Search

SOXS (Son Of X-Shooter) is a single object spectrograph, characterized by offering a wide simultaneous spectral coverage from U- to H-band, built by an international consortium for the 3.6-m ESO New Technology Telescope at the La Silla Observatory, in the Southern part of the Chilean Atacama Desert. The consortium is focussed on a clear scientific goal: the spectrograph will observe all kind of transient and variable sources discovered by different surveys with a highly flexible schedule, updated daily, based on the Target of Opportunity concept. It will provide a key spectroscopic partner to any kind of imaging survey, becoming one of the premier transient follow-up instruments in the Southern hemisphere. SOXS will study a mixture of transients encompassing all distance scales and branches of astronomy, including fast alerts (such as gamma-ray bursts and gravitational waves), mid-term alerts (such as supernovae and X-ray transients), and fixed-time events (such as the close-by passage of a minor planet or exoplanets). It will also have the scope to observe active galactic nuclei and blazars, tidal disruption events, fast radio bursts, and more. Besides of the consortium programs on guaranteed time, the instrument is offered to the ESO community for any kind of astrophysical target. The project has passed the Final Design Review and is currently in manufacturing and integration phase. This paper describes the development status of the project., Proc SPIE Volume 11447, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy VIII, 1144709,2020

Son of X-Shooter (SOXS) will be a high-efficiency spectrograph with a mean Resolution-Slit product of ∼ 4500 over the entire band capable of simultaneously observing the complete spectral range 350-2000 nm. It consists of three scientific arms (the UV-VIS Spectrograph, the NIR Spectrograph, and the Acquisition Camera) connected by the Common Path system to the NTT, and the Calibration Unit. The Common Path is the backbone of the instrument and the interface to the NTT Nasmyth focus flange. The instrument project went through the Final Design Review in 2018 and is currently in Assembly Integration and test (AIT) Phase. This paper outlines the observing modes of SOXS and the efficiency of each subsystem and the laboratory test plan to evaluate it.

We present the development of the End-to-End simulator for the SOXS instrument at the ESO-NTT 3.5-m telescope. SOXS will be a spectroscopic facility, made by two arms high efficiency spectrographs, able to cover the spectral range 350-2000 nm with resolving power R˜4500. The E2E model allows to simulate the propagation of photons starting from the scientific target of interest up to the detectors. The outputs of the simulator are synthetic frames, which will be mainly exploited for optimizing the pipeline development and possibly assisting for proper alignment and integration phases in laboratory and at the telescope. In this paper, we will detail the architecture of the simulator and the computational model, which are strongly characterized by modularity and flexibility. Synthetic spectral formats, related to different seeing and observing conditions, and calibration frames to be ingested by the pipeline are also presented.

The identification of an emission line is unambiguous when multiple spectral features are clearly visible in the same spectrum. However, in many cases, only one line is detected, making it difficult to correctly determine the redshift. We developed a freely available unsupervised machine-learning algorithm based on unbiased topology (UMLAUT) that can be used in a very wide variety of contexts, including the identification of single emission lines. To this purpose, the algorithm combines different sources of information, such as the apparent magnitude, size and color of the emitting source, and the equivalent width and wavelength of the detected line. In each specific case, the algorithm automatically identifies the most relevant ones (i.e., those able to minimize the dispersion associated with the output parameter). The outputs can be easily integrated into different algorithms, allowing us to combine supervised and unsupervised techniques and increasing the overall accuracy. We tested our software on WISP (WFC3 IR Spectroscopic Parallel) survey data. WISP represents one of the closest existing analogs to the near-IR spectroscopic surveys that are going to be performed by the future Euclid and Roman missions. These missions will investigate the large-scale structure of the universe by surveying a large portion of the extragalactic sky in near-IR slitless spectroscopy, detecting a relevant fraction of single emission lines. In our tests, UMLAUT correctly identifies real lines in 83.2% of the cases. The accuracy is slightly higher (84.4%) when combining our unsupervised approach with a supervised approach we previously developed.

Resumen Introduccion El diagnostico precoz de pacientes con deterioro cognitivo minimo (DCM) es muy importante para iniciar tratamientos tempranos que puedan ralentizar su progresion hacia una demencia. En vista de que los marcadores biologicos e imagenologicos certeros no son accesibles a todos los sistemas de salud, la evaluacion clinica neuropsicologica asume un papel protagonico, como primer acercamiento al sujeto diana. Presentamos el test de reaccion cognitiva (TRC), una prueba computarizada de desarrollo personal, que evalua la capacidad de aprendizaje, el control ejecutivo, la atencion y la velocidad de procesamiento de la informacion, dimensiones inicialmente afectadas en sujetos con DCM. Objetivos Estandarizar y establecer el TRC como indicador de diferencia de DCM con sujetos control. Pacientes y metodos Se administro el TRC a 100 sujetos sanos y a 100 pacientes con DCM con edades entre los 50 a los 80 anos. Se evaluaron con la combinacion de escalas, baterias y test estandarizados (Mini-Mental State Examination, subtest de memoria de ADAS, Trail Making Test A y B y valoracion de CDR de Hughes). Resultados El calculo de las pruebas de U de Mann-Whitney y de Kruskal-Wallis corroboro la capacidad del TRC en la diferenciacion de sujetos sanos y sujetos con DCM. Se presentan los valores normativos del TRC. Conclusiones Se presenta una nueva prueba estandarizada, disenada para diferenciar pacientes con DCM de sujetos normales. Las tareas que componen el TRC arrojan tiempos de reaccion y errores lo constituye como una prueba fiable, ya que consigue distinguir a los pacientes que tienen DCM de sujetos controles.

SHARK-NIR is a coronagraphic camera that will be implemented at the Large Binocular Telescope. SHARK-NIR will offer extreme AO direct imaging capability on a field of view of about 18" x 18", and a simple coronagraphic spectroscopic mode offering spectral resolution ranging from 100 to 700. In order to meet the SHARK-NIR main scientific driver, i.e., searching for giant planets on wide orbits, a high contrast is necessary. A set of corona-graphic masks were tested, we selected the best performing configurations for the instrument: the Gaussian-Lyot coronagraph, a Shaped Pupil (SP) with 360° of discovery space and two SP masks with asymmetric detection area but with a small inner working angle and the Four Quadrant phase mask. Many simulations were performed to obtain the performance in different atmospheric conditions, including seeing variations, by using magnitude guide star from R = 8 to R = 14 and testing also the jitter value. These changes in simulation parameters reflected a variation in the corona-graphic performance. We analysed the simulation images by searching the best post processing to obtain the best performance for the coronagraph, moreover, we have taken account the fact that using, in the ADI technique, small subsets to generate the reference PSF can help attenuating the speckle noise, but it also results in a growing risk of planet removal if not enough field rotation occurs in the subset itself. We analysed the results after this effect is included, so the performances were shown as function of the Strehl Ratio condition to obtain mass and age limits for the detection of the planets.

International audience; Phase diversity is a focal plane wavefront sensing technique that allows to retrieve the phase aberration introduced by a camera starting from two images of whatever object, one of which (the diverse image) is intentionally corrupted by a known aberration. We present here the results of a simulation campaign aimed at assessing the validity of this approach for sensing non-common path aberrations (NCPA) in SHARK-NIR, the new-generation high-contrast imager for the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). The aberrations to be retrieved has been modeled on a realistic error budget of the instrument, while images are generated with an end-to-end Fresnel simulator which makes use of atmospheric phase screens to simulate realistic closed-loop observations. A wide parameter space is explored in order to identify the critical parameters and to estimate the expected level of correction.

A robust post processing technique is mandatory to analyse the coronagraphic high contrast imaging data. Angular Differential Imaging (ADI) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) are the most used approaches to suppress the quasi-static structure in the Point Spread Function (PSF) in order to revealing planets at different separations from the host star. The focus of this work is to apply these two data reduction techniques to obtain the best limit detection for each coronagraphic setting that has been simulated for the SHARK-NIR, a coronagraphic camera that will be implemented at the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). We investigated different seeing conditions ($0.4"-1"$) for stellar magnitude ranging from R=6 to R=14, with particular care in finding the best compromise between quasi-static speckle subtraction and planet detection., Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, proceeding for the fifth Adaptive Optics for Extremely Large Telescopes (AO4ELT5) meeting in 2017

International audience; Pyridoclax is an original oligopyridine lead, very promising in treatment of chemoresistant cancers. However, from solubility measurement and permeability evaluation, it appeared that this compound can be considered as a BCS II drug, with a poor water solubility. To overcome this unfavorable property, two strategies were proposed and compared: pyridoclax di-hydrochloride salt synthesis and formulation of pyridoclax-loaded nanoemulsions (PNEs) efficiently performed by transposing the spontaneous emulsification process previously developed by our team. Whereas the salt improved the thermodynamic solubility of the drug by a factor 4, the apparent solubility of the encapsulated pyridoclax was 1000-fold higher. Their stability was assessed upon dilution in various complex biomimetic media relevant for oral administration (SGF, FaSSIF-V2, FeSSIF-V2) or for the intravenous route (PBS). The solubility of the salt was affected by the nature of the medium, indicating that it could precipitate after administration, negatively impacting its bioavailability and its efficiency in vivo. On the contrary, in all media, PNEs remained stable in terms of granulometric properties (determined by DLS), ζ-potential and encapsulation efficiency (measured by HPLC). Thus, such nanomedicines appear as a valuable option to perform preclinical studies on the promising pyridoclax

The aim of this paper is to characterise the abundance patterns of five iron-peak elements (Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, and Zn) for which the stellar origin and chemical evolution are still debated. We automatically derived iron peak (Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, and Zn) and alpha element (Mg) chemical abundances for 4666 stars. We used the bimodal distribution of [Mg/Fe] to chemically classify sample stars into different Galactic substructures: thin disc, metal-poor and high-alpha metal rich, high-alpha and low-alpha metal-poor populations. High-alpha and low-alpha metal-poor populations are fully distinct in Mg, Cu, and Zn. Thin disc trends of [Ni/Fe] and [Cu/Fe] are very similar and show a small increase at supersolar metallicities. Thin and thick disc trends of Ni and Cu are very similar and indistinguishable. Mn looks different from Ni and Cu. [Mn/Fe] trends of thin and thick discs actually have noticeable differences: the thin disc is slightly Mn richer than the thick disc. [Zn/Fe] trends look very similar to those of [alpha/Fe] trends. The dispersion of results in both discs is low (approx 0.05 dex for [Mg, Mn, and Cu/Fe]) and is even much lower for [Ni/Fe] (approx 0.035 dex). Zn is an alpha-like element and could be used to separate thin and thick disc stars. [Mn/Mg] ratio could also be a very good tool for tagging Galactic substructures. Some models can partially reproduce the observed Mg, Zn, and, Cu behaviours. Models mostly fail to reproduce Mn and Ni in all metallicity domains, however, models adopting yields normalised from solar chemical properties reproduce Mn and Ni better, suggesting that there is still a lack of realistic theoretical yields of some iron-peak elements. Very low scatter (approx 0.05 dex) in thin and thick disc sequences could provide an observational constrain for Galactic evolutionary models that study the efficiency of stellar radial migration., 21 pages, 20 figures

MAORY is one of the four instruments for the E-ELT approved for construction. It is an adaptive optics module offering two compensation modes: multi-conjugate and single-conjugate adaptive optics. The project has recently entered its phase B. A system-level overview of the current status of the project is given in this paper.

The Haptik Library is component based architecture for uniform access to haptic devices. It introduces many advantages besides device independency, such as driver version transparency and both backward and future binary compatibility with new devices, drivers and APIs, thus solving many problems that arise when using other libraries or native SDKs. One of the key features of the Haptik Library is its plugin-based architecture that allows the addition of support for latest devices and drivers without requiring recompilation of the library or existing client applications. Moreover, the library has been designed to be easily used in existing complex applications with different architectures and even when replacing previously used libraries tor haptic device access. Its use is therefore recommended to add haptic rendering into already existing applications, to develop research applications requiring custom graphic engines, and to achieve easy but powerful low-level access to haptic devices.

Platelet derivatives are commonly used in wound healing and tissue regeneration. Different procedures of platelet preparation may differentially affect growth factor release and cell growth. Preparation of platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) is accompanied by release of growth factors, including platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and transforming growth factor ?1 (TGF?1), and several cytokines. When compared with the standard procedure for platelet-rich plasma (PRP), PRF released 2-fold less PDGF, but >15-fold and >2-fold VEGF and TGF?1, respectively. Also, the release of several cytokines (IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IFN?, MIP-1?, MIP-1? and TNF?) was significantly increased in PRF-conditioned medium (CM), compared to PRP-CM. Incubation of both human skin fibroblasts and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) with PRF-derived membrane (mPRF) or with PRF-CM enhanced cell proliferation by >2-fold (p < 0.05). Interestingly, PRP elicited fibroblast growth at a higher extent compared to PRF. At variance, PRF effect on HUVEC growth was significantly greater than that of PRP, consistent with a higher concentration of VEGF in the PRF-CM. Thus, the procedure of PRP preparation leads to a larger release of PDGF, as a possible result of platelet degranulation, while PRF enhances the release of proangiogenic factors.

We present a first-principles study of the electronic and magnetic properties of the chromium spinel ${\mathrm{CdCr}}_{2}$${\mathrm{Se}}_{4}$, a ferromagnetic semiconductor, which, for its interesting magnetic and electric properties has been the object of many experimental studies. Using calculations based on the full-potential linearized augmented plane wave relativistic scheme we are able to reproduce the structural equilibrium properties and to explain many of the features measured by resonant photoemission spectroscopy. In particular, we analyze the contribution of the Cr 3d electrons in a density-of-states study including the two spin orientations and a comparison with the binary analog CdSe.

The ternary ZnIn2S4 is a semiconductor with a number of layerlike polytypes coordinated by both tetrahedral and octahedral bonds. The equilibrium properties of the α-phase are investigated self-consistently by using normconserving pseudopotentials. In particular we study in the Hellmann-Feynman scheme the relationship between atomic displacements and crystal stability by minimizing the forces acting on the anions. The resulting charge density maps are analysed and discussed.

In this paper we present a new method for real-time interactive haptic and graphic rendering of objects locally deformed by multiple contacts. Core algorithms have been designed to be executable also on videoboard's GPU, thus taking advantage of parallel matrix and vector computational power. Although complex physical simulation has been simplified to run on GPUs, results are characterized by high visio-tactile realism perceived by users. Graphical rendering algorithm can be easily added to pre-existing vertex shaders/programs. The proposed method makes use of common triangular meshes, thus making the method a good choice when adding haptic feedback to existing graphical applications. The proposed algorithm has been tested to simulate tactile interaction with soft tissues

This paper describes the implementation of a demo. The demo of "soft-finger grasping of physically based quasi-rigid objects" will provide solutions to grasp objects that are locally deformable and move according to rigid-body dynamics. This work summarizes the choices of the overall software architecture and the single algorithms used to run the simulation of "soft-finger grasping" in real time on high-end hardware. The soft-finger grasping is obtained extending a local model to include rotational friction while the local deformations are achieved through displacement fields directly on the GPU. Dynamics of the objects in the scene is simulated by a rigid body simulator which allows realistic interactions with other objects existing in the scene.

AgGaS2 is a technologically important semiconductor for its large birefringence coefficient. In this work we compare the theoretical ab-initio all-electron FLAPW results with very refined experimental data obtained with accurate X-ray analysis. In particular we focus our attention to the electronic distribution along the significative bonding directions connecting the three different atoms. Furthermore, the charge density contours around Ag provide a clear evidence of the contribution of its d orbitals to the chemical bond.

Small changes in the complex between a peptide and a molecule of the major histocompatibility complex generate ligands able to partially activate (partial agonist) or even inhibit (antagonist) T-cell functions. T-cell receptor engagement of antagonist complex results in a partial zeta chain phosphorylation without activation of the associated ZAP-70 kinase. Herein we show that, despite a strong inhibition of both inositol phospholipid hydrolysis and extracellular increasing antagonist concentrations increased the activity of the CD4-Lck kinase. Addition of anti-CD4 antibody to culture medium prevented inhibitory effects induced by antagonist ligand. We propose that CD4-Lck activation triggered by antagonist complexes may act in a dominant negative mode, thus overriding stimulatory signals coming from agonist ligand. These findings identify a new T-cell signaling profile that may explain the ability of some T-cell receptor variant ligands to inhibit specific biological activities or trigger alternative activation programs.

Heusler ternary compounds reveal very interesting characteristics related to unusually large magneto-optic effect. In this work we perform a first-principles all-electron study of the structural and electronic properties of PtMnSb with particular focus on the projected densities of states for the majority and minority spin components and on the electronic band. In fact, the band structure shows a band gap or a well defined Fermi surface depending on the spin orientation. This peculiarity allows for a semiconductor or a metallic behaviour that can be tuned by an external magnetic field leading to possible application as recording device.

We discuss the validity of the usually used orbital radii capable to separate differently coordinated compounds in efficient structural maps. In order to account for the real dependence on the angular momentum, we redefine the atomic terms by including the d-states contribution, previously ignored. The choice of the right amount of the correction has been performed thanks to a series of structural maps obtained through a computer-aided code.

The calculated energy gaps of insulators are always underestimated in the Local Density Approximation (LDA) to the Density Functional Theory (DFT). The problem makes difficult an exact assignment of the optical intraband transitions. In this paper we apply a method recently proposed and based on a dielectric model scheme to some ternary semiconductors like chalcopyrites, spinels and layer phases. The results account for the right order of magnitude of their minimum gap and make comparable the complete energy dispersion including the excited states.

The structural properties of ${\mathrm{CdIn}}_{2}$${\mathrm{Se}}_{4}$ are calculated from first principles with use of the local-density approximation and norm-conserving pseudopotentials. Particular attention has been paid to the relative stability of the tetragonal and cubic spinel phases. We find that (i) the tetragonal phase is the most stable at zero pressure, (ii) this phase actually is a pseudocubic one (c/a=1), (iii) the combined effect of the lower symmetry and of the presence of defects induces distortions in the anion sublattice, and (iv) a transition to the spinel phase occurs under an applied pressure of \ensuremath{\sim}10 kbar. The electronic properties of the two phases are also discussed in terms of the electron charge-density distribution and density of states.

In this paper we present a new method for real-time interactive haptic and graphic rendering of complex objects locally deformed by multiple contacts. Core algorithms have been designed to be executable also on videoboard's GPU, thus taking advantage of parallel matrix and vector computational power. Although complex physical simulation has been simplified to run on GPUs, results are characterized by high visio-tactile realism perceived by users. Graphical rendering algorithms can be easily added to pre-existing vertex shaders/programs. The proposed method makes use of common triangular meshes, thus making the method a good choice when adding haptic feedback to existing graphical applications.

Precision measurements of the electron component in the cosmic radiation provide important information about the origin and propagation of cosmic rays in the Galaxy. Here we present new results regarding negatively charged electrons between 1 and 625 GeV performed by the satellite-borne experiment PAMELA. This is the first time that cosmic-ray electrons have been identified above 50 GeV. The electron spectrum can be described with a single power law energy dependence with spectral index -3.18 +- 0.05 above the energy region influenced by the solar wind (> 30 GeV). No significant spectral features are observed and the data can be interpreted in terms of conventional diffusive propagation models. However, the data are also consistent with models including new cosmic-ray sources that could explain the rise in the positron fraction., 11 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in PRL