"In Christ's stead", autobiographical sketches.

Mode of access: Internet.

El color en la obra científica de José Echegaray (1832-1916).

Este artículo pertenece al Monográfico: La Ciencia a las puertas del Tercer Milenio (I)

First Baptist Church, Charlotte, N. C., 1832-1916 /

Mode of access: Internet.

Endura : or, three generations : a New England romance / by B. P. Moore.

Mode of access: Internet.

SN 2009N: linking normal and subluminous Type II-P Sne

We present ultraviolet, optical, near-infrared photometry and spectroscopy of SN 2009N in NGC 4487. This object is a Type II-P supernova with spectra resembling those of subluminous II-P supernovae, while its bolometric luminosity is similar to that of the intermediate-luminosity SN 2008in. We created SYNOW models of the plateau phase spectra for line identification and to measure the expansion velocity. In the near-infrared spectra we find signs indicating possible weak interaction between the supernova ejecta and the pre-existing circumstellar material. These signs are also present in the previously unpublished near-infrared spectra of SN 2008in. The distance to SN 2009N is determined via the expanding photosphere method and the standard candle method as D = 21.6 ± 1.1 Mpc. The produced nickel-mass is estimated to be ∼0.020 ± 0.004 M⊙. We infer the physical properties of the progenitor at the explosion through hydrodynamical modelling of the observables. We find the values of the total energy as ∼0.48 × 1051 erg, the ejected mass as ∼11.5 M⊙, and the initial radius as ∼287 R⊙.

Processing of short auditory stimuli:The rapid audio sequential presentation paradigm (RASP)

Human listeners seem to be remarkably able to recognise acoustic sound sources based on timbre cues. Here we describe a psychophysical paradigm to estimate the time it takes to recognise a set of complex sounds differing only in timbre cues: both in terms of the minimum duration of the sounds and the inferred neural processing time. Listeners had to respond to the human voice while ignoring a set of distractors. All sounds were recorded from natural sources over the same pitch range and equalised to the same duration and power. In a first experiment, stimuli were gated in time with a raised-cosine window of variable duration and random onset time. A voice/non-voice (yes/no) task was used. Performance, as measured by d', remained above chance for the shortest sounds tested (2 ms); d's above 1 were observed for durations longer than or equal to 8 ms. Then, we constructed sequences of short sounds presented in rapid succession. Listeners were asked to report the presence of a single voice token that could occur at a random position within the sequence. This method is analogous to the "rapid sequential visual presentation" paradigm (RSVP), which has been used to evaluate neural processing time for images. For 500-ms sequences made of 32-ms and 16-ms sounds, d' remained above chance for presentation rates of up to 30 sounds per second. There was no effect of the pitch relation between successive sounds: identical for all sounds in the sequence or random for each sound. This implies that the task was not determined by streaming or forward masking, as both phenomena would predict better performance for the random pitch condition. Overall, the recognition of familiar sound categories such as the voice seems to be surprisingly fast, both in terms of the acoustic duration required and of the underlying neural time constants.

Retinal Vascular Caliber, Iris Color, and Age-Related Macular Degeneration in the Irish Nun Eye Study

Pupose. To evaluate the relationship between retinal vascular caliber (RVC), iris color and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in elderly Irish nuns. Methods. Data from 1233 participants in the cross-sectional observational Irish Nun Eye Study were assessed from digital photographs with a standardized protocol using computer-assisted software. Macular images were graded according to the modified Wisconsin age-related maculopathy grading system. Regression models were used to assess associations, adjusting for age, mean arterial blood pressure, body mass index, refraction and fellow RVC. Results. In total, 1122 (91%) participants had gradable retinal images of sufficient quality for vessel assessment (mean age: 76.3 years [range: 56-100 years]). In an unadjusted analysis, we found some support for a previous finding that individuals with blue iris color had narrower retinal venules compared to those with brown iris color (P<0.05) but this was no longer significant after adjustment. AMD status was categorized as no AMD, any AMD and late AMD only. Individuals with any AMD (early or late AMD) had significantly narrower arterioles and venules compared to those with no AMD in an unadjusted analysis but this was no longer significant after adjustment. A non-significant reduced risk of any AMD or late AMD only was observed in association with brown compared to blue iris color, in both unadjusted and adjusted analyses. Conclusions. RVC was not significantly associated with iris color or early/late AMD after adjustment for confounders. A lower but non-significant AMD risk was observed in those with brown compared to blue iris color.

SN 2009ib: a Type II-P supernova with an unusually long plateau

We present optical and near-infrared photometry and spectroscopy of SN 2009ib, a Type II-P supernova in NGC 1559. This object has moderate brightness, similar to those of the intermediate-luminosity SNe 2008in and 2009N. Its plateau phase is unusually long, lasting for about 130 d after explosion. The spectra are similar to those of the subluminous SN 2002gd, with moderate expansion velocities. We estimate the Ni-56 mass produced as 0.046 +/- A 0.015 M-aS (TM). We determine the distance to SN 2009ib using both the expanding photosphere method (EPM) and the standard candle method. We also apply EPM to SN 1986L, a Type II-P SN that exploded in the same galaxy. Combining the results of different methods, we conclude the distance to NGC 1559 as D = 19.8 +/- A 3.0 Mpc. We examine archival, pre-explosion images of the field taken with the Hubble Space Telescope, and find a faint source at the position of the SN, which has a yellow colour [(V - I)(0) = 0.85 mag]. Assuming it is a single star, we estimate its initial mass as M-ZAMS = 20 M-aS (TM). We also examine the possibility, that instead of the yellow source the progenitor of SN 2009ib is a red supergiant star too faint to be detected. In this case, we estimate the upper limit for the initial zero-age main sequence (ZAMS) mass of the progenitor to be similar to 14-17 M-aS (TM). In addition, we infer the physical properties of the progenitor at the explosion via hydrodynamical modelling of the observables, and estimate the total energy as similar to 0.55 x 10(51) erg, the pre-explosion radius as similar to 400 R-aS (TM), and the ejected envelope mass as similar to 15 M-aS (TM), which implies that the mass of the progenitor before explosion was similar to 16.5-17 M-aS (TM).

Evaluation of the Retinal Vasculature in Hypertension and Chronic Kidney Disease in an elderly population of Irish nuns

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) and hypertension are global public health problems associated with considerable morbidity, premature mortality and attendant healthcare costs. Previous studies have highlighted that non-invasive examination of the retinal microcirculation can detect microvascular pathology that is associated with systemic disorders of the circulatory system such as hypertension. We examined the associations between retinal vessel caliber (RVC) and fractal dimension (DF), with both hypertension and CKD in elderly Irish nuns.

Methods: Data from 1233 participants in the cross-sectional observational Irish Nun Eye Study (INES) were assessed from digital photographs with a standardized protocol using computer-assisted software. Multivariate regression analyses were used to assess associations with hypertension and CKD, with adjustment for age, body mass index (BMI), refraction, fellow eye RVC, smoking, alcohol consumption, ischemic heart disease (IHD), cerebrovascular accident (CVA), diabetes and medication use.

Results: In total, 1122 (91%) participants (mean age: 76.3 [range: 56-100] years) had gradable retinal images of sufficient quality for blood vessel assessment. Hypertension was significantly associated with a narrower central retinal arteriolar equivalent (CRAE) in a fully adjusted analysis (P = 0.002; effect size= -2.16 μm; 95% confidence intervals [CI]: -3.51, -0.81 μm). No significant associations between other retinal vascular parameters and hypertension or between any retinal vascular parameters and CKD were found.

Conclusions: Individuals with hypertension have significantly narrower retinal arterioles which may afford an earlier opportunity for tailored prevention and treatment options to optimize the structure and function of the microvasculature, providing additional clinical utility. No significant associations between retinal vascular parameters and CKD were detected.

Echegaray, su tiempo y su teatro

UANL

La estela de una vida, poemas líricos de Numa P. Llona.

"Numa P. Llona [biografia y juicios]": p. [i]-xxxvi.

Clamores del occidente; himnos, dianas y elegías, poesías patrióticas y religiosas de Numa P. Llona.

Mode of access: Internet.