 - 2) x 10^{4} yr. This places a fairly strong constraint on any association between G290.1-0.8 and PSR J1105-610, which would require an anomalously large velocity for the pulsar.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, ApJ, accepte

The implementation of e-learning in the continuous training of the military of the Republican National Guard. Case study: Lisbon Territorial Command

The training needs felt in the professional path of the military of the Republican National Guard, associated with the potential of using new technologies is the core of this investigation. Training is one of the great challenges that organizations currently face and, in the National Republican Guard, it plays a fundamental role in the service provided by the Institution, making it clear the high importance of acquiring and maintaining knowledge and skills for the performance on several roles in the organization. The present investigation aims to determine the importance of the e-Learning tool for the continuous training of the soldiers of the National Republican Guard. In this context, it is intended to characterize the importance of continuous training whose objective is to identify and analyze the consequences of the tool, as well as to identify the impact of the use of new technologies in the training of the institution's military, according to a case study in the Lisbon Territorial Command. The method that supports the investigation is the deductive method, which is based on a logic from the general to the particular. In order to achieve the defined objectives, we opted for interviews and a questionnaire survey, complemented with a documentary analysis resulting from bibliographic research and institutional documents. Thus, it appears that continuous training has a high importance for the professional development of the military, since it promotes quality in the service provided, positively affecting the daily activities of the military, increasing individual success and, consequently, organizational success . It is concluded that e-Learning represents an asset for continuous training, since it is a catalyst for the potential of the institution's human resources.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Fabry Perot Halpha Observations of the Barred Spiral NGC 3367

We report the gross properties of the velocity field of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 3367. The following values were found: inclination with respect to the plane of the sky, i=30 deg; position angle (PA) of receding semi major axis PA=51 and systemic velocity V(sys)=3032 km/s. Large velocity dispersion are observed of upt o 120 km/s in the nuclear region, of up to 70 km/s near the eastern bright sources just beyond the edge of the stellar bar where three spiral arms seem to start and in the western bright sources at about 10 kpc. Deviations from normal circular velocities are observed from all the disk but mainly from the semi circle formed by the string of south western Halpha sources. An estimate of the dynamical mass is M(dyn)=2x10^11 Msolar.Comment: Accepted to be published in May 2001 issue in the A.J. 19 pages, 7 figure

Supernova Remnants in the Magellanic Clouds III: An X-ray Atlas of LMC Supernova Remnants

We have used archival ROSAT data to present X-ray images of thirty-one supernova remnants (SNRs) in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). We have classified these remnants according to their X-ray morphologies, into the categories of Shell-Type, Diffuse Face, Centrally Brightened, Point-Source Dominated, and Irregular. We suggest possible causes of the X-ray emission for each category, and for individual features of some of the SNRs.Comment: 27 pages, 6 figures (9 figure files). To appear in the Supplement Series of the Astrophysical Journal, August 1999 Vol. 123 #

Abandoned mine slags analysis by EPMA WDS x-ray mapping

The mining activity on the Iberian pyritic Belt (Portugal and Spain) started before Phoenician times, became particularly intense during the Roman occupation of the Iberian Peninsula (for gold) and after the industrial revolution (for gold, copper, zinc, lead and sulphur). The commonest ore of this region is a massive polymetalic sulphide accumulation, where pyrite (FeS2) is the main mineral, with variable concentrations of chalcopyrite (CuFeS2), sphalerite (ZnS), galena (PbS), arsenopyrite (FeAsS2), other sulphides and sulfosalts which include minor elements like Mn, Co, Ni, Se, Cd, Sb, Te, Hg and Bi. Some of the main and minor elements of these ores are hazardous and the drainage basins of pollutant source areas often induce health concerns in the resident population. Electron microprobe study followed previous optical and XRD analysis of the slags. The study focused on the identification of phases how sulphide and meta11ic phases are distributed within the material and infer about leachable elements during weathering. Electron microprobe X-Ray maps show evidences of different behavior between the elements: Ca and Zn are completely leached; iron is retained in oxyhydroxides, lead and arsenic precipitate as sulphates. Electron microprobe studies are essential to understand complex materials as earth materials. Nevertheless, care is required to a correct interpretation of data and most quantitative compositional data are not trustworthy

Connexin43 phosphorylation in brain, cardiac, endothelial and epithelial tissues

AbstractGap junctions, composed of proteins from the connexin family, allow for intercellular communication between cells in essentially all tissues. There are 21 connexin genes in the human genome and different tissues express different connexin genes. Most connexins are known to be phosphoproteins. Phosphorylation can regulate connexin assembly into gap junctions, gap junction turnover and channel gating. Given the importance of gap junctions in development, proliferation and carcinogenesis, regulation of gap junction phosphorylation in response to wounding, hypoxia and other tissue insults is proving to be critical for cellular response and return to homeostasis. Connexin43 (Cx43) is the most widely and highly expressed gap junction protein, both in cell culture models and in humans, thus more research has been done on it and more reagents to it are available. In particular, antibodies that can report Cx43 phosphorylation status have been created allowing temporal examination of specific phosphorylation events in vivo. This review is focused on the use of these antibodies in tissue in situ, predominantly looking at Cx43 phosphorylation in brain, heart, endothelium and epithelium with reference to other connexins where data is available. These data allow us to begin to correlate specific phosphorylation events with changes in cell and tissue function. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: The Communicating junctions, composition, structure and characteristics

Gravitational wave background from rotating neutron stars

The background of gravitational waves produced by the ensemble of rotating neutron stars (which includes pulsars, magnetars and gravitars) is investigated. A formula for \Omega(f) (commonly used to quantify the background) is derived, properly taking into account the time evolution of the systems since their formation until the present day. Moreover, the formula allows one to distinguish the different parts of the background: the unresolvable (which forms a stochastic background) and the resolvable. Several estimations of the background are obtained, for different assumptions on the parameters that characterize neutron stars and their population. In particular, different initial spin period distributions lead to very different results. For one of the models, with slow initial spins, the detection of the background can be rejected. However, other models do predict the detection of the background by the future ground-based gravitational wave detector ET. A robust upper limit for the background of rotating neutron stars is obtained; it does not exceed the detection threshold of two cross-correlated Advanced LIGO interferometers. If gravitars exist and constitute more than a few percent of the neutron star population, then they produce an unresolvable background that could be detected by ET. Under the most reasonable assumptions on the parameters characterizing a neutron star, the background is too faint. Previous papers have suggested neutron star models in which large magnetic fields (like the ones that characterize magnetars) induce big deformations in the star, which produce a stronger emission of gravitational radiation. Considering the most optimistic (in terms of the detection of gravitational waves) of these models, an upper limit for the background produced by magnetars is obtained; it could be detected by ET, but not by BBO or DECIGO.Comment: 25 pages, 15 figure

Cerâmicas da Idade do Ferro II do depósito votivo de Garvão

Garvão foi um importante local sagrado da Idade do Ferro II, onde em 1982 foi acidentalmente descoberto um impressionante depósito votivo [1]. Na escavação foram recuperados uma enorme variedade de materiais, sobretudo cerâmica, os quais foram depositados intencionalmente e cuidadosamente organizados de modo a optimizar o espaço disponível. A cerâmica recuperada mostra que durante a Idade do Ferro este sítio arqueológico foi um ponto de fusão das sociedades ibéricas com fortes influências celtas (interior da Península Ibérica) e do mundo Mediterrâneo. A análise estilística das cerâmicas permitiu a classificação do conjunto cerâmico em diferentes grupos tipológicos. Relacionando o estudo material com aspectos geológicos pretende-se contribuir para uma melhor compreensão das sociedades que produziram estas cerâmicas e das suas interacções no SW da Península durante a Idade do Ferro II. Deste modo, estabeleceu-se uma metodologia de estudo multi-analítica. Aplicando técnicas modernas das ciências dos materiais e os princípios da ciências físicas (por exemplo, geologia e química) pode-se obter respostas e uma melhor compreensão da importância de Garvão nesta área da Península Ibérica. A combinação de técnicas como microscopia electrónica com possibilidade de análise elementar, difracção de raios-X e análise térmica permitem identificar a composição mineralógica destas cerâmicas que extrapolada para a geologia regional, permitem importantes contributos para o conhecimento das sociedades que produziram estes materiais de uso comum. Especial ênfase é concedida à fonte de proveniência das matérias-primas, aos aspectos tecnológicos e, às rotas de circulação de mercadorias, ideias e crenças religiosas. Os primeiros resultados [2] são sobre um grupo de cerâmicas em que foram utilizados dois tipos de matérias-primas: um núcleo inicial com desengordurantes mais grosseiros e a construção da peça com material mais fino. [1] C. Beirão et al., O Arqueólogo Português, 3 (1985) 45-136 [2] L. Rosado et al. In IMA2010, Bonds and Bridges: Mineral sciences and their applications, Budapeste (2010),Livro de Resumos. p. 122 Agradecimentos. Este trabalho é financiado pela FCT através do projecto GODESS e da bolsa de Doutoramento SFRH/BD/67093/2009. Os autores agradecem o apoio da Câmara Municipal de Ourique