An Observational Limit on the Dwarf Galaxy Population of the Local Group

We present the results of an all-sky, deep optical survey for faint Local Group dwarf galaxies. Candidate objects were selected from the second Palomar survey (POSS-II) and ESO/SRC survey plates and follow-up observations performed to determine whether they were indeed overlooked members of the Local Group. Only two galaxies (Antlia and Cetus) were discovered this way out of 206 candidates. Based on internal and external comparisons, we estimate that our visual survey is more than 77% complete for objects larger than one arc minute in size and with a surface brightness greater than an extremely faint limit over the 72% of the sky not obstructed by the Milky Way. Our limit of sensitivity cannot be calculated exactly, but is certainly fainter than 25 magnitudes per square arc second in R, probably 25.5 and possibly approaching 26. We conclude that there are at most one or two Local Group dwarf galaxies fitting our observational criteria still undiscovered in the clear part of the sky, and a roughly a dozen hidden behind the Milky Way. Our work places the "missing satellite problem" on a firm quantitative observational basis. We present detailed data on all our candidates, including surface brightness measurements.Comment: 58 pages in AJ manuscript format; some figures at slightly reduced quality; accepted by the Astronomical Journa

Toward a better “Person–Environment Fit” through items calibration of the SIS-C

Producción CientíficaThe Supports Intensity Scale–Children’s Version (SIS-C) is the only available tool to assess extraordinary support needs for children and adolescents with intellectual disability. In past years, several works have proclaimed the need for its ongoing improvement as a measurement instrument. To contribute to this line of research, the goal of this work is to analyze the reliability of the SIS-C and its usefulness to distinguish between different levels of intensity of support needs. To address this, 814 children and adolescents with intellectual disability (M = 11.13 years; SD = 3.41) were assessed using the SIS-C Spanish version. Item response theory analyses were conducted to estimate latent scores and assess measurement quality along the support needs continuum. The SIS-C items showed good overall discrimination and information values, and none showed problems that required their removal or modification. However, all the scales composing the SIS-C showed problems in discerning high levels of intensity of support needs, especially for children and adolescents with severe/profound intellectual disability. This ceiling effect may be an obstacle for both research and practice involving the SIS-C. Implications for research and practice are discussed, and future lines of research for improving the SIS-C are provided.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (PSI2015-65193-P y BES-2016-078252

Synchronize your \textit{chrono-brane}: Testing a variable brane tension model with strong gravitational lensing

Brane world models have shown to be promising to understand the late cosmic acceleration, in particular because such acceleration can be naturally derived, mimicking the dark energy behaviour just with a five dimensional geometry. In this paper we present a strong lensing joint analysis using a compilation of early-type galaxies acting as a lenses, united with the power of the well studied strong lensing galaxy cluster Abell\,1689. We use the strong lensing constraints to investigate a brane model with variable brane tension as a function of the redshift. In our joint analysis we found a value $n = 7.8^{+0.9}_{-0.5}$, for the exponent related to the brane tension, showing that $n$ deviates from a Cosmological Constant (CC) scenario (n=6). We obtain a value for the deceleration parameter, $q(z)$ today, $q(0)=-1.2^{+0.6}_{-0.8}$, and a transition redshift, $z_t=0.60\pm0.06$ (when the Universe change from an decelerated phase to an accelerated one). These results are in contrast with previous work that favors CC scenario, nevertheless our lensing analysis is in agreement with a formerly reported conclusion suggesting that the variable brane tension model is able to source a late cosmic acceleration without an extra fluid as in the standard one.Comment: ACCEPTED TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE EUROPEAN PHYSICAL JOURNAL

Are Type, Frequency, and Daily Time Equally Valid Estimators of Support Needs in Children With Intellectual Disability? A Multitrait?Multimethod Analysis of the Supports Intensity Scale for Children (SIS-C)

ABSTRACT: Support needs represent the intensity of support required by a person with a disability in order to take part in the activities related to normative human functioning. The Supports Intensity Scale for Children (SIS-C) is possibly the most promising tool for assessing and designing individualized support programs in children with intellectual disability. The SIS-C measures support needs across 61 activities, each one assessed along three methods: type of support, frequency, and daily time during which support is to be given. We investigated the impact of method effects in the SIS-C through a bifactor approach to the analysis of multitrait?multimethod matrices. The results suggest that neither intensity nor frequency scales produced method effects that significantly distorted the measurement of support needs. However, the daily support time method had substantial undesirable effects on five of the seven subscales of support needs. Considerations about support needs assessment and future modifications of the scale are discussed.The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Work on this research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of the Economy and Competitiveness (R&D Projects, PSI2012- 36278), and the Autonomous Community of Castile and Leon (R&D Projects, SA120U13)

Genomic and biological characterization of chiltepin yellow mosaic virus, a new tymovirus infecting Capsicum annuum var. aviculare in Mexico.

The characterization of viruses infecting wild plants is a key step towards understanding the ecology of plant viruses. In this work, the complete genomic nucleotide sequence of a new tymovirus species infecting chiltepin, the wild ancestor of Capsicum annuum pepper crops, in Mexico was determined, and its host range has been explored. The genome of 6,517 nucleotides has the three open reading frames described for tymoviruses, putatively encoding an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, a movement protein and a coat protein. The 5′ and 3′ untranslated regions have structures with typical signatures of the tymoviruses. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that this new virus is closely related to the other tymoviruses isolated from solanaceous plants. Its host range is mainly limited to solanaceous species, which notably include cultivated Capsicum species. In the latter, infection resulted in a severe reduction of growth, indicating the potential of this virus to be a significant crop pathogen. The name of chiltepin yellow mosaic virus (ChiYMV) is proposed for this new tymovirus

The Astropy Problem

The Astropy Project (http://astropy.org) is, in its own words, "a community effort to develop a single core package for Astronomy in Python and foster interoperability between Python astronomy packages." For five years this project has been managed, written, and operated as a grassroots, self-organized, almost entirely volunteer effort while the software is used by the majority of the astronomical community. Despite this, the project has always been and remains to this day effectively unfunded. Further, contributors receive little or no formal recognition for creating and supporting what is now critical software. This paper explores the problem in detail, outlines possible solutions to correct this, and presents a few suggestions on how to address the sustainability of general purpose astronomical software

Optical and Infrared Photometry of the Nearby Type Ia Supernovae 1999ee, 2000bh, 2000ca, and 2001ba

We present near infrared photometry of the Type Ia supernova 1999ee; also, optical and infrared photometry of the Type Ia SNe 2000bh, 2000ca, and 2001ba. For SNe 1999ee and 2000bh we present the first-ever SN photometry at 1.035 microns (the Y-band). We present K-corrections which transform the infrared photometry in the observer's frame to the supernova rest frame. Using our infrared K-corrections and stretch factors derived from optical photometry, we construct JHK templates which can be used to determine the apparent magnitudes at maximum if one has some data in the window -12 to +10 d with respect to T(B_max). Following up previous work on the uniformity of V minus IR loci of Type Ia supernovae of mid-range decline rates, we present unreddened loci for slow decliners. We also discuss evidence for a continuous change of color at a given epoch as a function of decline rate.Comment: 53 pages, 14 figures, to be published in the March 2004 issue of the Astronomical Journa

Melatonin protects rats from radiotherapy-induced small intestine toxicity

Radiotherapy-induced gut toxicity is among the most prevalent dose-limiting toxicities following radiotherapy. Prevention of radiation enteropathy requires protection of the small intestine. However, despite the prevalence and burden of this pathology, there are currently no effective treatments for radiotherapy-induced gut toxicity, and this pathology remains unclear. The present study aimed to investigate the changes induced in the rat small intestine after external irradiation of the tongue, and to explore the potential radio-protective effects of melatonin gel. Male Wistar rats were subjected to irradiation of their tongues with an X-Ray YXLON Y.Tu 320-D03 irradiator, receiving a dose of 7.5 Gy/day for 5 days. For 21 days post-irradiation, rats were treated with 45 mg/day melatonin gel or vehicle, by local application into their mouths. Our results showed that mitochondrial oxidative stress, bioenergetic impairment, and subsequent NLRP3 inflammasome activation were involved in the development of radiotherapy-induced gut toxicity. Oral treatment with melatonin gel had a protective effect in the small intestine, which was associated with mitochondrial protection and, consequently, with a reduced inflammatory response, blunting the NF-κB/NLRP3 inflammasome signaling activation. Thus, rats treated with melatonin gel showed reduced intestinal apoptosis, relieving mucosal dysfunction and facilitating intestinal mucosa recovery. Our findings suggest that oral treatment with melatonin gel may be a potential preventive therapy for radiotherapy-induced gut toxicity in cancer patients.This study was partially supported by grant no. SAF2009-14037 from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity (MINECO), GREIB.PT_2010_04 from the CEIBiotic Program of the University of Granada, Spain, and CTS-101 from the Consejería de Innovación, Ciencia y Empresa, Junta de Andalucía, Spain