Effects of homeownership on children: the role of neighborhood characteristics and family income

This paper was presented at the conference "Policies to Promote Affordable Housing," cosponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and New York University's Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy, February 7, 2002. It was part of Session 3: The Impact of Housing on People and Places.Housing ; Community development ; Demography ; Population ; Education

Preliminary age-based life history characteristics of the dogtooth tuna, Gymnosarda unicolor (Ruppell, 1838), in the southwest Pacific Ocean

Dogtooth tuna, Gymnosarda unicolor were sampled off the east coast of Australia (southwest Pacific Ocean) from 2007 to 2012. Ages were determined by examining thin transverse sections of their sagittal otoliths and were based on counts of alternating opaque and translucent zones (annual growth increments). Growth was rapid during the first year of life, after which growth in length was much reduced. Parameters of the constrained von Bertalanffy growth function (fork length-at-age) were L∞ = 1164.77 (mm, FL) and K = 0.44 year−1. Preliminary estimates of longevity indicate a maximum observed age of at least 20 years. There was a high degree of variation in the observed length and age of sexual maturity for G. unicolor. Despite this variation, the size at 50% maturity for female G. unicolor estimated in this study was 713 mm FL (<2 years of age). The diet of G. unicolor is very broad and covers a range of fish species. The life history characteristics of G. unicolor overall, indicate that this species may be somewhat resilient to fishing. However, reports of localised depletions, in association with heavy targeting by sports fishers, low effective population sizes and patchy recruitment indicate that this species is particularly vulnerable to overfishing

AEGIS: New Evidence Linking Active Galactic Nuclei to the Quenching of Star Formation

Utilizing Chandra X-ray observations in the All-wavelength Extended Groth Strip International Survey (AEGIS) we identify 241 X-ray selected Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs, L > 10^{42} ergs/s) and study the properties of their host galaxies in the range 0.4 < z < 1.4. By making use of infrared photometry from Palomar Observatory and BRI imaging from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, we estimate AGN host galaxy stellar masses and show that both stellar mass and photometric redshift estimates (where necessary) are robust to the possible contamination from AGNs in our X-ray selected sample. Accounting for the photometric and X-ray sensitivity limits of the survey, we construct the stellar mass function of X-ray selected AGN host galaxies and find that their abundance decreases by a factor of ~2 since z~1, but remains roughly flat as a function of stellar mass. We compare the abundance of AGN hosts to the rate of star formation quenching observed in the total galaxy population. If the timescale for X-ray detectable AGN activity is roughly 0.5-1 Gyr--as suggested by black hole demographics and recent simulations--then we deduce that the inferred AGN "trigger" rate matches the star formation quenching rate, suggesting a link between these phenomena. However, given the large range of nuclear accretion rates we infer for the most massive and red hosts, X-ray selected AGNs may not be directly responsible for quenching star formation.Comment: 12 pages. Submitted to ApJ. Comments welcom

Which activities threaten independent living of elderly when becoming problematic : inspiration for meaningful service robot functionality

Purpose: In light of the increasing elderly population and the growing demand for home care, the potential of robot support is given increasing attention. In this paper, an inventory of activities was made that threaten independent living of elderly when becoming problematic. Results will guide the further development of an existing service robot, the Care-O-bot®. Method: A systematic literature search of PubMed was performed, focused on the risk factors for institutionalization. Additionally, focus group sessions were conducted in the Netherlands, United Kingdom and France. In these focus group sessions, problematic activities threatening the independence of elderly people were discussed. Three separate target groups were included in the focus group sessions: (1) elderly persons (n = 41), (2) formal caregivers (n = 40) and (3) informal caregivers (n = 32). Results: Activities within the International Classification of Functioning domains mobility, self-care, and interpersonal interaction and relationships were found to be the most problematic. Conclusions: A distinct set of daily activities was identified that may threaten independent living, but no single activity could be selected as the main activity causing a loss of independence as it is often a combination of problematic activities that is person-specific. Supporting the problematic activities need not involve a robotic solution Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/17483107.2013.840861Peer reviewe

Smooth(er) Stellar Mass Maps in CANDELS: Constraints on the Longevity of Clumps in High-redshift Star-forming Galaxies

We perform a detailed analysis of the resolved colors and stellar populations of a complete sample of 323 star-forming galaxies at 0.5 < z < 1.5, and 326 star-forming galaxies at 1.5 < z < 2.5 in the ERS and CANDELS-Deep region of GOODS-South. Galaxies were selected to be more massive than 10^10 Msun and have specific star formation rates above 1/t_H. We model the 7-band optical ACS + near-IR WFC3 spectral energy distributions of individual bins of pixels, accounting simultaneously for the galaxy-integrated photometric constraints available over a longer wavelength range. We analyze variations in rest-frame color, stellar surface mass density, age, and extinction as a function of galactocentric radius and local surface brightness/density, and measure structural parameters on luminosity and stellar mass maps. We find evidence for redder colors, older stellar ages, and increased dust extinction in the nuclei of galaxies. Big star-forming clumps seen in star formation tracers are less prominent or even invisible on the inferred stellar mass distributions. Off-center clumps contribute up to ~20% to the integrated SFR, but only 7% or less to the integrated mass of all massive star-forming galaxies at z ~ 1 and z ~ 2, with the fractional contributions being a decreasing function of wavelength used to select the clumps. The stellar mass profiles tend to have smaller sizes and M20 coefficients, and higher concentration and Gini coefficients than the light distribution. Our results are consistent with an inside-out disk growth scenario with brief (100 - 200 Myr) episodic local enhancements in star formation superposed on the underlying disk. Alternatively, the young ages of off-center clumps may signal inward clump migration, provided this happens efficiently on the order of an orbital timescale.Comment: Accepted by The Astrophysical Journal, 27 pages, 1 table, 16 figure

Cohort profile: the Swiss Cerebral Palsy Registry (Swiss-CP-Reg) cohort study.

BACKGROUND Cerebral Palsy (CP) is a group of permanent disorders of movement and posture that follow injuries to the developing brain. It results in motor dysfunction and a wide variety of comorbidities like epilepsy; pain; speech, hearing and vision disorders; cognitive dysfunction; and eating and digestive difficulties. Central data collection is essential to the study of the epidemiology, clinical presentations, care, and quality of life of patients affected by CP. CP specialists founded the Swiss Cerebral Palsy Registry (Swiss-CP-Reg) in 2017. This paper describes the design, structure, aims and achievements of Swiss-CP-Reg and presents its first results. METHODS Swiss-CP-Reg records patients of any age diagnosed with CP who are born, are treated, or live in Switzerland. It collects data from medical records and reports, from questionnaires answered by patients and their families, and from data linkage with routine statistics and other registries. The registry contains information on diagnosis, clinical presentation, comorbidities, therapies, personal information, family history, and quality of life. RESULTS From August 2017 to August 2021, 546 participants (55% male, mean age at registration 8 years [interquartile range IQR: 5-12]), were enrolled in Swiss-CP-Reg. Most had been born at term (56%), were less than two years old at diagnosis (73%, median 18 months, IQR: 9-25), and were diagnosed with spastic CP (76%). Most (59%) live with a mild motor impairment (Gross Motor Function Classification System [GMFCS] level I or II), 12% with a moderate motor impairment (GMFCS level III), and 29% with a severe motor impairment (GMFCS level IV or V). In a subset of 170 participants, we measured intelligence quotient (IQ) and saw lower IQs with increasing GMFCS level. Swiss-CP-Reg has a strong interest in research, with four nested projects running currently, and many more planned. CONCLUSIONS Swiss-CP-Reg collects and exchanges national data on people living with CP to answer clinically relevant questions. Its structure enables retrospective and prospective data collection and knowledge exchange between experts to optimise and standardise treatment and to improve the health and quality of life of those diagnosed with CP in Switzerland

A Critical Assessment of Stellar Mass Measurement Methods

In this paper we perform a comprehensive study of the main sources of random and systematic errors in stellar mass measurement for galaxies using their Spectral Energy Distributions (SEDs). We use mock galaxy catalogs with simulated multi-waveband photometry (from U-band to mid-infrared) and known redshift, stellar mass, age and extinction for individual galaxies. Given different parameters affecting stellar mass measurement (photometric S/N ratios, SED fitting errors, systematic effects, the inherent degeneracies and correlated errors), we formulated different simulated galaxy catalogs to quantify these effects individually. We studied the sensitivity of stellar mass estimates to the codes/methods used, population synthesis models, star formation histories, nebular emission line contributions, photometric uncertainties, extinction and age. For each simulated galaxy, the difference between the input stellar masses and those estimated using different simulation catalogs, $\Delta\log(M)$, was calculated and used to identify the most fundamental parameters affecting stellar masses. We measured different components of the error budget, with the results listed as follows: (1). no significant bias was found among different codes/methods, with all having comparable scatter; (2). A source of error is found to be due to photometric uncertainties and low resolution in age and extinction grids; (3). The median of stellar masses among different methods provides a stable measure of the mass associated with any given galaxy; (4). The deviations in stellar mass strongly correlate with those in age, with a weaker correlation with extinction; (5). the scatter in the stellar masses due to free parameters are quantified, with the sensitivity of the stellar mass to both the population synthesis codes and inclusion of nebular emission lines studied.Comment: 33 pages, 20 Figures, Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journa

CANDELS Multi-wavelength Catalogs: Source Detection and Photometry in the GOODS-South Field

We present a UV-to-mid infrared multi-wavelength catalog in the CANDELS/GOODS-S field, combining the newly obtained CANDELS HST/WFC3 F105W, F125W, and F160W data with existing public data. The catalog is based on source detection in the WFC3 F160W band. The F160W mosaic includes the data from CANDELS deep and wide observations as well as previous ERS and HUDF09 programs. The mosaic reaches a 5$\sigma$ limiting depth (within an aperture of radius 0.17 arcsec) of 27.4, 28.2, and 29.7 AB for CANDELS wide, deep, and HUDF regions, respectively. The catalog contains 34930 sources with the representative 50% completeness reaching 25.9, 26.6, and 28.1 AB in the F160W band for the three regions. In addition to WFC3 bands, the catalog also includes data from UV (U-band from both CTIO/MOSAIC and VLT/VIMOS), optical (HST/ACS F435W, F606W, F775W, F814W, and F850LP), and infrared (HST/WFC3 F098M, VLT/ISAAC Ks, VLT/HAWK-I Ks, and Spitzer/IRAC 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, 8.0 $\mu$m) observations. The catalog is validated via stellar colors, comparison with other published catalogs, zeropoint offsets determined from the best-fit templates of the spectral energy distribution of spectroscopically observed objects, and the accuracy of photometric redshifts. The catalog is able to detect unreddened star-forming (passive) galaxies with stellar mass of 10^{10}M_\odot at a 50% completeness level to z$\sim$3.4 (2.8), 4.6 (3.2), and 7.0 (4.2) in the three regions. As an example of application, the catalog is used to select both star-forming and passive galaxies at z$\sim$2--4 via the Balmer break. It is also used to study the color--magnitude diagram of galaxies at 0<z<4.Comment: The full resolution article is now published in ApJS (2013, 207, 24). 22 pages, 21 figures, and 5 tables. The catalogue is available on the CANDELS website: http://candels.ucolick.org/data_access/GOODS-S.html MAST: http://archive.stsci.edu/prepds/candels and Rainbow Database: https://arcoiris.ucolick.org/Rainbow_navigator_public and https://rainbowx.fis.ucm.es/Rainbow_navigator_publi

Location of chlorogenic acid biosynthesis pathway and polyphenol oxidase genes in a new interspecific anchored linkage map of eggplant

© Gramazio et al.; licensee BioMed Central. 2014. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated

The redshift and mass dependence on the formation of the Hubble sequence at z > 1 from CANDELS/UDS

In this paper we present a detailed study of the structures and morphologies of a sample of 1188 massive galaxies with M-* >= 10(10) M-circle dot between redshifts z = 1 and 3 within the Ultra Deep Survey (UDS) region of the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey (CANDELS) field. Using this sample we determine how galaxy structure and morphology evolve with time, and investigate the nature of galaxy structure at high redshift. We visually classify our sample into discs, ellipticals and peculiar systems and correct for redshift effects on these classifications through simulations. We find significant evolution in the fractions of galaxies at a given visual classification as a function of redshift. The peculiar population is dominant at z > 2 with a substantial spheroid population, and a negligible disc population. We compute the transition redshift, z(trans), where the combined fraction of spheroidal and disc galaxies is equal to that of the peculiar population, as z(trans) = 1.86 +/- 0.62 for galaxies in our stellar mass range. We find that this transition changes as a function of stellar mass, with Hubble-type galaxies becoming dominant at higher redshifts for higher mass galaxies (z(trans) = 2.22 +/- 0.82), than for the lower mass galaxies (z(trans) = 1.73 +/- 0.57). Higher mass galaxies become morphologically settled before their lower mass counterparts, a form of morphological downsizing. We furthermore compare our visual classifications with the Sersic index, the concentration, asymmetry and clumpiness (CAS) parameters, star formation rate and rest-frame U - B colour. We find links between the colour of a galaxy, its star formation rate and how extended or peculiar it appears. Finally, we discuss the negligible z > 2 disc fraction based on visual morphologies and speculate that this is an effect of forming disc appearing peculiar through processes such as violent disc instabilities or mergers. We conclude that to properly define and measure high-redshift morphology and structure a new and more exact classification scheme is needed