251 research outputs found
Long-term pulse profile study of the Be/X-ray pulsar SAX J2103.5+4545
Aims. We present the first long-term pulse profile study of the X-ray pulsar
SAX J2103.5+4545. Our main goal is to study the pulse shape correlation either
with luminosity, time or energy.
Methods. This Be/X-ray binary system was observed from 1999 to 2004 by RXTE
PCA, and by INTEGRAL from 2002 to 2005, during the Performance and Verification
(PV) phase and the Galactic Plane Scan survey (GPS). X-ray pulse profiles were
obtained in different energy ranges. The long-term spectral variability of this
source is studied. The long-term flux, frequency and spin-up rate histories are
computed. A new set of orbital parameters are also determined.
Results. The pulse shape is complex and highly variable either with time or
luminosity. However, an energy dependence pattern was found. Single, double,
triple or even quadruple peaks pulse profile structure was obtained. It was
confirmed that SAX J2103.5+4545 becomes harder when the flux is higher. The new
orbital solution obtained is: P_orb= 12.66528+-0.00051 days, e = 0.401+-0.018,
w = 241.36+-2.18 and a_xsin i = 80.81+-0.67 lt-s.Comment: 9 pages, 11 figures, submitted to Astronomy & Astrophysic
Recovery of betulinic acid from plane tree (Platanus acerifolia L.)
Betulinic acid (3β, hydroxy-lup-20(29)-en-28-oic acid) is a bioactive triterpenic acid which was identified in various botanical sources and in considerable amounts in the bark of plane tree (Platanus acerifolia L.). In this work, the recovery of betulinic acid from plane tree bark was studied using different liquid solvent based extraction methods, namely solid-liquid extraction (SLE), ultrasound assisted extraction (UAE) and pressurized liquid extraction (PLE). Furthermore, preliminary studies of the supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) of plane tree bark are also reported. The liquid solvent based extraction techniques (SLE, UAE and PLE) were carried out using ethanol and ethyl acetate, and produced a recovery of betulinic acid in the range 10-15 mg/g of bark, with concentrations around 25-35% mass. A betulinic acid enrichment in the ethanolic extracts was possible by means of a simple precipitation step adding water. The precipitate contained 42-46% mass of betulinic acid and high recovery (>95%). Increasing the extraction temperature, by means of the PLE assays, has not resulted in an improvement of betulinic acid recovery. The preliminary SFE assays produced lower recoveries of betulinic acid (0.5-8 mg/g) with respect to liquid extraction. The addition of ethanol as cosolvent produced a significant improvement of both betulinic acid recovery and concentration in the SFE extract.This work has been supported by project ALIBIRD-S2009/AGR-1469 from Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid. López-Padilla A. thanks to COLCIENCIAS (568–2012) and Medellin Mayor's Office (Sapiencia/Enlaza Mundos Program, 2013) for the Ph.D. fellowship.Peer Reviewe
Dynamic prokaryotic communities in the dark western Mediterranean Sea
Dark ocean microbial dynamics are fundamental to understand ecosystem metabolism and ocean biogeochemical processes. Yet, the ecological response of deep ocean communities to environmental perturbations remains largely unknown. Temporal and spatial dynamics of the meso- and bathypelagic prokaryotic communities were assessed throughout a 2-year seasonal sampling across the western Mediterranean Sea. A common pattern of prokaryotic communities’ depth stratification was observed across the different regions and throughout the seasons. However, sporadic and drastic alterations of the community composition and diversity occurred either at specific water masses or throughout the aphotic zone and at a basin scale. Environmental changes resulted in a major increase in the abundance of rare or low abundant phylotypes and a profound change of the community composition. Our study evidences the temporal dynamism of dark ocean prokaryotic communities, exhibiting long periods of stability but also drastic changes, with implications in community metabolism and carbon fluxes. Taken together, the results highlight the importance of monitoring the temporal patterns of dark ocean prokaryotic communities.Versión del editor2,92
Seasonal Niche Partitioning of Surface Temperate Open Ocean Prokaryotic Communities
Surface microbial communities are exposed to seasonally changing environmental conditions, resulting in recurring patterns of community composition. However, knowledge on temporal dynamics of open ocean microbial communities remains scarce. Seasonal patterns and associations of taxa and oligotypes from surface and chlorophyll maximum layers in the western Mediterranean Sea were studied over a 2-year period. Summer stratification versus winter mixing governed not only the prokaryotic community composition and diversity but also the temporal dynamics and co-occurrence association networks of oligotypes. Flavobacteriales, Rhodobacterales, SAR11, SAR86, and Synechococcales oligotypes exhibited contrasting seasonal dynamics, and consequently, specific microbial assemblages and potential inter-oligotype connections characterized the different seasons. In addition, oligotypes composition and dynamics differed between surface and deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM) prokaryotic communities, indicating depth-related environmental gradients as a major factor affecting association networks between closely related taxa. Taken together, the seasonal and depth specialization of oligotypes suggest temporal dynamics of community composition and metabolism, influencing ecosystem function and global biogeochemical cycles. Moreover, our results indicate highly specific associations between microbes, pointing to keystone ecotypes and fine-tuning of the microbes realized niche.En prens
Dynamics of actively dividing prokaryotes in the western Mediterranean Sea
Microbial community metabolism and functionality play a key role modulating global biogeochemical
processes. However, the metabolic activities and contribution of actively growing prokaryotes to
ecosystem energy fluxes remain underexplored. Here we describe the temporal and spatial dynamics
of active prokaryotes in the different water masses of the Mediterranean Sea using a combination
of bromodeoxyuridine labelling and 16S rRNA gene Illumina sequencing. Bulk and actively dividing
prokaryotic communities were drastically different and depth stratified. Alteromonadales were rare
in bulk communities (contributing 0.1% on average) but dominated the actively dividing community
throughout the overall water column (28% on average). Moreover, temporal variability of actively
dividing Alteromonadales oligotypes was evinced. SAR86, Actinomarinales and Rhodobacterales
contributed on average 3–3.4% each to the bulk and 11, 8.4 and 8.5% to the actively dividing
communities in the epipelagic zone, respectively. SAR11 and Nitrosopumilales contributed less
to the actively dividing than to the bulk communities during all the study period. Noticeably, the
large contribution of these two taxa to the total prokaryotic communities (23% SAR11 and 26%
Nitrosopumilales), especially in the meso- and bathypelagic zones, results in important contributions
to actively dividing communities (11% SAR11 and 12% Nitrosopumilales). The intense temporal and
spatial variability of actively dividing communities revealed in this study strengthen the view of a
highly dynamic deep ocean. Our results suggest that some rare or low abundant phylotypes from
surface layers down to the deep sea can disproportionally contribute to the activity of the prokaryotic
communities, exhibiting a more dynamic response to environmental changes than other abundant
phylotypes, emphasizing the role they might have in community metabolism and biogeochemical
processes.This research has been supported by RADMED-TRES (2015–2019) and ATHAPOC (CTM2014-54374-R) projects, funded by the Spanish Institute of Oceanography and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, respectively. CM was supported by pre-doctoral FPI fellowship from Conselleria d’Innovació, Recerca i Turisme of the regional Government of the Balearic Islands, co-financed by the European Social Fund as part of the FSE 2014-2020 operational program.Postprin
Phytoplankton Community Structure Is Driven by Stratification in the Oligotrophic Mediterranean Sea
The phytoplankton community composition, structure, and biomass were investigated under stratified and oligotrophic conditions during summer for three consecutive years in the Mediterranean Sea. Our results reveal that the phytoplankton community structure was strongly influenced by vertical stratification. The thermocline separated two different phytoplankton communities in the two layers of the euphotic zone, characterized by different nutrient and light availability. Picoplankton dominated in terms of abundance and biomass at all the stations sampled and throughout the photic zone. However, the structure of the picoplanktonic community changed with depth, with Synechococcus and heterotrophic prokaryotes dominating in surface waters down to the base of the thermocline, and Prochlorococcus and picoeukaryotes contributing relatively more to the community in the deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM). Light and nutrient availability also influenced the communities at the DCM layer. Prochlorococcus prevailed in deeper DCM waters characterized by lower light intensities and higher picophytoplankton abundance was related to lower nutrient concentrations at the DCM. Picoeukaryotes were the major phytoplankton contributors to carbon biomass at surface (up to 80%) and at DCM (more than 40%). Besides, contrarily to the other phytoplankton groups, picoeukaryotes cell size progressively decreased with depth. Our research shows that stratification is a major factor determining the phytoplankton community structure; and underlines the role that picoeukaryotes might play in the carbon flux through the marine food web, with implications for the community metabolism and carbon fate in the ecosystem.En prens
Caby Photometry of the Hyades: Comparisons to the Field Stars
Intermediate-band photometry of the Hyades cluster on the Caby system is
presented for dwarf stars ranging from spectral type A through late K. A mean
hk, b-y relation is constructed using only single stars without anomalous
atmospheres and compared to the field stars of the solar neighborhood. For the
F dwarfs, the Hyades relation defines an approximate LOWER bound in the
two-color diagram, consistent with an [Fe/H] between +0.10 and +0.15. These
index-color diagrams follow the common convention of presenting stars with
highest abundance at the bottom of the plot although the index values for the
metal-rich stars are numerically larger. For field F dwarfs in the range [Fe/H]
between +0.4 and -1.0, [Fe/H] = -5.6 delta-hk + 0.125, with no evidence for a
color dependence in the slope. For the G and K dwarfs, the Hyades mean relation
crosses the field star distribution in the two-color diagram, defining an
approximate UPPER bound for the local disk stars. Stars found above the Hyades
stars fall in at least one of three categories: [Fe/H] below -0.7, [Fe/H] above
that of the Hyades, or chromospherically active. It is concluded that, contrary
to the predictions of model atmospheres, the hk index for cool dwarfs at a
given color hits a maximum value for stars below solar composition and, with
increasing [Fe/H] above some critical value, declines. This trend is
consistent, however, with the predictions from synthetic indices based upon
much narrower Ca filters where the crossover is caused by the metallicity
sensitivity of b-y.Comment: 13 pages, 9 eps figures, 1 tex table, 1 ascii tabl
INTEGRAL observations of the Be/X-ray binary EXO 2030+375 during outburst
We present a type-I outburst of the high-mass X-ray binary EXO 2030+375,
detected during INTEGRAL's Performance and Verification Phase in December 2002
(on-source time about 10e+06 seconds). In addition, six more outbursts have
been observed during INTEGRAL's Galactic Plane Scans. X-ray pulsations have
been detected with a pulse period of 41.691798+-0.000016 s. The X-ray
luminosity in the 5-300 keV energy range was 9.7*10e+36 erg/s, for a distance
of 7.1 kpc. Two unusual features were found in the light curve, with an initial
peak before the main outburst and another possible spike after the maximum.
RXTE observations confirm only the existence of the initial spike. Although the
initial peak appears to be a recurrent feature, the physical mechanisms
producing it and the possible second spike are unknown. Moreover, a four-day
delay between periastron passage and the peak of the outburst is observed. We
present for the first time a 5-300 keV broad-band spectrum of this source. It
can be modelled by the sum of a disk black body (kT_bb~8 keV) with either a
power law model with Gamma=2.04+-0.11 keV or a Comptonized component (spherical
geometry, kT_e=30 keV, tau=2.64, kT_W=1.5 keV).Comment: 10 pages, 11 figures, to be published in A&
A decade of GRB follow-up by BOOTES in Spain (2003-2013)
This article covers ten years of GRB follow-ups by the Spanish BOOTES
stations: 71 follow-ups providing 23 detections. Follow-ups by BOOTES-1B from
2005 to 2008 were given in the previous article, and are here reviewed,
updated, and include additional detection data points as the former article
merely stated their existence. The all-sky cameras CASSANDRA have not yet
detected any GRB optical afterglows, but limits are reported where available
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