741 research outputs found
A proto brown dwarf candidate in Taurus
Aims. We search for brown dwarfs at the Class 0/I evolutionary stage, or proto brown dwarfs.
Methods. We present a multi wavelength study, ranging from optical at 0.8 μm to radio wavelengths at 6 cm, of a cool, very faint, and red multiple object, SSTB213 J041757, detected by Spitzer toward the Barnard 213 dark cloud, in Taurus.
Results. The SED of SSTB213 J041757 displays a clear excess at long wavelengths resembling that of a Class I object. The mid-IR source has two possible counterparts, A and B, in the near-IR and optical images, and the 350 μm observations detect clear extended emission, presumably from an envelope around the two sources. The position of A & B in the (Ic− J) versus (J − [3.6]) colour-colour diagram is consistent with them being Galactic sources and not extragalactic contaminants. A proper-motion study confirms this result for A, while it is inconclusive for B. The temperature and mass of the two possible central objects, according to COND evolutionary models, range between 1550−1750 K and 3−4 M_(Jupiter), and 950−1300 K and 1−2 M_(Jupiter), for A and B, respectively. The integrated SED provides bolometric temperatures and luminosities of 280 K and 0.0034 L_⊙, assuming that the emission at wavelengths > 5 μm is associated with component A, and 150 K and 0.0033 L_⊙, assuming that the emission at wavelengths > 5 μm is associated with component B, which would imply the SSTB213 J041757 object has a luminosity well below the luminosity of other very low luminosity objects discovered up to date.
Conclusions. With these characteristics, SSTB213 J041757 seems to be a promising, and perhaps double, proto brown dwarf candidate
Kepler-91b: a planet at the end of its life. Planet and giant host star properties via light-curve variations
The evolution of planetary systems is intimately linked to the evolution of
their host star. Our understanding of the whole planetary evolution process is
based on the large planet diversity observed so far. To date, only few tens of
planets have been discovered orbiting stars ascending the Red Giant Branch.
Although several theories have been proposed, the question of how planets die
remains open due to the small number statistics. In this work we study the
giant star Kepler-91 (KOI-2133) in order to determine the nature of a
transiting companion. This system was detected by the Kepler Space Telescope.
However, its planetary confirmation is needed. We confirm the planetary nature
of the object transiting the star Kepler-91 by deriving a mass of and a planetary radius of
. Asteroseismic analysis produces a
stellar radius of and a mass of
. We find that its eccentric orbit
() is just away
from the stellar atmosphere at the pericenter. Kepler-91b could be the previous
stage of the planet engulfment, recently detected for BD+48 740. Our
estimations show that Kepler-91b will be swallowed by its host star in less
than 55 Myr. Among the confirmed planets around giant stars, this is the
planetary-mass body closest to its host star. At pericenter passage, the star
subtends an angle of , covering around 10% of the sky as seen from
the planet. The planetary atmosphere seems to be inflated probably due to the
high stellar irradiation.Comment: 21 pages, 8 tables and 11 figure
Impact of Assertiveness Training on Improving the Coping Skills of Selected Nurses in a Nigeria Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital
Background: Psychiatric mental health nurses are confronted with daily responsibility of interacting with patients with stress. They need to understand the meaning of their own stress before they could use the strategies to assist the patients with stress under their care. Therefore, this study aimed at evaluate the impact of assertiveness training on coping skills of selected nurses working in Yaba, psychiatric hospital, Lagos. Methodology: The study setting was the psychiatric hospital, Yaba, Lagos. It was among psychiatric nurses with the study population of 60 (2 did not complete the training) therefore the sample size was 58,data were collected using standardized tests of coping skill inventory, Assertiveness inventory and viginettes. Results: The result showed that a significant change was found in level of assertiveness responses and coping responses of the subjects before and after the training.Conclusion: It was concluded that assertiveness training impacted significantly on coping level of the subjects. It was revealed that the assertiveness training helped nurses to communicate and be more tolerant to their patients in different situations. Keywords: Impact, coping skills, viginette, improving, neuro-psychiatric Hospital, Yaba
Efficacy of Assertiveness Training in Enhancing Interpersonal Skills among Selected Nurses Attending MCPDP at Osun State School of Nursing, Osogbo: Osun State, Nigeria
Introduction: Assertiveness is an important behaviour for today’s professional nurse. As nurses move away from traditional subservient roles and perceived stereotypes, it is increasingly being recognized that a nurse needs to behave in an assertive way. The study investigated the influence of Assertiveness Training in enhancing interpersonal skills among selected nurses attending mandatory continuing professional development programme (MCPDP).Methodology: - The sample consisted of one hundred and twenty nurses randomly selected, from the clustered population of nurses attending MCPDP in Osun State, Nigeria. A. 3 x 2 factorial design was adopted. The analysis of covariance was used to test two null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance using SPSS version window 17.Results: - Results indicated that subjects exposed to treatments performed significantly better than the control group on the measures of interpersonal skills i.e. Assertiveness Behaviour inventory; social skill inventory, F (15,304) = 103.41, P<0.0. Conclusion: - It was concluded that the therapeutic technique was effective in enhancing interpersonal skills of the subjects. Keywords: Efficacy, Assertiveness Training, Interpersonal Skills, MCPDP, Low intelligence, High Intelligence, Osogbo.
YSOVAR: Mid-IR variability in the star forming region Lynds 1688
The emission from young stellar objects (YSOs) in the mid-IR is dominated by
the inner rim of their circumstellar disks. We present an IR-monitoring survey
of about 800 objects in the direction of the Lynds 1688 (L1688) star forming
region over four visibility windows spanning 1.6 years using the \emph{Spitzer}
space telescope in its warm mission phase. Among all lightcurves, 57 sources
are cluster members identified based on their spectral-energy distribution and
X-ray emission. Almost all cluster members show significant variability. The
amplitude of the variability is larger in more embedded YSOs. Ten out of 57
cluster members have periodic variations in the lightcurves with periods
typically between three and seven days, but even for those sources, significant
variability in addition to the periodic signal can be seen. No period is stable
over 1.6 years. Non-periodic lightcurves often still show a preferred timescale
of variability which is longer for more embedded sources. About half of all
sources exhibit redder colors in a fainter state. This is compatible with
time-variable absorption towards the YSO. The other half becomes bluer when
fainter. These colors can only be explained with significant changes in the
structure of the inner disk. No relation between mid-IR variability and stellar
effective temperature or X-ray spectrum is found.Comment: accepted by ApJ, 24 pages, 17 figure
Is there really a debris disc around ?
The presence of a debris disc around the Gyr-old solar-type star
was suggested by the infrared
excess detection. Follow-up observations with /PACS revealed
a double-lobed feature, that displayed asymmetries both in brightness and
position. Therefore, the disc was thought to be edge-on and significantly
eccentric. Here we present ALMA/ACA observations in Band 6 and 7 which
unambiguously reveal that these lobes show no common proper motion with
. In these observations, no flux has been detected
around that exceeds the levels. We
conclude that surface brightness upper limits of a debris disc around
are at 1.3 mm, and
at 870 microns. Our results overall demonstrate
the capability of the ALMA/ACA to follow-up observations of
debris discs and clarify the effects of background confusion.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, 2 table
First detection of thermal radio jets in a sample of proto-brown dwarf candidates
We observed with the JVLA at 3.6 and 1.3 cm a sample of 11 proto-brown dwarf
candidates in Taurus in a search for thermal radio jets driven by the most
embedded brown dwarfs. We detected for the first time four thermal radio jets
in proto-brown dwarf candidates. We compiled data from UKIDSS, 2MASS, Spitzer,
WISE and Herschel to build the Spectral Energy Distribution (SED) of the
objects in our sample, which are similar to typical Class~I SEDs of Young
Stellar Objects (YSOs). The four proto-brown dwarf candidates driving thermal
radio jets also roughly follow the well-known trend of centimeter luminosity
against bolometric luminosity determined for YSOs, assuming they belong to
Taurus, although they present some excess of radio emission compared to the
known relation for YSOs. Nonetheless, we are able to reproduce the flux
densities of the radio jets modeling the centimeter emission of the thermal
radio jets using the same type of models applied to YSOs, but with
corresponding smaller stellar wind velocities and mass-loss rates, and
exploring different possible geometries of the wind or outflow from the star.
Moreover, we also find that the modeled mass outflow rates for the bolometric
luminosities of our objects agree reasonably well with the trends found between
the mass outflow rates and bolometric luminosities of YSOs, which indicates
that, despite the "excess" centimeter emission, the intrinsic properties of
proto-brown dwarfs are consistent with a continuation of those of very low mass
stars to a lower mass range. Overall, our study favors the formation of brown
dwarfs as a scaled-down version of low-mass stars.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures, 14 tables, accepted by the Astrophysical Journa
Age-dependent differences in human brain activity using a face- and location-matching task: An fMRI study
Purpose: To evaluate the differences of cortical activation patterns in young and elderly healthy subjects for object and spatial visual processing using a face- and location-matching task. Materials and Methods: We performed a face- and a location-matching task in 15 young (mean age: 28 +/- 9 years) and 19 elderly (mean age: 71 +/- 6 years) subjects. Each experiment consisted of 7 blocks alternating between activation and control condition. For face matching, the subjects had to indicate whether two displayed faces were identical or different. For location matching, the subjects had to press a button whenever two objects had an identical position. For control condition, we used a perception task with abstract images. Functional imaging was performed on a 1.5-tesla scanner using an EPI sequence. Results: In the face-matching task, the young subjects showed bilateral (right 1 left) activation in the occipito-temporal pathway (occipital gyrus, inferior and middle temporal gyrus). Predominantly right hemispheric activations were found in the fusiform gyrus, the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (inferior and middle frontal gyrus) and the superior parietal gyrus. In the elderly subjects, the activated areas in the right fronto-lateral cortex increased. An additional activated area could be found in the medial frontal gyrus (right > left). In the location-matching task, young subjects presented increased bilateral (right > left) activation in the superior parietal lobe and precuneus compared with face matching. The activations in the occipito-temporal pathway, in the right fronto-lateral cortex and the fusiform gyrus were similar to the activations found in the face-matching task. In the elderly subjects, we detected similar activation patterns compared to the young subjects with additional activations in the medial frontal gyrus. Conclusion: Activation patterns for object-based and spatial visual processing were established in the young and elderly healthy subjects. Differences between the elderly and young subjects could be evaluated, especially by using a face-matching task. Copyright (c) 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel
The Gaia-ESO Survey: dynamics of ionized and neutral gas in the Lagoon nebula (M8)
We present a spectroscopic study of the dynamics of the ionized and neutral
gas throughout the Lagoon nebula (M8), using VLT/FLAMES data from the Gaia-ESO
Survey. We explore the connections between the nebular gas and the stellar
population of the associated star cluster NGC6530. We characterize through
spectral fitting emission lines of H-alpha, [N II] and [S II] doublets, [O
III], and absorption lines of sodium D doublet, using data from the
FLAMES/Giraffe and UVES spectrographs, on more than 1000 sightlines towards the
entire face of the Lagoon nebula. Gas temperatures are derived from line-width
comparisons, densities from the [S II] doublet ratio, and ionization parameter
from H-alpha/[N II] ratio. Although doubly-peaked emission profiles are rarely
found, line asymmetries often imply multiple velocity components along the line
of sight. This is especially true for the sodium absorption, and for the [O
III] lines. Spatial maps for density and ionization are derived, and compared
to other known properties of the nebula and of its massive stars 9 Sgr,
Herschel 36 and HD 165052 which are confirmed to provide most of the ionizing
flux. The detailed velocity fields across the nebula show several expanding
shells, related to the cluster NGC6530, the O stars 9 Sgr and Herschel 36, and
the massive protostar M8East-IR. The origins of kinematical expansion and
ionization of the NGC6530 shell appear to be different. We are able to put
constrains on the line-of-sight (relative or absolute) distances between some
of these objects and the molecular cloud. The large obscuring band running
through the middle of the nebula is being compressed by both sides, which might
explain its enhanced density. We also find an unexplained large-scale velocity
gradient across the entire nebula. At larger distances, the transition from
ionized to neutral gas is studied using the sodium lines.Comment: 26 pages, 31 figures, accepted on Astronomy and Astrophysics journa
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