McGill University

About: McGill University is a education organization based out in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 72688 authors who have published 162565 publications receiving 6966523 citations. The organization is also known as: Royal institution of advanced learning & University of McGill College.

Planck 2013 results. XI. All-sky model of thermal dust emission

Abstract: This paper presents an all-sky model of dust emission from the Planck 857, 545 and 353 GHz, and IRAS 100 micron data. Using a modified black-body fit to the data we present all-sky maps of the dust optical depth, temperature, and spectral index over the 353-3000 GHz range. This model is a tight representation of the data at 5 arcmin. It shows variations of the order of 30 % compared with the widely-used model of Finkbeiner, Davis, and Schlegel. The Planck data allow us to estimate the dust temperature uniformly over the whole sky, providing an improved estimate of the dust optical depth compared to previous all-sky dust model, especially in high-contrast molecular regions. An increase of the dust opacity at 353 GHz, tau_353/N_H, from the diffuse to the denser interstellar medium (ISM) is reported. It is associated with a decrease in the observed dust temperature, T_obs, that could be due at least in part to the increased dust opacity. We also report an excess of dust emission at HI column densities lower than 10^20 cm^-2 that could be the signature of dust in the warm ionized medium. In the diffuse ISM at high Galactic latitude, we report an anti-correlation between tau_353/N_H and T_obs while the dust specific luminosity, i.e., the total dust emission integrated over frequency (the radiance) per hydrogen atom, stays about constant. The implication is that in the diffuse high-latitude ISM tau_353 is not as reliable a tracer of dust column density as we conclude it is in molecular clouds where the correlation of tau_353 with dust extinction estimated using colour excess measurements on stars is strong. To estimate Galactic E(B-V) in extragalactic fields at high latitude we develop a new method based on the thermal dust radiance, instead of the dust optical depth, calibrated to E(B-V) using reddening measurements of quasars deduced from Sloan Digital Sky Survey data.

A Social Psychology of Bilingualism

Abstract: This chapter examines bilingualism from a social-psychological perspective, one characterized not only by its interest in the reactions of the bilingual as an individual but also by the attention given to the social influences that affect the bilingual's behaviour and to the social repercussions that follow from his behaviour. Several of the studies have been conducted since 1958 in greater Montreal, where the conflict between English- and French-speaking Canadians is currently so sharp that some French Canadian (FC) political leaders in the Province of Quebec talk seriously about separating the Province from the rest of Canada, comprising a majority of English Canadians (ECs). The reactions to Continental French (CF) speakers are generally more favourable although less marked. The EC judges appear to be less concerned about European French people in general than they are about the local French people; the European French are neither downgraded nor taken as potential social models to any great extent.

A Weighted and Directed Interareal Connectivity Matrix for Macaque Cerebral Cortex

Abstract: Retrograde tracer injections in 29 of the 91 areas of the macaque cerebral cortex revealed 1,615 interareal pathways, a third of which have not previously been reported. A weight index (extrinsic fraction of labeled neurons [FLNe]) was determined for each area-to-area pathway. Newly found projections were weaker on average compared with the known projections; nevertheless, the 2 sets of pathways had extensively overlapping weight distributions. Repeat injections across individuals revealed modest FLNe variability given the range of FLNe values (standard deviation <1 log unit, range 5 log units). The connectivity profile for each area conformed to a lognormal distribution, where a majority of projections are moderate or weak in strength. In the G29 × 29 interareal subgraph, two-thirds of the connections that can exist do exist. Analysis of the smallest set of areas that collects links from all 91 nodes of the G29 × 91 subgraph (dominating set analysis) confirms the dense (66%) structure of the cortical matrix. The G29 × 29 subgraph suggests an unexpectedly high incidence of unidirectional links. The directed and weighted G29 × 91 connectivity matrix for the macaque will be valuable for comparison with connectivity analyses in other species, including humans. It will also inform future modeling studies that explore the regularities of cortical networks.

STrengthening the REporting of Genetic Association Studies (STREGA): An Extension of the STROBE Statement

Abstract: Making sense of rapidly evolving evidence on genetic associations is crucial to making genuine advances in human genomics and the eventual integration of this information in the practice of medicine and public health. Assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of this evidence, and hence the ability to synthesize it, has been limited by inadequate reporting of results. The STrengthening the REporting of Genetic Association studies (STREGA) initiative builds on the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) Statement and provides additions to 12 of the 22 items on the STROBE checklist. The additions concern population stratification, genotyping errors, modelling haplotype variation, Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, replication, selection of participants, rationale for choice of genes and variants, treatment effects in studying quantitative traits, statistical methods, relatedness, reporting of descriptive and outcome data, and the volume of data issues that are important to consider in genetic association studies. The STREGA recommendations do not prescribe or dictate how a genetic association study should be designed but seek to enhance the transparency of its reporting, regardless of choices made during design, conduct, or analysis.

Estimating carbon accumulation rates of undrained mires in Finland–application to boreal and subarctic regions:

Abstract: Equations based on empirical relationships of peat physical properties were used to estimate the average long-term apparent rate of carbon accumulation (LORCA) in Finnish mire vegetation regions. The results were generalized to the boreal and subarctic regions. Analyses of 1302 dated peat cores were used to infer carbon accumulation for each mire vegetation region of Finland. The area-weighted LORCA for Finnish undrained mire areas was 18.5 g m 2 yr 1 and the total carbon sink 0.79 Tg yr 1 (1 Tg = 1012g). The total carbon pool of Finnish undrained mires was estimated as 2257 Tg. The aapa-mire region included 80% of the total net accumulation rate of carbon and 85% of the total carbon reservoirs of Finnish undrained mires. LORCA was signi” cantly higher in the raised-bog region, 26.1 g m 2 yr 1, compared with the aapa-mire region, 17.3 g m 2 yr 1, and bogs generally had a higher LORCA 20.8 g m 2 yr 1, than fens 16.9 g m 2 yr 1. The total C sink for boreal and subarctic mires was estimated at 66 Tg yr 1 whi...