803 research outputs found
The Dichotomy of the Halo of the Milky Way
We summarize evidence that the halo of the Milky Way comprises two different,
and broadly overlapping, stellar components. The two structures exhibit
different chemical compositions, spatial distributions, and kinematics. These
results were obtained through an analysis of more than 20,000 calibration stars
from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The duality of the stellar halo
directly impacts galaxy formation models, for the Milky Way and other large
spirals.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Proceedings of the OMEG07
Conference, held in December 200
Extinction curves flattened by reverse shocks in supernovae
We investigate the extinction curves of young galaxies in which dust is
supplied from Type II supernovae (SNe II) and/or pair instability supernovae
(PISNe). Since at high redshift (z>5), low-mass stars cannot be dominant
sources for dust grains, SNe II and PISNe, whose progenitors are massive stars
with short lifetimes, should govern the dust production. Here, we theoretically
investigate the extinction curves of dust produced by SNe II and PISNe, taking
into account reverse shock destruction induced by collision with ambient
interstellar medium. We find that the extinction curve is sensitive to the
ambient gas density around a SN, since the efficiency of reverse shock
destruction strongly depends on it. The destruction is particularly efficient
for small-sized grains, leading to a flat extinction curve in the optical and
ultraviolet wavelengths. Such a large ambient density as n_H > 1 cm^{-3}
produces too flat an extinction curve to be consistent with the observed
extinction curve for SDSS J104845.05+463718.3 at z=6.2. Although the extinction
curve is highly sensitive to the ambient density, the hypothesis that the dust
is predominantly formed by SNe at z~6 is still allowed by the current
observational constraints. For further quantification, the ambient density
should be obtained by some other methods. Finally we also discuss the
importance of our results for observations of high-z galaxies, stressing a
possibility of flat extinction curves.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, Accepted for publication in MNRA
Observations of Very Metal-Poor Stars in the Galaxy
I report on recent results from observations of stars with metallicities
[Fe/H] <= -2.0. These include a substantial new sample of objects with
high-resolution observations obtained as part of a follow-up of the HK Survey,
The Hamburg/ESO Survey, and the ongoing survey SEGUE: Sloan Extension for
Galactic Understanding and Exploration. Perspectives on the next directions are
also provided.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Proceedings of OMEG07, a conference
held in December 200
MRI plaque imaging and its role in population-based studies
Noninvasive direct vessel wall (plaque) imaging may provide a good opportunity to study unique aspects of atherosclerotic lesions in different populations. The article published by Esposito et al. provides new insights into our understanding of diabetic atherosclerotic vascular disease by using direct plaque imaging techniques. The findings from this article call for attention to more in vivo imaging to understand the nature of high-risk atherosclerosis, especially in prospective studies in diabetic patients
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Exploring strategies for coupled 4D-Var data assimilation using an idealised atmosphere-ocean model
Operational forecasting centres are currently developing data assimilation systems for coupled atmosphere-ocean models. Strongly coupled assimilation, in which a single assimilation system is applied to a coupled model, presents significant technical and scientific challenges. Hence weakly coupled assimilation systems are being developed as a first step, in which the coupled model is used to compare the current state estimate with observations, but corrections to the atmosphere and ocean initial conditions are then calculated independently. In this paper we provide a comprehensive description of the different coupled assimilation methodologies in the context of four dimensional variational assimilation (4D-Var) and use an idealised framework to assess the expected benefits of moving towards coupled data assimilation.
We implement an incremental 4D-Var system within an idealised single column atmosphere-ocean model. The system has the capability to run both strongly and weakly coupled assimilations as well as uncoupled atmosphere or ocean only assimilations, thus allowing a systematic comparison of the different strategies for treating the coupled data assimilation problem. We present results from a series of identical twin experiments devised to investigate the behaviour and sensitivities of the different approaches. Overall, our study demonstrates the potential benefits that may be expected from coupled data assimilation. When compared to uncoupled initialisation, coupled assimilation is able to produce more balanced initial analysis fields, thus reducing initialisation shock and its impact on the subsequent forecast. Single observation experiments demonstrate how coupled assimilation systems are able to pass information between the atmosphere and ocean and therefore use near-surface data to greater effect. We show that much of this benefit may also be gained from a weakly coupled assimilation system, but that this can be sensitive to the parameters used in the assimilation
The Iron Discrepancy in Elliptical Galaxies after ASCA
We present estimates for the iron content of the stellar and diffused
components of elliptical galaxies, as derived respectively from integrated
optical spectra and from ASCA X-ray observations. A macroscopic discrepancy
emerges between the expected iron abundances in the hot interstellar medium
(ISM) and what is indicated by the X-ray observations, especially when
allowance is made for the current iron enrichment by Type Ia supernovae. This
strong discrepancy, that in some extreme instances may be as large as a factor
of , calls into question our current understanding of supernova
enrichment and chemical evolution of galaxies. We discuss several astrophysical
implications of the inferred low iron abundances in the ISM, including the
chemical evolution of galaxies and cluster of galaxies, the evolution of gas
flows in ellipticals, and the heating of the intracluster medium. Some of the
consequences appear hard to accept, and in the attempt to avoid some of these
difficulties we explore ways of hiding or diluting iron in the ISM of
ellipticals. None of these possibilities appears astrophysically plausible, and
we alternatively rise the question of the reliability of iron-L line
diagonostic tools. Various thin plasma emission models are shown to give iron
abundances that may differ significantly, especially at low temperatures (kT
\lsim 1 keV). From a collection of ASCA and other X-ray observatory data, it
is shown that current thin plasma codes tend to give very low iron abundances
when the temperature of the objects is below keV. We conclude that --
besides rethinking the chemical evolution of galaxies -- one should also
consider the possibility that existing thin plasma models may incorporate
inaccurate atomic physics for the ions responsible for the iron-L complex.Comment: 39 pages, TeX file, 5 figures, Accepted for publication in the Ap
Efficacy of 23-valent pneumococcal vaccine in preventing pneumonia and improving survival in nursing home residents: double blind, randomised and placebo controlled trial
Objective To determine the efficacy of a 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine in people at high risk of pneumococcal pneumonia
Differences in carotid arterial morphology and composition between individuals with and without obstructive coronary artery disease: A cardiovascular magnetic resonance study
Objective: We sought to determine differences with cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) in the morphology and composition of the carotid arteries between individuals with angiographically-defined obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD, = 50% stenosis, cases) and
those with angiographically normal coronaries (no lumen irregularities, controls).
Methods and results: 191 participants (50.3% female; 50.8% CAD cases) were imaged with a multi-sequence, carotid CMR protocol at 1.5T. For each segment of the carotid, lumen area, wall area, total vessel area (lumen area + wall area), mean wall thickness and the presence or absence
of calcification and lipid-rich necrotic core were recorded bilaterally. In male CAD cases compared to male controls, the distal bulb had a significantly smaller lumen area (60.0 [plus or minus] 3.1 vs. 79.7 [plus or minus] 3.2 mm[super]2, p less than 0.001) and total vessel area (99.6 [plus or minus] 4.0 vs. 119.8 [plus or minus] 4.1 mm[super]2; p less than 0.001), and larger mean wall thickness (1.25 [plus or minus] 0.03 vs. 1.11 [plus or minus] 0.03 mm; p = 0.002). Similarly, the internal carotid had a smaller lumen area (37.5 [plus or minus] 1.8 vs. 44.6 [plus or minus] 1.8 mm[super]2; p = 0.006) and smaller total vessel area (64.0 [plus or minus] 2.3 vs. 70.9 [plus or minus] 2.4 mm[super]2; p = 0.04). These metrics were not significantly different between female
groups in the distal bulb and internal carotid or for either gender in the common carotid. Male CAD cases had an increased prevalence of lipid-rich necrotic core (49.0% vs. 19.6%; p = 0.003), while calcification was more prevalent in both male (46.9% vs. 17.4%; p = 0.002) and female (33.3% vs. 14.6%; p = 0.031) CAD cases compared to controls.
Conclusion: Males with obstructive CAD compared to male controls had carotid bulbs and internal carotid arteries with smaller total vessel and lumen areas, and an increased prevalence of lipid-rich necrotic core. Carotid calcification was related to CAD status in both males and females. Carotid CMR identifies distinct morphological and compositional differences in the carotid arteries
between individuals with and without angiographically-defined obstructive CAD.Carotid Atherosclerosis (MRI) Progression Study (CAMPS, HL076378) and Cardiovascular Research Training Program (T-32, HL07838); and the General Clinical Research Center at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine (M01 RR-07122)
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