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We search for and characterize substructures in the projected distribution of galaxies observed in the wide field CCD images of the 77 nearby clusters of the WIde-field Nearby Galaxy-cluster Survey (WINGS). This sample is complete in X-ray flux in the redshift range 0.04, Comment: A&A accepted - figure 6 is available from http://adlibitum.oats.inaf.it/ramella/WINGSfigs

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) Europe will invest in the future years for the renewal of the electrical system, from generation to transmission and distribution. Directive 2009/72/EC pushes Member States to deploy Smart Grids and Smart Metering systems, linking this development to the evolution of cities and confined environments in Smart environments, traditionally named as Smart Cities and Smart Buildings. Within this framework, connections and exchange of data increase, and the need for data acquisition, processing and management become an extremely important added value to the community. In this paper the proposal for the realization of a new versatile and cost-effective system for smart metering applications is presented. Such a system will have the potential to be a game changer in the current scenario of remote monitoring and management of complex infrastructures, with benefits both on energy efficiency and environmental impact as well as economic efficiency and maintenance management, exploiting technologies which are still underused in this sector towards smarter ICT solutions. Results show that there is the opportunity to realize a system that offers an innovative and effective solution with unique technical features. Future developments will be the construction and validation of the system basing on field testing.

This is the first paper of a series that will present data and scientific results from the WINGS project, a wide-field, multiwavelength imaging and spectroscopic survey of galaxies in 77 nearby clusters. The sample was extracted from the ROSAT catalogs with constraints on the redshift (0.0420). The global goal of the WINGS project is the systematic study of the local cosmic variance of the cluster population and of the properties of cluster galaxies as a function of cluster properties and local environment. This data collection will allow to define a local 'Zero-Point' reference against which to gauge the cosmic evolution when compared to more distant clusters. The core of the project consists of wide-field optical imaging of the selected clusters in the B and V bands. We have also completed a multi-fiber, medium resolution spectroscopic survey for 51 of the clusters in the master sample. In addition, a NIR (JK) survey of ~50 clusters and an H_alpha + UV survey of some 10 clusters are presently ongoing, while a very-wide-field optical survey has also been programmed. In this paper we briefly outline the global objectives and the main characteristics of the WINGS project. Moreover, the observing strategy and the data reduction of the optical imaging survey (WINGS-OPT) are presented. We have achieved a photometric accuracy of ~0.025mag, reaching completeness to V~23.5. Field size and resolution (FWHM) span the absolute intervals (1.6-2.7)Mpc and (0.7-1.7)kpc, respectively, depending on the redshift and on the seeing. This allows the planned studies to get a valuable description of the local properties of clusters and galaxies in clusters., Comment: 24 pages, 15 figures, Accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysics

Deep VLT optical spectroscopy, HST+ACS (GOODS) imaging and VLA observations are used to unveil the nature of a complete sample of 47 EROs with R-Ks>5 and Ks, 5 pages, 5 figures, to appear in Astronomy & Astrophysics Letters

In this work we build a detailed dynamic model for a S0 galaxy possibly hosting a central massive dark object (MDO). We show that the photometric profiles and the kinematics along the major and minor axes, including the h3 and h4 profiles, imply the presence of a central MDO of mass M = 1.5 - 9.7 10^8 solar masses, i.e. 0.3-2.8% of the mass derived for the stellar spheroidal component. Models without MDO are unable to reproduce the kinematic properties of the inner stars and of the rapidly rotating nuclear gas. The stellar population comprise of an exponential disc (27% of the light) and a diffuse spheroidal component (73% of the light) that cannot be represented by a simple de Vaucouleurs profile at any radius. The M/L ratios we found for the stellar components (respectively 3.3 and 6.6) are typical of those of disc and elliptical galaxies., Comment: 9 pages, 4 encapsulated postscript figures. Requires mn.sty, psfig.sty. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

We present an application of a new set of detailed, self-consistent, dynamical models for disc galaxies. We start from the hypothesis that each galaxy can be decomposed into a bulge, following the r1/4law, and a disc with an exponential projected density profile; and that the isodensity surfaces of each component can be represented by similar concentric spheroids. After taking into account both the asymmetric drift effects and the integration along the line of sight, we produce the rotational velocity and velocity-dispersion profile, andthe approximate shape of the line-of-sight velocity distributions for the stars as parameterized by the h3 and h4 coefficients of theGauss–Hermite expansion of the line profile. Photometric and kinematical data have been taken from the literature for the test case of the S0 galaxy NGC 5866, for which detailed stellar kinematical data are available at different positions across the galaxy. Apart from the innermost, dust-obscured regions of the galaxy, where observational effects are likely to be dominant, the model successfully reproduces the whole set of dynamical data available as well as giving a good fit to the photometry. The galaxy is shown to have an isotropic velocity-dispersion tensor, thus hinting at a dissipational formation process.

We present a comparison between the ionized gas and stellar kinematics for a sample of five early-to-intermediate disc galaxies. We measured the major axis V and σ radial profiles for both gas and stars, and the h 3 and h 4 radial profiles of the stars. We also derived from the R-band surface photometry of each galaxy the light contribution of their bulges and discs. In order to investigate the differences between the velocity fields of the sample galaxies we adopted the self-consistent dynamical model by Pignatelli and Galletta (1999), which takes into account the asymmetric drift effects, the projection effects along the line of sight and the non-Gaussian shape of the line profiles due to the presence of different components with distinct dynamical behaviour. We find for the stellar component a sizeable asymmetric drift effect in the inner regions of all the sample galaxies, as results from comparing their stellar rotation curves with the circular velocity predicted by the models. The galaxy sample is not wide enough to draw general conclusions. However, we have found a possible correlation between the presence of slowly rising gas rotation curves and the ratio of the bulge/disc half-luminosity radii, while there is no obvious correlation with the key parameter represented by the morphological classification, namely the bulge/disc luminosity ratio. Systems with a diffuse, dynamically hot component (bulge or lens) with a scale length comparable to that of the disc are characterized by slowly rising gas rotation curves. On the other hand, in systems with a small bulge the gas follows almost circular motions, regardless of the luminosity of the bulge itself. We noticed a similar behaviour also in the gas and stellar kinematics of the two early-type spiral galaxies modelled by Corsini et al.(1998).

We have performed VLT spectroscopy of an almost complete sample of 18 early-type galaxies with 0.88 < z < 1.3 plus two at z=0.67, selected from the K20 survey, and derived the velocity dispersion for 15+2 of them. By combining these data with HST and VLT images, we study the Fundamental Plane (FP), the Faber-Jackson and the Kormendy relations at z~1, and compare them with the local ones. The FP at z~1 keeps a remarkably small scatter, and shows both an offset and a rotation, which we interpret in terms of evolution of the mass-to-light ratio, and possibly of the size. We show evidence that the evolution rate depends on galaxy mass, being faster for less massive galaxies. We discuss the possible factors driving the evolution of spheroids and compare our results with the predictions of the hierachical models of galaxy formation., 14 pages, 15 figures, accepted by A&A

The expression of epidermal growth factor (EGF) and nerve growth factor (NGF) receptors has been investigated by immunohistochemical analysis in eight normal human thymuses and in 15 thymomas. Thymomas were classified into five different histological types--medullary, mixed, predominantly cortical, cortical thymoma and well-differentiated thymic carcinoma. In fetal and paediatric normal thymus, EGF-receptor was expressed by subcapsular, cortical and medullary epithelial cells, whereas immunoreactivity for NGF-receptor was detected on only subcapsular and medullary epithelial cells. In thymomas, independent of their histological type, EGF-receptor was expressed by a large majority of epithelial cells. In contrast, the pattern of expression of NGF-receptor in thymomas was different for the various histological types. These findings indicate that the expression of both EGF and NGF receptors in human thymomas substantially reflects their expression in normal thymus, and suggest that EGF and NGF may play a role in the ontogenesis of the human thymus as well as in the histogenesis of thymomas.

(Abridged) Context. This is the second paper of a series devoted to the WIde Field Nearby Galaxy-cluster Survey (WINGS). WINGS is a long term project which is gathering wide-field, multi-band imaging and spectroscopy of galaxies in a complete sample of 77 X-ray selected, nearby clusters (0.04=20deg). The main goal of this project is to establish a local reference for evolutionary studies of galaxies and galaxy clusters. Aims. This paper presents the optical (B,V) photometric catalogs of the WINGS sample and describes the procedures followed to construct them. Methods. We have constructed photometric catalogs based on wide-field images in B and V bands using SExtractor. Photometry has been performed on images in which large galaxies and halos of bright stars were removed after modeling them with elliptical isophotes. Results. We publish deep optical photometric catalogs (90% complete at V~21.7, which translates to ~M*(V)+6 at mean redshift), giving positions, geometrical parameters, and several total and aperture magnitudes for all the objects detected. For each field we have produced three catalogs containing galaxies, stars and objects of "unknown" classification (~16%)., Comment: Typo corrected in the initial of one of the authors (A. Cava). Accepted for publication in A&A. 19 pages, 4 tables, 11 figures. Catalogs will be available via CDS and WINGS website (http://web.oapd.inaf.it/wings/)

In this paper we present a new tool for automatic, blind surface photometry of galaxies in deep and/or wide fields. The tool (GASPHOT) favors the robustness of results with respect to the details of galaxy modeling. To this aim, a single Sersic-law for the models and a hybrid 1D/2D approach for the best-fitting algorithm were adopted. GASPHOT is heavily based on SExtractor and provides luminosity, position angle and ellipticity profiles of galaxies extracted from CCD frames, as well as total magnitudes, half-light radii, and Sersic indices. These global parameters were obtained by simultaneously fitting the major and minor axis light growth curves of galaxies with a 2D flattened Sersiclaw, convolved by the appropriate, space-varying PSF, which was previously evaluated by the tool itself. We tested GASPHOT on more than 15 000 simulated and real galaxies, obtaining robust upper limits for the errors of the global parameters of galaxies, even for non-Sersic profiles and blended objects. The GASPHOT performance was also compared with those of two popular alternative tools for a single component, Sersic law: GALFIT (Peng et al. 2002) and GIM2D (Marleau & Simard 1998). When dealing with ideal, isolated, and adeguately large galaxies, the three packages were all found to provide satisfactory results, apart from a definite bias in the GIM2D magnitudes. On the other hand, GASPHOT proved to be more robust than GALFIT and GIM2D for simulated, blended objects and for real galaxies. Moreover, at variance with GASPHOT and GALFIT, the quality (bias and scatter) of the fits provided by GIM2D rapidly declines as the galaxy size decreases.

In this paper we present a new tool for automatic, blind surface photometry of galaxies in deep and/or wide fields. The tool (GASPHOT) favors the robustness of results with respect to the details of galaxy modeling. To this aim, a single Sersic-law for the models and a hybrid 1D/2D approach for the best-fitting algorithm were adopted. GASPHOT is heavily based on SExtractor and provides luminosity, position angle and ellipticity profiles of galaxies extracted from CCD frames, as well as total magnitudes, half-light radii, and Sersic indices. These global parameters were obtained by simultaneously fitting the major and minor axis light growth curves of galaxies with a 2D flattened Sersic-law, convolved by the appropriate, space-varying PSF, which was previously evaluated by the tool itself. We tested GASPHOT on more than 15 000 simulated and real galaxies, obtaining robust upper limits for the errors of the global parameters of galaxies, even for non-Sersic profiles and blended objects. The GASPHOT performance was also compared with those of two popular alternative tools for a single component, Sersic law: GALFIT (Peng et al. 2002) and GIM2D (Marleau & Simard 1998). When dealing with ideal, isolated, and adeguately large galaxies, the three packages were all found to provide satisfactory results, apart from a definite bias in the GIM2D magnitudes. On the other hand, GASPHOT proved to be more robust than GALFIT and GIM2D for simulated, blended objects and for real galaxies. Moreover, at variance with GASPHOT and GALFIT, the quality (bias and scatter) of the fits provided by GIM2D rapidly declines as the galaxy size decreases.

We present a detailed analysis of the evolution of the rest-frame B-band morphology of K-selected galaxies with 0 < z < 2.5. This work is based on the K20 spectroscopic sample (Ks, Comment: 19 pages, 17 figures, accepted for pubblication in MNRAS

We use preliminary results of the WINGS survey (Fasano et al.) to obtain determinations of optical scaling relations for galaxy clusters. Passing from oneto twoparameter scaling relations we pay particular attention to the Kormendy relation (KR) and to the Fundamental Plane (FP) of galaxy clusters, comparing them with scaling relations of elliptical galaxies.

We present V —band surface photometry and major-axis kinematics of stars and ionized gas of three early-type spiral galaxies, namely NGC 772, NGC 3898 and NGC 7782. For each galaxy we built a self-consistent Jeans model for the stellar kinematics, adopting the light distribution of bulge and disc derived by means of a two-dimensional parametric photometric decomposition. This allowed us to investigate the presence of non-circular gas motions, and derive the mass distribution of luminous and dark matter in these objects. We found that the observed gas rotation corresponds to the circular velocity except for the innermost region (\( \left( {\left| r \right| \lesssim 8''} \right) \)”) of NGC 3898. This behaviour is quite common, although not ubiquitous, in the few bulge-dominated galaxies, for which dynamical modeling allows the comparison between the gas velocity and the circular speed. The mass is essentially traced by light in NGC 772 and NGC 7782, where gas rotation velocities were observed out to 0.2 R 25 and 0.6 R 25, respectively. For NGC 3898 we succeed in reproducing the observed gas rotation velocities, which extends out to 0.7 R 25, only taking into account the presence of a massive dark halo.

We present GASPHOT, a tool for automated surface photometry and morphological classification of galaxies in deep and wide fields. The requirements for any such tool are reviewed, and its use for the classification of high-z galaxies is presented. In the case of HDF-like images, for galaxies having a magnitude ranging from 24 to 27.5, the uncertainties on the photometric parameters derived from GASPHOT are respectively ΔM = 0.02 − 0.1, Δ log R e ≈ 0.03, Δn = 0.02 − 0.5.

We present a tool for Galaxy Automated Surface PHOTometry (GASPHOT) in deep and wide fields, presently under development at the Observatory of Padova. The performances of this tool in the case of HDF-like images are presented. For galaxies having a magnitude of 24–27, we obtained a ΔM=0.02–0.1, Δ log R e = 0.03, Δn=0.02–0.5.

We present V-band surface photometry and major-axis kinematics of stars and ionized gas of three early-type spiral galaxies, namely NGC 772, NGC 3898 and NGC 7782. For each galaxy we built a self-consistent Jeans model for the stellar kinematics, adopting the light distribution of bulge and disc derived by means of a two-dimensional parametric photometric decomposition. This allowed us to investigate the presence of non-circular gas motions, and derive the mass distribution of luminous and dark matter in these objects. We found that the observed gas rotation corresponds to the circular velocity except for the innermost region (|r

L'espansione spagnola dopo la scoperta del Nuovo Mondo si è sviluppata in maniera differenta de quella delle altre nazioni europee.Dopo la conquista delle coste gli spagnoli hanno stabilito una urbanizzazione anche nell'interno del continente per ottenere una stabile occupazione.Le città ispanoamericane sono state fondate secondo regole certe quali il Damero che troviamo dal Nuovo Messico alla punta estrema del continente

WeestimatedblackholemassesandEddingtonratiosforasampleof X-ray-selectedactivegalacticnuclei(AGNs) inthefieldscoveredbytheGreatObservatoryOriginsDeepSurvey(GOODS).Thespannedrangesinredshift(0:4 < z < 1) and hard X-ray luminosity(10 42 PLX P4 ; 10 43 ergss � 1 )allowus tostudy arepresentative subsampleofthe main contributors to the 2Y10 keV X-ray background. Nuclear and bulge magnitudes in four bands have been measured via a two-dimensional decomposition applied toHSTACS images. Using the black hole versus bulge luminosity relation and the intrinsic nuclear emission, we derived the black hole mass and the AGN bolometric luminosity. Wefindinoursamplethat(1)theX-rayYtoYopticalindicesarelargerthaninopticallyselectedQSOs,asexpecteddue to the X-ray selection); (2) the X-ray bolometric corrections are generally small, suggesting a decrease with the nuclear luminosity; (3) the Eddington ratios are about a factor 10 below the values found at higher redshift and luminosity; (4) the central black holes have rather largemasses; and (5) at least for z P0:8, a scarceness of black holes with