253 research outputs found
Nuclear Star Clusters across the Hubble Sequence
Over the last decade, HST imaging studies have revealed that the centers of
most galaxies are occupied by compact, barely resolved sources. Based on their
structural properties, position in the fundamental plane, and spectra, these
sources clearly have a stellar origin. They are therefore called ``nuclear star
clusters'' (NCs) or ``stellar nuclei''. NCs are found in galaxies of all Hubble
types, suggesting that their formation is intricately linked to galaxy
evolution. In this contribution, I briefly review the results from recent
studies of NCs, touch on some ideas for their formation, and mention some open
issues related to the possible connection between NCs and supermassive black
holes.Comment: 6 page conference proceedings, to appear in "The impact of HST on
European Astronomy" (41st ESLAB Symposium), pdflatex file, uses svmult.cls
(included
"Low-state" Black Hole Accretion in Nearby Galaxies
I summarize the main observational properties of low-luminosity AGNs in
nearby galaxies to argue that they are the high-mass analogs of black hole
X-ray binaries in the "low/hard" state. The principal characteristics of
low-state AGNs can be accommodated with a scenario in which the central engine
is comprised of three components: an optically thick, geometrically accretion
disk with a truncated inner radius, a radiatively inefficient flow, and a
compact jet.Comment: 8 pages. To appear in From X-ray Binaries to Quasars: Black Hole
Accretion on All Mass Scales, ed. T. J. Maccarone, R. P. Fender, and L. C. Ho
(Dordrecht: Kluwer
Risk factors for household vector abundance using indoor CDC light traps in a high malaria transmission area of Northern Zambia
Malaria transmission is dependent on the density and distribution of mosquito vectors, but drivers of vector abundance have not been adequately studied across a range of transmission settings. To inform intervention strategies for high-burden areas, further investigation is needed to identify predictors of vector abundance. Active household (HH) surveillance was conducted in Nchelenge district, Luapula Province, northern Zambia, a high-transmission setting with limited impact ofmalaria control. Between April 2012 and July 2017,mosquitoeswere collected indoors during HH visits using CDC light traps. Demographic, environmental, and climatological correlates of vector abundance were identified using log-binomial regressionmodels with robust standard errors. The primarymalaria vectors in this setting were Anopheles funestus sensu stricto (s.s.) andAnopheles gambiae s.s. Anopheles funestus predominated inboth seasons, with a peak in the dry season. Anopheles gambiae peaked at lower numbers in the rainy season. Environmental, climatic, and demographic factors were correlated with HH vector abundance. Higher vector counts were found in rural areas with low population density and among HHs close to roads and small streams. Vector counts were lower with increasing elevation and slope. Anopheles funestus was negatively associated with rainfall at lags of 2-6weeks, and An. gambiae was positively associated with rainfall at lags of 3-10 weeks. Both vectors had varying relationships with temperature. These results suggest thatmalaria vector control in Nchelenge district should occur throughout the year, with an increased focus on dry-season transmission and rural areas
Supermassive Black Hole Binaries: The Search Continues
Gravitationally bound supermassive black hole binaries (SBHBs) are thought to
be a natural product of galactic mergers and growth of the large scale
structure in the universe. They however remain observationally elusive, thus
raising a question about characteristic observational signatures associated
with these systems. In this conference proceeding I discuss current theoretical
understanding and latest advances and prospects in observational searches for
SBHBs.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures. To appear in the Proceedings of 2014 Sant Cugat
Forum on Astrophysics. Astrophysics and Space Science Proceedings, ed.
C.Sopuerta (Berlin: Springer-Verlag
Parental stressors in professional youth football academies: a qualitative investigation of specialising stage parents
Serpentine leafminer (Liriomyza trifolii) on potato (Solanum tuberosum): field observations and plant photosynthetic responses to injury
Parental origin of sequence variants associated with complex diseases
To access publisher full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links fieldEffects of susceptibility variants may depend on from which parent they are inherited. Although many associations between sequence variants and human traits have been discovered through genome-wide associations, the impact of parental origin has largely been ignored. Here we show that for 38,167 Icelanders genotyped using single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) chips, the parental origin of most alleles can be determined. For this we used a combination of genealogy and long-range phasing. We then focused on SNPs that associate with diseases and are within 500 kilobases of known imprinted genes. Seven independent SNP associations were examined. Five-one with breast cancer, one with basal-cell carcinoma and three with type 2 diabetes-have parental-origin-specific associations. These variants are located in two genomic regions, 11p15 and 7q32, each harbouring a cluster of imprinted genes. Furthermore, we observed a novel association between the SNP rs2334499 at 11p15 and type 2 diabetes. Here the allele that confers risk when paternally inherited is protective when maternally transmitted. We identified a differentially methylated CTCF-binding site at 11p15 and demonstrated correlation of rs2334499 with decreased methylation of that site.info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/FP7/21807
Psychosocial Treatment of Children in Foster Care: A Review
A substantial number of children in foster care exhibit psychiatric difficulties. Recent epidemiologi-cal and historical trends in foster care, clinical findings about the adjustment of children in foster care, and adult outcomes are reviewed, followed by a description of current approaches to treatment and extant empirical support. Available interventions for these children can be categorized as either symptom-focused or systemic, with empirical support for specific methods ranging from scant to substantial. Even with treatment, behavioral and emotional problems often persist into adulthood, resulting in poor functional outcomes. We suggest that self-regulation may be an important mediat-ing factor in the appearance of emotional and behavioral disturbance in these children
ARIA 2016: Care pathways implementing emerging technologies for predictive medicine in rhinitis and asthma across the life cycle
The Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) initiative commenced during a World Health Organization workshop in 1999. The initial goals were (1) to propose a new allergic rhinitis classification, (2) to promote the concept of multi-morbidity in asthma a
Meta-analysis of type 2 Diabetes in African Americans Consortium
Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is more prevalent in African Americans than in Europeans. However, little is known about the genetic risk in African Americans despite the recent identification of more than 70 T2D loci primarily by genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in individuals of European ancestry. In order to investigate the genetic architecture of T2D in African Americans, the MEta-analysis of type 2 DIabetes in African Americans (MEDIA) Consortium examined 17 GWAS on T2D comprising 8,284 cases and 15,543 controls in African Americans in stage 1 analysis. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) association analysis was conducted in each study under the additive model after adjustment for age, sex, study site, and principal components. Meta-analysis of approximately 2.6 million genotyped and imputed SNPs in all studies was conducted using an inverse variance-weighted fixed effect model. Replications were performed to follow up 21 loci in up to 6,061 cases and 5,483 controls in African Americans, and 8,130 cases and 38,987 controls of European ancestry. We identified three known loci (TCF7L2, HMGA2 and KCNQ1) and two novel loci (HLA-B and INS-IGF2) at genome-wide significance (4.15 × 10(-94)<P<5 × 10(-8), odds ratio (OR) = 1.09 to 1.36). Fine-mapping revealed that 88 of 158 previously identified T2D or glucose homeostasis loci demonstrated nominal to highly significant association (2.2 × 10(-23) < locus-wide P<0.05). These novel and previously identified loci yielded a sibling relative risk of 1.19, explaining 17.5% of the phenotypic variance of T2D on the liability scale in African Americans. Overall, this study identified two novel susceptibility loci for T2D in African Americans. A substantial number of previously reported loci are transferable to African Americans after accounting for linkage disequilibrium, enabling fine mapping of causal variants in trans-ethnic meta-analysis studies.Peer reviewe
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