On How to Extend the NIR Tully-Fisher Relation to be Truly All-Sky

Dust extinction and stellar confusion by the Milky Way reduce the efficiency of detecting galaxies at low Galactic latitudes, creating the so-called Zone of Avoidance. This stands as a stumbling block in charting the distribution of galaxies and cosmic flow fields, and therewith our understanding of the local dynamics in the Universe (CMB dipole, convergence radius of bulk flows). For instance, ZoA galaxies are generally excluded from the whole-sky Tully-Fisher Surveys ($|b| \leq 5^\circ$) even if catalogued. We show here that by fine-tuning the near-infrared TF relation, there is no reason not to extend peculiar velocity surveys deeper into the ZoA. Accurate axial ratios ($b/a$) are crucial to both the TF sample selection and the resulting TF distances. We simulate the effect of dust extinction on the geometrical properties of galaxies. As expected, galaxies appear rounder with increasing obscuration level, even affecting existing TF samples. We derive correction models and demonstrate that we can reliably reproduce the intrinsic axial ratio from the observed value up to extinction level of about $A_J\simeq3$ mag ($A_V\sim11$ mag), we also recover a fair fraction of galaxies that otherwise would fall out of an uncorrected inclination limited galaxy sample. We present a re-calibration of the 2MTF relation in the NIR $J$, $H$, and $K_s$-bands for isophotal rather than total magnitudes, using their same calibration sample. Both TF relations exhibit similar scatter at high Galactic latitudes. However, the isophotal TF relation results in a significant improvement in the scatter for galaxies in the ZoA, and low surface brightness galaxies in general, because isophotal apertures are more robust in the face of significant stellar confusion.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures, 4 tables, accepted for publication in MNRA

Galaxy peculiar velocities in the Zone of Avoidance

Dust extinction and stellar confusion of the Milky Way hinder the detection of galaxies at low Galactic latitude, creating the so-called Zone of Avoidance (ZoA). This has hampered our understanding of the local dynamics, cosmic flow fields and the origin of the Cosmic Microwave Background dipole. The ZoA ($|b| \le 5^\circ$) is also excluded from the "whole-sky" Two Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) Redshift Survey (2MRS) and 2MASS Tully-Fisher Survey (2MTF). The latter aims to provide distances and peculiar velocities for all bright inclined 2MASS galaxies with $K_s^o$ \leq 11\hbox{.\!\!^{\rm m}}25. Correspondingly, knowledge about the density distribution in the ZoA remains limited to statistical interpolations. To improve on this bias we pursued two different surveys to fill in the southern and northern ZoA. These data will allow a direct measurement of galaxy peculiar velocities. In this paper we will present a newly derived optimized Tully-Fisher (TF) relation that allow accurate measures of galaxy distances and peculiar velocities for dust-obscured galaxies. We discuss further corrections for magnitudes and biases and present some preliminary results on flow fields in the southern ZoA.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Proceedings of SAIP2013, the 58th Annual Conference of the South African Institute of Physics, edited by Roelf Botha and Thulani Jili (SAIP and University of Zululand, 2014). ISBN: 978-0-620-62819-

A Quantitative Sequencing Framework for Absolute Abundance Measurements of Mucosal and Lumenal Microbial Communities

A fundamental goal in microbiome studies is determining which microbes affect host physiology. Standard methods for determining changes in microbial taxa measure relative, rather than absolute abundances. Moreover, studies often analyze only stool, despite microbial diversity differing substantially among gastrointestinal (GI) locations. Here, we develop a quantitative framework to measure absolute abundances of individual bacterial taxa by combining the precision of digital PCR with the high-throughput nature of 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. In a murine ketogenic-diet study, we compare microbial loads in lumenal and mucosal samples along the GI tract. Quantitative measurements of absolute (but not relative) abundances reveal decreases in total microbial loads on the ketogenic diet and enable us to determine the differential effects of diet on each taxon in stool and small-intestine mucosa samples. This rigorous quantitative microbial analysis framework, appropriate for diverse GI locations enables mapping microbial biogeography of the mammalian GI tract and more accurate analyses of changes in microbial taxa in microbiome studies

Kajian Fasilitas Pembatas Kecepatan pada Komplek Perumahan di Kota Pontianak

Alat pengendali kecepatan atau yang lebih dikenal dengan polisi tidur merupakan salah satu alat rekayasa lalu lintas yang berfungsi untuk mengendalikan kecepatan kendaraan yang melintas di suatu ruas jalan, terutama di kawasan Perumahan guna melindungi pejalan kaki, pengendara sepeda, anak – anak maupun lanjut usia.Akan tetapi banyak sekali variasi bentuk yang dibuat oleh masyarakat sehingga menyebabkan alat pengendali kecepatan ini tidak nyaman untuk dilewati oleh pengendara kendaraan. Selain itu, pemasangan alat pengendali kecepatan ini tidak disertakan dengan pemasangan tanda dan rambu sehingga menyebabkan efek kejut pada pengendara. Pada Penelitian ini dilakukan analisis tentang tinggi, sudut kemiringan Speed Bumps, Kenyamanan pengendara kendaraan dan pengamatan pemasangan tanda dan rambu sebagai perlengkapan Speed Bumps pada setiap kompleks yang menjadi lokasi penelitian. Metode Penilitian ini menggunakan metode survei untuk mengambil sampel bentuk Speed Bumps, sebaran kecepatan kendaraan pada kompleks Perumahan yang dipasang Speed Bumps, dan penurunan kecepatan kendaraan saat melewati Speed Bumps setiap kecamatan yang ada di Kotamadya Pontianak Dari hasil penelitian didapatkan variasi tinggi Speed Bumps tertinggi pada lokasi penelitian adalah 13 cm, sedangkan variasi tinggi Speed Bumps terendah adalah 3 cm dengan berbagai variasi kemiringan ≥ 15% dengan bentuk sinusoidal. Kenyamanan berkendara bagi para pengendara tidak begitu menyenangkan, karena berkisar antara 2 – 5 km/jam. Hal ini menunjukkan hasil yang tidak ideal dan dipersulit dengan tidak adanya pemasangan rambu dan markah. Dinyatakan pemasangan Speed Bumps tersebut ideal dan baik apabila memiliki tinggi ≤12 cm dan sudut kemiringan ≤ 15 % serta dilengkapi dengan pemasangan rambu dan tanda sebagai peringatan bagi pengendara kendaraan

Molecular genetic diversity study of Lepidium sativum population from Ethiopia as revealed by inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers

Lepidium sativum L. (family Brassicaceae), is an underutilized medicinal plant with worldwide distribution. In Ethiopia, L. sativum occurs in all regions and agro-ecologies at different altitudinal ranges. The study was conducted to assess the genetic diversity of L. sativum population from Ethiopia using inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) marker. Molecular data generated from ISSR bands recorded was used for computing gene diversity, percent polymorphism and Shannon diversity index and AMOVA. Moreover, the ISSR data was used to construct unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) and principal coordinated analysis (PCO) plot using Jaccard’s coefficient.  Tigray and Amhara population showed higher gene diversity (0.24) and Shannon information index (0.35). All UPGMA, neighbor-joining (NJ) and PCO analysis showed very weak grouping among individuals collected from the same regions. Generally, Tigray and Amhara regions showed moderate to high diversity in ISSR analysis. Different geographical regions of Ethiopia, showed different level of variation; thus conservation priority should be given for those regions that have high genetic diversity. This result also indicates the presence of genetic diversity that can be exploited to improve the productivity of L. sativum in Ethiopia.Keywords: Genetic diversity, ISSR, Lepidium sativum

The Relationship Between Narcissistic Personality and Violent Behavior as Represented in William Golding’s "Lord of the Flies"

skripsi ini membahas perilaku kekerasan Jack Merridew yang digambarkan oleh William Golding dalam novelnya Lord of the Flies. Dalam skripsi ini penulis menganalisa gangguan kepribadian narsis, dan juga mekanisme pertahanan diri, untuk mengungkapkan motif dibalik perilaku kekerasan Jack Merridew. Untuk membahas masalah tesebut penulis menerapkan teori psikoanalisis oleh Sigmud Freud dan teori pertahanan diri oleh Sigmund dan Anna Freud. Penulis juga menerapkan teori oleh beberapa ahli psikologi untuk membantu memahami lebih dalam dan menganalisa masalah psikologi yang ada dalam novel. Penulis menyimpulkan bahwa gangguan kepribadian narsis, mekanisme pertahanan diri, dan perilaku kekerasan dari Jack Merridew saling berhubungan

Sugar Alcohols Have a Key Role in Pathogenesis of Chronic Liver Disease and Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Whole Blood and Liver Tissues.

The major risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are hepatitis C and B viral infections that proceed to Chronic Liver Disease (CLD). Yet, the early diagnosis and treatment of HCC are challenging because the pathogenesis of HCC is not fully defined. To better understand the onset and development of HCC, untargeted GC-TOF MS metabolomics data were acquired from resected human HCC tissues and their paired non-tumor hepatic tissues (n = 46). Blood samples of the same HCC subjects (n = 23) were compared to CLD (n = 15) and healthy control (n = 15) blood samples. The participants were recruited from the National Liver Institute in Egypt. The GC-TOF MS data yielded 194 structurally annotated compounds. The most strikingly significant alteration was found for the class of sugar alcohols that were up-regulated in blood of HCC patients compared to CLD subjects (p < 2.4 × 10-12) and CLD compared to healthy controls (p = 4.1 × 10-7). In HCC tissues, sugar alcohols were the most significant (p < 1 × 10-6) class differentiating resected HCC tissues from non-malignant hepatic tissues for all HCC patients. Alteration of sugar alcohol levels in liver tissues also defined early-stage HCC from their paired non-malignant hepatic tissues (p = 2.7 × 10-6). In blood, sugar alcohols differentiated HCC from CLD subjects with an ROC-curve of 0.875 compared to 0.685 for the classic HCC biomarker alpha-fetoprotein. Blood sugar alcohol levels steadily increased from healthy controls to CLD to early stages of HCC and finally, to late-stage HCC patients. The increase in sugar alcohol levels indicates a role of aldo-keto reductases in the pathogenesis of HCC, possibly opening novel diagnostic and therapeutic options after in-depth validation

Inovasi Pembelajaran Guru Pendidikan Agama Islam Berbasis Teknologi Informasi

The study was aimed to: 1) describing the Islamic Education teachers\u27 performance on SMA in Pare­pare City; 2). describing the Senior Hight School Students\u27 learning outcomes in Pare­pare City; 3). Determining whether or not there was an influence of Islamic Education teachers\u27 performance on the Senioe Hight Schools students\u27 learning outcomes in Parepare City. The result of the study revealed that: 1) the Islamic Education teachers\u27 performance of Senior Hight Schools in Pare­pare City was in good category; 2) the students\u27 learning outcomes of Islamic Education tended to be in good category, 3) there was a significant influence of Islamic Education teachers\u27 performance on the Senior High Schools students\u27 learning outcomes in Parepare City. The study had implication: 1) the Islamic Education teachers realized the importance of a teacher working professionally, having high performance both in learning plan, learning implementation and evaluating the students\u27 learning outcomes, which can lead to the hight achievement of learning outcomes as well, 2) there was a concrete evidence of the implementation of education and learning practices in Senior High Schools which was necessary to be constantly improved