SDAMS: SPOrt Data Archiving and Management System

SDAMS is the ensemble of database + software packages aimed to the archiving, quick-look analysis, off-line analysis, network accessibility and plotting of the SPOrt produced data. Many of the aspects related to data archiving, analysis and distribution are common to almost all the astronomical experiments. SDAMS ambition is to face and solve problems like accessibility and portability of the data on any hardware/software platform in a way as simpler as possible, though effective. The system is conceived in a way to be used either by the scientific community interested in background radiation studies or by a wider public with low or null knowledge of the subject. The user authentication system allows us to apply different levels of access, analysis and data retrieving. SDAMS will be accessible through any Web browser though the most efficient way to use it is by writing simple programs. Graphics and images useful for outreach purposes will be produced and put on the Web on a regular basis.Comment: 4 pages, 3 PS figures, to appear in Proc. of the workshop "Astrophysical Polarized Backgrounds", Bologna, October 9-12, 200

There is a short gamma-ray burst prompt phase at the beginning of each long one

We compare the prompt intrinsic spectral properties of a sample of short Gamma--ray Burst (GRB) with the first 0.3 seconds (rest frame) of long GRBs observed by Fermi/GBM. We find that short GRBs and the first part of long GRBs lie on the same E_p--E_iso correlation, that is parallel to the relation for the time averaged spectra of long GRBs. Moreover, they are indistinguishable in the E_p--L_iso plane. This suggests that the emission mechanism is the same for short and for the beginning of long events, and both short and long GRBs are very similar phenomena, occurring on different timescales. If the central engine of a long GRB would stop after ~0.3 * (1+z) seconds the resulting event would be spectrally indistinguishable from a short GRB.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, MNRAS accepte

Supramitral obstruction of left ventricular inflow tract by supramitral ring

Supramitral ring (SMR) is a rare developmental abnormality of the supravalvular area of the mitral valve which produces a variable degree of obstruction to left ventricular filling. The morphological substrate of SMR consists of a fibro-membranous ring which is adherent to the atrial aspect of the mitral valve leaflets. SMR is morphologically and embryologically distinct from the more common entity of cor triatriatum, which consists of an obstructive fibro-muscular membrane located within the left atrium proximal to the left atrial appendage. Surgical resection of SMR is usually effective as evident by the generally benign postoperative hemodynamic outcome. Coexistent mitral valvular lesions are usual but not typically severe in degree

DBATE: database of alternative transcripts expression

The use of high-throughput RNA sequencing technology (RNA-seq) allows whole transcriptome analysis, providing an unbiased and unabridged view of alternative transcript expression. Coupling splicing variant-specific expression with its functional inference is still an open and difficult issue for which we created the DataBase of Alternative Transcripts Expression (DBATE), a web-based repository storing expression values and functional annotation of alternative splicing variants. We processed 13 large RNA-seq panels from human healthy tissues and in disease conditions, reporting expression levels and functional annotations gathered and integrated from different sources for each splicing variant, using a variant-specific annotation transfer pipeline. The possibility to perform complex queries by cross-referencing different functional annotations permits the retrieval of desired subsets of splicing variant expression values that can be visualized in several ways, from simple to more informative. DBATE is intended as a novel tool to help appreciate how, and possibly why, the transcriptome expression is shaped. DATABASE URL: http://bioinformatica.uniroma2.it/DBATE/

A magnetar powering the ordinary monster GRB 130427A?

We present the analysis of the extraordinarily bright Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) 130427A under the hypothesis that the GRB central engine is an accretion-powered magnetar. In this framework, initially proposed to explain GRBs with precursor activity, the prompt emission is produced by accretion of matter onto a newly-born magnetar, and the observed power is related to the accretion rate. The emission is eventually halted if the centrifugal forces are able to pause accretion. We show that the X-ray and optical afterglow is well explained as the forward shock emission with a jet break plus a contribution from the spin-down of the magnetar. Our modelling does not require any contribution from the reverse shock, that may still influence the afterglow light curve at radio and mm frequencies, or in the optical at early times. We derive the magnetic field ($B\sim 10^{16}$ G) and the spin period ($P\sim 20$ ms) of the magnetar and obtain an independent estimate of the minimum luminosity for accretion. This minimum luminosity results well below the prompt emission luminosity of GRB 130427A, providing a strong consistency check for the scenario where the entire prompt emission is the result of continuous accretion onto the magnetar. This is in agreement with the relatively long spin period of the magnetar. GRB 130427A was a well monitored GRB showing a very standard behavior and, thus, is a well-suited benchmark to show that an accretion-powered magnetar gives a unique view of the properties of long GRBs.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, accepted for publication in MNRAS Letter

Advocating for and Providing Quality Adaptive Physical Education

Ideally, as put across by the Disability & Human Rights guide, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) does not give a detailed description of disability but rather gives a wide range of features that intend describe disability. The truth is, despite being incapacitated in a certain way, people living with disabilities should be given the same opportunities as those without. Our separate literature analysis discovered that different efforts had been put in place to present equal opportunities for people living with disabilities. One of these efforts is adaptive physical education. As its name suggests, adaptive physical education is a physical education that has been adapted to create equal opportunities for persons with disabilities as it is for people without disabilities. To this effect, this paper and its entirety will focus on presenting the different themes observed from the different pieces of literature separately