2,822 research outputs found
Selective Microdetermination of Uranium Using Weisz Ring Oven Technique: Application to an Indirect Determination of Trace Amounts of Arsenic in Tobacco
294-29
Discovery of High-Latitude CO in a HI Supershell in NGC 5775
We report the discovery of very high latitude molecular gas in the edge-on
spiral galaxy, NGC 5775. Emission from both the J=1-0 and 2-1 lines of 12CO is
detected up to 4.8 kpc away from the mid-plane of the galaxy. NGC 5775 is known
to host a number of HI supershells. The association of the molecular gas
M(H2,F2) = 3.1x10^7 solar masses reported here with one of the HI supershells
(labeled F2) is clear, which suggests that molecular gas may have survived the
process which originally formed the supershell. Alternatively, part of the gas
could have been formed in situ at high latitude from shock-compression of
pre-existing HI gas. The CO J=2-1/J=1-0 line ratio of 0.34+-40% is
significantly lower than unity, which suggests that the gas is excited
subthermally, with gas density a few times 100 cubic cm. The molecular gas is
likely in the form of cloudlets which are confined by magnetic and cosmic rays
pressure. The potential energy of the gas at high latitude is found to be
2x10^56 ergs and the total (HI + H2) kinetic energy is 9x10^53 ergs. Based on
the energetics of the supershell, we suggest that most of the energy in the
supershell is in the form of potential energy and that the supershell is on the
verge of falling and returning the gas to the disk of the galaxy.Comment: Accept by ApJL, 4 pages, 3 ps figure
The Leiodolide B Puzzle
Out of options? Even though a systematic approach was chosen, which led to a set of four diastereomeric macrolides modeled around the proposed structure of leiodolideâ
B (see picture), the puzzle concerning the stereostructure of this cytotoxic metabolite derived from a deep-sea sponge still remains unsolved
Improvement in immune parameters and human immunodeficiency virus-1 viral response in individuals treated with 16α-bromoepiandrosterone (HE2000)
ABSTRACTA randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study examined the safety, tolerance, immunological effect and anti-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) activity of sub-cutaneously administered HE2000 (16α-bromoepiandrosterone) as monotherapy in treatment-naĂŻve patients with HIV-1. Twenty-four patients received five sequential daily doses of 50 or 100 mg of HE2000 or placebo every 6 weeks for up to three courses, and were followed thereafter for 3 months. HE2000 was safe, with transient injection site reactions being the main side-effect. Peripheral blood samples, collected serially, were analysed for changes in immune cell phenotypes. Significant increases were observed in the numbers of circulating dendritic cells, early activated (CD69+CD25â) CD8 T-cells and T-NK cells after administration of 50-mg doses of HE2000 (p <0.05). Gene expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells was analysed by real-time RT-PCR. Before treatment, HIV-1-infected patients had significantly elevated transcripts for a number of inflammatory mediators (p <0.012). After 50 mg or 100 mg HE2000, but not after placebo, there were significant sustained decreases in IL-1ÎČ, TNF-α, IL-6 and Cox-2 transcripts (p <0.05). There were no significant differences in CD4 cell numbers, although patients receiving 50-mg doses demonstrated a significant decrease in viral load (â 0.6 log; p <0.01). Anti-HIV-1 T-cell responses were analysed serially using GAG-peptides to stimulate cytoplasmic IFN-Îł responses. After three courses, the 50-mg dose group demonstrated a significant increase in CD8 T-cell response against two distinct GAG peptide pools (p <0.03). These findings suggest that immune-based therapies may be able to impact viral load by decreasing inflammation and/or stimulating CD8 T-cells
Geotechnical Investigations for Foundation Design for Multi-storeyed Building
Oil and Natural Gas Commission of India plans to construct a multi-storeyed building in Dehradun city at the foothills of Himalayas. The geotechnical investigations were carried out at site to determine soil parameters for foundation design. It was found that it was not possible to provide a raft foundation for the building and hence alternatively the pile foundation was suggested. The pile load capacity was predicted on the basis of soil parameters determined and a comparison was then made with the results obtained by carrying out load tests on constructed piles
Radio and gamma-ray constraints on dark matter annihilation in the Galactic center
We determine upper limits on the dark matter (DM) self-annihilation cross
section for scenarios in which annihilation leads to the production of
electron--positron pairs. In the Galactic centre (GC), relativistic electrons
and positrons produce a radio flux via synchroton emission, and a gamma ray
flux via bremsstrahlung and inverse Compton scattering. On the basis of
archival, interferometric and single-dish radio data, we have determined the
radio spectrum of an elliptical region around the Galactic centre of extent 3
degrees semi-major axis (along the Galactic plane) and 1 degree semi-minor axis
and a second, rectangular region, also centered on the GC, of extent 1.6
degrees x 0.6 degrees. The radio spectra of both regions are non-thermal over
the range of frequencies for which we have data: 74 MHz -- 10 GHz. We also
consider gamma-ray data covering the same region from the EGRET instrument
(about GeV) and from HESS (around TeV). We show how the combination of these
data can be used to place robust constraints on DM annihilation scenarios, in a
way which is relatively insensitive to assumptions about the magnetic field
amplitude in this region. Our results are approximately an order of magnitude
more constraining than existing Galactic centre radio and gamma ray limits. For
a DM mass of m_\chi =10 GeV, and an NFW profile, we find that the
velocity-averaged cross-section must be less than a few times 10^-25 cm^3 s^-1.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures. Version accepted for publication in PRD.
Reference section updated/extended
Taj Mahal â An Appraisal of Foundation Performance
Because of severe restrictions placed by the National Authority, no authentic data on subsoil details below Taj Mahal - a protected monument - is available. For the first time, an attempt has been made to fill in gaps that exist in our knowledge of subsoil profile below the structure and present a plausible appraisal of foundation performance during the existence of the structure. Since details of foundations cited in literature on Taj Mahal really fall into the realms of architectural conjecture, in the present analysis, engineering intuition and judgement have gone into making certain premises regarding the probable type, dimensions and the depth of the existing foundations of Taj Mahal. These premises, complimented by borehole data and laboratory tests have enabled the assessment of the foundation performance to be made in as realistic a manner as is practically possible
A Comparative Study of the Parker Instability under Three Models of the Galactic Gravity
To examine how non-uniform nature of the Galactic gravity might affect length
and time scales of the Parker instability, we took three models of gravity,
uniform, linear and realistic ones. To make comparisons of the three gravity
models on a common basis, we first fixed the ratio of magnetic pressure to gas
pressure at = 0.25, that of cosmic-ray pressure at = 0.4, and
the rms velocity of interstellar clouds at = 6.4 km s, and then
adjusted parameters of the gravity models in such a way that the resulting
density scale heights for the three models may all have the same value of 160
pc. Performing linear stability analyses onto equilibrium states under the
three models with the typical ISM conditions, we calculate the maximum growth
rate and corresponding length scale for each of the gravity models. Under the
uniform gravity the Parker instability has the growth time of 1.2
years and the length scale of 1.6 kpc for symmetric mode. Under the realistic
gravity it grows in 1.8 years for both symmetric and
antisymmetric modes, and develops density condensations at intervals of 400 pc
for the symmetric mode and 200 pc for the antisymmetric one. A simple change of
the gravity model has thus reduced the growth time by almost an order of
magnitude and its length scale by factors of four to eight. These results
suggest that an onset of the Parker instability in the ISM may not necessarily
be confined to the regions of high and .Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ, using aaspp4.sty, 18 text pages with
9 figure
NMA CO (J=1-0) Observations of the Halpha/Radio Lobe Galaxy NGC 3079: Gas Dynamics in a Weak Bar Potential and Central Massive Core
within 24 lines with 80 characters) We present ^12CO (1-0) observations in
the central 4.5 kpc (1 arcmin) of the Halpha/Radio lobe galaxy NGC 3079 with
the Nobeyama Millimeter Array. The molecular gas shows four components: a main
disk, spiral arms, a nuclear disk, and a nuclear core. The main disk extends
beyond our spatial coverage. The spiral arms are superimposed on the main disk.
The nuclear disk with about 600 pc radius has an intense concentration of
molecular gas. Its appearance on PV diagrams is indicative of oval motions of
the gas, rather than circular. The nuclear core is more compact than our
resolution. Though it is unresolved, the nuclear core shows a very high
velocity about 200 km/s even at the radius of about 100 pc on the PV diagram.
We propose a model that NGC 3079 contains a weak bar. This model explains the
observed features: the main disk and spiral arms result from gaseous x1-orbits
and associated crowding respectively. The nuclear disk arises from gaseous
x2-orbits. From the appearance of the spiral arms on the PV diagram, the
pattern speed of the bar is estimated to be 55+-10 km/s/kpc. The high velocity
of the nuclear core cannot be explained by our model for a bar. Thus we
attribute it to a central massive core with a dynamical mass of 10^9 Msun
within the central 100 pc. This mass is three orders of magnitude more massive
than that of a central black hole in this galaxy.Comment: 43 pages, 17 figures; ApJ, 573, 105, 200
Hormonal regulation of protein synthesis associated with salt tolerance in plant cells
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