321 research outputs found
A numerical model for predicting the time for crack initiation in wood panel paintings under low-cycle environmentally induced fatigue
Determining the storage and display conditions for historical panel (wood) paintings requires a balance between ensuring the painting's preservation whilst also considering the energy consumption associated with climate control. The latter has become very important due to the need to lower the carbon footprint of museums and historical houses. In order to address this need, we have developed numerical models based on finite element analysis to simulate the initiation of two types of potential damage in panel paintings, namely interfacial and channelling cracks in the oil paint layer, under cyclically varying relative humidity. These models are based on our case study at Knole House (National Trust), Kent. Using known data for the past environment in which the paintings within the Brown Gallery at Knole House have been exposed, the ambient RH variation was approximated by three cycles, i.e., annual, biannual, and monthly varying cycles. Four RH cases, one containing all three cycles and each of the other three cases containing just two of the three cycles, were applied as boundary conditions to simplified geometries of the panel paintings in an effort to investigate the effects of the frequency and the amplitude of the variation on the possibility of cracking in the painting. The models need several material parameters as input which are not all available. Therefore, the study also includes some parametric studies to determine possible variations in the crack initiation. According to the model predictions, the channelling crack initiates slightly earlier than the interfacial crack. The crack initiation time in an uncontrolled environment (containing all three RH cycles) predicted by the model is approximately 120 years which empirically is a realistic estimate. Furthermore, the annual RH cycle (high amplitude and low frequency) has the most significant effect on the crack initiation. By removing the annual variation from the RH cycle, the initiation of both channelling and interfacial cracks can be postponed significantly, from approximately 120 years to over 400 years
The Gamma-Ray Blazar Content of the Northern Sky
Using survey data, we have re-evaluated the correlation of flat spectrum
radio sources with EGRET sources in the Northern sky. A likelihood analysis
incorporating the radio and X-ray properties and the Gamma-ray source
localization is used to gauge the reliability of associations and to search for
counterparts of previously unidentified EGRET sources. Above |b|=10deg, where
the classification is complete, we find that 70% of the Northern EGRET sources
have counterparts similar to the bright EGRET blazars. For several of these we
identify known blazar counterparts more likely than the earlier proposed 3EG
association; for ~20 we have new identifications. Spectroscopic confirmation of
these candidates is in progress and we have found flat spectrum radio quasars
and BL Lac counterparts with redshifts as high as 4. We also find strong
evidence for a set of 28 objects with no plausible counterpart like the known
EGRET Blazars. These thus represent either a new extragalactic population or a
population of Galactic objects with a large scale height. The survey has been
extended into the plane, where we find several new blazar candidates; the bulk
of the sources are, however, Galactic. Looking ahead to the GLAST era we
predict that several of the present 3EG sources are composite and that higher
resolution data will break these into multiple Blazar IDs.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Ap
Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph slitless observations of Small Magellanic Cloud Planetary Nebulae: a study on morphology, emission line intensity, and evolution
A sample of 27 Planetary Nebulae (PNs) in the Small Magellanic Clouds (SMC)
have been observed with the Hubble Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph
(HST/STIS) to determine their morphology, size, and the spatial variation of
the ratios of bright emission lines. The morphologies of SMC PNs are similar to
those of LMC and Galactic PNs. However, only a third of the resolved SMC PNs
are asymmetric, compared to half in the LMC. The low metallicity environment of
the SMC seems to discourage the onset of bipolarity in PNs. We measured the
line intensity, average surface brightness (SB), and photometric radius of each
nebula in halpha, hbeta, [O III] lambda4959 and 5007, [NII] 6548 and 6584, [S
II] lambda6716 and 5731, He I 6678, and [OI] 6300 and 6363. We show that the
surface brightness to radius relationship is the same as in LMC PNs, indicating
its possible use as a distance scale indicator for Galactic PNs. We determine
the electron densities and the ionized masses of the nebulae where the [S II]
lines were measured accurately, and we find that the SMC PNs are denser than
the LMC PNs by a factor of 1.5. The average ionized mass of the SMC PNs is 0.3
Msun. We also found that the median [O III]/hbeta intensity ratio in the SMC is
about half than the corresponding LMC median. We use Cloudy to model the
dependence of the [O III]/hbeta ratio on the oxygen abundance. Our models
encompass very well the average observed physical quantities. We suggest that
the SMC PNs are principally cooled by the carbon lines, making it hard to study
their excitation based on the optical lines at our disposal.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal, 30 pages, 13
figures, 6 tables. For high resolution version of Figs 1 to 6, see
http://archive.stsci.edu/hst/mcpn/home.htm
Large Magellanic Cloud Planetary Nebula Morphology: Probing Stellar Populations and Evolution
Planetary Nebulae (PNe) in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) offer the unique
opportunity to study both the Population and evolution of low- and
intermediate-mass stars, by means of the morphological type of the nebula.
Using observations from our LMC PN morphological survey, and including images
available in the HST Data Archive, and published chemical abundances, we find
that asymmetry in PNe is strongly correlated with a younger stellar Population,
as indicated by the abundance of elements that are unaltered by stellar
evolution (Ne, Ar, S). While similar results have been obtained for Galactic
PNe, this is the first demonstration of the relationship for extra-galactic
PNe. We also examine the relation between morphology and abundance of the
products of stellar evolution. We found that asymmetric PNe have higher
nitrogen and lower carbon abundances than symmetric PNe. Our two main results
are broadly consistent with the predictions of stellar evolution if the
progenitors of asymmetric PNe have on average larger masses than the
progenitors of symmetric PNe. The results bear on the question of formation
mechanisms for asymmetric PNe, specifically, that the genesis of PNe structure
should relate strongly to the Population type, and by inference the mass, of
the progenitor star, and less strongly on whether the central star is a member
of a close binary system.Comment: The Astrophysical Journal Letters, in press 4 figure
Interstellar and Circumstellar Optical & Ultraviolet Lines Towards SN1998S
We have observed SN1998S which exploded in NGC3877, with the UES at the WHT
and with the E230M echelle of STIS aboard HST. Both data sets were obtained at
two seperate epochs. From our own Galaxy we detect interstellar absorption
lines of CaII, FeII, MgI, and probably MnII from the edge of the HVC Complex M.
We derive gas-phase abundances which are very similar to warm disk clouds in
the local ISM, which we believe argues against the HVC material having an
extragalactic origin. At the velocity of NGC3877 we detect interstellar MgI,
MgII, MnII, CaII, & NaI. Surprisingly, one component is seen to increase by a
factor of ~1 dex in N(NaI) and N(MgI) between the two epochs over which the
data were taken. Unusually, our data also show narrow Balmer, HeI, and
metastable FeII P-Cygni profiles, with a narrow absorption component
superimposed on the bottom of the profile's absorption trough. Both the broad
and narrow components of the optical lines are seen to increase substantially
in strength between the two epochs. Most of the low-ionization absorption can
be understood in terms of gas co-rotating with the disk of NGC 3877, providing
the SN is at the back of an HI disk with a similar thickness to that of our own
Galaxy. However, the variable absorption components, and the classic P-Cygni
emission profiles, most likely arise in slow-moving circumstellar outflows
originating from the red supergiant progenitor of SN1998S. [Abridged.]Comment: Accepted by ApJ, 26 pages including 9 figure
The Molonglo Reference Catalog 1-Jy radio source survey IV. Optical spectroscopy of a complete quasar sample
Optical spectroscopic data are presented here for quasars from the Molonglo
Quasar Sample (MQS), which forms part of a complete survey of 1-Jy radio
sources from the Molonglo Reference Catalogue. The combination of low-frequency
selection and complete identifications means that the MQS is relatively free
from the orientation biases which affect most other quasar samples. To date,
the sample includes 105 quasars and 6 BL Lac objects, 106 of which have now
been confirmed spectroscopically. This paper presents a homogenous set of
low-resolution optical spectra for 79 MQS quasars, the majority of which have
been obtained at the Anglo-Australian Telescope. Full observational details are
given and redshifts, continuum and emission-line data tabulated for all
confirmed quasars.Comment: 40 pages, ApJS in pres
Monitoring of lung edema by microwave reflectometry during lung ischemia-reperfusion injury in vivo
It is still unclear whether lung edema can be monitored by microwave reflectometry and whether the measured changes in lung dry matter content (DMC) are accompanied by changes in PaO(2) and in pro-to anti-inflammatory cytokine expression (IFN-gamma and IL-10). Right rat lung hili were cross-clamped at 37 degrees C for 0, 60, 90 or 120 min ischemia followed by 120 min reperfusion. After 90 min (DMC: 15.9 +/- 1.4%; PaO(2): 76.7 +/- 18 mm Hg) and 120 min ischemia (DMC: 12.8 +/- 0.6%; PaO(2): 43 +/- 7 mm Hg), a significant decrease in DMC and PaO(2) throughout reperfusion compared to 0 min ischemia (DMC: 19.5 +/- 1.11%; PaO(2): 247 +/- 33 mm Hg; p < 0.05) was observed. DMC and PaO(2) decreased after 60 min ischemia but recovered during reperfusion (DMC: 18.5 +/- 2.4%; PaO(2) : 173 +/- 30 mm Hg). DMC values reflected changes on the physiological and molecular level. In conclusion, lung edema monitoring by microwave reflectometry might become a tool for the thoracic surgeon. Copyright (c) 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel
Sensitivity of Colorectal Cancer to Arginine Deprivation Therapy is Shaped by Differential Expression of Urea Cycle Enzymes
We thank Polaris Pharmaceuticals and Bio-Cancer Treatment for providing drugs and reagents. This work was supported by the Cancer Prevention Research Trust, with assistance from the Wellcome Trust Institutional Strategic Support Fund [097828/z/11/B], and Cancer Research UK in conjunction with the Department of Health as part of an Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre grant [C325/A15575]. C.A. was funded by a PhD fellowship from the Cancer Prevention Research Trust, S.S.A. was funded by a studentship from the Iraqi Government. We are thankful to John Bomalaski and Sara Galavotti for their critical reading of the manuscript and insightful suggestions. Finally, we are profoundly indebted to Professor Andreas Gescher for his constant support during the execution of this project and the writing of this manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Early rheumatoid arthritis is characterized by a distinct and transient synovial fluid cytokine profile of T cell and stromal cell origin
Pathological processes involved in the initiation of rheumatoid synovitis remain unclear. We undertook the present study to identify immune and stromal processes that are present soon after the clinical onset of rheumatoid arthritis ( RA) by assessing a panel of T cell, macrophage, and stromal cell related cytokines and chemokines in the synovial fluid of patients with early synovitis. Synovial fluid was aspirated from inflamed joints of patients with inflammatory arthritis of duration 3 months or less, whose outcomes were subsequently determined by follow up. For comparison, synovial fluid was aspirated from patients with acute crystal arthritis, established RA and osteoarthritis. Rheumatoid factor activity was blocked in the synovial fluid samples, and a panel of 23 cytokines and chemokines measured using a multiplex based system. Patients with early inflammatory arthritis who subsequently developed RA had a distinct but transient synovial fluid cytokine profile. The levels of a range of T cell, macrophage and stromal cell related cytokines ( e. g. IL-2, IL-4, IL-13, IL-17, IL-15, basic fibroblast growth factor and epidermal growth factor) were significantly elevated in these patients within 3 months after symptom onset, as compared with early arthritis patients who did not develop RA. In addition, this profile was no longer present in established RA. In contrast, patients with non-rheumatoid persistent synovitis exhibited elevated levels of interferon-gamma at initiation. Early synovitis destined to develop into RA is thus characterized by a distinct and transient synovial fluid cytokine profile. The cytokines present in the early rheumatoid lesion suggest that this response is likely to influence the microenvironment required for persistent RA
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