The evolutionary status of the white dwarf companion of the binary pulsar PSR J1713+0747

Splaver and coworkers have measured the masses of the white dwarf and the neutron star components of the PSR J1713+0747 binary system pair by Shapiro Delay. We attempt to find the original configuration of this system performing a set of binary evolution calculations to simultaneously account for the masses of both stars and the orbital period. We considered initial masses of 1.5 and 1.4 \msun for the normal (donor) and the neutron star, respectively. We assumed two metallicity values (Z = 0.010 and 0.020), and an initial orbital period near 3 days. We assume that the neutron star is only able to retain \lesssim 0.10 of the matter transferred by the donor star. Calculations were performed employing our binary hydro code that handles the mass transfer rate in a fully implicit way together with state-of-the-art physical ingredients, diffusion and a non-grey atmospheres. We compare the structure of the resulting white dwarfs with the characteristic age of PSR J1713+0747 finding a nice agreement with observations by Lundgren et al. especially for the case of a donor star with Z= 0.010. This result indicates that the evolution of this kind of binary system is well understood. The models predict that, due to diffusion, the atmosphere of the white dwarf is an almost hydrogen-pure one. We find that such structures are unable to account for the colours measured by Lundgren et al. within their error bars. Thus, some discrepances in the white dwarf emergent radiation remain to be explained

Genomics knowledge and attitudes among European public health professionals. Results of a cross-sectional survey

Background The international public health (PH) community is debating the opportunity to incorporate genomic technologies into PH practice. A survey was conducted to assess attitudes of the European Public Health Association (EUPHA) members towards their role in the implementation of public health genomics (PHG), and their knowledge and attitudes towards genetic testing and the delivery of genetic services. Methods EUPHA members were invited via monthly newsletter and e-mail to take part in an online survey from February 2017 to January 2018. A descriptive analysis of knowledge and attitudes was conducted, along with a univariate and multivariate analysis of their determinants. Results Five hundred and two people completed the questionnaire, 17.9% were involved in PHG activities. Only 28.9% correctly identified all medical conditions for which there is (or not) evidence for implementing genetic testing; over 60% thought that investing in genomics may divert economic resources from social and environmental determinants of health. The majority agreed that PH professionals may play different roles in incorporating genomics into their activities. Better knowledge was associated with positive attitudes towards the use of genetic testing and the delivery of genetic services in PH (OR = 1.48; 95% CI 1.01–2.18). Conclusions Our study revealed quite positive attitudes, but also a need to increase awareness on genomics among European PH professionals. Those directly involved in PHG activities tend to have a more positive attitude and better knowledge; however, gaps are also evident in this group, suggesting the need to harmonize practice and encourage greater exchange of knowledge among professionals

Atrial natriuretic peptide effects on intracellular pH changes and ROS production in HEPG2 cells: Role of p38 MAPK and phospholipase D

Aims: The present study was performed to evaluate Atrial Natriuretic Peptide ( ANP) effects on intracellular pH, phospholipase D and ROS production and the possible relationship among them in HepG2 cells. Cancer extracellular microenvironment is more acidic than normal tissues and the activation of NHE- 1, the only system able to regulate pHi homeostasis in this condition, can represent an important event in cell proliferation and malignant transformation. Methods: The ANP effects on pHi were evaluated by fluorescence spectrometry. The effects on p38 MAPK and ROS production were evaluated by immunoblots and analysis of DCF- DA fluorescence, respectively. RT- PCR analysis and Western blotting were used to determine the ANP effect on mRNA NHE- 1 expression and protein levels. PLD- catalyzed conversion of phosphatidylcholine to phosphatydilethanol ( PetOH), in the presence of ethanol, was monitored by thin layer chromatography. Results: A significant pHi decrease was observed in ANP- treated HepG2 cells and this effect was paralleled by the enhancement of PLD activity and ROS production. The ANP effect on pHi was coupled to an increased p38 MAPK phosphorylation and a down- regulation of mRNA NHE- 1 expression and protein levels. Moreover, the relationship between PLD and ROS production was demonstrated by calphostin- c, a potent inhibitor of PLD. At the same time, all assessed ANP- effects were mediated by NPR- C receptors. Conclusion: Our results indicate that ANP recruits a signal pathway associated with p38 MAPK, NHE- 1 and PLD responsible for ROS production, suggesting a possible role for ANP as novel modulator of ROS generation in HepG2 cells. Copyright (C) 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel

Thoughts of death disrupt foresight:The 'ostrich bias'

Humans have a predilection for optimistic personal scenarios when thinking of their future. They tend not to project stressful episodes into the future and are inclined to repress the idea of their vulnerability, to an extent that, when explicitly asked to think about their death, they use various cognitive strategies to deny it. In this study, we investigated the specific coping persons can use when required to construct personal future scenarios after imagining their own death. Our participants were asked to describe in details first the moment of their own’s death and then past and future personal events. We observed a selective reduction in specificity, but not in accessibility, of future simulations, whereas past episodes were normally re-constructed in all the conditions. We named this effect the ‘ostrich bias’. We interpreted it as a protective behaviour against future thoughts that could possibly direct toward an inescapable mental threat

Participatory Patterns in an International Air Quality Monitoring Initiative

The issue of sustainability is at the top of the political and societal agenda, being considered of extreme importance and urgency. Human individual action impacts the environment both locally (e.g., local air/water quality, noise disturbance) and globally (e.g., climate change, resource use). Urban environments represent a crucial example, with an increasing realization that the most effective way of producing a change is involving the citizens themselves in monitoring campaigns (a citizen science bottom-up approach). This is possible by developing novel technologies and IT infrastructures enabling large citizen participation. Here, in the wider framework of one of the first such projects, we show results from an international competition where citizens were involved in mobile air pollution monitoring using low cost sensing devices, combined with a web-based game to monitor perceived levels of pollution. Measures of shift in perceptions over the course of the campaign are provided, together with insights into participatory patterns emerging from this study. Interesting effects related to inertia and to direct involvement in measurement activities rather than indirect information exposure are also highlighted, indicating that direct involvement can enhance learning and environmental awareness. In the future, this could result in better adoption of policies towards decreasing pollution.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures, 1 supplementary fil

Semileptonic B decays into even parity charmed mesons

By using a constituent quark model we compute the form factors relevant to semileptonic transitions of B mesons into low-lying p-wave charmed mesons. We evaluate the q^2 dependence of these form factors and compare them with other model calculations. The Isgur-Wise functions tau(1/2) and tau(3/2) are also obtained in the heavy quark limit of our results.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figure

Capacitive actuation and switching of add\u2013drop graphene-silicon micro-ring filters

We propose and experimentally demonstrate capacitive actuation of a graphene\u2013silicon micro-ring add/drop filter. The mechanism is based on a silicon\u2013SiO2\u2013graphene capacitor on top of the ring waveguide. We show the capacitive actuation of the add/drop functionality by a voltage-driven change of the graphene optical absorption. The proposed capacitive solution overcomes the need for continuous heating to keep tuned the filter\u2019s in/out resonance and therefore eliminates \u201cin operation\u201d energy consumption

Defecting or not defecting: how to "read" human behavior during cooperative games by EEG measurements

Understanding the neural mechanisms responsible for human social interactions is difficult, since the brain activities of two or more individuals have to be examined simultaneously and correlated with the observed social patterns. We introduce the concept of hyper-brain network, a connectivity pattern representing at once the information flow among the cortical regions of a single brain as well as the relations among the areas of two distinct brains. Graph analysis of hyper-brain networks constructed from the EEG scanning of 26 couples of individuals playing the Iterated Prisoner's Dilemma reveals the possibility to predict non-cooperative interactions during the decision-making phase. The hyper-brain networks of two-defector couples have significantly less inter-brain links and overall higher modularity - i.e. the tendency to form two separate subgraphs - than couples playing cooperative or tit-for-tat strategies. The decision to defect can be "read" in advance by evaluating the changes of connectivity pattern in the hyper-brain network

Sistemas de software distribuido

El objetivo de este subproyecto es realizar investigación y desarrollo en temas relacionados con los aspectos de Ingeniería de Software que se orientan al desarrollo e implementación de proyectos concretos de Sistemas Distribuidos, manejo de datos físicamente distribuidos y soluciones de hardware y software para Sistemas Distribuidos de Tiempo Real. En este contexto se trabaja en aspectos de la Ingeniería de Software de diferentes sistemas con inteligencia distribuida (computadoras, robots, teléfonos móviles).Eje: Ingeniería de Software y Base de Dato