A Soft X-ray Component in the Abell 754 Cluster

We have analyzed the Chandra, BeppoSax, and ROSAT observations of Abell 754 and report evidence of a soft, diffuse X-ray component. The emission is peaked in the cluster center and is detected out to 8' from the X-ray center. Fitting a thermal model to the combined BeppoSax and PSPC spectra show excess emission below 1 keV in the PSPC and above 100 keV in the BeppoSax PDS. The source 26W20 is in the field of view of the PDS. The addition of a powerlaw with the spectral parameters measured by Silverman et al. (1998) for 26W20 successfully models the hard component in the PDS. The remaining excess soft emission can be modeled by either a low temperature, 0.75 - 1.03 keV component, or by a powerlaw with a steep spectral index, 2.3. Addition of a second thermal component model provides a much better fit to the data than does the addition of a non-thermal component. The Chandra temperature map does not show any region cooler than 6.9 keV within the region where the cool component was detected. Simulations of the emission from embedded groups were performed and compared with the Chandra temperature map which show groups are a plausible source of ~1 keV emission. The cool component is centrally peaked in the cluster and the gas density and temperature are relatively high arguing against the WHIM as the source of the X-ray emission. X-ray emission from elliptical galaxies is not high enough to provide the total cool component luminosity, 7.0x10^43 ergs s^-1. The peak of the cool component is located between the low frequency radio halos arguing against a non-thermal interpretation for the emission. We conclude that emission from embedded groups is the most likely origin of the cool component in Abell 754.Comment: Submitted to Ap

Heating Injection Drug Preparation Equipment Used for Opioid Injection May Reduce HIV Transmission Associated with Sharing Equipment

London, Canada, experienced an HIV outbreak among persons who inject drugs despite widespread distribution of harm reduction equipment. Hydromorphone controlled-release (HMC) is the local opioid of choice. Injection drug preparation equipment (IDPE; ie, cookers and filters) is often shared and reused because of the perception that there is residual HMC in the IDPE after use. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mechanisms of HIV transmission in this context.Methods:Residual hydromorphone, (controlled-release or immediate-release), remaining in the IDPE, was measured with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, in conditions replicating persons who inject drug use. HIV was added to IDPE in the presence HMC, hydromorphone immediate-release, or microcrystalline cellulose (an HMC drug excipient). HIV viral persistence was measured by reverse transcriptase activity and infectivity of indicator Tzm-bl cells.Results:Forty-five percent of HMC remained in the IDPE after the first aspiration of solution, with no change after heating. HIV persistence and infectivity were preserved in the presence of HMC, and less so with microcrystalline cellulose. Heating the IDPE rapidly inactivated HIV.Conclusions:Sharing of IDPE is a potential means of HIV transmission. HMC encourages IDPE sharing because of the residual drug in the IDPE, and the HMC excipients preserve HIV viability. Heating IDPE before aspiration of the opioid may be a harm reduction strategy

Achieving an Optimal Childhood Vaccine Policy

Policies to remove parents' ability to opt-out from school immunization requirements on the basis of religious or personal beliefs (ie, nonmedical exemptions) may be a useful strategy to increase immunization rates and prevent outbreaks of vaccine-preventable disease. However, there is uncertainty about the effectiveness of this strategy and the range of possible outcomes. We advocate for a more deliberative process through which a broad range of outcomes is scrutinized and the balance of values underlying the policy decision to eliminate nonmedical exemptions is clearly articulated. We identify 3 outcomes that require particular consideration before policies to eliminate nonmedical exemptions are implemented widely and outline a process for making the values underlying such policies more explicit

The Very Young Type Ia Supernova 2013dy: Discovery, and Strong Carbon Absorption in Early-Time Spectra

The Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) 2013dy in NGC 7250 (d ~ 13.7 Mpc) was discovered by the Lick Observatory Supernova Search. Combined with a prediscovery detection by the Italian Supernova Search Project, we are able to constrain the first-light time of SN 2013dy to be only 0.10 +/- 0.05 d (2.4 +/- 1.2 hr) before the first detection. This makes SN 2013dy the earliest known detection of an SN Ia. We infer an upper limit on the radius of the progenitor star of R_0 < 0.25 R_sun, consistent with that of a white dwarf. The light curve exhibits a broken power law with exponents of 0.88 and then 1.80. A spectrum taken 1.63 d after first light reveals a C II absorption line comparable in strength to Si II. This is the strongest C II feature ever detected in a normal SN Ia, suggesting that the progenitor star had significant unburned material. The C II line in SN 2013dy weakens rapidly and is undetected in a spectrum 7 days later, indicating that C II is detectable for only a very short time in some SNe Ia. SN 2013dy reached a B-band maximum of M_B = -18.72 +/- 0.03 mag ~17.7 d after first light.Comment: Accepted for Publication in ApJ Letter

Early Observations And Analysis Of The Type Ia SN 2014J In M82

We present optical and near infrared (NIR) observations of the nearby Type Ia SN 2014J. Seventeen optical and 23 NIR spectra were obtained from 10 days before (-10d) to 10 days after (+10d) the time of maximum B-band brightness. The relative strengths of absorption features and their patterns of development can be compared at one day intervals throughout most of this period. Carbon is not detected in the optical spectra, but we identify C I lambda 1.0693 in the NIR spectra. Mg II lines with high oscillator strengths have higher initial velocities than other Mg II lines. We show that the velocity differences can be explained by differences in optical depths due to oscillator strengths. The spectra of SN 2014J show that it is a normal SN Ia, but many parameters are near the boundaries between normal and high-velocity subclasses. The velocities for OI, Mg II, Si II, S Ca a, and Fell suggest that SN 2014J has a layered structure with little or no mixing. That result is consistent with the delayed detonation explosion models. We also report photometric observations, obtained from -10d to +29d, in the UBVRIJH and K-s bands. The template fitting package SNooPy is used to interpret the light curves and to derive photometric parameters. Using R-v = 1.46, which is consistent with previous studies, SNooPy finds that A(v) = 1.80 for E(B - V)(host) = 1.23 +/- 0.06 mag. The maximum B-band brightness of -19.19 +/- 0.10 mag was reached on February 1.74 UT +/- 0.13 days and the supernova has a decline parameter, Delta m(15), of 1.12 +/- 0.02 mag.Department of Space, Government of IndiaHungarian OTKA NN-107637NSF AST-1109801, AST-1151462, AST-1211196NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship AST-1302771NASA through a grant from the Space Telescope Science Institute GO-12540NASA NAS5-26555Swedish Research CouncilSwedish National Space BoardDanish Agency for Science and Technology and Innovation realized through a Sapere Aude Level 2 grantAstronom

SN~2012cg: Evidence for Interaction Between a Normal Type Ia Supernova and a Non-Degenerate Binary Companion

We report evidence for excess blue light from the Type Ia supernova SN 2012cg at fifteen and sixteen days before maximum B-band brightness. The emission is consistent with predictions for the impact of the supernova on a non-degenerate binary companion. This is the first evidence for emission from a companion to a SN Ia. Sixteen days before maximum light, the B-V color of SN 2012cg is 0.2 mag bluer than for other normal SN~Ia. At later times, this supernova has a typical SN Ia light curve, with extinction-corrected M_B = -19.62 +/- 0.02 mag and Delta m_{15}(B) = 0.86 +/- 0.02. Our data set is extensive, with photometry in 7 filters from 5 independent sources. Early spectra also show the effects of blue light, and high-velocity features are observed at early times. Near maximum, the spectra are normal with a silicon velocity v_{Si} = -10,500$ km s^{-1}. Comparing the early data with models by Kasen (2010) favors a main-sequence companion of about 6 solar masses. It is possible that many other SN Ia have main-sequence companions that have eluded detection because the emission from the impact is fleeting and faint.Comment: accepted to Ap

Children’s Postdisaster Trajectories of PTS Symptoms: Predicting Chronic Distress

There are no studies of the distinct trajectories of children’s psychological distress over the first year after a destructive natural disaster and the determinants of these trajectories

‘What are you going to do, confiscate their passports?’ Professional perspectives on cross-border reproductive travel

Objective: This article reports findings from a UK-based study which explored the phenomenon of overseas travel for fertility treatment. The first phase of this project aimed to explore how infertility clinicians and others professionally involved in fertility treatment understand the nature and consequences of cross-border reproductive travel. Background: There are indications that, for a variety of reasons, people from the UK are increasingly travelling across national borders to access assisted reproductive technologies. While research with patients is growing, little is known about how ‘fertility tourism’ is perceived by health professionals and others with a close association with infertility patients. Methods: Using an interpretivist approach, this exploratory research included focussed discussions with 20 people professionally knowledgeable about patients who had either been abroad or were considering having treatment outside the UK. Semi-structured interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and subjected to a thematic analysis. Results: Three conceptual categories are developed from the data: ‘the autonomous patient’; ‘cross-border travel as risk’, and ‘professional responsibilities in harm minimisation’. Professionals construct nuanced, complex and sometimes contradictory narratives of the ‘fertility traveller’, as vulnerable and knowledgeable; as engaged in risky behaviour and in its active minimisation. Conclusions: There is little support for the suggestion that states should seek to prevent cross-border treatment. Rather, an argument is made for less direct strategies to safeguard patient interests. Further research is required to assess the impact of professional views and actions on patient choices and patient experiences of treatment, before, during and after travelling abroad

HST/ACS Emission Line Imaging of Low Redshift 3CR Radio Galaxies I: The Data

We present 19 nearby (z<0.3) 3CR radio galaxies imaged at low- and high-excitation as part of a Cycle 15 Hubble Space Telescope snapshot survey with the Advanced Camera for Surveys. These images consist of exposures of the H-alpha (6563 \AA, plus [NII] contamination) and [OIII] 5007 \AA emission lines using narrow-band linear ramp filters adjusted according to the redshift of the target. To facilitate continuum subtraction, a single-pointing 60 s line-free exposure was taken with a medium-band filter appropriate for the target's redshift. We discuss the steps taken to reduce these images independently of the automated recalibration pipeline so as to use more recent ACS flat-field data as well as to better reject cosmic rays. We describe the method used to produce continuum-free (pure line-emission) images, and present these images along with qualitative descriptions of the narrow-line region morphologies we observe. We present H-alpha+[NII] and [OIII] line fluxes from aperture photometry, finding the values to fall expectedly on the redshift-luminosity trend from a past HST/WFPC2 emission line study of a larger, generally higher redshift subset of the 3CR. We also find expected trends between emission line luminosity and total radio power, as well as a positive correlation between the size of the emission line region and redshift. We discuss the associated interpretation of these results, and conclude with a summary of future work enabled by this dataset.Comment: 18 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

ACR Appropriateness Criteria® Spinal Bone Metastases

The spine is a common site of involvement in patients with bone metastases. Apart from pain, hypercalcemia, and pathologic fracture, progressive tumor can result in neurologic deterioration caused by spinal cord compression or cauda equina involvement. The treatment of spinal bone metastases depends on histology, site of disease, extent of epidural disease, extent of metastases elsewhere, and neurologic status. Treatment recommendations must weigh the risk-benefit profile of external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) for the particular individual's circumstance, including neurologic status, performance status, extent of spinal disease, stability of the spine, extra-spinal disease status, and life expectancy. Patients with spinal instability should be evaluated for surgical intervention. Research studies are needed that evaluate the combination or sequencing of localized therapies with systemic therapies including chemotherapy, hormonal therapy (HT), osteoclast inhibitors (OI), and radiopharmaceuticals. The roles of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in the management of spinal oligometastasis, radioresistant spinal metastasis, and previously irradiated but progressive spinal metastasis are emerging, but more research is needed to validate the findings from retrospective studies. The American College of Radiology Appropriateness Criteria are evidence-based guidelines for specific clinical conditions that are reviewed every 2 years by a multidisciplinary expert panel. The guideline development and review include an extensive analysis of current medical literature from peer-reviewed journals and the application of a well-established consensus methodology (modified Delphi) to rate the appropriateness of imaging and treatment procedures by the panel. In those instances where evidence is lacking or not definitive, expert opinion may be used to recommend imaging or treatment.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/140115/1/jpm.2012.0376.pd