1,324 research outputs found
Rapid introgression of common bacterial blight resistance genes into dry bean elite varieties by marker-assisted backcrossing
Non-Peer Reviewe
Chemical Abundances Of Open Clusters From High-Resolution Infrared Spectra. I. NGC 6940
We present near-infrared spectroscopic analysis of 12 red giant members of
the Galactic open cluster NGC 6940. High-resolution (R45000) and high
signal-to-noise ratio (S/N > 100) near-infrared H and K band spectra were
gathered with the Immersion Grating Infrared Spectrograph (IGRINS) on the 2.7m
Smith Telescope at McDonald Observatory. We obtained abundances of H-burning
(C, N, O), (Mg, Si, S, Ca), light odd-Z (Na, Al, P, K), Fe-group
(Sc, Ti, Cr, Fe, Co, Ni) and neutron-capture (Ce, Nd, Yb) elements. We report
the abundances of S, P, K, Ce, and Yb in NGC 6940 for the first time. Many OH
and CN features in the H band were used to obtain O and N abundances. C
abundances were measured from four different features: CO molecular lines in
the K band, high excitation C I lines present in both near-infrared and
optical, CH and bands in the optical region. We have also determined
ratios from the R-branch band heads of first overtone (2-0) and
(3-1) (2-0) lines near 23440
\overset{\lower.5em\circ}{\mathrm{A}} and (3-1) lines at about
23730 \overset{\lower.5em\circ}{\mathrm{A}}. We have also investigated the HF
feature at 23358.3 \overset{\lower.5em\circ}{\mathrm{A}}, finding solar
fluorine abundances without ruling out a slight enhancement. For some elements
(such as the group), IGRINS data yield more internally
self-consistent abundances. We also revisited the CMD of NGC 6940 by
determining the most probable cluster members using Gaia DR2. Finally, we
applied Victoria isochrones and MESA models in order to refine our estimates of
the evolutionary stages of our targets.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figure
Digestibility in selected rainbow trout families and modelling of growth from the specific intake of digestible protein
The experiments aimed to clarify variations in digestibility of dietary nutrients in rainbow trout. Furthermore, the objective was to study how differences in digestibility might be related to growth and feed utilisation at various growth rates. When comparing the results from the experiments it appeared that particularly protein digestibility was closely related to specific growth rate and feed conversion ratio at high growth rates. As a tool to visualise the relationship between protein digestibility and growth of rainbow trout a growth model was developed based on the specific intake of digestible protein, and general assumptions on protein content and protein retention efficiency in rainbow trout. The model indicated that increased protein digestibility only partly explained growth increase and that additional factors were important for growth increment
STEREO observations of stars and the search for exoplanets
The feasibility of using data from the NASA STEREO mission for variable star and asteroseismology studies has been examined. A data analysis pipeline has been developed that is able to apply selected algorithms to the entire data base of nearly a million stars to search for signs of variability. An analysis limited to stars of magnitude 10.5 has been carried out, which has resulted in the extraction of 263 eclipsing binaries (EBs), of which 122 are not recorded as such in the SIMBAD online data base. The characteristics of the STEREO observations are shown to be extremely well suited to variable star studies with the ability to provide continuous phase coverage for extended periods as well as repeated visits that allow both short- and long-term variability to be observed. This will greatly inform studies of particular stars, such as the pre-cataclysmic variable V471 Tau, as well as the entire classes of stars, including many forms of rotational variability. The high-precision photometry has also revealed a potentially substellar companion to a bright (R= 7.5 mag) nearby star (HD 213597), detected with 5Ï significance. This would provide a significant contribution to the exoplanet research if follow-up observations ascertain the mass to be within the planetary domain. Some particularly unusual EBs from the recovered sample are discussed, including a possible reclassification of a well-known star as an EB rather than a rotational variable (HR 7355) and several particularly eccentric systems, including very long period EBs
Swelling-activated and isoprenaline-activated chloride currents in guinea pig cardiac myocytes have distinct electrophysiology and pharmacology.
Genetic improvement of chickpea for western Canada
Non-Peer ReviewedThe chickpea crop has experienced a roller-coaster ride over the past decade in western Canada. Production rose rapidly in the late 1990âs, followed by dramatic declines in the past two years. Instability can be attributed to many factors including commodity prices, erratic weather patterns, Ascochyta blight and late maturity. This paper summarizes current research on genetic improvement of chickpea at the University of Saskatchewan, with particular emphasis on efforts to improve Ascochyta blight resistance and to develop varieties with earlier maturity. Under âaverageâ weather conditions, chickpea remains an excellent nitrogen-fixing crop for the Brown and Dark Brown soil zones
Bisphenol A shapes childrenâs brain and behavior: towards an integrated neurotoxicity assessment including human data
The authors gratefully acknowledge editorial assistance provided by Richard
Davies. VM is under contract within the Human Biomonitoring for Europe
Project (European Union Commission H2020-EJP-HBM4EU). The authors acknowledge the funding received from the Biomedical Research Networking
Center-CIBER de EpidemiologĂa y Salud PĂșblica (CIBERESP), and the Instituto
de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) (FIS-PI16/01820 and FIS-PI16/01812). The funders
had no role in the study design, data.Concerns about the effects of bisphenol A (BPA) on human brain and behavior are not novel; however, Grohs and
colleagues have contributed groundbreaking data on this topic in a recent issue of Environmental Health. For the first time,
associations were reported between prenatal BPA exposure and differences in childrenâs brain microstructure, which
appeared to mediate the association between this exposure and childrenâs behavioral symptoms. Findings in numerous
previous mother-child cohorts have pointed in a similar worrying direction, linking higher BPA exposure during pregnancy
to more behavioral problems throughout childhood as assessed by neuropsychological questionnaires. Notwithstanding, this
body of work has not been adequately considered in risk assessment. From a toxicological perspective, results are now
available from the CLARITY-BPA consortium, designed to reconcile academic and regulatory toxicology findings. In fact, the
brain has consistently emerged as one of the most sensitive organs disrupted by BPA, even at doses below those
considered safe by regulatory agencies such as the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). In this Commentary, we
contextualize the results of Grohs et al. within the setting of previous epidemiologic and CLARITY-BPA data and express our
disquiet about the âall-or-nothingâ criterion adopted to select human data in a recent EFSA report on the appraisal
methodology for their upcoming BPA risk assessment. We discuss the most relevant human studies, identify emerging
patterns, and highlight the need for adequate assessment and interpretation of the increasing epidemiologic literature in this
field in order to support decision-making. With the aim of avoiding a myopic or biased selection of a few studies in
traditional risk assessment procedures, we propose a future reevaluation of BPA focused on neurotoxicity and based on a
systematic and comprehensive integration of available mechanistic, animal, and human data. Taken together, the
experimental and epidemiologic evidence converge in the same direction: BPA is a probable developmental neurotoxicant
at low doses. Accordingly, the precautionary principle should be followed, progressively implementing stringent preventive
policies worldwide, including the banning of BPA in food contact materials and thermal receipts, with a focus on the
utilization of safer substitutes.European Union (EU): H2020-EJP-HBM4EUBiomedical Research Networking Center-CIBER de Epidemiologia y Salud Publica (CIBERESP)Instituto de Salud Carlos III
FIS-PI16/01820
FIS-PI16/0181
A Consistency Test of Spectroscopic Gravities for Late-Type Stars
Chemical analyses of late-type stars are usually carried out following the
classical recipe: LTE line formation and homogeneous, plane-parallel,
flux-constant, and LTE model atmospheres. We review different results in the
literature that have suggested significant inconsistencies in the spectroscopic
analyses, pointing out the difficulties in deriving independent estimates of
the stellar fundamental parameters and hence,detecting systematic errors.
The trigonometric parallaxes measured by the HIPPARCOS mission provide
accurate appraisals of the stellar surface gravity for nearby stars, which are
used here to check the gravities obtained from the photospheric iron ionization
balance. We find an approximate agreement for stars in the metallicity range -1
<= [Fe/H] <= 0, but the comparison shows that the differences between the
spectroscopic and trigonometric gravities decrease towards lower metallicities
for more metal-deficient dwarfs (-2.5 <= [Fe/H] <= -1.0), which casts a shadow
upon the abundance analyses for extreme metal-poor stars that make use of the
ionization equilibrium to constrain the gravity. The comparison with the
strong-line gravities derived by Edvardsson (1988) and Fuhrmann (1998a)
confirms that this method provides systematically larger gravities than the
ionization balance. The strong-line gravities get closer to the physical ones
for the stars analyzed by Fuhrmann, but they are even further away than the
iron ionization gravities for the stars of lower gravities in Edvardsson's
sample. The confrontation of the deviations of the iron ionization gravities in
metal-poor stars reported here with departures from the excitation balance
found in the literature, show that they are likely to be induced by the same
physical mechanism(s).Comment: AAS LaTeX v4.0, 35 pages, 10 PostScript files; to appear in The
Astrophysical Journa
High resolution observations of Cassiopeia A at meter wavelengths
Very long baseline interferometric (VLBI) observations of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A, at 74 MHz with a 12,000-wavelength baseline and at 111 MHz with a 18,500-wavelength baseline, are reported. The fringe amplitudes are strongly varying on a time scale of about 15 to 30 minutes. The location of the extra source must lie outside the supernova remnant shell possibly associated with a concentration of emission north of the shell, or lying outside the gap in the northeastern side of the shell. The flux and spectral index deduced for the compact source depend on the assumed size, with a range of 100 Jy to 500 Jy at 74 MHz. If the source is associated with the supernova explosion, it must have been traveling at least 5000 km s/2
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