Guidelines for the study of the epibenthos of subtidal environments

These Guidelines for the Study of the Epibenthos of Subtidal Environments document a range of sampling gears and procedures for epibenthos studies that meet a variety of needs. The importance of adopting consistent sampling and analytical practices is highlighted. Emphasis is placed on ship‐based techniques for surveys of coastal and offshore shelf environments, but diver‐assisted surveys are also considered

A Model of the Spectral Evolution of Pulsar Wind Nebulae

Recent observations suggest that many old pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) are bright TeV gamma-ray sources without a strong X-ray counterpart. In this paper, we study the spectral evolution of PWNe taking into account the energy which was injected when they were young for old PWNe. We model the evolution of the magnetic field and solve for the particle distribution inside a uniformly expanding PWN. The model is calibrated by fitting the calculated spectrum to the observations of the Crab Nebula at an age of a thousand years. We find that only a small fraction of the injected energy from the Crab Pulsar goes to the magnetic field, consistent with previous studies. The spectral evolution model of the Crab Nebula shows that the flux ratio of TeV gamma-rays to X-rays increases with time, which implies that old PWNe are faint at X-rays, but not at TeV gamma-rays. The increase of this ratio is primarily because the magnetic field decreases with time and is not because the X-ray emitting particles are cooled more rapidly than the TeV gamma-ray emitting particles. Our spectral evolution model matches the observed rate of the radio flux decrease of the Crab Nebula.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. Proc. of the 2009 Fermi Symposium, Washington, DC, Nov 2-5; eConf Proceedings C09112

Differential sensitivity of basal and acetylcholine-induced activity of nitric oxide to blockade by asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) in the rat aorta

<b>Background and purpose</b>: Previous work has shown that NG-monomethyl-l-arginine (l-NMMA) paradoxically inhibits basal, but not ACh-stimulated activity of nitric oxide in rat aorta. The aim of this study was to determine if the endogenously produced agent, asymmetric NG, NG-dimethyl-l-arginine (ADMA), also exhibits this unusual selective blocking action. <b>Experimental approach</b>: The effect of ADMA on basal nitric oxide activity was assessed by examining its ability to enhance phenylephrine (PE)-induced tone in endothelium-containing rings. Its effect on ACh-induced relaxation was assessed both in conditions where ADMA greatly enhanced PE tone and where tone was carefully matched with control tissues at a range of different levels. <b>Key results</b>: ADMA (100 µM) potentiated PE-induced contraction, consistent with inhibition of basal nitric oxide activity. Higher concentrations (300–1000 µM) had no greater effect. Although ADMA (100 µM) also appeared to block ACh-induced relaxation when it enhanced PE tone to maximal levels, virtually no block was seen at intermediate levels of tone in the presence of ADMA. Even ADMA at 1000 µM had no effect on the maximal relaxation to ACh, although it produced a small (two- to threefold) reduction in sensitivity. ADMA and l-NMMA, like l-arginine (all at 1000 µM), protected ACh-induced relaxation against blockade by l-NAME (30 µM). <b>Conclusions and implications</b>: In the rat aorta, ADMA, like l-NMMA, blocks basal activity of nitric oxide, but has little effect on that stimulated by ACh. Further studies are required to explain these seemingly anomalous actions of ADMA and l-NMMA

Reissner-Nordstrom and charged gas spheres

The main point of this paper is a suggestion about the proper treatment of the photon gas in a theory of stellar structure and other plasmas. This problem arises in the study of polytropic gas spheres, where we have already introduced some innovations. The main idea, already advanced in the contextof neutral, homogeneous, polytropic stellar models, is to base the theory firmly on a variational principle. Another essential novelty is to let mass distribution extend to infinity, the boundary between bulk and atmosphere being defined by an abrupt change in the polytropic index, triggered by the density. The logical next step in this program is to include the effect of radiation, which is a very significant complication since a full treatment would have to include an account of ionization, thus fieldsrepresenting electrons, ions, photons, gravitons and neutral atoms as well. In way of preparation, we consider models that are charged but homogeneous, involving only gravity, electromagnetism and a single scalar field that represents both the mass and the electric charge; in short, anon-neutral plasma. While this work only represents a stage in the development of a theory of stars, without direct application to physical systems, it does shed some light on the meaning of the Reissner-Nordstrom solution of the modified Einstein-Maxwell equations., with an application to a simple system.Comment: 19 pages, plain te

A Cosmic Ray Positron Anisotropy due to Two Middle-Aged, Nearby Pulsars?

Geminga and B0656+14 are the closest pulsars with characteristic ages in the ran ge of 100 kyr to 1 Myr. They both have spindown powers of the order 3e34 erg/s at present. The winds of these pulsars had most probably powered pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) that broke up less than about 100 kyr after the birth of the pulsars. Assuming that leptonic particles accelerated by the pulsars were confined in th e PWNe and were released into the interstellar medium (ISM) on breakup of the PW Ne, we show that, depending on the pulsar parameters, both pulsars make a non-ne gligible contribution to the local cosmic ray (CR) positron spectrum, and they m ay be the main contributors above several GeV. The relatively small angular dist ance between Geminga and B0656+14 thus implies an anisotropy in the local CR po sitron flux at these energies. We calculate the contribution of these pulsars to the locally observed CR electr on and positron spectra depending on the pulsar birth period and the magnitude o f the local CR diffusion coefficient. We further give an estimate of the expecte d anisotropy in the local CR positron flux. Our calculations show that within the framework of our model, the local CR posit ron spectrum imposes constraints on pulsar parameters for Geminga and B0656+14, notably the pulsar period at birth, and also the local interstellar diffusion co efficient for CR leptons.Comment: accepted for publication in ApJ

Destruction of Molecular Hydrogen During Cosmological Reionization

We investigate the ability of primordial gas clouds to retain molecular hydrogen (H_2) during the initial phase of the reionization epoch. We find that before the Stromgren spheres of the individual ionizing sources overlap, the UV background below the ionization threshold is able to penetrate large clouds and suppress their H_2 abundance. The consequent lack of H_2 cooling could prevent the collapse and fragmentation of clouds with virial temperatures T_vir < 10^4 K (or masses 10^8 Msun [(1+z_vir)/10]^{-3/2}). This negative feedback on structure-formation arises from the very first ionizing sources, and precedes the feedback due to the photoionization heating.Comment: 14 pages, uuencoded compressed Postscript, 4 figures included. To appear in Ap

Origin of Intense Magnetic Fields Near Black Holes Due to Non-Minimal Gravitational-Electromagnetic Coupling

The origin of magnetic fields in astrophysical objects is a challenging problem in astrophysics. Throughout the years, many scientists have suggested that non-minimal gravitational-electromagnetic coupling (NMGEC) could be the origin of the ubiquitous astrophysical magnetic fields. We investigate the possible origin of intense magnetic fields $\sim 10^{15}-10^{16}$ by NMGEC near rotating neutron stars and black holes, connected with magnetars, quasars, and gamma-ray bursts. Whereas these intense magnetic fields are difficult to explain astrophysically, we find that they are easily explained by NMGEC.Comment: 7 pages, accepted for publication in Phys. Lett.

Notes on the Tertiary and Pleistocene Geology of East Gelderland, The Netherlands

Für den Raum des östlichen Teiles der Provinz Gelderland wurden, im Hinblick auf den für die Zukunft zu erwartenden starken Anstieg des Trink- und Industriewasserbedarfes, in den Jahren 1964 bis 1967 die hydrogeologischen und wasserwirtschaftlichen Verhältnisse eingehend untersucht. Einige der wichtigsten aus diesen Untersuchungen gewonnenen geologischen Ergebnisse werden kurz dargelegt. Das rund 162 500 ha große Arbeitsgebiet zwischen der deutsch-niederländischen Grenze und dem Fluß IJssel kann vom morphologischen Standpunkt in zwei unterschiedliche Landschaften unterteilt werden: das ostniederländische Tertiär-Plateau, das von marinen tonführenden Sanden und schweren Tonen des Oligo-Miozän aufgebaut ist, und ein pleistozänes Becken, in dem vorwiegend grobkörnige Sande und Schotter des Rheines und schotterführende fluvioglazialen Sande abgelagert worden sind. Auf der Grundlage von einigen älteren Einzelarbeiten, 400 älteren Bohrungen, 100 Explorations- und Produktionsbohrungen, die von der Wassergesellschaft „Ost Gelderland" in dieser Gegend abgesenkt wurden, und 130 neuen Explorationsbohrungen des Instituts für Kulturtechnik und Wasserwirtschaft in Wageningen sowie mehrerer geoelektrischer Einzelarbeiten wurde erstmals ein zusammenhängender und leicht faßbarer Einblick in die Untergrundverhältnisse des Arbeitsgebietes gewonnen. Auf dem Tertiär-Plateau sowie in dem Pleistozän-Becken wurden mehrere begrabene Talsysteme verschiedenen Alters und unterschiedlicher Richtung nachgewiesen. Die Herkunft und die stratigraphische Lage der Talaufschüttungen wird kurz erörtert. Bei einem dieser begrabenen Täler handelt es sich um einen Arm des Rheines, der vom Dorf Dinxperlo an der Staatsgrenze im Süden bis am Dorf Borculo im Norden des Arbeitsgebietes im Untergrund nachgewiesen werden konnte. Die in diesem Flußarm abgelagerten schotterreichen Grobsande weisen in ihrer Schwermineral-Zusammensetzung (mit besonders hohen Gehalten an vulkanischen Mineralen wie Augit) deutlich auf Rhein-Ablagerungen hin. An einer Stelle werden die Sande von saalezeitlichem Geschiebelehm bedeckt, womit erwiesen ist, daß der Rhein-Arm aus der frühen Saale-Eiszeit oder dem späten Holstein-Interglazial stammt. Ein zweites begrabenes Talsystem, ebenfalls aus der Saale-Eiszeit, konnte nachgewiesen werden von der Stadt Vreden in Deutschland über Winterswijk und Aalten nach Dinxperlo, wo es wieder die Staatsgrenze überquert. Das Tal wurde vom Schmelzwasser im Hochglazial ausgeräumt und später mit glaziofluvialen Ablagerungen aufgefüllt. Das Schmelzwasser-Tal quert den genannten ehemaligen Rhein-Arm, ist also etwas jünger. Die Tiefe des Talbodens nimmt in südwestlicher Richtung beträchtlich zu, erreicht in der Nähe von Dinxperlo etwa 70 m unter Meeresspiegel. Hieraus geht hervor, daß während der Saale-Eiszeit der Meeresspiegel mindestens 100 m tiefer gelegen haben muß als heute.researc

VLA Limits for Intermediate Mass Black Holes in Three Globular Clusters

The observational evidence for central black holes in globular clusters has been argued extensively, and their existence has important consequences for both the formation and evolution of the cluster. Most of the evidence comes from dynamical arguments, but the interpretation is difficult, given the short relaxation times and old ages of the clusters. One of the most robust signatures for the existence of a black hole is radio and/or X-ray emission. We observed three globular clusters, NGC6093 (M80), NGC6266 (M62), and NGC7078 (M15), with the VLA in the A and C configuration with a 3-sigma noise of 36, 36 and 25 microJy, respectively. We find no statistically-significant evidence for radio emission from the central region for any of the three clusters. NGC6266 shows a 2-sigma detection. It is difficult to infer a mass from these upper limits due to uncertainty about the central gas density, accretion rate, and accretion model.Comment: 5 pages, accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journa

Robert F. Furchgott, Nobel laureate (1916-2009) - a personal reflection

Robert F. Furchgott, pharmacologist and joint winner of the Nobel Prize for Medicine or Physiology (1998) died on the 12th of May 2009 aged 92. By unlocking the astonishingly diverse biological actions of nitric oxide, Furchgott leaves behind a rich legacy that has both revolutionized our understanding of human physiology and stimulated new and exciting opportunities for drug development in a wide range of pathological conditions. In this article, William Martin, who worked with Furchgott for 2 years (1983-1985), following the exciting discovery of endothelium-derived relaxing factor/nitric oxide, pays tribute to his close friend and colleague