2,461 research outputs found

    Observational Study of the Multistructured Planetary Nebula NGC 7354

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    We present an observational study of the planetary nebula (PN) NGC 7354 consisting of narrowband Halpha and [NII]6584 imaging as well as low- and high-dispersion long-slit spectroscopy and VLA-D radio continuum. According to our imaging and spectroscopic data, NGC 7354 has four main structures: a quite round outer shell and an elliptical inner shell, a collection of low-excitation bright knots roughly concentrated on the equatorial region of the nebula, and two symmetrical jet-like features, not aligned either with the shells' axes, or with each other. We have obtained physical parameters like electron temperature and electron density as well as ionic and elemental abundances for these different structures. Electron temperature and electron density slightly vary throughout the nebula. The local extinction coefficient c_Hbeta shows an increasing gradient from south to north and a decreasing gradient from east to west consistent with the number of equatorial bright knots present in each direction. Abundance values show slight internal variations but most of them are within the estimated uncertainties. In general, abundance values are in good agreement with the ones expected for PNe. Radio continuum data are consistent with optically thin thermal emission. We have used the interactive three-dimensional modeling tool SHAPE to reproduce the observed morphokinematic structures in NGC 7354 with different geometrical components. Our SHAPE model is in very good agreement with our imaging and spectroscopic observations. Finally, after modeling NGC 7354 with SHAPE, we suggest a possible scenario for the formation of the nebula.Comment: Accepted for publication in AJ, 12 pages, 8 figure

    Ostriches Sleep like Platypuses

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    Mammals and birds engage in two distinct states of sleep, slow wave sleep (SWS) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. SWS is characterized by slow, high amplitude brain waves, while REM sleep is characterized by fast, low amplitude waves, known as activation, occurring with rapid eye movements and reduced muscle tone. However, monotremes (platypuses and echidnas), the most basal (or ‘ancient’) group of living mammals, show only a single sleep state that combines elements of SWS and REM sleep, suggesting that these states became temporally segregated in the common ancestor to marsupial and eutherian mammals. Whether sleep in basal birds resembles that of monotremes or other mammals and birds is unknown. Here, we provide the first description of brain activity during sleep in ostriches (Struthio camelus), a member of the most basal group of living birds. We found that the brain activity of sleeping ostriches is unique. Episodes of REM sleep were delineated by rapid eye movements, reduced muscle tone, and head movements, similar to those observed in other birds and mammals engaged in REM sleep; however, during REM sleep in ostriches, forebrain activity would flip between REM sleep-like activation and SWS-like slow waves, the latter reminiscent of sleep in the platypus. Moreover, the amount of REM sleep in ostriches is greater than in any other bird, just as in platypuses, which have more REM sleep than other mammals. These findings reveal a recurring sequence of steps in the evolution of sleep in which SWS and REM sleep arose from a single heterogeneous state that became temporally segregated into two distinct states. This common trajectory suggests that forebrain activation during REM sleep is an evolutionarily new feature, presumably involved in performing new sleep functions not found in more basal animals

    Constraints on the χ_(c1) versus χ_(c2) polarizations in proton-proton collisions at √s = 8 TeV

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    The polarizations of promptly produced χ_(c1) and χ_(c2) mesons are studied using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, in proton-proton collisions at √s=8  TeV. The χ_c states are reconstructed via their radiative decays χ_c → J/ÏˆÎł, with the photons being measured through conversions to eâșe⁻, which allows the two states to be well resolved. The polarizations are measured in the helicity frame, through the analysis of the χ_(c2) to χ_(c1) yield ratio as a function of the polar or azimuthal angle of the positive muon emitted in the J/ψ → ÎŒâșΌ⁻ decay, in three bins of J/ψ transverse momentum. While no differences are seen between the two states in terms of azimuthal decay angle distributions, they are observed to have significantly different polar anisotropies. The measurement favors a scenario where at least one of the two states is strongly polarized along the helicity quantization axis, in agreement with nonrelativistic quantum chromodynamics predictions. This is the first measurement of significantly polarized quarkonia produced at high transverse momentum

    Symbiotic Associations in the Phenotypically-Diverse Brown Alga Saccharina japonica

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    The brown alga Saccharina japonica (Areschoug) Lane, Mayes, Druehl et Saunders is a highly polymorphic representative of the family Laminariaceae, inhabiting the northwest Pacific region. We have obtained 16S rRNA sequence data in symbiont microorganisms of the typical form (TYP) of S. japonica and its common morphological varieties, known as “longipes” (LON) and “shallow-water” (SHA), which show contrasting bathymetric distribution and sharp morphological, life history traits, and ecological differences. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA sequences shows that the microbial communities are significantly different in the three forms studied and consist of mosaic sets of common and form-specific bacterial lineages. The divergence in bacterial composition is substantial between the TYP and LON forms in spite of their high genetic similarity. The symbiont distribution in the S. japonica forms and in three other laminarialean species is not related to the depth or locality of the algae settlements. Combined with our previous results on symbiont associations in sea urchins and taking into account the highly specific character of bacteria-algae associations, we propose that the TYP and LON forms may represent incipient species passing through initial steps of reproductive isolation. We suggest that phenotype differences between genetically similar forms may be caused by host-symbiont interactions that may be a general feature of evolution in algae and other eukaryote organisms. Bacterial symbionts could serve as sensitive markers to distinguish genetically similar algae forms and also as possible growth-promoting inductors to increase algae productivity

    A922 Sequential measurement of 1 hour creatinine clearance (1-CRCL) in critically ill patients at risk of acute kidney injury (AKI)

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    Measurement of Energy Correlators inside Jets and Determination of the Strong Coupling Formula Presented

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    Energy correlators that describe energy-weighted distances between two or three particles in a hadronic jet are measured using an event sample of s\sqrt{s}=13 TeV proton-proton collisions collected by the CMS experiment and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.3 fb−1^{−1}. The measured distributions are consistent with the trends in the simulation that reveal two key features of the strong interaction: confinement and asymptotic freedom. By comparing the ratio of the measured three- and two-particle energy correlator distributions with theoretical calculations that resum collinear emissions at approximate next-to-next-to-leading-logarithmic accuracy matched to a next-to-leading-order calculation, the strong coupling is determined at the Z boson mass: αS_S (mZ_Z)=0.1229 0.0040−0.0050\frac{0.0040}{-0.0050} , the most precise αS_SmZ_Z value obtained using jet substructure observable

    Search for a vector-like quark Tâ€Č → tH via the diphoton decay mode of the Higgs boson in proton-proton collisions at s \sqrt{s} = 13 TeV

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    A search for the electroweak production of a vector-like quark Tâ€Č, decaying to a top quark and a Higgs boson is presented. The search is based on a sample of proton-proton collision events recorded at the LHC at = 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb−1. This is the first Tâ€Č search that exploits the Higgs boson decay to a pair of photons. For narrow isospin singlet Tâ€Č states with masses up to 1.1 TeV, the excellent diphoton invariant mass resolution of 1–2% results in an increased sensitivity compared to previous searches based on the same production mechanism. The electroweak production of a Tâ€Č quark with mass up to 960 GeV is excluded at 95% confidence level, assuming a coupling strength ÎșT = 0.25 and a relative decay width Γ/MTâ€Č < 5%

    Search for heavy neutral leptons in final states with electrons, muons, and hadronically decaying tau leptons in proton-proton collisions at s \sqrt{s} = 13 TeV

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    A search for heavy neutral leptons (HNLs) of Majorana or Dirac type using proton-proton collision data at = 13 TeV is presented. The data were collected by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb−1. Events with three charged leptons (electrons, muons, and hadronically decaying tau leptons) are selected, corresponding to HNL production in association with a charged lepton and decay of the HNL to two charged leptons and a standard model (SM) neutrino. The search is performed for HNL masses between 10 GeV and 1.5 TeV. No evidence for an HNL signal is observed in data. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are found for the squared coupling strength of the HNL to SM neutrinos, considering exclusive coupling of the HNL to a single SM neutrino generation, for both Majorana and Dirac HNLs. The limits exceed previously achieved experimental constraints for a wide range of HNL masses, and the limits on tau neutrino coupling scenarios with HNL masses above the W boson mass are presented for the first time

    Search for high-mass exclusive γγ → WW and γγ → ZZ production in proton-proton collisions at s \sqrt{s} = 13 TeV

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