Relativistic static thin dust disks with an inner edge: An infinite family of new exact solutions

An infinite family of new exact solutions of the Einstein vacuum equations for static and axially symmetric spacetimes is presented. All the metric functions of the solutions are explicitly computed and the obtained expressions are simply written in terms of oblate spheroidal coordinates. Furthermore, the solutions are asymptotically flat and regular everywhere, as it is shown by computing all the curvature scalars. These solutions describe an infinite family of thin dust disks with a central inner edge, whose energy densities are everywhere positive and well behaved, in such a way that their energy-momentum tensor are in fully agreement with all the energy conditions. Now, although the disks are of infinite extension, all of them have finite mass. The superposition of the first member of this family with a Schwarzschild black hole was presented previously [G. A. Gonz\'alez and A. C. Guti\'errez-Pi\~neres, arXiv: 0811.3002v1 (2008)], whereas that in a subsequent paper a detailed analysis of the corresponding superposition for the full family will be presented.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure

Articulatory speech measures can be related to the severity of multiple sclerosis

Background: Dysarthria is one of the most frequent communication disorders in patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), with an estimated prevalence of around 50%. However, it is unclear if there is a relationship between dysarthria and the severity or duration of the disease. Objective: Describe the speech pattern in MS, correlate with clinical data, and compare with controls. Methods: A group of MS patients (n = 73) matched to healthy controls (n = 37) by sex and age. Individuals with neurological and/or systemic conditions that could interfere with speech were excluded. MS group clinical data were obtained through the analysis of medical records. The speech assessment consisted of auditory-perceptual and speech acoustic analysis, from recording the following speech tasks: phonation and breathing (sustained vowel/a/); prosody (sentences with different intonation patterns) and articulation (diadochokinesis; spontaneous speech; diphthong/iu/repeatedly). Results: In MS, 72.6% of the individuals presented mild dysarthria, with alterations in speech subsystems: phonation, breathing, resonance, and articulation. In the acoustic analysis, individuals with MS were significantly worse than the control group (CG) in the variables: standard deviation of the fundamental frequency (p = 0.001) and maximum phonation time (p = 0.041). In diadochokinesis, individuals with MS had a lower number of syllables, duration, and phonation time, but larger pauses per seconds, and in spontaneous speech, a high number of pauses were evidenced as compared to CG. Correlations were found between phonation time in spontaneous speech and the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) (r = − 0.238, p = 0.043) and phonation ratio in spontaneous speech and EDSS (r = −0.265, p = 0.023), which indicates a correlation between the number of pauses during spontaneous speech and the severity of the disease. Conclusion: The speech profile in MS patients was mild dysarthria, with a decline in the phonatory, respiratory, resonant, and articulatory subsystems of speech, respectively, in order of prevalence. The increased number of pauses during speech and lower rates of phonation ratio can reflect the severity of MS

Expression of CLAVATA3 fusions indicates rapid intracellular processing and a role of ERAD

The 12 amino acid peptide derived from the Arabidopsis soluble secretory protein CLAVATA3 (CLV3) acts at the cell surface in a signalling system that regulates the size of apical meristems. The subcellular pathway involved in releasing the peptide from its precursor is unknown. We show that a CLV3-GFP fusion expressed in transfected tobacco protoplasts or transgenic tobacco plants has very short intracellular half-life that cannot be extended by the secretory traffic inhibitors brefeldin A and wortmannin. The fusion is biologically active, since the incubation medium of protoplasts from CLV3-GFP-expressing tobacco contains the CLV3 peptide and inhibits root growth. The rapid disappearance of intact CLV3-GFP requires the signal peptide and is inhibited by the proteasome inhibitor MG132 or coexpression with a mutated CDC48 that inhibits endoplasmic reticulum-associated protein degradation (ERAD). The synthesis of CLV3-GFP is specifically supported by the endoplasmic reticulum cha- perone endoplasmin in an in vivo assay. Our results indicate that processing of CLV3 starts intracellularly in an early compartment of the secretory pathway and that ERAD could play a regulatory or direct role in the active peptide synthesis

Temporal associations of emotional and social loneliness and psychosocial functioning in emerging adulthood

Emerging adulthood is an important developmental phase often accompanied by peaks in loneliness, social anxiety, and depression. However, knowledge is lacking on how the relationships between emotional loneliness, social loneliness, social isolation, social anxiety and depression evolve over time. Gaining insight in these temporal relations is crucial for our understanding of how these problems arise and maintain each other across time. Young adults from a university sample (N = 1,357; M = 23.60 years, SD = 6.30) filled out questionnaires on emotional and social loneliness, social isolation, depressive and social anxiety symptoms at three time points within a 3-year period. Random intercept cross-lagged panel models were used to disentangle reciprocal and prospective associations of loneliness subtypes, social isolation, depressive and social anxiety symptoms across time. Results showed that on the within-person level, increases in emotional and social loneliness as well as social isolation predicted higher depression levels on later timepoints. Increases in depressive symptoms also predicted increases in subsequent social loneliness, but not in emotional loneliness. Finally, increases in depressive symptoms predicted increases in social isolation. There were no significant temporal relations between loneliness and social isolation on the one hand and social anxiety symptoms on the other hand. Social distancing imposed by COVID-19 related government restrictions may have impacted the current results. The findings suggest that emotional and social loneliness precede development of depressive symptoms, which in turn precedes development of social loneliness and social isolation, indicating a potential vicious cycle of social loneliness, social isolation and depressive symptoms in emerging adulthood. Social anxiety did not precede nor follow loneliness, depressive symptoms, or social isolation. The current study sheds more light on the temporal order of loneliness and psychopathological symptoms and hereby assists in identifying times where prevention and intervention efforts may be especially helpful to counter development of depression and loneliness.</p

CSR Instruments: A Systematic Overview Evaluation for the German CSR Forum and Bertelsmann Foundation

This study was conceived in the context of a project course on CSR instruments and modelled on a real case. The German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) had tendered a report that would provide an overview of the existing classification tools used to evaluate CSR performance. The report is part of the National Strategy on Corporate Social Responsibility, the CSR action plan of the German government. The Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs is the lead ministry responsible for implementing the National Strategy for Corporate Social Responsibility. The Action Plan for CSR was decided by the federal cabinet on October 6th, 2010. According to the Action Plan, CSR measures include a company’s contributions to voluntarily participate and include social responsibility into their business plan. The inclusion of a company’s key stakeholders is an integral part of CSR. The goal was not only to provide an overview of the principle and international agreements but also to classify existing instruments from different stakeholders’ perspectives. For this, students analysed 58 CSR instruments for which they developed a diverse set of evaluation criteria. Moreover, they tested their assumptions about key stakeholders’ interests in a small workshop interviewing representatives of trade unions, chambers of commerce, consumer groups as well NGOs. The result is a very impressive piece of work as it presents new insight in a largely under-researched field. The report was presented to the working group on evaluation of the federal CSR forum in Berlin on June 6th, 2012 where it received a lot of praise by the participants. I hope it will be used in the professional world

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: Physical Properties and Purity of a Galaxy Cluster Sample Selected via the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect

We present optical and X-ray properties for the first confirmed galaxy cluster sample selected by the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect from 148 GHz maps over 455 square degrees of sky made with the Atacama Cosmology Telescope. These maps, coupled with multi-band imaging on 4-meter-class optical telescopes, have yielded a sample of 23 galaxy clusters with redshifts between 0.118 and 1.066. Of these 23 clusters, 10 are newly discovered. The selection of this sample is approximately mass limited and essentially independent of redshift. We provide optical positions, images, redshifts and X-ray fluxes and luminosities for the full sample, and X-ray temperatures of an important subset. The mass limit of the full sample is around 8e14 Msun, with a number distribution that peaks around a redshift of 0.4. For the 10 highest significance SZE-selected cluster candidates, all of which are optically confirmed, the mass threshold is 1e15 Msun and the redshift range is 0.167 to 1.066. Archival observations from Chandra, XMM-Newton, and ROSAT provide X-ray luminosities and temperatures that are broadly consistent with this mass threshold. Our optical follow-up procedure also allowed us to assess the purity of the ACT cluster sample. Eighty (one hundred) percent of the 148 GHz candidates with signal-to-noise ratios greater than 5.1 (5.7) are confirmed as massive clusters. The reported sample represents one of the largest SZE-selected sample of massive clusters over all redshifts within a cosmologically-significant survey volume, which will enable cosmological studies as well as future studies on the evolution, morphology, and stellar populations in the most massive clusters in the Universe.Comment: 20 pages, 15 figures, 6 tables. Accepted for publication in ApJ. Higher resolution figures available at: http://peumo.rutgers.edu/~felipe/e-prints

Sintomatologia depressiva, ideação suicida e autoconceito em uma amostra de crianças mexicanas

Previous studies have shown the prevalence of depression in children, and have suggested that self-concept as the key variable to predict depressive symptoms,suicide risk and other risk behaviors, that may emerge during childhood or later in life. In Mexico, there are few reported studies about depression or suicidal ideation in children, despite the increasing suicide rate in this age group. This study was aimed to describe the relationship among depression and self-concept in a sample of children enrolled in primary schools of Guanajuato State, Mexico. This was a descriptive, transversal and ex post facto study with a non-probabilistic sample of 217 children of both sexes and 9-13 years old. The instruments used were: Child Depression Inventory and the Questionnaire of General Self Concept. The results of this research showed higher levels of mild/ moderate and severe Depression, Suicidal ideation, and low Self-concept. A significant correlation was found between Self-concept factors and Depressive Symptoms, and with sex. Psycho-educative strategies are suggested to appropriately detect and adequately address signs of depression, emotional suffering and risk behaviors in children.Diversas investigaciones demuestran la prevalencia de la Depresión infantil en varios países. Los estudios apuntan al Auto-concepto como predictor asociado de la Depresión, riesgo suicida y otras conductas de riesgo, que pueden manifestarse en la infancia o posteriormente. Existen escasos estudios reportados en México sobre Depresión y riesgo suicida en infantes, pero el suicidio consumado por infantes ha ido en crecimiento continuo. El objetivo de este estudio fue describir la relación entre la Depresión y el Auto-concepto en una muestra de niños escolarizados del estado de Guanajuato, México. El presente fue un estudio de campo, descriptivo, expost-facto, transversal, con un muestreo intencional, no probabilístico conformado por 217 niños de ambos sexos, entre 9 y 13 años de edad, del nivel de educación primaria. Se cumplieron los protocolos éticos correspondientes. Se aplicaron el Inventario de Depresión Infantil y Cuestionario de Auto-concepto general. Los resultados muestran un porcentaje por encima del esperado de infantes con Depresión moderada y severa, Ideación Suicida y bajo Auto-concepto. Se encontraron niveles de correlación significativos entre los factores del Auto-concepto y la sintomatología depresiva y el sexo. Se sugieren estrategias psico-educativas que favorezcan la temprana detección y adecuado abordaje de los signos de sufrimiento emocional y conductas de riesgo en infantes.Diversas pesquisas demostram o incremento da Depressão infantil em vários países, e apontam ao autoconceito como preditor associado da Depressão, risco suicida e outras condutas de risco, que podem manifestar-se na infância ou posteriormente. Existem escassos estudos publicados no México sobre Depressão e comportamento suicida em crianças, a pesar do alarmante aumento do suicídio consumado neste grupo etário. Este estudo teve por objetivo descrever a relação entre Depressão e autoconceito em uma amostra de crianças escolarizadas do estado de Guanajuato, México. O presente foi um estudo descritivo, ex-post-facto, transversal, com uma amostragem intencional; participaram 217 crianças escolarizadas, ambos os sexos, entre 9 e 13 anos de idade. Aplicaram-se o Inventário de Depressão Infantil e o Questionário de Autoconceito Geral. Os resultados mostraram pontuações por cima do esperado em Depressão leve/moderada e severa, Ideação Suicida e baixo autoconceito. Se encontraram níveis de correlação significativos entre o Autoconceito e a sintomatologia depressiva e o sexo. Sugerem-se estratégias psico-educativas que favoreçam a prematura detecção e adequada abordagem dos signos de sofrimento emocional e condutas de risco em crianças

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: Data Characterization and Map Making

We present a description of the data reduction and mapmaking pipeline used for the 2008 observing season of the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT). The data presented here at 148 GHz represent 12% of the 90 TB collected by ACT from 2007 to 2010. In 2008 we observed for 136 days, producing a total of 1423 hours of data (11 TB for the 148 GHz band only), with a daily average of 10.5 hours of observation. From these, 1085 hours were devoted to a 850 deg^2 stripe (11.2 hours by 9.1 deg) centered on a declination of -52.7 deg, while 175 hours were devoted to a 280 deg^2 stripe (4.5 hours by 4.8 deg) centered at the celestial equator. We discuss sources of statistical and systematic noise, calibration, telescope pointing, and data selection. Out of 1260 survey hours and 1024 detectors per array, 816 hours and 593 effective detectors remain after data selection for this frequency band, yielding a 38% survey efficiency. The total sensitivity in 2008, determined from the noise level between 5 Hz and 20 Hz in the time-ordered data stream (TOD), is 32 micro-Kelvin sqrt{s} in CMB units. Atmospheric brightness fluctuations constitute the main contaminant in the data and dominate the detector noise covariance at low frequencies in the TOD. The maps were made by solving the least-squares problem using the Preconditioned Conjugate Gradient method, incorporating the details of the detector and noise correlations. Cross-correlation with WMAP sky maps, as well as analysis from simulations, reveal that our maps are unbiased at multipoles ell > 300. This paper accompanies the public release of the 148 GHz southern stripe maps from 2008. The techniques described here will be applied to future maps and data releases.Comment: 20 pages, 18 figures, 6 tables, an ACT Collaboration pape

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: Sunyaev Zel'dovich Selected Galaxy Clusters at 148 GHz in the 2008 Survey

We report on twenty-three clusters detected blindly as Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) decrements in a 148 GHz, 455 square-degree map of the southern sky made with data from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope 2008 observing season. All SZ detections announced in this work have confirmed optical counterparts. Ten of the clusters are new discoveries. One newly discovered cluster, ACT-CL J0102-4915, with a redshift of 0.75 (photometric), has an SZ decrement comparable to the most massive systems at lower redshifts. Simulations of the cluster recovery method reproduce the sample purity measured by optical follow-up. In particular, for clusters detected with a signal-to-noise ratio greater than six, simulations are consistent with optical follow-up that demonstrated this subsample is 100% pure. The simulations further imply that the total sample is 80% complete for clusters with mass in excess of 6x10^14 solar masses referenced to the cluster volume characterized by five hundred times the critical density. The Compton y -- X-ray luminosity mass comparison for the eleven best detected clusters visually agrees with both self-similar and non-adiabatic, simulation-derived scaling laws.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, Accepted for publication in Ap