Near-infrared spectroscopic indices for unresolved stellar populations: I. Template galaxy spectra

Context. A new generation of spectral synthesis models has been developed in recent years, but there is no matching set of template galaxy spectra, in terms of quality and resolution, for testing and refining the new models. Aims: Our main goal is to find and calibrate new near-infrared spectral indices along the Hubble sequence of galaxies which will be used to obtain additional constraints to the population analysis based on medium-resolution integrated spectra of galaxies. Methods: Spectra of previously studied and well-understood galaxies with relatively simple stellar populations (e.g., ellipticals or bulge dominated galaxies) are needed to provide a baseline data set for spectral synthesis models. Results: X-shooter spectra spanning the optical and infrared wavelengths (350-2400 nm) of bright nearby elliptical galaxies with a resolving power of R \u2dc 4000-5400 were obtained. Heliocentric systemic velocity, velocity dispersion, and Mg, Fe, and H\u3b2 line-strength indices are presented. Conclusions: We present a library of very-high-quality spectra of galaxies covering a large range of age, metallicity, and morphological type. Such a dataset of spectra will be crucial to addressing important questions of the modern investigation concerning galaxy formation and evolution

Genetic variation of Pyrenophora teres f. teres isolates in Western Australia and emergence of a Cyp51A fungicide resistance mutation

Plant Pathology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Society for Plant Pathology. Genome-wide, unlinked, simple sequence repeat markers were used to examine genetic variation and relationships within Pyrenophora teres f. teres, a common pathogen of barley, in Western Australia. Despite the region's geographic isolation, the isolates showed relatively high allelic variation compared to similar studies, averaging 7.11 alleles per locus. Principal component, Bayesian clustering and distance differentiation parameters provided evidence for both regional genotypic subdivision together with juxtaposing of isolates possessing different genetic backgrounds. Genotyping of fungicide resistant Cyp51A isolates indicated a single mutation event occurred followed by recombination and long-distance regional dispersal over hundreds of kilometres. Selection of recently emergent favourable alleles such as the Cyp51A mutation and a cultivar virulence may provide an explanation, at least in part, for juxtaposed genotypes. Factors affecting genotypic composition and the movement of new genotypes are discussed in the context of grower practices and pathogen epidemiology, together with the implications for resistance breeding

Qalb ta’ Tifel

Ġabra ta’ poeżiji u proża li tinkludi: Lil Malta ta’ Dun Karm – Fuq il-Fruntiera ta’ Dun Karm – Jum li jibqa’ jissemma ta’ Ġużè Chetcuti – Xbihet Malta ta’ Arthur V. Vassallo – Għanja ta’ Mħabba ta’ Ġużè Chetcuti – Żewġ Poeżijiet tal-kittieb Malti Antonio Calleja ta’ A. C. – Twettiqa ta’ Calleja – Lil Ħabib Għeluq Sninu ta’ Calleja – Taħt is-Salib ta’ R. M. B. – Lil Dun Karm ta’ Fran. Camilleri – Frak mill-weraq ta’ Byron ta’ A. C. – Irrid Immur Ta’ Xbiex ta’ Fran. Camilleri – Il-Cottonera fil-Ħamrun ta’ N. Biancardi – Qalb ta’ Tifel ta’ R. M. B.N/

Mapping Concentrations of Posttraumatic Stress and Depression Trajectories Following Hurricane Ike

We investigated geographic concentration in elevated risk for a range of postdisaster trajectories of chronic posttraumatic stress symptom (PTSS) and depression symptoms in a longitudinal study (N = 561) of a Hurricane Ike affected population in Galveston and Chambers counties, TX. Using an unadjusted spatial scan statistic, we detected clusters of elevated risk of PTSS trajectories, but not depression trajectories, on Galveston Island. We then tested for predictors of membership in each trajectory of PTSS and depression (e.g., demographic variables, trauma exposure, social support), not taking the geographic nature of the data into account. After adjusting for significant predictors in the spatial scan statistic, we noted that spatial clusters of PTSS persisted and additional clusters of depression trajectories emerged. This is the first study to show that longitudinal trajectories of postdisaster mental health problems may vary depending on the geographic location and the individual- and community-level factors present at these locations. Such knowledge is crucial to identifying vulnerable regions and populations within them, to provide guidance for early responders, and to mitigate mental health consequences through early detection of mental health needs in the population. As human-made disasters increase, our approach may be useful also in other regions in comparable settings worldwide

Exo-ALK Proof of Concept: Exosomal Analysis of ALK Alterations in Advanced NSCLC Patients

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Psychosocial analysis of policy confidence through multifactorial statistics

Trust is defined as widespread belief or rooted value orientation in evaluative standards of technical and ethical competence, and in the future actions of a person (interpersonal trust) or an institution (institutional trust).From a psychosocial perspective, trust transcends positive or negative affectivity, alludes to the belief that the behavior of others can be predicted and implies a positive attitude and expectation regarding the behavior of the person or institution. This belief refers to the likelihood that individuals or institutions will take certain actions or refrain from inflicting harm, for the sake of personal or collective well-being. The objective of this study is to examine psychosocial factors related to the interaction between the police and the public that predict the perception of trust in police groups in Colombia

Genetic parameters for�resistance to the Salmonella abortusovis vaccinal strain Rv6 in sheep

An experimental population (1216 lambs from 30 sires) of the Inra401 sheep was created in an Inra flock to allow QTL detection for susceptibility to Salmonella infection, wool and carcass traits. The Inra401 is a sheep composite line developed from two breeds: Berrichon du Cher and Romanov. At 113 days of age on average, the lambs were inoculated intravenously with 10(8 )Salmonella abortusovis Rv6 (vaccinal strain). They were slaughtered 10 days after the inoculation. Several traits were measured at inoculation and/or slaughtering to estimate the genetic resistance of the lambs to Salmonella infection: specific IgM and IgG1 antibody titres, body weight loss, spleen and pre-scapular node weights and counts of viable Salmonella persisting in these organs. This paper presents a quantitative analysis of the genetic variability of the traits related to salmonellosis susceptibility. The heritabilities of the traits varied between 0.10 and 0.64 (significantly different from zero). Thus, in sheep as well as in other species, the determinism of resistance to Salmonella infection is under genetic control. Moreover, the correlations between the traits are in agreement with the known immune mechanisms. The genetic variability observed should help QTL detection

Equivalence of the Calogero-Sutherland Model to Free Harmonic Oscillators

A similarity transformation is constructed through which a system of particles interacting with inverse-square two-body and harmonic potentials in one dimension, can be mapped identically, to a set of free harmonic oscillators. This equivalence provides a straightforward method to find the complete set of eigenfunctions, the exact constants of motion and a linear $W_{1+\infty}$ algebra associated with this model. It is also demonstrated that a large class of models with long-range interactions, both in one and higher dimensions can be made equivalent to decoupled oscillators.Comment: 9 pages, REVTeX, Completely revised, few new equations and references are adde

Probabilistic Model-Based Safety Analysis

Model-based safety analysis approaches aim at finding critical failure combinations by analysis of models of the whole system (i.e. software, hardware, failure modes and environment). The advantage of these methods compared to traditional approaches is that the analysis of the whole system gives more precise results. Only few model-based approaches have been applied to answer quantitative questions in safety analysis, often limited to analysis of specific failure propagation models, limited types of failure modes or without system dynamics and behavior, as direct quantitative analysis is uses large amounts of computing resources. New achievements in the domain of (probabilistic) model-checking now allow for overcoming this problem. This paper shows how functional models based on synchronous parallel semantics, which can be used for system design, implementation and qualitative safety analysis, can be directly re-used for (model-based) quantitative safety analysis. Accurate modeling of different types of probabilistic failure occurrence is shown as well as accurate interpretation of the results of the analysis. This allows for reliable and expressive assessment of the safety of a system in early design stages