Piping network response.

Work on steam bubble collapse, water hammer and piping network response was carried out in two closely related but distinct sections. Volume I of ,,is report details the experiments and analyses carried out in conjunction with the steam bubble collapse and water hammer project. Volume II details the work which was performed in the analysis of piping network response to steam generated water hammer

Probing the Super Star Cluster Environment of NGC 1569 Using FISICA

We present near-IR JH spectra of the central regions of the dwarf starburst galaxy NGC 1569 using the Florida Image Slicer for Infrared Cosmology and Astrophysics (FISICA). The dust-penetrating properties and available spectral features of the near-IR, combined with the integral field unit (IFU) capability to take spectra of a field, make FISICA an ideal tool for this work. We use the prominent [He I] (1.083\mu m) and Pa\beta (1.282 \mu m) lines to probe the dense star forming regions as well as characterize the general star forming environment around the super star clusters (SSCs) in NGC 1569. We find [He I] coincident with CO clouds to the north and west of the SSCs, which provides the first, conclusive evidence for embedded star clusters here.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in the MNRA

Steam bubble collapse, water hammer and piping network response

"Sponsored by Boston Edison Company, Consumers Power Company, Northeast Utilities Service Company"

JPCam: A 1.2Gpixel camera for the J-PAS survey

JPCam is a 14-CCD mosaic camera, using the new e2v 9k-by-9k 10microm-pixel 16-channel detectors, to be deployed on a dedicated 2.55m wide-field telescope at the OAJ (Observatorio Astrofisico de Javalambre) in Aragon, Spain. The camera is designed to perform a Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) survey of the northern sky. The J-PAS survey strategy will use 54 relatively narrow-band (~13.8nm) filters equi-spaced between 370 and 920nm plus 3 broad-band filters to achieve unprecedented photometric red-shift accuracies for faint galaxies over ~8000 square degrees of sky. The cryostat, detector mosaic and read electronics is being supplied by e2v under contract to J-PAS while the mechanical structure, housing the shutter and filter assembly, is being designed and constructed by a Brazilian consortium led by INPE (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais). Four sets of 14 filters are placed in the ambient environment, just above the dewar window but directly in line with the detectors, leading to a mosaic having ~10mm gaps between each CCD. The massive 500mm aperture shutter is expected to be supplied by the Argelander-Institut fur Astronomie, Bonn. We will present an overview of JPCam, from the filter configuration through to the CCD mosaic camera. A brief outline of the main J-PAS science projects will be included.Comment: 11 pages and 9 figure

Spectrophotometric study in the near-ir of a sample of MIPS selected galaxies at Z~2

Our main objective is to determine what kind of galaxies dominate the cosmic SFR density at z~2. Our sample consists of 24 galaxies in Chandra Deep Field South, a unique field for the study of galaxy evolution (12 observed with GNIRS/GEMINI and 12 with ISAAC/VLT). We use H alpha together with the already merged X-ray, ultraviolet, optical, near and mid-infrared imaging data to obtain estimations of SFRs, metallicities, stellar and dynamical masses, AGN activity, and extinction properties. We have obtained 15 Hα detections, 4 rotation curves, and SFR relationship for 7 galaxies. The metallicities obtained for 8 galaxies of the sample are compatible with the metallicities of local galaxies

Infrared microspectroscopy to elucidate the underlying biomolecular mechanisms of FLASH radiotherapy.

FLASH-radiotherapy (FLASH-RT) is an emerging modality that uses ultra-high dose rates of radiation to enable curative doses to the tumor while preserving normal tissue. The biological studies showed the potential of FLASH-RT to revolutionize radiotherapy cancer treatments. However, the complex biological basis of FLASH-RT is not fully known yet. Within this context, our aim is to get deeper insights into the biomolecular mechanisms underlying FLASH-RT through Fourier Transform Infrared Microspectroscopy (FTIRM). C57Bl/6J female mice were whole brain irradiated at 10 Gy with the eRT6-Oriatron system. 10 Gy FLASH-RT was delivered in 1 pulse of 1.8μs and conventional irradiations at 0.1 Gy/s. Brains were sampled and prepared for analysis 24 h post-RT. FTIRM was performed at the MIRAS beamline of ALBA Synchrotron. Infrared raster scanning maps of the whole mice brain sections were collected for each sample condition. Hyperspectral imaging and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) were performed in several regions of the brain. PCA results evidenced a clear separation between conventional and FLASH irradiations in the 1800-950 cm <sup>-1</sup> region, with a significant overlap between FLASH and Control groups. An analysis of the loading plots revealed that most of the variance accounting for the separation between groups was associated to modifications in the protein backbone (Amide I). This protein degradation and/or conformational rearrangement was concomitant with nucleic acid fragmentation/condensation. Cluster separation between FLASH and conventional groups was also present in the 3000-2800 cm <sup>-1</sup> region, being correlated with changes in the methylene and methyl group concentrations and in the lipid chain length. Specific vibrational features were detected as a function of the brain region. This work provided new insights into the biomolecular effects involved in FLASH-RT through FTIRM. Our results showed that beyond nucleic acid investigations, one should take into account other dose-rate responsive molecules such as proteins, as they might be key to understand FLASH effect

Three-dimensional spectroscopy of local luminous compact blue galaxies: kinematic maps of a sample of 22 objects

We use three-dimensional optical spectroscopy observations of a sample of 22 local luminous compact blue galaxies (LCBGs) to create kinematic maps. By means of these, we classify the kinematics of these galaxies into three different classes: rotating disc (RD), perturbed rotation (PR) and complex kinematics (CK). We find 48 per cent are RDs, 28 per cent are PRs and 24 per cent are CKs. RDs show rotational velocities that range between similar to 50 and similar to 200 km s(-1), and dynamical masses that range between similar to 1 x 10(9) and similar to 3 x 10(10) M(circle dot). We also address the following two fundamental questions through the study of the kinematic maps: (i) What processes are triggering the current starburst in LCBGs? We search our maps of the galaxy velocity fields for signatures of recent interactions and close companions that may be responsible for the enhanced star formation in our sample. We find that 5 per cent of objects show evidence of a recent major merger, 10 per cent of a minor merger and 45 per cent of a companion. This argues in favour of ongoing interactions with close companions as a mechanism for the enhanced star formation activity in these galaxies. (ii) What processes may eventually quench the current starbust in LCBGs? Velocity and velocity width maps, together with emission line ratio maps, can reveal signatures of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) activity or supernova (SN)-driven galactic winds that could halt the current burst. We find only 5 per cent of objects with clear evidence of AGN activity and 27 per cent with kinematics consistent with SN-driven galactic winds. Therefore, a different mechanism may be responsible for quenching the star formation in LCBGs. Finally, from our analysis, we find that the velocity widths of RDs, rather than accounting exclusively for the rotational nature of these objects, may account as well for other kinematic components and may not be good tracers of their dynamical masses

Development of a rapid semi-automated tool to measure total kidney volume in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease

Background Total kidney volume (TKV) is an approved early prognostic marker of progression in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. The approval of tolvaptan for patients with rapid disease progression in Europe requires accurate patient stratification. Current methods of TKV measurement rely on manual segmentation which is time consuming, restricting its clinical use. To address this important clinical challenge we report the development and performance of a semi-automated method (Sheffield TKV tool) to measure TKV in patients with this disease. Methods 1.5T MRI scans were acquired (Siemens Avanto) in 61 adult patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. Manual segmentation of the kidneys was performed on T2 true fast imaging with steady state precession MRI. Computational semi-automated segmentation methods were tested in a subgroup of ten patients and the optimum method used in all 61 cases to measure TKV (mL). Manual and semi-automated results were compared by Bland–Altman analyses. Processing time for manual and semi-automated methods were recorded. Findings Our cohort consisted of 29 men and 32 women (mean age 45 years, SD 14). Estimated GFR (eGFR) in patients within 1 month of the MRI ranged between 32 and 138 mL/min. TKV measured by manual segmentation ranged between 258 and 3680 mL. The Sheffield TKV tool performed optimally for calculating TKV, reporting accurate results in 80% of cases compared with manual TKV. Inaccuracies were associated with erroneous inclusion of blood vessels, the renal hilum, or leakage into neighbouring tissues, and overall were more frequent in smaller kidneys. Processing time for TKV with the Sheffield TKV tool was 2–5 min compared with 20–30 min for manual segmentation. Interpretation We describe a new rapid, semi-automated method for measuring TKV on MRI which should be a useful tool for evaluating patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. We plan to optimise MRI acquisition sequences and extract the renal hilar volume to improve performance of the Sheffield TKV tool and validate it in another population with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, with the ultimate aim of using it in clinical practice. Funding Insigneo (Institute for in silico medicine) bursary (from Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust), National Institute for Health Research

The Mass-Metallicity relation explored with CALIFA: I. Is there a dependence on the star formation rate?

We present the results on the study of the global and local M-Z relation based on the first data available from the CALIFA survey (150 galaxies). This survey provides integral field spectroscopy of the complete optical extent of each galaxy (up to 2-3 effective radii), with enough resolution to separate individual HII regions and/or aggregations. Nearly $\sim$3000 individual HII regions have been detected. The spectra cover the wavelength range between [OII]3727 and [SII]6731, with a sufficient signal-to-noise to derive the oxygen abundance and star-formation rate associated with each region. In addition, we have computed the integrated and spatially resolved stellar masses (and surface densities), based on SDSS photometric data. We explore the relations between the stellar mass, oxygen abundance and star-formation rate using this dataset. We derive a tight relation between the integrated stellar mass and the gas-phase abundance, with a dispersion smaller than the one already reported in the literature ($\sigma_{\Delta{\rm log(O/H)}}=$0.07 dex). Indeed, this dispersion is only slightly larger than the typical error derived for our oxygen abundances. However, we do not find any secondary relation with the star-formation rate, other than the one induced due to the primary relation of this quantity with the stellar mass. We confirm the result using the $\sim$3000 individual HII regions, for the corresponding local relations. Our results agree with the scenario in which gas recycling in galaxies, both locally and globally, is much faster than other typical timescales, like that of gas accretion by inflow and/or metal loss due to outflows. In essence, late-type/disk dominated galaxies seem to be in a quasi-steady situation, with a behavior similar to the one expected from an instantaneous recycling/closed-box model.Comment: 19 Pages, 8 figures, Accepted for Publishing in Astronomy and Astrophysics (A&A