38,410 research outputs found
Extension of the C star rotation curve of the Milky Way to 24 kpc
Demers and Battinelli published, in 2007 the rotation curve of the Milky Way
based on the radial velocity of carbon stars outside the Solar circle. Since
then we have established a new list of candidates for spectroscopy. The goal of
this paper is to determine the rotation curve of the galaxy, as far as possible
from the galactic center, using N type carbon stars. The stars were selected
from their dereddened 2MASS colours, then the spectra were obtained with the
Dominion Astrophysical Observatory and Asiago 1.8 meter telescopes. This
publication adds radial velocities and Galactrocentric distances of 36 carbon
stars, from which 20 are new confirmed. The new results for stars up to 25 kpc
from the galactic center, suggest that the rotation curve shows a slight
decline beyond the Solar circle.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, 1 table; accepted for publication in
Astrophysic
Inhibition of nitric oxide biosynthesis by anthocyanin fraction of blackberry extract.
Anthocyanins are natural colorant belonging to the flavonoid family, widely distributed among flowers, fruits, and vegetables. Some flavonoids have been found to possess anticarcinogenic, cytotoxic, cytostatic, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties. Since increased nitric oxide (NO) plays a role in inflammation, we have investigated whether the pharmacological activity of the anthocyanin fraction of a blackberry extract (cyanidin-3-O-glucoside representing about 88% of the total anthocyanin content) was due to the suppression of NO synthesis. The markedly increased production of nitrites by stimulation of J774 cells with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) for 24 h was concentration-dependently inhibited by the anthocyanin fraction (11, 22, 45, and 90 μg/ml) of the extract. Moreover, this inhibition was dependent on a dual mechanism, since the extract attenuated iNOS protein expression and decreased the iNOS activity in lungs from LPS-stimulated rats. Inhibition of iNOS protein expression appeared to be at the transcriptional level, since the extract and similarly cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (10, 20, 40, and 80 μg/ml, amounts corresponding to the concentrations present in the extract) decreased LPS-induced NF-κB activation, through inhibition of IκBα degradation, and reduced ERK-1/2 phosphorylation in a concentration-dependent manner. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that at least some part of the anti-inflammatory activity of blackberry extract is due to the suppression of NO production by cyanidin-3-O-glucoside, which is the main anthocyanin present in the extract. The mechanism of this inhibition seems to be due to an action on the expression/activity of the enzyme. In particular, the protein expression was inhibited through the attenuation of NF-κB and/or MAPK activatio
Strong coupling expansion of chiral models
A general precedure is outlined for an algorithmic implementation of the
strong coupling expansion of lattice chiral models on arbitrary lattices. A
symbolic character expansion in terms of connected values of group integrals on
skeleton diagrams may be obtained by a fully computerized approach.Comment: 2 pages, PostScript file, contribution to conference LATTICE '9
Design and Simulation of THz Quantum Cascade Lasers
Strategies and concepts for the design of THz emitters based on the quantum
cascade scheme are analyzed and modeled in terms of a fully three-dimensional
Monte Carlo approach; this allows for a proper inclusion of both
carrier-carrier and carrier-phonon scattering mechanisms. Starting from the
simulation of previously published far-infrared emitters, where no population
inversion is achieved, two innovative designs are proposed. The first one
follows the well-established chirped-superlattice scheme whereas the second one
employs a double-quantum well superlattice to allow energy relaxation through
optical phonon emission. For both cases a significant population inversion is
predicted at temperatures up to 80 K.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, 2 table
MICRO-PROGETTAZIONE: PRATICHE A CONFRONTO
L\u2019attuale complessit\ue0 della scuola richiede una cura particolare per la progettazione. Questo libro concentra l\u2019attenzione sulla micro-progettazione, ovvero sui processi messi in atto dal docente
per predisporre la sessione di lavoro del giorno dopo. La micro-progettazione dovr\ue0 essere connessa al curricolo, che fornisce la cornice di senso, ed essere di supporto al fare quotidiano, rendendo sostenibili strategie di personalizzazione e inclusione; dovr\ue0 inoltre parlare un linguaggio comprensibile anche agli studenti per favorire quell\u2019allineamento degli obiettivi e tra le diverse attivit\ue0 che \ue8 alla base della loro motivazione e della loro partecipazione.
I temi della micro-progettazione e dell\u2019inclusione vengono sviluppati analizzando e confrontando tre proposte: PROPIT, EAS e Flipped Classroom. Bench\ue9 ciascuno abbia caratteristiche proprie, tali modelli condividono l\u2019attenzione alla micro-progettazione, la focalizzazione sull\u2019azione e l\u2019interesse a favorire un atteggiamento attivo e consapevole da parte degli studenti.
A descrivere le varie proposte sono stati chiamati ricercatori che operano, in diverse sedi, nella scuola o nell\u2019universit\ue0 italiane, dove hanno sperimentato i modelli e hanno anche \u2013 spesso collettivamente \u2013 riflettuto sulle esperienze vissute cogliendone gli aspetti pi\uf9 significativi, replicabili e generalizzabili
Feasibility experiments on time-resolved fluorosensing applied to oil slicks
The introduction of time resolved observations can provide a very penetrating tool in the practice of laser fluorosensing. The investigations have demonstrated a relevance of multispectral, time resolved analysis for oil fingerprinting. By comparative studies on a variety of crude oils and their most significant fractions, it was found that the process of time decay in a composite oil is characterized by a few steps, which are associated with specific components in the medium light range. The average decay times of these pure fractions are markedly differentiated as to absolute values and spectral spread; as a consequence, the corresponding parameters in the resultant crude are quite sensitive to the particular mixture of these components. Measurements of the time response give then a finer discrimination between oil classes, depending on the relative content of certain fractions. Experiments were pursued with an improved fluorosensor facility, in order to test the application of time resolved fluorosensing to remote samples on water
Screening for Infectious diseases among newly arrived migrants. experiences and practices in non-EU countries of the Mediterranean basin and Black Sea
Changing migration dynamics in the Mediterranean Sea and differences in infectious diseases (ID) burden between the countries of origin have raised questions whether public health actions are needed to avoid the transmission of ID. Screening newly arrived migrants for ID is one health monitoring option, offering opportunities for prevention, early detection and treatment. The authors conducted a survey among country experts in non-European Union countries of the Mediterranean and Black Sea, in order to explore current ID screening practices and policies for newly arrived migrants. The association between the existence of guidelines and the proportion of refugees in the population was also estimated. Eighteen country experts responded (90%) out of the 20 invited. Eleven countries (61%) implemented screening programmes and six (38%) had national guidelines. Screening was performed most often for tuberculosis at the holding level. A higher proportion of refugees in the population was associated with the existence of guidelines for screening (p = 0.05). Fourteen experts (88%) considered screening among migrants useful. The results show that screening for ID in newly arrived migrants is relevant for non-EU countries of the Mediterranean and Black Sea. Common guidelines could be promoted focusing on both individual and public health benefits of screening programmesChanging migration dynamics in the Mediterranean Sea and differences in infectious diseases (ID) burden between the countries of origin have raised questions whether public health actions are needed to avoid the transmission of ID. Screening newly arrived migrants for ID is one health monitoring option, offering opportunities for prevention, early detection and treatment. The authors conducted a survey among country experts in non-European Union countries of the Mediterranean and Black Sea, in order to explore current ID screening practices and policies for newly arrived migrants. The association between the existence of guidelines and the proportion of refugees in the population was also estimated. Eighteen country experts responded (90%) out of the 20 invited. Eleven countries (61%) implemented screening programmes and six (38%) had national guidelines. Screening was performed most often for tuberculosis at the holding level. A higher proportion of refugees in the population was associated with the existence of guidelines for screening (p = 0.05). Fourteen experts (88%) considered screening among migrants useful. The results show that screening for ID in newly arrived migrants is relevant for non-EU countries of the Mediterranean and Black Sea. Common guidelines could be promoted focusing on both individual and public health benefits of screening programmes
\Delta S=2 and \Delta C=2 bag parameters in the SM and beyond from Nf=2+1+1 twisted-mass LQCD
We present unquenched lattice QCD results for the matrix elements of
four-fermion operators relevant to the description of the neutral K and D
mixing in the Standard Model and its extensions. We have employed simulations
with Nf = 2 + 1 + 1 dynamical sea quarks at three values of the lattice
spacings in the interval 0.06 - 0.09 fm and pseudoscalar meson masses in the
range 210 - 450 MeV. Our results are extrapolated to the continuum limit and to
the physical pion mass. Renormalization constants have been determined
non-perturbatively in the RI-MOM scheme. In particular, for the Kaon
bag-parameter, which is relevant for the \overline{K}^0-K^0 mixing in the
Standard Model, we obtain B_K^{RGI} = 0.717(24).Comment: Added comments to error budget discussion; fig.19 corrected. Version
to appear in PR
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