Surveys of ultraviolet-excess quasar candidates in large fields

in Astronomy and Astrophysics. Supplement Series (1997), 123

We describe the results of a survey for moderately bright quasars performed in a 20.6-square-degree field around the galaxy NGC 450. The quasar candidates were selected on the basis of their ultraviolet ... [more ▼]

We describe the results of a survey for moderately bright quasars performed in a 20.6-square-degree field around the galaxy NGC 450. The quasar candidates were selected on the basis of their ultraviolet excess: by comparative visual inspection of the double image of each single object on a U/B dual-exposure Schmidt photographic plate, 95 primary and 45 secondary quasar candidates were selected on the basis of their $U$ image being too bright. The spectroscopic identification of the primary candidates led to the discovery of 59 bona fide quasars (out of which 6 were previously known). The Palomar Schmidt plate was digitised using the MAMA measuring machine and the outcoming data reduced using ad hoc procedures. A photometric calibration allowed us to derive values for the limiting magnitudes and for the U-B index selection threshold of the survey. A catalogue containing 60 quasars is presented with accurate positions, magnitudes and additional information such as redshifts. We studied the spatial distribution of the objects and detected, for the quasars of our sample, a significant deviation from randomness in the form of a propensity to cluster in pairs on the celestial sphere with a typical scale of about 10 arcmin. We also formally detected a tendency towards a 3-D clustering, but this result is induced by a single pair of quasars. A forthcoming paper will deal with a similar work performed in a field around NGC 520; the latter field is located directly to the North of the present one and slightly overlaps it. Based on observations acquired at the Mount Palomar and Las Campanas Observatories as well as at the European Southern Observatory. Also based on Schmidt-plate digitisations performed with the MAMA measuring machine of C.A.I. (I.N.S.U., Paris). [less ▲]

Surveys with the 4-m International Liquid Mirror Telescope

in Mining the Sky (2001)

The working principle of liquid mirror telescopes (LMTs) is first reminded as well as their advantages and disadvantages over classical telescopes. For several obvious reasons (access to regions near the ... [more ▼]

The working principle of liquid mirror telescopes (LMTs) is first reminded as well as their advantages and disadvantages over classical telescopes. For several obvious reasons (access to regions near the south galactic pole, galactic center, good image quality, ...), a best site location for such a LMT is somewhere in the Atacama desert. At latitudes near -22 - -29 degree, a deep (B = 24 mag.) LMT survey will approximately cover 90 square degrees at high galactic latitude, specially useful for gravitational lensing studies, for the identification of various classes of interesting extragalactic objects (cf. clusters, supernovae, etc. at high redshift) and subsequent follow-up observations with 8m-class telescopes. A short description of the handling of data products is also presented. [less ▲]

La survie de l’école primaire congolaise (RDC) : héritage colonial, hybridité et résilience

in Autrepart : Revue de Sciences Sociales au Sud (2010), 54(2), 23-42

Colonial Heritage, Resilience and Hybridity of the Congolese School (RDC) This contribution attempts to grasp the mechanisms that explain the resilience of the Congolese primary education despite the ... [more ▼]

Colonial Heritage, Resilience and Hybridity of the Congolese School (RDC) This contribution attempts to grasp the mechanisms that explain the resilience of the Congolese primary education despite the thirty-five years crisis that continues to affect the Democratic Republic of Congo and the almost complete lack of public investment in this sector since the early eighties. The central argument stresses the need to explain such mechanisms beyond the effects of privatization only. It particularly emphasizes the arrangements made within the education system, documenting their historical roots, and arguing that they are ultimately founded on the “concessionary” state structure that prevailed in colonial times. [less ▲]

Survival analysis: finding relevant epistatic SNP pairs using Model- Based Multifactor Dimensionality Reduction

Conference (2012, December 03)

Analyzing the combined effects of genes (and/or environmental factors) on the development of complex diseases is quite challenging, both from the statistical and computational perspective, even using a ... [more ▼]

Analyzing the combined effects of genes (and/or environmental factors) on the development of complex diseases is quite challenging, both from the statistical and computational perspective, even using a relatively small number of genetic and non-genetic exposures. Several data-mining methods have been proposed for interaction analysis, among them, the Multifactor Dimensionality Reduction Method (MDR). Model-Based Multifactor Dimensionality Reduction (MB-MDR), a relatively new dimensionality reduction technique, is able to unify the best of both nonparametric and parametric worlds, and has proven its utility in a variety of theoretical and practical settings. Until now, MB-MDR software has only accommodated traits that are measured on a binary or interval scale. Time-to-event data could therefore not be analyzed with the MB-MDR methodology. MB-MDR-3.0.0 overcomes this shortcoming of earlier versions. We show the added value of MB-MDR for censored traits by comparing the implemented strategies with more classical methods such as those based on a parametric regression paradigm. The simulation results are supplemented with an application to real-life data. [less ▲]

Survival of a convective core in low-mass solar-like pulsator HD 203608

in Astronomy and Astrophysics (2010), 514

Context. A 5-night asteroseismic observation of the F8V star HD 203608 was conducted in August 2006 with harps, followed by an analysis of the data, and a preliminary modeling of the star (Mosser et al ... [more ▼]

Context. A 5-night asteroseismic observation of the F8V star HD 203608 was conducted in August 2006 with harps, followed by an analysis of the data, and a preliminary modeling of the star (Mosser et al. 2008). The stellar parameters were significantly constrained, but the behavior of one of the seismic indexes (the small spacing δν[SUB]01[/SUB]) could not be fitted with the observed one, even with the best considered models. <BR /> Aims: We study the possibility of improving the agreement between models and observations by changing the physical properties of the inner parts of the star (to which δν[SUB]01[/SUB] is sensitive). <BR /> Methods: We show that, in spite of its low mass, it is possible to produce models of HD 203608 with a convective core. No such model was considered in the preliminary modeling. In practice, we obtain these models here by assuming some extra mixing at the edge of the early convective core. We optimized the model parameters using the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm. <BR /> Results: The agreement between the new best model with a convective core and the observations is much better than for the models without. All the observational parameters are fitted within 1-Ï observational error bars. This is the first observational evidence of a convective core in an old and low-mass star such as HD 203608. In standard models of low-mass stars, the core withdraws shortly after the ZAMS. The survival of the core until the present age of HD 203608 provides very strong constraints on the size of the mixed zone associated to the convective core. Using overshooting as a proxy to model the processes of transport at the edge of the core, we find that to reproduce both global and seismic observations, we must have α[SUB]{ov[/SUB]} = 0.17 ± 0.03 H[SUB]p[/SUB] for HD 203608. We revisit the process of the extension of the core lifetime due to overshooting in the particular case of HD 203608. [less ▲]

Survival of Freeze-dried Leuconostoc mesenteroides and Lactobacillus plantarum Related to Their Cellular Fatty Acids Composition during Storage

in Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology (2009), 157(1), 70-84

Lactic acid bacteria strains Lactobacillus plantarum CWBI-B534 and Leuconostoc ssp. mesenteroïdes (L. mesenteroïdes) Kenya MRog2 were produced in bioreactor, concentrated, with or without cryoprotectants ... [more ▼]

Lactic acid bacteria strains Lactobacillus plantarum CWBI-B534 and Leuconostoc ssp. mesenteroïdes (L. mesenteroïdes) Kenya MRog2 were produced in bioreactor, concentrated, with or without cryoprotectants. In general, viable population did not change significantly after freeze-drying (p>0.05). In most cases, viable population for cells added with cryoprotectants was significantly lower than those without (p<0.05). Cellular fatty acids (CFAs) from the two strains in this study were analyzed before and after freeze-drying. Six CFAs were identified, namely, palmitic (C16:0), palmitoleic (C16:1), stearic (C18:0), oleic (C18:1), linoleic (C18:2), and linolenic (C18:3) acids were identified. Four of them, C16:0, C16:1, C18:0, and C18:1, make up more than 94% or 93% of the fatty acids in L. mesenteroides and L. plantarum, respectively, with another one, namely, C18:3, making a smaller (on average 5–6%, respectively) contribution. The C18:2 contributed very small percentages (on average≤1%) to the total in each strain. C16:0 had the highest proportion at most points relative to other fatty acids. Moisture content and water activity (a w) increased significantly during the storage period. It was observed that C16:1/C16:0, C18:0/C16:0 and C18:1/C16:0 ratios for freeze-dried L. mesenteroides or L. plantarum, with or without cryoprotectants, did not change significantly during the storage period. According to the packaging mode and storage temperatures, C18:2/C16:0 and C18:3/C16:0 ratios for freeze-dried L. mesenteroides and L. plantarum with or without cryoprotectants decreased as the storage time increased. However, a higher C18:2/C16:0 or C18:3/C16:0 ratio for L. mesenteroides and L. plantarum was noted in the freeze-dried powder held at 4 °C or under vacuum and in dark than at 20 °C or in the presence of oxygen and light [less ▲]

Survival Rate Analysis of Freeze-Dried Lactic Acid Bacteria Using the Arrhenius and Z-Value Models

in Journal of Food Protection (2008), 71(2), 431-4

The survival rate of five freeze-dried bacteria species, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus pentosus, Weisella paramesenteroides, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, and Lactobacillus fermentum, was described ... [more ▼]

The survival rate of five freeze-dried bacteria species, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus pentosus, Weisella paramesenteroides, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, and Lactobacillus fermentum, was described in terms of reaction rate constants (D or k) and temperature sensitivity of rate constants (z or Ea). The freeze-dried strains were stored under vacuum at 55, 37, and 4 degrees C for 168 h, 17 days, and 2 months, respectively. D-values decreased and k increased with an increase of the storage temperature. Neither the z-value nor the inactivation energy (Ea) of the reaction was significantly different (P > 0.05) for all the strains, suggesting that thermal inactivation of the freeze-dried lactic acid bacteria may occur by the same mechanism. Therefore, it was possible to compare rate constants of survival for the freeze-dried strains studied. [less ▲]

Survival, immune responses and tissue cyst production in outbred (Swiss white) and inbred (CBA/Ca) strains of mice experimentally infected with Neospora caninum tachyzoites

in Veterinary Research (2004), 35(2, Mar-Apr), 225-232

The present work compared inbred (CBA/Ca) and outbred (Swiss white) strains of mice for their capacity to cope with a Neospora caninum infection and to consistently produce tissue cysts. In each ... [more ▼]

The present work compared inbred (CBA/Ca) and outbred (Swiss white) strains of mice for their capacity to cope with a Neospora caninum infection and to consistently produce tissue cysts. In each experiment Swiss white and CBA/Ca mice were given three different doses of NC-1 tachyzoites. Lymphoproliferative and Immoral responses as well as cytokine production were evaluated eight weeks after infection (PI) whereas tissue cyst production and histopathology were assessed 4, 6 and 10 weeks PI in immunosuppressed mice. Tissue cysts were observed 10 weeks after infection only in CBA/Ca mice receiving the two highest inoculum doses. Furthermore this strain showed the highest specific lymphoproliferative response. A mixed cytokine response with elevated IFN-gamma and fairly low IL-4 and IL-10 secretion was recorded. In both strains, no lesions were observed in the tissues of infected mice. This study indicates that CBA/Ca female mice infected with 5 x 10(6) NC-1 tachyzoites represent a useful model for the study of specific maternal immune responses in pregnant animals. [less ▲]

Survivin enhances radiation resistance in primary human glioblastoma cells via caspase-independent mechanisms.

in Oncogene (2004), 23(45), 7494-506

The observed radioresistance of human glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) poses a major challenge, which, if overcome, may lead to significant advances in the management of this patient population. There is ... [more ▼]

The observed radioresistance of human glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) poses a major challenge, which, if overcome, may lead to significant advances in the management of this patient population. There is accumulating evidence from correlative studies that Survivin expression is associated with increased malignant potential of human gliomas. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether Survivin plays a direct role in mediating radiation resistance in primary human glioma cell lines, and, if so, investigating the underlying mechanisms. Our panel of GBM cell lines included two that were relatively radiation resistant (GM20 and GM21) and two that were more radiation sensitive (GM22 and GM23), which demonstrated differential levels of Survivin expression between the two groups. Through the use of adenoviral vectors containing either dominant-negative (pAd-S(T34A)) or wild-type Suvrivin (pAd-S(WT)), we were able to inactivate or overexpress Survivin, respectively. Our findings suggest that Survivin plays a critical role in mediating radiation resistance in primary GBM cells, in part through suppression of apoptotic cell death via a caspase-independent manner. We have identified novel mechanisms by which Survivin may enhance tumor cell survival upon radiation exposure such as regulation of double-strand DNA break repair and tumor cell metabolism, which were most evident in the radiation-resistant cell lines. These differences in Survivin function both in radiation-resistant vs radiation-sensitive cell lines and in the presence vs absence of radiation exposure warrant further investigation and highlight potentially important mechanisms of radiation resistance in these tumors. [less ▲]

Survol historique des utilisations pédagogiques de l'ordinateur au travers de faits saillants dans cinq pays : version provisoire

Report (1988)