Searches for Ultra-Compact Dwarf Galaxies in Galaxy Groups

We present the results of a search for ultra-compact dwarf galaxies (UCDs) in six different galaxy groups: Dorado, NGC1400, NGC0681, NGC4038, NGC4697 and NGC5084. We searched in the apparent magnitude range 17.5 < b_j < 20.5 (except NGC5084: 19.2 < b_j < 21.0). We found 1 definite plus 2 possible UCD candidates in the Dorado group and 2 possible UCD candidates in the NGC1400 group. No UCDs were found in the other groups. We compared these results with predicted luminosities of UCDs in the groups according to the hypothesis that UCDs are globular clusters formed in galaxies. The theoretical predictions broadly agree with the observational results, but deeper surveys are needed to fully test the predictions.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Hematological parameters of rheumatoid arthritis patients undergoing total hip replacement

Abstract. Background Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and baseline anemia may have an increased risk of complications after total hip replacement (THR). Inflammation in RA is the main factor manifesting anaemia, neutropenia, thrombocytosis and eosinophilia. The changes in blood components are important for the outcomes of major orthopaedic surgery. The purpose was to identify hematological parameters in RA patients undergoing THR and assess the effect on intraoperative blood loss. Material and methods Outcomes of 44 THR patients treated for grade III degenerative coxarthrosis (n = 21, OA group) and RA coxarthrosis (n = 23, RA group) in Ekaterinburg regional hospital № 1 between 2018 and 2019 were reviewed. The patients' age ranged from 41 to 70 years. Clinical, radiological, laboratory examinations, computed tomography and statistical analysis were used for the study. Cell counting was produced with the Sysmex XT-4000i automated hematology system. Statistical analysis was performed using the tools of Statistica software. Nonparametric Mann-Whitney test was used to compare cell counts between the groups. The Spearman Rank correlation was used to analyse the correlation between the the cell counts in the groups. For calculations, a significance level of р < 0.05 was adopted. Results There were no significant differences in the preoperative white blood cell (WBC), neutrophil, lymphocyte, monocyte, eosinophil counts between RA and OA groups. The RA group showed an evident decrease in red blood cell (RBC) count and haemoglobin level as compared to OA group. The RA group demonstrated the higher platelet count with mean platelet volume (MPV) being significantly lower than that in the OA group. WBC count, neutrophils, in particular, was shown to increase with lymphocyte, RBC, platelet count and hemoglobin, plateletcrit levels decreased at 24 hours postoperatively. There were no significant differences in WBC and RBC counts in the groups postoperatively. The differences in the MPV were leveled up in the groups with the platelet count being higher in the RA group as compared to the OA group. Conclusions Hematological parameters of RA patients who had undergone specific preoperative preparation were not shown to be associated with greater blood loss during hip replacement surgery. The leukocyte count leveled up in the preoperative and early postoperative periods can be indicative of the absence of a significant effect of RA on the postoperative inflammation

Structural properties of ultra-compact dwarf galaxies in the Fornax and Virgo Clusters

We present a detailed analysis of high-resolution two-band Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys imaging of 21 ultra-compact dwarf (UCD) galaxies in the Virgo and Fornax Clusters. The aim of this work is to test two formation hypotheses for UCDs—whether they are bright globular clusters (GCs) or stripped ("threshed") early-type dwarf galaxies—by direct comparison of UCD structural parameters and colors with GCs and galaxy nuclei. We find that the UCD surface brightness profiles can be described by a range of models and that the luminous UCDs in particular cannot be described by standard King models with tidal cutoffs as they have extended outer halos. This is not expected from traditional King models of GCs, but is consistent with recent results for massive GCs. The total luminosities, colors, and sizes of the UCDs (their position in the color-magnitude and luminosity-size diagrams) are consistent with them being either luminous GCs or threshed nuclei of both early-type and late-type galaxies (not just early-type dwarfs). For the most luminous UCDs we estimate color gradients over a limited range of radius. These are systematically positive in the sense of getting redder outward: mean Δ(F606W – F814W) = 0.14 mag per 100 pc with rms = 0.06 mag per 100 pc. The positive gradients found in the bright UCDs are consistent with them being either bright GCs or threshed early-type dwarf galaxies (except VUCD3). In contrast to the above results we find a very significant (>99.9% significance) difference in the sizes of UCDs and early-type galaxy nuclei: the effective radii of UCDs are 2.2+0.2 –0.1 times larger than those of early-type galaxy nuclei at the same luminosity. This result suggests that an important test can be made of the threshing hypothesis by simulating the process and predicting what size increase is expected

The charge state of pt in binary compounds and synthetic minerals determined by x-ray absorption spectroscopy and quantum chemical calculations

The binary synthetic compounds of Pt with chalcogens (O, S, Se, Te), pnictogens (As, Sb, Bi), and intermetallic compounds with Ga, In, and Sn of various stoichiometry were studied via X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). The partial atomic charges of Pt in the compounds were computed using quantum chemical density functional theory (DFT) based methods: the Bader (QTAIM) method, and the density-derived electrostatic and chemical (DDEC6) approach. Strong positive correlations were established between the calculated partial atomic charges of Pt and the electronegativity (χ) of ligands. The partial charge of Pt in PtL2 compounds increases much sharply when the ligand electronegativity increases than the Pt partial charge in PtL compounds. The effect of the ligand-to-Pt atomic ratio on the calculated Pt partial charge depended on ligand electronegativity. The DDEC6 charge of Pt increases sharply with the growth of the number of ligands in PtSn (n = 1, 2; electronegativity χ(S) &gt;&gt; χ(Pt)), weakly depends on the phase composition in PtTen (n = 1, 2; χ(Te) is slightly lower than χ(Pt)), and decreases (becomes more negative) with increase of the ligand-to-Pt ratio in intermetallic compounds with electron donors (χ(L) &lt; χ(Pt), L = Ga, In, Sn). According to XANES spectroscopy, the number of 5d (L2,3 absorption edges) and 6p (L1-edge) electrons at the Pt site decreased when ligand electronegativity increased in chalcogenides and pnictides groups. An increase of the ligand-to-Pt ratio resulted in the increase of the Pt L3-edge white line intensity and area in all studied compounds. In the case of chalcogenides and pnictides, this behavior was consistent with the electronegativity rule as it indicated a loss of Pt 5d electrons caused by the increase of the number of ligands, i.e., acceptors of electrons. However, in the case of ligands–electron donors (Te, Sn, Ga, In) this observation is in apparent contradiction with the electronegativity arguments as it indicates the increase of the number of Pt 5d-shell vacancies (holes) with the increase of the number of the ligands, for which the opposite trend is expected. This behavior can be explained in the framework of the charge compensation model. The loss of the Pt d-electrons in compounds with low ligand electronegativity (χ(Pt) &gt; χ(L)) was overcompensated by the gain of the hybridized s-p electron density, which was confirmed by Pt L1-edge spectra analysis. As a result, the total electron density at the Pt site followed the electronegativity rule, i.e., it increased with the growth of the number of the ligands-electron donors. The empirical correlations between the Pt partial atomic charges and parameters of XANES spectral features were used to identify the state of Pt in pyrite, and can be applied to determine the state of Pt in other ore minerals. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.This study was supported by RFBR grant No. 20-35-70049, the program 211 of the Russian Federation Government, agreement No. 02.A03.21.0006, by the Russian Government Program of Competitive Growth of Kazan Federal University, and by Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation grant No. 075-15-2020-802

A search for massive UCDs in the Centaurus Galaxy Cluster

We recently initiated a search for ultra-compact dwarf galaxies (UCDs) in the Centaurus galaxy cluster (Mieske et al. 2007), resulting in the discovery of 27 compact objects with -12.2<M_V<-10.9 mag. Our overall survey completeness was 15-20% within 120 kpc projected clustercentric distance. In order to better constrain the luminosity distribution of the brightest UCDs in Centaurus, we continue our search by substantially improving our survey completeness specifically in the regime M_V<-12 mag (V_0<21.3 mag). Using VIMOS at the VLT, we obtain low-resolution spectra of 400 compact objects with 19.3<V_0<21.3 mag (-14<M_V<-12 mag at the Centaurus distance) in the central 25' of the Centaurus cluster, which corresponds to a projected radius of ~150 kpc. Our survey yields complete area coverage within ~120 kpc. For 94% of the sources included in the masks we successfully measure a redshift. Due to incompleteness in the slit assignment, our final completeness in the area surveyed is 52%. Among our targets we find three new UCDs in the magnitude range -12.2<M_V<-12 mag, hence at the faint limit of our survey. One of them is covered by archival HST WFPC2 imaging, yielding a size estimate of r_h <= 8-9 pc. At 95% confidence we can reject the hypothesis that in the area surveyed there are more than 2 massive UCDs with M_V<-12.2 mag and r_eff <=70 pc. Our survey hence confirms the extreme rareness of massive UCDs. We find that the radial distributions of Centaurus and Fornax UCDs with respect to their host clusters' centers agree within the 2 sigma level.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, accepted as Research Note for A&

NGC 7468: a galaxy with an inner polar disk

We present our spectroscopic observations of the galaxy NGC 7468 performed at the 6-m Special Astrophysical Observatory telescope using the UAGS long-slit spectrograph, the multipupil fiber spectrograph MPFS, and the scanning Fabry-Perot interferometer (IFP). We found no significant deviations from the circular rotation of the galactic disk in the velocity field in the regions of brightness excess along the major axis of the galaxy (the putative polar ring). Thus, these features are either tidal structures or weakly developed spiral arms. However, we detected a gaseous disk at the center of the galaxy whose rotation plane is almost perpendicular to the plane of the galactic disk. The central collision of NGC 7468 with a gas-rich dwarf galaxy and their subsequent merging seem to be responsible for the formation of this disk.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, accepted in Astronomy Letters, 2004, vol 30., N 9, p. 58

Microwave-Assisted synthesis and evaluation of antibacterial activity of novel 6-fluoroaryl-[1,2,4]triazolo[1,5-A]pyrimidines

A series of 6-fluoroaryl substituted [1,2,4]triazolo[1,5-A]pyrimidines have been synthesized by using the microwave-Assisted Suzuki cross-coupling reaction from readily available 6-bromo-[1,2,4]triazolo[1,5-A]pyrimidine. The antimicrobial activity of new compounds has been evaluated in vitro against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv and gram-negative (Neisseria gonorrhoeae ATCC 49226) bacteria. © ARKAT-USA, Inc

Magnetic Properties of A2Ni2TeO6 (A = K, Li): Zigzag Order in the Honeycomb Layers of Ni2+ Ions Induced by First and Third Nearest-Neighbor Spin Exchanges

The static and dynamic magnetic properties and the specific heat of K2Ni2TeO6 and Li2Ni2TeO6 were examined and it was found that they undergo a long-range ordering at TN = 22.8 and 24.4 K, respectively, but exhibit a strong short-range order. At high temperature, the magnetic susceptibilities of K2Ni2TeO6 and Li2Ni2TeO6 are described by a Curie–Weiss law, with Curie-Weiss temperatures Θ of approximately −13 and −20 K, respectively, leading to the effective magnetic moment of about 4.46 ± 0.01 µB per formula unit, as expected for Ni2+ (S = 1) ions. In the paramagnetic region, the ESR spectra of K2Ni2TeO6 and Li2Ni2TeO6 show a single Lorentzianshaped line characterized by the isotropic effective g-factor, g = 2.19 ± 0.01. The energy-mapping analysis shows that the honeycomb layers of A2Ni2TeO6 (A = K, Li) and Li3Ni2SbO6 adopt a zigzag order, in which zigzag ferromagnetic chains are antiferromagnetically coupled, because the third nearest-neighbor spin exchanges are strongly antiferromagnetic while the first nearest-neighbor spin exchanges are strongly ferromagnetic, and that adjacent zigzag-ordered honeycomb layers prefer to be ferromagnetically coupled. The short-range order of the zigzag-ordered honeycomb lattices of K2Ni2TeO6 and Li2Ni2TeO6 is equivalent to that of an antiferromagnetic uniform chain, and is related to the short-range order of the ferromagnetic chains along the direction perpendicular to the chains. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Russian Foundation for Basic Research, РФФИ; Ministry of Education, MOE: 2020R1A6A1A03048004; National Research Foundation of Korea, NRF; Russian Science Foundation, RSF: 22-42-08002; Government Council on Grants, Russian Federation: 075-15-2021-604Funding: This work was supported by the grant 14-03-01122 from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (VBN), by the Russian Scientific Foundation through Grant No. 22-42-08002, and by the Mega-grant program of the Government of Russian Federation through the project 075-15-2021-604. The work at KHU was financially supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation (NRF) of Korea, which was funded by the Ministry of Education (2020R1A6A1A03048004)