Chandra Observation of 3C 212: a New Look at the X-ray and UV Absorbers

The red quasar 3C 212 (z=1.049) is one of the most distant and most luminous AGN which has shown evidence of an X-ray warm absorber. In order to further investigate this unusual quasar, we used Chandra/ACIS-S to observe 3C 212 for 19.5 ksec, resulting in a net detection of ~4000 counts. The Chandra data confirm the presence of an excess absorbing column N_H ~ 4 x 10^21 cm^-2 at the quasar redshift, but we find no compelling evidence for a warm absorber. Using both the Chandra and archival ROSAT PSPC data, we obtain very good fits for both a partially covered neutral absorber and a low-ionization (U = 0.03) photo-ionized absorber. In the ultraviolet, 3C 212 shows a strong associated MgII absorber. Based on a moderate resolution (80 km/s) MMT spectrum we show that the absorber is highly saturated and has a covering fraction less than 60%, implying that the absorber is truly intrinsic to the quasar. Photo-ionization modeling of the MgII absorber yields a constraint on the ionization parameter of U < 0.03, inconsistent with a warm UV/X-ray absorber. In addition to our spectral analysis, we find evidence in the ACIS image data for weak extended emission surrounding the quasar as well as emission corresponding to the radio lobes at a distance of 5 arcsec from 3C 212. The statistical significance of these features is low, but we briefly explore the implications if the detections are valid.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Учет амортизации основных средств

Выпускная квалификационная работа 87с., 2 рис., 9 таблиц, 36 источника, 5 приложений. Ключевые слова: амортизация, основные средства, амортизация основных средств, ООО «ВДЦ», ПБУ 6/01. Объект исследования – общество с ограниченной ответственностью "ВДЦ" – фирма, являющаяся зарегистрированным юридическим лицом в городе Томске. Цель работы – исследование теоретических и практических основ бухгалтерского учета и амортизации в ООО «ВДЦ», в соответствии с нормативным регулированием. Предмет исследования – урегулированная нормами права деятельность ООО "ВДЦ" в области ведения бухгалтерского учета и документального оформления операций по начислению амортизации основных средств. В результате исследования были изучены основные средства ООО «ВДЦ», и амортизация основных средств.Final qualifying work 87с., 2 Fig., 9 tables, 36 source, 5 applications. Key words: depreciation, fixed assets, depreciation of fixed assets, "VDTs", PBU 6/01. The object of study – limited liability company "VDTs – the company being a registered legal entity in the city of Tomsk. The work purpose – research of theoretical and practical fundamentals of accounting and depreciation in VDTs, OOO, in accordance with the legal regulation. The research subject was regulated by legal norms of activity of "specialists" in the field of accounting and documenting transactions in the depreciation of fixed assets. The study was studied the main means of VDTs, OOO, and depreciation of fixed assets

Synergism of microwaves and ultrasound for advanced biorefineries

AbstractConventional energy sources are limited and non-renewable and their consumption contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. The world is in need of advanced biorefineries to meet ever growing energy demands associated with population growth and economic development. An advanced biorefinery should use renewable and sustainable (both in quality and quantity) feedstock that gives rise to higher energy gains with minimum non-renewable energy and resource consumption. Development of advanced biorefineries is currently encircled by two major issues. The first issue is to ensure adequate biofuel feedstock supplies while the second issue is to develop resource-efficient technologies for the feedstock conversion to maximize energy and economic and environmental benefits. While microalgae, microbial derived oils, and agricultural biomass and other energy crops show great potential for meeting current energy demands in a sustainable manner, process intensification and associated synergism can improve the resource utilization efficiency. Synergism of process intensification tools is important to increase energy efficiency, reduce chemical utilization and associated environmental impacts, and finally process economics. Among the many process intensification methods, this commentary provides a perspective on the essential role of MWs and US and their synergy in biofuel production. Individual, sequential, and simultaneous applications of MWs and US irradiations can be utilized for process intensification of various biofuels production and selective recovery of high value bioproducts. Process related barriers, namely mass and heat transfer limitations, can be eliminated by this synergism while improving the reaction efficiency and overall process economics significantly. In this article, a brief review focused on recent developments in MW and US mediated process intensification for biofuel synthesis and associated issues in their synergism followed by a discussion on current challenges and future prospective is presented

Loss of treatment benefit due to low compliance with bisphosphonate therapy

Among 8,822 new female bisphosphonate users, non-compliant bisphosphonate use was associated with a 45% increased risk of osteoporotic fracture compared to compliant use (MPR ≥80%). Classifying compliance into five categories, fracture risk gradually increased with poorer compliance. These results emphasize the importance of treatment compliance in obtaining maximal treatment benefit. Introduction: Bisphosphonates are widely used to treat osteoporosis and reduce fracture risk. Low compliance is frequent and will limit treatment benefit. Methods: New female users of alendronate or risedronate between 1999-2004, aged ≥45 years were identified from PHARMO-RLS, including drug-dispensing and hospitalization data of ≥2 million residents of the Netherlands. Patients were followed until first hospitalisation for an osteoporotic fracture, death, or end of study period. Compliance with bisphosphonates during follow-up was measured over 90-day intervals using Medication Possession Ratio (MPR). The association between compliance and fracture risk was analyzed using time-dependent Cox-regression. Results: The study cohort included 8,822 new female bisphosphonate users, contributing in total 22,484 person-years of follow-up. During follow-up, 176 osteoporotic fractures occurred (excluding the first six months). Non-compliant bisphosphonate use was associated with a 45% increased fracture risk compared to compliant use (MPR ≥80%). Classifying compliance into five categories, fracture risk gradually increased with poorer compliance (p-value <0.05 for trend). A MPR <20% was associated with an 80% increased fracture risk compared to a MPR ≥90%. Conclusions: These results show a statistically significant association between level of compliance with bisphosphonates and level of fracture risk, emphasizing the importance of treatment compliance in obtaining maximal treatment benefit

Analytic frameworks for assessing dialogic argumentation in online learning environments

Over the last decade, researchers have developed sophisticated online learning environments to support students engaging in argumentation. This review first considers the range of functionalities incorporated within these online environments. The review then presents five categories of analytic frameworks focusing on (1) formal argumentation structure, (2) normative quality, (3) nature and function of contributions within the dialog, (4) epistemic nature of reasoning, and (5) patterns and trajectories of participant interaction. Example analytic frameworks from each category are presented in detail rich enough to illustrate their nature and structure. This rich detail is intended to facilitate researchers’ identification of possible frameworks to draw upon in developing or adopting analytic methods for their own work. Each framework is applied to a shared segment of student dialog to facilitate this illustration and comparison process. Synthetic discussions of each category consider the frameworks in light of the underlying theoretical perspectives on argumentation, pedagogical goals, and online environmental structures. Ultimately the review underscores the diversity of perspectives represented in this research, the importance of clearly specifying theoretical and environmental commitments throughout the process of developing or adopting an analytic framework, and the role of analytic frameworks in the future development of online learning environments for argumentation

A collaborative approach to improving academic honesty

Mouse gene Ptprr encodes multiple protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor type R (PTPRR) isoforms that negatively regulate mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways. In the mouse brain, PTPRR proteins are expressed in cerebellum, olfactory bulb, hippocampus, amygdala and perirhinal cortex but their precise role in these regions remains to be determined. Here, we evaluated phenotypic consequences of loss of PTPRR activity and found that basal smell was normal for Ptprr(-/-) mice. Also, spatial learning and fear-associated contextual learning were unaffected. PTPRR deficiency, however, resulted in impaired novel object recognition and a striking increase in exploratory activity in a new environment. The data corroborate the importance of proper control of MAPK signaling in cerebral functions and put forward PTPRR as a novel target to modulate synaptic processes

Parietal but not temporoparietal alpha-tACS modulates endogenous visuospatial attention

Visuospatial attention can either be voluntarily directed (endogenous/top-down attention) or automatically triggered (exogenous/bottom-up attention). Recent research showed that dorsal parietal transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) at alpha frequency modulates the spatial attentional bias in an endogenous but not in an exogenous visuospatial attention task. Yet, the reason for this task-specificity remains unexplored. Here, we tested whether this dissociation relates to the proposed differential role of the dorsal attention network (DAN) and ventral attention network (VAN) in endogenous and exogenous attention processes respectively. To that aim, we targeted the left and right dorsal parietal node of the DAN, as well as the left and right ventral temporoparietal node of the VAN using tACS at the individual alpha frequency. Every participant completed all four stimulation conditions and a sham condition in five separate sessions. During tACS, we assessed the behavioral visuospatial attention bias via an endogenous and exogenous visuospatial attention task. Additionally, we measured offline alpha power immediately before and after tACS using electroencephalography (EEG). The behavioral data revealed an effect of tACS on the endogenous but not exogenous attention bias, with a greater leftward bias during (sham-corrected) left than right hemispheric stimulation. In line with our hypothesis, this effect was brain area-specific, i.e., present for dorsal parietal but not ventral temporoparietal tACS. However, contrary to our expectations, there was no effect of ventral temporoparietal tACS on the exogenous visuospatial attention bias. Hence, no double dissociation between the two targeted attention networks. There was no effect of either tACS condition on offline alpha power. Our behavioral data reveal that dorsal parietal but not ventral temporoparietal alpha oscillations steer endogenous visuospatial attention. This brain-area specific tACS effect matches the previously proposed dissociation between the DAN and VAN and, by showing that the spatial attention bias effect does not generalize to any lateral posterior tACS montage, renders lateral cutaneous and retinal effects for the spatial attention bias in the dorsal parietal condition unlikely. Yet the absence of tACS effects on the exogenous attention task suggests that ventral temporoparietal alpha oscillations are not functionally relevant for exogenous visuospatial attention. We discuss the potential implications of this finding in the context of an emerging theory on the role of the ventral temporoparietal node

Behavioural and physiological consequences of acute social defeat in growing gilts: effects of the social environment

Endocrine, behavioural and immunologic processes, together with body growth, were evaluated in gilts that were defeated at 10 weeks of age in resident-intruder tests. Immediately after defeat, gilts were either separated from or reunited with a familiar conspecific (litter-mate; always a barrow). Gilts were assigned to one of four treatments: (a) DI: defeat, followed by isolation (separation from original litter-mate; n=8); (b) I: no defeat, isolation (control group; n=9); (c) DP; defeat, followed by pair-housing (reunion with original litter-mate; n=8); and (d) P: no defeat, pair-housing (control group; n=8). The following general conclusions were derived: (1) social defeat caused pronounced short-term elevations in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) and sympathetic-adrenal medullary activities, and of prolactin levels. Moreover, as soon as 1 h after defeat, percentages of blood lymphocytes and neutrophilic granulocytes were, respectively, decreased and increased; (2) social defeat had some long-lasting influence on behaviour and physiology, but isolation predominantly determined responses in the longer term. Defeat, as well as isolation, resulted in increased cardiovascular activities compared to P controls, as observed in a novel object test (NOT: +7 days) and an aversion test (AVT: +14 days). Moreover, defeated as well as isolated gilts did not habituate to a repeated novel environment test (NET: -7, +2 and +7 days) in terms of frequencies of vocalising, whereas P controls did. Isolation, through the separation from any other pig, was responsible for the other observed long-term characteristics, which developed progressively. Isolated gilts showed high mobilities and high cortisol responses in the repeated NET (+7 days), not being habituated. This contrasted the reactions of pair-housed gilts, which were much reduced. In addition to their high cardiovascular activities in the NOT and the AVT, isolated gilts also displayed higher heart rates in the repeated NET and during human presence following the NOT, compared to pair-housed gilts. Finally, isolated gilts were more inhibited to approach a novel object (in the NOT) than pair-housed pigs; and (3) stress responses of defeated gilts were modulated by the subsequent social environment. Stimulation of the HPA-axis (plasma- and salivary cortisol) was prolonged in those defeated gilts which were isolated (observed in the first hour). Changes in leucocyte subsets were still observed after 3 days in DI, but were `normalised' within 1 day in DP gilts. Two days after defeat, habituation to the repeated NET in terms of mobility and salivary cortisol responses occurred in control and DP gilts, but not in DI gilts. We argue that these effects of the social environment shortly after defeat were related to a stress-reducing effect of a stable social relationship, i.e. social support.

On the nature of Seyfert galaxies with high [OIII]5007 blueshifts

We have studied the properties of Seyfert galaxies with high [OIII]5007 blueshifts (`blue outliers'), originally identified because of their strong deviation from the M_BH - sigma relation of normal, narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) and broad-line Seyfert 1 (BLS1) galaxies. These blue outliers turn out to be important test-beds for models of the narrow-line region (NLR), for mechanisms of driving large-scale outflows, for links between NLS1 galaxies and radio galaxies, and for orientation-dependent NLS1 models. We report the detection of a strong correlation of line blueshift with ionization potential in each galaxy, including the measurement of coronal lines with radial velocities up to 500--1000 km/s. All [OIII] blue outliers have narrow widths of their broad Balmer lines and high Eddington ratios. While the presence of non-shifted low-ionization lines signifies the presence of a classical outer quiescent NLR in blue outliers, we also report the absence of any second, non-blueshifted [OIII] component from a classical inner NLR. These results place tight constraints on NLR models. We favor a scenario in which the NLR clouds are entrained in a decelerating wind which explains the strong stratification and the absence of a zero-blueshift inner NLR of blue outliers. The origin of the wind remains speculative at this time (collimated radio plasma, thermal winds, radiatively accelerated clouds). It is perhaps linked to the high Eddington ratios of blue outliers. Similar, less powerful winds could be present in all Seyfert galaxies, but would generally only affect the coronal line region (CLR), or level off even before reaching the CLR. Similarities between blue outliers in NLS1 galaxies and (compact) radio sources are briefly discussed.Comment: ApJ in press (scheduled for June 20 issue); incl. 4 colour figures. This, and related paper showing that NLS1 galaxies follow the M-sigma relation based on [SII], is also available at http://www.xray.mpe.mpg.de/~skomossa

Extended High-Ionization Nuclear Emission-Line Region in the Seyfert Galaxy NGC 4051

We present an optical spectroscopic analysis of the well-known Seyfert galaxy NGC 4051. The high-ionization nuclear emission-line region (HINER) traced by [Fe X]6374 is found to be spatially extended to a radius of 3a rcseconds (150 pc) west and southwest from the nucleus; NGC 4051 is the third example which has an extended HINER. The nuclear spectrum shows that the flux of [Fe X]6374 is stronger than that of [Fe VII] 6087 in our observation. This property cannot be interpreted in terms of a simple one-zone photoionization model. In order to understand what happens in the nuclear region in NGC 4051, we investigate the physical condition of the nuclear emission-line region in detail using new photoionization models in which the following three emission-line components are taken into account; (1) optically thick, ionization-bounded clouds; (2) optically thin, matter-bounded clouds; and (3) a contamination component which emits H$\alpha$ and H$\beta$ lines. Here the observed extended HINER is considered to be associated with the low-density, matter-bounded clouds. Candidates of the contamination component are either the broad-line region (BLR) or nuclear star forming regions or both. The complexity of the excitation condition found in NGC 4051 can be consistently understood if we take account of these contamination components.Comment: 16 pages, including figures. To Appear in the Astronomical Journal February 2000 Issu