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Euclid Quick Data Release (Q1): From spectrograms to spectra: the SIR spectroscopic Processing Function
Get PDFThe Euclid space mission aims to investigate the nature of dark energy and dark matter by mapping the large-scale structure of the Universe. A key component of Euclid's observational strategy is slitless spectroscopy, conducted using the Near Infrared Spectrometer and Photometer (NISP). This technique enables the acquisition of large-scale spectroscopic data without the need for targeted apertures, allowing precise redshift measurements for millions of galaxies. These data are essential for Euclid's core science objectives, including the study of cosmic acceleration and the evolution of galaxy clustering, as well as enabling many non-cosmological investigations. This study presents the SIR processing function (PF), which is responsible for processing slitless spectroscopic data. The objective is to generate science-grade fully-calibrated one-dimensional spectra, ensuring high-quality spectroscopic data. The processing function relies on a source catalogue generated from photometric data, effectively corrects detector effects, subtracts cross-contaminations, minimizes self-contamination, calibrates wavelength and flux, and produces reliable spectra for later scientific use. The first Quick Data Release (Q1) of Euclid's spectroscopic data provides approximately three million validated spectra for sources observed in the red-grism mode from a selected portion of the Euclid Wide Survey. We find that wavelength accuracy and measured resolving power are within requirements, thanks to the excellent optical quality of the instrument. The SIR PF represents a significant step in processing slitless spectroscopic data for the Euclid mission. As the survey progresses, continued refinements and additional features will enhance its capabilities, supporting high-precision cosmological and astrophysical measurements
Writing in vocational disciplines : values, practices and post-compulsory teacher education
No full textDiscussions of student writing in (mainly traditional) universities have highlighted tensions between hegemonic expectations and more participatory writing practices which could better serve an increasingly diverse student population. Our paper extends this discussion in an investigation of writing in vocational disciplines. Based in a teaching-intensive university in the UK, our ethnographically informed data collection activities include focus groups with post-compulsory teacher educator colleagues and an auto-ethnographic examination of student writing tutorials, providing a detailed insider perspective and contributing to understanding of academic literacies in vocational disciplines. We argue that the above two-way tension (hegemonic-academic versus dialogic-participatory) is complexified in practice-based fields by the values of the professional domain, which constitute a third set of writing practices towards which lecturers (and students) are drawn. This can amplify the constraints on developing participatory approaches, but may also offer opportunities for lecturers to align their academic and professional values and practices to better support students’ writing development
Views of China across the Global South : The Rule and the Exceptions
No full textFrom the colonial “scramble for Africa” to Cold War coups and proxy conflicts backed by the United States and Soviet Union, the developing world was frequently an arena for competition among rival great powers in the 20th century. In today’s world of geopolitical flux, however, many countries in Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America hold greater agency, increased state capacity, growing populations, and generally positive economic prospects. In a context of sharpening geopolitical divides, the societies of the Global South are likely to significantly influence the outcome of the current strategic competition. The emerging views regarding China in the Global South are relevant to understanding many countries’ foreign policies, investment regimes, trade policies, soft power initiatives, and approaches to educational or cultural exchanges. It is not news that China is more popular in the Global South than in the West. But contrary to common assumptions — and previous research — Global Public Opinion on China’s (GPOC’s) data show the world is by no means neatly divided along North-South lines. As the previous paper in this series noted, on a population basis, the negative-leaning views of India’s 1.4 billion people offset the strongly positive views that prevail in more than 50 countries in Africa. Which regions and countries drive the overall positive view of China, and which cut against the general tendency? What have been the trends over time? How has the COVID pandemic’s legacy played out in the developing world? This GPOC brief offers a closer look at the significant variations in views of China across the Global South
Observational medical outcomes partnership (OMOP) Black hole : density of routinely collected data by encounter type
No full textThe Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership (OMOP) Common Data Model (CDM) is a standardised framework for organising healthcare data. This study investigates the practicality of using the OMOP CDM to analyse data on neurology patients. An outpatient neurology cohort was defined as patients having attended at least one neurology outpatient appointment between 01 April 2022 and 31 March 2023 (n=23,862). All available data for this cohort was extracted between the dates 01 April 2021 to 31 March 2024. The cohort was then divided into 4 sub-cohorts according to the types of appointments attended: outpatient appointment(s) only (n=15,255); outpatient appointment(s) and inpatient stay(s) (n=2750); outpatient appointment(s) and emergency department visit(s) (n=1658); outpatient appointment(s), inpatient stay(s) and emergency department visit(s) (n=4199). We found that there was more data available for patients who had at least one inpatient stay or emergency department visit, than for those with only outpatient appointments. Notably, an average (median) of 0 conditions per patient were recorded for the outpatient only sub-cohort, compared to a median of 21 conditions for the sub-cohort with both outpatient appointments and inpatient stays. This disparity arises from the lack of outpatient diagnostic coding and impairs the advancement of research in this area
Inferring Soil Drydown Behaviour with Adaptive Bayesian Online Changepoint Analysis
No full textContinuous soil-moisture measurements provide a direct lens on subsurface hydrological processes, notably the post-rainfall "drydown" phase. Because these records consist of distinct, segment-specific behaviours whose forms and scales vary over time, realistic inference demands a model that captures piecewise dynamics while accommodating parameters that are unknown a priori. Building on Bayesian Online Changepoint Detection (BOCPD), we introduce two complementary extensions: a particle-filter variant that substitutes exact marginalisation with sequential Monte Carlo to enable real-time inference when critical parameters cannot be integrated out analytically, and an online-gradient variant that embeds stochastic gradient updates within BOCPD to learn application-relevant parameters on the fly without prohibitive computational cost. After validating both algorithms on synthetic data that replicate the temporal structure of field observations-detailing hyperparameter choices, priors, and cost-saving strategies-we apply them to soil-moisture series from experimental sites in Austria and the United States, quantifying site-specific drydown rates and demonstrating the advantages of our adaptive framework over static models
Antimicrobial Biomaterials Based on Composites of Metal Nanoparticles and Plant Extracts
No full textThe global challenge of antimicrobial resistance, as well as the need to develop safe and environmentally sustainable materials, has served to stimulate research interest in antimicrobial technologies. The abundance, degradability and environmental friendliness of biopolymers means that they are widely used in medicine, pharmacy, and cosmetology. The focus of this mini review is the development of biopolymer matrices with antimicrobial properties imparted via the inclusion of metal nanoparticles and plant extracts. The review also examines innovative technologies, including photocatalytic systems and intelligent coatings with mechanisms for the controlled release of active substances that can be used to combat microbial infections. We believe that such materials have significant potential for eventual translation to products in the real world
