452 research outputs found

    Genealogy and Morality

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    In a previous article in this journal, “Genealogy,” I offered a sort of “genealogy of genealogy,” an account of the method’s development, according to which it mainly grew, not from English or French antecedents, but out of a German tradition that began with Herder and then continued with Hegel before eventually culminating in Nietzsche himself. [...] Presupposing this account of the method of genealogy, the present article will consider the method in relation to one of its most important areas of application: morality

    Optical and X-ray Spectroscopy of 1E 0449.4-1823: Demise of the original type 2 QSO

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    New optical spectra of the original narrow-line quasar 1E 0449.4-1823 show that it now has broad emission lines of considerable strength, eliminating it as a "type 2 QSO" candidate. We suggest that the behavior of 1E 0449.4-1823 is the same as that of some Seyfert 1.8 and 1.9 galaxies, in which Goodrich attributed long-term variations of their broad Balmer lines to dynamical motions of obscuring material located in or around the broad-line region. The optical continuum and broad emission-line regions of 1E 0449.4-1823 may still be partly covered in our line of sight, which would explain its large forbidden-line equivalent widths and flat alpha_ox relative to other low-redshift QSOs. Also present are apparent absorption features in the broad Balmer lines and in Mg II, which may be related to the past obscuration and current emergence of the broad-line region. However, it is difficult to distinguish absorption from broad emission-line peaks that are displaced in velocity; we consider the latter a plausible competing interpretation of these peculiar line profiles. An ASCA X-ray spectrum of 1E 0449.4-1823 can be fitted with a power-law of Gamma = 1.63, intrinsic N_H < 9 x 10^20 cm-2, and no Fe Kalpha line emission. Its 2-10 keV luminosity is 6.7 x 10^44 ergs/s. With regard to the still hypothetical type 2 QSOs, we argue that there is little evidence for the existence of any among X-ray selected samples.Comment: to appear in ApJ July 1, 1998 (vol. 501). 23 pages including figures. Uses LaTeX macro aasms4.st

    Quantifying the improvement of surrogate indices of hepatic insulin resistance using complex measurement techniques

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    We evaluated the ability of simple and complex surrogate-indices to identify individuals from an overweight/obese cohort with hepatic insulin-resistance (HEP-IR). Five indices, one previously defined and four newly generated through step-wise linear regression, were created against a single-cohort sample of 77 extensively characterised participants with the metabolic syndrome (age 55.6±1.0 years, BMI 31.5±0.4 kg/m2; 30 males). HEP-IR was defined by measuring endogenous-glucose-production (EGP) with [6–62H2] glucose during fasting and euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamps and expressed as EGP*fasting plasma insulin. Complex measures were incorporated into the model, including various non-standard biomarkers and the measurement of body-fat distribution and liver-fat, to further improve the predictive capability of the index. Validation was performed against a data set of the same subjects after an isoenergetic dietary intervention (4 arms, diets varying in protein and fiber content versus control). All five indices produced comparable prediction of HEP-IR, explaining 39–56% of the variance, depending on regression variable combination. The validation of the regression equations showed little variation between the different proposed indices (r2 = 27–32%) on a matched dataset. New complex indices encompassing advanced measurement techniques offered an improved correlation (r = 0.75, P<0.001). However, when validated against the alternative dataset all indices performed comparably with the standard homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (r = 0.54, P<0.001). Thus, simple estimates of HEP-IR performed comparable to more complex indices and could be an efficient and cost effective approach in large epidemiological investigations

    The Star Formation Rate Function of the Local Universe

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    We have derived the bivariate luminosity function for the far ultraviolet (1530Angstroms) and far infrared (60 microns). We used matched GALEX and IRAS data, and redshifts from NED and PSC-z. We have derived a total star formation luminosity function phi(L_{tot}), with L_{tot} = L_{FUV}+L_{FIR}. Using these, we determined the cosmic ``star formation rate'' function and density for the local universe. The total SFR function is fit very well by a log-normal distribution over five decades of luminosity. We find that the bivariate luminosity function phi(L_{FUV},L_{FIR}) shows a bimodal behavior, with L_{FIR} tracking L_{FUV} for L_{TOT}< 10^10 L_sun, and L_{FUV} saturating at 10^10 L_sun, while L_{TOT} L_{FIR} for higher luminosities. We also calculate the SFR density and compare it to other measurements.Comment: This paper will be published as part of the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) Astrophysical Journal Letters Special Issue. Links to the full set of papers will be available at http:/www.galex.caltech.edu/PUBLICATIONS/ after November 22, 200

    Methane emissions from oil and gas platforms in the North Sea

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    Since 1850 the concentration of atmospheric methane (CH4), a potent greenhouse gas, has more than doubled. Recent studies suggest that emission inventories may be missing sources and underestimating emissions. To investigate whether offshore oil and gas platforms leak CH4 during normal operation, we measured CH4 mole fractions around eight oil and gas production platforms in the North Sea which were neither flaring gas nor offloading oil. We use the measurements from summer 2017, along with meteorological data, in a Gaussian plume model to estimate CH4 emissions from each platform. We find CH4 mole fractions of between 11 and 370 ppb above background concentrations downwind of the platforms measured, corresponding to a median CH4 emission of 6.8 g CH4 s−1 for each platform, with a range of 2.9 to 22.3 g CH4 s−1. When matched to production records, during our measurements individual platforms lost between 0.04 % and 1.4 % of gas produced with a median loss of 0.23 %. When the measured platforms are considered collectively (i.e. the sum of platforms' emission fluxes weighted by the sum of the platforms' production), we estimate the CH4 loss to be 0.19 % of gas production. These estimates are substantially higher than the emissions most recently reported to the National Atmospheric Emission Inventory (NAEI) for total CH4 loss from United Kingdom platforms in the North Sea. The NAEI reports CH4 losses from the offshore oil and gas platforms we measured to be 0.13 % of gas production, with most of their emissions coming from gas flaring and offshore oil loading, neither of which was taking place at the time of our measurements. All oil and gas platforms we observed were found to leak CH4 during normal operation, and much of this leakage has not been included in UK emission inventories. Further research is required to accurately determine total CH4 leakage from all offshore oil and gas operations and to properly include the leakage in national and international emission inventories

    Dynamical Anomalies and Intermittency in Burgers Turbulence

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    We analyze the field theory of fully developed Burgers turbulence. Its key elements are shock fields, which characterize the singularity statistics of the velocity field. The shock fields enter an operator product expansion describing intermittency. The latter is found to be constrained by dynamical anomalies expressing finite dissipation in the inviscid limit. The link between dynamical anomalies and intermittency is argued to be important in a wider context of turbulence.Comment: revised version, 4 pp., 1 fig., to appear in PR

    UV emission and Star Formation in Stephan's Quintet

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    we present the first GALEX UV images of the well known interacting group of galaxies, Stephan's Quintet (SQ). We detect widespread UV emission throughout the group. However, there is no consistent coincidence between UV structure and emission in the optical, H\alpha, or HI. Excluding the foreground galaxy NGC7320 (Sd), most of the UV emission is found in regions associated with the two spiral members of the group, NGC7319 and NGC7318b, and the intragroup medium starburst SQ-A. The extinction corrected UV data are analyzed to investigate the overall star formation activity in SQ. It is found that the total star formation rate (SFR) of SQ is 6.69+-0.65 M_\sun/yr. Among this, 1.34+-0.16 M_sun/yr is due to SQ-A. This is in excellent agreement with that derived from extinction corrected H\alpha luminosity of SQ-A. The SFR in regions related to NGC 7319 is 1.98+-0.58 M_\sun/yr, most of which(68%) is contributed by the disk. The contribution from the 'young tail' is only 15%. In the UV, the 'young tail' is more extended (~100 kpc) and shows a loop-like structure, including the optical tail, the extragalactic HII regions recently discovered in H\alpha, and other UV emission regions discovered for the first time. The UV and optical colors of the 'old tail' are consistent with a single stellar population of age t ~10^{8.5+-0.4} yrs. The UV emission associated with NGC 7318b is found in a very large (~80 kpc) disk, with a net SFR of 3.37+-0.25 M_sun/yr. Several large UV emission regions are 30 -- 40 kpc away from the nucleus of NGC7318b. Although both NGC7319 and NGC7318b show peculiar UV morphology, their SFR is consistent with that of normal Sbc galaxies, indicating that the strength of star formation activity is not enhenced by interactions.Comment: This paper will be published as part of the Galaxy Evolution Explorer(GALEX) Astrophysical Journal Letters Special Issue. Links to the full set of papers will be available at http:/www.galex.caltech.edu/PUBLICATIONS/ after November 22, 200

    Recent star formation in nearby galaxies from GALEX imaging:M101 and M51

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    The GALEX (Galaxy Evolution Explorer) Nearby Galaxies Survey is providing deep far-UV and near-UV imaging for a representative sample of galaxies in the local universe. We present early results for M51 and M101, from GALEX UV imaging and SDSS optical data in five bands. The multi-band photometry of compact stellar complexes in M101 is compared to population synthesis models, to derive ages, reddening, reddening-corrected luminosities and current/initial masses. The GALEX UV photometry provides a complete census of young compact complexes on a approximately 160pc scale. A galactocentric gradient of the far-UV - near-UV color indicates younger stellar populations towards the outer parts of the galaxy disks, the effect being more pronounced in M101 than in M51.Comment: This paper will be published as part of the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) Astrophysical Journal Letters Special Issue. Full paper available from http://dolomiti.pha.jhu.edu . Links to full set of papers will be available at http://www.galex.caltech.edu/PUBLICATIONS/ after November 22, 200

    UV and FIR selected star-forming galaxies at z=0: differences and overlaps

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    We study two samples of local galaxies, one is UV (GALEX) selected and the other FIR (IRAS) selected, to address the question whether UV and FIR surveys see the two sides ('bright' and 'dark') of the star formation of the same population of galaxies or two different populations of star forming galaxies. No significant difference between the Ltot_{tot} (=L60+LFUV=L_{60}+L_{FUV}) luminosity functions of the UV and FIR samples is found. Also, after the correction for the `Malmquist bias' (bias for flux limited samples), the FIR-to-UV ratio v.s. Ltot_{tot} relations of the two samples are consistent with each other. In the range of 9 \la \log(L_{tot}/L_\sun) \la 12, both can be approximated by a simple linear relation of \log (L_{60}/L_{FUV})=\log(L_{tot}/L_\sun)-9.66. These are consistent with the hypothesis that the two samples represent the same population of star forming galaxies, and their well documented differences in Ltot_{tot} and in FIR-to-UV ratio are due only to the selection effect. A comparison between the UV luminosity functions shows marginal evidence for a population of faint UV galaxies missing in the FIR selected sample. The contribution from these 'FIR-quiet' galaxies to the overall UV population is insignificant, given that the K-band luminosity functions (i.e. the stellar mass functions) of the two samples do not show any significant difference.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figures. Accepted by Ap
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