25,768 research outputs found
Three small transiting planets around the M dwarf host star LP 358-499
We report on the detection of three transiting small planets around the
low-mass star LP 358-499 (K2-133), using photometric data from the Kepler-K2
mission. Using multiband photometry, we determine the host star to be an early
M dwarf with an age likely older than a Gigayear. The three detected planets
K2-133 b, c, and d have orbital periods of ca. 3, 4.9 and 11 days and transit
depths of ca. 700, 1000 and 2000 ppm, respectively. We also report a planetary
candidate in the system (EPIC 247887989.01) with a period of 26.6 days and a
depth of ca. 1000 ppm, which may be at the inner edge of the stellar habitable
zone, depending on the specific host star properties. Using the transit
parameters and the stellar properties, we estimate that the innermost planet
may be rocky. The system is suited for follow-up observations to measure
planetary masses and JWST transmission spectra of planetary atmospheres.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS Letters. Replaced previous arXiv
version with final submitted versio
Validation of a Temperate Fourth Planet in the K2-133 Multi-planet System
We present follow-up observations of the K2-133 multi-planet system.
Previously, we announced that K2-133 contained three super-Earths orbiting an
M1.5V host star - with tentative evidence of a fourth outer-planet orbiting at
the edge of the temperate zone. Here we report on the validation of the
presence of the fourth planet, determining a radius of
R. The four planets span the radius gap of the exoplanet population,
meaning further follow-up would be worthwhile to obtain masses and test
theories of the origin of the gap. In particular, the trend of increasing
planetary radius with decreasing incident flux in the K2-133 system supports
the claim that the gap is caused by photo-evaporation of exoplanet atmospheres.
Finally, we note that K2-133 e orbits on the edge of the stars temperate zone,
and that our radius measurement allows for the possibility that this is a rocky
world. Additional mass measurements are required to confirm or refute this
scenario.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA
Airborne observations of methane in Comet Kohoutek
The experiment is described for airborne observations of Comet Kohoutek using an infrared tilting-filter photometer. Preliminary analysis of the data established an upper limit to the Comet's fluorescence radiation in methane lines at 3.3 microns
Scanamorphos: a map-making software for Herschel and similar scanning bolometer arrays
Scanamorphos is one of the public softwares available to post-process scan
observations performed with the Herschel photometer arrays. This
post-processing mainly consists in subtracting the total low-frequency noise
(both its thermal and non-thermal components), masking high-frequency artefacts
such as cosmic ray hits, and projecting the data onto a map. Although it was
developed for Herschel, it is also applicable with minimal adjustment to scan
observations made with some other imaging arrays subjected to low-frequency
noise, provided they entail sufficient redundancy; it was successfully applied
to P-Artemis, an instrument operating on the APEX telescope. Contrary to
matrix-inversion softwares and high-pass filters, Scanamorphos does not assume
any particular noise model, and does not apply any Fourier-space filtering to
the data, but is an empirical tool using purely the redundancy built in the
observations -- taking advantage of the fact that each portion of the sky is
sampled at multiple times by multiple bolometers. It is an interactive software
in the sense that the user is allowed to optionally visualize and control
results at each intermediate step, but the processing is fully automated. This
paper describes the principles and algorithm of Scanamorphos and presents
several examples of application.Comment: This is the final version as accepted by PASP (on July 27, 2013). A
copy with much better-quality figures is available on
http://www2.iap.fr/users/roussel/herschel
Epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like repeats of human tenascin-C as ligands for EGF receptor.
Signaling through growth factor receptors controls such diverse cell functions as proliferation, migration, and differentiation. A critical question has been how the activation of these receptors is regulated. Most, if not all, of the known ligands for these receptors are soluble factors. However, as matrix components are highly tissue-specific and change during development and pathology, it has been suggested that select growth factor receptors might be stimulated by binding to matrix components. Herein, we describe a new class of ligand for the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (EGFR) found within the EGF-like repeats of tenascin-C, an antiadhesive matrix component present during organogenesis, development, and wound repair. Select EGF-like repeats of tenascin-C elicited mitogenesis and EGFR autophosphorylation in an EGFR-dependent manner. Micromolar concentrations of EGF-like repeats induced EGFR autophosphorylation and activated extracellular signal-regulated, mitogen-activated protein kinase to levels comparable to those induced by subsaturating levels of known EGFR ligands. EGFR-dependent adhesion was noted when the ligands were tethered to inert beads, simulating the physiologically relevant presentation of tenascin-C as hexabrachion, and suggesting an increase in avidity similar to that seen for integrin ligands upon surface binding. Specific binding to EGFR was further established by immunofluorescence detection of EGF-like repeats bound to cells and cross-linking of EGFR with the repeats. Both of these interactions were abolished upon competition by EGF and enhanced by dimerization of the EGF-like repeat. Such low affinity behavior would be expected for a matrix-tethered ligand; i.e., a ligand which acts from the matrix, presented continuously to cell surface EGF receptors, because it can neither diffuse away nor be internalized and degraded. These data identify a new class of insoluble growth factor ligands and a novel mode of activation for growth factor receptors
Optical image of a cometary nucleus: 1980 flyby of Comet Encke
The feasibility was investigated of obtaining optical images of a cometary nucleus via a flyby of Comet Encke. A physical model of the dust cloud surrounding the nucleus was developed by using available physical data and theoretical knowledge of cometary physics. Using this model and a Mie scattering code, calculations were made of the absolute surface brightness of the dust in the line of sight of the on-board camera and the relative surface brightness of the dust compared to the nucleus. The brightness was calculated as a function of heliocentric distance and for different phase angles (sun-comet-spacecraft angle)
Association between depressive symptom clusters and food attentional bias
Background
The mechanisms underlying the depression-obesity relationship are unclear. Food attentional bias (FAB) represents one candidate mechanism that has not been examined. We evaluated the hypothesis that greater depressive symptoms are associated with increased FAB.
Method
Participants were 89 normal weight or overweight adults (mean age = 21.2 ± 4.0 years, 53% female, 33% non-white, mean body mass index in kg/m2 = 21.9 ± 1.8 for normal weight; 27.2 ± 1.5 for overweight). Total, somatic, and cognitive-affective depressive symptom scores were computed from the Patient Health Questionnaire-8 (PHQ-8). FAB scores were calculated using reaction times (RT) and eye-tracking (ET) direction and duration measures for a food visual probe task. Age, gender, race/ethnicity, and body fat percent were covariates.
Results
Only PHQ-8 somatic symptoms were positively associated with RT-measured FAB (β = 0.23, p = .04). The relationship between somatic symptoms and ET direction (β = 0.18, p = .17) and duration (β = 0.23, p = .08) FAB indices were of similar magnitude but were not significant. Somatic symptoms accounted for 5% of the variance in RT-measured FAB. PHQ-8 total and cognitive-affective symptoms were unrelated to all FAB indices (ps ≥ 0.09).
Conclusions
Only greater somatic symptoms of depression were linked to food attentional bias as measured using reaction time. Well-powered prospective studies should examine whether this bias replicates, particularly for eye-tracking measures, and whether it partially mediates the depression-to-obesity relationship
Local Structure and It's Effect on The Ferromagnetic Properties of LaSrCoO thin films}
We have used high-resolution Extended X-ray Absorption Fine-Structure and
diffraction techniques to measure the local structure of strained
LaSrCoO films under compression and tension. The lattice
mismatch strain in these compounds affects both the bond lengths and the bond
angles, though the larger effect on the bandwidth is due to the bond length
changes. The popular double exchange model for ferromagnetism in these
compounds provides a correct qualitative description of the changes in Curie
temperature , but quantitatively underestimates the changes. A microscopic
model for ferromagnetism that provides a much stronger dependence on the
structural distortions is needed.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
- …