3,406 research outputs found
Dynamic acoustic field activated cell separation (DAFACS)
Advances in diagnostics, cell and stem cell technologies drive the development of application-specific tools
for cell and particle separation. Acoustic micro-particle separation offers a promising avenue for highthroughput,
label-free, high recovery, cell and particle separation and isolation in regenerative medicine.
Here, we demonstrate a novel approach utilizing a dynamic acoustic field that is capable of separating an
arbitrary size range of cells. We first demonstrate the method for the separation of particles with different
diameters between 6 and 45 μm and secondly particles of different densities in a heterogeneous medium.
The dynamic acoustic field is then used to separate dorsal root ganglion cells. The shearless, label-free and
low damage characteristics make this method of manipulation particularly suited for biological applications.
Advantages of using a dynamic acoustic field for the separation of cells include its inherent safety and
biocompatibility, the possibility to operate over large distances (centimetres), high purity (ratio of particle
population, up to 100%), and high efficiency (ratio of separated particles over total number of particles to
separate, up to 100%)
A change in the quiescent X-ray spectrum of the neutron star low-mass X-ray binary MXB 1659-29
The quasi-persistent neutron star low-mass X-ray binary MXB 1659-29 went into
quiescence in 2001, and we have followed its quiescent X-ray evolution since.
Observations over the first 4 years showed a rapid drop in flux and temperature
of the neutron star atmosphere, interpreted as cooling of the neutron star
crust which had been heated during the 2.5 year outburst. However, observations
taken approximately 1400 and 2400 days into quiescence were consistent with
each other, suggesting the crust had reached thermal equilibrium with the core.
Here we present a new Chandra observation of MXB 1659-29 taken 11 years into
quiescence and 4 years since the last Chandra observation. This new observation
shows an unexpected factor of ~3 drop in count rate and change in spectral
shape since the last observation, which cannot be explained simply by continued
cooling. Two possible scenarios are that either the neutron star temperature
has remained unchanged and there has been an increase in the column density,
or, alternatively the neutron star temperature has dropped precipitously and
the spectrum is now dominated by a power-law component. The first scenario may
be possible given that MXB 1659-29 is a near edge-on system, and an increase in
column density could be due to build-up of material in, and a thickening of, a
truncated accretion disk during quiescence. But, a large change in disk height
may not be plausible if standard accretion disk theory holds during quiescence.
Alternatively, the disk may be precessing, leading to a higher column density
during this latest observation.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Dust around Type Ia supernovae
An explanation is given of the low value of , the ratio of absolute to selective extinction deduced from
Type Ia supernova observations. The idea involves scattering by dust clouds
located in the circumstellar environment, or at the highest velocity shells of
the supernova ejecta. The scattered light tends to reduce the effective
in the optical, but has an opposite effect in the ultraviolet. The
presence of circumstellar dust can be tested by ultraviolet to near infrared
observations and by multi-epoch spectropolarimetry of SNe Ia.Comment: ApJL, in pres
Relinquishing Control: What Romanian De Se Attitude Reports Teach Us About Immunity To Error Through Misidentification
Higginbotham argued that certain linguistic items of English, when used in indirect discourse, necessarily trigger first-personal interpretations. They are: the emphatic reflexive pronoun and the controlled understood subject, represented as PRO. PRO is special, in this respect, due to its imposing obligatory control effects between the main clause and its subordinates ). Folescu & Higginbotham, in addition, argued that in Romanian, a language whose grammar doesn’t assign a prominent role to PRO, de se triggers are correlated with the subjunctive mood of certain verbs. That paper, however, didn’t account for the grammatical diversity of the reports that display immunity to error through misidentification in Romanian: some of these reports are expressed by using de se triggers; others are not. Their IEM, moreover, is not systematically lexically controlled by the verbs, via their theta-roles; it is, rather, determined by the meaning of the verbs in question. Given the data from Romanian, I will argue, the phenomenon of IEM cannot be fully explained starting either from the syntactical or the lexical structure of a language
Probing the Crust of the Neutron Star in EXO 0748-676
X-ray observations of quiescent X-ray binaries have the potential to provide
insight into the structure and the composition of neutron stars. EXO 0748-676
had been actively accreting for over 24 yr before its outburst ceased in late
2008. Subsequent X-ray monitoring revealed a gradual decay of the quiescent
thermal emission that can be attributed to cooling of the accretion-heated
neutron star crust. In this work, we report on new Chandra and Swift
observations that extend the quiescent monitoring to ~5 yr post-outburst. We
find that the neutron star temperature remained at ~117 eV between 2009 and
2011, but had decreased to ~110 eV in 2013. This suggests that the crust has
not fully cooled yet, which is supported by the lower temperature of ~95 eV
that was measured ~4 yr prior to the accretion phase in 1980. Comparing the
data to thermal evolution simulations reveals that the apparent lack of cooling
between 2009 and 2011 could possibly be a signature of convection driven by
phase separation of light and heavy nuclei in the outer layers of the neutron
star.Comment: 9 pages, 4 tables, 3 figures. Minor revisions according to referee
report. Accepted to Ap
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Mitigation of Moral Hazard and Adverse Selection in Venture Capital Financing: The Influence of the Country’s Institutional Setting
A venture capitalist (VC) needs to trade off benefits and costs when attempting to mitigate agency problems in their investor-investee relationship. We argue that signals of ventures complement the VC’s capacity to screen and conduct a due diligence during the pre-investment phase, but its attractiveness may diminish in institutional settings supporting greater transparency. Similarly, whereas a VC may opt for contractual covenants to curb potential opportunism by ventures in the post-investment phase, this may only be effective in settings supportive of shareholder rights enforcement. Using an international sample of VC contracts, our study finds broad support for these conjectures. It delineates theoretical and practical implications for how investors can best deploy their capital in different institutional settings whilst nurturing their relationships with entrepreneurs
INTEGRAL monitoring of unusually long X-ray bursts
X-ray bursts are thermonuclear explosions on the surface of accreting neutron
stars in low mass X-ray binaries. As most of the known X-ray bursters are
frequently observed by INTEGRAL, an international collaboration have been
taking advantage of its instrumentation to specifically monitor the occurrence
of exceptional burst events lasting more than ~10 minutes. Half of the
so-called intermediate long bursts registered so far have been observed by
INTEGRAL. The goal is to derive a comprehensive picture of the relationship
between the nuclear ignition processes and the accretion states of the system
leading up to such long bursts. Depending on the composition of the accreted
material, these bursts may be explained by either the unstable burning of a
large pile of mixed hydrogen and helium, or the ignition of a thick pure helium
layer. Intermediate long bursts are particularly expected to occur at very low
accretion rates and make possible to study the transition from a hydrogen-rich
bursting regime to a pure helium regime.Comment: Talk presented at the 7th INTEGRAL Workshop, An INTEGRAL View of
Compact Objects, Copenhagen, 8-11 September 2008. Submitted to Proceedings of
Science. 12 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables, 40 reference
Photometry of SN 2002ic and Implications for the Progenitor Mass-Loss History
We present new pre-maximum and late-time optical photometry of the Type
Ia/IIn supernova 2002ic. These observations are combined with the published
V-band magnitudes of Hamuy et al. (2003) and the VLT spectrophotometry of Wang
et al. (2004) to construct the most extensive light curve to date of this
unusual supernova. The observed flux at late time is significantly higher
relative to the flux at maximum than that of any other observed Type Ia
supernova and continues to fade very slowly a year after explosion. Our
analysis of the light curve suggests that a non-Type Ia supernova component
becomes prominent days after explosion. Modeling of the non-Type Ia
supernova component as heating from the shock interaction of the supernova
ejecta with pre-existing circumstellar material suggests the presence of a
cm gap or trough between the progenitor system and the
surrounding circumstellar material. This gap could be due to significantly
lower mass-loss years prior to explosion or
evacuation of the circumstellar material by a low-density fast wind. The latter
is consistent with observed properties of proto-planetary nebulae and with
models of white-dwarf + asymptotic giant branch star progenitor systems with
the asymptotic giant branch star in the proto-planetary nebula phase.Comment: accepted for publication in Ap
High time to enhance dancer welfare:a call to action to improve safeguarding and abuse prevention in dance
While there is a lack of research into abuse in elite dance, numerous allegations of emotional, sexual and physical abuse of dancers can be found anecdotally in the media, legal convictions and personal accounts. As more dancers speak out, the scale of the problem within preprofessional schools and professional companies is becoming apparent. Accordingly, effective safeguarding mechanisms for preventing, identifying and reporting abuse are urgently needed. This viewpoint is intended to raise health professionals' awareness of factors contributing to abusive practices found in dance environments and the potential clinical implications of abuse to dancers' health and well-being. We also call for research and policy engagement on safeguarding and abuse prevention designed and implemented in partnership with stakeholders, aiming to promote safe and positive dance environments for all.</p
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