2,485 research outputs found
A Mystery in Chamaeleon: Serendipitous Discovery of a Galactic Symbiotic Nova
Abstract
We present the serendipitous discovery of a low optical-luminosity nova occurring in a D-type symbiotic binary star system in the Milky Way. We lay out the extensive archival data alongside new follow-up observations related to the stellar object CN Cha in the constellation of Chamaeleon. The object had long period (250 days), high amplitude (3 mag) optical variability in its recent past, preceding an increase in optical brightness by 8 magnitudes and a persistence at this brightness for about 3 yr, followed by a period of 1.4 mag yrâ1 dimming. The objectâs current optical luminosity seems to be dominated by Hα emission, which also exhibits blueshifted absorption (a P-Cygni-like profile). After consideration of a number of theories to explain these myriad observations, we determine that CN Cha is most likely a symbiotic (an evolved-starâwhite-dwarf binary) system that has undergone a long-duration, low optical brightness, nova, placing it squarely in the class of so-called âslow novae,â of which there are only a few known examples. The duration of the optical plateau in CN Cha would make it the shortest timescale plateau of any known slow symbiotic novae.</jats:p
Damage to the prefrontal cortex increases utilitarian moral judgements
The psychological and neurobiological processes underlying moral judgement have been the focus of many recent empirical studies1â11. Of central interest is whether emotions play a causal role in moral judgement, and, in parallel, how emotion-related areas of the brain contribute to moral judgement. Here we show that six patients with focal bilateral damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPC), a brain region necessary for the normal generation of emotions and, in particular, social emotions12â14, produce an abnor- mally âutilitarianâ pattern of judgements on moral dilemmas that pit compelling considerations of aggregate welfare against highly emotionally aversive behaviours (for example, having to sacrifice one personâs life to save a number of other lives)7,8. In contrast, the VMPC patientsâ judgements were normal in other classes of moral dilemmas. These findings indicate that, for a selective set of moral dilemmas, the VMPC is critical for normal judgements of right and wrong. The findings support a necessary role for emotion in the generation of those judgements
Information-Derived Mechanistic Hypotheses for Structural Cardiotoxicity
Adverse events resulting from drug therapy can be a cause of drug withdrawal, reduced and or restricted clinical use, as well as a major economic burden for society. To increase the safety of new drugs, there is a need to better understand the mechanisms causing the adverse events. One way to derive new mechanistic hypotheses is by linking data on drug adverse events with the drugsâ biological targets. In this study, we have used data mining techniques and mutual information statistical approaches to find associations between reported adverse events collected from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System and assay outcomes from ToxCast, with the aim to generate mechanistic hypotheses related to structural cardiotoxicity (morphological damage to cardiomyocytes and/or loss of viability). Our workflow identified 22 adverse event-assay outcome associations. From these associations, 10 implicated targets could be substantiated with evidence from previous studies reported in the literature. For two of the identified targets, we also describe a more detailed mechanism, forming putative adverse outcome pathways associated with structural cardiotoxicity. Our study also highlights the difficulties deriving these type of associations from the very limited amount of data available
An approach for the calculation of one-loop effective actions, vacuum energies, and spectral counting functions
In this paper, we provide an approach for the calculation of one-loop
effective actions, vacuum energies, and spectral counting functions and discuss
the application of this approach in some physical problems. Concretely, we
construct the equations for these three quantities; this allows us to achieve
them by directly solving equations. In order to construct the equations, we
introduce shifted local one-loop effective actions, shifted local vacuum
energies, and local spectral counting functions. We solve the equations of
one-loop effective actions, vacuum energies, and spectral counting functions
for free massive scalar fields in , scalar fields in
three-dimensional hyperbolic space (the Euclidean Anti-de Sitter space
), in (the geometry of the Euclidean BTZ black hole), and in
, and the Higgs model in a -dimensional finite interval.
Moreover, in the above cases, we also calculate the spectra from the counting
functions. Besides exact solutions, we give a general discussion on approximate
solutions and construct the general series expansion for one-loop effective
actions, vacuum energies, and spectral counting functions. In doing this, we
encounter divergences. In order to remove the divergences, renormalization
procedures are used. In this approach, these three physical quantities are
regarded as spectral functions in the spectral problem.Comment: 37 pages, no figure. This is an enlarged and improved version of the
paper published in JHE
Comparative efficacy of two fipronil spot-on formulations against experimental tick infestations (Ixodes ricinus) in dogs
A parallel-group-design, randomized, unicentre and blinded controlled study was undertaken to assess the efficacy of a new fipronil-based spot-on formulation applied once to dogs against experimental Ixodes ricinus infestations. Six dogs served as negative controls (group 1), six dogs served as positive controls (group 2) receiving the original fipronil spot-on (FrontlineÂź spot-on Dog, Merial) at a dosage of 0.67Â mL for a dog weighing from 2 to 10Â kg and 1.34Â mL for a dog weighing from 10.1 to 20Â kg and six dogs were treated with a 10% w/v fipronil-based spot-on solution (EffiproÂź Spot-on, Virbac SA) at an identical dosage (group 3, 0.67 mL for a dog weighing from 2 to 10 kg and 1.34 mL for a dog weighing from 10.1 to 20 kg). Each dog was sedated and subsequently infested with 50 unfed adult I. ricinus on daysââ7, â2, 7, 14, 21, 28 and 35. Forty-eight hours after the treatment and 48Â h after each challenge (days â5, 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 and 37), the population of the remaining ticks was assessed for each animal. Geometric mean tick counts obtained were reduced by 99% and 94% on dayâ2 in groups 2 and 3, respectively, compared to the negative control group. Dogs were protected from re-infestations with an efficacy of >90% for 3Â weeks in group 2 and for 5Â weeks in group 3. Both 10% w/v fipronil-based spot-on solutions, despite different vehicles, were equally able to eradicate tick infestation, to prevent new infestations and were equally well tolerated
Green Plants in the Red: A Baseline Global Assessment for the IUCN Sampled Red List Index for Plants
Plants provide fundamental support systems for life on Earth and are the basis for all terrestrial ecosystems; a decline in plant diversity will be detrimental to all other groups of organisms including humans. Decline in plant diversity has been hard to quantify, due to the huge numbers of known and yet to be discovered species and the lack of an adequate baseline assessment of extinction risk against which to track changes. The biodiversity of many remote parts of the world remains poorly known, and the rate of new assessments of extinction risk for individual plant species approximates the rate at which new plant species are described. Thus the question âHow threatened are plants?â is still very difficult to answer accurately. While completing assessments for each species of plant remains a distant prospect, by assessing a randomly selected sample of species the Sampled Red List Index for Plants gives, for the first time, an accurate view of how threatened plants are across the world. It represents the first key phase of ongoing efforts to monitor the status of the worldâs plants. More than 20% of plant species assessed are threatened with extinction, and the habitat with the most threatened species is overwhelmingly tropical rain forest, where the greatest threat to plants is anthropogenic habitat conversion, for arable and livestock agriculture, and harvesting of natural resources. Gymnosperms (e.g. conifers and cycads) are the most threatened group, while a third of plant species included in this study have yet to receive an assessment or are so poorly known that we cannot yet ascertain whether they are threatened or not. This study provides a baseline assessment from which trends in the status of plant biodiversity can be measured and periodically reassessed
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Multiparticle azimuthal correlations for extracting event-by-event elliptic and triangular flow in Au + Au collisions at sNN =200 GeV
We present measurements of elliptic and triangular azimuthal anisotropy of charged particles detected at forward rapidity 1<|η|<3 in Au + Au collisions at sNN=200 GeV, as a function of centrality. The multiparticle cumulant technique is used to obtain the elliptic flow coefficients v2{2},v2{4},v2{6}, and v2{8}, and triangular flow coefficients v3{2} and v3{4}. Using the small-variance limit, we estimate the mean and variance of the event-by-event v2 distribution from v2{2} and v2{4}. In a complementary analysis, we also use a folding procedure to study the distributions of v2 and v3 directly, extracting both the mean and variance. Implications for initial geometrical fluctuations and their translation into the final-state momentum distributions are discussed
Is a Calorie Really a Calorie? Metabolic Advantage of Low-Carbohydrate Diets
The first law of thermodynamics dictates that body mass remains constant when caloric intake equals caloric expenditure. It should be noted, however, that different diets lead to different biochemical pathways that are not equivalent when correctly compared through the laws of thermodynamics. It is inappropriate to assume that the only thing that counts in terms of food consumption and energy balance is the intake of dietary calories and weight storage. Well-controlled studies suggest that calorie content may not be as predictive of fat loss as is reduced carbohydrate consumption. Biologically speaking, a calorie is certainly not a calorie. The ideal weight loss diet, if it even exists, remains to be determined, but a high-carbohydrate/low-protein diet may be unsatisfactory for many obese individuals
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Nonperturbative transverse-momentum-dependent effects in dihadron and direct photon-hadron angular correlations in p+p collisions at s =200 GeV
Dihadron and isolated direct photon-hadron angular correlations are measured in p+p collisions at s=200 GeV. The correlations are sensitive to nonperturbative initial-state and final-state transverse momenta kT and jT in the azimuthal nearly back-to-back region ÎÏâŒÏ. To have sensitivity to small transverse momentum scales, nonperturbative momentum widths of pout, the out-of-plane transverse-momentum component perpendicular to the trigger particle, are measured. In this region, the evolution of pout can be studied when several different hard scales are measured. These widths are used to investigate possible effects from transverse-momentum-dependent factorization breaking. When accounting for the longitudinal-momentum fraction of the away-side hadron with respect to the near-side trigger particle, the widths are found to increase with the hard scale; this is qualitatively similar to the observed behavior in Drell-Yan and semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering interactions, where factorization is predicted to hold. The momentum widths are also studied as a function of center-of-mass energy by comparing to previous measurements at s=510 GeV. The nonperturbative jet widths also appear to increase with s at a similar xT, which is qualitatively consistent to similar measurements in Drell-Yan interactions. Future detailed global comparisons between measurements of processes where transverse-momentum-dependent factorization is predicted to hold and be broken will provide further insight into the role of color in hadronic interactions
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