3,237 research outputs found
Strong evidence for an accelerating universe
A recent analysis of the Supernova Ia data claims a 'marginal'
() evidence for a cosmic acceleration. This result has been
complemented with a non-accelerating cosmology, which was presented
as a valid alternative to the CDM model. In this paper, we use the
same analysis to show that a non-marginal evidence for acceleration is actually
found. We compare the standard Friedmann models to the cosmology by
complementing SN Ia data with the Baryon Acoustic Oscillations, Gamma Ray
Bursts and Observational Hubble datasets. We also study the power-law model
which is a functional generalisation of . We find that the evidence
for late-time acceleration is beyond refutable at a 4.56 confidence
level from SN Ia data alone, and at an even stronger confidence level
() from our joint analysis. Also, the non-accelerating
model fails to statistically compare with the CDM having a
Developing an observational rubric of writing: Preliminary reliability and validity evidence
The purpose of this paper is (1) to report on the design of the early writing observational writing rubric designed to observe and describe change over time in the writing of children emerging into conventional literacy (ages 6–7) within an instructional setting and (2) to investigate the initial reliability and validity of the rubric. We used an extant data set that included 52 videos of writing instruction in Reading Recovery lessons (approximately 520 minutes) and pre- and post-intervention test data, for 24 students, taken at multiple time points across a 20-week period. Dependent sample t-tests and HLM were used to ascertain if the rubric was sensitive to change over occasions. We also considered if the scores correlated with external literacy measures. The findings suggest that the rubric has good initial reliability and validity and is a useful tool for researchers to observe and measure change over time as young children write in an instructional setting; further validation work is required for use in other settings
Gestione dell'Autoparco dell'INGV - Sezione di Catania
L'autoparco è un settore di vitale importanza per la sezione, è importante sempre tenere sotto controllo
la disponibilità dei mezzi e gli spostamenti effettuati dagli stessi.
A tale scopo nel sito intranet della Sezione, è stata aggiunta una sezione per la gestione delle auto, da
cui è possibile effettuare la prenotazione o disdetta, annotare l’avvenuto prelievo, riconsegna e manutenzione
ordinaria delle auto.
Nella Home Page del sito, selezionando la finestra “AMM. & SERV. TECNICI” (Amministrazione e Servizi
tecnici) è possibile, cliccando sulle apposite voci del menù , accedere alle seguenti pagine interne (vedi
Figura 1):
1. Prenotazione e/o la disdetta di un autoveicolo.
2. Prelievo / riconsegna.
3. Manutenzione automezzi.
La pagina dedicata alla prenotazione e/o disdetta di un’autovettura è accessibile da tutto il personale.
La pagina dedicata alla gestione del prelievo di autovettura, della sua riconsegna e/o del prelievo immediato
di un autovettura, è riservato alla sola Vigilanza.
Infine la pagina per la manutenzione ordinaria del parco auto l’accesso è riservato soltanto al responsabile. Ogni dipendente potrà, autonomamente, prenotare solamente una delle macchine assegnate alla Unità
Funzionale (UF) di appartenenza. Nel caso in cui fosse necessario prenotare un autoveicolo appartenente ad
un’altra UF, occorre farlo prenotare da un dipendente ad essa afferente che conosce la programmazione delle
attività e farsi inserire come “autista”
Perturbations of the local gravity field due to mass distribution on precise measuring instruments: a numerical method applied to a cold atom gravimeter
We present a numerical method, based on a FEM simulation, for the
determination of the gravitational field generated by massive objects, whatever
geometry and space mass density they have. The method was applied for the
determination of the self gravity effect of an absolute cold atom gravimeter
which aims at a relative uncertainty of 10-9. The deduced bias, calculated with
a perturbative treatment, is finally presented. The perturbation reaches (1.3
\pm 0.1) \times 10-9 of the Earth's gravitational field.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure
A promising new ELISA diagnostic test for cattle babesiosis based on Babesia bigemina Apical Membrane Antigen-1.
Babesiosis due to Babesia bigemina is a relevant tick‑borne disease, affecting cattle worldwide. Many surface proteins of the pathogen including the Apical Membrane Antigen 1 (AMA‑1) ‑ have been analysed for vaccine and diagnostic purposes. This study focused on B. bigemina AMA‑1 and on its use for the assessment of diagnostic tests. After bioinformatic analyses, AMA‑1 codifying region was amplified and cloned into an expression vector used to induce protein synthesis in Escherichia coli cells. AMA‑1 was purified by affinity chromatography and used to set up the best condition for an ELISA protocol. Bovine field sera positive to B. bigemina were used to evaluate the presence of anti‑AMA‑1 antibodies. In order to verify the assay specificity, sera positive to Babesia bovis or to the piroplasm Theileria annulata were also included. Significant differences were obtained between sera negative to both B. bigemina and B. bovis and samples positive to B. bigemina, to B. bovis or to both pathogens. No significant reaction was observed with T. annulata positive sera. The results showed that AMA‑1 protein is suitable to be used as antigen in diagnostic assays for babesiosis diagnosis in cattle, as it does not show any cross reaction with anti-T. annulata antibodies
Monoclonal antibodies to treat multiple myeloma: A dream come true
Immunotherapy is increasingly used in the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM). Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are safe and effective ways to elicit immunotherapeutic responses. In 2015, daratumumab has become the first mAb approved by the Food and Drug Administration for clinical use in MM and, in the last 5 years, a lot of clinical and preclinical research has been done to optimize the use of this drug class. Currently, mAbs have already become part of standard-of-care combinations for the treatment of relapsed/refractory MM and very soon they will also be used in the frontline setting. The success of simple mAbs (‘naked mAbs’) prompted the development of new types of molecules. Antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs) are tumor-targeting mAbs that release a cytotoxic payload into the tumor cells upon antigen binding in order to destroy them. Bispecific antibodies (BiAbs) are mAbs simultaneously targeting a tumor-associated antigen and an immune cell-associated antigen in order to redirect the immune cell cytotoxicity against the tumor cell. These different constructs produced solid preclinical data and promising clinical data in phase I/II trials. The aim of this review article is to summarize all the recent developments in the field, including data on naked mAbs, ADCs and BiAbs
Self-attraction effect and correction on three absolute gravimeters
The perturbations of the gravitational field due to the mass distribution of
an absolute gravimeter have been studied. The so called Self Attraction Effect
(SAE) is crucial for the measurement accuracy, especially for the International
Comparisons, and for the uncertainty budget evaluation. Three instruments have
been analysed: MPG-2, FG5-238 and IMPG-02. The SAE has been calculated using a
numerical method based on FEM simulation. The observed effect has been treated
as an additional vertical gravity gradient. The correction (SAC) to be applied
to the computed g value has been associated with the specific height level,
where the measurement result is typically reported. The magnitude of the
obtained corrections is of order 1E-8 m/s2.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Metrologi
Comparison of Theoretical Starburst Photoionisation Models for Optical Diagnostics
We study and compare different examples of stellar evolutionary synthesis
input parameters used to produce photoionisation model grids using the MAPPINGS
V modelling code. The aim of this study is to (a) explore the systematic
effects of various stellar evolutionary synthesis model parameters on the
interpretation of emission lines in optical strong-line diagnostic diagrams,
(b) characterise the combination of parameters able to reproduce the spread of
local galaxies located in the star-forming region in the Sloan Digital Sky
Survey, and (c) investigate the emission from extremely metal-poor galaxies
using photoionisation models. We explore and compare the stellar input ionising
spectrum (stellar population synthesis code [Starburst99, SLUG, BPASS], stellar
evolutionary tracks, stellar atmospheres, star-formation history, sampling of
the initial mass function) as well as parameters intrinsic to the H II region
(metallicity, ionisation parameter, pressure, H II region boundedness). We also
perform a comparison of the photoionisation codes MAPPINGS and CLOUDY. On the
variations in the ionising spectrum model parameters, we find that the
differences in strong emission-line ratios between varying models for a given
input model parameter are small, on average ~0.1 dex. An average difference of
~0.1 dex in emission-line ratio is also found between models produced with
MAPPINGS and CLOUDY. Large differences between the emission-line ratios are
found when comparing intrinsic H II region parameters. We find that
low-metallicity galaxies are better explained by a density-bounded H II region
and higher pressures better encompass the spread of galaxies at high redshift.Comment: 33 pages, 26 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
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