5,860 research outputs found
Temporal variation of cephalopods in the diet of Cape fur seals in Namibia
Cape fur seal (Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus) scats were sampled over a period of eight years (1994-2001) at Atlas and Wolf Bay seal colonies in order to assess the cephalopod component of the diet of these seals and cephalopod diversity off the coast of Namibia. The temporal variation within the cephalopod component was investigated. A low diversity of cephalopods, only six species, are preyed upon, with Todarodes angolensis being the most important component both in numbers and wet weight in all years. Its lowered weight contribution during winter coincided with a greater diversity of other cephalopod species in the diet, which showed higher proportional weight contribution relative to Todarodes angolensis. Scat sampling was found to be an unreliable method of providing estimates of total prey weight consumption by seals, but was considered an acceptable method for proportional comparisons, especially given the ease of scat collection over extended periods
Branching ratio measurements of decays
We have just entered an era of precision measurements for
Recent progress in understanding immune activation in the pathogenesis in HIV-TB coinfection
Purpose of review Tuberculosis is the leading infectious cause of death worldwide, and HIV-1 the best recognized risk factor for active TB. This review focuses on immune complex formation; the interplay of type I and II interferon signaling; and T-cell activation in HIV–TB pathogenesis. Recent findings Circulating immune complexes and complement, and Fcγ signaling in whole blood act as early markers of TB disease in HIV-1-infected persons. HIV-1 is associated with a type I interferon response in whole blood, reducing the specificity of TB biomarkers dependent on type I and II interferon genes. Type I and type II interferons are implicated in both protection and TB disease, a protective outcome may depend on modulating these pathways. Whilst M. tuberculosis-specific CD4 T cells are preferentially depleted during HIV-1 infection, activation markers on M. tuberculosis-specific CD4 T cells, in particular HLA-DR, reflect immune activation and have promise as biomarkers of M. tuberculosis disease activity in individuals with HIV-1. Summary TB pathogenesis in HIV-1 involves a complex interaction of underlying activation of both the innate and adaptive immune systems. Further research is required to understand whether biomarkers of activation could be used to predict or quantify TB disease in the context of HIV-1 infection
Measuring Cosmological Parameters with the JVAS and CLASS Gravitational Lens Surveys
The JVAS (Jodrell Bank-VLA Astrometric Survey) and CLASS (Cosmic Lens All-Sky
Survey) are well-defined surveys containing about ten thousand flat-spectrum
radio sources. For many reasons, flat-spectrum radio sources are particularly
well-suited as a population from which one can obtain unbiased samples of
gravitational lenses. These are by far the largest gravitational (macro)lens
surveys, and particular attention was paid to constructing a cleanly-defined
sample for the survey itself and for the underlying luminosity function. Here
we present the constraints on cosmological parameters, particularly the
cosmological constant, derived from JVAS and combine them with constraints from
optical gravitational lens surveys, `direct' measurements of ,
and the age of the universe, and constraints derived from CMB
anisotropies, before putting this final result into the context of the latest
results from other, independent cosmological tests.Comment: LaTeX, 9 pages, 6 PostScript figures, uses texas.sty. To appear in
the Proceedings of the 19th Texas Symposium on Relativistic Astrophysics and
Cosmology (CD-ROM). Paper version available on request. Actual poster (A0 and
A4 versions) available from
http://multivac.jb.man.ac.uk:8000/helbig/research/publications/info/
texas98.htm
An Imaging and Spectroscopic Study of the z=3.38639 Damped Lyman Alpha System in Q0201+1120: Clues to Star Formation Rate at High Redshift
We present the results of a series of imaging and spectroscopic observations
aimed at identifying and studying the galaxy responsible for the z = 3.38639
damped lya system in the z = 3.61 QSO Q0201+1120. We find that the DLA is part
of a concentration of matter which includes at least four galaxies (probably
many more) over linear comoving dimensions, greater than 5h^-1Mpc. The absorber
may be a 0.7 L* galaxy at an impact parameter of 15 h^-1 kpc, but follow-up
spectroscopy is still required for positive identification. The gas is
turbulent, with many absorption components distributed over approximately 270
km/s and a large spin temperature, T_s greater than 4000K. The metallicity is
relatively high for this redshift, Z(DLA) approximately 1/20 Z(solar). From
consideration of the relative ratios of elements which have different
nucleosynthetic timescales, it would appear that the last major episode of star
formation in this DLA occurred at z greater than 4.3, more than approximately
500 Myr prior to the time when we observe it.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap
CLASS B0827+525: `Dark lens' or binary radio-loud quasar?
We present radio, optical, near-infrared and spectroscopic observations of
the source B0827+525. We consider this source as the best candidate from the
Cosmic Lens All-Sky Survey (CLASS) for a `dark lens' system or binary
radio-loud quasar. The system consists of two radio components with somewhat
different spectral indices, separated by 2.815 arcsec. VLBA observations show
that each component has substructure on a scale of a few mas. A deep K-band
exposure with the W.M.Keck-II Telescope reveals emission near both radio
components. The K-band emission of the weaker radio component appears extended,
whereas the emission from the brighter radio component is consistent with a
point source. Hubble Space Telescope F160W-band observations with the NICMOS
instrument confirms this. A redshift of 2.064 is found for the brighter
component, using the LRIS instrument on the W.M.Keck-II Telescope. The
probability that B0827+525 consists of two unrelated compact flat-spectrum
radio sources is ~3%, although the presence of similar substructure in both
component might reduce this.
We discuss two scenarios to explain this system: (i) CLASS B0827+525 is a
`dark lens' system or (ii) B0827+525 is a binary radio-loud quasar. B0827+525
has met all criteria that thus far have in 100% of the cases confirmed a source
as an indisputable gravitational lens system. Despite this, no lens galaxy has
been detected with m_F160W<=23 mag. Hence, we might have found the first binary
radio-loud quasar. At this moment, however, we feel that the `dark lens'
hypothesis cannot yet be fully excluded.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures; Accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysics; Full-res. images 1 and 3 can be obtained from L.V.E.
B0850+054: a new gravitational lens system from CLASS
We report the discovery of a new gravitational lens system from the CLASS
survey. Radio observations with the VLA, the WSRT and MERLIN show that the
radio source B0850+054 is comprised of two compact components with identical
spectra, a separation of 0.7 arcsec and a flux density ratio of 6:1. VLBA
observations at 5 GHz reveal structures that are consistent with the
gravitational lens hypothesis. The brighter of the two images is resolved into
a linear string of at least six sub-components whilst the weaker image is
radially stretched towards the lens galaxy. UKIRT K-band imaging detects an
18.7 mag extended object, but the resolution of the observations is not
sufficient to resolve the lensed images and the lens galaxy. Mass modelling has
not been possible with the present data and the acquisition of high-resolution
optical data is a priority for this system.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
CLASS B2108+213: A new wide separation gravitational lens system
We present observations of CLASS B2108+213, the widest separation
gravitational lens system discovered by the Cosmic Lens All-Sky Survey. Radio
imaging using the VLA at 8.46 GHz and MERLIN at 5 GHz shows two compact
components separated by 4.56 arcsec with a faint third component in between
which we believe is emission from a lensing galaxy. 5-GHz VLBA observations
reveal milliarcsecond-scale structure in the two lensed images that is
consistent with gravitational lensing. Optical emission from the two lensed
images and two lensing galaxies within the Einstein radius is detected in
Hubble Space Telescope imaging. Furthermore, an optical gravitational arc,
associated with the strongest lensed component, has been detected. Surrounding
the system are a number of faint galaxies which may help explain the wide image
separation. A plausible mass distribution model for CLASS B2108+213 is also
presented.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
The new two-image gravitational lens system CLASS B2319+051
We report the discovery of a new two-image gravitational lens system from the
Cosmic Lens All-Sky Survey, CLASS B2319+051. Radio imaging with the Very Large
Array (VLA) and Multi-Element Radio-Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN)
shows two compact components with a flux density ratio of 5:1, separated by
1.36 arcsec. Observations with the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) resolve each
of the radio components into a pair of parity-reversed subcomponents. Hubble
Space Telescope (HST) observations with the Near-Infrared Camera and
Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) show a bright elliptical galaxy (G1)
coincident with the radio position, and a second irregular galaxy (G2) 3.4
arcsec to the northwest. Previous spectroscopic studies have indicated that
these galaxies are at different redshifts: z(G1) = 0.624, z(G2) = 0.588.
Infrared counterparts to the lensed radio components are not detected in the
NICMOS image, and the source redshift has not yet been determined. Preliminary
mass modeling based on the VLBA subcomponent data indicates that the lensing
potential includes a strong external shear contribution. A VLA monitoring
program is currently being undertaken to measure the differential time delay.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figs, several typos corrected, AJ in press (August 2001
A New Quadruple Gravitational Lens System: CLASS B0128+437
High resolution MERLIN observations of a newly-discovered four-image
gravitational lens system, B0128+437, are presented. The system was found after
a careful re-analysis of the entire CLASS dataset. The MERLIN observations
resolve four components in a characteristic quadruple-image configuration; the
maximum image separation is 542 mas and the total flux density is 48 mJy at 5
GHz. A best-fit lens model with a singular isothermal ellipsoid results in
large errors in the image positions. A significantly improved fit is obtained
after the addition of a shear component, suggesting that the lensing system is
more complex and may consist of multiple deflectors. The integrated radio
spectrum of the background source indicates that it is a GigaHertz-Peaked
Spectrum (GPS) source. It may therefore be possible to resolve structure within
the radio images with deep VLBI observations and thus better constrain the
lensing mass distribution.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 4 pages, 3 included PostScript
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