793 research outputs found
Detectability of Exoplanetary Transits from Radial Velocity Surveys
Of the known transiting extra-solar planets, a few have been detected through
photometric follow-up observations of radial velocity planets. Perhaps the best
known of these is the transiting exoplanet HD 209458b. For hot Jupiters
(periods less than ~5 days), the a priori information that 10% of these planets
will transit their parent star due to the geometric transit probability leads
to an estimate of the expected transit yields from radial velocity surveys. The
radial velocity information can be used to construct an effective photometric
follow-up strategy which will provide optimal detection of possible transits.
Since the planet-harbouring stars are already known in this case, one is only
limited by the photometric precision achieveable by the chosen
telescope/instrument. The radial velocity modelling code presented here
automatically produces a transit ephemeris for each planet dataset fitted by
the program. Since the transit duration is brief compared with the fitted
period, we calculate the maximum window for obtaining photometric transit
observations after the radial velocity data have been obtained, generalising
for eccentric orbits. We discuss a typically employed survey strategy which may
contribute to a possible radial velocity bias against detection of the very hot
Jupiters which have dominated the transit discoveries. Finally, we describe how
these methods can be applied to current and future radial velocity surveys.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS, minor
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Phase diagram of bismuth in the extreme quantum limit
Elemental bismuth provides a rare opportunity to explore the fate of a
three-dimensional gas of highly mobile electrons confined to their lowest
Landau level. Coulomb interaction, neglected in the band picture, is expected
to become significant in this extreme quantum limit with poorly understood
consequences. Here, we present a study of the angular-dependent Nernst effect
in bismuth, which establishes the existence of ultraquantum field scales on top
of its complex single-particle spectrum. Each time a Landau level crosses the
Fermi level, the Nernst response sharply peaks. All such peaks are resolved by
the experiment and their complex angular-dependence is in very good agreement
with the theory. Beyond the quantum limit, we resolve additional Nernst peaks
signaling a cascade of additional Landau sub-levels caused by electron
interaction
Non-small cell lung carcinoma in an adolescent manifested by acute paraplegia due to spinal metastases: a case report
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Bronchial carcinomas in childhood and adolescence are extremely rare; only individual cases have been reported previously.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We report on a 16-year-old Caucasian German boy with non-small cell lung carcinoma (squamous cell non-small cell lung carcinoma) stage IV, T4N2M1, without epidermal growth factor receptor overexpression and/or mutation or k-ras mutation. He presented with paraplegia due to spinal metastases of the bronchial carcinoma. No familial predisposition or toxin exposure was identified. Treatment following adult protocols consisted of surgical intervention for spinal metastases, first-line cisplatinum and gemcitabine, irradiation and second-line docetaxel. After a transient response our patient experienced disease progression and died about 10 months later.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Response and survival in our 16-year-old patient were similar to adult patients with stage IV non-small cell lung carcinoma.</p
High energy emission from microquasars
The microquasar phenomenon is associated with the production of jets by X-ray
binaries and, as such, may be associated with the majority of such systems. In
this chapter we briefly outline the associations, definite, probable, possible,
and speculative, between such jets and X-ray, gamma-ray and particle emission.Comment: Contributing chapter to the book Cosmic Gamma-Ray Sources, K.S. Cheng
and G.E. Romero (eds.), to be published by Kluwer Academic Publishers,
Dordrecht, 2004. (19 pages
Multifrequency Strategies for the Identification of Gamma-Ray Sources
More than half the sources in the Third EGRET (3EG) catalog have no firmly
established counterparts at other wavelengths and are unidentified. Some of
these unidentified sources have remained a mystery since the first surveys of
the gamma-ray sky with the COS-B satellite. The unidentified sources generally
have large error circles, and finding counterparts has often been a challenging
job. A multiwavelength approach, using X-ray, optical, and radio data, is often
needed to understand the nature of these sources. This chapter reviews the
technique of identification of EGRET sources using multiwavelength studies of
the gamma-ray fields.Comment: 35 pages, 22 figures. Chapter prepared for the book "Cosmic Gamma-ray
Sources", edited by K.S. Cheng and G.E. Romero, to be published by Kluwer
Academic Press, 2004. For complete article and higher resolution figures, go
to: http://www.astro.columbia.edu/~muk/mukherjee_multiwave.pd
Decontamination of 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequence datasets based on bacterial load assessment by qPCR
Identification of unexpected taxa in 16S rRNA surveys of low-density microbiota, diluted mock communities and cultures demonstrated that a variable fraction of sequence reads originated from exogenous DNA. The sources of these contaminants are reagents used in DNA extraction, PCR, and next-generation sequencing library preparation, and human (skin, oral and respiratory) microbiota from the investigators
Effects of Degraded Optical Conditions on Behavioural Responses to Alarm Cues in a Freshwater Fish
Prey organisms often use multiple sensory cues to gain reliable information about imminent predation threat. In this study we test if a freshwater fish increases the reliance on supplementary cues when the reliability of the primary cue is reduced. Fish commonly use vision to evaluate predation threat, but may also use chemical cues from predators or injured conspecifics. Environmental changes, such as increasing turbidity or water colour, may compromise the use of vision through changes in the optical properties of water. In an experiment we tested if changes in optical conditions have any effects on how crucian carp respond to chemical predator cues. In turbidity treatments we added either clay or algae, and in a brown water colour treatment we added water with a high humic content. We found that carp reduced activity in response to predator cues, but only in the turbidity treatments (clay, algae), whereas the response in the brown water treatment was intermediate, and not significantly different from, clear and turbid water treatments. The increased reliance on chemical cues indicates that crucian carp can compensate for the reduced information content from vision in waters where optical conditions are degraded. The lower effect in brown water may be due to the reduction in light intensity, changes in the spectral composition (reduction of UV light) or to a change in chemical properties of the cue in humic waters
GLAST: Understanding the High Energy Gamma-Ray Sky
We discuss the ability of the GLAST Large Area Telescope (LAT) to identify,
resolve, and study the high energy gamma-ray sky. Compared to previous
instruments the telescope will have greatly improved sensitivity and ability to
localize gamma-ray point sources. The ability to resolve the location and
identity of EGRET unidentified sources is described. We summarize the current
knowledge of the high energy gamma-ray sky and discuss the astrophysics of
known and some prospective classes of gamma-ray emitters. In addition, we also
describe the potential of GLAST to resolve old puzzles and to discover new
classes of sources.Comment: To appear in Cosmic Gamma Ray Sources, Kluwer ASSL Series, Edited by
K.S. Cheng and G.E. Romer
Lung carcinoma with hypertrophic osteoarthropathy in a teenager
Hypertrophic osteoarthropathy (HOA) characterised by arthralgia, clubbing and periosteal proliferation of long bones, is rarely encountered in children and adolescents. Whereas in adults over 80% of cases are associated with malignancy, in children the majority of cases are due to non-neoplastic causes such as cystic fibrosis, bilary atresia and congenital heart disease. Up to 5% of adults with lung cancer demonstrate signs of HOA. However, lung cancer is extremely uncommon in children and young people. Here we report a case of lung adenocarcinoma in an 18 year old male associated with HOA present both at diagnosis and at subsequent disease progression
Persistent Cell Motion in the Absence of External Signals: A Search Strategy for Eukaryotic Cells
Eukaryotic cells are large enough to detect signals and then orient to them
by differentiating the signal strength across the length and breadth of the
cell. Amoebae, fibroblasts, neutrophils and growth cones all behave in this
way. Little is known however about cell motion and searching behavior in the
absence of a signal. Is individual cell motion best characterized as a random
walk? Do individual cells have a search strategy when they are beyond the range
of the signal they would otherwise move toward? Here we ask if single,
isolated, Dictyostelium and Polysphondylium amoebae bias their motion in the
absence of external cues. We placed single well-isolated Dictyostelium and
Polysphondylium cells on a nutrient-free agar surface and followed them at 10
sec intervals for ~10 hr, then analyzed their motion with respect to velocity,
turning angle, persistence length, and persistence time, comparing the results
to the expectation for a variety of different types of random motion. We find
that amoeboid behavior is well described by a special kind of random motion:
Amoebae show a long persistence time (~10 min) beyond which they start to lose
their direction; they move forward in a zig-zag manner; and they make turns
every 1-2 min on average. They bias their motion by remembering the last turn
and turning away from it. Interpreting the motion as consisting of runs and
turns, the duration of a run and the amplitude of a turn are both found to be
exponentially distributed. We show that this behavior greatly improves their
chances of finding a target relative to performing a random walk. We believe
that other eukaryotic cells may employ a strategy similar to Dictyostelium when
seeking conditions or signal sources not yet within range of their detection
system.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in PLOS On
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