9,173 research outputs found
The Distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud from the Eclipsing Binary HV2274
The distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is crucial for the
calibration of the Cosmic Distance Scale. We derive a distance to the LMC based
on an analysis of ground-based photometry and HST-based spectroscopy and
spectrophotometry of the LMC eclipsing binary system HV2274. Analysis of the
optical light curve and HST/GHRS radial velocity curve provides the masses and
radii of the binary components. Analysis of the HST/FOS UV/optical
spectrophotometry provides the temperatures of the component stars and the
interstellar extinction of the system. When combined, these data yield a
distance to the binary system. After correcting for the location of HV2274 with
respect to the center of the LMC, we find d(LMC) = 45.7 +/- 1.6 kpc or DM(LMC)
= 18.30 +/- 0.07 mag. This result, which is immune to the metallicity-induced
zero point uncertainties that have plagued other techniques, lends strong
support to the ``short'' LMC distance scale as derived from a number of
independent methods.Comment: 6 pages, including 2 pages of figures. Newly available optical (B and
V) photometry has revealed -- and allowed the elimination of -- a systematic
error in the previously reported determination of E(B-V) for HV2274. The new
result is E(B-V) = 0.12 mag (as compared to the value of 0.083 reported in
the original submission) and produces a DECREASE in the distance modulus of
HV2274 by 0.12 mag. ApJ Letters, in pres
Anophthalmia including next-generation sequencing-based approaches
Name of the disease (synonyms) See Table 1, Column 1-"Name of disease" and Column 2-"Alternative names". OMIM# of the disease See Table 1, Column 3-"OMIM# of the disease". Name of the analysed genes or DNA/chromosome segments and OMIM# of the gene(s) Core genes Name of the disease (synonyms)
See Table 1, Column 1—“Name of disease” and Column 2—“Alternative names”.
OMIM# of the disease
See Table 1, Column 3—“OMIM# of the disease”.
Name of the analysed genes or DNA/chromosome segments and OMIM# of the gene(s)
Core genes (irrespective of being tested by Sanger sequencing or next-generation sequencing):
See Table 1, Column 4—“Cytogenetic location”, Column 5—“Associated gene(s)” and Column 6—“OMIM# of associated gene(s)”.
Additional genes (if tested by next-generation sequencing, including Whole exome/genome sequencing and panel sequencing):
See Table 2, Column 1—“Gene”, Column 2—“Alternative names”, Column 3—“OMIM# of gene” and Column 4—“Cytogenetic location”.
Review of the analytical and clinical validity as well as of the clinical utility of DNA-based testing for mutations in the gene(s) in diagnostic, predictive and prenatal settings, and for risk assessment in relatives
An equilibrium model for RFP plasmas in the presence of resonant tearing modes
The equilibrium of a finite-beta RFP plasma in the presence of
saturated-amplitude tearing modes is investigated. The singularities of the MHD
force balance equation JXB=grad(p) at the modes rational surfaces are resolved
through a proper regularization of the zeroth-order (equilibrium) profiles, by
setting to zero there the gradient of the pressure and parallel current
density. An equilibrium model, which satisfies the regularization rule at the
various rational surfaces, is developed. The comparison with the experimental
data from the Reversed Field eXperiment (RFX) gives encouraging results. The
model provides an easy tool for magnetic analysis: many aspects of the
perturbations can be analyzed and reconstructed.Comment: Final accepted version. 36 page
Correcting for the Effects of Interstellar Extinction
This paper addresses the issue of how best to correct astronomical data for
the wavelength-dependent effects of Galactic interstellar extinction. The main
general features of extinction from the IR through the UV are reviewed, along
with the nature of observed spatial variations. The enormous range of
extinction properties found in the Galaxy, particularly in the UV spectral
region, is illustrated. Fortunately, there are some tight constraints on the
wavelength dependence of extinction and some general correlations between
extinction curve shape and interstellar environment. These relationships
provide some guidance for correcting data for the effects of extinction.
Several strategies for dereddening are discussed along with estimates of the
uncertainties inherent in each method. In the Appendix, a new derivation of the
wavelength dependence of an average Galactic extinction curve from the IR
through the UV is presented, along with a new estimate of how this extinction
law varies with the parameter R = A(V)/E(B-V). These curves represent the true
monochromatic wavelength dependence of extinction and, as such, are suitable
for dereddening IR--UV spectrophotometric data of any resolution, and can be
used to derive extinction relations for any photometry system.Comment: To appear in PASP (January 1999) 14 pages including 4 pages of
figures Uses emulateapj style. PASP, in press (January 1999
EC 11481-2303 - A Peculiar Subdwarf OB Star Revisited
EC 11481-2303 is a peculiar, hot, high-gravity pre-white dwarf. Previous
optical spectroscopy revealed that it is a sdOB star with an effective
temperature (Teff) of 41790 K, a surface gravity log(g)= 5.84, and He/H = 0.014
by number. We present an on-going spectral analysis by means of non-LTE
model-atmosphere techniques based on high-resolution, high-S/N optical
(VLT-UVES) and ultraviolet (FUSE, IUE) observations. We are able to reproduce
the optical and UV observations simultaneously with a chemically homogeneous
NLTE model atmosphere with a significantly higher effective temperature and
lower He abundance (Teff = 55000 K, log (g) = 5.8, and He / H = 0.0025 by
number). While C, N, and O appear less than 0.15 times solar, the iron-group
abundance is strongly enhanced by at least a factor of ten.Comment: 8 pages, 11 figure
A model for microinstability destabilization and enhanced transport in the presence of shielded 3-D magnetic perturbations
A mechanism is presented that suggests shielded 3-D magnetic perturbations
can destabilize microinstabilities and enhance the associated anomalous
transport. Using local 3-D equilibrium theory, shaped tokamak equilibria with
small 3-D deformations are constructed. In the vicinity of rational magnetic
surfaces, the infinite-n ideal MHD ballooning stability boundary is strongly
perturbed by the 3-D modulations of the local magnetic shear associated with
the presence of nearresonant Pfirsch-Schluter currents. These currents are
driven by 3-D components of the magnetic field spectrum even when there is no
resonant radial component. The infinite-n ideal ballooning stability boundary
is often used as a proxy for the onset of virulent kinetic ballooning modes
(KBM) and associated stiff transport. These results suggest that the achievable
pressure gradient may be lowered in the vicinity of low order rational surfaces
when 3-D magnetic perturbations are applied. This mechanism may provide an
explanation for the observed reduction in the peak pressure gradient at the top
of the edge pedestal during experiments where edge localized modes have been
completely suppressed by applied 3-D magnetic fields
BRCA1 5382insC mutation in sporadic and familial breast and ovarian carcinoma in Scotland.
A restriction site-generating polymerase chain reaction (RG-PCR) assay was developed to detect the BRCA1 5382insC mutation that has been reported in multiple, apparently unrelated breast/ovarian carcinoma families. The assay has been used to screen tumour DNA from 250 breast cancer patients (aged 19-86 years) and from 80 ovarian cancer patients (aged 25-90 years) in a local population of patients with no known family history. Altogether, 0/80 (0%) ovarian and 1/250 (0.4%) breast tumour DNAs were found to have the 5382insC mutation. The sole positive case was a 26-year-old woman (BC185) with no known family history. One of the reasons for carrying out this analysis was that the 5382insC mutation had previously been shown to segregate with the disease in a very large Scottish 'West Lothian' kindred having breast/ovarian carcinoma. To investigate whether this apparently isolated case and the known family might be related, haplotypes for the markers D17S855, D17S1322, D17S1323 and D17S1327 were analysed. The mutant haplotype in the large kindred was identical to that reported in all other 5382insC mutation families for all markers with the exception of D17S1327. This implies that there has been a recombination event at the telomeric end of common ancestral haplotype in this family. Since the isolated case we identified carries the 'complete' common haplotype, it is unlikely that she is closely related to the West Lothian family
- …