Nuclear bars and blue nuclei within barred spiral galaxies

Multicolour near IR photometry for a sample of 32 large barred spiral galaxies is presented. By applying ellipse fitting techniques, we identify significant isophote twists with respect to the primary bar axis in the nuclear regions of $\sim$70 \%\ of the sample. These twists are identified in galaxies as late as SBbc and are clearly distinguishable from spiral arm morphology. At most seven of the galaxies with isophote twists are inferred to possess secondary (nuclear) bars, the axis ratios of which appear to correlate with morphological type. The remainder may result from triaxial bulges, or from oblate bulges misaligned with the primary bar. The near IR colour distributions in these data show evidence for (red) circumnuclear star forming rings in 4 galaxies. The majority of the sample (19) also possess striking blue nuclear regions, bluer than typical old stellar populations by $\sim$0.3 mag. in (J--H) and $\sim$0.23 mag. in (H--K). Such blue colours do not appear to correlate with the presence of nuclear rings or pseudo--rings, nor with the activity of the host galaxy (as determined from emission--line spectroscopic characteristics). Several mechanisms to explain this blue colour are considered.Comment: 24 pages plain LaTex( including table captions), 5 tables and 18 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Paper and tables available via anonymous ftp://143.167.4.101/pub/papers as sqiid-paper.tex and table1,2,3.tex, table4.ps, table5.ps. Figures available as postcript upon request to first Autho

Sainfoin – New Data on Anthelmintic Effects and Production in Sheep and Goats

Gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) are one of the most important problems affecting health and therefore performance and welfare in small ruminant husbandry. The control of these parasites in the past strongly relied on the repeated use of anthelmintic drugs. This has led to nematode populations which are resistant to most of the currently available anthelmintics. Furthermore customer’s demands for organic and residue free animal products are increasing. The aforementioned problems have given a strong impetus for the development of new non-chemical strategies to control GIN. Previous research has pointed out the anthelmintic potential of sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia) and other tanniferous (CT) feed sources in goats and lambs infected with GIN. A recent Swiss experiment focussed on the use of sainfoin and field bean (Vicia faba, cv. Scirocco) as single CT sources as well as in combination for additional synergic effects, to reduce periparturient GIN egg rise of ewes in late gestation and early lactation. Another experiment with Alpine goats concentrated on the influence of sainfoin on milk performance and cheese quality. The results of these experiments will be presented and discussed in connection with previous knowledge on (i) anthelmintic effects of sainfoin and (ii) the influence of sainfoin administration on performance

Searching for the Annual Modulation of Dark Matter signal with the GENIUS-TF experiment

The annual modulation of the recoil spectrum observed in an underground detector is well known as the main signature of a possible WIMP signal. The GENIUS-TF experiment, under construction in the Gran Sasso National Laboratory, can search for the annual modulation of the Dark Matter signal using 40 kg of naked-Ge detectors in liquid nitrogen. Starting from a set of data simulated under the hypothesis of modulation and using different methods, we show the potential of GENIUS-TF for extracting the modulated signal and the expected WIMP mass and WIMP cross section.Comment: In press, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment (2003) and in Proc. of IDM2002, York Minster, England, 2-6 September, 2002, World Scientific 200

Superconductivity at 17 K in Yttrium Metal under Nearly Hydrostatic Pressures to 89 GPa

In an experiment in a diamond anvil cell utilizing helium pressure medium, yttrium metal displays a superconducting transition temperature which increases monotonically from Tc ? 3.5 K at 30 GPa to 17 K at 89.3 GPa, one of the highest transition temperatures for any elemental superconductor. The pressure dependence of Tc differs substantially from that observed in previous studies under quasihydrostatic pressure to 30 GPa. Remarkably, the dependence of Tc on relative volume V/Vo is linear over the entire pressure range above 33 GPa, implying that higher values of Tc are likely at higher pressures. For the trivalent metals Sc, Y, La, Lu there appears to be some correlation between Tc and the ratio of the Wigner-Seitz radius to the ion core radius.Comment: submitted for publicatio

The Sun's position in the sky

We express the position of the Sun in the sky as a function of time and the observer's geographic coordinates. Our method is based on applying rotation matrices to vectors describing points on the celestial sphere. We also derive direct expressions, as functions of date of the year and geographic latitude, for the duration of daylight, the maximum and minimum altitudes of the Sun, and the cardinal directions to sunrise and sunset. We discuss how to account for the eccentricity of the earth's orbit, the precessions of the equinoxes and the perihelion, the size of the solar disk, and atmospheric refraction. We illustrate these results by computing the dates of "Manhattanhenge" (when sunset aligns with the east-west streets on the main traffic grid for Manhattan, in New York City), by plotting the altitude of the Sun over representative cities as a function of time, and by showing plots ("analemmas") for the position of the Sun in the sky at a given hour of the day.Comment: 19 pages, 16 figures. v3: Replaced to match published version and to re-package Mathematica notebook as an ancillary fil

Antibodies to the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor type 1 (ITPR1) in cerebellar ataxia

We report on a serum autoantibody associated with cerebellar ataxia. Immunohistochemical studies of sera from four patients referred for autoantibody testing revealed binding of high-titer (up to 1:5,000) IgG antibodies, mainly IgG1, to the molecular layer, Purkinje cell layer, and white matter on mouse, rat, porcine, and monkey cerebellum sections. The antibody bound to PC somata, dendrites, and axons, resulting in a binding pattern similar to that reported for anti-Ca/anti-ARHGAP26, but did not react with recombinant ARHGAP26. Extensive control studies were performed to rule out a broad panel of previously described paraneoplastic and non-paraneoplastic anti-neural autoantibodies. The characteristic binding pattern as well as double staining experiments suggested inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor type 1 (ITPR1) as the target antigen. Verification of the antigen included specific neutralization of the tissue reaction following preadsorption with ITPR1 (but not ARHGAP26) and a dot-blot assay with purified ITPR1 protein. By contrast, anti-ARHGAP26-positive sera did not bind to ITPR1. In a parallel approach, a combination of histoimmunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry also identified ITPR1 as the target antigen. Finally, a recombinant cell-based immunofluorescence assay using HEK293 cells expressing ITPR1 and ARHGAP26, respectively, confirmed the identification of ITPR1. Mutations of ITPR1 have previously been implicated in spinocerebellar ataxia with and without cognitive decline. Our findings suggest a role of autoimmunity against ITPR1 in the pathogenesis of autoimmune cerebellitis and extend the panel of diagnostic markers for this disease

Different genes interact with particulate matter and tobacco smoke exposure in affecting lung function decline in the general population

BACKGROUND: Oxidative stress related genes modify the effects of ambient air pollution or tobacco smoking on lung function decline. The impact of interactions might be substantial, but previous studies mostly focused on main effects of single genes. OBJECTIVES: We studied the interaction of both exposures with a broad set of oxidative-stress related candidate genes and pathways on lung function decline and contrasted interactions between exposures. METHODS: For 12679 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), change in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV(1)), FEV(1) over forced vital capacity (FEV(1)/FVC), and mean forced expiratory flow between 25 and 75% of the FVC (FEF(25-75)) was regressed on interval exposure to particulate matter >10 microm in diameter (PM10) or packyears smoked (a), additive SNP effects (b), and interaction terms between (a) and (b) in 669 adults with GWAS data. Interaction p-values for 152 genes and 14 pathways were calculated by the adaptive rank truncation product (ARTP) method, and compared between exposures. Interaction effect sizes were contrasted for the strongest SNPs of nominally significant genes (p(interaction)>0.05). Replication was attempted for SNPs with MAF<10% in 3320 SAPALDIA participants without GWAS. RESULTS: On the SNP-level, rs2035268 in gene SNCA accelerated FEV(1)/FVC decline by 3.8% (p(interaction) = 2.5x10(-6)), and rs12190800 in PARK2 attenuated FEV1 decline by 95.1 ml p(interaction) = 9.7x10(-8)) over 11 years, while interacting with PM10. Genes and pathways nominally interacting with PM10 and packyears exposure differed substantially. Gene CRISP2 presented a significant interaction with PM10 (p(interaction) = 3.0x10(-4)) on FEV(1)/FVC decline. Pathway interactions were weak. Replications for the strongest SNPs in PARK2 and CRISP2 were not successful. CONCLUSIONS: Consistent with a stratified response to increasing oxidative stress, different genes and pathways potentially mediate PM10 and tobac smoke effects on lung function decline. Ignoring environmental exposures would miss these patterns, but achieving sufficient sample size and comparability across study samples is challengin

Forward K+ production in subthreshold pA collisions at 1.0 GeV

K+ meson production in pA (A = C, Cu, Au) collisions has been studied using the ANKE spectrometer at an internal target position of the COSY-Juelich accelerator. The complete momentum spectrum of kaons emitted at forward angles, theta < 12 degrees, has been measured for a beam energy of T(p)=1.0 GeV, far below the free NN threshold of 1.58 GeV. The spectrum does not follow a thermal distribution at low kaon momenta and the larger momenta reflect a high degree of collectivity in the target nucleus.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Thermodynamic analysis of the Quantum Critical behavior of Ce-lattice compounds

A systematic analysis of low temperature magnetic phase diagrams of Ce compounds is performed in order to recognize the thermodynamic conditions to be fulfilled by those systems to reach a quantum critical regime and, alternatively, to identify other kinds of low temperature behaviors. Based on specific heat ($C_m$) and entropy ($S_m$) results, three different types of phase diagrams are recognized: i) with the entropy involved into the ordered phase ($S_{MO}$) decreasing proportionally to the ordering temperature ($T_{MO}$), ii) those showing a transference of degrees of freedom from the ordered phase to a non-magnetic component, with their $C_m(T_{MO})$ jump ($\Delta C_m$) vanishing at finite temperature, and iii) those ending in a critical point at finite temperature because their $\Delta C_m$ do not decrease with $T_{MO}$ producing an entropy accumulation at low temperature. Only those systems belonging to the first case, i.e. with $S_{MO}\to 0$ as $T_{MO}\to 0$, can be regarded as candidates for quantum critical behavior. Their magnetic phase boundaries deviate from the classical negative curvature below $T\approx 2.5$\,K, denouncing frequent misleading extrapolations down to T=0. Different characteristic concentrations are recognized and analyzed for Ce-ligand alloyed systems. Particularly, a pre-critical region is identified, where the nature of the magnetic transition undergoes significant modifications, with its $\partial C_m/\partial T$ discontinuity strongly affected by magnetic field and showing an increasing remnant entropy at $T\to 0$. Physical constraints arising from the third law at $T\to 0$ are discussed and recognized from experimental results