841 research outputs found
Spatially-Resolved Spectra of the "Teacup" AGN: Tracing the History of a Dying Quasar
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Galaxy Zoo project has revealed a number
of spectacular galaxies possessing Extended Emission-Line Regions (EELRs), the
most famous being Hanny's Voorwerp galaxy. We present another EELR object
discovered in the SDSS endeavor: the Teacup Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN),
nicknamed for its EELR, which has a handle like structure protruding 15 kpc
into the northeast quadrant of the galaxy. We analyze physical conditions of
this galaxy with long-slit ground based spectroscopy from Lowell, Lick, and
KPNO observatories. With the Lowell 1.8m Perkin's telescope we took multiple
observations at different offset positions, allowing us to recover spatially
resolved spectra across the galaxy. Line diagnostics indicate the ionized gas
is photoionized primarily by the AGN. Additionally we are able to derive the
hydrogen density from the [S II] 6716/6731 ratio. We generated two-component
photoionization models for each spatially resolved Lowell spectrum. These
models allow us to calculate the AGN bolometric luminosity seen by the gas at
different radii from the nuclear center of the Teacup. Our results show a drop
in bolometric luminosity by more than two orders of magnitude from the EELR to
the nucleus, suggesting that the AGN has decreased in luminosity by this amount
in a continuous fashion over 46,000 years, supporting the case for a dying AGN
in this galaxy independent of any IR based evidence. We demonstrate that
spatially resolved photoionization modeling could be applied to EELRs to
investigate long time scale variability.Comment: 38 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
Simulations of Spinodal Nucleation in Systems with Elastic Interactions
Systems with long-range interactions quenched into a metastable state near
the pseudospinodal exhibit nucleation that is qualitatively different than the
classical nucleation observed near the coexistence curve. We have observed
nucleation droplets in our Langevin simulations of a two-dimensional model of
martensitic transformations and have determined that the structure of the
nucleating droplet differs from the stable martensite structure. Our results,
together with experimental measurements of the phonon dispersion curve, allow
us to predict the nature of the droplet. These results have implications for
nucleation in many solid-solid transitions and the structure of the final
state
Accurate estimation of third-order moments from turbulence measurements
Politano and Pouquet's law, a generalization of Kolmogorov's four-fifths law
to incompressible MHD, makes it possible to measure the energy cascade rate in
incompressible MHD turbulence by means of third-order moments. In
hydrodynamics, accurate measurement of third-order moments requires large
amounts of data because the probability distributions of velocity-differences
are nearly symmetric and the third-order moments are relatively small.
Measurements of the energy cascade rate in solar wind turbulence have recently
been performed for the first time, but without careful consideration of the
accuracy or statistical uncertainty of the required third-order moments. This
paper investigates the statistical convergence of third-order moments as a
function of the sample size N. It is shown that the accuracy of the
third-moment depends on the number of correlation lengths spanned by the data
set and a method of estimating the statistical uncertainty of the third-moment
is developed. The technique is illustrated using both wind tunnel data and
solar wind data.Comment: Submitted to: Nonlinear Processes in Geophysic
Setting the stage: social-environmental and motivational predictors of optimal training engagement
In this paper, we will firstly explore the central tenets of SDT. Research that has examined the social-environmental and motivation-related correlates of optimal training, performance and health-related engagement through the theoretical lens of SDT will be reviewed. Drawing from SDT-driven work undertaken in educational, sport and dance settings, we will draw conclusions and suggest future directions from a research and applied perspective
First HARPSpol discoveries of magnetic fields in massive stars
In the framework of the Magnetism in Massive Stars (MiMeS) project, a
HARPSpol Large Program at the 3.6m-ESO telescope has recently started to
collect high-resolution spectropolarimetric data of a large number of Southern
massive OB stars in the field of the Galaxy and in many young clusters and
associations. In this Letter, we report on the first discoveries of magnetic
fields in two massive stars with HARPSpol - HD 130807 and HD 122451, and
confirm the presence of a magnetic field at the surface of HD 105382 that was
previously observed with a low spectral resolution device. The longitudinal
magnetic field measurements are strongly varying for HD 130807 from -100
G to 700 G. Those of HD 122451 and HD 105382 are less variable with
values ranging from -40 to -80 G, and from -300 to -600 G,
respectively. The discovery and confirmation of three new magnetic massive
stars, including at least two He-weak stars, is an important contribution to
one of the MiMeS objectives: the understanding of origin of magnetic fields in
massive stars and their impacts on stellar structure and evolution.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in A&A Lette
The phylogenetically-related pattern recognition receptors EFR and XA21 recruit similar immune signaling components in monocots and dicots
During plant immunity, surface-localized pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) recognize pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). The transfer of PRRs between plant species is a promising strategy for engineering broad-spectrum disease resistance. Thus, there is a great interest in understanding the mechanisms of PRR-mediated resistance across different plant species. Two well-characterized plant PRRs are the leucine-rich repeat receptor kinases (LRR-RKs) EFR and XA21 from Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) and rice, respectively. Interestingly, despite being evolutionary distant, EFR and XA21 are phylogenetically closely related and are both members of the sub-family XII of LRR-RKs that contains numerous potential PRRs. Here, we compared the ability of these related PRRs to engage immune signaling across the monocots-dicots taxonomic divide. Using chimera between Arabidopsis EFR and rice XA21, we show that the kinase domain of the rice XA21 is functional in triggering elf18-induced signaling and quantitative immunity to the bacteria Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato (Pto) DC3000 and Agrobacterium tumefaciens in Arabidopsis. Furthermore, the EFR:XA21 chimera associates dynamically in a ligand-dependent manner with known components of the EFR complex. Conversely, EFR associates with Arabidopsis orthologues of rice XA21-interacting proteins, which appear to be involved in EFR-mediated signaling and immunity in Arabidopsis. Our work indicates the overall functional conservation of immune components acting downstream of distinct LRR-RK-type PRRs between monocots and dicots
Highly stretchable polymer semiconductor films through the nanoconfinement effect
Soft and conformable wearable electronics require stretchable semiconductors, but existing ones typically sacrifice charge transport mobility to achieve stretchability. We explore a concept based on the nanoconfinement of polymers to substantially improve the stretchability of polymer semiconductors, without affecting charge transport mobility. The increased polymer chain dynamics under nanoconfinement significantly reduces the modulus of the conjugated polymer and largely delays the onset of crack formation under strain. As a result, our fabricated semiconducting film can be stretched up to 100% strain without affecting mobility, retaining values comparable to that of amorphous silicon. The fully stretchable transistors exhibit high biaxial stretchability with minimal change in on current even when poked with a sharp object. We demonstrate a skinlike finger-wearable driver for a light-emitting di
Positive psychology of Malaysian students: impacts of engagement, motivation, self-compassion and wellbeing on mental health
Malaysia plays a key role in education of the Asia Pacific, expanding its scholarly output rapidly. However, mental health of Malaysian students is challenging, and their help-seeking is low because of stigma. This study explored the relationships between mental health and positive psychological constructs (academic engagement, motivation, self-compassion, and wellbeing), and evaluated the relative contribution of each positive psychological construct to mental health in Malaysian students. An opportunity sample of 153 students completed the measures regarding these constructs. Correlation, regression, and mediation analyses were conducted. Engagement, amotivation, self-compassion, and wellbeing were associated with, and predicted large variance in mental health. Self-compassion was the strongest independent predictor of mental health among all the positive psychological constructs. Findings can imply the strong links between mental health and positive psychology, especially selfcompassion. Moreover, intervention studies to examine the effects of self-compassion training on mental health of Malaysian students appear to be warranted.N/
Mineral analysis of complete dog and cat foods in the UK and compliance with European guidelines
Mineral content of complete pet food is regulated to ensure health of the companion animal population. Analysis of adherence to these regulatory guidelines has not been conducted. Here, mineral composition of complete wet (n = 97) and dry (n = 80) canine and feline pet food sold in the UK was measured to assess compliance with EU guidelines. A majority of foods complied with ≥8 of 11 guidelines (99% and 83% for dry and wet food, respectively), but many failed to provide nutritional minimum (e.g. Cu, 20% of wet food) or exceeded nutritional maximum (e.g. Se, 76% of wet food). Only 6% (6/97) of wet and 38% (30/80) of dry food were fully compliant. Some foods (20–30% of all analysed) had mineral imbalance, such as not having the recommended ratio of Ca:P (between 1:1 to 2:1). Foods with high fish content had high levels of undesirable metal elements such as arsenic. This study highlights broad non-compliance of a range of popular pet foods sold in the UK with EU guidelines (94% and 61% of wet and dry foods, respectively). If fed exclusively and over an extended period, a number of these pet foods could impact the general health of companion animals
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