181 research outputs found
Time Variation of Fine-Structure Constant Constrained by [O III] Emission-Lines at 1.1<z<3.7
[O III]4960,5008 doublet are often the strongest narrow
emission lines in starburst galaxies and quasi-stellar objects (QSOs), and thus
are a promising probe to possible variation of the fine-structure constant
over cosmic time. Previous such studies using QSOs optical spectra
were limited to . In this work, we constructed a sample of 40 spectra of
Ly emitting galaxies (LAEs) and a sample of 46 spectra of QSOs at
using the VLT/X-Shooter near-infrared spectra publicly available.
We measured the wavelength ratios of the two components of the spin-orbit
doublet and accordingly calculated using two methods. Analysis on
all of the 86 spectra yielded with
respect to the laboratory measurements, consistent with no variation
over the explored time interval. If assuming a uniform variation rate, we
obtained yr
within the last 12 Gyrs. Extensive tests indicate that variation could
be better constrained using starburst galaxies' spectra than using QSO spectra
in future studies.Comment: 24 pages, 22 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA
The association of depression status with menopause symptoms among rural midlife women in China
Objective: This study aims to evaluate the association of depression with menopausal status and some menopause symptoms (vasomotor symptoms and poor sleep).Methods: A total of 743 participants aged 40-60 years were recruited. Depression status was evaluated by using Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS). Sleep quality and vasomotor symptoms were evaluated by specific symptoms questionnaire.Results: The prevalence of depression among participants was 11.4%. Depression was found more likely to occur in participants with poor sleep (OR, 6.02; 95%CI, 3.61, 10.03) or with vasomotor symptoms (VMS) (OR, 2.03; 95%CI, 1.20, 3.44) after controlling for age, education level, marital status, menopause status, monthly family income and chronic diseases. Menopause status was not associated with depression. Stratification analysis showed a significant association between poor sleep and depression across different menopause stages, while VMS were associated with depression only in premenopausal status.Conclusion: The majority of Chinese rural midlife women do not experience depression. The relationship between depression, VMS and sleep disturbances tends to change with menopausal status in Chinese rural midlife women.Keywords: depression, poor sleep, vasomotor symptoms, menopause, rural wome
Rapid Regeneration Offsets Losses from Warming-Induced Tree Mortality in an Aspen-Dominated Broad-Leaved Forest in Northern China
Worldwide tree mortality as induced by climate change presents a challenge to forest managers. To successfully manage vulnerable forests requires the capacity of regeneration to compensate for losses from tree mortality. We observed rapid regeneration and the growth release of young trees after warming-induced mortality in a David aspen-dominated (Populus davidiana) broad-leaved forest in Inner Mongolia, China, as based on individual tree measurements taken in 2012 and 2015 from a 6-ha permanent plot. Warming and drought stress killed large trees 10–15 m tall with a total number of 2881 trees during 2011–2012, and also thinned the upper crowns. David aspen recruitment increased 2 times during 2012–2015 and resulted in a high transition probability of David aspen replacing the same or other species, whereas the recruitment of Mongolian oak (Quercus mongolica) was much lower: it decreased from 2012 to 2015, indicating that rapid regeneration represented a regrowth phase for David aspen, and not succession to Mongolian oak. Further, we found that the recruitment density increased with canopy openness, thus implying that warming-induced mortality enhanced regeneration. Our results suggest that David aspen has a high regrowth ability to offset individual losses from warming-induced mortality. This important insight has implications for managing this vulnerable forest in the semi-arid region of northern China
Unshifted Metastable He I* Mini-Broad Absorption Line System in the Narrow Line Type 1 Quasar SDSS J080248.18551328.9
We report the identification of an unusual absorption line system in the
quasar SDSS J080248.18551328.9 and present a detailed study of the system,
incorporating follow-up optical and NIR spectroscopy. A few tens of absorption
lines are detected, including He I*, Fe II* and Ni II* that arise from
metastable or excited levels, as well as resonant lines in Mg I, Mg II, Fe II,
Mn II, and Ca II. All of the isolated absorption lines show the same profile of
width km s centered at a common redshift as that of
the quasar emission lines, such as [O II], [S II], and hydrogen Paschen and
Balmer series. With narrow Balmer lines, strong optical Fe II multiplets, and
weak [O III] doublets, its emission line spectrum is typical for that of a
narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy (NLS1). We have derived reliable measurements of
the gas-phase column densities of the absorbing ions/levels. Photoionization
modeling indicates that the absorber has a density of and a column density of , and is located at
pc from the central super-massive black hole. The location of the absorber, the
symmetric profile of the absorption lines, and the coincidence of the
absorption and emission line centroid jointly suggest that the absorption gas
is originated from the host galaxy and is plausibly accelerated by stellar
processes, such as stellar winds \zhy{and/or} supernova explosions. The
implications for the detection of such a peculiar absorption line system in an
NLS1 are discussed in the context of co-evolution between super-massive black
hole growth and host galaxy build-up.Comment: 28 pages, 16 figures; accepted for publication in Astrophysical
Journa
Involvement of Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Myocardial Apoptosis of Streptozocin-Induced Diabetic Rats
Apoptosis plays critical role in diabetic cardiomyopathy and endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) is one of intrinsic apoptosis pathways. For previous studies have shown that endoplasmic reticulum become swell in diabetic myocardium and ERS was involved in diabetes mellitus and heart failure, this study aimed to demonstrate whether ERS was induced in myocardium of streptozocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. We established type 1 diabetic rat model with STZ intraperitoneal injection, used echocardiographic evaluation, hematoxylin-eosin staining and the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated DNA nick-end labeling staining to identify the existence of diabetic cardiomyopathy and enhanced apoptosis in the diabetic heart. We performed immunohistochemistry, Western blot and real time PCR to analysis two hallmarks of ERS, glucose regulated protein78 (Grp78) and Caspase12. We found both Grp78 and Caspase12 had enhanced expression in protein and mRNA levels in diabetic myocardium than normal rat’s, and Caspase12 was activated in diabetic heart. Those results suggested that ERS was induced in STZ-induced diabetic rats’ myocardium, and ERS-associated apoptosis took part in the pathophysiology of diabetic cardiomyopathy
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