3,746 research outputs found
Lateral mass screw fixation in the cervical spine
pre-printTo The Editor: We read with interest the article by Kawabata et al.15 (Kawabata S, Watanabe K, Hosogane N, et al: Surgical correction of severe cervical kyphosis in patients with neurofibromatosis Type 1. Report of 3 cases. J Neurosurg Spine 18:274-279, March 2013). Reconstructive spinal surgery has undergone a tremendous transformation in the last several decades, with improvements in imaging, biologics, and implant technologies. Not uncommonly, the spine surgical community may abandon an older technique when it becomes evident that a new approach or technology is clearly safer or superior. Comparative clinical trials of older versus newer techniques are often limited to a small number of cases published over a short period of time and are typically not performed under the rigors of randomized controlled study sufficient to meet the standards set by governmental agencies to gain regulatory approval. Lateral mass screw fixation (LMSF) of the cervical spine, which has generally supplanted older wiring and hook cervical fixation methods, is one such technique
Optical studies of two LMC X-ray transients : RX J0544.1-7100 and RX J0520.5-6932
We report observations which confirm the identities of the optical
counterpart to the transient sources RX J0544.1-7100 and RX J0520.5-6932. The
counterparts are suggested to be a B-type stars. Optical data from the
observations carried out at ESO and SAAO, together with results from the OGLE
data base, are presented. In addition, X-ray data from the RXTE all-sky monitor
are investigated for long term periodicities. A strong suggestion for a binary
period of 24.4d is seen in RX J0520.5-6932 from the OGLE data.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figure
The binary period and outburst behaviour of the SMC X-ray binary pulsar system SXP504
A probable binary period has been detected in the optical counterpart to the
X-ray source CXOU J005455.6-724510 = RX J0054.9-7245 = AXJ0054.8-7244 = SXP504
in the Small Magellanic Cloud. This source was detected by Chandra on 04 Jul
2002 and subsequently observed by XMM-Newton on 18 Dec 2003. The source is
coincident with an Optical Gravitational Lensing (OGLE) object in the
lightcurves of which several optical outburst peaks are visible at ~ 268 day
intervals. Timing analysis shows a period of 268.6 +/- 0.1 days at > 99%
significance. Archival Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) data for the 504s
pulse-period has revealed detections which correspond closely with predicted or
actual peaks in the optical data. The relationship between this orbital period
and the pulse period of 504s is within the normal variance found in the Corbet
diagram.Comment: Accepted by MNRAS. 1 LATEX page. 4 figure
A Free-Form Lensing Grid Solution for A1689 with New Mutiple Images
Hubble Space Telescope imaging of the galaxy cluster Abell 1689 has revealed
an exceptional number of strongly lensed multiply-imaged galaxies, including
high-redshift candidates. Previous studies have used this data to obtain the
most detailed dark matter reconstructions of any galaxy cluster to date,
resolving substructures ~25 kpc across. We examine Abell 1689 (hereafter,
A1689) non-parametrically, combining strongly lensed images and weak
distortions from wider field Subaru imaging, and we incorporate member galaxies
to improve the lens solution. Strongly lensed galaxies are often locally
affected by member galaxies, however, these perturbations cannot be recovered
in grid based reconstructions because the lensing information is too sparse to
resolve member galaxies. By adding luminosity-scaled member galaxy deflections
to our smooth grid we can derive meaningful solutions with sufficient accuracy
to permit the identification of our own strongly lensed images, so our model
becomes self consistent. We identify 11 new multiply lensed system candidates
and clarify previously ambiguous cases, in the deepest optical and NIR data to
date from Hubble and Subaru. Our improved spatial resolution brings up new
features not seen when the weak and strong lensing effects are used separately,
including clumps and filamentary dark matter around the main halo. Our
treatment means we can obtain an objective mass ratio between the cluster and
galaxy components, for examining the extent of tidal stripping of the luminous
member galaxies. We find a typical mass-to-light ratios of M/L_B = 21 inside
the r<1 arcminute region that drops to M/L_B = 17 inside the r<40 arcsecond
region. Our model independence means we can objectively evaluate the
competitiveness of stacking cluster lenses for defining the geometric
lensing-distance-redshift relation in a model independent way.Comment: 23 pages with 25 figures Replced with MNRAS submitted version. Some
figures have been corrected and minor text edit
Mice lacking C1q or C3 show accelerated rejection of minor H disparate skin grafts and resistance to induction of tolerance
Complement activation is known to have deleterious effects on organ transplantation. On the other hand, the complement system is also known to have an important role in regulating immune responses. The balance between these two opposing effects is critical in the context of transplantation. Here, we report that female mice deficient in C1q (C1qa(−/−)) or C3 (C3(−/−)) reject male syngeneic grafts (HY incompatible) at an accelerated rate compared with WT mice. Intranasal HY peptide administration, which induces tolerance to syngeneic male grafts in WT mice, fails to induce tolerance in C1qa(−/−) or C3(−/−) mice. The rejection of the male grafts correlated with the presence of HY D(b)Uty-specific CD8(+) T cells. Consistent with this, peptide-treated C1qa(−/−) and C3(−/−) female mice rejecting male grafts exhibited more antigen-specific CD8(+)IFN-γ(+) and CD8(+)IL-10(+) cells compared with WT females. This suggests that accumulation of IFN-γ- and IL-10-producing T cells may play a key role in mediating the ongoing inflammatory process and graft rejection. Interestingly, within the tolerized male skin grafts of peptide-treated WT mice, IFN-γ, C1q and C3 mRNA levels were higher compared to control female grafts. These results suggest that C1q and C3 facilitate the induction of intranasal tolerance
Free-form lens model and mass estimation of the high redshift galaxy cluster ACT-CL J0102-4915, "El Gordo"
We examine the massive colliding cluster El Gordo, one of the most massive
clusters at high redshift. We use a free-form lensing reconstruction method
that avoids making assumptions about the mass distribution. We use data from
the RELICS program and identify new multiply lensed system candidates. The new
set of constraints and free-form method provides a new independent mass
estimate of this intriguing colliding cluster. Our results are found to be
consistent with earlier parametric models, indirectly confirming the
assumptions made in earlier work. By fitting a double gNFW profile to the lens
model, and extrapolating to the virial radius, we infer a total mass for the
cluster of M. We
estimate the uncertainty in the mass due to errors in the photometric
redshifts, and discuss the uncertainty in the inferred virial mass due to the
extrapolation from the lens model. We also find in our lens map a mass
overdensity corresponding to the large cometary tail of hot gas, reinforcing
its interpretation as a large tidal feature predicted by hydrodynamical
simulations that mimic El Gordo. Finally, we discuss the observed relation
between the plasma and the mass map, finding that the peak in the projected
mass map may be associated with a large concentration of colder gas, exhibiting
possible star formation. El Gordo is one of the first clusters that will be
observed with JWST, which is expected to unveil new high redshift lensed
galaxies around this interesting cluster, and provide a more accurate
estimation of its mass.Comment: 19 pages, 10 figures. Updated figure
Recommended from our members
Remarkable dynamics of nanoparticles in the urban atmosphere
Nanoparticles emitted from road traffic are the largest source of respiratory exposure for the general public living in urban areas. It has been suggested that the adverse health effects of airborne particles may scale with the airborne particle number, which if correct, focuses attention on the nanoparticle (less than 100 nm) size range which dominates the number count in urban areas. Urban measurements of particle size distributions have tended to show a broadly similar pattern dominated by a mode centred on 20–30 nm diameter particles emitted by diesel engine exhaust. In this paper we report the results of measurements of particle number concentration and size distribution made in a major London park as well as on the BT Tower, 160 m high. These measurements taken during the REPARTEE project (Regents Park and BT Tower experiment) show a remarkable shift in particle size distributions with major losses of the smallest particle class as particles are advected away from the traffic source. In the Park, the traffic related mode at 20–30 nm diameter is much reduced with a new mode at <10 nm. Size distribution measurements also revealed higher number concentrations of sub-50 nm particles at the BT Tower during days affected by higher turbulence as determined by Doppler Lidar measurements and indicate a loss of nanoparticles from air aged during less turbulent conditions. These results suggest that nanoparticles are lost by evaporation, rather than coagulation processes. The results have major implications for understanding the impacts of traffic-generated particulate matter on human health
LensPerfect: Gravitational Lens Massmap Reconstructions Yielding Exact Reproduction of All Multiple Images
We present a new approach to gravitational lens massmap reconstruction. Our
massmap solutions perfectly reproduce the positions, fluxes, and shears of all
multiple images. And each massmap accurately recovers the underlying mass
distribution to a resolution limited by the number of multiple images detected.
We demonstrate our technique given a mock galaxy cluster similar to Abell 1689
which gravitationally lenses 19 mock background galaxies to produce 93 multiple
images. We also explore cases in which far fewer multiple images are observed,
such as four multiple images of a single galaxy. Massmap solutions are never
unique, and our method makes it possible to explore an extremely flexible range
of physical (and unphysical) solutions, all of which perfectly reproduce the
data given. Each reconfiguration of the source galaxies produces a new massmap
solution. An optimization routine is provided to find those source positions
(and redshifts, within uncertainties) which produce the "most physical" massmap
solution, according to a new figure of merit developed here. Our method imposes
no assumptions about the slope of the radial profile nor mass following light.
But unlike "non-parametric" grid-based methods, the number of free parameters
we solve for is only as many as the number of observable constraints (or
slightly greater if fluxes are constrained). For each set of source positions
and redshifts, massmap solutions are obtained "instantly" via direct matrix
inversion by smoothly interpolating the deflection field using a recently
developed mathematical technique. Our LensPerfect software is straightforward
and easy to use and is made publicly available via our website.Comment: 17 pages, 18 figures, accepted by ApJ. Software and full-color
version of paper available at http://www.its.caltech.edu/~coe/LensPerfect
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