13 research outputs found
A Comprehensive Study of Short Bursts from SGR 1806-20 and SGR 1900+14 Detected by HETE-2
We present the results of temporal and spectral studies of the short burst
(less than a few hundred milliseconds) from the soft gamma repeaters (SGRs)
1806-20 and 1900+14 using the HETE-2 samples. In five years from 2001 to 2005,
HETE-2 detected 50 bursts which were localized to SGR 1806-20 and 5 bursts
which were localized to SGR 1900+14. Especially SGR 1806-20 was active in 2004,
and HETE-2 localized 33 bursts in that year. The cumulative number-intensity
distribution of SGR 1806-20 in 2004 is well described by a power law model with
an index of -1.1+/-0.6. It is consistent with previous studies but burst data
taken in other years clearly give a steeper distribution. This may suggest that
more energetic bursts could occur more frequently in periods of greater
activity. A power law cumulative number-intensity distribution is also known
for earthquakes and solar flares. It may imply analogous triggering mechanisms.
Although spectral evolution during bursts with a time scale of > 20 ms is not
common in the HETE-2 sample, spectral softening due to the very rapid (< a few
milliseconds) energy reinjection and cooling may not be excluded. The spectra
of all short bursts are well reproduced by a two blackbody function (2BB) with
temperatures ~4 and ~11 keV. From the timing analysis of the SGR 1806-20 data,
a time lag of 2.2+/-0.4 ms is found between the 30-100 keV and 2-10 keV
radiation bands. This may imply (1) a very rapid spectral softening and energy
reinjection, (2) diffused (elongated) emission plasma along the magnetic field
lines in pseudo equilibrium with multi-temperatures, or (3) a separate (located
at < 700 km) emission region of softer component (say, ~4 keV) which could be
reprocessed X-rays by higher energy (> 11 keV) photons from an emission region
near the stellar surface.Comment: 50 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in PAS
Local Interstellar Neutral Hydrogen sampled in-situ by IBEX
Hydrogen gas is the dominant component of the local interstellar medium.
However, due to ionization and interaction with the heliosphere, direct
sampling of neutral hydrogen in the inner heliosphere is more difficult than
sampling the local interstellar neutral helium, which penetrates deep into the
heliosphere. In this paper we report on the first detailed analysis of the
direct sampling of neutral hydrogen from the local interstellar medium. We
confirm that the arrival direction of hydrogen is offset from that of the local
Helium component. We further report the discovery of a variation of the
penetrating Hydrogen over the first two years of IBEX observations.
Observations are consistent with hydrogen experiencing an effective ratio of
outward solar radiation pressure to inward gravitational force greater than
unity ({\mu}>1); the temporal change observed in the local interstellar
hydrogen flux can be explained with solar variability
Calibration of ALMA as a phased array: ALMA observations during the 2017 VLBI campaign
We present a detailed description of the special procedures for calibration
and quality assurance of Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA)
observations in Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) mode. These procedures
are required to turn the phased ALMA array into a fully calibrated VLBI
station. As an illustration of these methodologies, we present
full-polarization observations carried out with ALMA as a phased array at 3mm
(Band 3) and 1.3mm (Band 6) as part of Cycle-4. These are the first VLBI
science observations conducted with ALMA and were obtained during a 2017 VLBI
campaign in concert with other telescopes worldwide as part of the Global
mm-VLBI Array (GMVA, April 1-3) and the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT, April
5-11) in ALMA Bands 3 and 6, respectively.Comment: 39 pages, 20 figures, 10 tables, accepted by PAS
An Optically Dark GRB Observed by HETE-2: GRB 051022
GRB 051022 was detected at 13:07:58 on 22 October 2005 by HETE-2. The
location of GRB 051022 was determined immediately by the flight localization
system. This burst contains multiple pulses and has a rather long duration of
about 190 seconds. The detections of candidate X-ray and radio afterglows were
reported, whereas no optical afterglow was found. The optical spectroscopic
observations of the host galaxy revealed the redshift z = 0.8. Using the data
derived by HETE-2 observation of the prompt emission, we found the absorption
N_H = 8.8 -2.9/+3.1 x 10^22 cm^-2 and the visual extinction A_V = 49 -16/+17
mag in the host galaxy. If this is the case, no detection of any optical
transient would be quite reasonable. The absorption derived by the Swift XRT
observations of the afterglow is fully consistent with those obtained from the
early HETE-2 observation of the prompt emission. Our analysis implies an
interpretation that the absorbing medium could be outside external shock at R ~
10^16 cm, which may be a dusty molecular cloud.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in PASJ lette
First M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results and the Role of ALMA
In April 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration revealed the
first image of the candidate super-massive black hole (SMBH) at the centre of
the giant elliptical galaxy Messier 87 (M87). This event-horizon-scale image
shows a ring of glowing plasma with a dark patch at the centre, which is
interpreted as the shadow of the black hole. This breakthrough result, which
represents a powerful confirmation of Einstein's theory of gravity, or general
relativity, was made possible by assembling a global network of radio
telescopes operating at millimetre wavelengths that for the first time included
the Atacama Large Millimeter/ submillimeter Array (ALMA). The addition of ALMA
as an anchor station has enabled a giant leap forward by increasing the
sensitivity limits of the EHT by an order of magnitude, effectively turning it
into an imaging array. The published image demonstrates that it is now possible
to directly study the event horizon shadows of SMBHs via electromagnetic
radiation, thereby transforming this elusive frontier from a mathematical
concept into an astrophysical reality. The expansion of the array over the next
few years will include new stations on different continents - and eventually
satellites in space. This will provide progressively sharper and
higher-fidelity images of SMBH candidates, and potentially even movies of the
hot plasma orbiting around SMBHs. These improvements will shed light on the
processes of black hole accretion and jet formation on event-horizon scales,
thereby enabling more precise tests of general relativity in the truly strong
field regime.Comment: 11 pages + cover page, 6 figure
Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome
The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead
Ensemble Selection from Libraries of Models
We present a method for constructing ensembles from libraries of thousands of models. Model libraries are generated using different learning algorithms and parameter settings. Forward stepwise selection is used to add to the ensemble the models that maximize its performance. Ensemble selection allows ensembles to be optimized to performance metric such as accuracy, cross entropy, mean precision, or ROC Area. Experiments with seven test problems and ten metrics demonstrate the benefit of ensemble selection
A KEL gene encoding serine at position 193 of the Kell glycoprotein results in expression of KEL1 antigen
BACKGROUND: The KEL2/KEL1 (k/K) blood group polymorphism represents 578C>T in the KEL gene and Thr193Met in the Kell glycoprotein. Anti-KEL1 can cause severe hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn. Molecular genotyping for KEL*1 is routinely used for assessing whether a fetus is at risk. Red blood cells (RBCs) from a KEL:1 blood donor (D1) were found to have abnormal KEL1 expression during evaluation of anti-KEL1 reagents. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Kell genotyping methods, including KEL exon 6 direct sequencing, were applied. KEL cDNA from D1 was sequenced. Flow cytometry was used to assess KEL1 and KEL2 RBC expression. RESULTS: RBCs from the donor, her mother, and an unrelated donor gave weak or negative reactions with some anti-KEL1 reagents. Other Kell-system antigens appeared normal. The three individuals were homozygous for KEL C578 (KEL*2) but heterozygous for a 577A>T transversion, encoding Ser193. They appeared to be KEL*2 homozygotes by routine genotyping methods. Flow cytometry revealed weak KEL1 expression and normal KEL2, similar to that of KEL*2 homozygotes. CONCLUSION: Ser193 in the Kell glycoprotein appears to result in expression of abnormal KEL1, in addition to KEL2. The mutation is not detected by routine Kell genotyping methods and, because of unpredicted KEL1 expression, could lead to a misdiagnosis
Acquired and transient RBC CD55 deficiency (Inab phenotype) and anti-IFC
Background: Antigens of the Cromer blood group system reside on the glycoprotein CD55 (decay-accelerating factor). The Inab phenotype is the null phenotype of this system. So far, only five propositi have been described who exhibit this phenotype, and single-nucleotide substitutions in the CD55 gene have been found in three of them. This report describes the first example of a patient with an acquired and transient form of the Inab phenotype.
Case report: A 54-year-old black patient was admitted to the hospital because of abdominal pain. Multiple splenic infarctions were visualized in the abdominal computerized tomography scan, and a prophylactic splenectomy was performed. The patient's serum reacted by an IAT with all donor RBCs tested.
Results: Serologic analysis showed that the patient had the rare Inab phenotype and that his serum contained anti-IFC. Flow cytometry demonstrated the absence of CD55 on his RBCs, whereas lymphocytes, monocytes, granulocytes, and platelets expressed CD55, albeit at a weaker level than cells of common phenotypes. cDNA revealed no differences from the published sequences. Flow cytometry performed 12 months after splenectomy showed reappearance of the CD55 antigen; serologic tests performed after 17 months revealed that the anti-IFC had almost disappeared and that the RBCs were again agglutinated by various Cromer antibodies.
Conclusion: A patient with an acquired and transient form of the Inab phenotype is described, in whom the CD55 deficiency is limited to the RBCs and is associated with splenic infarctions.</p